Military Deployments: Operation Enduring Freedom Part 2

So it is now 2003. I got that call again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. We were dropped in the middle of nowhere desert in Kuwait with only Burms as our Barriers on all 4 sides. Kuwait was a different  area. We had Sand Storms off the ying yang. We didn’t know when it was coming. It just happened. I was wide eyed alert cause we were told Saddam will use gas in the missiles. I carried my Gas Mask everywhere I went. It was so Damn hot in which a heat I can’t describe.

So anyway, our CSH Hospital was set up. We had the first bubble hospital setup(supposedly it was top secret back then). It was hard work and I did not shower for like 3 weeks. We had Baby Wipes Showers till they put showers up. Even in our Tents, it was over 120 degrees. We were all miserable. When we went to the chow hall, we had to wear our full battle rattle which included our Flak vest, LVE, Kevlar, and our Pro-Mask. I was already pissed off not because the weather but because our Food Servers where not Americans but of Arab descent. I was not prepared for this. Anyways, our mission finally changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The War in Iraq had finally started.  We were all scared shitless.

I remember the sounds of Alarm Red, Alarm Red, Alarm Red. I rushed to put on my MOPP Suit and Mask as I ran to the nearest Bunker. Missiles were heading our way. This occasion happened 3-4 times every day since the War started in Mar 03. We would spend hours in the Bunker, all  in MOPP level 4. I remember just sweating profusely and hyperventilating. None of us knew if SADDAM had gas in those missiles. We almost had a missile drop 50 feet from our ER Hospital. The Patriot blew it up. I would not be here writing if it wasn’t for that. Days go by and we here the incident of a terrorist in one of the Camps in Kuwait. Someone threw a grenade in the tent and it turned out to be a US Soldier who did it. He of course is now on Death row in a Fort Leavenworth Prison.

Other incidence in our Camp was when the US hire these 3 Arabs to put 220 electric in our tents. It turned out that 2 of the three were terrorist. Two of them ran over 20 Soldiers standing in the PX line. Someone finally shot them in their car. I remember them coming in to our ER and blood was just dripping from the litter. I swear there was a pause. We have to save this idiot….We ended up getting lots of EPW’s. They were blind folded when they came to us. I know I am in the Medical Field. The honest truth I did not want to give 100 % of care to these people. I hated being here and I called all Arabs terrorists……..So time went by with all these missiles coming, putting on our Gas Mask, seeing these Arabs in the Chow Hall, the heat so Damn hot, casualties from the downed CH 47 Chinnook, when will this stop?…..Saddam was trying to find our Camp since we had the CIA Bldg there……The good thing was to see the Apache helicopters fly in the sky………..Weeks later, we get the call to pack up our Hospital…We are moving forward into Iraq….No one wanted to go forward……                 to be continued

Military Deployment: Part 1

Eight years ago is when I would actually consider myself earning my pay in the Army. This is the day my Life started with a Bang. All I knew about the Army when I joined back in 1993 was not for the GI Bill or for the money. When I was a Private, some Staff Sergeant in Korea told me you all Privates join to go to War. Being stationed in Korea, we all knew we did not want our 2nd ID Unit Patches on our right side. He acutually put fear in us. Eight years later it is now 2001. I finally got the call to deploy on the KFOR Rotation in Kosovo. It was actually an un-expected at the last minute decision. And so I went on a 7 month Deployment. We of course were LOCK and LOADED once we go out on our Convoys. Weekly trips to the Albanian Hospital is what we did. We saw the destruction of all the bombings from the Bosnian War. My job along with the others was Security. I was on Guard at all times with fright because this was not my extreme. I was not on the Camp but about 20 miles out in the City. We dealt with waves from the little kids to some of the kids throwing rocks at our HUMVEES when we convoyed to Macedonia. I know I was ready to shoot if that time would come. Going through the Serb Village was wierd because there were no waves from anyone. The Albanians didn’t like Serbs and vice versa. We even met the Family that a US Army Soldier raped and killed their daughter. The family was not mad at us, Really. We treated the whole family in Medical and Dental at our Hospital. We actually picked them up in the mountains and drove them back. The Town they lived in rejected them because they still supported the US military.  This deployment was a Peacekeeping mission in which our mission was to be the Big Brother to the Albanians and the Serbs so they will not kill each other. Thank goodness no evil happened to us in this deployment. We even almost got replaced because the Afganistan War came out in Jan 2002 and they wanted our CSH Unit to go. So we finally went back home……..Seven months later……….cont…..

Unknown Support for a Group of People with the common likes

On Saturday the 31st of January was like no other bike ride. A group ride was put together in support of a fellow biker that went down that was in real bad shape. All riders showed who could make it showed up. Some came from different areas even on the other side of town. The weather was so co-operative with warm air. It felt good to ride down the highway and see all my fellow bikers. We did’nt even belong to no club and didn’t even no everyone. But one thing that we knew, we were sportbike riders with the same common likes. We are like a family even though we don’t spend a day together. We ride down the road and see our riders and give them our bike signal. This day, we supported our fellow biker that was involved in an accident. It felt good. We ended the day with a group photo in which will be given to our fellow biker engraved in a helmet. God Speed to her….We support you….

My Soldier’s Creed

I was that which others did not want to be. I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do. I asked nothing from those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness……should I fail, I have seen the face of terror deep in the eyes that stared back at me. I felt the stinging cold of fear for almost my whole career. I have cried, pained, and hoped, but most of all, I have lived and survived the times others would say it was a wasted of time or time that wants to be forgotten. At least someday, I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was and I what I did for the price that is most prescious to us all. Freedom for All.

SOLDIER OUT>>