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MY IRAQ STORY

 I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START MY STORY BUT I’LL GIVE IT A SHOT. MY NAME IS SGT BRANDON DANSER, I’M FROM WASHINGTON PA, I HAVE A LOVELY WIFE OF 12 YEARS, TWO KIDS, BRANDON IS 9,GILLIAN IS 4.

    I’VE BEEN IN THE SERVICE FOR 17 YEARS NOW; I DID 4 YEARS IN THE REGULAR ARMY AND 13 YEARS IN THE NATIONAL GUARD NOW.

    I SPENT TWO YEARS IN GERMANY, CAME BACK TO THE STATES, A MONTH LATER, I FOUND MYSELF IN SAUDI ARABIA WHERE I WOULD SPEND THE NEXT 9 MONTHS OF MY LIFE. DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR ME-IT GREW ME UP FAST AND TAUGHT ME SOME INDEPENDENCE WHICH I NEEDED, BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT,

THIS IS ABOUT NOW. IT’S MAINLY FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND MYSELF TO REMEMBER MY LIFE FOR THE NEXT 18 MONTHS.

         IT WAS IN SEPTEMBER OF 2004 WHEN MY ENLISTMENT WAS UP, I WAS ACTUALLY HESITATING REENLISTING AFTER 16 YEARS OF SERVICE!!!I KNEW AT THE TIME IT WAS A STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT WE WERE GETTING DEPLOYED SOON, SO I WENT TO MY WIFE (WHO HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED THE EXTRA MONEY FROM DRILL WEEKENDS FOR YEARS) AND ASKED HER WHAT SHE THOUGHT. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME SHE DIDN’T PUSH ME INTO REENLISTING, SHE SAID" YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE CALL THIS TIME” I KNEW SHE WAS WORRIED, BUT AFTER 16 YEARS OF SERVICE ITS HARD TO GIVE UP SO CLOSE TO RETIREMENT. SO I’M HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL. WE GOT THE OFFICIAL WORD IN NOVEMBER WE WOULD LEAVE IN JANUARY, SO I WAVED GOODBYE TO FRIENDS, KISSED AND HUGGED MY FAMILY AS MUCH AS I COULD AND LEFT FOR CAMP SHELBY, MS TO START 6 MONTHS OF TRAINING TO PREPARE US FOR A YEAR IN IRAQ. DID I THINK I WOULD EVER BE BACK HERE? HECK NO!!! BUT HERE I AM.

              WE LANDING IN KUWAIT AT 12:00PM ON JUNE 19^TH(HAPPY FATHERS DAY) AND LIKE BEFORE, STEPPING OFF THE 17 HOUR PLANE RIDE WAS LIKE WALKING INTO AN OVEN. HOLD A HAIR DRYER ABOUT A FOOT FROM YOUR FACE ON HIGH AND THAT’S WHAT ITS LIKE (ALL OVER YOUR BODY) I THINK IT WAS 122 DEGREES WHEN WE LANDED---THEY SAID IT WAS HOTTER THE DAY BEFORE!! THE BIG THING IS YOU HAVE TO DRINK A LOT OF WATER OR YOU WILL FALL OUT.

              ITS NOW June 20, 2005 AND THAT’S WHERE IM AT NOW, I GOT TO CALL HOME LAST NIGHT TO TELL ALL I MADE IT FINE--- IT WAS SO GOOD TO HERE THE VOICES OF FAMILY, TELEPHONES ARE A GREAT THING.

    NOT MUCH GOING ON TODAY, PEOPLE JUST TRYING TO CATCH UP ON SLEEP. I’LL WRITE MORE LATER.

               WELL ITS NOW JUNE 30^TH, AND A COUPLE OF PEOPLE ARE HEADING UP TO CAMP RAMADI. LOOKS LIKE AROUND JULY 14^TH WE’LL HEAD UP THERE TOO. I’VE BEEN MEANING TO WRITE MORE OFTEN BUT WE WERE QUITE BUSY LAST WEEK. WE DID NUMEROUS CONVOYS TAKING VEHICLE HERE OR TO THE UP ARMOR YARDS, SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE ROADS---IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THEY GAVE US AMMO SO THAT WAS AN EYE OPENER FOR SOME. THE KUWAITIES DRIVE LIKE MAD MEN!!!!!THEY CUT YOU OFF AND PULL IN FRONT OF YOU BY A MATTER OF INCHES…. ITS CRAZY!!

                 ITS GONG TO BE A WARM ONE TODAY. ITS 9:40 AM AND ITS ALREADY 110 DEGREES!!! AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THE FLUIDS DOWN, YOU’LL MAKE IT, ITS JUST A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE. WE TRY TO GET OUR WORK DONE BY 11:00AM OR WAIT UNTIL AT NIGHT. FOR NOW IT’S PRETTY SLOW AROUND HERE.

                 NOW THAT EVERYBODY IS HERE, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH BATHROOMS AND SHOWERS----WE RUN OUT OF WATER AND THE BATHROOMS ARE JUST HORRIBLE, WE HAVE ABOUT 5,000 PEOPLE TRYING TO USE THIS PLACE. BUT OTHER THAN THAT THINGS ARE GOING FINE, ITS STILL HARD TO GET ON THE INTERNET OR USE THE PHONES---I’LL TRY TONIGHT CALL  THE FAMILY, SPEAKING OF, I MISS THEM DEARLY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THEM. GENA HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL WIFE, GREAT MOTHER AND BEST FRIEND AND TRULY UNDERSTANDING PERSON. BRANDON AND GILLIAN HAVE BEEN AS GOOD AS EXPECTED FOR HAVING THEIR FATHER TAKING AWAY FROM THEM FOR 18 MONTHS, THAT’S REALLY HARD FOR A 9 AND 4 YEAR OLD----I REALLY MISS KISSING THEM AT NIGHT.

