What's Been Going On In Baghdad, Iraq

Time has flown by in some ways over the past year.  Jed's deployment to Iraq is quickly coming to a close.  Can you believe it?   It's weird to think he'll actually be coming home soon, it feels like it hasn't completely registered with me yet.  This deployment seemed like it would never end. 

 A new group of troups have been shipped in over the last few weeks and will be the replacing Jed's troop.  So the last few weeks have been all about training the new soldiers in their new duties.

Jed's Night Shift Group:

 Jed is an old man in comparison to his soldiers, but he loved working with these guys.  A very good group of soldiers.

Jed would often get this same office visitor:

 This little lizard would stop by often to see Jed.  In this picture, he was chillin' on the bag right next to Jed's desk.  I think he's really quite cute!  :)

Because of the draw down in Iraq, many of the soldiers from other areas of Iraq are shutting down their bases and handing them over to the Iraqi officials.  Jed's brother, Joe, was in another area of Baghdad and was recently transferred to Jed's base. 

Up until recently, Jed was never able to see Joe because there was a "Red Zone" between the two bases, and only rarely could they talk to each other.  Jed has loved being able to see and talk to Joe.  It's been very stressful for Jed lately and it's been nice to have his brother around.

I just happened to find this on a military website and notice Joe in the picture.  Joe was running a marathon at his last base awhile back.



The summer months have been brutally hot, ranging between 120-130 degrees.  Don't forget to add on 70 pounds worth of weapons and safety equipment in a very hot and unforgiving vehicle.



Preparing for a night patrol mission, Jed with Montoya.

 Jed's vehicle companions: 

Smith looking very ninja-like.  :)  The dust storms over there can get pretty bad, and covering your mouth and nose helps breathe a little easier.

The driver.

This is the only picture I have of Jed where he is actually relaxing for a little bit with his soldiers.  It's nice to see because I know how busy and stressed out Jed has been for the last two months.

 A few months back, Jed and the rest of the soldiers got to listen to popular country singer, Toby Keith, play for the troops at Victory Base.  Although just as the concert was getting started, the base got rocketed.  Toby was awesome though and just kept talking and playing.  The troops cheered him on.

This is Jed's favorite picture tha the took of that night - a Marine who had his leg blown off in a prior deployment to Iraq.  That Marine was proudly waving his prosthetic leg during the concert.  It got Jed choked up a little bit.


Sadly, the 116th lost two of it's own last month.


One of these soldiers had only been in Iraq for about a week when their truck got blown up by an IED.  What is scary for me is that Jed had just been patroling that exact same road the day before.  His soldiers had also just been out on that road just a few hours before the explosion as well.  Sometimes it feels very much like each day you are rolling the dice and taking the chance that it might be you the next time around.  The danger is still very real out there.   

 A ceremony was held at the base to remember the fallen soldiers.  My heart breaks for the families.  I can't imagine what it must feel like to lose someone in a way such as this.

I might get in trouble for giving out too many details and Jed may actually tell me to remove this part once he sees it.  But Jed was one of the soldiers to go help pick up the bodies (er, I should say the few body parts that were actually reconizable and salvagable.)  He said the sight was the most gruesome thing he had ever seen in his life (now this is coming from a police officer who has seen the bloody after-effects of someone who's been hit by a train or someone who's shot himself in the head, so I knew it must have been an extremely bad sight.)  He said this was far worse.  There are more details I could write about but out of respect to the victim's families, it would be best for me to hold my tongue and stop right here.  Besides, I don't want to get Jed into any kind of trouble.

A dust storm rolling through at night:

|Jed is still serving as Group Leader for the the LDS branch in Baghdad.)   This is his new Assistant Group Leader (I can't remember his name but he is a civilian working on the base.)  He really stands out during church meetings because he is the only one in the whole group wearing a suit and not camo uniforms. 


Jed and a few others figured out a creatvie way to catch some of the numberous rats that infest the base - cynder block traps.

 The rats are constantly getting into the buildings and living quarters of the soldiers and eating their food. Not to mention these rats no doubt carry diseases...Iraq is not a sanitary place to live, there is garbage lying around everywhere you go.  It smells really bad there.

Jed has become a mighty hunter in the eyes of his soldiers by concocting his these traps:

Wow, it really works!

Squish!  Flat as a pancake.

The rats also provided a bit of entertainment too.  The soldiers often get bored on their down time and figured out a way to have some fun with all these rats.  They would attach a piece of food, such as jerky, to the end of a taser string and wait for the rats to come along.  Pretty soon those rats would discover the food and begin to nibble and then, ZAP!  Tazered rats!  This became a fun source of entertaiment for awhile because all those rats kept coming back.  LOL.


More night patrols "outside the wire", aka - going outside the base.  Only the Quick Response Units get to leave the base, everyone else is required to stay inside:

Another day in paradise:

This week, Jed was awarded the Bronze Star for "heroic or meritroious achievement or services."  This is one award that he never thought he would be bringing home.  I am super proud of him! :)

The Bronze Star is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces.  Jed with the other Bronze Star recipients: