Professor in Iraq

2009-06-25T13:11:00.001-07:00

Letter 17

June 18th, 2009
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

This latest letter is going to be interesting for me to write as I have two extremes of emotions. The happy side of the letter revolves around my wife and me celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary today! Wow! Shelby and I have come a long way in 15 years. We started out living in a 700 square foot apartment in Fortville, Indiana in a cheesy apartment that did not have a dishwasher, air conditioning…heck it did not even have screens in the windows. We used to scrape together change just to go rent a movie. We learned multiple ways to spice up Ramen noodles and Spaghetti O’s. Shelby’s father at one point even gave us a bunch of venison meat as we could not afford hamburger…we made a lot of “venison helper”. We have survived my multiple trips back to school, and four kids. Speaking of that I will share a story with you regarding how we “set the time” when we would start having children. I thought that I would be cleaver and be able to hold Shelby off about when she wanted to start to have kids. So I told her that she could have a plant…if she could keep it alive for a year, then she could get an animal. Again, if the animal survived for a year then we could start having children. On our first wedding anniversary I bought Shelby a nice rubber tree plant. Then sometime in the next year we found Chan, our Siamese kitten. Anyway, I came home one day to find Chan hanging from the stem and the remains of the shredded rubber tree plant!…Shelby was so upset that I would enforce “the rule”! Anyway, the next year we had Mahayla. (This is the part of the letter where I think that I was ever actually in charge). Anyway, the error that I made was that I did not put an ending point on my conditions. I now have two dogs, two cats, I had 4 hamsters at one point, and of course 4 kids. Now, Mahayla has the plan to start breeding beagles…say a prayer for me! (Anybody want a beagle)? God has been really good to me, and I feel blessed everyday for my family.

The sad side of this letter was that since I last wrote my sponsoring doctor (PAs need to have a doctor indicated for them to be licensed), died suddenly at work. Dr. Fred Osborn was the one that helped push for me to be hired when I first graduated from PA school 9 years ago. He was a true mentor for me and I feel that I owe him so much. It was really hard on me to be here and not be able to go to his funeral. I want to say thank you to Fred for being my mentor, teacher and most importantly being my friend. I will miss you more than words can say in a letter. Below is a picture of Dr. Osborn:

The picture below is of me, Fred, and Erin another PA at Community Hospital of Anderson. Please everyone reading this say a prayer for Fred’s family.

Things are starting to change a bit here at our base. Recall that the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) that we have with Iraq’s new governments was that all US combat troops be out of all Iraq cities by the end of June. We have been pretty busy here as we have had several units leave and new units arrive with all the changes taking place.

Speaking of our clinic I have a funny story that has recently happened. Our clinic also takes care of TCNs (third country nationals). These tend to be Pakistani, Turkish, Indonesian, etc. Well, I was seeing this patient who had flank pain and pain when he urinated. Needless to say he did not speak very good English. I told my medic get urine from him so that we could check his urine. Well, our medic sent him to the bathroom with the little urine cup…well about twenty minutes later, he is still in the restroom…what the world? Finally, he emerges and hands the medic a cup of stool! The medic comes to tell me that we do not have urine, but we do have a nice stool sample…I bust out laughing, which the medic did not think it was funny as she had to look at the patient as he came out of the bathroom and handed her “the sample”. What do you think this guy is thinking…”why would the Americans want me to poop in a cup”? He either thought we were thorough or that we were idiots! Nice skill in getting it into the cup. What do you say? What can you say? I will say this most of the TCNs are very nice and thankful for any care that we give them.

Several days ago we had the worst sandstorm ever! Now take any picture of sand storms that I have sent in previous letters and multiply it easily by 10. This one was like a blizzard; you could not see more than 10 feet in front of you and you could not breathe without covering your face. There must have been some moister in the sand as it literally stuck to everything. It looked like what happens when you get hard blowing cold snow and it covers the street, cars etc. It was everywhere. It was so bad I ran into my room, in the time it took me to open my door and close it my fire alarm was going off due to the cloud of sand that entered my room. My hair was covered as was my clothes. There is no way to adequately describe it, but I hope to never experience a storm like that again. What makes it worse is that it is so consistently hot. It is always above 110 everyday. I think most days it may get up to 120…so when the wind blows it is more like a convection oven than a cool breeze.

We had to say good bye to Dr. Sammi this week. He is an Iraqi-American doctor that we have been working with. He specifically has been working with local doctors and the US State Department trying to improve their healthcare system. He has been in charge of a bunch of Iraqi doctors that have been through our clinic to observe American outpatient medicine and mass casualty operations. Below is a picture of Dr. Sammi:

This picture was taken during our shift in the clinic. We generally have four providers on during the day. Dr. Andrew Porter in on the left, he is a sports medicine doctor out of Iowa. Major Jeff Romig is next to CPT Porter, and is a PA out of Illinois. Dr. Sammi is in the middle. I am next to Dr. Sammi, and CPT Travis Welch is on the right end. We are standing in front of our mural T-wall in front of the clinic that blocks the entrance and protects it from any indirect fire attacks (mortar/rockets). You can see who was actually working during the shift as CPT Porter and I have stethoscopes on! We were all squinting in the picture as the sun was in our eyes and the sand was blowing.

