Jazza

Jazza is the Arabic word for vacation. It is a frequently discussed topic at the IA chow hall and in the halls of the Brigade headquarters. The Iraqi leave system is supposed to work like this: Work for 21 days, get 7 days of vacation. They work six days a week, with Friday being a rest day. You can't go home on Friday, but not a whole lot goes on.

Like all things in Iraq, vacations are subject to corruption. Some guys get more, some guys get less. Some abuse the system. Usually on Wednesday or Thursday night, there is a pile of officers in the XO's office complaining about the leave schedule and asking to go home early. They rant on about how officer X came back two days later than he was supposed to, and how officer Y left early. There is a lot of managing other people's schedules and people worrying about things they can't and shouldn't control. If I am in there, I usually can get some cheap self-righteous shots in about how the Americans are here in their country for a year at a time, sacrificing time with families, and in the worst cases, life and health, and they complain about a day of missed leave. I usually do pretty well in these conversations.

Tonight we had this same discussion, and I told the XO I thought that if I were the Prime Minister, I would decree that all leaves are cancelled until the insurgency is over. My bet: It would take about two weeks for the IA to root out all the remaining turds and then we could get on with the business of going home. The XO loved the idea, and the rest of the officers in the room erupted with calls of unfairness. The XO kicked them all out and told them to get back to work.

Tomorrow I go on Jaaza (my leave). Been here 8 months, and my time has come around. I am very much looking forward to it, as we have some fun things planned, including a couple of days at a resort, we are going to tailgate at a Round Rock Express game, Sluggo will get her braces off, and we are spending a couple of days at a lake house.

I am anxious to get home, but at the same time I admit I am a bit apprehensive too. One, you can't just show up after being gone for 8 months and expect to jump back into your old life. There are many adjustments that many people have to make. You have been gone, and people have adjusted to life without you. You can't pretend to make up for eight months of absence in 14 days. Two, just as you begin to get comfortable, and you get back into the swing of things, you have to go back. It is an emotioal roller coaster. Three, the family has to make an adjustment too-- Who the heck is this guy, and why does he think he's my dad/husband?
If everything goes right, I will be able to see a game or two of Sluggo's softball team in the state tournament. Good luck, Blaze, and have fun.

I'll be honest-- Not sure how much I will update this while I am home, as I hopefully will have better ways to spend my time. No offense. My apologies-- the tone of this post has been a bit negative, but I am very much looking forward to going home, spending time with the family, taking a bit of a rest, and enjoying lots of things I have not done in a long time.

If you are in Austin, come on out to the Round Rock Express game on the 19th for some chow. We'll be in the parking lot at around 4, and it's fireworks night at the Dell Diamond...

Thanks for reading and take care-
Ron

He Didn't Come Here

Stephen Colbert is in Iraq taping his show.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/07/colbert.iraq/index.html

He didn't make it down to us. Victory is where the FOBbits live (people who spend an entire year in Iraq and never leave the FOB or never actually see a real Iraqi). Would have liked to seen it, though. We need more Stephen Colberts and less Anderson Coopers...

The show airs on Monday (the 15th?).

Take care-
Ron

Obama visits Muslims

I tried watching President Obama's remarks in Egypt. I was in my IA Brigade XO's office, but unfortunately, his channels are all in Arabic, so I was not that successful. He asked me what I thought about Obama; I said sometimes things require a dramatic shift to get things going. I told him so far I was mostly pleased with the direction of the country, but wasn't happy about the Government having as big of a stake in business. I followed up with a question back at him: what did the Arabic world (ok, Iraq) think of Obama? He replied with the observation that many here think Obama is muslim, and that he is welcomed (as he has not done any lasting damage to Iraq--yet). I told him I didn't think Obama was muslim; he replied "with a middle name of Hussein, how can he not be?" I let it go.

Maybe Obama, by virtue of having a muslim name, and by just being a different administration than the one who has been (some would argue unsuccessfully) involved in Iraq for almost seven years can be the change agent that causes a tipping point. Maybe. What we have to be careful of is running out on this science project oo soon, in which case President Obama will be seen as a failure to the muslim world for allowing Iraq to fail, even though conditions have been set for success. You can't ride with training wheels forever, and it's time to let go of the seat.

I am virutally convinced, though, that the US military has done all it is going to be able to do here. The skeptical optimist in me sees the US military now primarily engaged in stability operations, a good chunk of which could/should be handled by a capable and resourced State Department, which we don't have. Ironic that today our current Secretary of State requires the same military to do the State's job that her husband eviscerated in the 90s. Her hubby took us from 18 Divisions to 10 in five years. It would be nice to have those eight divisions now...

The XO is skeptical about the future of Iraq. He's pretty much skeptical of everything. He claims there are too many political parties, too much corruption, too much self interest. He said at least when Saddam was in power, things got done. He told a story of a bridge we bombed in 1991, and that within two months it was rebuilt because Saddam ordered it. There are currently bridges in Iraq that are still unbuilt, mostly because of corruption in the contract awarding process. I told him greed is a by-product of Capitalism (see AIG and Madhoff scandals for US version). I often wonder about the founding fathers, and if they really had a plan and deep vision, or were they truly winging it. What were the colonial versions of what Iraq is going through now, and is there a way to learn and pass on lessons. The problem is the audience, and their willingness to accept the responsibilites of Freedom.

