Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Mortars!

It has become so much a part of life here that I almost forgot to write about it!

Mortars!

Well, not really.

Every night, the bases here are attacked with insurgent mortars.  They’re really basic explosives that are basically harmless, but they make a lot of noise.  They’re designed to simulate the sound of mortars landing on the base, which apparently is a somewhat common occurence in Iraq.

Every time there is a mortar attack, everyone has to get up out of bed, put on all their protective vests and helmets and wait until the attack is over.  In Iraq, the soldier would also leave their sleep tents to go out to protective bunkers, but there aren’t any bunkers here.

The guys who control the “war game” here at the National Training Center seem to know the perfect time to start the mortar attacks.  The concussive explosives always go off right when everybody is starting to get comfortable.

We just had our first mortar attack of the night.  It’s about 8:00pm local time.  Who know’s what the rest of the night will bring…

Like Eating Soup with a Knife

I borrowed the title of this blog entry from the title of a book, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife

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I haven’t read the entire book, but I have read parts of it.

The expression, “like eating soup with a knife”, is basically a statement about the difficulties of fighting an insurgency.

Ryan and I shadowed soldiers today as they patrolled through an one of the simulated Iraqi towns here at NTC.  The soldiers engaged with the townspeople, the mayor, the police chief and the local media.  While soldiers are often fighting a real war, battling on the streets of Iraq, they’re increasingly battling a “softer” war.

To call this “softer” war “fighting for the hearts and minds” is really an injustice.  These soldiers and commanders are learning to balance security with economic stablity, roadside bombs with meaningful employment and opportunity.  The complexity of the mission is mind-boggling.

Some of the 3rd Brigade’s soldiers have deployed to Iraq before.  Some of them have deployed twice before.  Some of the soldiers have never deployed to Iraq before.

But, regardless of the age or experience, the soldiers are all “Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife”.

3-1 Cav Cooks

Major General Rick Lynch

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Many Thanks

Ryan and I have been floored by all the comments and e-mail we have gotten over the past few days.  We’d like to thank everybody who has stopped by to read the Slog.

For the past few days, Ryan and I have been out at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Dallas with the soldiers of 3-1 Cav.  We were able to come across a lot of great soldiers.  But, as Danette has commented here at the Slog, cell phone reception is REALLY bad and Ryan and I weren’t able to get online to post anything here.  So, that’s an explanation for why the Slog has been slow to update.

After spending some time with 3-1 Cav, we’ve decided to move, to see more soldiers and get access to the Internet to update the Slog.

Here are a couple of updates for you…

There has been a lot of media attention on the 3rd Brigade this week.  As I mentioned before, a crew from Finland was here.  They have already gone.  There is also a crew from France here.  They are still here.  Ryan and I met one of the French guys.  He was having a blast out here, running around with the soldiers.  He also had a lot of funny stories to tell, which, unfortunately can’t be repeated here.

Tonight, Ryan and I have changed locations.  We’re now at the Brigade Headquarters, where our access to the outside world via cell phones and the internet is accessible.  Tomorrow, we’ll be working on some stories from here, so keep checking back.

The Support Troops

Today was pretty low key. We spent the night on The 3-1 Cav’s F.O.B. and I slept like a brick. Nothing was going to wake me up…except chow.

After chow, we checked out what some of the support troops did around the area. When you hear soldier you think of a man or woman with a gun or in a tank rumbling through the desert. You don’t think of the soldiers filling the generators with fuel so everyone can have electricity or the men and women that repair the vehicles. Or cooking food, or so on. There’s a lot of jobs that might not seem as glorious, but are just as important.

The mechanics in the 3-1 can change a flat tire on a humvee in less than five minutes, I promise, I saw it. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never changed a tire on any kind of vehicle, but I’m pretty sure if I had to it’d take me at least an hour.

As the sun was setting, Chris and I heard some gunfire at the back gate. When we went to check it out we discovered they were just test firing their weapons. We hung out with the guys back there for awhile and shared a few laughs with them. They were on that gate for six days with only about three hours of rest in between shifts. We could tell they were pretty excited to see some new faces to talk to. The group of soldiers in the picture below is of them.

We’re back at Brigade HQ now. We went from sleeping in a giant empty medic tent at 3-1 to a giant tent full of around 100 soldiers. We don’t have solid plans for tomorrow, so it remains a mystery. Make sure to check back to see what the day brings!