I have a few more pictures of our base that I will share with you. The first is from the roof of our clinic. We have been known to have a few cigars up here at night when it cools down. It does provide some nice scenery of our surrounding area. 180 degrees from this picture is the airstrip. It is pretty cool watching the fighters taking off at night with their afterburners. It is also pretty peaceful and quit so it is a good place to “get away”.

The trees in the background are located at our perimeter. We do have some trees but for the most part Army = plant death. If you take the road scene above in the picture heading “deeper into the picture” toward the perimeter you will see the palm tree grove below. This edge of the base is relatively close to the Tigris River.

The fence is our perimeter. See there really is vegetation outside our base! Makes you feel safe that there is just a chain link fence between our base and the Iraqi countryside. We do have the area under surveillance and there are guard towers similar to the one seen below:

Besides guard towers we do have plenty of aircraft observing the area. The inner base is also protected by T-walls and other barriers. Finally, the aircraft for this letter is the very large C-17 transport plane. This plane is also known as a Globemaster.

This picture does not do justice to how large this plane really is. I actually flew on one of these during my first deployment. I flew all the way from Germany into Kabul. They are not built for comfort, but they sure can transport a lot of items.

I will try to do better about writing more frequently. I have been working very hard to try to finish my PhD…which I did send in another draft yesterday, so it is moving! Also, the clinic is busy as usual. We have been averaging about 2,500 – 3,000 patient visits per month! In addition to our clinic duties all soldiers that leave Iraq must do what is called a PDHA (Post-Deployment Health Assessment), which means they have to meet with a medical provider. We do a screening on everything from suicidal/homicidal issues to environmental exposures. It is tedious, but is a good screening tool. This is done within thirty days of the soldiers leaving theater. This last week was really hard as the unit that we were clearing had a soldier killed the day before by a grenade that was thrown into the vehicle. Several other US soldiers were injured. This was one of his last missions before getting to go home. I think it bothered all of us, as it was a reminder of just where we are at. Please say a prayer for his family and all the soldiers that were affected by his death. However, attacks do seem to be declining, which I hope is a trend that will continue. Just keep your thoughts and prayers coming for all the service members and their families. NEVER FORGET that all the service members are fighting for our freedoms and our way of life. NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest country on Earth with more opportunity than any other. Not much longer and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible when I get home.

God Bless

Major Roscoe

Letter 16

2009-05-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

May 25th, 2009
Balad. Iraq

Everyone:

I hope this letter finds everyone well. I wanted to spend some time talking about Memorial Day. This as always been a special solemn day for me, but this year it seems that I have been more introspective. Perhaps, it is because I am in Iraq, maybe it is that I have had friends that have been killed in action. Either way, I will try to organize my thoughts a bit below, but I ask to please take the time to think of our military members who have given everything for our freedoms.

The first picture that I want to include is actually from my Afghanistan deployment in 2004-2005. This is so very personal to me that it is a bit hard to type this. This is a picture from our fallen comrade ceremony when four soldiers from our task force were killed by a road side bomb. I knew all them.

The military always uses symbolism with its ceremonies. In this case the helmet and identification tags signify the fallen soldier. The inverted rifle with bayonet signals a time for prayer, a break in the action to pay tribute to our comrade. The combat boots represent the final march of the last battle.

I include this pictures so that we all do not lose sight of what Memorial Day is and represents. The World does not stop, when sometimes we all wish it would. However, we can stop for a few seconds…remember not just the fallen soldiers but the families and friends who have lost part of their lives as well.

I guess the above picture summarize my thoughts better than words will ever do. I have included below several editorial cartoons for Memorial Day that I think are very appropriate:

Thank you to all the Veterans who are reading this for your sacrifices. Thank you for paving the way for us. We current soldiers remember your sacrifices, and will never forget! I am very proud to be part of a family (both mine and my wife’s side) that have a history of service.

The irony behind this letter is that while composing the ideas for it, our base took another aggressive mortar attack. There were three soldiers injured when the mortars landed in a living area not far from us. Fortunately, nobody from our task force was injured. There was also later an Iraqi that came to our gate that had a portion of his hand traumatically injured. Turns out that this Iraqi was probably the same guy that actually fired the mortars! Of course our base treated him. I wonder what the insurgents would have done if it was the reverse situation. I guess that is what separates us from them. The worse part of indirect fire attacks (mortar, rockets) is that you cannot fight back, and the randomness of what they are going to strike. You just have to get down or in a bunker and hope it is not close.

I think it is time to lighten the tone of the letter. Below is a picture of an old anti-aircraft Iraqi weapon that probably has been at this location next to the airstrip since we first came here.

