Of vital interest, p.15
Of Vital Interest, page 15
Many of the soldiers in Sergeant Abdullah’s unit had not deployed to Iraq before and were concerned about leaving Kuwait. It was always difficult to deal with the unknown, but they also knew that this time would come eventually, and it was better to just move out and get it over with. The sooner they left Kuwait, the sooner they would be able to get into the fight.
12
“Good morning, soldiers,” Chief Provanski greeted, stopping at the table the specialists were sitting at for breakfast. “Did you enjoy the fireworks last night?”
“It was very exciting,” Wafiq said.
“Yes. Every time they shoot at us, I want to go out and kill them all with my bare hands,” Chief Provanski commented with an odd smile on his face. “It makes me very pumped up with energy. So were any of you injured?”
“No, sir,” Aisha answered.
“Oh, well, that is good,” Chief Provanski said. “No paperwork to fill out. Maybe next time we get you a Purple Heart. OK, so today we are going back to work. I have a meeting first, and then we will begin. You can do other things first and then meet me by the supply building at 1000 hours.”
Al Khafaji used the extra time to check his messages. He didn’t find anything of note in his email or junk folders. He tried to find information on the general situation in Iraq, but there wasn’t much available. There seemed to be much more activity in Afghanistan. He shut the computer down and headed over to the supply building.
The four specialists waited for Chief Provanski outside for almost ten minutes before they saw him walking quickly over to the supply building.
“I cannot look for spies right now,” Chief Provanski said, a little out of breath. “You all can go do something else useful for today. I will speak with Sergeant First Class Hermanson about tomorrow.”
The four specialists went back to their quarters to wait for lunch. Al Khafaji was upset that he’d wasted the morning when he might have been able to go out on patrol with Sergeant First Class Hermanson. He needed to find a way to see what was happening outside of the outpost so he could pass information on to his cousin. Sitting around his quarters waiting for something to happen was not good enough for him. He was just going back to the computer room to check his messages when he thought he heard Sergeant First Class Hermanson’s voice outside.
Al Khafaji picked up his rifle and gear and walked outside to see Sergeant First Class Hermanson talking with Staff Sergeant Pederson. He stood still for a few seconds until Sergeant First Class Hermanson waved him over.
“Samir, what are you doing here?” Sergeant First Class Hermanson asked. “I thought you were all looking for spies again with Chief Provanski.”
“We were, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji began, walking closer. “But Chief Provanski had to go do other things and told us to find something to keep busy. Would it be possible to go with you, Sergeant?”
“Sure, why not?” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said, glancing at Staff Sergeant Pederson.
“Fine with me, Herm,” Staff Sergeant Pederson said. “Wouldn’t hurt to have a linguist with us just in case.”
“OK, Samir, you can meet us over at the vehicles at 1300 hours,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said as he looked at his watch. “Make sure you have at least four twenty-round magazines and bring your rucksack with at least one MRE and a couple canteens of water.”
“Yes, Sergeant. Thank you,” Al Khafaji replied before hurrying back to his quarters to make sure everything was ready prior to going to lunch. He would stop by his quarters on the way to the vehicle. He did not want to say anything to the others because they might also want to go, and Sergeant First Class Hermanson might change his mind.
“I am going to leave for lunch. Are you coming?” Al Khafaji asked Wafiq after organizing his gear. “I have been told that the food is better if you get there early.”
“OK,” Wafiq replied without much enthusiasm. He was hoping to look for spies again. “It isn’t as if we have anything else to do. Maybe there will be some spies at lunch with us.”
“You never know with spies,” Al Khafaji said, smiling. “They could be anywhere.”
“Yes, they can be anywhere except the supply building,” Wafiq added, grinning back at him.
Wafiq and Al Khafaji stopped and asked Aisha and Sara to join them. The four specialists walked to the dining facility and joined the relatively short line. They got their food and ate. When Al Khafaji looked at his watch, it was only 1200 hours. He tried to keep the others occupied by talking instead of eating, but nobody seemed to be interested.
He didn’t think his original plan of sneaking out without the others noticing was going to work. Al Khafaji saw Staff Sergeant Pederson sitting with some other soldiers and walked over to his table.
“Excuse me, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji said to Staff Sergeant Pederson. “I just wanted to check to see if there was anything else I needed to bring with me today.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Staff Sergeant Pederson responded, not really understanding why there was a need to ask. “I think Sergeant First Class Hermanson covered it pretty well.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji said and walked back to the table with the other specialists.
“Sergeant First Class Hermanson wants me to go with them this afternoon,” Al Khafaji revealed to the other specialists. “But he wants you to stay here in case there are any spies. He will take all of us with him soon.”
“Well, at least one of us gets to actually do something,” Wafiq said. “You will have to tell us how it goes when you return.”
“Yes, we can all talk about it when I get back,” Al Khafaji answered, rising from the table to leave.
“I will be looking for spies in my sleep,” Aisha said.
