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Newsweek Story About Jum's Brigade

MSNBC.com

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Straight to the Heart

Battle Cries: For U.S. troops and their wives and children, the Iraq war's invisible costs just keep on piling up.

By Michael Hastings

Newsweek

Sept. 18, 2006 issue - Toward the end of July, Capt. Brad Velotta began daydreaming a lot. He thought about making the summer's last run of salmon in Alaska's Russian River, where bears lumber down from the woods and chase fishermen out of the water. He thought about getting a kitten for his 3-year-old daughter, Sophia. Most of all, Velotta hoped to see his 83-year-old grandmother Mary one last time before she died of cancer. "She thought she could hold on," says Velotta's father, Albert, at the family home in Alexandria, La. Her grandson was supposed to leave Iraq on Aug. 2. "She thought it would only be a few weeks more."

But it wasn't. On July 26, Velotta learned that he and his unit, the 172nd Stryker Brigade, were going not home but to the core of Iraq's sectarian blood feud: Baghdad. After a solid year of battling the insurgency, from Mosul to Tall Afar to the westernmost reaches of Al Anbar province, the 172nd has been extended until after Thanksgiving—if not later. Velotta, 29, Blackhawk Company commander in the 172nd's 4-23 infantry battalion, gave a tough talk to his squad leaders: "I know it f---ing sucks. But you don't have the option to not be motivated. You don't have the privilege to be worn out. This is Baghdad. This is graduate-level s--t."

No one has to tell the 4-23 that every war is cruel. Its members freely admit they've been luckier than a lot of units in Iraq. The 172nd has lost fewer than 20 of its roughly 4,000 troops in the past year, and the 4-23 has had no one killed in action. Their record in the field, along with their almost indestructible armored vehicles, made the 172nd an obvious choice to clean out Baghdad's sectarian death squads. "We were victims of our own success," says Capt. Phillip Mann, the 4-23's intelligence officer. Even so, the war's emotional and spiritual costs keep rising for them and their loved ones back home. Velotta's little girl tells of bad dreams that he's going to die. "No, baby," her mother says. "He is coming home"—wishing she could be sure of that. The wedding of Spc. Shawn Mott and Nina Herrera was set for Sept. 16. Eight hours after she mailed the invitations, he called to say he had to go to Baghdad instead of flying home. "I was so scared to call you," he told her afterward. "I thought you'd leave me."

The Army says troop morale remains high. For the first 11 months of fiscal 2006, two out of three soldiers who were eligible to re-enlist have done so—a rate unchanged since 9/11. But whatever the numbers say, the strain is showing. Capt. John Grauer, the 4-23's chaplain, describes the scene when the order came down: "There was a rush of soldiers trying to get on the phone to call home. Some literally threw up when they heard the news. Some were extremely angry ... Some went to sleep for a couple of days, hoping maybe it was all a bad dream." It was tough for Grauer to tell his wife, Tyra, and their two girls—especially Morriah, 9. "She started crying," he says. "That's when I put the sunglasses on." Behind the shades, he wept.

Back home, the news hit hard. Some 172nd wives are too proud to complain. "At least our husbands are out there saving the world," says one. "They're not wussies just sitting there on the couch." But at Fort Richardson, Alaska, the 4-23rd's home base, chaos erupted at the announcement of the extension. Some wives had already packed up and shipped their household goods to their husbands' next duty stations. There were families without a place to live; children pre-enrolled in schools thousands of miles away; parents scrambling for winter clothing they had given away; household goods in storage; airplane tickets for vacations that could not be taken—not to mention thousands of broken hearts. Grauer says soldiers have told him, "This has killed my marriage, It's been my third deployment in five years, and we've only spent 15 months together."

Staff Sgt. Chad Denton is on his second deployment. "It takes its toll," says his wife, Beth, back home in Anchorage. "You just don't know each other anymore." The Dentons have five children, 1 to 13 years old, and the two middle sons, 6 and 8, are having trouble. "They need their dad," Beth says. "I keep telling him, 'I know you guys are getting blown up, but I'd rather be on that side, doing what you're doing, than on this side, being mom and dad'." Telling her about the extension was "brutal," says Chad. "At first she said she couldn't believe it. I guess there are three stages: denial, shock ... " His voice trails off. He doesn't get to the third stage.

