The Iraqi people don’t have much of a track record with free and fair elections. In 1995, 99.6% of the vote went for Saddam Hussein. Seven years later, Saddam achieved 100% of the vote. (Many of those ballots were already filled in when they were printed.)
However, when Iraqi men and women vote Saturday they will do so with a remarkably different outlook. Read more »
Most people in America are probably glad the holiday season is over. The stresses of buying gifts, preparing decorations, and visiting families have left many longing for a vacation that they may not see before Easter or Memorial Day.
In Iraq, however, holiday celebrations are only now in full swing. And they’re very different here compared to what we are used to in the States. Read more »
For the past several days and the week to come, both the U.S. and Iraqi forces have been preparing for the upcoming January 31st elections in Iraq. This historic election is said to be the most important event in Iraq for the last five years. Read more »
The commando company completed its training with a class on ambush and a culmination exercise. Without a doubt, the commandos are significantly more competent infantrymen than a week ago. Read more »
The last two days of training the Iraqi commando company have centered around dismounted patrolling, which is conducting a tactical movement on foot. They have the concept down, and when we took them on a practical exercise, it was an actual combat patrol. Read more »
The commando training went from clearing a simple room the past two days to clearing a building today. The layout was not particularly easy and included stairs. Read more »
Today, the team continued training the Iraqi commando company: clearing a building. Before the training Lieutenant Sayf, the commander of the company, looked flustered. Our conversation is worth sharing. Read more »
The team continued training the commando company today. We backed up a few steps, focusing on proper stance and movement while holding a weapon. Then we went into topic of seraching detainees and first aid once the Soldiers cleared a room. Read more »
The Iraqi Brigade that my team mentors has what they call a 'commando company,' which is supposed to be a specialized infantry unit that executes high speed missions. The company is still forming but, overall, lacks even basic training of infantry tactics. My team is executing a training plan now to get this unit ready to conduct real world missions before the Iraqi election day at the end of this month. Read more »
When we arrived at the shore of the Tigeris, one of the Iraqi Soldiers pointed to a bird flying from the water and said, "Dajaj ma'a," which literally translates, "Water chicken." The bird was a duck. Read more »
Rich Connaroe graduated from Northside High School in 2000 and VMI in 2004. Now a Captain in the U.S. Army, Connaroe begins a one-year deployment to Iraq in August. During that time, he plans to make regular blog posts that he hopes will connect readers of the The Roanoke Times to U.S. soldiers who are deployed in Iraq.