Al Khafaji went back and picked up his gear. It wasn’t 1300 hours yet, but he decided to walk over to the vehicles. Maybe there was something he could do to help.
“Samir, you are early,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said when he saw Al Khafaji walking up. “That’s good. The sooner we leave, the sooner we will be back. Are you ready?”
“Yes, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji replied.
“OK, take a seat in the back and get comfortable,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson instructed as he got into the vehicle.
Al Khafaji got in the back with three other soldiers. Sergeant First Class Hermanson sat in the passenger seat up front while one of the soldiers from the other team drove the vehicle. Staff Sergeant Pederson rode in the back with Al Khafaji, Sergeant First Class Frederick, and Staff Sergeant Perez. Another vehicle followed with six additional soldiers.
They pulled through the gate and headed down the same route they had taken on the first day. The only difference would be that they would turn around after going through the small village and head back to the outpost. The idea was to get everyone used to the areas the team was responsible for while also maintaining a presence in the outpost.
Al Khafaji could not tell which direction they were heading, so there would not be much he could relay to his cousin about this trip, but he still thought it was good for him to be out and seeing what the soldiers saw. They stopped several times along the route but never dismounted the vehicle until they came to a complete stop and Sergeant First Class Hermanson signaled for everyone to get out. When Al Khafaji exited the vehicle, he noticed they were outside of a small village with only one road. He did not recognize the village, and there were no signs to indicate which village it was. He looked around and saw people walking into the shops, but there were no vehicles in the village or driving through it. There seemed to be a steady line of people walking in and out of the village on the road they were on.
“Samir,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson called. “Come with me.”
Al Khafaji hurried over to Sergeant First Class Hermanson and walked on his left side but two steps behind as he had been trained. By doing so, he was not in the way if Sergeant First Class Hermanson had to fire his rifle, but he was also close enough to say something if he noticed anything. They walked into the village while the soldiers in the other vehicle stayed outside for protection. The machine gun on top of the other vehicle moved slowly from side to side looking for any sign of the enemy.
Sergeant First Class Hermanson and Al Khafaji led the three others down through the village. Sergeant First Class Hermanson stopped every so often to say hello to one of the inhabitants of the village. Most of them merely nodded their heads without speaking. Al Khafaji recognized it as a sign the villagers were concerned about being seen speaking with the Americans. He thought there most likely was a group of true believers in the village that would take revenge for helping the infidels.
Al Khafaji noticed a group of younger men gathered near the side of a building twenty yards ahead of them. He checked the buildings on the other side of the street, and when he looked back, the young men were gone. An elderly man was now standing in their place.
“Sergeant,” Al Khafaji said to Sergeant First Class Hermanson. “Maybe we should try talking with the elder.”
“It’s worth a try,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson agreed as they moved to the other side of the street.
The old man did not move as the soldiers approached him. Al Khafaji was not surprised. The elders had been through much in their lives and were highly respected. He probably would not talk much with them, but Al Khafaji was sure it would not be out of fear.
“Peace be with you,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson greeted, extending his hand. The elder reached out and shook hands but only nodded his head. “Samir, see if he will speak with you.”
“Peace be with you,” Al Khafaji repeated and slowly nodded his head as he extended his own hand.
“And peace be unto you,” the elderly man replied as he grasped Al Khafaji’s hand and pulled him closer. “You look familiar. Are you Iraqi?”
Al Khafaji again nodded his head. He turned to Sergeant First Class Hermanson, still gripping the man’s hand.
“Sergeant, the elder has a problem with his voice,” Al Khafaji said. “Is it OK if he talks close to my ear so it does not strain his voice?’
“Give me your rifle and be careful,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson. Al Khafaji quickly complied.
“Yes, I was born and raised in Iraq,” Al Khafaji said to the elder. “I have family in Iraq. My cousin is Abdurrahim Baghdadi.”
“How can that be?” the man asked in disbelief.
“I am a true believer. Do not be surprised,” Al Khafaji replied quietly. “If you know of my cousin, please tell him I am safe.”
“Yes, I will,” the elder said as they once again shook hands.
Al Khafaji turned and stood near Sergeant First Class Hermanson again. The small group continued to walk down the street. When they got to the end of the village, they noticed that the foot traffic was heavier from that direction as people walked along the side of the road.
“So, what did he have to say?” Sergeant First Class Hermanson asked Al Khafaji. He’d understood some of it but had difficulty hearing what the old man was saying.
“The elder thought that I looked familiar to him,” Al Khafaji said, “but I explained to him that I had never been here before, and it might have been one of my cousins.”
“Good job, Samir,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said, but he had a feeling Al Khafaji was not telling him everything. He would make sure to talk with Master Sergeant Mandess about what happened.
The group waited for a few minutes just outside of the village. There didn’t seem to be anything odd about what was happening, even though it seemed like a lot of people to be traveling back and forth from such a small village. There were two shops that many people were going to. One was like an Iraqi version of a small Dollar General that sold a wide variety of things, and the other seemed to be some type of electronics shop. The electronics shop was close to the place where the elder had been standing. Sergeant First Class Hermanson contacted the vehicle at the other end of the village to let them know they were heading back.
The group walked down the road, led by Sergeant First Class Hermanson with Staff Sergeant Pederson covering the six. When they passed by the electronics shop, a small vehicle pulled out from the side of the building. Al Khafaji recognized two of the young men from before. The vehicle turned left and went in the opposite direction of the group. The vehicle posed no threat, so nobody was overly concerned; plus, had anything happened, the machine gun on the other patrol vehicle would have taken out the small vehicle with little effort.
“Everybody, mount up. We’re heading home,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said as they reached the vehicles.
On the way back, they stopped at the ambush site again. Staff Sergeant Pederson wanted to see if he could estimate the enemy positions just in case there was another attack in the same location. He walked the area for about ten minutes before getting back into the vehicle. He spent the remainder of the drive back to the outpost looking over the sketches he had made of the area.
When the vehicles finally pulled through the outpost gate, it was almost 1700 hours. Sergeant First Class Hermanson stood by the vehicles until everyone had gotten out. He checked the notes he had made on the route and asked everyone to gather around.
“I think we have some trouble brewing in the little village,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said. Al Khafaji was a little shocked. He didn’t think that Sergeant First Class Hermanson had noticed anything wrong.
“I agree, Herm,” Staff Sergeant Pederson said. “Stuff ain’t what it seems to be. The normal folks are afraid of something, and that old dude probably has something to do with it.”
“I’m going to talk with Top about that electronics shop as well,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson added. “Those three guys hanging out when we got there disappeared awfully fast, and when two of them pulled out in the little vehicle, the back end was carrying a lot of weight. Someone has been setting the IEDs in the road, and my guess is that electronics shop has something to do with it. Samir, what do you think?”
“Sergeant, I think that I missed many things today,” Al Khafaji said, sounding a little embarrassed. “The elder just seemed like a normal elder to me. I thought he was just concerned for his people.”
“You’ll get plenty of chances to learn,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson replied. “I’m just glad you were able to get him to talk with you.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji said. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“No, but maybe you can go with us again tomorrow,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson suggested. “I will have one more of you ride in the other vehicle tomorrow. I will stop by later and say who I have picked. Why don’t you go find the others and go to dinner.”
“Yes, Sergeant. I am looking forward to going with you again tomorrow,” Al Khafaji said, hoping they would go to the village again.
Al Khafaji found the other specialists in their quarters, and they went to dinner. He spoke with them on the way about the trip to the village. He only talked about how the ride was and where they stopped. He didn’t add any details about what they did in the village or the fact that they’d stopped at the location of the ambush. He also did not say anything about Sergeant First Class Hermanson wanting to take another one of them tomorrow, but he did tell them that he would be going again.
“Top, any way we can get someone to take a look down the road heading out of the village to the north?” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said to Master Sergeant Mandess when he walked into the operations area.
“Why? Did something happen?” Master Sergeant Mandess asked as he examined the map.
“Well, we had a weighted-down car heading in that direction when we were in the village today,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson replied. “Just thinking maybe they might be heading out to set up an IED.”
“We can look into getting a drone to do a flyover,” Master Sergeant Mandess said. “They are probably long gone by now, but there might be some signs of digging on the road. How did Al Khafaji do?”
“Not bad for a first time out, but I’m taking him out again tomorrow,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said. “I think I might take Aisha out as well. I don’t think I will be able to take her on any breaching missions, but tomorrow’s run should at least give her a chance to get out and do something before we put her on contract security.”
“Your call, Herm,” Master Sergeant Mandess replied. “I’ll let you know if I can get a drone.”
“Thanks, Top,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said as he left to find the specialists. He checked their quarters, but they were not there, so he figured they were most likely eating dinner.
Sergeant First Class Hermanson walked to the dining facility and saw the specialists sitting at a table. They were finishing their meal, so he guessed that Al Khafaji had already talked with them about what had happened.
“I spoke with Master Sergeant Mandess, and it looks like I am going to be taking Samir and Aisha with me tomorrow,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said as he sat down at the table. “I will make sure to get all of you out soon to be familiar with our area.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” Aisha said. “Are there any certain things I should bring with me tomorrow?”
“Samir, can you help Aisha get ready?” Sergeant First Class Hermanson asked. He was a little surprised that Al Khafaji had not discussed that with them, but as he thought through it, he hadn’t been very specific on what to share with his fellow soldiers.
“Yes, Sergeant,” Al Khafaji said. “We can all sit down after the meal and go over what is needed. That way, everyone will be ready when it is time to go with you.”
“Sounds good,” Sergeant First Class Hermanson said as he got up from the table. “Be at the vehicles by 0700 hours. Need to get chow early if you want any breakfast. We will probably not be back until late in the day, but you should still be able to eat dinner here tomorrow night.”
