After the treat - Defense Visual Information Distribution Servicestatic.dvidshub.net › media › pubs › pdf_0436.pdf · 2006-08-03 · resume Nov. 28. Saddam also faces more charges

WASHINGTON — A combination two SUVs and acement truck exploded near the outer walls of the Palestineand Sheraton hotels in downtown Baghdad Monday, mili-tary officials reported.

A statement from Multi-National Force - Iraq said civil-

ian casualties are approximately 20, but that no CoalitionForces were injured in the attack. Iraqi Security Forces andCoalition Forces secured the area and brought order to thebombing site, the statement said.

The Palestine Hotel is where several news bureaus oper-ate from and house its staff.

In other Iraq news, Iraqi Army troops detained two menand their stash of ordnance and cash Sunday in westernFallujah. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st

Iraqi Intervention Force, nabbed the two military-agedmales and seized contraband that included 19 rounds ofassorted loose ammunition, three spools of fishing wire, afuse switch, blasting caps, black powder, lead ammunitioncomponents and 183,000 Iraqi dinar in currency.

The same day, soldiers from 4th Squadron, 14th CavalryRegiment (172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team), seized a

American Forces Press Service

Troops sweep for caches, Page 4

Baghdad, Iraq October 28, 2005Vol. 3, No. 41

Hotels in Baghdad rocked by three car bombs

See HOTELS, Page 2

Chaplain talks about ‘our brother’s keeper’ Page 6

What is the craziest or coolestHalloween costume? Page 3

Troops take off in ‘Big Easy Run’to help Katrina victims Page 8

Inside

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron D. Allmon IIAirman 1st Class Melody Boates, a flight engineer in the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, stands ready with her .50-caliber machine gun. The Air ForceHH-60G Pavehawk helicopter is used for combat search and rescue missions.

large weapons cache during a search inthe Rawah area, near the EuphratesRiver. The cache included more than1,000 antitank mines and severaltimed mines. The weapons weredestroyed on the scene.

In other developments, a 73-year-

old security detainee died Sunday ofnatural causes at Camp Bucca, mili-tary officials reported. Officials saidhis body will be transferred to the fam-ily upon completion of an autopsy, inaccordance with standard procedure.

Elsewhere, the Iraqi Army’sinfantry school at Kirkush MilitaryTraining Base held a graduation for425 Soldiers from its basic infantryschool Monday.

Soldiers from throughout Iraqattend the seven-week school afterbeing selected for the infantry branchafter basic training. Training coversbasic and advanced infantry tech-niques as well as other essential mili-tary skills.

(Compiled from Multi-NationalForce - Iraq and Multi-NationalSecurity Transition Command - Iraqnews releases.)

Editor.....................................................Sgt. Misha King

Assistant Editor.......................Spc. Ferdinand Thomas

Staff.......................................Staff Sgt. Timothy B. Lawn

The Scimitar is an authorized publication for members of theDepartment of Defense. Contents are not necessarily the officialviews of or endorsed by the U.S. Government or DoD. The editori-al content is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Office of theMulti-National Force - Iraq. Stars and Stripes newspaper is notaffiliated with MNF-I and acts only as a distributing source for theScimitar. Questions and comments should be directed to the editorat [email protected].

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readers. Send submissions to [email protected]

We reserve the right to editfor propriety, clarity and space.

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publications_theater.htm

ScimitarPage 2 October 28, 2005

[email protected]

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[email protected]

MNF-I Commanding GeneralGen. George W. Casey Jr.

MNF-I PAOCol. Dewey G. Ford

Combined Press Information CenterDirectorLt. Col. Steven A. [email protected]

Command Information ChiefMaj. Patricia C. [email protected]

Command Information NCOICMaster Sgt. Michele R. [email protected]

To learn more about Iraqi and Coalition successes, log on to: www.mnf-iraq.com and click on the

logo to download this week’s issue.

Avian flu posesno danger In Iraq

BAGHDAD — Preliminary tests by Iraqi andMulti-National Force - Iraq health and agricultureofficials have determined the strain of Avian flu foundin northern Iraq near Irbil is the milder H9N2 virus.This is not the more severe H5N1 strain recentlyreported in Turkey. This outbreak poses little risk toCoalition Forces. Spread to humans is rare; only threecases have ever been reported and they were not life-threatening. Hand washing with soap and water aftercontact with birds is the best protective measure.

A team from MNF-I has been working with Iraq’sDepartments of Health and Agriculture and the IraqReconstruction Management Office. Control measuresare being implemented and field teams are determin-ing the extent of the outbreak.

For more information, contact the MNF-I Surgeon’sOffice at DSN 318-239-8662 or MCI 914-822-9445.

Multi-National Force – Iraq Surgeon’s OfficeWASHINGTON — With insurgent attacks down andvoter participation up on Oct. 15, Iraq’s constitutional ref-erendum is being viewed as a security and participationsuccess, a senior military official said in a news conferencein Iraq Sunday.

“[In] January, there were 89 attacks against polling sites,while there were only 19 during the referendum,” said AirForce Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, director of strategic com-munications for Multi-National Force - Iraq. “The safe andsecure environment resulted in higher voter turnout, esti-mated at over 60 percent — about 10 million people. [Iraqiforces] had the lead for security for the referendum andthey excelled.”

Iraqi Security Forces led security operations for the ref-erendum, including security at the polling centers and acordon outside those centers. Coalition Forces providedsupport with outer perimeter security, he said.

Three days after the referendum, ISF independently con-ducted 10 of 35 offensive operations throughout the coun-try. In the future, this will more frequently be the case,Alston said.

“What you will see in the next coming months [is] moreand more portions of Iraq turned over to Iraqi SecurityForces,” he said. He added though some limited areas ofIraq are patrolled solely by ISF, none are ready for a com-plete handover of security to the ISF.

There are now more than 206,000 trained and equipped

ISF. That number is expected to close in on 275,000 inabout a year, Alston said.

Turning attention to the insurgency, the general said 18foreign fighters had been captured this month, part of the311 captured since April. He also noted that 60 percent ofthe 376 foreign fighters captured in 2005 were from Egypt,Syria, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

The Iraqi border is long and difficult to defend, Alstonsaid, though measures are being taken to reinforce securi-ty there.

“We have been, throughout these last two years, ... build-ing border forts to improve the infrastructure along theborders,” he said. “The plan is to increasingly deploy readyIraqi Security Forces out to the border areas. Now ... thereare more Iraqi Security Forces who are now better able tostep up to that mission to man those borders.”

Another important step to a new Iraq came Oct. 19 withthe beginning of Saddam Hussein’s trial for a July 1982attack on the village of Dujail, Iraq, Alston said. Thatattack resulted in the arrest and torture of men, women andchildren.

“As you saw [on] television, the Iraqi special tribunalproceedings clearly demonstrated that the trial will be openand transparent, fair and just, and most importantly, led byIraqis themselves,” he said.

The trial on the Dujail charges began in Baghdad, but thedefense was granted a continuance after citing missing andillegible case file documents. The trial is scheduled toresume Nov. 28.

Saddam also faces more charges for other crimes againsthumanity.

Hotelsfrom Page 1

Iraqi referendum seen as security successBy Samantha L. QuigleyAmerican Forces Press Service

Prevention isYOUR job.

ScimitarOctober 28, 2005 Page 3

PERSPECTIVES

Last Halloween, I was a citizen-Soldier enjoying mylast night of “freedom” — my Army Reserve unit

began active duty in preparation for our mobilizationhere Nov. 1. I was far too busy packing, saying my good-byes and fretting about the future to dress up forHalloween. Now as my unit draws near the one-yearanniversary of our activation, I wonder what costume Ishould have ordered back inSeptember so I could wear itnext Monday. Another unitrecently arrived in our office,and its family support groupshipped those Soldiers fancifulmasks — not full-blown cos-tumes, but just enough make-believe to take us away from thegrim reality of a war zone for afew minutes.

Halloween is commonlybelieved to have originated from the ancient Celtic festi-val of Samhain. The end of the Celtic year was October31, when the Celts believed the spirits of the dead wouldcome back to earth in search of a body to inhabit for thenext year. So the Celts wore scary costumes to frightenaway those spirits. Later when Christianity was the domi-nant religion in Ireland, the Catholic Church created AllHallows Day to fall on Nov. 1, which of course meant AllHallows Eve was the night before. Eventually the namewas shortened to Halloween.

Over the years, I’ve worn a wide variety of Halloweencostumes, but I’ve rarely been into scary costumes toward away evil spirits. When I was a child, I was Casperone year, a bunny another, and of course there were the

obvious Disney costumes, such as Snow White andBambi. When I was in high school, I was too cool (or soI imagined myself) to dress up, but I donned costumesagain in college, when I was a pirate wench (which wastruly an inspired costume, if I may say so myself), aghost (at the other extreme of my inspired costume, howmuch easier a costume is there?), Rambo and variousother characters.

Since then, whether or not I’ve bothered with a cos-tume has depended on what Halloween party I might beattending, or if Halloween fell on a workday, whether I

worked for an employer thatwould allow costumes in theoffice. One year while workingfor a law firm, inspired by thethen-recent O.J. Simpson trial,I dressed up as Judge Ito(another truly-inspired cos-tume). The old pirate wenchcostume has been trotted out afew times, but not at work —it’s a bit too “saucy” for a pro-fessional environment. I’ve

played dress-up as a hockey goalie, which is a logicalchoice for an avid hockey fan like me. I’ve been both awitch and an angel, although most people who know mewould tell you the former far more closely matches mypersonality.

Now after a year of active duty, there are no doubtplenty of service members here who would agree that myold witch’s hat and broom would fit me to a T. However,the only “costume” I plan to wear is my desert camou-flage uniform. The presence of the Coalition and IraqiSecurity Forces may serve to scare away different typesof evil spirits — those of the terrorists who want to seedemocracy fail in Iraq. So while my costume this yearmay be rather unoriginal, I still think it’s pretty cool.

By Maj. Patricia C. AndersonCommand Information Chief

Halloween: scaring away the evil spirits

“The presence of the Coalition andIraqi Security Forces may serve toscare away a different type of evilspirits — those of the terrorists whowant to see democracy fail in Iraq.”

Maj. Patricia C. AndersonCommand Information Chief

U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate First Class Alan D. MonyelleLocal Iraqi children gather around the camera for a picture at the castle in downtown Tall Afar, Iraq.

After the treat ...

If you could do one thing to improve the world, what would it be?

If you could one place for the rest ofyour life, where would it be and why?

ScimitScimitar Pulsear Pulse

“People at school used to dress upas the opposite sex.”

Army Pfc. Robin Grabowski212th Field Artillery Brigade

“1970s pimp.”

Army Sgt. David TennantJoint Area Support Group - Central

“The wildest one I have ever seenwas Osama Bin Laden.”

Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Garrett509th Civil Engineers Squadron

“I saw a couple of people show upto a Halloween party wearing ‘TheWho’ t-shirts with foot prints on theback of it.”

Army Col. James BrennerMulti-National Force - Iraq

“One Halloween, my brother andsome of his friends went to SanDiego, Calif., dressed as [sexfiends].”

Marine Lance Cpl. Tomas BecerraAnti-Terrorism Battalion

“A woman dressed as Santa Claus.”

Marine Capt. Marc WalkerMulti-National Force - Iraq

“A person dressed as a pack of ciga-rettes.”

Army Spc. Chastity Odell69th Signal Company

What is the craziest or coolest Halloweencostume you have ever worn or seen?

Scimitar October 28, 2005Page 4

Army, Marines sweep desert for enemy caches Army, Marines sweep desert for enemy caches

AL AMIRIYAH, Iraq — U.S. Soldierssteeled themselves to the hot desert wind thatstung their eyes, parched their throats andadded grit to their already sweat-drenchedbodies. They meticulously picked throughmounds of dirt, trash and rubble as a fewdozen U.S. Marines and their armored assaultvehicles stood by, alert and prepared for anypotential terrorist activity that might occur.

Army combat engineers from Task ForceIron Hawk and infantry assault Marines from2nd Platoon, Company B, 2nd AmphibianAssault Battalion, 2nd Marine Divisionworked as a team to find and rid the arid Iraqicountryside around Fallujah of enemyweapons caches.

“We are doing a check — sweeping forweapons, ammunition, artillery rounds … anyinsurgent weapon we can find,” said ArmyStaff Sgt. Mathew Thornton, squad leader,Company C, 224th Engineer Battalion, IowaNational Guard.

Finding hidden caches can be an art form.The Soldiers used the AN-19/2 mine detectorand their hunches, experience and good oldback-breaking digging. If the detector emitsan audible beep, it found metal. The Soldiersdig until they find something or until they feelit is time to move on.

After the detector finally let off a squeal,Thornton strode over to Gaines, and Spc.Aaron Bixler from C Co., 224th Eng. Bn.,grabbed his shovel and began digging.Thornton and several other Soldiers watchedin anticipation. Large caliber ammunitionspilled out of the soil. “Great. Now let’s look

for the pay dirt,” said Thornton.While the Soldiers continued to search for

cleverly-hidden ammunition, weapons orother destructive terrorists’ items, the Marineinfantrymen fanned out and searched localresidents, farm buildings and livestock pens.

