Mission accomplished

Returned last night from my second mission with the 298th this week. The first was an hour jaunt to Forward Operating Base Marez near Mosul. On Friday evening, I went on an overnight trip to Foward Operating Base Warrior, which is three and a half to four hours east of Q-West. I won't say too much, because I plan on writing a long piece about what these guys do. Suffice it to say that the trucks are uncomfortable and the roads are bad. Because of the armor, you have to sit straight up in the trucks. There's no room to recline or stretch your legs. Add to that the fact that body armor with front and back plates is a must, and I was definitely saddle sore on the way up and back.

During the return trip from Warrior last night, the last vehicle in the convoy radioed that an IED went off. Fortunately, that was the only incident. The roads are full of serious potholes, mainly from IED explosions I was told. Even though it was dark, I could still make out the outlines out pits in the dirt along the road that were carved out by explosions. One of the stories I have to finish is based on an interview with two members of the 298th who experienced gunfire and IEDs on their first convoy.

The whole ride is tense and all business. Because of curfews, the convoys have the road to themselves and always stay to the middle. Any vehicles on the road know enough to pull off to the side. The scene at night is surreal. There are a lot of crumbling buildings, and it appears that the Iraq Police checkpoints use some of the rubble as barriers. Most of building lights I saw were institutional-grade flourescent, which adds to the eeriness. Even the buildings that looked like residences had that flourescent lighting. And as we approached Warrior, we could see the flames from oil wells, which only added to the atmosphere. All together, the atmosphere seem apocalyptic.

The first trip I rode with Sgt. Jote Aga and the second trip was spent riding with Sgt. Jesse Avent. For Aga, this is his second deployment and for Avent, this is his last go around. When this deployment ends, he's retiring after 27 years and celebrating with a trip to Disney World.

Everybody's tired when they return, as was I. Although a four-hour ride doesn't seem long, it's grueling for these guys. Because they work by night, they spend their days resting. And by night usually means that they are finishing very early in the morning, sometimes right at sunrise.