a mobilized year

They rolled in on their buses. Rucks on their backs and duffle and computer bags hanging from their fronts and sides. It’s a familiar picture for anyone in the army/marines who has had to move his or her stuff from one location to another. The difference here was that it was 130 degrees in the shade (no, I’m not exaggerating) and these guys were our replacements.

The looks on their faces were familiar. I recall the feelings that we had coming off those buses for the first time almost a year ago. A strange mix of excitement and caution and one of relief that “finally, finally, after all that training, we’re here.”

We started our cross-training of these soldiers right away; we gave them initial training on all the specialized and newly fielded equipment that we had not even heard of a year ago that we had become experts on during our deployment. We shared with them the stories of our successes, challenges, and some of our close calls and yes, our losses.

An integral part of the training of our replacements is taking them out on the road with us. It was on the first day of this training that it happened. An IED took the life of one of the soldiers we were training. It also seriously injured two of their other soldiers and one of our NCOs who was training them. It was their first mission. First mission. I don’t even know if these guys had their stuff unpacked yet.

The cross-training at my level went from how to defeat enemy actions using the latest tactics, techniques and procedures to how to notify next of kin, how to enforce a communications blackout, and how to keep soldiers motivated and mission focused after a fatality or serious injury.

Any soldier seeing combat over here who came with a preconceived notion that “life is fair” will get a rude awakening. Death and injury can come to the young and the old, the naïve and the experienced. It can come to those who do everything right and yet miss those who do most everything wrong. It isn’t fair. This notion wasn’t news to me, but I was reminded of it too frequently this last year and it has been hard for some of my soldiers to swallow and comprehend.

The realities of this war have not shaken my resolve though. They have not affected my love of my country nor my belief in the principles for which it stands. They have not diminished my belief that the Iraqis have been given a great opportunity that may positively affect several generations to come. I still believe that ultimately democracy will prevail over here, regardless of whether a painful civil war is to occur as our own nation had to endure for four long years. It will likely take time and unfortunately, it may come at a dear price. Perhaps at a price yet to be paid.