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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (573936)	5/11/2004 10:55:59 AM
From: Bald Eagle	Respond to of 769670

Here's an e-mail that I received from a young lady friend of ours who is working in counter-intelligence in Iraq. Thought it might be of interest to you. Here's an email that I wrote to my parents. It describes an incident that really shook me up. I am fine and no longer at Camp Cooke. SGT "Hoppy" Hopkins and I are now at FOB Provider in Baghdad for the next two weeks because they needed a MI team down here for walk-ins and source meets. We are located 10 min from Martyrs' Monument; I can see the Monument from where we are at. Yes, I am once again in downtown Baghdad but I feel safer here than I do at Camp Cooke. We had a rude awakening yesterday morning when a mortar hit our living area at Camp Cooke. It was about 0500 hrs. in the morning when a loud boom shook me in my cot. I got up, opened the door and saw everyone running around yelling to put on our full battle rattle (body armor and helmet). The company commander walked by and told everyone to stay inside their trailers until further notice. Later there was a knock on my door and a SFC told me that one of my HWWMV's was hit by shrapnel. I went to investigate and saw that the mortar had hit our parking lot and the shrapnel from it damaged 5 vehicles around it with my HMMWV receiving the worst damage. A tiny piece of shrapnel no larger than a fingernail hit the water can on the back of my HMMWV and there was a large water puddle behind my vehicle (we thought it was the gas can at first). It flattened one of my tires and a piece of shrapnel hit the transfer case underneath my vehicle so that all the transmission fluid leaked out; it deadlined my vehicle. We were supposed to use that HMMWV to convoy to this FOB we're staying at right now. I took the water can and moved it to a safer area because I thought it was gas that spilled out (I should've smelled it) when I heard another mortar launch. I ran in between two trailers for safety when I heard it hit. They yelled for everyone to go into the bunkers so we did. We listened and waited bu no more mortars were fired after that so we all came out of the bunker. We later learned that the second mortar hit two rows of trailers behind us in Pod 2 (we live in Pod 3) next to the bunker where everyone was gathered at. Those who were standing in the opening of the bunker were hit by shrapnel; 4 killed 6 wounded. The trailers nearby were peppered by the shrapnel and full of holes. A female MAJ walked by us and she was a nurse. She said that they had to pick up body parts. Those who were killed were part of the Arkansas group and friends of the guys in our HUMINT section. Yesterday's mortar attack made everything "real" to me. I was actually scared and couldn't stop thinking about the incident for the rest of the day. With mortars and IED's it's the luck of the draw if someone is killed. At least if I'm shot at I can shoot back and most of the time, see who's shooting at me. I'm happy to be in Baghdad again and I've been talking to everyone who's been living here for a year and they said that they haven't been mortared since they've been here and they don't get attacked because they have the Iraqi Police Academy on one side and some other Iraqi group on the other so we're somewhat protected. They've heard firefights going on around them but never at them here. I'm happy to be here. We're with an Infantry group who's Oregon National Guard and they're all pretty nice. They want us to stay more than two weeks to establish relations and contacts with sources and walk-ins; two weeks isn't long enough to gain someone's trust. Right now the group that's been here for the past year is moving out and these INF guys are moving into their old quarters so they don't have much. The 3 (Hoppy, Imad, our interpreter and me ) of us made our own little area in a warehouse and that's where we sleep. The INF guys have been sleeping in the warehouse for the past two weeks and now they're finally getting their own rooms as this other unit pulls out; it's a transition period around here. We'll eventually get our own rooms too. I'd like to stay here. The unit from Arkansas at Camp Cooke is such an ate-up unit! They don't take care of their soldiers. The soldiers are good people, it's the officers who are a mess. There are too many of them and they have to stick their noses into everyone else's business including how we should do our HUMINT job. I'm sorry you guys are so worried about me but I'm okay. I'm doing my best to keep my head down but if it's my time to go then that's out of my control. I don't mean to worry you guys by telling you about the mortar attack but I thought that you should know because the media exaggerates a lot of stuff happening over here. There's a lot I don't tell you so that you don't worry. I love you and would tell you not to worry but I know you will. The internet service here is sooooooooooooooooo slow, the slowest I've experienced since being in country. It's operated by the Hajis and the phone service is slow too so I won't be in constant contact until we get up and running. Things will get better established here, they already have been. I love you guys and take good care of my kitties!