LIFE AFTER THE SOFA...

It's been about two weeks since the June 30th transition and the whats and how’s are finally starting to show themselves... Leading up to the deadline I was irate... I couldn’t fathom why the worlds "best army" still had their heads so far up their asses and no one know what would happen on the 30th or how it would affect us... 2 months out the rumor mill was hot and heavy... We heard things like no MRAP's would be allowed in sector, and any time we leave the wire we would have to be with IA or IP's... We heard that everyone would move out of the city's and as an effort to decrease our footprint, and that we would take a back seat to the Iraqi's.... Most of this is some what true, but we by no means have are feet on the ground with this yet... There are still many unknowns and a lot of confusion... Here’s my take on the SOFA after a couple weeks..

Really quick.... DISCLAIMER....
This is my low rank low knowledge boots on the ground from my eyes view of things... this is in no way policy or "the standard"... The SOFA encompasses all of Iraq... I'm only in Baghdad....

First, we can't leave the wire between the hours of 5 in the morning and midnight unless our assistance is requested from the country of Iraq.... That hasn’t happened yet and I don't suspect it will... So for the most part there’s been a lot of sitting around... From the hours of midnight to 4 in the morning we are free to do what ever... It kinda sucks because all the logistical bullshit we have to do has to be done between these hours... being that we are 20 minutes away from our "HQ" all the bullshit dispatching vehicles, filling out paper work, sensitive items checks, and all the other time consuming nonsense requires us to convoy across Baghdad between these hours...

Second, the MRAP thing was kinda true, but a few units were give exception... My unit still get to use our MRAP's and a few QRF's are allowed them as well... Everyone else has to roll in the less protective Humvees.... This was one of the changes that really pissed me off... Even though it doesn’t affect me I found it hard to believe that our government would sign an agreement that included a stipulation that forces us to down grade our protection.... Point blank, that’s what it does... Humvees are much more likely to produce casualties in an IED blast then MRAP's are, but some self important big titled dick decided while sitting in his air conditioned office behind his desk that giving in on this issue was an acceptable compromise...

Why did Iraq want us to stop rolling MRAP's? Well MRAP's are big heavy vehicles... when we run over curbs or when in small mahollas we damage the infrastructure... Curbs sometimes break under the weight of the trucks and low hanging power lines in the tightly congested mahollas sometimes get ripped down... Ok, that’s a legitimate gripe, but giving up the MRAP's translates into potentially more US soldiers dying in IED's... Humvees are a much softer target... So to me this is a no brainier.... The power lines and curbs are acceptable collateral damage... If it means more soldiers will survive this war then tough shit Iraq... It comes down to this, who ever approved this stipulation within the SOFA even though they won't say it out loud, thought this... Making soldiers roll in the less protective humvees and risking more lives is acceptable... Then curbs and power lines are more important...

Third, the SOFA puts us in a tough spot... On the 30th a route clearing element in my Bat. was pelted by rocks go thru IA checkpoints.... The LT in charge of the convoy instructed his trucks to do nothing.... One whole side of one of the trucks had all the windows smashed... I rolled early morning on the 30th and got flipped off by IA a few times... They were singing and dancing on there trucks in a taunting way... I really wanted to stop.... The illusion of superiority is rampid in Baghdad with the Iraqi's... When I’m on the road, Iraq isn't superior to shit... These are the guys who we will have to role with if they ask... Some of them are corrupt... Not all, and probably not most, but some... Whats to stop them from leading us right into an ambush... I don't trust them at all... Another element that’s challenging is that there are a few different authorities in Iraq... The IP's, IA's, NP's, Sons of Iraq, and so on and so forth.... They all done get along or like each other... Each one feels superior to the other... So when we were being escorted by the NP's the other day we had trouble going thru IA check points... They IA's gave us a hard time because they don’t like NP's... We sat in a check point in the thick of traffic just hoping no one wanted to attack us... It would have been a tactical nightmare... No maneuverability, and just two US gun trucks.... I doubt the NP's would have stuck around for any kind of fight...

So as you can see the challenges are plentiful... I'm just hoping to make it thru the next 80 days so that i can pass this headache onto the next guy.... Hey fuck you buddy i didn’t my time... Good luck...