Operation Desert Shield – August, 1990

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq – November, 2004

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq – January, 2005 to January 2006

Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan – April, 2005 to March, 2006

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Joint Endeavor – March, 1996

Operations Desert Storm, Kuwait-Iraq – January, 1991

It was January 1991; Operation Desert Shield had just become Desert Storm.

My name is SFC Allan Jeleniewski. I was with the 82nd Airborne Division, and preparing to maneuver from Saudi Arabia to Iraq. I was 22 years old and on my way to a combat zone.

As darkness fell, our company began to move toward our destination, somewhere near Baghdad. As we drove, thoughts raced through my mind. What would we encounter? What would the Iraqi people think of our presence? My goal was to stay focused on our mission.

Once there, we found the people to be quite fascinated with us. The children were friendly and curious as most children are. We gave the children items which we had brought with us, to show them we meant them no harm. Toys, pens and notebooks were eagerly accepted by the children. The cookies and candy were especially welcomed.

During my four months there, we made friends with an unexpected and unwelcome guest. He was a four legged mutt. He had also become a casualty of this war. We nursed him back to health and named him Geronimo. He soon became friends with all at our camp. Upon our redeployment back to the United States, Geronimo was allowed to go home with us. One of our soldiers got permission to adopt Geronimo. Once Geronimo completed quarantine and the all clear was given, he was on his way to his new home in the United States.

I will never forget the children of Iraq. Their faces were smiling with the look of wonderment and playfulness. My hope is that they will always remember that we treated them with respect and kindness, and wish all good things for them as they grow up.

Sergeant First Class Alan Jeleniewski, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida

Operation Desert Shield – August, 1990

The deployment to Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 1990 was a life changing experience. I discovered how fortunate it was to be an American. I gained a unique perspective and understanding to why we are in Iraq today. As a young leader deployed to a combat zone, I underwent a crash course in foreign politics and the unique differences between governments of other countries.

I was an infantry team leader in the 82nd Airborne Division and part of the first conventional unit to answer the Saudi Arabian government request for protection against the Iraqi Dictator—Saddam Hussein. He had just invaded the peaceful country of Kuwait, and the leaders of Saudi Arabia were worried that Hussein’s Army would continue on its warpath and invade their country. His Army invaded Saudi Arabia’s neighboring country on August 2nd, 1990.

The next morning, our battalion was notified that we would be deploying to the Middle East. Our unit was training in the woods of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was early morning and I was expecting to begin a long day of training in the woods. Unexpectedly, several trucks arrived to take us to a holding area, in order to prepare for war. Immediately we began our preparation to deploy. We received desert uniforms, were issued ammunition and special equipment, received several vaccinations, and were briefed several times on what to expect when we got to Iraq. With a very short notice, unable to call my family, I was on the other side of the world.

I immediately realized that our new home was drastically different and would require mutual respect and patience to deal with each other, under such arduous living conditions. Initially, our home was a large Airplane hangar and eventually became an Army 40 man tent, each with 38 men packed in like sardines. It may sound as though there was enough room for everyone—there was not. We lived on cots, and each soldier was carrying an Army backpack and duffel bag. There was no available floor space and simple tasks as going outside required walking on each others cots to exit the tent. This may imply that our living conditions were unbearable and under the circumstances you would expect to hear constant complaints. Most soldiers understood that living conditions for Saudi and Iraqi families were generally worse, so we did not complain.

While living in the desert, I encountered a variety of animals, insects, spiders, and snakes. Most prevalent were the camels, goats, and scorpions. Occasionally a soldier would be stung by a scorpion while sleeping or spit on by a camel if he got too close. I learned several trivial things about the Middle East, but what I really gained was a true understanding of our fortunes back home in the United States.

It was very interesting to spend eight months in the Middle East and I will never forget the feeling of pride, when I returned to the United States. Most American civilians reach the conclusion that simple things are taken for granted after returning from a foreign country. Completely understanding the importance of living in a free democratic society and how fortunate we are to live in America—is understood by every soldier.

Captain Brian Harber, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq – November, 2004

I was in Iraq doing a reconnaissance mission. It was the middle of the day, heat blistering down in one of the fairly larger cities. Another unit pulled up and began conducting a mission of their own. There were quite a lot of people doing their everyday business, shopping, going to work or just hanging out. As I stood on the corner, I was far from ready as to what was about to go down.

The people in the town began to gather together in groups. After a period of about 10 minutes, there were thousands and thousands of people in the streets. Suddenly, the crowd turned violent. They began hurling rocks, brick, stones, and pieces of metal at my fellow American soldiers. I knew this situation was about to go from bad to worse. The deafening sound of gunshots rang out. Bullets ripped through the air.

My brothers in arms quickly began trying to move out of the area. The fact that there were so many people in the streets, it became very difficult to leave without injuring any of the Iraqi people. Their vehicle movement came almost to a standstill. Although moving, it was slow, very slow.

At this point my team and I decided it was time to leave the area immediately. We started running down the street toward our own vehicle. People were running down the street alongside of us yelling and screaming. In the midst of all the chaos around us, I heard a voice in the crowd. A ten year old boy was running alongside me talking. His English was very good. I don’t know why I answered him to this day. I should have ignored him and continued to move out of the area. But I did.

“Hey American”. “Hey American”. I looked at him. “You like your country?” I said, “Yes”. “You love your country?” I said, “Yes”. He said, “me too, I love my country.” He then asked, “So why are you in my country?” I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t have an answer. He then said once again, “I love my country.” With that he quit running alongside of me and that was the last I saw of him.

