Thursday, October 11, 2007

ATTENTION!!! I RECOMMEND VIEWING THE COMMENTS ON THIS POSTING!!!
Well, we had another rocket attack last night here at Camp Victory (and Liberty). Smaller rockets than the one that killed the TCN Sept 11, but there were more of them...I was watching Roswell in my trailer when it happened. I heard a boom, felt the trailer shake, and heard several more, with the "incoming" alarm sounding in the distance.
I put on my flak and kevlar and went out to the shelter, even though I knew there wouldn't be anymore incoming. We took acountability, so I went to the baby DFAC to find Melissa and Dan when I couldn't reach Mel's cell. I was relieved to see that the building was unharmed, because I really couldn't tell where the rockets hit since I'd been wearing headphones when they came in. I knew people were hurt, though, when I saw the flurry of activity at the medical clinic near where I live. Damn. I'm glad all my teammies are fine. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who weren't as lucky, and to their families and friends. :(
When the details are releasable, I might tell you a little more about the attack.
Here's an excerpt from an email response to my concerned mother in law, who heard a brief report on the news that said there was an attack but offered zero details (much love to you, Carole):
"Sorry, I should have sent out an email. When in doubt, check my blog...I am fine. My heart skips a beat every time I hear a boom, or a car door slam, or a trailer door being closed with too much gusto, but I am fine. Admittedly, it is getting a lot scarier out here...I have vowed to avoid high-traffic areas, and I have even considered moving into the duck-and-cover shelter, permanently. Haha. I even donned my flak and kevlar last night before going to the shelter to join all my trailer park neighbors. I am getting rather annoyed with people making fun of people who hit the deck, go to the shelter, don battle gear, or attempt to protect themselves in some other fashion. I don't want to be the idiot who could have saved herself but didn't...I also wear my seatbelt when I am in an automobile. Same principle."
A general question: What kind of religion celebrates by killing people? I honestly want to know; I am not making fun of the religion. I know Christianity has its fair shares of historical shinanigans, too. Yesterday marked the day that Mohammad received the first verse of the Koran (for Sunnis), and today and tomorrow mark the end of Ramadan for Shi'ia and Sunnis, respectively (I am pretty sure).
A rocket or mortar attack on the main U.S. base near Baghdad killed two members of the U.S.-led coalition forces and wounded 40 people, the military said Thursday.
The attack occurred Wednesday at the Camp Victory, a sprawling garrison that houses the headquarters of American forces in Iraq, according to a statement.
Two coalition force members were killed and 38 wounded, the military said. It also said two "third country nationals" were wounded. It did not identity them further, but military spokesman Lt. Col. Rudolph Burwell said the term usually refers to foreign contractors and not Iraqis or Americans.
The attack is under investigation, the statement said.
Most troops stationed at Camp Victory are American but other coalition soldiers are based at the complex near Baghdad International Airport. No further details on the attack were immediately released.
Camp Victory and other U.S. bases in Iraq have frequently come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties are rare.
On Sept. 11, one person was killed and 11 were wounded in a rocket attack. The U.S. military said a 240 mm rocket provided to Shiite extremists by Iran was used in that attack.
The U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies and the Iraqi government headquarters, is far more vulnerable as it is situated in central Baghdad.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BREAK, BREAK_____________________________________________