The 172nd is in the thick of Baghdad's largest military action since 2003. U.S. and Iraqi officials call it the Battle of Baghdad. Gen. George Casey, head of all Coalition forces in Iraq, told 172nd officers it's "the defining moment, the defining battle of the war." This summer's sectarian violence was the worst Baghdad has seen since the war began, with roughly 1,800 killings in July alone, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry. Large parts of the city have fallen into virtual anarchy. Privately, senior U.S. officials say the Iraqi government has only a few months to stop the killing or collapse.

The Stryker teams are supposed to hold the line. They spend their days searching bad neighborhoods for weapons and evidence of death-squad activities. But Baghdad, like much of Iraq, is suffering from "whack-a-mole" syndrome. The militias keep popping up elsewhere. "With two Stryker brigades, one on the east side, one on the west side, we could secure Baghdad," says a 172nd officer, who asks not to be named disputing Coalition strategy. Even then, he adds, it would take more than four months to finish the job. As things stand, many 4-23 members say the sweeps are no more than a temporary fix. Some argue that the aim is only to make Iraq look good before the Nov. 7 U.S. elections—"fighting for the House of Representatives," as Sgt. Brian Patton describes it.

Meanwhile, families are falling apart. Back in Alaska, one 4-23 wife has a suicidal child in the hospital; another suffered an ectopic pregnancy and had to beg her husband's commander to let him come home to care for her. Another wife attempted suicide. Her husband was sent home, but his career, the other wives say, is over. Gossip is running wild: who drinks too much, who has a compulsive-gambling problem, whose kids are left untended.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld got a taste of this rage and frustration in August when he met with family members of the 172nd at Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, Alaska. In a video of the meeting obtained by NEWSWEEK, one woman asked him why the 172nd was spending most of its time clearing houses, instead of patrolling the streets in the relative safety of the big armored vehicles. "My husband hasn't set foot in his Stryker since he arrived in Baghdad," she said. "Over 90 percent of the house clearings are being handled by the Iraqis," Rumsfeld responded, whereupon women in the audience began shouting "No!" and "That's not true!" Flummoxed, Rumsfeld shot back, "No? What do you mean? Don't say 'No,' that's what I've been told. It's the task of the Iraqis to go through the buildings."

The 4-23's soldiers say they, not the Iraqis, do 95 percent of the searches. "I'd like to punch [Rumsfeld] in the gut," says one seasoned NCO on his second Iraq tour. "He treats us like we're not human. He acts like he's not destroying families."

Baghdad in August breeds thoughts like that. Outside it's 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside a Stryker armored vehicle it's 130, sometimes 140. Team members sweat more than seems humanly possible. Their mustaches leak with sweat. Their soaked pants leave damp marks where they sit. The sweat collects in the protective goggles they wear, pouring off the eyebrows and into the lenses. Each soldier has to wear 15-pound side plates, 20-pound body armor, and a three-pound helmet that feels like it's baking the brain. When the vehicle stops, the teams dismount and go to work, climbing stairs, scaling walls, breaking down doors—always watching out for snipers and booby traps.

The unit has had plenty of close calls. Capt. Benjamin Nagy, who goes by the nickname Ox, has been hit by 15 IEDs. Chaplain Grauer has been IED'd seven times. Strykers routinely drive away unscathed from explosions that would kill everyone in a Humvee. Sometimes Velotta's men, sick of the drudgery of house searches, say things like: "Please, can someone just shoot at us?" But a single call over the radio can turn the tedium into something far worse. In the Adamiyah neighborhood, a soldier from another 172nd unit, the 4-14, recently became the extension's first loss. He was shot in the face by a sniper and died a week later after being evacuated to a hospital in Germany.

Postscript: Mary Velotta died on Aug. 19. Her grandson missed the funeral.

