Iraqis Now In Charge of Green Zone and Saddam’s Palace

During my time in Iraq, I spent a lot of time in the Green Zone as well as inside Saddam's former palace that became our first embassy. For any soldier who served there, the new changes are something else. I always hoped I would get another tour in Baghdad so I could re-live some of the atmosphere that became so life-altering. (I took the above photo of Saddam's home during my tour in 2004.)

My team, the C.O.B.R.A. Team, lived in a small villa that was across the street from our general’s house. Our little villa, which we nicknamed the “cobra pit”, was directly on the Tigris River across from the Sheraton Hotel and just up the river from the palace. From the roof of our headquarters building, we could look out over Baghdad and take in some of the majesty of that ancient city.

Watching the swift Tigris River, listening to the call to prayer from the nearby mosque, and hearing the sounds of gunfire or mortars in the distance was an electrifying experience. It was especially so for an old soldier like me who was experiencing his last war.

Now that Iraqis have taken over the security for the Green Zone, the safety issues in that compound will be enormous. America has also left Saddam’s old palace to the Iraqis and we now have our own new embassy.

With the new status of forces agreement, there is no doubt that our military role in Iraq will continue to decline. Truthfully, if they don’t want us there, it’s their country and they can make that call.

I am proud that my fellow warriors and I played a part in liberating the nation of Iraq. We made many friends over there regardless of the self-serving factions that don’t care for us.

Shiites should remember that Saddam Hussein treated them like dirt, murdered them, didn’t allow them to celebrate their holidays, and would have continued to suppress them if he and his sons had retained power. I don’t suppose a little gratitude from the new government would be out of place, but I won’t hold my breath.

The future of Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqis. Let us hope they do not squander the chance we gave them to live their lives in freedom and prosperity.

* * * *

Iraq Takes Over Green Zone Security

January 01, 2009
Agence France-Presse

BAGHDAD - The United States today handed over security control of the Green Zone, symbol of the American-led occupation, to Iraq as a UN mandate for foreign troops ran out and bilateral military accords took effect.

Iraqi government and military officials hailed the return of the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad to Iraq's control in an emotional ceremony at the former palace of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

"It is our right to consider this day the day of sovereignty and the beginning of the process of retrieving every inch of our nation's soil," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in an impassioned speech in a palace hall.

"The palace is the sign of Iraqi sovereignty and it is a message to all Iraqis that our sovereignty has returned," Maliki said as the Iraqi flag was hoisted at the palace entrance.

Maliki also declared the day a national holiday.

"I ask the Council of Ministers and the Presidency Council to announce this day as a national holiday."

Under the terms of an agreement signed with Washington in November, U.S. troops officially decamped from the nine square kilometre (3.5-square-mile) Green Zone located on the banks of the Tigris in central Baghdad.

However, U.S. troops will continue to play an advisory role to the Iraqi military and the new huge U.S. embassy complex lies within the fortified zone although many other buildings already have been handed back to the Iraqis.

The end of the UN mandate put in place on October 16, 2003, seven months after the invasion by U.S.-led troops to topple Saddam, means Iraq takes greater control of its own security and a further step towards full sovereignty.

Soldiers from the Baghdad Brigade, who take orders from Maliki, took over when the UN mandate expired at midnight although American forces will help man checkpoints and play an advisory role to the Iraqi military.

"The American withdrawal from the Green Zone will be gradual," Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Major General Qassim Atta, told AFP.

"U.S. checkpoint equipment remains in place and the checkpoints will be coordinated with the American forces but the zone will be run by the Baghdad Brigade."

The embattled country also took another step towards full sovereignty as British forces handed over control of Basra airport, its main military base in southern Iraq, to Iraqi officials in line with agreements signed this week.

"This is a great and important day during which Basra airport control tower and all the airport was turned over by the British to us," Basra province governor Mohammed Masbah al-Waeli said at ceremony at the airport.

Britain's troops had already withdrawn from Basra -- a key oil and financial hub and Iraq's third largest city -- in September last year and handed over security control of Basra province some three months later.

The U.S. military has also handed back to the Iraqis control of Baghdad airport although the adjacent U.S. military base, Camp Victory, will remain a key headquarters for the U.S. military.

However foreign troops will still remain on Iraqi soil for some time.
The United States, which has 146,000 soldiers in Iraq, signed in November a bilateral agreement with Baghdad which allows its combat forces to remain in the country until the end of 2011.

Britain and Australia -- which had the second and third largest contingents respectively -- have signed their own separate bilateral agreements with Iraq on Tuesday and will stay on until the end of July.

* * * *

Most people don't believe me when I say that I miss Baghdad. I guess only someone who's been there would understand what it's like to live each day on the edge. There is nothing like the rush of adrenaline to keep your senses alive.

I've written a book about my tour in Baghdad with the C.O.B.R.A. Team. It is titled, "My Last War - A Vietnam Veteran's Tour in Iraq". It should be available in two to four months. I'll keep you posted on the status and you can always check out the team's website at www.TheCobraTeam.com.

On behalf of all of my fellow Iraqi war veterans, thanks for your support. It was mighty different during and after Vietnam.


Charles M. Grist
www.TheCobraTeam.com
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Mahdi Army Itches to Fight Again

Success in Iraq will depend on how the Iraqi government deals – or fails to deal – with the Shiite militias like the Mahdi Army.

To watch a comparable situation, keep your eyes on the democratic government of Lebanon that continues a shaky relationship with the radical Hezbollah terrorist militia.

By the way, both Hezbollah and the Mahdi Army are supplied, funded and trained by Iran. Iran’s ultimate goals in both Lebanon and Iraq are the establishment of fundamentalist governments like the one in Tehran.

Check out the following article:

* * * *

Philadelphia Inquirer
May 29, 2008

Dissent Arises Over Iraq Cease-Fire
A Mahdi Army leader said, "We were duped." A disagreement could restart Shiite fighting.

By Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press

BAGHDAD - An angry Shiite militia commander complained yesterday "we were duped" into accepting a cease-fire in Sadr City - remarks that pointed to a potentially damaging rift within the movement of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The May 11 truce ended seven weeks of fierce fighting in Baghdad between U.S. and Iraqi government forces and Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which held nearly complete control of the capital's sprawling Sadr City district.

Iraqi soldiers now have moved into most parts of Sadr City with little resistance. But the objections raised by the commander highlight apparent dissent by some Mahdi Army leaders.

A split among Sadr's followers - between those favoring a more militant path and others seeking compromise with Iraq's government - could threaten the relative calm in Baghdad and reignite Shiite-on-Shiite violence across Iraq's oil-rich south.

The commander, speaking to tribal sheikhs and lawmakers loyal to Sadr, said "we were duped and deceived" by the truce. "They are arresting many of us now."

The group had gathered in Sadr's main Baghdad office to discuss how to respond to what they consider cease-fire "violations" by Iraqi troops, such as arrests and house searches.

Some in the audience, however, took issue with the views of the commander, whose name was not made public for security reasons.

"You can be the winner without a military victory," said Falah Hassan Shanshal, a prominent Sadrist and one of two parliamentarians who attended the meeting in Sadr City, home to 2.5 million Shiites.

"We had to bow before the storm because it was uprooting everything and everyone standing in its path," he said.

Shanshal was referring to the punishing attacks by U.S. and Iraqi government forces, which used tanks, helicopter gunships, and Hellfire missiles fired from unmanned aircraft. The strikes killed and wounded hundreds and left parts of Sadr City in ruins.

The southern section of the district has been sealed off from the rest of Sadr City in an attempt to foil militia movements and rocket and mortar attacks on the U.S.-protected Green Zone.

The battles in Sadr City were part of a wider Mahdi Army backlash to a government crackdown on armed groups launched in late March in the southern city of Basra.

Sadr, who has been in Iran for at least a year, supported the Sadr City cease-fire, perhaps to save his Mahdi Army from further losses so it can continue the fight later.

