ABU GHRAIB IS UNDER ATTACK
Sorry it has been a little while since the last entry. It has been a busy week. We spent several days in the field doing dismounted missions and did a mounted mission yesterday morning. I had just gotten back from dinner last night and was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening. I was getting ready to take a shower and was planning on a good night of solid sleep when my team leader busted in my room and screamed, “GET YOUR GEAR AND GET TO THE COMPANY TOC, ABU GHRAIB IS UNDER ATTACK!” I grabbed my gear and ran to the TOC (tactical operations center). People were running everywhere. Every unit was ordered to REDCON ONE to assist in the fight. Our dismount platoon was split up and put in humvees wherever there was an open seat.
The patrol I was put with lined the vehicles in order of march on the road in front of the TOC. Everyone was getting their last minute things in order, double checking night vision and oiling weapons. The patrol leader called everyone out of the trucks and gave us a quick situation brief. Then we got in a tight circle and prayed. My heart was pounding. I was ready. We were ready. We’ve seen combat. We’ve been in firefights and been hit with roadside bombs. I can’t even count anymore how many times we’ve been mortared. But this was big. This was a full scale battle.
After the prayer we went back to our vehicles. I looked down the road and it was just stacked with humvees and gun trucks. Everyone was battle ready waiting to get the order to move. Up ahead the roar of jets and helicopters was constant. Yeah, this was big.
We sat in the humvees ready to go. The minutes kept rolling by. I was so anxious. We all were. We wanted to move out and help, do our part. Out brothers in arms were in trouble out there and we just wanted to get to them. Well, minutes turned into hours and finally we were put on standby. We didn’t go anywhere last night. We were ready though. In the end things were under control and we weren’t needed. Just another night in Iraq. Now, I’m going to go and get some sleep.