  

Monday, January 29, 2007

Dynamic and Dusty

Nothing is static out here. Things are constantly changing…and dusty. Dusty and Dynamic if I had to pick only two words. We’re around a group of soldiers to learn a little about them, catch their names and run off and chase something else down.   When we do manage to spend more than a couple hours with them, one thing becomes very clear.

These soldiers have become adapt to an environment that is constantly changing. Plans that are made, require replanning. An open MRE has to wait a little longer to be eaten.

This morning, after an uncomfortable night in the back of a humvee, we awoke to the 3-1 Cav’s Assassin Troop trying to find a creative place to put an antenna for radio communications. They placed themselves well hidden from the enemy, but it also created a communication barrier. After a couple of tries placing the antenna in different locations, which was restricted by an attached cord, they realized they needed to be but a few close yards up a hill. The yards may as well have been miles; They had to completely break down command post to make the move.

So the guys started the task of tearing down camp. Getting half way through the job, a soldier notices a relay antenna tower being put up on a hill far west of our location. And suddenly, they have radio and it’s time to reset camp where it previously had been. A lot of problem solving to end up sitting where you realized the problem.

I don’t envy the jobs these soldiers do. Just the living conditions alone would be enough to make me miss home. I never thought I’d look forward to sleeping on a dusty cot, but after today and the "sleep" I got last night…I’m ready to hit the hay.

Roughing it With the Assassins

This one comes from Chris:

If there is one thing I have learned on this trip, it’s this. The life of a Cav Scout is definitely not easy. Sunday night, Ryan and I were out, away from 3-1 Cav’s Forward Operating Base. We were embedded with the 3-1 Cav’s Assassin troop as they held a section of ground out in the desert.

The soldiers set up a command post, which is little more than the unit’s vehicles and an armored personel carrier with a tent attached.

The soldiers hid their position from any enemy insurgents, but they weren’t able to hide us from the weather. The temperatures must have been in the 30’s, and there was little to protect us from the cold.

Soldiers slept wherever they could. Some were lucky, like the medics. They were able to bed down in their tracked vehicle, with a heater on. Some soldiers were able to snag cots in the tents.

Ryan and I were able to snag the back seats in one of the humvees. We’d wake up every so often, crank the humvee’s engine and enjoy the heater.

Some soldiers weren’t quite as lucky. They found themselves on the ground, in sleeping bags.

But, the morning light, brought warmth and a new adventure.

Ryan and I linked up with Assassin Troop’s Red Platoon. We spent the afternoon chasing down IEDs and overwatching one of the main roads here at the National Training Center.

Tonight, we’re taking it easy, preparing ourselves for another day which promises to be eventful.

Quick Thanks

Ryan and I want to say a quick thanks to all of you who have written us e-mails and left comments.

We’re sorry we haven’t posted with any regularity, or responded to your e-mails.  Internet access is very hard to come by around here.

So, enjoy our most recent entries, and keep checking back for updates.

“Iraqi” Life

Here’s another one from Ryan…

It’s cold. Real cold. I don’t care what the actual temperature is, I just know I cannot feel my legs. The troops in 3-1’s Alpha Troop seem to know how to deal with it much better than I do. When you hear someone is ‘a soldier,‘ you assume the person does alot of physical, labor intensive work. I’ve quickly learned it’s much more than I originally thought and I’m not sure I would have ever been able to without seeing it out here at Ft. Irwin.

In one of the Iraqi ‘towns’ I found an interesting way to spend two weeks. The role players there are made up of soldiers and people hired to act as Iraqis. They live in a series of makeshift buildings arranged in a city setting. It resembles a fort a ten year old dreams of building in his back yard. When they need a new building, the build it. When they need a dining table, they build it. When the basketball goal’s backboard cracks, they fix it. It was actually kind of peaceful to hang out and not really think about anything of any importance for an hour or so.

I’m ready to go to sleep and wake up with some sun shining. It’s cold and it’s hard to shoot any video without any light!

   

   

Sunday, January 28, 2007

An Attack on the Cav Scouts

It’s been another exciting day here at the National Training Center.

We’ve moved from the main 3rd Brigade Headquarters over to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Dallas, the home for 3-1 Cavalry.

The day started off quietly. After breakfast, Ryan and I headed out to shoot some stories on some of the support soldiers. Those are the guy who fuel the tanks and trucks cook the meals and generally take care of all the work that has to be done.