But signs of opposition have been growing within the militia ranks. Last week, two Mahdi Army commanders said militiamen were divided over whether the cease-fire was in their interest.

The head of Sadr's office in Sadr City, Sheikh Salman al-Freiji, suggested the truce might collapse if "violations" by the Iraqi army continued.

"There will not be any trust built between the two sides like that," Freiji warned. "The Mahdi Army was created to defend the Iraqi people. How can you do that without fighting the occupier?"

Shanshal, the Sadrist lawmaker, was conciliatory. He blamed the Iraqi army for heavy-handed tactics but stressed that he did not want more fighting in Sadr City.

* * * *

As long as the armed radical militias remain in the shadows, ready to continue their fight, long-term peace will be difficult to achieve in Iraq.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Read "The Advisor" from Iraq (Part 2)

Apparently there is some difficulty with the link in my previous post. Try this one and, hopefully, it will lead you to a site where you have access to the advisor as well as other useful information:

http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/

Let me know if you have problems.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

“Never, never, never, never, never give up.” Sir Winston Churchill

“We regard Iraq’s success to be our success.
And, God forbid, Iraq’s failure will also be ours.”

Zalmay Khalilzad, then U.S. Ambassador to Iraq on February 20, 2005

I still remember the faces and the voices of the Iraqi men, women and children I met in 2004. When my team and I left to come home, some of those Iraqis who became our friends cried real tears. I was going home to my family and to safety. They were remaining in a life filled with uncertainty and fear. (Above photo of me and some Iraqi school kids courtesy of Captain Matt Pedersen.)

Needless to say, some of that survivor’s guilt remains and it probably always will. Now that I’m close to entering my last year in the Army, it’s unlikely I’ll go back to Iraq. Because just knowing an American can be deadly, I can’t even try to contact these friends who may or may not be alive.

In the modern world of instant gratification and self-absorption, we sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees. There is an inherent goodness in the vast majority of the Iraqi people and it’s sad that our political leaders and even our military leaders seem to be moving toward an end-game in this war. The need of many of our people to “get past” the war or “move on” to more “pleasant” subjects means that we may very well leave Iraq before the job is done.

During the American Revolution, only a few million people lived in the colonies. I once read a history book that said the largest the Continental Army ever became was only about 30,000 soldiers. The vast majority of the patriot warriors’ fellow citizens either supported them quietly or remained publicly neutral because of fear. Some continued to support the enemy.

The people in Iraq have a history much longer than ours, so we can imagine how hard it must be for them. It’s not surprising that they are constantly terrified of the brutal insurgent enemy even as they try to squeeze a living out of that war-torn country.

Yes, the various political factions should try harder to work together – the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds. Yet the citizens themselves don’t always find that there’s such a great difference. There are Sunnis married to Shiites and a great many Iraqis would be very happy to live in a secular country where everyone could just get along, raise their families and enjoy life.

The Iraqis will hopefully get that chance – if we don’t leave that nation to fall into a protracted civil war from which another dictator will surely arise. The leading candidates for such a dictatorship are probably among the Shiite religious leaders. That’s right – Iran, Jr.

Our service men and women have done a remarkable job in Iraq. They have sown the American spirit among the Iraqi people and they have spread good will everywhere they went. Sadly, many have given their lives in the process.

It could only be “intellectual arrogance” that led some of our leaders to believe we could conquer a nation of 25 million people, remove their government, their soldiers and their cops, and then solve all the problems with only 140,000 troops. Our own soldiers always knew there was a better way. Although the politicians have admitted their errors, it may or may not be too late.

As I help send more soldiers to the war zones, I am filled with confidence in their capabilities, their determination and their sense of duty. They believe in their missions and they are patriots as great as those who won our freedom over two hundred years ago.

Unfortunately, their ultimate success will depend in large part on a bunch of political animals in the halls of Congress. This is where the Vietnam analogy might play out and our warriors could be withdrawn before the job is done. I hope this is not the case.

General Douglas MacArthur may have said it best: “It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.”

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

From My War Journal: Flight to Kurdistan

"I was born in the shadow of the Kurdish flag in Mahabad and I am ready to serve and die for the same flag."

Massoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan

It was July of 2004 when my team traveled to northern Iraq from Baghdad’s Green Zone. Our mission was to escort our “principal”, Brigadier General Charles “Sandy” Davidson, to Kurdistan. Here is what I wrote about the experience:

"The heat on the dusty hill overlooking the northern Iraqi border was unpleasant, but it was better than melting in Baghdad. Along with the general and the rest of the C.O.B.R.A. Team, I looked out on a river junction that twisted like some wild blue snake through the desert. I could glance north across one river and barely see a Turkish army guard tower in the distance. When I turned to face the other river, the barren desert hills of Syria rose before me.

The trip from Mosul in a Blackhawk helicopter took us over a giant blue lake, over dry open desert, and through remote hills and valleys. Finally, we reached an isolated border outpost, the northern-most Iraqi military position in what the people there knew as Kurdistan.

Protecting us from that point on would be the Peshmerga (which means 'those ready to die'), the Kurdish warriors who had protected their own people for almost sixty years. (Above photo is me with two of the Peshmerga soldiers.)

General Davidson wanted to visit some of his soldiers, but he also wanted to meet some of the Kurdish people those soldiers worked with and view some of the civil affairs projects created by the members of his command. The soldiers on the small civil affairs teams were making friends and making a difference as they tried to improve the quality of life for a courageous and unique group of Iraq’s citizens.

Our tour of the outpost ended with a convoy of NTVs headed east because this part of our journey was overland. Though we were still guarding the general, the Peshmerga were guarding all of us.

Driving over paved roads and mountain trails, we stopped briefly at a Kurdish village where General Davidson and his officers shared refreshments with the leaders of the small community. We continued on to Dohuk where we spent the night in a 'safe house' protected all the while by the Peshmerga.

I found great comfort in standing on the roof of this house and surveying the beauty of the mountains that surrounded us. In such a peaceful place, filled with an overwhelming sense of tranquility, it was hard to believe there was a war going on. Some of the Peshmerga soldiers said the Arab insurgents had a difficult time making inroads in Kurdistan because they were easily recognized by the Kurds.

Traveling with the soldiers of the Peshmerga was a young man whose name still cannot be revealed without putting his life in danger. At the age of only 19, he had already spent over a year working as an interpreter for the Americans. Born in Kurdistan, but raised in California, he was proud to be both an American and a Kurd. When the United States invaded Iraq, destiny called and he returned to his first home to help defeat the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The young man liked to repeat a saying we heard frequently in Kurdistan: 'Ten Kurds will die before one American dies'. The Kurdish people loved Americans and they were happy to treat soldiers, as the interpreter said, like 'rock stars'. They would die for their American friends and they did everything they could to keep our soldiers out of harm’s way.

There was still resentment reserved for Britain, however, for failing to give the Kurds their own nation when the British Empire carved up the Arab lands early in the twentieth century.

With the help of the young interpreter, the C.O.B.R.A. Team shared conversation and food with the men of the Peshmerga. We came to know and respect them as fellow soldiers and as just plain regular guys. All of us spoke of our families, our homes and our children. Just as I discovered with the Shiite and Sunni Arabs I came to know, the Kurdish people also wanted peace, a safe place to raise their families, a decent way to make a living and a good future for their children.

The Kurds endured a life of prejudice, discrimination and violence under the regime of Saddam Hussein. March 16, 1988, is referred to as 'Bloody Friday' because this was the day that Hussein’s forces dropped poisonous gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja. According to our Kurdish friends, some five thousand citizens, mostly women and children, were killed within only minutes and tens of thousands more perished after days of attacks.

The American policy was that separate 'militias', such as the Peshmerga and al Sadr’s Mahdi Army, must be disbanded. Although the Kurdish leadership supposedly agreed in principal, the Peshmerga soldiers laughed. There was certainly no indication that the Mahdi Army or the other militias in the southern part of the country would disappear any time soon. The Peshmerga warriors also didn’t believe their own fabled army would cease to exist either.

