Today the team went on a dismounted patrol through a neighborhood in order to visit an election center. As we arrived, an Iraqi HMMWV rolled over in a ditch outside. Our reconnaissance mission quickly became a rescue and recovery mission. Read more »
Previously, my writings have discussed the effects of war in Iraq. The focus was on the littered landscape and the orphaned children. There are other effects and the answer to the question: How do we deal with these effects? Read more »
A new Iraqi Police (IP) station opened in the area today, and the team went to the opening ceremony as U.S. representatives. We parted across from the elementary school that neighbors the police station. Read more »
Recently, there was an incident in the vicinity of Baghdad involving an American unit which resulted in the injury of an innocent Iraqi civilian. The situation was unfortunate. However, the Soldiers of the unit felt that their lives were in danger and, therefore, acted appropriately to safeguard their lives. Read more »
Today, my team followed the Iraqi brigade commander to different election centers in his area of operations, so that he could evaluate how to best secure the sites. Read more »
The holidays are very different in Iraq from what we are used to seeing in the States. [Graphic picture of blood at Ashora celebration at the bottom of this page]. Read more »
I have always been fascinated with accents and dialects. I often make it a game to guess where Soldiers grew up in the States. I can get at least the region right usually. Well, Arabs are no different, and I am still intrigued, especially in reference to the term ‘corn flakes.’ Read more »
Months of advice and mentorship paid off in part today, as the brigade commander brought together his three battalion commanders and a few of their key staff members for what is called a command and staff meeting. Read more »
Scarface is an excellent guard dog. Without fail, he barks whenever someone not on the team approaches our corner. Read more »
A few days ago, an Iraqi Soldier was entering a HMMWV, leading with his rifle. He negligently discharged with weapon, shooting himself in the head and resulting in his death. 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.