There are some interesting things in this picture. First, if you look behind the tree on the right you will see an old Iraqi bunker. In typical American fashion on top of the bunker is a little gazebo that we built. I am sure it is for smoking, and hanging out. You can also see the main control tower in the background. The picture below is of a convoy that just entered our base. They park near our clinic. That is because the PX and MWR building is close:

The large vehicles are all called MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). They are designed to protect against road side bombs. They are amazing and I know that I have mentioned them before, but they really are saving lives. Look at how much bigger they are then the Humvee next to it. I like this picture as I was able to get the Indiana street sign in it as well. The “guns” on the vehicles are all .50 caliber machine guns. This is a pretty well armed convoy group. My last three pictures for this letter are more aircraft type pictures as these are pretty popular. The first is a close view of an F-16:

Amazing! These things are very loud when they use their afterburners as they take off. They do this to quickly gain altitude to be out of range of any enemy fire. This of course rattles my CHU! The picture below is of a Kiowa Warrior:

Remember in a previous email I mentioned that all helicopters are named after Native American Indians. This is the Kiowa. Specifically, the Kiowa Warrior as it has rocket pods. I am not sure if you can see them in this picture. This is a small recon helicopter that is very fast and mobile.
I want to close this letter with the idea of how it started. Below is a picture of a pair of Blackhawk MEDEVAC helicopters landing at the hospital here in Balad. These were carrying injured soldiers.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and my family. I am on the home stretch now. I should be home sometime in August so we are under our 90 day window and are officially “short-timers”. Please continue to pray for all the soldiers, marines, airman, and sailors that are here defending all of our freedom. NEVER FORGET all those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave all. NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest nation on Earth with endless opportunities only because people have been willing to fight and die for the idea of freedom. I know it is past Memorial Day, but when you get this letter please pause for 10 seconds and give a prayer for all the service members, especially the families. Make sure to include the families that have had a service member die. Thank you again for supporting all the troops!

Major Roscoe

Letter 15

2009-05-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

May 14, 2009
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

Again, I must apologize for the slow correspondence with everyone. The clinic has been extremely busy over the past several weeks. Additionally, the semester was ending at Butler and I was working toward finishing off the semester. I am very thankful that the semester is over so that I can hopefully work to finish my dissertation. I suppose that by now everyone has read/watched about the massive tragedy in Baghdad where a soldier went into a combat stress clinic and killed 5 people. It has created an amazing amount of tension here in Iraq. It is almost overwhelming for us as soldiers to comprehend one of our “brothers” shooting a fellow soldier. It is bad enough to deal with the daily stress of indirect fire attacks and the chance of being killed by the enemy, but to have a fellow soldier commit fratricide is unthinkable. The sad item is that two of the 5 people killed were reserve doctors from Indiana. Part of the unit that lost the soldiers is stationed here in Balad. Our unit/medical providers especially feel the pain of this horrific act as the mental health specialist are fellow medical care givers, and are reserve soldiers from Indiana. It just shows that anything can happen at anytime, anywhere. Please pray for the families of these soldiers as the loss of loved ones is hard, but the loss like this is even more difficult. Pray for SGT Russell’s family (the shooter) that they may find peace with what their son did.

Perhaps it is the multiple deployments, the time away from home, or whatever the news will give you as a cause for this action. I will tell you that I have been on multiple deployments to different combat zones totaling about 30 months in < 5 years. This is stressful! The military recognizes this and there are stress clinics on just about every base here in Iraq and in Afghanistan. There is help everywhere! We have lectures every three months on suicide/homicide prevention. Soldiers also generally take care of each other…this sort of act is an anomaly thank God, but the military is trying to get help for its soldiers. When the news/family wants to blame the victims (medical staff) and the military, I have a problem with this. I do not have the urge to hurt anyone…we still make our own choices. SGT Russell made a choice…his choice. A tragic choice that he will have to live with…it is not the fault of innocent soldiers that he was broke, and chose to kill. The fact is that he was at a mental health clinic by a command referral! Either way, I am safe. Outside of this event in Baghdad, our base here at Balad has been pretty quiet over the past several weeks. It has been at least a week since our last attack. We did learn that our base and Mosul are the two most attacked bases in Iraq…comforting. Our newest threat is apparently snipers. Fortunately, there have been no reports of any small arms fire. Summer has fully arrived here in Iraq. It is regularly over 110 degrees now. Check out our thermometer from last week.

It is not even June yet! But hey…it’s a dry heat! You know why they say that…because at this temp all the freaking water has evaporated! Also, with this big heat wave came the worse sandstorm that I have experienced since being in Iraq. It was a clear beautiful day, walked to lunch…then you see this literal wall of sand coming. We just made it back into the clinic when it hit. Below are some pictures of this storm.

I have shown this view in several previous letters. You can not even see what structures are across the street. If you look there are two people walking on the sidewalk. They are seriously no more than 40-50 yards away. Below is another picture but is the backside of our clinic. When you look at this picture, remember it is about noon. It was a beautiful clear day approximately 15 minutes prior to this picture. Behind the tent there is a tree…cannot even see it. Welcome to our colony on Mars!