Keeping a watchful eye on the male mem-bers of an Iraqi family was the responsibilityof Cpl. Manual Cuevas, 2nd Plt., B Co., 2ndAAB, 2nd Mar. Div. Cuevas’ duties were toserve as a sentry and an Arabic interpreter.

“We are trackers, infantry and combat engi-neers. It’s a little hard to do it all,” saidCuevas of his training as an amphibian war-rior and the irony of roaming the desert as aninfantryman and interpreter.

Cuevas attended a one-month trainingcourse on Arabic cultures, customs and lan-guage. “I practice — I have to keep on speak-ing to [Iraqi] people to understand it,” he said.

“They are pretty good guys — a lot ofhelp,” said Marine Cpl. Miguel Oviedo, 2ndPlt., B Co., 2nd AAV, 2nd Mar. Div., as hedescribed the Army engineers assigned to hisunit.

Exhausted, dirty and frustrated, the Soldiersand Marines did not find much — just a hand-ful of rusty and corroded machine gun roundsand some dingy combat gear.

Task Force Iron Hawk may not have hadmuch success that day, but the combinedArmy and Marine task force is credited withfinding an estimated 70 tons of ordinance,said Capt. James Higginbotham of the 224thEng. Bn.

The Soldiers and Marines of Task ForceIron Hawk returned to their vehicles after end-ing their current search. Their work was notdone; they had another dusty farm to searchand a possible weapons cache to find.

Story and photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy B. LawnScimitar Staff

Far right, Pfc. Christopher Scott operates a mine detector while Staff Sgt. Shaun Brant, middle, scans the base of a dirt mound. Pfc. Benjamin Gibson stands by with ashovel. A U.S. Army M113 Armored Personnel Carrier parks close by, and the crew of a U.S. Marine Amphibian Assault Vehicle provides security a short distance away.

‘Makos’ in sky support warriors on ground

ALI BASE, Iraq — The sky above Balad Air Base wasthick with dust and sand when four F-16 Fighting Falcon pilotscompleted another mission in support of Operation IraqiFreedom.

They were headed to their deployment “home” in Balad, Iraq,when they were eventually diverted here Oct. 17.

Their mission started early that morning, but it was well pastlunch when they traveled in a holding pattern above a dustyBalad. The four F-16 pilots from the 332nd ExpeditionaryFighter Squadron had aerial refueled and were waiting for thesandstorm to pass. But weather forecasters determined the stormwould not break until much later in the evening, so the planeswere diverted here.

It was just another instance that proves there is no such thingas a routine day when you are an F-16 pilot supporting groundforces in Iraq, said Maj. Darren Censullo, a reserve pilotdeployed with the 93rd Fighter Squadron, known as the“Makos,” from Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. It was justanother long day in a small cockpit, he said.

Censullo and his fellow pilots were diverted to a deployed airbase similar to their home station Balad where Airmen andSoldiers serve alongside each other. It was another opportunityfor them to see the ground customers they serve from the air.

“I eat dinner with some of these guys,” said Lt. Col. JoseMonteagudo, commander of the diverted combat air mission.“We have Army guys all over [Balad Air Base], so I get to knowsome of them and talk to them about their jobs,” But unlike

relaxed conversation at the dinner table, Monteagudo also knowsthe tense chatter while on the job.

“There’s no simulator that can teach you the feeling you getwhen you hear the guy on the ground yell into the radio, ‘Weneed help now! Take care of it.’”

Monteagudo said helping the ground forces is the most gratify-ing part of what has been an exciting deployment.

“Every day something’s happening. Every day we’re up hereproviding cover for [ground forces]. I really respect the jobthey’re doing down there, and I am glad we can help anyway wecan,” the colonel said.

Seeing ground combat from his vantage point in the air is anexperience Monteagudo said he will never forget.

Story and photos by Tech. Sgt. Paul Dean407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

Lt. Col. Jose Monteagudo gets into the cockpit of hisF-16 Fighting Falcon Oct. 18 after being diverted dueto weather conditions. Monteagudo flies with the332nd EFS at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

Maj. Darren Censullo, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, con-ducts a preflight walk around his aircraft before takeoffafter being diverted at Ali Base, Iraq, due to weather.

Scimitar Page 5October 28, 2005

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — Our 40th PresidentRonald Reagan once said, “Some people go their wholelife wondering if they ever made a difference. Marinesdon’t have that problem.”

One Marine who says he will never have that problemas well is Cpl. David P. Dees of Loganville, Ga. Dees is amotor transportation operator assigned to TransportationSupport Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2ndForce Service Support Group (Forward), here.

