Iraq: Looking back

Master Sgt. Gary Suvill

Bellevue

Air Force

Served in Qatar Jan. 2010-June 2010. Ran lodging operation for arriving and departing troops.

Explain what you did at this base outside Iraq.

We housed 11,500 personnel, a very busy operation. What we do is provide the support to those war fighters. We enable those guys to come in, lay their heads down, rest and relax. Provide flight meals out to the guys. A lot of times, these are your pilots, guys flying the operations, guys on that front line. We support them.

When people think of war, they often think of the front lines. But obviously it takes people behind the scenes to make it all work. How do you look at that?

Any time I'm able to provide a service, have that service member come in and be able to put him or her in a room — just put a smile on their face, knowing they have a peace of mind and can focus on the mission at hand — that puts a smile on my face. It's very rewarding for me.

Master Sgt. Jim Restau

Lincoln

Nebraska Air National Guard

Served in Baghdad Feb. 2010-Aug. 2010. Second deployment, provided security forces at base next to Baghdad International Airport.

You were in Iraq as the mission started to wind down. How was that?

I hate to say it, but boredom was probably the biggest enemy. The term “Groundhog Day” — like from the movie — that was almost every day. I'm not speaking bad about the deployment, but you'd get up, do your 12-hour shift, they'd relieve you and we'd go home and go to bed. You have to look at your watch to tell what day it was. It really didn't matter if it was Tuesday or Sunday.

You just got back from Iraq three weeks ago. How's the transition going?

My wife has told me I'm still wound up a little bit. Even for a deployment like mine, you gotta slow down when you come back. Everything over there just runs so fast all the time. I'm getting used to how laid-back and slow everything is here. I'm pacing the house today. I can't find anything to do.

Lt. Col. Todd Jacobus

Des Moines

Iowa National Guard

Served in Ramadi, Anbar province, Oct. 2004-Dec. 2005. Commander of Iowa Guard's 224th Engineering Battalion. Found and dismantled improvised explosive devices and made roads safe for travel.

What was Ramadi like when you got there?

In 2005, it was a horrendous place, statistically the most dangerous place on the planet. And it actually got worse the next year. There was just a great deal of unrest. Insurgents had everything to lose if they allowed law and order to be established. Any time they tried to engage, force on force, they were rarely successful. But the IED provided them a great opportunity to engage us with minimal risk to themselves.

Tell us about your daily missions and explain any frustration tied to that.

The frustrating piece is ... our route clearance teams had a couple of standard routes. We'd go out and clear the main routes at midnight, and then we'd go and do smaller routes, and then by the time we'd get back to the main routes, a couple hours later ... we would find IEDs there again. The routes would be reseeded already. And you'd think “They are right here with us.”

How did you feel about the mission when it ended, and now?

When I came back, people were saying that Iraq is a waste. That we were sacrificing people for no possible future. And even at the time, I thought that wasn't true. I knew there was the possibility of a bright future for Iraq. They are in the building stages, and it takes time, a great deal of time. And progress has happened because (Americans and Iraqis) were willing to make the commitment. We lost four soldiers. Those families have been changed forever as a result. I've thought about those guys every day. You almost don't want to think about it too much because it's too hard a subject to ponder for too long.

Staff Sgt. Amanda Schneider

Columbus, Neb.

Army

Served at Abu Ghraib Prison and Camp Cropper Jan. 2006-Dec. 2006. 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, interrogating detainees. Collected counterintelligence on possible attacks on U.S. soldiers.

There's been a lot in the news about Abu Ghraib. What was it like to go there in 2006 (after the prison abuse scandal in 2004)?

It was weird, an old prison, Saddam's old prison, and we lived in an actual cell. Things actually ran really well when I was there. I didn't see any kind of residual effect from the bad things that used to happen. All of the interrogations were videotaped when we were there. Nothing bad could happen. I think the most interesting thing is that it starts to be a normal, daily routine. After a while, I didn't feel less safe there than I would in the United States. We would get mortar and rocket attacks a couple times a week, and it's weird — it just becomes part of the routine. You just get used to it and you aren't scared anymore.

What was the most rewarding part of your deployment?

There were a lot of Iraqis just stuck in these detention facilities, just kind of lost. There was no information to convict them of anything, no information at all, and they just couldn't let them go. We came across several detainees who had been there for three years, four years. Interrogation after interrogation, just nothing. Myself and another soldier, we were instrumental in doing the work, cutting through the red tape and allowing these detainees to go home. I don't know how some people will take that, but I think you have to look at it as just being a humane person. You can't keep somebody in a jail forever for no reason.

What was your opinion of your deployment and the war when you came home in 2006? How has your opinion changed now?

I wouldn't say it's really changed. ... After being there, talking to soldiers on the ground, it makes me feel that it wasn't really worth it.

I guess to sum it up, I have never really understood why we are there, with the lives that keep being lost. ... So I'm glad to see the combat troops are coming out of Iraq.

Capt. Shane York

Hickman, Neb.

Nebraska National Guard

Served in Ramadi, Anbar province. Troop A, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry, provided security and regularly fought insurgents.

What are your first memories of Ramadi?

