Camp Victory (Baghdad), Iraq

Tuesday 13 July 2004

A thought from Iraq – Your Troops
 
Greetings from Iraq.  As of this writing I have been in country almost 10 days and am learning a lot.  I am a plans officer in the Engineer Section (C7) of the Multi-National Corps - Iraq.  Our Commanding General is the Commander of all tactical units in Iraq, both US & coalition.  His headquarters is made up of various sections, or directorates, from C1 (Administration & personnel) to C9 (Civil-Military Affairs).  In the C7 it is my job to look at possible future operations and figure out what military engineering support might be required and begin planning for that eventuality.  We are located at Camp Victory, which is on the grounds of the Al Faw Palace adjacent to the Baghdad International Airport, east of Baghdad.  In a later message I'll give more details about the Palace & its grounds.  In this, my first message from Iraq, I'd like to cover something more serious.
 
Today I made my first journey outside the compound for a very solemn occasion.  I took a helicopter flight to Camp Anaconda, located about 50 miles away north of Baghdad, to attend a memorial for three Marines who were killed in action two weeks ago.
 
On 29 June 2004 Lane Corporal (LCpl) Patrick Adle, Corporal (Cpl) John Todd and Sergeant (Sgt) Alan Sherman were members of Bravo Bridge Company, of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion.  That company is a USMC Reserve unit located in Folsom, PA.  On that fateful day, these Marines were part of a convoy headed to a bridge site to remove a temporary bridge because it was no longer needed where it was located.  Their vehicle stopped right over an improvised explosive device (IED) that killed them and wounded several others.  
 
Attendance at the memorial ceremony was my first real "shock" of being in a war zone.  The service was more poignant because the Company Commander was one of my Lieutenants when I was a Company Commander back in 97-98.  Captain Bakion conducted a very moving and wonderful ceremony.  Two other Marines spoke, and were both eloquent and strong in their determination to remember their fallen brothers and press on to finish the mission that those who died were not able to see to completion.  
 
I never met the Marines who were memorialized today, but in a larger sense, they are every Marine I've ever met.  They were young, LCpl Adle was only 21, and older, Sgt Sherman was 36.  Cpl Todd was a newlywed & Sgt Sherman left two sons.  They became Marines for different reasons and whatever their different backgrounds, they became brothers in the crucible of service, in peace and in war, and their service to their country put them together in a vehicle in hostile territory at a point in time that will cause their memories always to be mingled in the minds of those who survive them.
 
It was difficult for me to see a young officer that I was charged to train at one time having to go through the pain of losing Marines - something that has never happened to me.  Capt Bakion did a fantastic job.  The families of those who fell would have been very honored by the service.
 
Attending that service today really focused my mind on something that I've wanted to write to you for a while.  Now, in honor of these three Marines, I think it very appropriate to write on this point today.
 
In the study of martial arts, one often reads about a "warrior tradition" of some type or another.  The warrior traditions of other cultures are attractive to us for many reasons, but one large reason is probably because we don't have any single, "warrior tradition" in our country.  The reason for that is simple and profound.  The backbone of the US military during all our wars has been the citizen soldier - men and women who, in time of national crisis, have put their civilian lives on hold, put on the uniform of their country, and endured significant hardship voluntarily.  In many aspects, our military history is wrapped up in the citizen soldier.  Professional military personnel, like myself, are really the exception to the rule when it comes to the affect our military has in war.  Yes, we have our MacArthurs, Pattons, Nimitzes, Schwartzkopfs, Clarks & others, but the greatest contributions, throughout our history, have been made by anonymous soldiers, sailors, airmen & Marines who have left schools, factories, hospitals and offices and stormed beaches, sailed ships into harm's way, and jumped off helicopters in nameless landing zones who will only be known to their families and friends who mourn them when they look across the table at Thanksgiving or whose seats are empty at high school reunions.
 
Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" was almost nothing but citizen soldiers.  Their tradition of excellence and selfless sacrifice lives on in the modern military reserve and National Guard system.  It lives on tonight at Camp Anaconda where the remainder of Bravo Bridge Company continues to feel the pain of those they lost just two weeks ago.  It lives on in towns all over our country where families await the return of loved ones who have been mobilized to fight our nation's current war, whose long-term absence causes hardships that families of active-duty personnel don't understand because of lost incomes, health care bureaucracy and lack of a local military community that understands what deployments and waiting are all about.  
 
Those of us on active duty often scorn reservists as, "weekend warriors," but I have learned differently.  There is a quality of service you get with reservists that in some ways cannot be matched by the active duty force.  When reservists are called up for extended active duty, it's serious business.  It is what the reservists trained for, and they realize that their active duty counterparts are going to scrutinize everything they do.  In my experience, they have risen to the occasion, and often exceeded even expectations of a full-time unit.  In many respects, reservists view their activation as a sprint.  They know that their time on active duty will be short (usually 18-24 months) and they want to show what they are made of. In contrast, for the active duty force, what we do is a career-long marathon.  It is not as new, exciting or different for us.  In many ways it is just the same job in a different place with more at stake (and incoming rounds!).  
 
So to all our "citizen soldiers" I offer my profound gratitude and a crisp salute.  You are part of what makes our country, and our military tradition so great.  Your predecessors conducted the greatest military campaigns in history, and always did our nation proud.  Thank you for your service and for being my brothers, and sisters, in arms.  

© copyright 2004 WJ Truax

The views are my own and do not necessarily represent the position of the US military or the US Marine Corps. or this website.
 
Back to letters index