Many of them had been in the Kurdish army since they were twelve years old, it was the only life they knew and the Peshmerga diligently served as the protection for their fellow citizens. The Kurds were a friendly, gentle people, but upon entering the towns and villages of northern Iraq, one thing was plainly missing.

The Iraqi flag wasn’t flown anywhere. The Kurds proudly displayed their own banner, the Kurdistan tri-color of red, white and green with a bright sun glowing in the center. In the new Iraq, the Kurdish people lived with a wait and see attitude for the time being.

As we traveled across the top of Iraq through the towns, villages and cities of Kurdistan, I was amazed by the extraordinary beauty of it all. We saw picturesque mountains and valleys, gently flowing rivers and a waterfall recreation area that seemed out of place in a country at war.

Both adults and children waved and smiled at us and we were greeted everywhere like long-lost relatives. I was never treated this way by the citizens of any foreign country and it helped me to imagine how American soldiers in World War II felt when they were welcomed into liberated European countries.

On our second night, we stayed at the guest house of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). His late father, Mustafa Barzani, was the most prominent Kurdish national leader in their recent history and, according to the Peshmerga, he was considered the father of modern Kurdistan and an inspiration to all the Kurdish people. As we traveled throughout northern Iraq, Mustafa Barzani’s picture was hanging everywhere.

The next day we escorted the general to what the Americans considered the Peshmerga 'Pentagon' or the headquarters of their military forces. General Davidson met with one of their generals, we were all served refreshments and the two generals exchanged gifts. Davidson gave his counterpart one of his commanding general’s coins; the Peshmerga general gave Davidson a Kurdistan flag.

As we reached the final city of our visit, Erbil, we drove through the six thousand year old massive stone citadel that overlooks the city from a giant hill. The Peshmerga took care of us right up to the time we boarded our Blackhawk helicopters for the long and arduous flight back to the Green Zone. I was sad to be leaving such a peaceful and beautiful place.

Before we climbed onto the helicopters, the young interpreter reached up to his shoulder and pulled off his Kurdistan flag patch and gave it to me. I was grateful to receive such a special gift from one of America’s - and Kurdistan’s - bravest citizens.

When we returned from our trip to northern Iraq, I brought back a small piece of paper I found on a table in the waiting area of Mosul’s Civil Military Operations Center. That building was filled with Iraqi civilians who were working with the Americans.

The spelling and grammar are the way the note was written, apparently from the heart, as it referred to the American turn-over of authority to the new Iraqi government:

'To day the CPA has handover the sovereignty to the Iraqis. As an Iraqi I feel so happy, but I have to say that all Iraqis owe much for the brave, the Americans, who have shed bloods for free, peaceful and democratic Iraq. Salute for all the brave Americans and all that cooperate with them to achieve this Noble goal,

Long live freedom, Long live freedom fighters,
Long live the USA The leader of liberty in the world.'

It was signed simply: 'Iraqi'

At least one Iraqi thought enough of America’s sacrifices to write it down. If there was one Iraqi that felt this way, then there were ten; if there were ten, then there were a hundred and perhaps thousands.

We were indeed appreciated by some of the citizens of Iraq and it made me feel damn good."

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Desperate Insurgents Attack Parliament

Yesterday’s brutal suicide attack in the Iraqi Convention Center (shown above in one of my 2004 photos) will hopefully turn into a big mistake for the insurgents. An attack against the Parliament affected every major political entity in Iraq. Such a move was extraordinarily stupid.

There are some who will say that this attack is evidence the “surge” is not working. I would say that the opposite is probably true. Such a risky and high profile attack only advertises how desperate the terrorists have become.

Any enemy activity causes an increase in hand-wringing by the liberals back here. They don’t want the Iraqis to pull together because that would validate the strategy of hanging tough. Even the Sunnis have tired of the foreign terrorists who are killing civilians of all religions.

The Green Zone has never been all that “green”. Anyone who has spent much time there knows that attacks inside this protected compound are inevitable. Regardless of how well the searches are done, there are enemy sympathizers in every aspect of Iraqi life. This includes the Iraqi Army, the police, the politicians and the thousands of Iraqi civilians who live or work there. Such is the nature of a guerrilla war.

Hundreds of Iraqis are brought into the Zone every day to do jobs such as janitorial, landscaping or other routine tasks. The contractors who hire them as day labor are the only ones who have I.D. cards. They drive to an intersection in Baghdad and load up whoever wants to work for a day. Then they drive to one of the several gates which lead into the heart of the Green Zone.

When they reach the gates, they are all searched, but it doesn’t take much to conceal small amounts of explosives or other weapons. There are Iraqi civilians inside the Zone who can make suicide vests or explosive devices and there are Iraqi soldiers who have access to explosives, ammunition and weapons. Only a fool would believe that there are not insurgents inside the Green Zone every single day.

During my tour in 2004, two of our favorite places to “hang out” were the Green Zone Café and the Iraqi bazaar next to the hospital. Only days after we left Iraq, both were destroyed by enemy bombs that had been smuggled into the Green Zone.

The unpleasant reality is that there is no completely safe place anywhere in Iraq. Maybe someday that will change, but it won’t ever change if we withdraw with our tails between our legs.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Warrior Dad Dies in Baghdad

I heard from one of my new correspondents in Baghdad, Lt. Matt Belfi (see my post on Matt - "Lieutenant Matt Belfi: Philly Cop & Warrior Pilot", a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard and a helicopter pilot. From his vantage point in Baghdad’s Green Zone at the U.S. Embassy, he wrote me about the tragic loss of a comrade on March 27th. Here is part of his email:

“The embassy has been getting attacked via IDF (indirect fire – mortars or rockets) lately and, unfortunately, last week’s attack resulted in a friend of mine getting killed. Sergeant First Class Sean Thomas (pictured above with his wife and child) was walking along when suddenly an enemy rocket exploded near him. A (civilian) contractor on location was also killed. Several were wounded also.

I was nearby and rendered medical aid to the wounded. Although I am not a medic, I was a civilian EMT for years (and Matt is a Philadelphia police officer now), so the basics are still with me. It’s interesting how quickly things change. It really reminds you that this is, in fact, a war zone - not that I needed that kind of reminder.

I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for soldiers such as you who experienced events such as this with regularity during the Vietnam War. I have thought about that a lot lately. It must have really been rough.

I know Sean’s death has taken a toll on me. It has taken a bigger toll on a friend of mine who was there rendering medical aid to Sean with me. Being a civilian “first responder” has helped me, but I think Jerry, my friend who was with me, is having a harder time dealing with the tragedy. He is also the type of person who keeps things bottled up as opposed to me, who is much more outward about my feelings (for better or worse)…”

I sent an email back to Matt:

“Matt: It never gets easier. When I first stood in front of the Vietnam Memorial and looked at the names of men I knew who had been killed, it was a sobering experience. Having been in Baghdad, I know firsthand about the IDF hazards there as well…

As a cop who has been in the first aid mode as both soldier and civilian, I am glad you were there. If your friend was aware of your presence, it surely comforted him.

Some day you will also stand before a memorial in Washington to the men and women who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. You will stare at your friend’s name and you will remember all of it. Then you will take your loved ones in your arms and be grateful once again for all of the simple blessings of life.”

Matt’s friend was posthumously promoted to the rank of master sergeant and awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. Sean Michael Thomas was from Walker Township in Pennsylvania and he is survived by his wife, Carrie, and daughter Alexa. The couple would have celebrated their anniversary on Easter Sunday. Master Sergeant Thomas previously served in Afghanistan where he was awarded a Bronze Star.