This area of the clinic is our ambulance entrance. The two trucks are indeed ambulances which in the military are known as FLAs (front line ambulance). When the crosses are displayed (or crescent if from a Muslim nation, Star of David for Israel) it means that they are on a medical mission/have a patient which by Geneva Convention means that they are supposed to be “off-limits” for attack. When the crosses are displayed they also cannot attack nor do anything that would be considered offensive (attacking). So there are flaps to cover the crosses when not doing medical missions. (Tangent warning) - I think that the US is one of the few nations that actually try to follow the Geneva Convention. We already know that our enemies do not care about it as they like to cut off American’s heads. I guess this makes water-boarding seem like child’s play. I am just not sure if we can really get intelligence from terrorist (one’s whose agenda is to cause fear/pain) without getting our hands a little dirty. I promise you after being over here; they would not hesitate to torture us…but not just for information. I find it troubling that we have a ruthless enemy here (Iraq and Afghanistan) and America feels like we need to investigate/prosecute Americans trying to keep us safe. I am not saying torture is correct, but what we did is hardly torture. I can tell you another time of the torture items I saw with my own eyes in Afghanistan and the mass graves of women and children. Maybe our leaders should see some of these sites before going after our CIA. (Tangent over).

We just named our sidewalks in our living area. This helps me find my CHU (room) when I have those late night drinking binges. Anyway, Travis Welch and Bryan McFarland and I all live on the same “street” (all Butler grads). Below is the name of our street:

Butler University now has a “street” named after it in Iraq! Beneath the “street sign” you are looking down one of our internal bunkers that we have to get into if we have an IDF (indirect fire attack – mortar/rocket) that is coming into our sector. Sitting on top of the bunkers are T-Walls which are very reinforced concrete slabs that will stop a mortar/rocket. If you look at the top of the T-walls you will see a ton of wires…looks like a shanty town. These are all wires for the internet. Most of them are not really connected to anything. It is just easier to restring wire than to try to find its origin and pull it all out. It actually provides some nice shade though. Here is another picture of our beloved Butler Bulldog Boulevard:

The arrow below the street sign is a typical military sign. It is to show you the way out of the housing area in case of fire. Really! I would have never guessed. The building seen through the gap in the bunker wall is the PX (store). It is seen in the first sandstorm picture above but is almost invisible. Gives you another idea of how bad that storm really was. Below is a random picture of my roommate.

It is taken just outside my chu: This little sparrow is one of the loudest creatures on Earth! At least his song is pretty. He likes to make sure that I am up early to be able to get to the gym. I need to think of a name…maybe I will take some suggestions. I have yet another random type picture…if you recall in a previous letter I talked about how we (soldiers) like to paint some of the T-walls to give some color to our Lunar landscape. Anyway, here is our T-wall that was recently painted in our company area:

All companies have a motto/mascot. We are the Guardian Medics, and our symbol is an Arch-Angel. This is our unit/deployment picture. I think it is pretty cool when you think that it was painted on gray drab piece of concrete with crappy brushes and paint. The final set of pictures for this letter is in my tradition of trying to show you some mundane things to show you some of our daily areas. Below is of our restroom (when not using port-a-johns), and our shower area.

This is one of two porcelain toilets we have for the men. The stuffed animal is for Alan Antao (and my PA students)…See it is possible to get this on toilet seats! Anyway…looks cozy. I especially like the nice pattern on the wall tile. This pattern can be seen everywhere here. The toilets work most of the time, but they have low pressure which is why we need to keep the plunger close. Below is one of our three showers for about 60 guys.

Again, admire the wall tile. This tile has a nice mold accent that seems to be resistant to all known forms of bleach. That is a window on the left, but it is covered with sandbags on the other side. I will finish this letter with some email stories that I received that I think are very are very pertinent for this letter. The first is for a major shout out to all my PA students who have finished a long year, but especially to the new graduates that now get to fly from the nest. They are all awesome and I am so very proud of them. The story below is for them to help keep them grounded as they enter the very scary “real world”. The story is a pretend story about the right of passage a boy must take to become a man:

"His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a man. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat there, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man... Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him."

I liked this story, it is appropriate for all of us, but especially for these new graduates and their new jobs/lives…sitting on a stump with the perception of being alone…not so! Please stay in touch, all the faculty and especially me, will always be around to help as we can. Shelby, please tell our babies this story and let them know that I will always be there watching over them as well. The last story that I was sent gives a picture of the average American Soldier currently deployed overseas. I would say that it is pretty accurate. I thought that it was appropriate with the horrible events that happened in Baghdad this week.

“The average age of the military man is 19 years.. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, Pray for our military...use the prayer wheel below: Prayer Wheel 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need... Amen."

I think those two stories sum up my feelings pretty well. Thank you to all the support. It is getting better as I will be home in less than 90 days! I am planning on having a home coming party and would like to have everyone who gets this letter to come. Continue to pray for all of us and our families. Thank you to Dean Andritz for your very kind and humbling words that you gave on my behalf at the hooding ceremony. Thank you PA3 students for wearing a pin on your regalia on my behalf. I am humbled. NEVER FORGET the freedoms and opportunities that you have in America. NEVER FORGET that you live in the greatest nation on Earth. NEVER FORGET that sacrifices that all our soldiers, sailors, Marines and Airman give for all of our freedoms.

