They drove clear of the populated area, then came to a stop again. They check their GPS systems to nail down exact locations of all the vehicles. The stranded vehicle has managed to clear the turn, but now they need an escort back. My brother's convoy stops, a fellow staff Sargent (SSgt.) gets out to pull guard duty while the Marine humvee goes back to collect the lost sheep. The SSgt is female. I only point this out because a strange thing happens when military personnel suit up in battle ready gear. You can't tell the males from the females. That is how it should be.
So with the "Oh Shit" moment behind them, they carry on. As they pass, many Iraqis wave at the trucks. Then, you hear my brother's buddy say, "boggie comming hard at 3 o'clock." It is a child who is running toward the truck hoping that a Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) will be tossed his way. Tossing gifts, we are told, is against protocol because the children may get too careless in their excitement and get run over by trucks. "You see the expressions change," my brother's buddy says. "You see their excitment at seeing the United States and the Americans coming, hoping they will get something. Then you see the scowl when they don't." It is odd watching the video because they seem to be in the middle of nowhere, but then these chidren suddenly appear. Many of them are with herders. Children are a good sign. I know from my reading in other places that when troops don't see children, they worry because it means something unsafe may be about to happen.
This is not a familiar territory for the Renegades. But they are pleased to have been out this way because they are seeing new things in Iraq. And "it is nice compared to where we have been most of the year." Below is a photo of a road that appears to cut through a lake. Actually, the lake is a mile awhile, but because of heavy rain, it has flooded this plane.
By this time, they have been on the road for 6 days. As they move on, they see urban warfare training that is using a couple of chinook helicopters. It is a haunting thing to see.
On one brief stop, my brother's buddy explains that he has been studying during the drive. I am not sure what he is studying, but he tells us that he has managed, even with all the bumping around, to get through 2 chapters.
"After this, classroom study will be easy," he tells us. My brother responds, "You're just lucky that you have a squad leader[my brother] who isn't anal and who lets you read rather than making you pull security duty." They laugh good naturedly.
His buddy, with his pleasant southern drawl and broad smile shows us his gun and says half comically, "I do have a gun. So if any bad guys come around, I am ready to shoot their asses. I got amunition somewhere floating around on the floorboards." They genuinely laugh. "No, we are locked and loaded." His buddy goes on to say. "Nobody really wants to mess with our convoy now. Our gun trucks now are from the 82nd airborne. They're itchin' to shoot somebody. So nobody really messes with us because of that thing." This is how these soliders attempt to put their families' minds at ease. But I am sure they know that our minds are never at ease until they are back home where they belong.
Part III to follow
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