A memorial fund has been established in his daughter’s name. Anyone who would like to contribute to the Alexa Thomas Fund can make donations to the fund in care of Omega Bank, 2 South Main Street, Hughesville, Pennsylvania 17737.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

R. Clarke Cooper: Wartime Lieutenant Moving Up

Lieutenant Cooper (left) with me in Baghdad in 2004

Today I received an email from my former lieutenant, R. Clarke Cooper. During my tour in Iraq, he was the aide to Brigadier General Sandy Davidson. As the sergeant in charge of Davidson’s Protective Service Detail, or PSD, I received my daily briefings and instructions from Cooper.

After we came home, this remarkable young officer returned to Baghdad as a civilian employee for the State Department where he became the Congressional liaison for Ambassador Khalilzad. Now that Khalilzad is leaving his post in Iraq, Cooper is back in the States to “pave the way” for the man who will likely be America’s next United Nations ambassador.

I wrote the following about Cooper in my war journal:

"R. Clarke Cooper began his tour in Iraq as a “lowly” second lieutenant. He eventually made first lieutenant, but the requirements of his job in a war zone should have made him at least a captain. That was not the way it was, though. One-star brigadier generals like our boss only rated a lieutenant for an aide. General Davidson hit a home run when he got Cooper because the young officer was a professional and dedicated subordinate.

Cooper was no stranger to the world of politics. In 2001 U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton named him the Assistant Director of the National Park Service for Legislative and Congressional Affairs. Before that he was the Deputy Director of Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Federal Affairs Office in Washington where he helped negotiate the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Cooper also served as the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida.

Our lieutenant was a graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in history, the president of his senior class and the president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. His military service included training at the U.S. Army Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. For crying out loud, the guy was even an Eagle Scout.

It didn’t take long to realize that Cooper was not your ordinary lieutenant. As an old man with a lot of dust on his boots, I knew this young man faced a promising future. He was focused and driven by an energy that wore me out sometimes. Cooper was awake each morning before the general and he was still working after the boss hit the rack. It took almost twenty-four hours a day to manage the activities of any general and Cooper was masterful at the job.

When Major Eversman left us, Lieutenant Cooper became my supervisor by default and we depended on each other to get the job done. With my tendency to scorn the political world in which he lived, the lieutenant often strained to keep me on a short leash. Fortunately, he knew his own limitations and he wisely depended on my experience for tactical decisions. His willingness to do this only increased my respect for him as a leader. He was diligent in his supervision, he knew how to use his soldiers as resources and he let them do their jobs.

I routinely met Lieutenant Cooper at the CPA (later the American Embassy) to review various administrative items and to plan the tactical movements related to General Davidson’s schedule. I waited for the L.T. in the large rotunda outside Ambassador Bremer’s office and we ate lunch in the ornate mess hall at the CPA. It was amazing to be in the heart of the operations center for everything going on in Iraq.

The CPA was filled with high-rollers from Washington, D.C., political appointees, diplomats, spies and the generals from the various countries in the Coalition. The place over-flowed with all the cloak and dagger stuff imaginable in a war-time headquarters building. It was a little like the Pentagon with a touch of Rick’s Café in “Casablanca” thrown in."

Clarke Cooper is on the fast track in the high-speed world of politics. He is intelligent, resourceful and destined for much greater things.

Remember his name. You will hear it again…

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

The Gold Convoy

Since my team in Iraq was responsible for protecting a general during our 2004 tour, we spent a lot of time at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone. My direct supervisor was Lieutenant Clarke Cooper, Brigadier General Sandy Davidson’s aide. (Davidson is now a major general at Centcom and Cooper is the State Department’s Congressional liaison for American Ambassador Khalilzad.)

When the general wasn’t being escorted by our C.O.B.R.A. Team, we often escorted other Coalition officers and civilians. We also were used to protect Iraqi civilian VIPs as well and General Davidson’s driver often accompanied us. Sergeant Herbert Hale was a highly skilled tactical driver.

The following entry from my war journal tells about our “secret mission” for the embassy:

“One morning we met Lieutenant Cooper and Sergeant Hale in front of the main doors of the U.S. Embassy. Cooper arranged for us to take some radios and recovered historical artifacts to the Iraqi National Museum and it would take our Humvee and the general’s to carry all the boxes. Cooper brought out the first set of boxes and put them in the general’s Humvee. He then called me over, pulled the top back on one of the cardboard boxes, moved a handful of styrofoam pieces out of the way and there, in all its glory, was a solid gold bar that weighed about 40 pounds.

I looked at him with an expression that suggested I wanted more information. He said he would tell me more later, but this was the one and only time we would do such a mission. When he walked back into the embassy, I opened the first container again and then a second one and I saw that both contained large bars of solid gold. I grabbed my camera and took pictures of the gold bars for posterity, but the movie “Three Kings” kept popping into my mind.

With some of the unusual activities we had seen in Iraq, I was concerned about the way this was being done. Although I maintained complete faith in Cooper, when he came out again with more boxes, I made sure he confirmed with me and the guys that there was written authorization for the transfer.

Cooper showed the paperwork to us and said the embassy administratively transferred the gold to the Ministry of Culture the day before and the written documentation was sent to the museum by diplomatic courier. Cooper said it was all legal and above-board. His word was good enough for me, but it was still nice to see the paperwork. The sting we did with the master sergeant ran through my mind (the C.O.B.R.A. Team assisted the Defense Criminal Investigative Service in apprehending a soldier who was a thief) and I wanted no part of any questionable deal. I knew Cooper would never knowingly involve us in anything improper, but I didn’t want him screwed either.

After everything was loaded, we took on an Iraqi passenger named Christina who worked with the Ministry of Culture. She sat in the only remaining seat since the rest of them were filled with boxes of artifacts and gold. We then proceeded on what was clearly a secret mission for the American embassy to transfer some eight hundred pounds of gold bullion to the Ministry of Culture via the Iraqi National Museum. Naturally, the enemy would love to get their hands on a bunch of gold bars. I tried to imagine how many IEDs, mortars or rockets could be purchased with all that gold.

Many Iraqi nationals must be aware of the transfer and this was a major concern to me. Was there a ministry employee who was a bad guy and who might try to hijack the shipment? I had to hand it to Cooper because he also thought about that possibility; the actual mission to transfer the gold was officially scheduled for the next day. He moved it up a day without telling anyone, so any plans to rob us would be screwed up. Sharp guy, that Cooper.

We pulled out of the embassy compound with the gold and the priceless artifacts and drove toward the Al Rasheed gate. We then headed north into Baghdad through heavy traffic. According to Cooper, by the time we reached the museum, representatives from the Ministry of Culture would already be there.

We kept getting stuck in traffic and I waited for potential hijackers to make their presence known. We scanned every car, every face and every building for any sign we were going to be attacked. We finally rolled into the offices next to the museum with our secret cargo of gold hidden in boxes marked “Ministry of Culture” and mixed in with the artifacts. While Cooper went inside, I pulled out my video camera and filmed the gold, lifting one of the bars partially out of its box.

Some Iraqis came out of the museum offices and removed all the boxes from our Humvees. We watched as the boxes with the gold were stacked separately. Then, as the other boxes were being carried inside the museum, the gold was loaded into a white NTV(non-tactical vehicle or SUV). Armed Iraqi men dressed in civilian clothes left with the gold, presumably to deliver it to the Ministry of Culture. At least we hoped that was what they were going to do.

Once they were gone, I was able to relax and not worry that we were caught up in some sort of sting operation. I still wasn’t totally convinced this gold wouldn’t end up being stolen by some Iraqi or group of Iraqis and somehow get delivered to the bad guys. We would certainly never know.

Our secret mission ended quickly as did our own opportunity to pull a “Three Kings” gold heist. Let’s face it, we were all cops so such a daring feat wouldn’t possibly work for us. Not only was honesty a factor, but we didn’t want to spend our lives waiting for the swift sword of justice to cut our heads off. In reality, the Iraqi people deserved to be the ultimate beneficiaries of the gold since it almost certainly came out of Saddam Hussein’s personal treasure stash. As long as the Sunni insurgents or Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army didn’t get it, I was satisfied. I still felt like I was living in some Humphrey Bogart-type world.

