Convoy Operations

Friends;

I am headed out to the FOB again this Thursday. We will be out there for 4 days of intense training in "convoy operations". As you may know convoys are the way most stuff gets relocated in Iraq. All military members who are going to be working "outside the wire" need to know what to do if the convoy is attacked. I may or may not be in a convoy, the word I received from Chaplain Martin who is currently in the position I will be filling is that we travel mostly by helicopter. The word is that the helicopters fly fast and low. After the 3 days of training I will be back here on base to finish my tour at Fort McCoy and head into the CENTAF AOR. (Central Air Force, the air arm of CENTCOM which is the war fighting command for Iraq. Afghanistan and so on, AOR = Area of Responsibility) If this sounds kind of ominous to you, welcome to my world. All the word we are getting is that Iraq is a dangerous place. What they are teaching us here is how to achieve a maximum of safety in that environment.

I had lunch with my Red Horse Squadron Commander today. His name is Col. Hammock. I shared with him some research I have been doing on the war. Military thinkers now see it as a war equivalent to World War II. If we do not prevail against the insurgents in Iraq their next target will be Israel, then Europe and then the whole western world. World domination isn't a new thing. It was the agenda of the communists, fascists and now of radical Islam. With this in mind you can see the importance of the work we are doing there. We are preventing a world war that would be much more devastating than WWII. My hope is that the military can begin to achieve the support our troops had in WWII. The war on terrorism is a war to prevent a world war. I am convinced of this. It is a necessary evil to prevent an evil we can hardly imagine. Imagine, if the insurgents had nuclear weapons, would they use them to take innocent lives? So, yes, pray for peace as we stabilize the country of Iraq and its precious people and children. Pray for the well being of the brave young Americans (and a few older Americans) who are going into harms way on behalf of our great nation. God bless you and keep you in grace and peace.

Dave
Ft. McCoy, WI