God Bless:

Major Roscoe

Letter 14

2009-05-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Letter 14
April 21, 2009
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

I am sorry that I am behind on my letters. I have been busier than normal since my last update. When I arrived back, Major Romig left for his leave. He is the OIC (Officer in Charge) of the clinic, and I assumed his job while he was away. The OIC is essentially the “chief of staff” of the clinic so deals with all the provider issues, complaints, and any care issues for the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic). The OIC also is a liaison between the administrative leadership and the clinic. What this means in English is that our clinic has essentially two bosses: 1) the standard administrative leadership of our Company Command, and the Battalion that we work for. 2) The Battalion Surgeon (surgeon in the Army is a title of senior medical leadership) who dictates any medical issues. They are both at Battalion, but they do not always communicate with each other. It is a busy job added on to an already busy clinic work schedule. Below is a picture of Colonel Shoupe, who was the BN Surgeon that I have been working with. A COL is one rank below the General ranks.

This picture was taken in our provider room and is the three Butler University PA Program graduates with COL Shoupe. I am on the left, COL shoupe is next to me, CPT Bryan McFarland, then on the end is 1LT Travis Welch.

Additionally, with my hectic schedule I had the big push toward the end of the spring semester at Butler University so I have been working hard on my teaching, which still amazes me how much time it takes. The good news is that Major Romig is back and I can “give” him his extra duties job back. Also, I have finished all my lectures, written all my exams for Butler. Finally, I can get to my PhD dissertation and maybe even get that completed in the next three months.

Life here at Balad since I last wrote has really just been mundane. We get the standard indirect fire attack several times a week (although this last week has been very quiet). We have had some really nasty dust storms…some of the worse since I have been here. The last several that we had I think were so bad that we didn’t even get an attack. The only difference is that the temperatures have really been climbing. Below is an outdoor thermometer outside of 1LT Welch’s room.

I know the weather back in Indiana has been all over the place, but I heard that it was pretty cold for a few days. This was taken one day about 10-12 days ago (not in direct sunlight). I am sure that within the next month this will be buried at the 120 marker. If you look behind the thermometer you can see the large concrete “T-Walls” that protect our living area from indirect fire attacks. If you look at the window seal you can see the thin layer of sand/dirt that seems to be on everything.

Well, I have another good story for you. Do you remember Major Altman from Tennessee? He was the doctor that went “down range” and Major Romig replaced all his underwear with women’s panties. Anyway, when Major Romig went on leave, Dr. Altman was heading home. They met up and spent the day together in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait. Major Romig thought everything was good, safe…come to find out that Major Altman was still “wounded” about the underwear issue. One of the steps for us to do before we get to get on a plane to come back to the U.S. is go through customs. Customs searches everything. Major Romig steps up for his turn and he has to dump out everything out of his bags, including any “extra” or “hidden” pockets. As he dumps his bag, out falls a half-filled pee bottle. The pee bottle is a nasty habit that many soldiers resort to as there are often no restrooms close to where you sleep or live. Anyway, Major Altman’s “gift” to Major Romig was not as well received by the customs officials who were very disgusted with Major Romig. Can you see Major Romig “it was my friend” “it is not mine” There was nothing that Major Romig could say except to take the comments and lecture given by the grossed out customs officials…Disgusting, but funny. Somehow, I think that this is not completely over as Dr. Altman accidently left his stethoscope here.

Easter came and went here, just like all the other major holidays. I find it hard to really “get in the spirit” of the holidays as nothing changes here. I did go to Easter Mass which was nice. It was a truly international service as there were people from Africa, Asia, Arabia, Americas and Europe all there. It was a bit interesting to be “packing heat” to go to Church. Below is everyone leaving after the service.

You can see in the picture all the soldiers that have weapons. The back wall of windows may have been pretty cool if they were not enclosed with concrete walls making the entire chapel a large bunker. To give you an idea, below is a picture of the outside of our “Provider’s Chapel”:

The buildings have the canopy to protect against indirect fire. Everything on this base has reinforcements due to the large number of attacks that we get.

There was a large Ecumenical Sunrise Service at our stadium that I heard was really nice. They were able to finish the service just before it started to rain. Remember, a ¼ inch of rain here causes flooding so it is a big deal as we just do not get a lot of rainfall. The other thing is that with this sand-dirt that we have here it not make mud per se but rather this nasty paste like substance that just refuses to come off of your boots and clothes.

Emotionally, I have had a hard couple of weeks. I think most of it has been from missing my family and loved ones, but also with just always being busy. Well, there was an MWR (moral, welfare and recreation) event that was on our base that really helped my spirits this week. The MWR events range from musicians to celebrities and anything in-between. Well, I went and really enjoyed myself. Below is a picture of me with the musician…do you recognize him?

If you guessed Charlie Daniels you would be correct. He was incredible! He has been actively recording music since 1950! He and his band were so gracious. I tried to thank him for coming to entertain the troops…he was almost offended. He said “do not thank me; it is I who must thank you”. It was said with complete sincerity. He sounded great and is quit an amazing musician. Below is another picture:

He is signing some guitar picks for me. I did mention something about is Union Cavalry Hat (he would have been a good Confederate). He just laughed and thought it was funny. I do not normally listen to a lot of country music but Country music singers do seem to visit the troops more than any other group of performers. Here is a picture of him singing during the show:

This is actually at our movie theater. This theater was actually an Iraqi theater that we left standing when we invaded because the US Command thought that we may use it in the future. I am glad they did not bomb it. What I find interesting with this picture is the crowd. First, look at all the digital cameras (all the LCD screens). During some of the songs such as “Devil Went Down To Georgia” it looked like everybody had one. Also, almost all branches can be seen. The guy in the black shirt in front is a civilian contractor. Next to him in the old DCUs (Desert Camouflage Uniform) affectionately known as “coffee stains” is Navy. In front of them is the “Tiger Striped” camouflage uniform of the Air Force. Then in front of him is the PT (Physical Training) uniform jacket of the Air Force and the Army PT uniform jacket to their right. Below is an outside view of the movie theater:

You can see the framework that the US added around the building. Again, it is to protect against any mortar and rocket attacks. Yes, there is indeed a subway inside. I guess war has changed a bit since my dad was in Vietnam and certainly since the hell that our soldiers went though in Korea and WWII.