Spys, secret missions, gold bullion. Like Bogey said, it was the stuff that dreams were made of.”

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Mortars Along the Tigris

I am still involved in training activities at Fort Bragg and I will soon tell you about some of the extraordinary individuals I have met. Until I can do so, I’ll reflect once more on my tour in Iraq in 2004. The above photo shows the Tigris River and downtown Baghdad.

* * * *

I was fortunate to lead the men of the “C.O.B.R.A. Team” (Staff Sergeant Aaron Self, Sergeant Chad Higginbotham and Sergeant John “Doc” Actis, II). Our job as a protective service detail, or personal security detachment, was to protect the life of Brigadier General Charles “Sandy” Davidson, the commander of the 350th Civil Affairs Command. Davidson is now a major general assigned to Centcom. Our team’s website is http://www.thecobrateam.com/.

When we lived in Baghdad’s Green Zone, our little house was directly on the Tigris River across from the Sheraton Hotel, a frequent target of insurgent rockets or mortars. We called our residence the “cobra pit”.

The following excerpt from my in-progress book tells about an incident during which we were the target of other incoming rounds:

“I was sitting alone in the cobra pit on the evening of August 7th when I heard two loud explosions. Running outside to see what was happening, I stepped into the courtyard just as a mortar or small rocket flew directly over my head and exploded about a hundred meters away. I muttered an expletive to myself, but another round flew into the Green Zone and landed even closer.

Looking for some reasonable cover, I ran to the concrete stairway leading up to the street. There was a small space next to the wall of the cobra pit and it provided good protection for the moment. Another round landed on the other side of the wall and the explosion sent pieces of steel shrapnel flying over my head. I could hear chunks of metal landing on the roof of our house. It was the closest these weapons had ever come to me.

After seven or eight rounds, it appeared the attack was over. I walked up to the street and headed toward the general’s house where I knew Higginbotham was guarding the boss. Several Iraqi civilians came outside and pointed to the end of the street where one of the rounds might have landed on a house. We all began to walk in that direction to make sure there were no casualties.

As we passed the house next to the cobra pit, another round came over our heads and exploded nearby. I told the Iraqis to go back and take cover and they started running to their house. Other rounds continued to impact near us and the last Iraqi in the group acted like he didn’t know where to go. I directed him to our stairwell and he joined me in the small area next to the stairs. The attack ended shortly thereafter.

Everyone was fine at the general’s house and Higginbotham made sure General Davidson was under sufficient cover. Fortunately, there were no casualties in our compound.”

SFC Chuck Grist
http://www.americanranger.blogspot.com/

The Sergeant and the Shiites

“We regard Iraq’s success to be our success.
And, God forbid, Iraq’s failure will also be ours.”

Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq on February 20, 2005

One evening in Baghdad’s Green Zone I had a chance to sit down and visit with a group of Shiite security guards (see above photo). It was an interesting encounter and a chance to learn once again that the average citizen of the world is pretty much the same everywhere.

I am working on a book (as time permits) about my 2004 tour in Iraq. The following entry is part of Chapter 12.

“We visited for about an hour discussing politics, religion, our differing cultures, Muqtada al Sadr (a Shi’a or Shiite Muslim like these men), our families and all manner of things. In the end we discovered that men were much alike everywhere. We wanted to live in peace with our families, love our wives and children, have a decent job and make a good home. We might all follow a different path to God, but we all tried to be good men and surely that is what God, or Allah, wanted.

I asked them “Are all Shi’as good?” Their response, of course, was “Yes, yes”. Then I paused, looked at the ceiling and asked “But what about Muqtada al Sadr?” They all laughed and one of them said “Muqtada is not so good.” The guard sitting next to me didn’t respond. I smiled at him and said it was O.K. to tell me how he really felt because now Iraq was an independent country and its citizens could express themselves freely. He still didn’t speak and the others laughed. They told me the quiet man lived in Sadr City, al Sadr’s neighborhood. Another guard said what al Sadr was doing was not good and the real leader of the Shi’a’s was Grand Ayatollah Sistani, a fact well-known to all Americans in Iraq.

Still trying to unmask their real feelings, I asked them “Is America taking Iraqi oil?” They all said “Yes, yes”. In response I said “No, America will BUY Iraqi oil.” I said we would buy it with American money that would go to help the Iraqi people. Then, as the English-speaking guard translated, I explained how Germany and Japan were defeated by America and we helped rebuild those countries. I said America doesn’t control those nations, but it helped them become prosperous and free. They seemed to understand this since they nodded their heads up and down as my words were translated. Either that or they were in the “accommodate the stupid American” mode.

They appeared to agree that Iraq now had a better future. I asked them how they felt this happened. They sat for a minute. I said “Do you feel free? Do you feel free to have a better life? Do you fear the government any more?” They said they did feel free and they didn’t fear the government any longer. I told them American soldiers came to Iraq to give them their freedom and the freedom of Iraqis was being purchased with both Iraqi and American lives. I could tell they sensed my own feeling of loss just as I felt theirs.

We discussed the differences in our cultures and religions. I told them I respected their country and their religion, but if Iraq wanted to be a land of freedom then all religions must be free to practice as they wish. I may have been preaching about the benefits of freedom and liberty, but I sensed they liked it because they hung on every word I said. They asked a lot of questions and I did my best to answer them.

I told them I was a Christian, but I believed all men had the right to choose their own roads to God, or Allah. I told them a story of three men – a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew – who were walking the same path to a common destination when they came to a thick forest. The path split three ways and the men argued as to which path to take. In the end, the three men separated and each one followed a different path through the dense woods. After a long journey, the three paths came out of the forest and once again merged into one. The three men greeted each other and traveled together on a single path until they reached their destination.

I tried to explain to the Shiite guards that we all take different roads in life and we all choose our own path to God. In the end, isn’t the ultimate destination the same? All men seek God, or Allah, and all men must be given the freedom to follow their own hearts through the forest of life as they make their way to Him.

They seemed to like the story. It was apparent I was the first American with whom these men ever shared an in-depth conversation. During the hour or so that we visited, they offered me tea and food and I felt as though I had made friends of some of them, but certainly not all of them, especially the quiet one. As I stood to leave, some of the guards asked me if they could have their picture taken with me. I said I would be honored.

We took that picture the next morning.”

SFC Chuck Grist
http://www.americanranger.blogspot.com/

Remembering the C.O.B.R.A. Team

“People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because
rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

George Orwell

By this time in 2004, my team in Iraq had been on the ground for less than a week. Before our tour ended, we experienced enough close calls to know that the odds might eventually work against us. Survival in war is about skill, luck and the odds. With so many other soldiers around you, the odds are small you will be the one killed or wounded.

As I leave home tomorrow to begin the first mission of my third mobilization, my thoughts have naturally turned to the men I served with on the C.O.B.R.A. Team. Aaron Self is a police officer in Texas, Chad Higginbotham is a recruiter for the National Guard in Mississippi and John (Doc) Actis is a cop in Mississippi and a part-time actor. We became more than a band of brothers; these men became like sons to me and we were all fortunate to return home in one piece.

Of all of us, Doc is the only one who returned to Iraq after our tour ended in late 2004. He served as a private security contractor and survived some harrowing experiences, including the loss of some of his co-workers.

For now I have been tasked with helping to train infantry soldiers who are mobilizing for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. I may do this for my entire mobilization or I could have the opportunity to go to one of those countries. Much of this will depend on how my training unit is tasked over the next few months. I’m a soldier; I’ll do what they tell me to do, but I would prefer to be overseas.
Whether I am stateside or in the war zone, I will continue to write in this blog about my own experiences and about the soldiers I encounter. Even in the States, I will meet many extraordinary men and women who have unique stories from their own war-time service. It is important that those stories be told.

Thanks for your continued support and for the many emails you have sent me. Please watch this blog for updates.

