March 04, 2007
Encouraging news from Iraq
U.S. Army Lieutenant Michael Bradbury, on patrol with the 7th Cavalry somewhere in Iraq.
A friend passed along this e-mail from his nephew, a U.S. Army lieutenant in Iraq. He gave me permission to post it on the web, and it's worth reading for two reasons.
First, it's a chance for you to get to hear from a brave young man who clearly cares about his mission and his troops -- and about the Iraqi people, too.
Second, it gives you an opportunity to hear about how things are going, unfiltered by the bias of the America-Last media, who are eager to proclaim the war lost, the task impossible, and the Iraqi forces incapable of bravery in the face of the enemy.
I realized that I have once again been neglecting my correspondence, and I apologize for falling behind, but I figured I could pull myself right out of that hot water with another mass email, so here it is. You are all now required to forgive me for not responding sooner, it’s in the Geneva Conventions.
Life in Iraq continues to be hectic but interesting. Due to a series of internet problems, we have been forced to find more physically demanding ways of entertaining ourselves in what limited down time we get, ranging from the traditional (football, basketball, and dodgeball, yes, dodgeball, it's because
we're cool), to the creative (donkey racing and hitting golf balls at the gate guards), to the idiotic (letting the bomb sniffing dogs attack us as part of an ongoing debate over the relative merits of wrestling alligators and bears -- it’s a long, complicated story).
Last week somebody decided that our morale needed building, so we made a tactical movement into the city, successfully kidnapping eight prime examples of the famed Iraqi donkey and transporting them back to base for questioning.After a long night of making tack (my headstall and saddle were the best, mainly because I say so), we raced them in front of the motor pool. The results were inconclusive, and I believe the race was rigged, so we claimed a moral victory for Demon Company. The golf ball thing really doesn’t require any in-depth explanation, we just figured that helping them stay awake was part of our civic duty after we caught them sleeping when we returned from a raid one night.
We continue to make progress in our many missions here in Northern Iraq, against increasingly heavy resistance from the Anti-Iraqi Forces. Although their activity has increased, it is much more chaotic, and lacks the focus and direction it had a few short months ago. Obviously, I cannot delve into this too deeply for security reasons, but I do want you all to know that we are making headway in this fight.
For the first time since I arrived in Iraq, I can honestly say that I am proud of the Iraqi Police (in the past they have been anything but reliable, and rife with corruption), and the change in their conduct is, I believe, indicative of a change that is slowly taking hold across the city’s population.
Last week an Iraqi Police station was attacked and virtually destroyed by an SVBIED (Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device, the Army’s nifty way of saying “car bomb”) a couple hundred meters from my vehicles while we were set in a cordon on a raid site, immediately followed by RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) and automatic rifle fire.
Within minutes, Iraqi Policemen from the other side of the city had responded, packed into the beds of their Chevy pickups, some of them having obviously just climbed out of bed, and threw themselves into the work of rescuing the wounded from the rubble, while at the same time providing their own perimeter security, leaving us free to maneuver against the attackers, and quickly transporting their wounded comrades to the nearest hospital.
Within half an hour, all survivors had been pulled free of the destruction and were receiving medical care, and all of this was done by Iraqis, with only minimal assistance from our Soldiers.
You might be curious as to why I would go into so much detail about this incident, but I believe it is important for you to understand the progress that the Iraqis are making here.
In contrast, a month and a half ago, I was present at another AIF ambush targeting Iraqi soldiers, and, rather than treat their wounded themselves (all of the necessary tools had been provided to them), the casualties were carried to my position to be treated by Uncle Sam.
The self reliance displayed by the Iraqis this past week is what they need if their country is to succeed, and, as I said before, I am proud of them.
I continue to be exceptionally proud of our Soldiers here. Day after day, these kids, many of them 18 and 19 years old, leave the wire to confront an enemy who can only rarely be seen and engaged, and must maintain their bearing under constant threat of attack by a hidden and cowardly force, while showing compassion for a civilian population that seldom shows any gratitude for their sacrifice.
These Soldiers continue to prove themselves capable and willing to accomplish these missions, and every day I am thankful for the opportunity to serve with them.
Before my tendency to ramble catches up with me, I will close this out here, and I wish the best for each of you, and hope that this finds each of you and your loved ones safe and well, and thank you for your emails and letters, I appreciate every one of them. Take care of yourselves,
One love, homies,
Mike [Bradbury]
We have a thousand reasons for failure but not a single excuse.
-Rudyard Kipling
If you'd like to tell LT Bradbury that Americans care about him and his men, that we're deeply grateful, you can e-mail him at michael.bradbury@us.army.mil.
Posted by Mike Lief at March 4, 2007 04:01 PM
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