Changing gears, I wanted to show some updated pictures of my room. I have been constantly improving my living quarters and I think I am very lucky to have such a nice “home” when compared to my first deployment. The first picture is just as you enter my room and if you sat at my desk and looked at my bed:

The most noticeable item is my large Butler University Flag (Thanks MK). I did not intent to have the flame always light up when the sun is out, but I think it is pretty cool. My blanket on my bed is from Afghanistan. Can you see my couch? It was made for me by an Iraqi furniture maker. How cool is that? Of course always have to have our weapons at arms reach so my pistol is on the end of the couch. Above my bed is one of the single most important structures here and that is the Air Conditioner. Mine actually went out for a few days and it was so hot in my room that I could hardly been inside. If I were to sit on the bed and look 180 degrees this is the view:

My door is just to the right of the locker. You can see that I do have a TV. We get about 8-10 channels that show a variety of TV from the States. Of course it is via a signal so if the weather is bad we sometimes lose reception. Next, what do you think of my desk? It was “acquired” when I first arrived with the help of my medics from my original company that I was the commander of before I came over. This is where I spend all my “other time” with teaching and working on my PhD.

My military picture of this letter is of the Osprey, which is a new aircraft in the US armory. It is part helicopter and part plane. It can take off as either one, and literally fly as either one depending on which is best suited for the mission. In this case it is flying like a helicopter.

I have not seen a lot of these craft here at Balad. In fact, I think that this is the only day that I have seen one here. It is a transport/cargo craft and often carries troops in the back. Some would ask why it would be advantageous to be able to fly as either a helicopter or a fixed wing plane. Well it can fly faster and higher as a plane, but can land and take off vertically. It is actually a pretty large aircraft.

I need to close this letter, and I will try to not have too long a gap between my next correspondences. My major “shout out” for this letter has to be all the PA students and faculty. They have all been working so hard this semester and all have done amazing. We have a new soon to be graduating class…sorry that I will not be there for that, but know that I am thinking of you and please do not be strangers. To my wife and kids…not that much longer…hang in there and know that I am most proud of you and cannot wait to be HOME. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, thoughts and help with my family. Please continue your thoughts and prayers. Please NEVER FORGET why we are away from our families. NEVER FORGET those that do not get to come home to their families. NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest nation on Earth with all the opportunities that others can only dream about.

Major Roscoe

Letter 13

2009-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Everyone:

Well it has been an arduous trip back to Iraq (Shelby yells at me anytime I call Iraq “home”). I arrived at the Indy airport at about 8:30am on Monday March 16th for my 10:30 flight to Atlanta. At about 10:40 there was no plane for us to board, and Delta had made no announcements, several passengers went to ask the Delta employees what was going on. Apparently, the plane that we were supposed to get on had mechanical issues and had not left Atlanta yet (if flies back and forth). In addition Atlanta was having some storms so our new time would not be until 1:30 (1330)…well, this is no good as I am supposed to report at Atlanta at 1300 (1:00pm). I called the Army desk in Atlanta and got everything arranged for myself and 5 other soldiers from the Indianapolis area in the same situation as I. Well at about 1500 (3:00PM) we finally took off from Indy (still with little to almost no communication from Delta). On an aside, one of the Delta ladies working the desk was so rude, at one point I saw her yelling at a passenger that he needed to pay more attention to the board for the flights that she was tired of telling him. Mind you they had not shared information with the now three flights worth of passengers in the same area all going to Atlanta on three different flights. I should have known that this was just the start.
We finally arrived in Atlanta and of course our flight to Kuwait was long gone. I expected to be spending the next 20 hours or so sleeping on the airport floor, or balled up on segmented airport chairs…but hey the Army put us up at the Crown Plaza hotel at the airport in Atlanta…and paid for us to have three meals! (I pinched myself because I thought for a minute that I was Air Force). We were able to get out of Atlanta around 1900 (7:00PM) the next day. I expected our flight to be packed, but another nice surprise was that it was not…Since I was a major and there were not that many higher ranking officers on the flight I was able to sit in first-class! I had a nice spacious leather chair that even had a foot rest…cool.
We proceeded to fly from Atlanta to Shannon, Ireland…so here we are sitting in Ireland at an airport pub the day after St. Patrick’s Day and I cannot have any alcohol! Looking out the airport windows everywhere we could see was lush green. I guess this one of the reasons it is called the Emerald Isle. I would have taken pictures but of course my camera was completely dead and I did not bring my charger…sorry. The flight from Atlanta to Ireland was only about 7.5 hours. From Ireland we flew to Kuwait city…another 7.5 hours or so of flying time. We arrived in Kuwait sometime after dark, by this time I was so disoriented with the long flight time that it was hard to keep everything straight as we also lost another 7 hours for the time difference. From here we sat on a bus for 1.5 hours (I think it is an Army policy to have us hurry, wait, and then cram into a small space with all our gear). After waiting the hour and a half we drove for two more hours to Ali al Salem to see about getting our flights to our individual bases. There were no flights back to Balad (not home Shelby) but I had to come back in 6 hours for a formation to see when the next flight might be. I arrive back at 0700 (7am) on March 19 only to be told that there are no flights yet and to return at 1900 to see when we might fly. During my time in Kuwait I was able to enjoy the sand/dust, 90 degree weather and lack of sleep. I also was able to sit outside and try to give two lectures to my PA students….yes it was windy and blowing sand.
Our flight from Kuwait to Balad is a combat flight aboard a C-130. Below is a picture of a C-130:

We are literally crammed into this aircraft and we sit in 4 long rows length-wise down the middle of the aircraft with two rows facing each other. It is tight enough that you have to work with the people across from you on how to position your knees and legs and make adjustments during flight. I have been on many combat landings over my two deployments but the one on this day was the most….”aggressive” landing I think that I could have experienced. I later learned that our base has been under a lot of attacks the week that I came in and were having some small arm attacks (snipers) so there was a much higher alert level. Anyway, we rocked back and forth enough that at one point I could see out this little porthole window and I was parallel to the ground. We would then drop altitude fast enough that we came out of our seats (we are seat belted), then climb enough that we could feel some G-forces. I felt like putting my hands up in the air like a rollercoaster. I would have if I could have gotten out from between the soldiers on either side of me…we were tight enough that we did not shift left or right due to the person next to you. We eventually landed fine and I am safely back in Balad, Iraq. Below is a C-130 flying over Balad:

The first few days I was back, our base was attacked everyday. That was until one night I was awoken to the sound of a lot of explosions and rocket fire. At first, I shot out of bed, but the alarms never went off…I was tired so I just went back to bed. The next day we learned that the explosions and fire that we heard that night was outgoing. They found the sniper team and mortar/rocket teams that were giving us so much trouble. They sent out a large infantry team and apache helicopters…we have now been attack free for over a week!

In my last letter I told you about Shelby getting her head shaved for St. Baldrick’s day/organization. Well, she did it! Below is a picture of her with her head shaved:

How cool is my wife!!!! How many women could actually do this voluntarily? I am very proud of her and her self-confidence that she does not need hair to feel pretty. She did this to support childhood cancer research and funds to families of children with Cancer. Additionally, Rachel (my second) and Kolbe (my third) both decided to get their heads shaved for St. Baldrick’s and she wanted to support her children…I am lucky to have her as the mother of my children! Enough of the sappy stuff, in viewing the pictures of Shelby getting her head shaved I noticed in eerie resemblance to a Star Trek character…tell me what you think:

Now, I am not saying she is like the Borg queen…I am just saying…The picture on the left (just in case you get confused) is Shelby getting her haircut J. They actually gave her a Mohawk first and spiked it up…of course the kids thought that this was great. I think it may have lasted about 5 minutes before it was shaved off. By the way if you know who the Borg queen is you are a geek.

Rachel and Kolbe got their head shaved the following week at St. Thomas Aquinas School. Here are my brave kids and Shelby after.

Are they not all beautiful? Take a look at the banner behind them and see some of the things that this organization does for cancer research. They are amazing. Check out their website at http://www.stbaldricks.org/ and feel free to donate online to Team Roscoe at https://bumail.butler.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=0087f6e183cd45129607a03f18f93569&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.stbaldricks.org%2fhome%2freferral.php%3fRef%3dL3BhcnRpY2lwYW50cy90ZWFtX2luZm8ucGhwP1RlYW1LZXk9MjAwOS00NjE1. Please pray for all the kids that have childhood cancer and the families of those kids, they have a burden that not many of us can truly relate to. Please specifically say a prayer for Joeseph Chamness and his family who has brought childhood cancer awareness to our community.

Spring has arrived here in Iraq. It is in the 80s and 90s here during the day, and gets into the upper 60s at night. We do not have anything really green on our base, but we have seen a lot more of “little” birds around. Here is a picture of one:

All winter we had these really ugly “crow looking” birds everywhere they made me feel like I was in purgatory or something. These little birds are cute, but loud. I actually have some of these guys living in the wall of my CHU (room). They tend to wake me up every morning with their chirping. The box behind the bird is a box of our milk. We do not have fresh milk here so we have these boxes. I do not like it very much, but they do work for cereal etc. I will try to get some pictures of these little birds coming out of the wall of my CHU.

Below is my “base picture of the letter”. It is of the Mosque that is on our base. We are not allowed to go inside the fence. It is currently not being used.

I will give a picture below of a close-up of the minaret and dome to show you the birds. A few things that I wanted to point out on this picture. First, notice the standing water on the right side of the picture and the mud. I do not remember when I took this picture, but it does not take much rain for us to get these mud spots. Second, behind the Mosque is the movie theater. I will spend some time in another letter talking about this surreal building, but I am sure that it is the most protected movie theater in the world. Below is a close-up of the minaret.