SFC Chuck Grist
TheRangerCop@aol.com
http://www.thecobrateam.com/
http://www.americanranger.blogspot.com/

Lieutenant Matt Belfi: Philly Cop & Warrior Pilot

“Without a doubt, of all the cities that I have visited in the East,
Baghdad is the most beautiful and the most important, to my mind.
It is an oasis in the middle of the surrounding desert, a queen born
of the desert peoples that traversed her land, and finally,
the capital of a powerful empire of the future.”
Count Laurent de Sercey (1840)

One of my new Baghdad correspondents is First Lieutenant Matthew J. Belfi, a Pennsylvania National Guardsman and helicopter pilot. From his vantage point in the heart of the Green Zone at the U. S. Embassy, Lt. Belfi can see and feel everything going on in that wartime headquarters building. He works on the travel coordination team for Ambassador Khalilzad, but he also recently co-coordinated the in-country travel for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

When I was in Baghdad in 2004, the embassy always reminded me of an old Humphrey Bogart movie. It’s located in Saddam Hussein’s former presidential palace and the place is filled with generals, admirals, civilian mercenaries, Iraqis and the soldiers and civilians from Coalition countries. With all the diplomats and spies lurking around, it seemed to have some of the intrigue of Rick’s Café in Casablanca.

In one of his emails, the lieutenant talked about the increase in rocket and mortar fire into the Green Zone. He said the front of the embassy was hit by an incoming round which failed to explode. The insurgents fire a lot of rockets, but rocket scientists they are not.

Like every pilot I ever knew, Lt. Belfi would rather spend his time flying and he has the warrior spirit that one would expect of a former infantryman. He’s also a cop in Philadelphia, so he possesses the natural instincts of a hunter of men. Guys like this are meant to be at the tip of the spear.

As someone who remembers what it was like to be a highly motivated young officer, I admire this American warrior. I am proud to serve in the war on terror with courageous men and women like Matt Belfi who are willing to step forward at such a critical time in our nation’s history.

Regardless of the political outcome of the conflict in general, these warriors have given every ounce of their dedication, their skill and their courage. They are the best of our nation’s soul and we are blessed to have them standing between us and those who would hurt us.

SFC Chuck Grist
http://www.americanranger.blogspot.com/

Colonel Logan Barbee: Leading the Way in Iraq

One of the most professional soldiers I worked with in Iraq during my tour in 2004 was Colonel Logan Barbee who was a professor of agriculture at the University of Florida. As an activated reservist with the 350th Civil Affairs Command, he went to Iraq as the Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Chief Intelligence Officer for the 350th. He is also an Army Ranger.

Since that tumultuous year at war, Barbee has retired with 28 years of active and reserve time in the Army, retired from the university after 25 years and volunteered to return to Iraq as a civilian.

I received an email from him and learned that he is once again in Iraq, this time as a Senior Advisor for the State Department. He is still working hard to help the Iraqis re-build their country so they can move on to a better life. He knows, as I do, that the vast majority of Iraqis are kind and gentle and they simply want to live a normal life with their families, make a decent living and enjoy life in peace.

According to Barbee: “Our public doesn’t realize is that this is an agricultural country to the Iraqi people, not an oil country. Oil is a recent commodity and it has been a benefit for the Iraqi government, not the people. Oil only provides jobs for 3% of Iraqis. Agriculture in Iraq was once their major export. They exported wheat, barley, rice, vegetables and dates and, with their large fertilizer plant in operation, they exported fertilizer to the surrounding Arab countries. Saddam changed all that and created a welfare state by importing agricultural commodities and giving everyone a food basket. It killed the markets and farming. Iraq is the Fertile Crescent with two great rivers flowing through its center. Canal systems are everywhere and over 80% of Iraqi workers have, in some way, worked in the agricultural operations at one time or another and it is like rural America in the 1930s.”

He went on to say: “Sometimes we miss the “people’s needs”. We build schools and roads, which are important, but food and jobs come first. The heart is in the stomach when it comes to feeding the family.”

With all the whiners and crybabies among the “celebrities” and the Hollywood crowd, it is refreshing to know men like Logan Barbee who are willing to step forward to make the kind of differences in this world that last for generations.

After all, he is a Ranger and “Rangers Lead the Way”.

SFC Chuck Grist

It's All About Leadership

When I re-read portions of the “War Journal” I maintained during my mobilizations in 2003 and 2004, it is amazing to see that the average service member was able to foretell the future. Soldiers remind themselves that they are at the “bottom of the food chain” when it comes to information flow, but their insight is amazing.

Privates, sergeants and colonels all wondered why we were dismantling the entire Iraqi Army. The civil affairs officers with whom we worked in Baghdad were frustrated that many of the projects they created were not funded by the tight-fisted Coalition Provisional Authority. With only 140,000 soldiers in a nation of 25 million people, we were trying to fight a dollar war on a twenty-five-cent budget.

While we sat in the desert with insufficient body armor and un-armored vehicles, we could see the frustration in the Iraqi people and we wondered if they might eventually hate us for turning their nation upside down. Iraqis needed food, shelter, jobs, electricity and even sewage treatment. We removed their government, their army, their police force and the structure of their entire society, but we didn’t move quickly enough to replace it all. What we did for them was great; it just wasn’t enough.

Donald Rumsfeld’s vision of a light and mobile force would have worked if all the battles consisted of heavy bombing and Ranger-style raids where objectives were seized briefly and held only for a short-term mission. That light and mobile force cannot work when cities and nations must be captured, held and re-built.

For an extended war, this country needs a powerful army of battalions, brigades, divisions, tanks and a lot of soldiers. Such an army must be properly equipped, it must have its weapons repaired and replaced and it must have enough reinforcements that its soldiers are not physically and mentally used up after years of combat action.

The battle of the Kasserine Pass in World War II was the first major confrontation between the American and German forces. The in-experienced American army under-estimated a battle-tested German war machine and we got our rear ends handed to us. We lost the first major battle of that war. We learned our lesson, fixed the problems and re-engaged the enemy on our own terms. The battle itself was lost, but the over-all war was won.

Hopefully, our military and civilian leaders will prevent a “Kasserine Pass” defeat in Iraq. They must never forget that the Arabs we are fighting are determined warriors who are descended from desert tribes experienced in the art of war. They are smart enough to wage a relentless, full-scale guerrilla war because fighting is in their genes. Up to this point, we have only waged a “half-war”.

In the end, it’s all about leadership. The war on terror cannot afford a defeat like the Kasserine Pass.

SFC Chuck Grist

The New Mercenaries

One of my contemporaries recently told me that his son, a former Army Ranger, has joined the ranks of the private security contractors in Iraq.

In 2005, I wrote the following op-ed piece about these brave individuals:

THE NEW MERCENARIES
Special to the Sentinel
March 1, 2005

At an undisclosed location in Baghdad, the 32-year-old mercenary stood next to an armored SUV, preparing to escort his “principal”, the high-ranking person he helps to protect, to that man’s next destination. In his civilian clothes and body armor, this professional soldier is armed with a variety of weapons, including an M4 carbine and a semiautomatic handgun. His military and civilian training, along with his experience in the art of war, make him a very dangerous man. That is why he is worth the $15,000 a month he is making – tax free – to protect his “client”.

Civilian or military, spy or corporate wizard, the individual being protected represents part of the large investment that our government has made in war-torn Iraq. It is no secret that a lot of American dollars are being spent on government contracts with such companies as Blackwater, Dyncorp and others. In turn, those companies are hiring thousands of professionals from the Navy Seals, the Army Rangers, Delta Force, Special Forces, the British or Australian SAS and from the elite forces of other countries.

Last year this particular mercenary, who is now known as a “private security contractor”, served in the American Army in Iraq with me. Since our return, he has been recruited, trained some more and then deployed to war again. I tried to talk him out of it, but I must say that I know how he feels. Not everyone can understand the pure excitement or the adrenaline rush from being a warrior in the most dangerous city of the most dangerous country in the world. This is especially true when that job is part of the larger mission being conducted by your country.

