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The long road to Iraq: Day 3

Aaron Harber, Special to the Rocky

Published February 4, 2008 at 6:55 a.m.
Updated February 4, 2008 at 6:55 a.m.

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Aaron Harber of KBDI-TV Channel 12 is traveling to Iraq with his television camera crew at the Invitation of Gen. David Petraeus. He is submitting daily reports of his trip and can be reached via e-mail: Aaron@HarberTV.com.

WAITING IN KUWAIT

After trying to get to sleep at about 3 a.m. local time (5 p.m. Colorado time), I was only able to rest fitfully. The delays in getting us from Kuwait to Iraq seemed innumerable and interminable. I knew the Army had rules, but this was my first extended experience with military bureaucracy. I would later learn many members of the press had complained about the Department of Defense's procedures. Ironically, because the DoD was not customer-driven, it forfeited opportunities for better coverage --- which the DoD sought --- by unnecessarily making it so cumbersome and time-consuming to visit the troops. Even DoD personnel (whose names will be protected here) admitted the system often made no sense. Anyone with experience in the military, however, probably is laughing at my experience as he or she reads this.

Chris and I arose at 7 a.m. and all of us quickly got ready and headed to the mess hall. I had slept in my clothes and had neither a sleeping bag nor a blanket (both oversights being my fault). I looked at the experience as if I were camping. It was no big deal. I had enough layers to stay warm anyway. The experience did remind me of why I don't camp anymore and why I was partial to Marriott and Westin Hotels.

I hadn't showered since leaving Colorado but, as long as no one complained, I wasn't worried. I was looking a bit different than my normal suit-and-tie presence on my television show, but I figured everyone would forgive me. Maybe being a bit raggedy would be the "new" me.

IRAQ WAR EXPERT MICHAEL YON

Mike Yon was with us in our tent and joined us for breakfast. He was a font of information. He told us about his experiences covering the war as well as how he functioned with financial support from his readers. He was well-respected by some, angered others, and read daily by as many as 100,000 people on his best day. His website received over 1 million hits a month --- pretty good for a guy going solo.

Mike also told us about how the Army had stolen a photo from him which became famous. Another photograph for which he won an award showed an American soldier holding a child after a car bomb had exploded. The photo used by the Army was distributed without his permission (he said that was a felony) and refused to compensate him until he eventually brought public and political pressure to bear on them. Then they settled. The episode showed Yon's determination and perseverance but also explained why some higher officials did not like him.

OUR SCHEDULE CHANGES ONCE AGAIN

Colonel Steven Boylan e-mailed me to say the schedule with Gen. Petraeus had changed yet again. Our battlefield circulation with the general was cancelled because he now was going to Mosul on Saturday with Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Iraq. Boylan had reinstated our one-hour interview at the U.S. Embassy which would follow the photo session with the Princetonians he had gathered.

The plan was for us to go to Camp Victory for the night, so I could join the general on his run Friday morning. After that, I would not see him again. Boylan said he would try and arrange a battlefield circulation with another general. With a war going on and plenty of generals around, I couldn't complain.

We spent much of the remainder of the day trying to communicate with the outside world and talking with soldiers, contractors, and others at the base. I also continued my assault on the mess hall and knew I was gaining far too much weight. The food was good for cafeteria-style cuisine and unlimited --- the ultimate combination for me --- and I was getting no exercise. We all know what those conditions lead to.

INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE WAR'S TOP BLOGGERS

I thought it would be prudent to tape an interview with Yon, who was considered by many to be the top blogger covering the war. Quoted recently by The New York Times, featured on CNN and other networks, and interviewed by others innumerable times, Yon went from blogging on a Website he created and which was read by only his sister in Florida to now writing for a large daily readership. His website www.MichaelYon-Online.com was one of the most authentic sources of information on the war. This was primarily due to his willingness to go anywhere the troops went. This was one reason he was popular with the rank-and-file.

Yon was not initially given a lot of respect because he was a blogger --- and an unsponsored one, at that. His military background and willingness to tackle any story along with his keen insight, however, quickly earned him respect in and out of the military. He had served as a Sergeant in the Special Forces. His Army career began in 1982 and ended in 1987. He was now a subject matter expert when it came to Iraq.

We were set up outside our tent and Public Affairs Officer Sgt. Douglas Demaio accompanied us to make sure the interview wasn't interrupted. Taping of the camp and its occupants generally was prohibited. What we were doing was OK because Yon wasn't a member of the military.

The sun was getting ready to set when we started the interview. Halfway through it, the light had dimmed and the wind had kicked up, blowing dust and sand in my face which, in turn, caused my eyes to tear. I continued doing the interview because we were trying to get a full half-hour show from it and I knew we would not get another chance.

The crew had Mike stand on top of his luggage box, which elevated him about nine inches off the ground. We were doing this as a stand-up interview so he and I ended up being fairly evenly matched, height-wise, despite the one-foot height difference between us. The problem with being elevated was quite unnatural and made him a little nervous, although he seemed to overcome the jitters this understandably created.

Mike clearly was not accustomed to a long-form interview, rather, most of his interviews were short segments of one to five minutes. He was accustomed to having only 10- and 20-second sound-bites used. Having the opportunity to express himself at length was well-suited given his encyclopedic knowledge of Iraq, but it took him several minutes into the interview to become accustomed to being able to "keep going" when answering a question. He even asked, before the interview started, if we were going to use more than 60 seconds of the session. He expressed surprise when I told him we were planning to use the entire show.