While we were working on that, we heard gunfire and an explosion from the front gate. Apparently the role-playing insurgents here detonated what soldiers call an IED, or Improvised Explosive Device.

What followed was a blur, as soldiers converged on the front gate, to help those that were injured and restore security.

After what turned out to be an exciting morning, we headed out for a scheduled interview with Colonel Steven Salazar. Salazar is the Commander of the NTC Operations Group. He’s also the former commander of the Sledgehammer Brigade.

Tonight, we’re back with 3-1 Cav’s Alpha Troop. We’re spending the night off the FOB, with Alpha Troop in the middle of the desert. It’s promises to be a cold, long night, but it’s important for Ryan and I to get a clear picture of what life is like for these soldiers.

   

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Ryan’s First Impressions

A few days before we departed for Fort Irwin, I was told we would be without running water for eight days. This means I’d be brushing my teeth with water from a water bottle for our time in California, and…hey…wait a second, that means no shower?!

Yes, I am approaching day two without a shower. Things aren’t smelling so bad, well not yet anyways. The sudden showerless surprise was coupled with a positive change of events however; rather than eating MREs like I had prepared myself to do for the span of our trip, there is a ‘chow’ tent with fresh, warm, prepared food two times a day. Tonight was Beef Pot Roast and Mashed Potatoes, tomorrow morning I hear is steak and eggs. So, I face my loss of cleanliness with a full and happy stomach.

The desert out here is remarkable. I’ve grown up on the east coast and have never made it out this far west. You can see for miles, until your eyes hit giant mounds of earth that are placed in seemingly random places by nature. We drove in from Las Vegas in the middle of the night, so when I woke up this morning I was floored by what the sunrise was sharing with me. I feel very fortunate to be given this oppurtunity to come out here. I’m seeing and will soon be smelling, things I haven’t encountered before and am excited about what the rest of the week will bring.

  

Welcome to Fort Irwin

After a long flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas and a long drive from Las Vegas to Fort Irwin, Ryan and I are finally here with the soldiers of the 3rd Brigade at the National Training Center.

We’ve already met with the 3rd Brigade’s Public Affairs Officer, Major Joe Sowers.  He got us briefed on what’s going on, and how we can hit the ground running first thing in the morning.

We’re spending the night near the 3rd Brigade Headquarters and let me tell you, the living is quite spartan.

Home for the night is a large tent with a bunch of guys in it.  We’re all sleeping on cots and rumor has it, nobody’s showered in quite some time.  Fortunately, the tent is heated, because it’s pretty cold out here in the California desert tonight.

Interestingly, there are a few other reporters here, embedded with the 3rd Brigade during their training.  We met a TV news crew out of Finland when we arrived tonight and apparently there is a French TV crew here as well.  Without a doubt, there are a lot of eyes on these soldiers as they prepare to deploy to Iraq.

It has been a long day so I’ll sign off for the night.

Check back for more tomorrow!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

3rd ID CG Speaks Out

Major General Rick Lynch, Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, is speaking out.  He says war-weary Americans should “quit complaining”.

Here’s the article.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Inaugural Post

Welcome to HammerSlogger, your online home for coverage of Fort Benning’s 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

So, what is HammerSlogger?

We’ll start with the name.

“Hammer” is derived from the 3rd Brigade’s nickname, Sledgehammer.  That’s fairly intuitive.

“Slogger” on the other hand, needs a little bit of explanation.

The dictionary lists the following definition for “slog”: “A long session of hard work”.  For the folks who work on HammerSlogger, that’s exactly what we do.

The soldiers of the 3rd Brigade face an incredible task as they prepare to deploy to Iraq.  As the sloggers, we intend to devote ourselves to covering the preparation and deployment of these soldiers.

Later this month, I will leave for Fort Irwin, California and the National Training Center along with photojournalist Ryan Mellick.  There, we will be embedded with the Sledgehammer Brigade as they train for their deployment to Iraq in mid-March.

So, who are the sloggers?

The primary sloggers are myself, and Ryan.  We’ll be the ones on the ground with the soldiers as they prepare to deploy.  We’ll also be keeping tabs on the soldiers during their time in Iraq.  But, if you check back with the HammerSlogger, you’ll also find entries written by soldiers themselves, family members, or anybody else who wants to make a contribution either through their comments or by sending me an .

We hope you’ll join us in the online voyage as we slog through Iraq with the soldiers of the Sledgehammer Brigade.