Soldiers of fortunes, or warriors for hire, have been part of the fabric of conflict for thousands of years. I grew up in the 1960s reading about the legendary Fifth Commando, a famous group of British mercenaries in Africa led by Lt. Col. Mike Hoare. After Vietnam, recruiters for various groups in Africa approached many of us. I knew only one man who took the job and I never heard from him again.

My mercenary friend, who must remain anonymous for safety and intelligence reasons, is divorced, unattached and reminds me of Errol Flynn. He knows the risks, has weighed them and has chosen to fight for Uncle Sam, apple pie, the many girls he left behind and the good old American buck as well. If he survives, and I have the greatest of confidence in his warrior skills, he will put together quite a nest egg for his future.

There are those who might say it is immoral to hire professional soldiers who seem to be serving only for money and adventure. Having known many of these men, I believe it is more than that for most of them. There is an undercurrent of good among them because they like being the good guys. They all know the deadly price of war, many have lost comrades in battle and most have the look of steely-eyed self-confidence that comes from success in “facing the elephant”.

The stories of “the elephant” came from those mercenary soldiers in Africa. Among the professional big-game hunters of the time, it was said that a man could never truly be called a “great white hunter” until he had faced a charging bull elephant and survived. The mercenaries picked this up as a way of saying a soldier was not a seasoned fighter until he had “faced the elephant” of war and survived that face-to-face battle with Death.

My friend has joined the ranks of the paid professionals who enter the Valley of Death each day with their muscles taut, their jaws firm and their weapons ready. One does not have to approve of these new mercenaries to admire them for their courage, their fighting skills and their willingness to risk their lives in a dangerous and deadly world.

SFC Chuck Grist

Call to Duty

After I was back in the good old USA for a few months, I still remembered those with whom I served in Iraq. Only those who have been to war would understand the feelings I wrote about in the following op-ed piece:

CALL TO DUTY
Where the soldier’s heart dwells
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
June 26, 2005

After spending most of last year on active duty with the Army Reserve, I am having a difficult time relating to a civilian world that is far away, physically and emotionally, from the turbulent life of Baghdad. This life is the illusion – the war is the reality.

Last year was my turn in the swirling sandstorm of the war on terror. I spent most of my time running hundreds of convoys in and around Baghdad, including the infamous airport road, Route Irish, the most dangerous stretch of road in the world.

I may be home, but many of my comrades are not. Some remained in Iraq and some have returned voluntarily for subsequent tours. A few were killed. My former lieutenant now works for the State Department at the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone.

Doc, my medic, is now a private security contractor, doing the same protective service job we did, but for a bigger paycheck. He was almost killed recently when a car bomb exploded as his team passed a checkpoint.

When I try to explain to someone that I miss Baghdad, they look at me as if I just escaped from a mental hospital. What they don’t understand, and will never understand, is that there is an exciting, electric feeling when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death – and live. A soldier is never more alive, and his senses are never more in tune, than when his universe is immersed in war.

I must admit that I have thought about going back. What keeps me here is an important job that I must prepare to retire from in a few short years, a wife who went through hell once, and does not deserve to go through it again, and the reality that I am not a youngster any more and will, in fact, probably retire from the Army Reserve next year.

It is still hard to sit in a restaurant, walk through a mall or drive down the road without thinking that most of the people around me are clueless about what their fellow Americans are doing on their behalf.

They could not understand what it feels like to walk out of your granddaughter’s recital and hear the thump of mortars in the distance. Turning to the sound, the realization hits that the explosion is a fireworks display at nearby Disney World, and not incoming rounds.

It is said that soldiers will naturally feel the urge to march toward the sound of the guns. After all, that is where their comrades are. It does not feel natural to stay behind, in safety, when your brothers and sisters are still on the battlefield. I cannot deny that I feel that sense of urgency and call to arms, even now.

It took a long time for me to “return home” after my tour in Vietnam more than 30 years ago. That is why I understand the reason I feel the way I do about Iraq. I am home, and it feels good to be safely in the arms of my beloved America. Still, something is missing.

I know I left a part of me in the jungles of Vietnam, and now I have left another piece of my soul in the deserts of Iraq. My wife understands, and sometimes, when she is about to enter the room, she will stop.

Somehow she knows that I am not at home at that moment. I am an American warrior in a Humvee, traveling hell-bent down the most dangerous road in the world, and may God have mercy on the terrorist who takes me on.

SFC Chuck Grist

NOTE: Obviously, I did not retire in 2006. I have discussed my upcoming mobilization with my wife and, as always, she is supportive because she is the wife of an American soldier and she understands. Whether I serve here or abroad, she will stand by me as she always has. I am indeed a lucky man.

The Baghdad Sting

It is late Christmas Day. Please read “Christmas at War” from yesterday and may everyone have a wonderful holiday season.

Now that Christmas is just about over, I can concentrate on continuing to wait for my mobilization orders. I have been given the word that it won’t be January 1 (which is good since that is almost upon us) but that the 15th is a possibility. I am not alone. There are several of us in my local Army Reserve unit whose mobilization packets were submitted some time ago.

While it is unknown why our parent unit is waiting to call us up, I suspect it is because they are waiting to find out exactly what President Bush’s “New Way Forward” will consist of and how our unit will be tasked.

As I continue to reflect on my tour in Iraq in 2004, I remembered an incident where we learned once again that the Army, like any other organization, has its black sheep. The vast majority of soldiers perform their missions with honor and integrity. Still, there are always those who are in it for themselves.

I was fortunate to work with a team that was comprised entirely of police officers. When we were approached one evening to participate in a shady weapons deal, there was only one thing to do. The following op-ed piece tells the story:


THE BAGHDAD STING
Good Cops Catch a Bad Soldier
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
August 20, 2005

The Army master sergeant had served in Iraq since the beginning of the war. When our command arrived in Baghdad’s Green Zone in February of 2004 to replace his unit, he extended his tour to serve in one of the offices at the Coalition Provisional Authority. The CPA was located in Saddam Hussein’s former residence, the elaborate palace that eventually became the U.S. Embassy.

My team, the COBRA Team, went to Iraq to serve as the protective service detail for an American general. In our limited off-duty time, we lived in a small house on the west bank of the Tigris River. (We called it the COBRA pit.) We were well-armed and, depending on the mission, carried M16s, M4 carbines, shotguns, M9 Berettas, an M79 grenade launcher (courtesy of the Marine Corps), two squad automatic weapons, a German sniper rifle or MP5s. Like the sniper rifle, the MP5 submachine guns had been captured from Saddam Hussein, but their compact nature made them perfect for use on most of our missions.

One evening we had a visit from the master sergeant, a man with many years of service in the Army. He said he heard we had some MP5s and he wanted to know if we would like to trade them for some Glock handguns. We were surprised because we thought the only Glock handguns around were the thousands that had been delivered to the CPA for use by the new Iraqi police.

My civilian job as a police officer has made me suspicious by nature. Once this man told me the Glocks were brand new, I was convinced they were stolen. My team members, also cops in civilian life, looked at me out of the corners of their eyes as I made a deal to trade two of our MP5s for two Glocks. If the handguns were stolen, I wanted to nail this guy. The exchange would happen the following evening.

The next morning, just before I went to the CPA to report the encounter, we were contacted by another sergeant from our headquarters. He said the master sergeant had come to him asking if he knew how much the Glocks would bring on the streets of Baghdad. Now we really had a problem. If this soldier sold weapons to Iraqi civilians, it was almost a certainty that such weapons would ultimately be used against Americans.

With the assistance of one of our unit’s officers, I made contact with the Defense Department’s Criminal Investigative Service at the CPA. The DCIS agents confirmed that there had been thefts from the CPA. I told them I had arranged a weapons trade for that night. The agents decided they would also be present when the deal went down.