At 22, Dees has just begun his third tour in Iraq in sup-port of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His first stint to historicMesopotamia began in the early months of 2004. His unitat the time was staged in Kuwait, awaiting orders for itsnext movement. After a month, word finally came. Theunit then began what would be a three-day journey intothe heart of the Sunni Triangle. His unit was headed toCamp Taqaddum in the country’s Al Anbar province, westof Baghdad. Taqaddum was to be his unit’s base of opera-tions for the length of his tour.

“I remember the exact spot where we crossed the bor-der,” Dees said. “I was scared, nervous, excited, anxious... you name it.”

His perch offered him a view of some of the country’sbest and worst sights. Traveling northbound from south-ern Iraq, Dees remembers pictures of Iraq he had neverimagined. Surrounding the Euphrates River is an oasis ofdense, green palms and plant life.

“As we went through towns and villages, we got to see

the ‘jungle side’ of Iraq,” he said. “I didn’t know therewere areas like that here. I always thought it was justsand and desert.”

Along with Iraq’s beauty, Dees’ unit also encounteredthe realities of war as the convoy encountered sporadicfirefights and improvised explosive device attacks —events that Dees would continue to encounter occasional-ly during his time in Iraq.

“During my first tour, we would get in firefights or get

mortared here and there — not nearly as [much] as theinfantry, but enough to keep [us on our] toes,” he said.

Dees returned to Iraq a second time in February of thisyear and was stationed at Camp Fallujah, a Marine Corpscamp located west of Baghdad. After seven months incountry, he was extended for a third tour.

Dees admits that reenlisting is a topic he still has notdecided on, however, he feels strongly about the serviceand commitment he and other Marines have demonstratedhere.

“I wouldn’t trade the honor for anything. There are a lotof people willing to sacrifice their lives for their countryand a lot of people who just aren’t. You have peoplewanting handouts and not willing to sacrifice for it,” Deessaid matter-of-factly. “This generation seems a lot differ-ent than those past. You hear stories from the world warsand Korea where guys were dying to enlist; nowadaysthere are [people] who don’t want to join or do anything.”

Dees recently faced another round of elections in Iraq.He was here last year when the people of Iraq spoke outagainst the insurgency and raised their ink-stained fingersin the air for the first time in history in favor of freedomand democracy, and looked forward to seeing thoseimages again as the Iraqis voted on the referendum.

As he runs a hand across his head under the blazingIraqi sun, he states that he not only fights for Iraq’sfuture, but he believes in it as well and looks forward tothe day when the country he has helped free can stand onits own.

“One day when this country is a better place, I can lookback and know I busted my [butt] helping to make thathappen,” he said.

Story and photo by Sgt. Josh H. Hauser2nd Force Service Support Group

Round 3: Georgia Marine proud to serve third tour in Iraq

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — There are three Vikings serv-ing for the deployed forces of the U.S. Army. These Vikingsaren’t the ones of Nordic fame, but they do share a commonbond.

The three Soldiers are actually Northwest High SchoolVikings from Clarksville, Tenn. Thirty years after gradua-tion, the long-lost troops have found each other in the mostunlikely of places – Iraq.

As a graduate of the NHS Class of 1973, Col. James H.Huggins II, Multi-National Corps - Iraq inspector general,was sitting in a briefing inspecting a personnel chart whenhe happened to notice a familiar name. It was that of Maj.Parris McCullah, the stay-behind equipment liaison for theMNC-I Reserve Component Division and member of theNHS Class of 1974.

The two had classes together in their high school days,and once Huggins saw that his former classmate wasdeployed to Camp Victory as well, he got in touch withMcCullah over dinner.

“We got together at the chow hall to shoot the breeze andcatch up on old times,” Huggins said. But there was onemore Viking out there, and Huggins knew this one was onthe same camp as McCullah and him.

While the two were catching up over dinner, Hugginsrelayed this interesting piece of information to McCullah.

“Hey, did you know Mike Fant is here?” Huggins askedhis former classmate.

“You’ve got to be joking me!” replied McCullah.“No, I’m not. Matter of fact,” Huggins grinned, pointed a

finger, and said, “there he goes right there!”Col. Mike Fant, graduate from the NHS Class of 1975

and now the commander of the 525th Military IntelligenceBrigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., had just walked into the diningfacility, Huggins explained.

Three former Vikings got together as Soldiers and fin-

ished their meals while chatting of life back then. They hadto go their separate ways, but not before a snapshot wastaken of the three outside one of Saddam Hussein’s formerpalaces.

Growing up, McCullah lived a distance down the roadfrom Huggins. The former was a suburbanite, while the lat-ter was out in the country. The two had class together offand on throughout their high school careers, but because ofthe distance between homes, they did not spend much timetogether after school.

