Jim Spiri in Iraq

Yesterday evening, I ventured by Bravo (Bulldog) company of 2/7 Cav, where I had earlier met 1st Sgt. Gonzalez and Captain Kendell. Both were eager to accomodate me and as I had hoped, a mission was planned for the morning of August 2. So I determined while all the "big media" was swarming around the FOB, doing whatever it is they do, I would go and mingle with Bravo Company. I showed up at the prescribed time and met a new group of folks that were preparing for the big day. Some information had been obtained about a location in north Mosul and we were headed that direction to see what we could find.

I would hook up this morning with one Lt. Dolny, from Virginia, who just recently returned from his R and R stateside. He had been working with the combat engineers recently and is now where he belongs, with Ghost Battallion, Bravo Co., 2/7, 1st Cav. He is the Lt. in charge of 3rd platoon, and we would be going into north Mosul. We would be looking for a VBED factory where some material used in these type of weapons might be stashed. I was welcomed aboard, given an "energy" drink, called rip it, and coupled with the cup of coffee I had earlier around sunrise, I was ready to tackle today's objective with some new warriors I had not gotten to know, yet. There would be a short, group prayer prior to our departure.
Everyone attended.

One of the hardest part of any mission for me lately is simply getting in and out of an up-armored humvee.

For those of you that have not traveled in one of these, it is a chore to just open and close one of the doors on these vics, squeeze into your assigned seat, with flack and kevlar on. It seems to never fail that I manage to bump my head, (which is why I put my kevlar on before getting into the vehcile now) as well as smash my right kneecap nearly everytime. Once the ordeal of getting into the humvee is over, then I have to reach over and close the door, which I'm sure must weight a million pounds. At least that is what it feels like lately, especially if the humvee is parked even slightly on an incline. Maybe I need to go to the gym like everybody else does. I always think of things like that when August rolls around each year, for it is the month I turn another year YOUNGER..!

As we lined up for departure, I noticed we were being accompanied by some Bradley APC's as well as some Abrams tanks. Lots of big horses on this ride.

Should be interesting. The humvees remind me of good sturdy quarter horses. The Bradleys remind me of wild and high spirited Arabian horses. The Abrams look like Budweiser Clydsdales. I've ridden all three types in my youth, and the quarter horse was best suited for me. Me and humvee worked things out, and I was determined to let it work for me, instead of the other way around. Soon, we mounted up and headed out the gate into north Mosul.

Looking overhead, I saw the Kiowas keeping track of us, again. Peering out the tiny window on my right, I gazed at the blandness of the day. We were already sweating and consuming some water, but the A/C in the vic was working, and the temperature surely was not above 90-degrees, inside. Much hotter outside.

After some turns, here and there, we were lined up on the street that was our objective. In a moment's notice, we exited the humvee and sprinted down a street where the Bradley was making a left, 90-degree turn in the middle of the street and sure enough drove right through the front door of this kind of warehouse wedged between a bunch of other concrete structures.
I knew this was going to happen before hand, but when it did, it was quick, and without hesitation.

Immediately, soldiers I was with entered the building, which had stacked up along the wall approximately 140 bags of ammonium nitrate. Fertilizer. Now, I have yet to see any farm store in this part of Mosul, and have yet to see anybody growing indoor house plants that could possibly use that much fertilizer in a hundred lifetimes in the streets of north Mosul. This was nearly 15,000 lbs of fertilizer which everyone knows is the same thing that the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, in 1995 was blown up with. The insurgents here have used the same methods and pack cars full of this stuff and select a suicide driver to execute horrendous acts of violence.

Once inside the warehouse, a coordinated plan was put in place to secure the area and call in another vehicle that would in turn have the bags loaded onto it. Some soldiers were stationed as guards to secure the warehouse, as Lt. Dolny and some of his men, and myself tagging along, immediately began a search of the house next door and some other structures. US Army soldiers from Bravo Company were all over the area, organized a security zone while others searched for suspects. Two suspects were located, one was 20-years old, the other 23. I was told by the interpreter that they were brothers. Both were tested with a type of swab, similar to what I've seen at various airports around the world, and the tests proved positive for traces of not only ammonium nitrate but other bomb making materials. They were subsequently detained and would be questioned at a later time in another location.

During the house to house searches, shots rang out and for a short while, it was a bit noisy with echoing of firing all around. Lt. Dolny and some of his men pursued in the direction of where some suspicious folks had been seen. I again stayed with Lt. Dolny, and we came upon a home that we searched thoroughly and found one male, perhaps in his early 20's. He was well built, in good shape, and was questioned through the interpreter for a while. We remained there on the rooftop, while communications continued with other army personell coordinating the removal of the bomb making materials at the warehouse we had located earlier.

Eventually, we exited the rooftop and proceeded back to the warehouse where the two detainees were being held as the loading up of the 140-bags of fertilizer proceeded. All along the way I snapped photos of the morning's events and by now, everyone was soaking wet with sweat from the intense August heat.

The process was comlpeted and we soon coordinated our departure from this street in north Mosul. As I was leaving, I noticed an old 1955 chevy, pretty much rusted out, across the street. That's the same year I was born. There were people on the street, watching the events transpire. I happened to notice that most of the people had a look on their faces that seemed to match the look of the day. North Mosul is a rough area. I almost could hear through the stares. I took a few photos of the locals, but the expressions were different today. Kind of like what I first noticed in the early morning atmosphere. Sometimes one just gets a feeling.

As we departed north Mosul, Lt. Dolny pointed out on the way back, areas on the left and right, that had been recent points of IED explosions. He also anticipated the possibility of receiving small arms fire from other areas he pointed to on the left and right again. He warned the gunner up top to take heed. We pressed on, and eventually arrived back at the FOB.

We had scored one in the confiscation of nearly 15,000 lbs of bomb making material. We also had located two prime suspects. For now, at least, there is less material available to do damage to soldiers as well as innocent Iraqi civillians. I thought back to the writing on the bags of fertilizer that said, "Ammonium Nitrate, made in Russia". I wondered when they arrived here in Iraq..? Who knows?

This mission was done. Again, no one was hurt.
Everyone came back in one piece. I wondered what the other "big media" people were doing today. I came back, checked my photos, and decided to write about it as soon as possible. I was there today, with Bravo Company of the 2/7 1st Cav troops from Ft. Bliss, TX, near El Paso. The bad guys were headed off at the pass, this time, so to speak. The pass to the north part of Mosul, is hot, and dangerous. But the soldiers of the 1st Cav handled the day well.
Tomorrow is another day.

Jim Spiri
FOB Marez, Mosul-Iraq
jimspiri@yahoo.com