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In a few weeks, I will deploy for at least a year to Iraq as a captain in the U.S. Army. While there, I plan on writing a regular column in hopes of connecting the readers of The Roanoke Times to deployed U.S. soldiers.

I will describe daily life, explain idiosyncrasies of soldiers, and give an update of the situation on the ground. I will answer questions by e-mail and regular mail once I have an established address. If nothing else, this communication will help me feel like I am part of the Roanoke Valley community again.

Eight years have passed since graduation from Northside High School – Go Vikings! Within that time, I graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (Class of 2004) and commissioned into the Army.

My travels have taken me to Georgia, Washington, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Kansas, and I have come to appreciate how fondly soldiers hold their hometown. I am no exception.

Therefore, I am grateful that my wife, seventeen-month old son, three-month old daughter, will be living in the Commonwealth over the next year. In the meantime, my tale of the Star City of the South will go international through my duties as a combat advisor on a military transition team.

The general strategy in Iraq calls for training of Iraq Army and National Police units until they are able to provide their own security. The nation’s leaders say the military transition mission is the most important in Iraq, because its success would lead to U.S. withdrawal.
My team of eleven combat advisors (all are male) will conduct mounted combat patrols with an Iraqi Army battalion that is located at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Falcon in southern Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division.

We have completed preparation exercises focusing on training the Iraqi Army. However, the greater effect of the medical, marksmanship, language, and driver’s training has been to build confidence within the team.

The men to my left and right are competent at their jobs, which, in effect, ensures our security. Nevertheless, we are by no means carefree; a safe return to my family remains foremost in my mind. There is no single solution for well-placed improvised explosive devices and an enemy who will stop at nothing to kill.

Rich Connaroe
Captain, U.S. Army
RICHARD.CONNAROE@US.ARMY.MIL
The thoughts and opinions in this article are that of the author alone and are not meant to represent the U.S. military. Any errors contained therein are that of the author.