The first time I discharged my weapon, ... it was late at night, 11 p.m. or so. We're going from western to eastern Ramadi, and we got hit with a small IED that destroyed a wheel on the small Humvee. I was in the trail vehicle. Our gunner saw four guys running and turned the 50-caliber on them. While he was up there ... I was looking down the street, saw a couple of guys come barreling out of an alley with weapons. I dropped my window, hung my rifle and engaged. Wow. It was, I guess, a maturing experience. A life-changing experience. That was the first time, the one that will always stick with me.

What frustrated you during your deployment?

For some of the period I was there, just a lackadaisical attitude from the Iraqis, people who wouldn't stand up for themselves and take charge of the situation. They'd been so used to being bullied and intimidated ... that it took them a long time to take charge of their futures.

What was it like to come home?

When I first got back, it felt like I'd been on one of the biggest, craziest rides of all time. I was still kind of high inside from being there. After a few years, you can sit back and think about everything. You get to the point where you appreciate what you accomplished. I'm glad we went through it. I don't think I'll ever have another experience like it again.

Sgt. Maj. Robert West

Elm Creek, Neb.

Nebraska National Guard

Served in Balad, Iraq, Aug. 2006-Aug. 2007, 734th Transportation Battalion. Served in Baghdad May 2009-April 2010, 1195th Transportation Company, security escorts for contractors trucking supplies.

What frustrated you during your first deployment?

The Iraqis were mostly willing to work with us. There were people who wanted to help, wanted to learn, make a better society for themselves. The frustrating part was we would go by a route, find an IED, and then have one go off in the same place the next day ... and these were by checkpoints set up by (Iraqi) police. They had to know something was going on. They could see the routes pretty clearly. Initially they weren't helping us out at all. That was frustrating.

What was the difference between the 2006 deployment and the one last year?

A lot calmer. ... The Iraqis were building new houses, getting rid of the junk in the different neighborhoods. The IED numbers were down quite a bit. A lot of the people had taken over their own areas again rather than letting the insurgents scare them in their neighborhoods.

How do you feel about Iraq now?

Some of the people who have been there two or three times, we talk about what's changed. We just hope that the Iraqi government, hope that they can maintain themselves. It's going to take time.

Chief Master Sgt. Lawrence Rettele

Bellevue

Air Force

Served in Balad July 2008-Sept. 2009. Helped provide security in and around base north of Baghdad. For the first time since Vietnam, the Air Force controlled and patrolled a battle area outside a base's perimeter.

The historic nature of your final deployment has to make you proud.

I went to Iraq four times, but this (fourth deployment) was a complete honor. It's going to be one of those things, for the rest of my life, ... when somebody says “332nd Security Group,” my chest puffs out.

U.S. military tactics toward the Iraqis (counterinsurgency, or COIN, strategies) changed by July 2008. How did that work on the ground?

When we took over security, for the next nine months we were really aggressive with COIN. We would go out there and not just kick down doors indiscriminately. You get comfortable with the (Iraqi) people out there, introduce yourselves, let them know “Hey, we can be trusted. If you see insurgents, let us know.” The (insurgents') mortars would sometimes come down on the civilians as well. We let 'em know we weren't the bad guys. We'd go out and talk to the children, take doctors and medics with us, basically do house calls for the local population. Mortar and rocket attacks dropped over that nine-month period. There were five, six, seven attacks a day when we started, (and down) to one or two a week when I was leaving.

What's a memory that sticks in your head from your fourth and final Iraqi deployment?

It's a good and a bad thing. One day there was a roadside bomb, and a young girl was playing out in the road, and she detonated the bomb. This girl's father brought her to the (base) gate, and our guys started providing first aid. She had abdominal wounds, her hand was partly severed, her foot was partly severed. We got her in and saved her. Saved her hand, saved her foot, everything. A couple months before, that father wouldn't have had the trust and faith in us to give us his daughter. He trusted his daughter's life with us. That's very rewarding.

Capt. Chuck McWilliams

Omaha

Nebraska National Guard

Served at Camp Anaconda Dec. 2006-Nov. 2007. Commander of a convoy in 755th Chemical Company. Provided convoy security for trucks transporting goods from base to base in Iraq.

Tell me about driving on roads that might be covered with IEDs.

It's night, it's dark, it's hard to see. Sometimes you would think about it too much. You'd think, “Is that pile of rocks something? We're getting closer, is that something?” and you'd be looking intently. If you thought about it too much, it would drive you a little crazy, a little bonkers.

How did things change as the months passed?

I learned to trust (Iraqis). At first, especially, it was kind of a little bit cautious. You just don't know. (You) assume some of them that were on your side a few weeks ago could be doing hostile action now. As time went on ... we had an incident outside our bases, where (insurgents) drove a car bomb right up to the gate and killed a bunch of Iraqis who were helping us. The very next night, a bunch of guys from that village were out there manning that checkpoint, making sure the job got done. To me, that showed that these guys were really serious about taking this on, protecting themselves.

How do you feel about the war now?

When I first came back, things were starting to get better, but my biggest concern was that it would just be a temporary lull, and the violence would pick up again. I feel good that the trend line for violence has continued to go down. ... Iraq still has a long ways to go. They are going to have a rocky road of sorts. People will be out to do bad and test the security apparatus. But I personally believe that the Iraqis have the ability, the skills, to do it now.

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