The master sergeant showed up at our house at the appointed hour. He had one brand new Glock handgun in a box with two magazines. I gave him one MP5 and walked him outside to the street. I shook hands with him – the pre-arranged “done deal” signal to the DCIS agents – and they made the arrest. The serial number of the Glock confirmed that it had come from the stock of Iraqi police weapons at the CPA, weapons paid for with American tax dollars. When we left Baghdad, the case was still pending, but we were told the thefts had stopped.

In every war there are thieves, profiteers, black-market operators and those who think that the war is their own private business enterprise. Wars will always have these black sheep, those who dishonor themselves for pleasure or profit.

The overwhelming majority of the men and women serving in today’s military fervently believe in living by fundamental character traits such as the Army values: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

Thankfully, these good soldiers far outnumber the bad ones.

SFC Chuck Grist

Purple Heart Medal for "Wounds" not "Injuries"

On a hot August night in 2004, Baghdad’s Green Zone was attacked. A large number of mortars and rockets hit the four-square-mile zone in a display of aggression fomented by Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army.

The following day, and only a couple of miles away from us across the Tigris River, a group of Army Reservists, friends of mine from my Orlando unit, were defending a small government compound in Sadr City. During this battle, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Cerniglia was terribly wounded.

After I returned home, a brief controversy erupted when some young Marines were forced to return Purple Heart medals because they had received them for non-combat-related injuries instead of actual wounds from enemy action. One of these young men was run over in his foxhole while he was sleeping. Remembering Sal’s sacrifice, I wrote the following op-ed piece, published in the Orlando Sentinel on February 13, 2005:


PURPLE HEART MEDAL IS FOR ‘WOUNDS’ NOT ‘INJURIES’

The two Iraqi soldiers stood in the heat of Baghdad’s Sadr City last August without their helmets. Staff Sgt. Salvatore Cerniglia, one of the Army Reserve advisers to the 4th Battalion of the Iraqi Army, looked at them sternly. “Put your helmets on,” he ordered. Then he turned, just in time to see a rocket-propelled grenade flying toward his fighting position.

Cerniglia, who lives in Palm Harbor, felt his life become like a slow-motion movie. The enemy RPG exploded above him, and his body crumpled backward with his left leg bent in an unnatural direction. His field of vision changed to a curtain of red. Shaking his head, Cerniglia could see only the red, which he described as like a “filter” over his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything, and he couldn’t move his arms or legs. Slowly, the red faded and the bright colors of the world returned. As his hearing came back, so did the sounds of the battle that surrounded him.

Then the pain started, and he felt a hot burning on his chest, like a “branding iron” he said later. A fist-size piece of shrapnel was imbedded in the armor plate of his protective vest. There was no doubt his body armor had saved his life. He also had more serious wounds to his left arm and left leg. The two Iraqi soldiers had not been as lucky. One died when a piece of shrapnel struck his unprotected head. The other died from massive neck wounds.

Salvatore Cerniglia, “Sal” to his friends and fellow soldiers, came to the Army to make a difference. A native of New York City, he served as a captain in the Air Force many years ago. He returned to the military as an infantryman. Now, at the age of 54, he is looking at a military retirement forced upon him because of his wounds. A self-employed insurance adjuster in civilian life, Sal still considers himself lucky. At first he was told that he would probably lose his leg, but after five operations and a lot of physical therapy, that seems less likely now.

Recently, in ceremonies in Orlando, Cerniglia was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal. The Purple Heart was for wounds he received while engaged in combat with a hostile force.

In contrast, it was recently announced that several young Marines, who had been awarded Purple Hearts for injuries received in Iraq, were having their medals revoked. Their injuries resulted from accidents that were not related to combat with the enemy. One of these young Marines was run over by a tank while he was sleeping in his foxhole.

Unfortunately, accidental deaths and injuries are unavoidable in the fast-moving clouds of war. These Marines, who surely served with honor and distinction, have suffered terribly because of their injuries. Still, the regulation is clear. Those who sustain injuries related to “accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action” are not eligible for the Purple Heart. It is unfortunate that the officers in the Marine Corps who approved the awards in the first place made such an inexcusable mistake.

It may be embarrassing to the service members involved, but this special award, first created by George Washington during the Revolutionary War for a meritorious act, has a tradition that must be preserved. For generations, the Purple Heart has been a warrior’s medal for a warrior’s wounds sustained in mortal combat with an enemy force. The priceless value of this unique medal is in the sacrifice it takes to earn it. The enemy RPG forever changed Cernigila’s life and, while the young Marines should be honored for their service, combat-wounded warriors like Sal are the ones who have earned the Purple Heart.

SFC Chuck Grist

October, 2004: Farewell to Baghdad

My 2004 tour finally came to an end. This op-ed piece was in the Orlando Sentinel on October 5, 2004.



FAREWELL TO BAGHDAD
Baghdad – October, 2004

Standing on the roof of our headquarters building on the Tigris River in Baghdad, I looked across the river at the Sheraton Hotel and thought about how many times it had been the target of rockets. I saw the blue dome of the nearby mosque and heard the evening call to prayer. Hearing this several times a day became a memorable experience in this exotic, though dangerous, part of the world. With my tour in Iraq about to end, I was smoking a farewell cigar. It was time to go home.

I had taken my last look at Assassin’s Gate, Iraq’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the gigantic monument of Swords and the presidential palace that is now the U.S. Embassy. I ate one more at the Chinese restaurant and the Green Zone Café. I experienced for the last time the intrigue of the al-Rasheed Hotel, where the reporters, the embassy staffers, the mercenaries and the spies hang out. I said my goodbyes to my Iraqi friends.

There would be one last convoy as we drove to the Baghdad airport. It would be a strange feeling to know that, once the wheels of the aircraft lifted off the ground, many of us would probably never again face the prospect of death by rockets, mortars, improvised explosive devices, ambushes or assassination. A few of us will surely return, but the job goes on for the thousands who remain behind.

Our four-man Protective Service Detail, the COBRA Team, was formed for one purpose. That mission was to ensure the safety of Gen. Charles Davidson, commander of the 350th Civil Affairs Command, during his tour of duty. To accomplish this, our movements in the air and on the ground had to be planned well enough that the enemy could not predict where we would be and would never see us as a “soft” target. True success would mean that we were never the victims of an IED, an ambush or an assassination attempt. The possibility of “bad luck” was always there, but it always is.

On Sept. 28, Davidson departed Iraq after completing his own important job. When he left, our primary mission had been successful and was at an end. My own last mission would be to get the members of my team out of Iraq and safely home.

During our missions in Iraq, we have been shot at but never wounded. We have been on the receiving end of rockets and mortars, but the shrapnel did not hit us. We have never been the victims of an improvised explosive device, a vehicle bomb or an ambush, but we have missed them all by only minutes. We have seen mysterious men in masks with AK-47s lurking in alleys along our routes but, with the general in our convoy, our job was to avoid contact. We are all combat veterans of other wars and did not need to “face the elephant” again, but we were ready, willing and able to do so.

For their overwhelming support, our families, friends, churches, employers and average Americans will have our gratitude forever. They kept our spirits up with letters, cards, e-mails and generous packages. Saying “thank you” could never be enough.

We are looking forward to reuniting with our families and resuming our civilian careers. Staff Sgt. Aaron Self will return to Texas to complete the police academy. He had only two weeks to go when he was activated. Sgt. Chad Higginbotham will return to his family and his law enforcement career in Mississippi. Newly promoted Sgt. John “Doc” Actis II, another Mississippi cop, has joined the ranks of the private security contractors making the big bucks. After taking a short break, he will return to Iraq as one of the “new” mercenary soldiers of his generation.

As for me, with Vietnam and Iraq on opposite ends of my career, it is time to return to the States and to my job as a police officer with the Altamonte Springs Police Department. At least the bad guys back there don’t use rockets and mortars.

To Debbie, my dear wife of 30 years who is the girl I left behind, I must simply say how blessed I will be to walk with you through every day of the rest of our lives.

SFC Chuck Grist
Baghdad, Iraq