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Subject:
News for the Foxhole, Mosul, Iraq
1/9/2005 10:21:26 PM
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News from the Foxhole?.#5
Location: Forward Operating Base (FOB) FREEDOM; Mosul, Iraq
Started: 23 December 2004
Finished: 4 January 2005
Hello everyone. I would like to start off with love and to say ?happy holidays? to my family and friends from around the world. Also?GO CHARGERS! Also, in the interest of speed, I am not going to proof this? some of it was typed when I was tired and late, but I want to get this out.
This edition of the newsletter, I am going to loosely follow the good old operations order format. By doing this method, I hope to provide you with a little more structure in my communications while trying to provide you information and opinions (my opinion, not necessarily the Army?s or anyone else?s). I acknowledge that to some this format may seem odd while to others, it should look familiar. This format is an experiment and at the time of the start of this newsletter, I honestly am not sure how it is going to conclude. Feel free to provide me feedback on the format of the newsletter (no ?thin skins?).
0. Terrain and Weather.
It is now getting cold here in Mosul. The weather reminds me a lot of Sacramento in the winter. The day time highs reach in the low 70?s which is actually pleasant, and the night time lows reach into the 30?s. The days are also shorter in reference to daylight hours. There is often a light frost in the morning. The sky tends to remain clear, air pollution is low, and it does rain, but very little. Under normal circumstances, it would be excellent weather for a nice long run or bike ride. But currently, Iraq is not normal.
To protect against the cold and the clear skies, the Army (under the ?rapid fielding initiative?) has issued us the following items: a black outwear fleece jacket, a three layer glove system, a desert brown scarf, a black Polartec beanie cap, Polarmax dry weave long underwear, Gore-Tex winter desert combat boots, and Wiley-X and Oakley sunglasses. Overall, I would have to say that the Army has recently done a very good job at equipping the soldiers with equipment to protect against the weather. For new soldiers deploying to the theater, I strongly recommend that you hold off on buying expensive equipment in preparation of deployment. This is just a small list of equipment that is issued when you deploy.
The terrain has changed very little since I have been here. But basically, it is a large city of about 1 million people. The city is again similar to Sacramento in size and the fact that it has a large river running through the middle of it. The Tigris is one of the most famous rivers in history. The city is both very old and new; most of the new projects are a result of the coalition forces rebuilding the city.
For those looking at the map, Mosul is located in the Nineveh Province, north Iraq. A province is similar to a state. This town was known as a Kurdish city at one point (some old maps list an area called ?Kurdistan?) and is the key strategic city for controlling the entire north. Saddam pushed many of the Kurds to the north by allowing, encouraging, and forcing Arabs into this area and stealing the land from the Kurds (especially the oil region around Kirkuk). Kurds have a long standing hatred to the Arab, even though they both are predominately Muslim in religion. The area known as ?Kurdistan?, or the ?Green Line?, is north of Mosul about 50 miles. We call it the Green Line because it is the southern line that would be the boundary if there was a country called Kurdistan. (if the Kurds had their way (or the arms and money), the northern boundary would be in the middle of Turkey and to the east, in Iran) The area is radically different than that of Mosul and is also part of my battle space. The Kurds provide their own security. Any vehicle with an ?Iraqi? license plate is stopped and fully inspected. The small city to the north where we have a small contingency of troops is called Dahuk. To the east, the small city and capitol of Kurdistan is Irbil, sometimes spelled Erbil. Here to, we have a small element from the battalion working side by side with the Korean Forces stationed there. The Kurds also have their own governmental system and is about 10 to 15 years ahead of the Arabs in respect of their cities and technology. If there are any Non-governmental Organizations (NGO), UN, or other non-military and non-local Arab/Turk/Persian personnel living and working in Iraq, they are most likely living in or above the Green Line area.
In Mosul, there are four major areas where US personnel live and work. There are no NGO or UN personnel in Mosul. Three are three FOBs (Forward Operating Base) on the east side of the Tigris. The largest FOB is FOB FREEDOM where I am stationed. It is a former palace complex of Saddam and his Ba?athist party (former headquarters to the 101st Division?question for CPT Meyer: what is this |
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