“I would get a little jealous sometimes because McCullah

lived in town and could hang out with everybody afterschool,” Huggins said. “We had horses and cattle and lotsof other things to do after school. I don’t consider themchores now and would love to go back to that life, but whenI was 16 or 17, I’d grumble because Parris got to hang outwith all our buddies.”

While Huggins was two grades ahead of Fant, he didn’thave much interaction with the youngest Viking. Heremembers him now as the same way he saw him in school.

“You meet him now, he’s the same as he was,” Hugginssaid. “He’s quiet, and back then, he just went to class andprobably made straight-As.”

After high school, Fant and McCullah both enlisted in theArmy and later accepted commissions into the ArmyOfficer Corps. Huggins attended the Reserve OfficerTraining Course at Austin Peay State University inClarksville and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in1977.

Fant and McCullah had classes together while attendingNHS, but neither had seen each other since high school,explained McCullah. He added that he was glad they haveall had the chance to get together now.

“It’s good to see people you haven’t seen in years,”McCullah said. “It’s kind of funny to see who looks olderand who looks younger.”

When asked who has aged the best, McCullah respondedwith a laugh.

“I’ll get in trouble answering that one,” he said.Though the three have separate missions, they still try to

see each other when they can.“We catch each other off and on,” Huggins said. “My

weekly schedule is not the same as McCullah’s or Fant’s,and Fant is the hardest to track down since his brigade isspread all over the country, but I still see the guys around.It’s good just knowing they are here. It gives a feeling ofhome.”

All three still have family in the Clarksville area, andMcCullah, a full-time Army National Guardsman, has a res-idence in his hometown.

By Spc. Jeremy D. CrispMulti-National Corps - Iraq Public Affairs Office

U.S. Army photoCol. Mike Fant, Col. James H. Huggins II and Maj.Parris McCullah stand in front of the Al-Faw Palaceat Camp Victory, Iraq. The three Soldiers are gradu-ates of Northwest High School in Clarksville, Tenn.

Soldiers in Iraq reunite thirty years after graduation

Cpl. David P. Dees, a 22-year-old native of Loganville,Ga., is currently serving his third tour in Iraq.

ScimitarOctober 28, 2005 Page 6

Someone sent me this beauti-ful story a few years ago, and

I’ve tried to pass it along wheneverpossible. It shows us, more thananything else, that no one evermakes it alone.

Back in the fifteenth century, in atiny village near Nuremberg, liveda family with eighteen children.Eighteen! In order merely to keepfood on the table for this mob, thefather and head of the household, agoldsmith by profession, workedalmost eighteen hours a day at histrade and any other paying chore hecould find in the neighborhood.

Despite their seemingly hopelesscondition, two of the Durer chil-dren had a dream. They both want-ed to pursue their talent for art, butthey knew full well that their fatherwould never be financially able tosend either of them to Nurembergto study at the academy.

After many long discussions atnight in their crowded bed, the twoboys finally worked out a pact.They would toss a coin. The loserwould go down into the nearbymines and, with his earnings, sup-port his brother while he attendedthe academy. Then, when thatbrother who won the toss complet-ed his studies, in four years, hewould support the other brother atthe academy, either with sales ofhis artwork or, if necessary, also bylaboring in the mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sundaymorning after church. AlbrechtDurer won the toss and went off to

Nuremberg. Albertwent down into thedangerous mines and,for the next four years,financed his brother,whose work at theacademy was almostan immediate sensa-tion. Albrecht’s etch-ings, his woodcuts,and his oils were farbetter than those ofmost of his professors, and by thetime he graduated, he was begin-ning to earn considerable fees forhis commissioned works.

When the young artist returnedto his village, the Durer family helda festive dinner on their lawn tocelebrate Albrecht’s triumphanthomecoming. After a long andmemorable meal, punctuated withmusic and laughter, Albrecht rosefrom his honored position at thehead of the table to drink a toast tohis beloved brother for the years ofsacrifice that had enabled him tofulfill his ambition. His closingwords were, “And now, Albert,blessed brother of mine, now it isyour turn. Now you can go toNuremberg to pursue your dream,and I will take care of you.”

All heads turned in eager expec-tation to the far end of the tablewhere Albert sat, tears streamingdown his pale face, shaking hislowered head from side to sidewhile he sobbed and repeated, overand over, “No …no …no …no!”