FYI, This is an interesting video from September 13. It shows a 107 mm rocket impact in Baghdad. I guess this is what they look like...Below is the news release.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERELEASE No. 20070915-12September 15, 2007
Insurgent rocket attack kills 2 eastern Baghdad residents, wounds 2 others 2nd IBCT, 2nd Inf. Div. Public Affairs Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAOFORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Two eastern Baghdad residents were killed and two more wounded in an insurgent rocket attack in the New Baghdad District Sept. 13.
One 107mm rocket impacted in an intersection near Forward Operating Base Loyalty, striking a car and engulfing it in flames. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, responded to the blast and cordoned off the area. The wounded were transported to Medical City for treatment.
Explosive ordnance detachment Soldiers determined the impact was due to a rocket strike and recovered part of the rocket. Insurgents have regularly targeted Iraqi civilians, soldiers and police officers as well as Coalition Forces. During the month of September, there have been 45 confirmed indirect fire attacks by criminal militia members in Baghdad security districts. Twenty of these attacks occurred in the New Baghdad or East Rashid Districts. Besides the two civilians killed and wounded in the Sept. 13 attack, 11 Iraqi Police officers have been wounded in four separate attacks this month.
ATTENTION!!! I RECOMMEND VIEWING THE COMMENTS ON THIS POSTING!!! CLICK BELOW!!!

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hang in there. I hate rockets too! I was 50 yards away from the rocket attack on 7 Dec 06 and walked away only with bruises. I know exactly what you mean about people making fun of others who don their equipment, hit the deck, etc. SCREW 'EM! You'll have a chair when the music stops and some of them won't. I remember exactly your feeling of wanting to avoid open spaces, etc. I lived in DCN and I never enjoyed that feeling of being in the trailers when their was an attack (watching movies, just like you, it's amazing how everyone's CV experience is so similar!), I always felt much safer in my ofc, which was in one of the old palaces. Hang in there and come home soon!

Thursday, October 11, 2007 9:53:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Hey, thanks for the wonderful comment. Yes, I think we all have similar experiences here... What really struck me was how odd it was that at one end of my neighborhood, there was a hubbub of activity while rescuers and medical personel tended to casualties coming into the TMC, while on the other side, not 300m away, people were buying lattes at the Green Bean. And nobody seemed to bat an eye after 10 minutes had passed after the booms. Again, thanks for the comment. I'll get my happy a$$ home as soon as I can! Cheers.

Thursday, October 11, 2007 10:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see why you would want to write a blog to express what you feel and go through here on the VBC. However, you should be more aware of the info you post. You describe what you did in the after mass of it claiming that you knew more would not follow...HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?!!? Its almost like you taunt them. Be more aware what you place in these blogs soldiers have their lives on the line here. I see you too are a contractor well then you would know that these kind of blogs are not allowed. Being a Deputy Program Manager you should know that. You want to write and express feelings go to the Turkish shop and buy a journal. Peoples lives are on the line and people like you give them more opertunity to reach us. Stop thinking about giving people something to read and if you are only doing it for friends make it private. For everyones safty make adjustments

Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:20:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Dear Anonymous,
If you are going to lambaste me in my own blog, I think you should at least put your first name, so I'll know how to address you. I appreciate your desire to uphold OPSEC. I strive to do the same with every blog I write. I think you misunderstood my "I knew there wouldn't be anymore." You've probably been here, based on the info I can gleen from your comment, so you should know that once several fall and then they stop falling, it is unlikely that more will immediately fall. That's all I meant. I was saying that the incoming came in, and I got my happy ass to the shelter, even though it was highly likely that I was too late. I want to know which portions of my blog you think give the enemy info that endangers any of us. I was a Marine. I am a patriotic American. Don't accuse me of being anything less than someone who is trying to keep my readers filled in as much as possible. If you don't like it, then, with all due respect, don't read my blog. Or turn me in to the security manager.

I am highly cognizant of the type of info I put out there, not just in words, but in pictures. So thanks for your concern, but I'm going to continue as I have been. Do you seriously think I care less about everybody's safety than you do? Please reconsider your accusation, and have a nice day.

Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:32:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am tired of the bombs, regardless if they are bigger or smaller of the others that have been sent off prior or the ones that may be sent out later. My future husband is over in that piece of crap hole and I just wish that we could actually turn the tables around and bomb them for once and let our guys come home. Ugghh... Let some of us wives, girlfriends, mothers, or sisters go over there and I bet we could take care of it pretty quick. Sorry to rant but I want my man home in one piece and not injured at all.

Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:49:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Michele,

We're tired of them, too, and I want your man home in one piece, happy, healthy, and unscathed. These rockets really suck (thanks, Iran).

I TOTALLY agree with you about sending the American women over here to duke it out. The bad guys wouldn't know WHAT to do with us. Haha. And my Iraqi friends agree the women could pull off some wonderful distraction maneuvers.

Listen, I know your scared for your fiance. Hang in there. ;) And thanks for stopping by my blog.

All my best,

Nancy

Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:03:00 AM  
Blogger Cajun Tiger said...

Dear OPSEC concerned Anon...please show me the OPORD that says our blogs aren't allowed. I'll save you some time...it doesn't exist. Both Nancy and I last year had the head of the OPSEC division personally review our blogs to make sure the info we were putting on it didn't in any way violate any OPSEC rules and guess what...they didn't!

Keep up the great work Nancy!

Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:51:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Thanks, CT. Much appreciated. We all agree that blogs need to be cognizant of OPSEC, because nobody wants to endanger anybody else. One team, one fight, right? THanks for the comment and the encouragement.

XOXO

Saturday, October 13, 2007 6:01:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nancy,
I did 2 years at Bagram, Afghanistan. I chose to come to Liberty and landed here 2 weeks ago. We VERY rarely got indirect fire there like we did here the other night, I paced it off, it was 140 yards from where I sleep. Needless to say, I was and am concerned about how frequently this happens. I am here alone and work alone, therefore I haven't made any friends to discuss this with. Last night we got the "incoming" audio. I assumed, this being such a large FOB, that it would be more scattered than it seems to be. How frequent should I expect this?

Saturday, October 13, 2007 8:32:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Hi David,

If you post another comment with your email or DSN in it, I will just NOT publish it, and I can contact you to discuss. It comes to my gmail account, and I can receive it and then reject it, if you want to go about it that way.

The incoming alarm is pretty sporadic, you're right. My friends and I have a lot to say about it. :)

Welcome to Victory.

Nancy

Saturday, October 13, 2007 8:39:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

David,
You say your sleeping quarters were 140 yards away from the recent attack on Camp Liberty? And which direction? And how many sleep in that bunker?
Just driving the opsec point home.
- A different Anonymous

Monday, October 15, 2007 2:35:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Yeah, and which of the X number of incoming are you talking about?
The point is, none of the information here is a danger to OPSEC. David didn't answer any of those questions that would have been helpful to a bad guy. There is a big difference between OPSEC and INFORMATION.

Monday, October 15, 2007 5:00:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

how do you get a position in the ME as a contractor. I've been reading your blog and i am extremly interested. please emial me
ncummings280@hotmail.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 9:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nancy, On Friday it will be a year (Oct 10,2007) since the Rocket attacks on VBC that killed 2 and wounded 40. I was there, just outside my Trailer. After a day of watch it was the last thing I wanted to deal with. I heard the siren and there must have been 30 people running after the blast to pull those 2 Soldiers out of that truck. They were bleeding everywhere and the truck was destroyed. The impact was maybe 50 yards from my location. This affectes me greatly to this day, Still a bit jumpy around load noises. I like your blog, I had a tremendouls amount of good friends there, Lost a few. And I would go back in a second. Keep up the blog, thats why we fight, so that anyone can what they want. Keep it up...

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 10:40:00 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Thank you for your encouragement, and for reading the blog. Most of all, thank you for your sacrifices. That was, indeed, a horrible day. I can't believe it has been a year...

I'm home now, so I haven't been blogging. I do, however blog on behalf of my puppy, who will be keeping me out of war zones for a while: http://www.admiralbrillo.blogspot.com.

I admire those who fight so that people back here in the U.S. can stand on street corners and say awful things about our leadership in D.C.

Hang in there, and I'm sorry about the friends you've lost.

--NancyInIraq

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:39:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home