The interview with Mike went well. We talked about the errors military and political leaders made at the beginning of the war and analyzed the performance of top brass such as Gens. Tommy Franks, Ricardo Sanchez, and George Casey. Mike was highly critical of Franks and Sanchez. He believed Franks had agreed to a plan for political reasons which included too few troops and Sanchez simply was too inexperienced to command all of the multi-national forces in Iraq.

We also discussed the success of the surge and how Gen. Petraeus' strategy of getting the troops out into neighborhoods made such a difference. Yon was very complimentary about Petraeus and talked about the likelihood the general would leave his job in Iraq this year. (The complete program we did with Mike Yon should be available on our Website soon. Go to www.HarberTV.com for more information.)

Yon described Petraeus as "being born to lead this war." Yon confirmed my perspective that Petraeus' understanding of counterinsurgency, his unflinching candor with politicians inside and outside the Pentagon, and his willingness to get to know the Iraqi people set him apart from his predecessors. And Yon was one of many who reconfirmed the respect Petraeus commanded from his troops.

BODY ARMOR: THE DAY'S HIGHLIGHT

The Army requires everyone to wear body armor when going into a combat zone such as Iraq, so we all were outfitted with it. This was an inconvenience I was hoping to avoid but I knew it was better to be "safer than sorry."

Due to my height (and now, thanks to the mess hall, my even larger size), I was outfitted with an extra large configuration of Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) with Small Arms Protection Inserts (SAPI) and an Army Combat Helmet. I also found I was financially responsible for the $8,000 worth of equipment being loaned to the four of us. That made me almost as nervous as the requirement to wear the armor.

The IBA package I had, including my helmet, weighed about 35 pounds --- the same as what my daughter lugged to school every day in her backpack --- so, although it seemed heavy and cumbersome, I couldn't complain. Plus, as I heard more stories about incoming bullets almost anywhere in Iraq, I began to appreciate the danger our troops constantly faced.

I confess, however, I did skip using the special crotch plates as none of us could imagine walking comfortably to any degree with those in place, flapping around. I ended up using it for extra body protection by inserting it into a sleeve which was part of the IBA outfit.

The helmet wasn't well-configured for me. It turns our experienced users wear a skull-cap, beanie, or similar head covering. This provided an extra layer of protection and warmth but most importantly provided the padding necessary to keep the helmet on comfortably. There were adjustable pads in the Kevlar helmet but their configuration and the sharp edges of the straps and buckles resulted in the helmet constantly cutting into my head. I learned another lesson for next time --- if a "next time" occurred.

When I wore the IBA outfit, I also usually wore a lightweight but warm gray and black light shell. This zipper jacket was a great windbreaker and rain protector and was super-lightweight. When placed over the IBA, I looked like the Michelin Man or the Pillsbury Dough Boy --- and walked the same way. I must have appeared to weigh about 300 pounds when fully outfitted. Sometimes I felt as if that was my real weight but, again, I was glad to have the protection at times.

FINALLY… SOME FLIGHT INFORMATION

After a dinner of trout, mashed potatoes, a big salad, and lots of desserts, we headed to the tent structure which was dedicated to flight information. We picked up our passports on the way as we were now officially processed out of Kuwait. This meant we no longer were in the country legally and now were required to report in to a specific location periodically where we would respond to a Roll Call by shouting out our names when called. If we failed to be heard, we would lose our place on the flight list to Baghdad.

Throughout the day, there were many names on the list to go to Baghdad but very few available seats on the few aircraft coming into Ali Al Salem Air Base. The good news was we found there would be a flight to Baghdad (Baghdad International Airport, known here as "BIAP") the next morning so we had to come back at 4 a.m. to get the details. The result was, once again, I got only a few hours of sleep. And it was more of the restless sleep one experiences when in a place temporarily with nominal quarters. My cumulative sleep deficit was growing. I knew that did not portend well for my interviews or my run with the General.

After a very brief rest, I headed to the MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) tent to get on the Internet and write my daily report. At 2:36 a.m., I called home and spoke to my daughter, Holly, for the first time since leaving Colorado. It was only 4:36 p.m. the previous day (Monday) in Colorado so she was home from school. It always amused me that I could place a call on a Tuesday and speak with someone on Monday. It was as close to going back in time as I would get.

Talking with Holly was the highlight of my day. She didn't have much to say, but she seemed well. That was all I cared about as far as she was concerned. After we ended the conversation, that one call made me realize how eager I already was to return home, even though I had not even arrived at my primary destination.

As I reflected on my feelings, I couldn't believe how our troops were able to be away from their families for months and years at a time. What an extraordinary sacrifice these people were making to be in the Middle East far away from their loved ones and in a time zone which made communication especially difficult. Later, in the trip, I would learn how this is a major issue related to troop strength levels, morale, and our entire ability to fight the war.

The morale situation was an argument for rewarding our troops and being more appreciative. It also was a reason to find ways to shorten their deployments and bring them home as soon as possible. To me, it was another example of the United States bearing a disproportionate burden of the responsibility for trying to bring stability to the Middle East. Of course, I had to admit, that begged the question of our role in destabilizing it at times, too. It was late once again and I needed to call it a day here out in the desert of Kuwait.

Comments

  • February 7, 2008

    10:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Salzman writes:

    Aaron, it already looks like you're going to be too nice to Petraeus. Make journalists proud of you and throw him some tough questions. Why is he bothering to send home small batches of troops over the next few months, unless he's playing a PR game? Does he really think America can win the war without a draft to help the flagging force? How much will the effort cost in the end? What's the price range?