With Scott Johnson in Baghdad, KAREN BRESLAU in Anchorage, John Barry and Michael Hirsh in Washington, Catharine Skipp in Alexandria and Margaret Friedenauer in Fairbanks

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757928/site/newsweek/

The Strut

It appears in this photo that jeans cause Reese to strut...

Reese is doing extremely well and is getting the crawling thing down. Last night she went from the kitchen to the back bathroom without stopping and then pulled herself right up into a seated position, it was awesome. Not sure what her aversion to crawling previously was, but it looks like she has overcome it.

I also need to review this past weekend's checklist:

Notre Dame win- x
Bears crush Packers- x
ThunderCats crush Jum- x

The Enquirer has a policy that when distributing tickets to clients for events, priority is given to cases where the rep goes with them. I have a client who is from Cleveland who wanted to take his daughter to the Browns-Bengals game Sunday, so I get to go for FREE. Not a bad deal...

Things are going really well at our church as well, we have started connecting with some couples there and have dinner plans in the next couple of weeks. I have been given the honor of helping them with some advertising/marketing ideas and will be helping them set-up the stage a couple of times a month. (We currently meet in a high school auditorium.) The children's director will also be in touch with Bon regarding helping with the kids during service.

It was awesome this past Sunday where a father baptized his 13 year old daughter, it gave me goose bumps. I definitely look at things differently now that I have my own little princess.

Love you Reese.

Pure Joy

Oatmeal cereal, good for your health, and good for your skin...

Dream Team

So you know about my speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago, going 45 in a 20mph school zone...

Well, similar to OJ Simpson I had my own "Dream Team" with two of the finest attornies in the world. They have managed to get me out of points on my license and get me dropped to a non-moving violation. I can't thank Schad and the Godfather enough, I owe them big for this one. They are getting the judge to overlook that small weapons charge against me a couple of years ago as well...

One of the funniest things that just keeps popping into my head is at the end of the movie Kingpin when Bill Murray's character wins the tourney and collects the $1 Million prize, he says, "Finally, Big Ern is above the law".

That's kinda how I feel...

#1

A win is a win. Notre Dame held on to beat Georgia Tech 14-10 Saturday night. The defense played very well in the 2nd half but the new kicker missed a couple of short ones. Saturday it does not get any easier as they face Penn State on NBC at 3:30.

Mad props go out to Momma for hosting us all day Saturday, we had a great time.

More props go out to Jum for scoring us the entire Disney collection, 130 movies, on DVD for Reese. I know they will get used a ton, you da man.

Thursday night marks the beginning of the NFL season, I love this time of year...

Celebrate!

Want more proof that prayer works? Try this one on for size...

Our pediatrician called and after reviewing Reese's EKG has determined that she sees no abnormalities and at this time sees no need to proceed with further testing for the elongated Q-T interval.

We feel humbled that God has shown his grace to us again and answered our strongest prayer.

The Spectrum

Newest pic of the recovered Reese...

Since it has been a year since Katrina I started reflecting back on my trip down to New Orleans for clean-up and the amazing goodness I saw in so many people. I will never forget the faces and the people we met in that week. I can't believe it has been a year, a conversation I had with a gentlemen and his wife who were volunteering from Missouri and staying with us is what really pushed me over the edge when it came to wanting to start my own business.

They told me stories of their lifestyle and how the freedom the business allowed them to have was a blessing to their children and friends. Not financially, but in time. They didn't have to use vacation to go to New Orleans and help, in fact they offered that any of their employees who wanted to go could ride with them, have no travel expenses, and not have to use vacation time. I will do that for my employees someday...

On the flipside, there has been a terrible story in the news here in the Nati, for those of you who are out of town you can read about it at this link:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060829/NEWS01/608290340

Absolutely mind-blowing, this child never had a chance. I've given Reese an extra squeeze and kiss every night.

Weekly Update

Alot has gone on in the past week, here are the highlights:

- Reese has her first cold, I guess making it seven months was a good run. Bon has been phenomenal at taking care of her. She has the vapor machine in her room, Bon put some blankets under her crib mattress to prop her up a little at night, and she gets the Baby Vapo-rub applied to her chest. It is very sad to hear her trying to breathe and sounding like Darth Vader.