Take care.
Ron

Fresh Meat (and pictures!)

Me and Abu Zeckie, one of my interpreters, baking in the sun.

Been talking a lot about the bad and the frustrating recently, thought I'd try to hit some good stuff.

There is a new US unit I work with now. They are getting accustomed to the new area and doing discovery learning. It is a bit frustrating, as they ask a lot of questions, assume the worst of everything at times (as they should), and overly react to most instances. But that's ok, we did the same thing until we got our legs under us. The good part is that they bring a fresh perspective to the game, and they have already started to change a few things for the better. I have good hopes for many of the ideas; they are changing some of the things I didn't agree with that the old unit did. Those guys were great Americans, too- so far I have lucked out with coalition units. What is notable is that the new unit is a national guard unit, and they bring a different mentality to the area. Most of their soldiers are citizens who are policemen, firemen, business owners and employees on top of soldiers. They are older, which physically isn't a great thing, but this isn't an overly physical fight anymore. Their maturity and different approaches to problem solving is refreshing.

Our IA unit is taking a bunch of bad things off the street like this:

The IA brings the stuff they find back here. The problem is they let it pile up on our compound. The IA does not have any Explosive Ordinance Disposal units trained in our area, so they rely on Coalition. Where they found the 250kg bombs I have no idea, but there was a bunch of IEDs ready to go, frags, mortar rounds, and homemade explosive by the 5-gallon cans. A lot of it is stuff left over from the 2006-2007 civil/sectarian war, but it's still dangerous. In my first couple of months here, we got rid of a bunch of stuff, but they have been busy and found a bunch more bad stuff, including this:

It is a suicide vest. Homemade explosives and ball bearings. How anyone could be manipulated to strap on one of these is beyond me. But, we got a tip on this one last week, we did a raid and here's the results.

I'd love to be an EOD guy. Call me crazy, but I have always had a fascination with blowing stuff up. That's all our current EOD team does-- they go out every day and blow up stuff people find. And they get paid. I have to say if I was single with no attachments, I would resign my commission and enlist as an EOD guy.

I have even enjoyed progress with my Iraqi Brigade Commander. I figured out that instead of telling him what to do, I ask questions that help him draw his own conclusions. Getting him to commit to anything past a week is the current challenge. He is easily distracted by lots of flashy things. He has lots of ideas, but has trouble following through with them. At least it gives me something to do for the next couple of months.

That's about it. Hope you are well, and thanks for reading.

Ron

Memorial Day

In September of 1995, two guys from my tank platoon were killed while on their way to work. Charlie Barcia and Jonathan Phillips were both barely 21, and not much younger than I was. Neither was married, and both were brand new to the platoon. Charlie was my loader, and Johathan was the driver of the Platoon Sergeant's tank. Charlie was from Long Island, NY, and Johathan was from Missouri. Two good kids who, while not at war, still died in the service of their country.

We divided escort duties between me and my Platoon Sergeant. I would be the escort officer for Private First Class Charles Barcia, and Sergeant First Class Sievers would escort the remains of Private Johathan Phillips to his home. It is tradition in the military to ensure that remains of servicemembers make it home to their final post, and to ensure their service is appropriately honored. In my case, it was my duty to ensure the remains made it on the aircraft to New York, that they make it to the funeral home, and subsequently to the funeral and internment. On the morning of the trip, I met the funeral director in Killeen and inspected the remains, and then he took us to the Austin Airport where Charlie was loaded on the plane. I traveled in the Dress Green uniform, a formality appropriate to the task of ensuring honors were rendered. On my person I carried the folded flag that was to cover the casket, the same flag I would present to Charlie's mother. Several people looked, some stared. Older men seemed to understand what I was doing; younger generations looked awkwardly at me, as my appearance stuck out from the normal travler.

The trip did not go smooth. The airline lost Charlie in Atlanta; they nonchalantly could not confirm if he made the transfer from one plane to another. I remember angily asking the clerk at the gate counter "how could you lose my loader?!" I demanded they open the cargo hold and allow me to verify that he was in fact on the plane, and they complied. They did not understand the gravity of the situation, nor did they realize the disrespect they were showing. After I verified he was in the plane, the airline apologized and we were on our way again.

On the ground, I was assisted in New York by the Casualty Assistance Officer, a Sergeant First Class from the New York National Guard who was present at the notification of Charlie's next of kin. After we handed Charlie off to the local funeral director, he took me to my hotel and checked me in. The next morning we went to meet Charlie's parents. The meeting started off very tense; I think she initially blamed me for his death (which was a traffic accident). But I shared some pictures from the platoon, as well as some mementos the platoon sent, and the air lifted. After that, we went to the funeral home, where the family would see the remains prior to a week of visitations.