It took me a while to realize what it all meant and what had all happened. Just as Americans are proud, the Iraqi people are proud. The people of Iraq were trying to protect their town, their home, their country. Patriotism exists in many ways and many forms. It not only exists in America, it exists all over the world.

Staff Sergeant Teaney, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq – January, 2005 to January 2006

My name is Sgt. Alan Archuleta. I was born and raised in Emmett, Id. I lived there until I joined the Army in 2002. I joined the Army when I was 22 years old. In January 2005 I was deployed to Iraq for OIF III with 4th Brigade 3rd ID. We returned home in January 2006.

While in Iraq I experienced many things. The people there were very grateful for us being there to help them. One of the many things my unit did for the people there was to take medical supplies to different villages. We also provided medical attention to any of the sick or wounded adults and children. The people were so thankful that to be helped in that way.

Another thing was something for the children of Iraq. My parents would send over huge boxes of donated stuffed animals that we would take on our patrols. When we would stop at one of the apartment complexes or villages the kids would come running. They would get so excited to see the American soldiers coming with gifts. It was a great feeling to make a child or many children smile at the gifts we had brought for them.

One of the other great things while deployed was to receive mail. They had mail call almost everyday. A letter from the States would take about one week’s time to get to Iraq. A package sent with goodies would take about 9 to 10 days time. The soldiers were always so excited to receive mail from their families and friends back home. We were also allowed to use the phone in our off time which also made the deployment a lot easier.

The food in Iraq was something you had to get used to. We ate in the chow hall everyday. We had many different choices of food which helped out so you didn’t get tired of the same thing all the time. It was nice to not have to eat MRE’s everyday.

SGT Alan Achuleta, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida

Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan – April, 2005 to March, 2006

My name is SPC Jay Hattabaugh. I grew up in various areas all throughout California. At the age of 18, fresh out of high school, I made the decision to join the United States Army. I proceeded through my basic training, then through airborne school and finally made my way to my first duty station, the 82nd airborne, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I spent almost a year living on Fort Bragg until eventually my unit had been given orders to deploy to Afghanistan. We were to be utilized in Operation Enduring Freedom. We left in April 2005, and returned back to Fort Bragg in March 2006.

This was the first time I had ever been deployed, so my arrival in Afghanistan presented much curiosity and confusion to me. Much of those feelings were relieved the first time I left the forward operating base, in route to what would be my home for the next 11 months. Our convoy rolled through villages down a dusty, horribly maintained road. The road though uncomfortable was lined with children, waiving and shouting excitedly, their fathers behind them smiling. The United States Armed Forces had always been good to them, and they loved us for it.

Over the deployment I realized why those children and their fathers were so supportive to us. We would drop supplies to villages in need. Food, medicine and other necessity would be given out to help toward the greater good of the community. Candy was always the most important to the children, and they got plenty of it from us.

As well as helping the people with supplies, we also helped train police, and the Afghanistan Army. We would teach them what they needed to know to be an army capable of protecting their borders and keeping order.

Living conditions weren’t the greatest for us soldiers. I lived in a canvas tent with 6 other people, about 25 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 10 feet tall. We ate either chow hall food if we were on base or prepackaged meals if we were off doing something. We could receive and send mail, but it would take roughly 4 or 5 weeks to make it from one side to the next.

Specialist Jay Hattabaugh, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Joint Endeavor – March, 1996

I remember one late afternoon in Bosnia. My platoon was running a checkpoint at a ferry crossing on the Sava River, where people would cross from Croatia into Bosnia. The checkpoint’s mission was to ensure that illegal weapons were not being smuggled into Bosnia as a violation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Nearly 3,000 people a day, maybe one quarter of these with cars, came through the checkpoint each day. On this particular day it was late in the afternoon. It was winter, March, with snow on the ground and the temperature starting to fall as dusk began to grow.

My attention perked up immediately as one of my search teams found some hidden rifle ammunition on a large covered truck that was loaded with boxes of clothes, furniture, and various good. According to procedure, we locked down the checkpoint, isolated the driver, and started a detailed search of the truck. A four man search team climbed into the back of the truck and began to search through the various boxes and cargo in the failing light of the day.

Suddenly someone on the back of the truck yelled, “Grenade!” and I watched in horror as three of my soldiers came boiling off the back of the truck. Dropping low beside my Bradley Fighting Vehicle, I waited tensely for either an explosion or the emergence of my fourth soldier.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was in fact just seconds, the leader of the search team, a 21-year old Specialist, jumped down from the back of the truck. His face was a pasty white and I could visibly see him shaking from where I crouched. He clutched something in his hands, his knuckles white with the intensity of the death-grip he was exerting on whatever he held. He walked slowly to the dud pit, a sand-bagged bunker on the side of the checkpoint, stuck his hands into the pit, and released whatever he was holding while rolling away to the side.

The grenade never detonated. It was destroyed by an Explosives Ordinance Disposal squad a few days later. While the search team was in the back of the truck, the grenade had fallen out of a box that was being searched. The team leader, in the failing light of dusk in the back of a covered truck, had seen the grenade fall, but could not identify if the pin had been pulled and if the grenade was live. He had screamed the warning and then jumped on the grenade, smothering it with his body while he soldiers exited the truck to escape the possible danger.

That 21-year specialist performed the bravest act I’ve ever seen in the Army. He was never awarded for valor or for bravery; he could not receive any of these awards because we deployed on a peace-keeping operation, not a combat operation. He received a standard achievement medal for his actions. When I tried to explain to him how I was going to fight the system to make things right, the specialist told me not to bother. He said, “Sir, I didn’t do it for a medal. I just did it for my men. That’s all I was worried about.”

Major Vern Randall, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, Eglin AFB, Florida