Update #9 - April 26, 2006
Hello #9
The other day I got a chance to meet some soldiers form Baghdad whose mission was to take Iraqi detainees to trial. On my day off I convinced them to take me along for a ride. During my briefing, the Officer in Charge neglected to inform me that they get hit often on these trips through the city. Good thing we had air support that day and that made me feel a little more comfortable. I love it how during rush hour down town, all traffic stops when we roll up and traffic laws don’t really apply to us. It’s an awkward feeling riding at 60mph on the highway head on to oncoming traffic. It’s normal I guess for the military to do such things. We finally get to our destination which was located right outside of the green zone. Close enough for safety, far enough to hear shots being fired but I was never in any danger. The building is Saddams old private museum with a clock tower. During the ground war, it was reported that many solders were dying from sniper fire and they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. One day an apache helicopte r decided to give the old clock tower a face lift. Problem solved! All that is left is a skeleton of metal filled with bullet holes and a beautiful view from the top as shown on the picture attached. After the tour, I got to escort a guy to trial and watch the new court system Iraq has set up. I felt privileged to witness democracy in a country where people used to get their hands cut off for something as little as having $USD. All is well and my trip home was as smooth as it was going there.
Thank you for your continued support,
SGT Santana, Alexandre C.
Bco 181 Engineers
APO-AE09342
The other day I got a chance to meet some soldiers form Baghdad whose mission was to take Iraqi detainees to trial. On my day off I convinced them to take me along for a ride. During my briefing, the Officer in Charge neglected to inform me that they get hit often on these trips through the city. Good thing we had air support that day and that made me feel a little more comfortable. I love it how during rush hour down town, all traffic stops when we roll up and traffic laws don’t really apply to us. It’s an awkward feeling riding at 60mph on the highway head on to oncoming traffic. It’s normal I guess for the military to do such things. We finally get to our destination which was located right outside of the green zone. Close enough for safety, far enough to hear shots being fired but I was never in any danger. The building is Saddams old private museum with a clock tower. During the ground war, it was reported that many solders were dying from sniper fire and they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. One day an apache helicopte r decided to give the old clock tower a face lift. Problem solved! All that is left is a skeleton of metal filled with bullet holes and a beautiful view from the top as shown on the picture attached. After the tour, I got to escort a guy to trial and watch the new court system Iraq has set up. I felt privileged to witness democracy in a country where people used to get their hands cut off for something as little as having $USD. All is well and my trip home was as smooth as it was going there.
Thank you for your continued support,
SGT Santana, Alexandre C.
Bco 181 Engineers
APO-AE09342
posted by Alexandre Santana at 7:50 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home