One of the rules to being an escort is that whenever there is a visitation, the escort must always be present. The escort is the first in the room and the last to leave. I stood quietly off to the side, and spoke to those who spoke to me. I stood for the duration, despite being offered a seat on many occasions. I felt it was more appropriate to stand, in honor of a guy who again, while not at war, died in service to his country none the less. Charlie was a good Soldier who had a bright future. It was evident by the volume of family and visitors he had that he was well-liked.

The funeral and graveside service at Cavelton National Cemetary followed several days of visitations. I rehearsed my line to Charlie's mother continuously the night before, and did everything in my power to choke out the lines: "On behalf of the people of a grateful Nation, I present to you this flag as a symbol of your Son's dedication and service." I added the comment that her son was a good Soldier and I was proud to serve with him. I stood, saluted the flag and walked away, trying to get as far away as possible before I lost my composure. They played Taps, and the honor guard fired a 21 gun salute.

Escorting the remains of Charlie Barcia home to his family remains the hardest and at the same time most rewarding duty I have done in my service as a Soldier. Since then, there are others who have passed, both deployed in combat and in garrison assignments in the States.

Less than a percent of the American population serves in the military. I hope you took some time to think about the cost of Freedom this Memorial Day. If not, please make it a point to visit a National Cemetary soon, and to pay respects to those who gave everything they had over our Nation's 230-plus years so you could enjoy a day off at the lake, with friends, at a barbecue, or relaxing with the family.

Thanks for reading.
Ron

Two Angry Theories

Angry theory/ number one: Our risk-averse Army stifles initiative and prevents us from us becoming bold, innovative leaders the Army says it wants because cannot/is afraid to handle the consequences. Policies and rules are good for establishing good order and discipline, but they do not consider individual environments. Division/Brigade/Battalion wide SOPs are necessary; some SOPs and techniques that are regional or theatre wide are needed in a general sense for good order & discipline and, if necessary, to make us modular with other units if we have to conduct an on order mission outside of our local AO with other coalition units. But situations are different in every area, and current “edicts from on high” are too restrictive and thus neuter the initiative of the leader on the ground.

Angry theory number two: Higher ups (“Those guys, ” “Brigade,” “Division,” etc) issue edicts/policies/”standard enduring guidance” because they think because our Army has a great deal of technology that is supposed to clarify the battlefield and deliver “Situational Awareness” to the high commander, therefore he/she believes they are better able to judge the current scene of what is happening on the ground. We have a system called Blue Force Tracker that uses GPS technology to show where equipment is on the ground; we have UAVs that provide a picture to a removed commander of what is happening on the ground. But the systems do not provide the “Situational Awareness” that removed commanders think they do: Blue Force Tracker only shows where the unit is, not what it is involved with, which direction it is looking, how many good guys are on the ground, or how many enemy soldiers it is facing. All it shows is an icon on a screen. UAVs show a soda-straw view of a moment in time and do little to capture the sights, smells, sounds, and feel of the moment, all necessary things that go into the intuitive/subconscious decision making process. All of our technology that is supposed to provide Commanders with full-time situational awareness (and our risk-averseness) prevents us from leading by feel. The Science of warfare overwhelms the Art of warfare.

Until we let go, we won't truly have "empowered free thinking leaders."

I read another Malcom Gladwell book (called "Blink"), and he again contributed to my theory. He uses a scenario of a wargame called Millennium Challenge, which was a wargamed experiment done in 2000. The scenario consisted of a rogue dictator gone mad who made overt threats to neighbor countries in a strategically important area of the world. On the ‘Blue’ side was the US with LOTS of technology, analytical decision making models, big staffs, and lots and lots of metrics, decision support templates and Science of War stuff. On the “Red” side was a retired Marine named Paul Van Riper who truly empowered his subordinate leaders and used decentralized execution to fight. His approaches were extremely innovative to the point where his lo-tech style mitigated the overmatch created by technology. His subordinates were not mired in information, and were able to see things much more clearly. The end result is he handily beat the Blue Force in the wargame. I enjoyed the book a lot and agreed with many of its conclusions.

I should have said this first, but I want to do something over here, but higher rules and regulations prevent me from doing it, even though if I did it, I would be more successful.

That quote “I have seen the enemy, and it is us” applies nicely.

Hope you are well- thanks for reading.
Ron

Major Steven Hutchison

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30752514/

America lost a patriot last Sunday. I knew this guy, but only for a very short time. He was in my Advisor class at Fort Riley, and he served as a Border Transition Team Leader in Basra along the Iranian border.

He was a remarkable guy with a fascinating story. He had served 20 years (including two tours in Vietnam) in the Army already and had retired. He had a doctorate in psychology, had run a business, and taught school. His wife died of breast cancer in 2006, so he went back on active duty. I can only hope to be in the shape he was at the age of 60. He had previously completed a tour as an advisor in Afghanistan, and requested a rapid turnaround to deploy again. The Army assigned him this time as a team leader for an 11-man advisor unit in southern Iraq.

He was pleasant to be around; the kind of guy who you always learn something from every time you interact with him.

America needs more Steven Hutchisons and fewer Kim Kardashians and Terrell Owens.

Farewell, Steve; thanks for your service.