Finally, Albert rose and wipedthe tears from his cheeks. Heglanced down the long table at thefaces he loved, and then, holdinghis hands close to his right cheek,he said softly, “No, brother. I can-not go to Nuremberg. It is too late

for me. Look … lookwhat four years in themines have done tomy hands! The bonesin every finger havebeen smashed at leastonce, and lately I havebeen suffering fromarthritis so badly in myright hand that I can-not even hold a glassto return your toast,

much less make delicate lines onparchment or canvas with a pen ora bush. No, brother … for me it istoo late.”

More than 450 years havepassed. By now, Albrecht Durer’shundreds of masterful portraits, penand silver-point sketches, watercol-ors, charcoals, wood cuts and cop-per engravings hang in every greatmuseum in the world, but the oddsare great that you, like most people,are familiar with only one ofAlbrecht Durer’s works. More thanmerely being familiar with it, youvery well may have a reproductionhanging in your home or office.

One day, to pay homage toAlbert for all that he had sacrificed,Albrecht Durer painstakingly drewhis brother’s abused hands withpalms together and thin fingersstretched skyward. He called hispowerful drawing simply “Hands,”but the entire world almost imme-diately opened their hearts to hisgreat masterpiece and renamed histribute of love “The PrayingHands.”

The next time you see a copy ofthat touching creation, take a sec-ond look. Let it be your reminder,if you still need one, that we allhave someone, or many people, tothank for our good fortune.

By Cmdr. Mitchell Schranz,ChaplainMulti-National Force – Iraq

CHAPLAIN’S TALK

Chaplain Schranz

Our brother’s keeper

NEWS IN BRIEFFour bombs destroyed before detonation

BAGHDAD — Task Force Baghdad Soldiers foundand destroyed four bombs before they could detonate andharm Iraqi civilians or Iraqi and U.S. military forces dur-ing combat operations Saturday.

The first improvised explosive device, made from two120 mm mortar rounds, was discovered by Soldiers from22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10thMountain Division east of Abu Ghraib in the early-morn-ing hours. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyedthe bomb through controlled-detonation procedures.

Another bomb was discovered by 2/22 Inf. in the samearea several hours later. It was also destroyed by explosiveexperts.

About one hour later, Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 11thArmored Cavalry, attached to 1st BCT, 10th MountainDiv., and Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Iraqi ArmyBrigade discovered a 155 mm round in West Abu Ghraib,which appeared to be an improvised explosive device inthe preliminary stages of construction. Bomb expertsremoved the ordnance from the area.

In the early afternoon, 1/11th ACR Soldiers cameacross a vehicle near the same area of Abu Ghraib thatcontained two 30-pound propane tanks and five 120 mmmortar rounds. After the area was cordoned off andsecured, explosive experts destroyed the bomb, whichwas determined to be a vehicle-borne IED.

Terrorists detained, VBIEDs destroyed inHusaybah

BAGHDAD — Coalition Forces found two car bombsand detained four suspected terrorists during raids inHusaybah Monday.

The safe houses were suspected of housing senior alQaeda in Iraq terrorists and foreign fighters who usedthem as operational bases to plan and conduct attacksagainst Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces in theHusaybah and Karabilah areas.

The two vehicle-borne improvised explosive deviceswere found outside the safe houses and were fully opera-tional for use against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces.The VBIEDs were destroyed.

Coalition Corner... highlighting countries serving with MNF-Iraq

Romanialocal name: Romania

Romania is located in southeastern Europe and borders theBlack Sea, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, Moldova,

Hungary and Ukraine. It is slightly smaller than Oregon. Over 22million people live here, and the Leu is their currency system.Romanian is their official language, but Hungarian and Germanare also widely spoken throughout the country. Romania joinedNATO in March 2004 and is projected to join the EuropeanUnion in 2007.

Romania is full of enough historic sites and famous legends tofill an entire library. Once known as “the Paris of the East,”Bucharest, the capital, is home to the 12-story Palace ofParliament, which is second to the Pentagon for the title oflargest building in the world. Surrounded by beautifulTransylvanian hills, Brasov is one of Romania’s most visitedplaces. The main attraction of this historic city is the BlackChurch, which is said to be the largest Gothic church betweenVienna and Istanbul. Sighisoara, only 30 kilometers from Brasov,is home to one of the most legendary structures — Bran Castle,commonly known as “Dracula’s Castle.” This tourist trap was thebirthplace of Vlad “the impaler” Tepes, who is said to be thebasis of Bram Stoker’s famous book, “Dracula.”