- One of the hardest things to do is to wipe the nose of a baby, I read somewhere that most kids don't figure out how to blow their own nose until 4 years old!

- Work and class are still rolling on, going very well. I am extremely proud of Mama she is really doing well with her classes and is proving to be a great role model for her 3 little girls!

- This is the last football-free weekend until February, I am extremely fortunate that Bon likes it, Notre Dame plays Georgia Tech next Saturday night.

- Last Saturday we attended my cousin Jamie's wedding in Chi-town. It was good to see some of our family, and we got the opportunity to hoop it up. The game abruptly ended when the Doc went down with a "cramp". I think we were about to beat him...

- Wednesday we took Reese for an EKG so they can take a look at the Q-T interval to see how things look before proceeding with other tests. For those of you who may not know Long Strand QT Syndrome is a heart condition that has taken the lives of a few people in Bon's family, including her brother. It is hereditery and Bon may be a carrier so we are trying to do our due dilligence.

- Thursday I took an alternate route to work due to some minor traffic congestion, on the new route there is a freshmen school which had just begun class that morning. I had no idea and was going 45 MPH. Well a Statey was sitting in the school parking lot, speed limit of 20 mph apparently, so I was pulled over. The bad part is that instead of just getting a ticket I have a mandatory court appearance since it was 15+ mph over in a school zone. So I go to court on September 12th. More updates on this to follow...

Watch this video clip, awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1cxOg_UnG8&search=Notre%20Dame%20Football

Go Irish!

Another Anniversary...

Saturday marked the one year anniversary of Dragonfest and the birthday of my late grandfather.

For those of you who do not know the story, last year on August 12th we headed down to Daytona Beach to share a weekend with Rhino in preparation of Jum going to boot camp.

We, (Jum, myself, Rhino, Daddy B, and Andy), headed to a casino boat with our sights set on a blackjack table. We arrived, sat down at the table, and Andy says to the dealer, "You can go ahead and give us the money now and save some time, because we are going to win it." The dealer laughed, I'm sure he hears that alot.

Well, about 2 hours later, we all stood up from the $5 blackjack table and walked away with over $13,000 collectively. (See photo of what 132 $100 bills looks like.)

It was a night we will never forget, I can't believe it was a year ago already. Here's to you boys, let's do it again soon...

Happy Friday

Another week down, and definitely looking forward to chillin' this weekend. Bon and I should be receiving the final two installments of the first season of 24 tomorrow. This show is the real deal. I think we will be in great shape to catch up by the start of the new season in January.

Another NFL pre-season game tonight on TV, which is always exciting. I know some folks do not like the se games, but I really enjoy watching the scrubs.

Lastly, if you want to play a good prank on someone go to the web-site www.snakesonaplane.com and you can set-up a personalized message to someone from Samuel L. Jackson. It is pretty sweet, I highly recommend it.

Chillicothe PR

Funny story, I am listening to the radio in the shower yesterday morning and this guy calls into the DJ's, one male and one female. The caller asks the female DJ out on a "date", she says "where do you want to take me?"

His response, the Ross County Fair!

The male DJ then interjects, "Chillicothe, right?, isn't that where they have the big biker sex party every year?"

Wow, good thing I am from Ross County, Missouri...

Yes he does...

Back by popular demand, a pic of Reese, now 6 1/2 months old and cool as ever. She is wearing my favorite bib in this one, "My Daddy Loves Me," truer words may have never been spoken.

Props today go out to Miss Russell on her wedding day, congrats, you deserve the best.

The first NFL preseason game is on TV tomorrow night, and so it begins...

Anniversary

Bon and I celebrated our 7h wedding anniversary Monday night. We had a lovely dinner at a wicked nice Italian restaurantee (as the Grumpy Old Men would say) and had a wonderful time. It does not seem like 7 years have passed. A lot sure has changed, and I anticipate a lot more changes in the next 7. Bon is the greatest blessing I have or will ever be given.

