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Raptor Weekly FRG Update / E-mails
16 July 2003 , OBJ Anaconda , Iraq
WO1 Phil Pilitterre, CPT Dave Smith, CW2 Dave Woodward, SFC Rodney Harris, CW2 Shawn Holmes – standing amongst the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, near present day Al Hillah, Iraq .
Raptor Family,
Hello again from Sustainer Army Airfield, Iraq (somebody keeps changing the name of this silly place, even though we haven't moved since the end of April). We hope all is going well with you and your families in Germany and in the states, wherever this may find you. I think it has been a couple of weeks since our last update. There have been a couple of recent developments that may have the rumor mill spinning like crazy so I will discuss them here to clarify at least the amount of details that I know. I hope I have demonstrated in the past my desire to remain candid and not withhold any information important to our families.
Mortars and such: Over the last 2 weeks, we have seen a steady increase of incoming mortar fire in the vicinity and sometimes even on the airfield where we live. You probably are already aware of this at least to some extent through either the news or the grapevine, but it's probably sketchy info. Please don't picture it like a Vietnam or WWII movie in our living area with incoming shells landing everywhere. The mortars are very sporadic and usually land in groups of anywhere from 1 to 3 shells. The weapon systems they are using have a range out to about 5-7 kilometers, so they can be quite a ways off post and still range the airfield. They appear to be firing a couple quick shells, then hiding in the urban area east of the airfield. Initially they happened only under cover of darkness, but over the last few days there have been some during the day as well. To date, none have landed anywhere in the vicinity of our living area. To give you some perspective, our airfield is roughly 5 km wide and 7 km long with around 15,000 soldiers living on it. Of those 15000, 16 soldiers have been wounded by mortars in the last two weeks. The closest impact to us was 1 night about a week ago and even that round fell roughly 1.5 kilometers from us, still a considerable distance. I am not trying to downplay the significance of the attacks. Be confident that it is a threat the command takes very seriously. We now have AH64 and OH58D gunships patrolling the effective mortar range outside the wire 24 hours a day and that has had a limited amount of success. Just this morning, I heard the 30mm cannon of an AH64 engaging a target in the distance. That is a good thing. Every commander in the chain of command all the way up to the commanding general of all Coalition Forces has been very vocal of their intent to support the actions of any soldier or aircrew who engages the enemy in response to any perceived threat whatsoever. These guys will be dealt with. Along with all things, it will come in time. My intent is not to scare you, but I'm sure you've heard some things from the guys anyway. We remain safer living here and performing our flight missions than the majority of the ground elements conducting ground patrols and operating check points.
Re-deployment (or the lack thereof): As promised recently, we did indeed receive news of some guidance from higher yesterday (the 15 th ) concerning re-deployment. Unfortunately, it was not the news we expected or were hoping for. The CJTF commander, GEN Sanchez, visited our airfield and spoke with our brigade commander about the topic. The plan that you were all probably expecting (5-158 coming home next month and then returning sometime in the winter) was what COL Palumbo had proposed as the best way to maintain the amount of required combat power required of him for the long run. We had still been awaiting full approval of that plan. In fact, the plan has now been disapproved. COL Palumbo was told to expect to remain here with all his forces for the foreseeable future. When queried for more specifics, the CJTF commander simply said nobody is certain but that we may as well prepare to stay for the duration of our 1-year orders. That would put us out to late January or February. Of course, the mood has been pretty solemn here the last day or so after that blow. In my heart of hearts, I still have to believe we may be home before Christmas, but do not take that as any official word whatsoever. That is merely CPT Hester believing that we will find a way by then to do right by our soldiers and families. The official word remains to expect us to be gone as long as February.
While it would be easy to dwell on the negatives, the situation with respect to re-deployment is not in our hands. We must remain motivated and focused on our missions so that we may accomplish them to our usual standard and also to ensure the continued safety of our crews and the soldiers we support through our missions. Our work is not always glamorous, but this unit is providing a capability which provides a direct impact to the coalition forces. Over the past 4 to 6 weeks, we have flown virtually every flyable helicopter every single day in support of the Corps and other coalition forces.
R&R Leave: The command has lifted the hold on R&R leave which was emplaced due to the anticipated impending re-deployment which now will not happen. We expect to send our first group home around the 1 st of August. As mentioned in previous updates, the duration will be about 14 days at home (not including travel days). We are required to retain a certain percentage of our soldiers here at any given time and also in the correct combination of duty positions so that we can field as many crews as possible even during the leave cycles. As a result, undoubtedly, not every soldier will get their first choice of leave dates. We will also not be able to promise exact dates much past saying the leave will be in two week blocks (first two weeks of each month, and then the last two weeks of each month). We will be able to tell each soldier in the next couple of days which block they will return on, but that does not mean exactly on the 1 st or the 15 th in every case. They will be flying on space-available basis on air force cargo planes out of Baghdad , so there is never certainty as to the schedules. Additionally, the leave will be spread out over a 2 to 3 month period in order to retain the required personnel here as described above. Please be patient. We are working this issue hard. There are a lot of requirements to juggle, but the soldiers definitely have earned their time with you.
Phones, internet, and general poor communication ability: This remains my number one concern for our soldiers and for you all. The current situation is completely unsatisfactory and it's amazing that we, as an institution, have not corrected the problem yet. I know it is frustrating for everybody. The DSN phone calls continue to be wrought with problems and now even the 1 satellite phone the battalion had is broken. Internet access is even more amazing to me as it seems to be a much simpler fix than phones, yet still remains non-existant. Know that we put pressure on higher over these issues constantly. We are currently researching the option of pooling money (from our own pockets perhaps) between us and A Co. to purchase a satellite internet device and associated monthly service from local national vendors in Kuwait City to provide our own reliable internet service to ourselves. Another unit in the brigade (Big Windy) has done this with considerable success, even though it comes at a cost of their own money. I think we may be able to get the cost down to a reasonable level for willing participants by pooling money with A Co. (our companies are much smaller than Big Windy). Please be certain that I am working hard on this issue. I myself have only been able to speak to Lindsay in the states about 4 or 5 times since leaving Kuwait in March, and that was on the satellite phone which is now broken. I am definitely on the band wagon of frustrated folks.
I guess that's about it. Sorry I could not produce much more good news J , but I wanted to make sure you are all hearing the same thing as us. Your soldiers continue to accomplish amazing things with their hard work, long hours and patriotism. Our company has earned a great deal of respect from supported units and I know we will continue to perform our jobs well. Your soldiers are equally proud of the sacrifices you continue to make for our families at home. I'm not just saying that - I hear them talk of it and I know they miss you all greatly and look forward to nothing more than returning to you. Until next time, stay safe and enjoy your summer in Bavaria and at home in the states.
CPT Jason Hester
Raptor 06