Not only does Romania have sites to quench one’s thirst forhistory and legendary characters, it also has an array of foodsthat would make Dracula himself come off his liquid diet. Onesuch food is sarmale, which is made with a mixture of rice andhacked meat, wrapped in cabbage leaves. Mamagliga, a hard orsoft cornmeal mush that is boiled, baked or fried, and is oftenserved with cheese and cream, is associated with traditionalRomanian culture. Most Romanian lunches are not completewithout a bowl of soup, or ciorba, which comes in so many vari-eties it takes up entire cookbooks.

Romania — yet another piece of the Multi-National Force -Iraq puzzle, dedicated to rebuilding Iraq.

References: www.cia.gov, www.lonelyplanet.com, www.iasicity.ro,www.ucs.mun.ca, www.mapzones.com.

Coalition Corner is compiled by Sgt. Misha King, editor, [email protected].

SScciimmiittaarr SSllaappssttiicckkScimitarPage 7 October 28, 2005

Art by Jeffery Hall

SScciimmiittaarr SSllaappssttiicckk

Art by Maj. James D. Crabtree

Art by Staff Sgt. Timothy B. Lawn

Story, photo, art and comicsubmissions are welcome! Please send to the Scimitar

for consideration at:[email protected]

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPE-ICHER, TIKRIT, Iraq — While Iraqi citi-zens were helping themselves take a step for-ward to a representative government duringthe constitutional referendum, some U.S.Soldiers were helping those struck hard byHurricane Katrina by donating time andmoney to the Big Easy 5K run held here Oct.16.

“It is important because it shows solidari-ty,” said Damian Gonzalez, a member of theForward Operating Base Speicher FireDepartment and overall winner of the race.

“We saw it after 9/11 when we as Americanscame together.”

Gonzalez added that it was part of the reliefand a way that those deployed to Iraq canhelp raise money.

Along with Gonzalez, 500 people signedup for the run and another 200 donatedmoney to the relief, said 1st Lt. AlishaRamsey, the event founder and coordinator.The event raised more than $6,200 for theAmerican Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

“This is way beyond the money,” saidRamsey, a platoon leader with 578th SignalCompany, 17th Signal Battalion based out ofDarmstadt, Germany. “It is a symbol of whocared. It allowed everyone involved to releasetheir stress and closed out their frustration.”

Even though Soldiers were arriving andleaving Iraq, the race was planned to coincidewith that transition to allow a maximum ofparticipants.

“Soldiers are starting to redeploy,” theCalifornia native said, “and a lot of stuff isgoing on. I wanted to act fast so the soonerthey could get the money the better. A lot ofnew and old Soldiers were able to take part inthe race because of the timing.”

The race’s roots lay in that besides donat-ing money online, it is difficult for deployedSoldiers to help.

“Donating money online didn’t help makeme feel like I was contributing,” she said. “IfI could get 500 people to participate, it wouldcompound it 18-fold.”

The overall second place finisher behindGonzalez said it was a worthwhile cause hewas more than happy to support.

“I like to run and it was a good cause,” saidPfc. Michael Laforest, a laundry and textilespecialist with 16th Quartermaster Company.“This was the best way I could help thoseaffected by the hurricane,” he said.

While the run was overshadowed bythe Iraqi referendum vote, Soldiers were

still very appreciative.“Soldiers, who told me their houses were

flooded by 18 inches of water and their petssurvived because they climbed on top ofsomething, have come up to me and saidthank you,” said a visibly happy Ramsey.

ScimitarOctober 28, 2005 Page 8

By Staff Sgt. Robert Timmons22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Big Easy 5K participants run for Hurricane Katrina victims

Photo courtesy of 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Runners sign a banner donated byAAFES before the Big Easy 5K runOct. 16 at FOB Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq.

Photo courtesy of 22nd Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentRunners line up behind a fire truck seconds before the truck’s siren wailed signify-ing the start of the Big Easy 5K run to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina Oct. 16.

Men’s Division1st Place: Damian Gonzalez, 14:52,FOB Speicher firefighter from Houston2nd Place: Pfc. Michael Laforest, 14:55,16th Quartermaster Company fromMissoula, Mont.3rd Place: Pfc. Timothy Bobakov,15:25, 101st Aviation Brigade fromCaluga, Russia

Big Easy 5K winnersWomen’s Division1st Place: Spc. Jessica Reed, 17:20,313th Medevac Company from Lincoln,Neb.2nd Place: 1st Lt. Staci Hopkins, 18:42,32nd Medlog Bn. from Fort Bragg, N.C.3rd Place: Maj. Cynthia Hargrove,19:14, Headquarters and HeadquartersCompany, 101st Aviation Brigade