Work is going extremely well, and it seems like I need to do a better job of making this a priority. There are a ton of interesting things I come across or think about that seem "blog worthy" but they never make it up. Mad props to Steve Carr who does a phenomenal job of making his blog a must-read on a daily basis.

More props go out to Momma who aced her first 2 accounting quizes and is providing credibility to the fact that she is the first ever employee to agree in principle to work for Momentum Financial, we got a steal folks.

Off to my homework, got class tomorrow night.

Bad News

Rumsfeld OKs Stryker brigade extension

By Rod Boyce
Published July 27, 2006
Posted in Local

The Defense Department and military commanders announced today that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has approved an extension in the tour of duty of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which has been in Iraq for nearly a year and which was in the midst of having soldiers return to Alaska.

Rumsfeld, according to an announcement on the Defense Department’s Web site, has approved an extension of up to four months. The announcement made no mention of the brigade’s destination in Iraq.

“The Secretary of Defense approved a request by the Commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) to extend the deployment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team operating in Iraq for up to 120 additional days,” the announcement said. “The Department recognizes the continued contributions of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and their family members. This extension reflects the continued commitment of the United States to the security of the Iraqi people.

The announcement comes as just as the 172nd’s return to Alaska was under way. Some the nearly 4,000 troops form the brigade have already returned while others were scheduled to arrive later this week and early next month.

Some of the brigade’s soldiers who recently returned to Alaska from Iraq will be sent back to Iraq, said Col. Michael Shields, the 172nd’s commander. Shields spoke Thursday from Mosul, Iraq, to a news conference that began at about 12:20 p.m. Alaska time at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and Fort Richardson in Anchorage.

Shields said the brigade has “left a legacy of success” in Mosul, where it has been stationed for its time in Iraq. Now, he said, “It’s time to close that chapter and open a new one.”

Shields declined, however, to answer a question about what mission the brigade will have during its extension or where it might be stationed. There has been intense speculation that the brigade will be sent to Baghdad to help curb rising violence in the city. President Bush said earlier this week that the United States would be sending additional forces to the city.

“This is a temporary measure to create a more secure environment in Iraq,” Shields said. The duration of the extension, he said, will be determined by events on the ground.

“Obviously there are financial, emotional and physical hardships associated with this,” Shields said. “There are individual and family issues associated as well.”

The brigade deployed to Iraq in August to the Nineveh province in northern Iraq.

Celebrate

Just got word a few hours ago that Justin is on his way out of Iraq and heading to Kuwait!

He should be in Alaska in a few days and will be able to give everyone a call from his new digs. It will be another month before he gets here, but just knowing he is back on this side of the pond is a huge relief.

Bon and Reese are doing phenomenal, we think Reese may be getting some tooths though, (yes I know the correct word is teeth, but I like tooths).

She has been a little more irritable and her gums have a whitish tint to them.

Big props to Daddy B, it was good to see you Saturday, and it was nice to play some hoop just like the old days.

Peace out...

Update

Not alot new going on here, back to class tonight. Mad props to Momma who started class yesterday, you are never too young to get educated...

Reese had her 6 month birthday Tuesday, which was very exciting

We are addicted to 24. Thank goodness for Netflix, we have started from the very beginning and after one disc, we want another!

We have gotten a little lazy with the photos, so I will try and get some more up in the coming days, she is growing very quickly!

t-8 days for Jum in Iraq.

Peace out...

Concert

As difficult as this may be to admit, I may have a man-crush on Tim McGraw. Bon and I had the opportunity to go and see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill last night. What makes him so cool, is that he just seems so legit, seems to be a good husband and father, and owns an arena football team. My only complaint about the concert is that Faith took up too much time with her solo act. They did some duets to open, then Faith performed for an hour, Tim for an hour, and then they rejoined for duets in the encore.

Mad props to Miss Russell, AKA Aunt Amy who stayed with the Reese last night while we went to the concert. Unfortunately she had to battle with the great protector, Chubbs. Apparently Chubbs planted herself under Reese's crib and did not take kindly to Amy getting close. She likes to hiss and growl, all show.

That's all for now...