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Time to once again open my life up a little in order to share the plethora of wealth I'm about to absorb. I'm going to be back in Iraq through September, so hop on board and check back every couple of days, I'll do my best to update as much as possible. Questions? dtate38@cox.net And check out the site I'm working with: http://www.billroggio.com Support independent journalism!
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
My plane to Salerno was scheduled to leave bright and early Monday. Had to be at the PAX (terminal) by 2 am. Of course, that means no sleep. Afterall,it's very hard to sleep when you have so much anticipation on your mind. Sleep or no sleep, things went smoothly and before too long (6am), I was heading back to Salerno.
Khowst is a very dangerous place for our troops. It's close to the border of Pakistan and the coalition doesn't enjoy as many friendly faces as they do most other places. That means the pilots are a bit edgy landing there. When they're edgy, they come in fast and sharp. This time was no exception... in fact it was the most gforce ridden flight I'd ever taken.
The base is also notorious for taking rocket fire. Last week 7 rockets came in on Monday. Five landed inside the base. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However a full moon Thursday and Friday makes it a near guarentee that rockets are on the adgenda soon.
We landed with no problems and quickly exited the plane. As I scanned across the air field, it didn't appear that anyone was there to greet me and I was right. So I followed some 25th ID guys into the camp and made my way to the Marines' HQ.
It took a few minutes, but finally someone was able to come up with my POC (point of contact), a Captain Heatherman.
Heatherman was surprised to see me. He knew I was coming sometime, just didn't know when. So things were a bit confusing from the start. Not only that, but my backpack disapeared and it took several hours to track down. Eventually, everything worked out.
Once again, I am fortunate enough not to have an escort and once again, my beloved Marines took me in without a problem and have treated me well. This really makes my job so much easier. Obviously, most journalists do not get to do the things I get to unescorted, but that is proof that hard work pays off in the end.
Arriving in Salerno early, it was already hot and very humid when I got off the plane. The Marines say it's been raining a lot lately. Must be just here beceause the U.N. is about to relase a report that says 20 of the country's 32 provinces are once again hit hard by the drought. For many of these regions, it's the 7th year in a row. Some people never catch a break. 23 years of war and seven years of drought = misery.
In the afternoon, I was invited to join some of the officers of 3/6 on a recon of a couple of landing zones that would be used in an operation kicking off the next day.
3/6 has been patrolling, but they had yet to "punch out" in force as they are planning for in the morning. Looks like once again, I'm in the right place at the right time.
The flight was cool. Anytime you can get a Blackhawk ride with open doors... it's awesome. We flew along the Pakistani border and saw nothing but goats. The door gunners got in a little trigger time (not at the goats), I got some video and everyone was happy.
August 24th 0730
Lima nd Whisky Co. were inserted today for a rather grueling hump. In all, it'll cover more than 30km in the mountains over the next four days or so. I'll be inserted tommorow afternoon for some foot time myself. Can't wait... right.
Obviously I cannot say much about this effort yet because it just started and I need to ensure operational security.
I was supposed to head to Khowst today on a mission to buy medicine and other humanitarian things the Marines are gathering up. That was pushed off until tommorow, giving me another day to be relatively relaxed.
Khowst is a very dangerous place for our troops. It's close to the border of Pakistan and the coalition doesn't enjoy as many friendly faces as they do most other places. That means the pilots are a bit edgy landing there. When they're edgy, they come in fast and sharp. This time was no exception... in fact it was the most gforce ridden flight I'd ever taken.
The base is also notorious for taking rocket fire. Last week 7 rockets came in on Monday. Five landed inside the base. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However a full moon Thursday and Friday makes it a near guarentee that rockets are on the adgenda soon.
We landed with no problems and quickly exited the plane. As I scanned across the air field, it didn't appear that anyone was there to greet me and I was right. So I followed some 25th ID guys into the camp and made my way to the Marines' HQ.
It took a few minutes, but finally someone was able to come up with my POC (point of contact), a Captain Heatherman.
Heatherman was surprised to see me. He knew I was coming sometime, just didn't know when. So things were a bit confusing from the start. Not only that, but my backpack disapeared and it took several hours to track down. Eventually, everything worked out.
Once again, I am fortunate enough not to have an escort and once again, my beloved Marines took me in without a problem and have treated me well. This really makes my job so much easier. Obviously, most journalists do not get to do the things I get to unescorted, but that is proof that hard work pays off in the end.
Arriving in Salerno early, it was already hot and very humid when I got off the plane. The Marines say it's been raining a lot lately. Must be just here beceause the U.N. is about to relase a report that says 20 of the country's 32 provinces are once again hit hard by the drought. For many of these regions, it's the 7th year in a row. Some people never catch a break. 23 years of war and seven years of drought = misery.
In the afternoon, I was invited to join some of the officers of 3/6 on a recon of a couple of landing zones that would be used in an operation kicking off the next day.
3/6 has been patrolling, but they had yet to "punch out" in force as they are planning for in the morning. Looks like once again, I'm in the right place at the right time.
The flight was cool. Anytime you can get a Blackhawk ride with open doors... it's awesome. We flew along the Pakistani border and saw nothing but goats. The door gunners got in a little trigger time (not at the goats), I got some video and everyone was happy.
August 24th 0730
Lima nd Whisky Co. were inserted today for a rather grueling hump. In all, it'll cover more than 30km in the mountains over the next four days or so. I'll be inserted tommorow afternoon for some foot time myself. Can't wait... right.
Obviously I cannot say much about this effort yet because it just started and I need to ensure operational security.
I was supposed to head to Khowst today on a mission to buy medicine and other humanitarian things the Marines are gathering up. That was pushed off until tommorow, giving me another day to be relatively relaxed.
