Jim Spiri in Iraq

had made arrangements to get out on this mission the day previous. By 0645 I was at the staging point and shortly there after we rolled out. This mission would be in conjunction with the Iraqi Army, which is a daily event these days here in Mosul. It is the exact heartbeat of what everyone stateside wants to know about. Handing the responsibility over to the Iraqis themselves. It takes time. Lots of time. But it is happening. I had heard about it. I have seen it. I am on the streets of Iraq witnessing it. And now I am saying it via this venue. THE TRANSISTION IS IN PROGRESS, but it takes time. That is the one point that I feel burdened to stress in this leg of the journey.

The West part of the city of Mosul, looks similar to other places in Iraq, except, the roads are not dirt alley ways and there is some contour to the terrain.
Even the slightest change in scenery is a welcomed sight. On clear days, one can see mountains to the north. So far, the sky has been quite hazy, but for brief moments, I've actually seen the mountains off in the distance. I feel a beckoning to visit the area called Kurdistan. That will have to wait for now.

My crew in the Humvee was a mix of characters.
Rutowski, originally from Poland, but having grown up in Illinois, is the medic and is very quiet. He's been here a while and is thinking quite a bit lately of his upcoming R and R. Deleon the driver is young and handles the Humvee well. The gunner, 20-year-old Simon Valdez is from 20-miles south of where I live in Albuquerque. He comes from Los Lunas, New Mexico and is on his first deployment to Iraq. He graduated barely two years ago from Los Lunas High School and we talked about things back home. He covers the top, and mans the 50-cal. It is up to him to light up anything that wants to attack us. He is also always a target.
The man in the front right seat, is one Sgt. Thomas Decarlo. He is my boss on this day.

Sgt. Thomas Decarlo is 23-years-old. He hails from New York, and likes the NY Yankees. I knew at the moment we would get along just fine. Had he been from Boston, well, we would have still got along, but would have to sit on opposite sides of the stadium if we attended a baseball game. All Yankees fans think alike.

Decarlo is on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He has been in the Army five years, and will have been in Iraq three of those years by the end of this deployment. He originally was in the 82nd airborne and has that training embedded into his being. As usual, I always end up riding with the best. I would walk the streets of Mosul today with Decarlo and listen to every word he has to tell me. And, indeed he had some things to tell me during moments of intensity today.

When a person like myself tags along with the military, the soldiers never know what to expect. It might be fair to say that having a "media" type along for the ride is not always what everyone looks forward to prior to heading out on a mission. By the end of this day's mission however, I found myself being invited to my new comrades' hooches and new friendships were forged and a new list of email addresses were gathered. It is the part of this journey that I really enjoy. Breaking the mold.
Getting in and becoming a part of their experiences.
They always see that through my viewfinder, the support from back home comes front and center.

The West side of Mosul is a bad area. It was our intention today to roll with the Iraqi Army as they move in and around known hot spots. I would soon find out that the spots were indeed dicey at times. We parked our Humvees on some street in a tactical fashion while the Major and members of his party began walking the streets. Gunners were left in their turrets as well as drivers in each vehicle. I hooked up with Sgt. Decarlo who covered the rear security of this segment of the patrol. I was now familiar with patrols having been "acclimated" to it all by the folks in Golf Co. 2/6 USMC, in Fallujah. That would pay off as excellent training. Here, we rolled out in vehicles, and then did dismounts. It was still hot, unbearably hot, but, not having to hump to the place made life much more simplified for this leg of the journey. Still, I managed to consume several liters of water in five hours.

As we were moving from business to business and house to house, Decarlo mentioned to me in a pointing direction, "that this area to my right is bad. And this area to my left is bad. Oh, and in front of us is bad. Oh yea, and behind us is bad also. " At that I replied, "is that it?", knowing full well that there was nothing left to be a good area. He smiled and looked at me and said, "yea, that'a about it. I guess it's all bad, that's why we're here."

Shortly after that introduction to west Mosul during the patrol, small arms fire came streaking rather close to Decarlo and myself. It was a strange experience. I had heard the streaking then the popping sound. Decarlo took cover behind an ambulance van and I was right next to him. I began snapping some photos and moved kind of in front of him. More shots rang out and he looked at me and said rather abruptly, "get behind me." I of course did, and I looked at the smirk on his face and he realized that I wasn't afraid, I was just trying to get the right photo taken. He reminded me of Dunnigan at that point.

The rest of the morning there were other similar events including a mortar near by, an RPG round close by, and lots of other noises that one just gets used to. All along overhead were OH58 helicopters swooping in and out and covering us from above. As we searched the area, house to house for where the fire was coming from, eventually we received word that the two folks that were drive by shooters were located as well as two others that were shooting RPG's. So, pretty much, we had drawn contact, the bad guys were found, and no one got hurt. The Iraqi Army commander conferred with Major Reeves, and the Iraqi commander determined that today's mission was a success. It was his decision for us to RTB, and he and Major Reeves discussed plans for dealing with this area in the future.

It was determined that we would head back to the FOB and by 1300 hrs, we were back and had a chance to grab chow. I had now been on my first mission with the folks of 2/7, the Ghost Battallion. I enjoyed it and would come to learn even more from Sgt. Decarlo in the next several hours. Later that afternoon I went to see Sgt. Decarlo and download some photos I took of him. We talked for along time and I came to realize that this warrior of 23-years-old, has lots, and lots of experience in this war. He told me of a time back on January 7 of this year, where he decided to get religion. It was a rough day. He did well, but it was tough. We talked about how his skills from years past with the 82nd have been life skills that will never be forgotten. He is one squared away soldier.
He is on top of his game. Yet, he too has told me, three years of deployments are taking a toll.

He told me of plans to open a real nice barber shop for soldiers in El Paso, having pretty Hispanic women cut hair and pamper the clients with facials and the like. He would like to have his own business yet desires to stay close to the military. We'll see if he gets out. It would be the Army's loss to lose such a warrior. And he's only twenty-three. When I think of him I will remember this smirk on his face telling me to get back behind him. Upon leaving him this evening, he wrote his name in a bible and gave it to me as a gift. Another brother has been located. A warrior. In the Army. In 1st Cav.

Just as in Anbar province to the south, it is here in Ninevah province in the north. There are brothers in arms, and I have found them and report to those in America who are listening. Our sons and daughters in harms way are well trained and willing to carry the torch of freedom for us all. Yes, they are weary from multiple deployments, but are not faltering.

They will mount up and ride again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and all the days ahead until they are done with the mission.

Jim Spiri
Mosul, Iraq
jimspiri@yahoo.com