                 FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE IN THE UNIT HAVE BEEN WORKING TOGETHER WELL WHICH IS A HARD FEET WHEN HALF THE COMPANY IS NOT F YOUR OWN, I’VE MET A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE, SOME I LIKE, SOME I DISLIKE BUT ALL IN ALL IT’S A PRETTY GOOD GROUP.

                 WELL ITS FRIDAY AND I’LL TRY TO CALL HOME TONIGHT. I REALLY MISS HOME AND EVERYONE THERE, CAN’T WAIT TO BE BACK FOR GOOD BUT FOR NOW THE GOOD OLD U.S. NEEDS ME. I'LL WRITE MORE LATER.

                  JULY 8^TH, 2005---NOT MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK, WELL I HAD MY BIRTHDAY ON TUESDAY, IT WAS PRETTY BORING EXCEPT THE GUYS SUNG HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR ME---IT WAS KINDA COOL. I GOT TO CALL HOME AND TALK TO GENA AND GILLIAN; BRANDON WAS OVER BRANDY’S SO I DIDN’T GET TO SAY HI. JUST HEARING THE ONES YOU LOVE CAN MAKE ANY DAY GOOD.

                 STILL TRYING TO GET PACKED UP TO HEAD NORTH, LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. SOME PEOPLE ARE FLYING UP, SOME ARE CONVOYING. I'LL BE RIDING IN A 5TON WITH SGT HANCOCK THERE. SHOULD BE INTERESTING. SURE AM MISSING EVERYONE, THIS REALLY TESTS SOMEONE’S MENTAL STRENGTH. WELL, GOTTA GO CHECK IN LATER.

                       July 16, 2005---WELL WE STARTED ARE TRIP NORTH ABOUT 8:30 IN THE MORNING, WE WERE MAKING 2 STOPS BEFORE WE REACHED RAMADI-ONE AT CAMP CEDAR, THE OTHER AT CAMP SCANLIN. FIRST TRIP WENT WITH NO HITCHES THEN WE LEFT FROM CAMP SCANLIN THE FOLLOWING NIGHT FOR RAMADI. IT WAS ONLY GOING TO BE A 4 AND A HALF HOUR TRIP BUT IT TURNED INTO 8!!! WITHIN AN HOUR OF LEAVING, WE WERE HIT WITH AN IED, AND THEN LATER WE HAD TO SHOOT AT A VEHICLE TO KEEP IT AWAY FROM THE CONVOY. THEN TO WRAP UP THE TRIP WE HAD 3 BREAKDOWNS RIGHT IN FRONT OF FALLUSAH!!! OUR PUCKER FACTOR WAS A LEVEL 10!!!!! I’M HAPPY TO SAY THIS ALL WENT OFF WITH NO INJURIES-SO IT WAS A GOOD DAY.

                       WE ARRIVED IN RAMADI ABOUT 5:00AM IN THE MORNING, SO EVERYONE WAS PRETTY TIRED. WE GOT SOME SLEEP AND THE FOLLOWING DAY WE WENT DOWN TO ARE MOTORPOOL TO SEE WHERE WE WOULD BE WORKING FOR TE NEXT YEAR. THE PEOPLE WE ARE REPLACING ARE FROM THE 2^ND ID FROM KOREA, THEY ARE REALLY HELPFUL WITH ARE TRANSITION, I FEEL BAD FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE RELOCATING TO FT CARSON ,CO SO THEY HAVE TO MOVE TWICE. THE CAMP IS REALLY NICE, BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. THE DEFAC IS EXCELLENT, PX IS VERY GOOD, MWR VERY GOOD, GYMS ARE ALL NICE.

                       LOOKS LIKE OUR BARRACKS WILL BE NICE ONCE THE OTHERS MOVE OUT. CHECK IN LATER.

                       July 27, 2005—WE FINALLY STARTED GETTING SOME MAIL AROUND HERE, IT COMING PRETTY REGULAR NOW. THE 2^ND ID PEOPLE ARE LEAVING TOMORROW, NICE PEOPLE BUT I’M GLAD TO SEE THEM GO, ITS TOO CROWDED HERE—SHOWERS WERE A REAL PROBLEM PLUS I’M SICK OF LIVING OUT OF MY BAGS, I WANT TO UNPACK. SPEAKING OF MAIL, I GOT MY BIRTHDAY PACKAGE FROM HOME, I GOT AN R/C CAR TO RACE AROUND THE PLACE WITH, SHOULD BE FUN WITH ALL THE GUYS TO TAKE OUR MIND OFF THINGS SOMETIMES.

                       THE VEHICLES WE ARE FALLING IN ON HERE ARE IN HORRIBLE SHAPE; THEIR SHOT UP, BLOWN UP OR JUST PLAIN BEAT UP!!!!

WE’VE BEEN WORKING NONSTOP THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS TRYING TO JUST GET THEM ROAD WORTHY---ONCE THEY FOUND OUT I COULD FIX AIR CONDITIONERS, THEY WERE BRINGING THEM LEFT AND RIGHT.

                       WE HAD A LITTLE SCARE THE OTHER MORNING, WE GOT WOKEN UP TO A MORTAR HITTING THE FOB, IT WAS QUITE LOUD, THEN THE SIRENS WENT OFF---THAT WAS INTERESTING. ITS ABOUT BED TIME, CHECK IN LATER.