Look at all the birds! They are everywhere. I think it is like a base playing tag for them. Our base is a large airbase…birds and aircraft do not usually get along very well. The military actually has a program where you can loan out a pellet gun to shoot birds on base to thin the population so that they do not hit the planes coming in. (Sorry PETA). Anyway, there are really only two locations that the bird shooting is off limits. The first is the mosque so you cannot aim a weapon in the direction of the mosque (we would not want to offend anybody). The second is around the chow halls. If anybody would like to join my new organization (inspired by PETA) that I started with the help/idea of the PA faculty I am starting PETC (people for the ethical treatment of corn) but I may change the name to include other vegetables or maybe even all plants. I mean Dr. Maffeo offered me an aloe plant for burns…I mean to tear off a leaf and rub the plant guts on a burn…what kind of sick world is this. I have personally witnessed Dr. Lucich eat a decapitated mushroom head on a sandwich! I guess Dr. Lucich is not that much of a “Fun-Guy” (fungi…get it) Wow am I clever!

Seriously, thank you to everyone who continues to help my family. Thank you to the Guardian Angels of Hillcrest…I just received something like 50+ boxes of mostly Girl Scout cookies for the troops. We have been distributing them to soldiers all over the base. I am sorry that I was unable to get around seeing everyone on my leave…just ran out of time. It has been a bit hard on me emotionally returning back to Iraq and leaving my family and friends and I am a bit homesick. However, I have plunged right back into work which is a busy as ever. Hopefully things will slow down as we have new docs coming next month and we should be fully staffed with medical people again. Additionally, I will finish teaching at the end of April so that I can focus on completing my PhD. Life will be good then…maybe by then I can show you pictures of the pool!

In closing this letter I received yet another great email that I wanted to share with everyone. It is about the USS New York that was build from the scrap steel that remained from the World

Trade Center after 9/11:
USS New YorkIt was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment f or everybody there.'Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said. 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down.. We're going to be back.'The ship's motto? 'Never Forget'

How appropriate that the ships motto is “NEVER FORGET” in that it is how I close all my letters. Please keep the prayers flowing for all of us soldiers and the families. We need them all! NEVER FORGET what we are doing here, and we still have US service members being killed, regardless of what the news is saying. NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest nation on Earth with all the opportunities to be a success and achieve all your dreams and goals. I feel so blessed by all the love and support that I have and I thank everyone in my community for helping my family and I be successful.

Major Roscoe

letter 12

2009-03-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

March 9, 2009

Letter 12
Balad, Iraq
Ali Al Salem, Kuwait
Indianapolis, Indiana U.S.A.

Hopefully, this letter finds everyone well. I am doing very well due to being home on my leave. I cannot express to you how great it is/was to see my family, friends, my students, and everyone else who has supported me. I want to organize this letter chronologically so I will start with the week that I left Iraq.

In a previous letter I spoke of Dr. Altman, who is a family practice doctor from Tennessee. He has been working with an active duty Stryker Brigade at a small FOB (forward operating base) south of Baghdad. This unit spends the majority of its time “outside the wire”. The picture below is of a Stryker in Iraq, although it is not mine as I do not have a current picture of a Stryker.

Before I continue with my story I will address some points with this picture. The first item in the picture is to note the wire mesh on the outside of the vehicle. The mesh is used to breakup an RPG or (other rocket) so that the shrapnel/rocket pieces will hit the armor over a larger surface area and prevent penetration. The second item of note is the canopy over the top. This is used to protect against snipers which is an ever present danger. The other items sticking out are to counter IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

Continuing with my story, one of the U.S. Strykers with this unit was out patrolling and was struck by two “daisy chained” anti-tank mines that were used as an IED. None of the solders inside were killed but two of the three inside were very seriously injured and MEDEVAC to Balad for emergency care. Now, the point of this story is to try to explain the kind of bonds that are formed in the military that you just don’t see in the civilian world. Dr. Altman came up to Balad with three Strykers full of soldiers that were all part of the platoon of the injured soldiers. They drove over two hours on the same roads that their friends were just blown-up on, risked their own life…why? They came up just to make sure that the injured soldiers knew that they were not forgotten, just to let them know that they were supported and they would be there for them. In the civilian world, we might send an email, maybe call, probably not drive across town and certainly not during rush hour. I had the fortune of being in the hospital parking lot when they wheeled out one of the injured soldiers to see his “buddies”. The interaction that I witnessed will stay with my forever…a bunch of invincible, manly soldiers not knowing what to say…but words were not needed. There were stifled tears, then the hugs and the look of pure gratitude in the injured soldiers face that spoke volumes, and the awkward words were not needed. This is what selfless service is! This is what YOUR military members do! They quietly risk their lives for all of us, and are not looking for fame, a “golden parachute” or a one-year multi-million dollar contract that seems to dominate our news today.

Speaking of that, the mainstream media is not even talking about Iraq anymore. In talking with people and watching the news there are numerous comments being stated that it is “all over” in Iraq and that there is no more violence. Several people even stated that it must be due to President Obama’s plan to leave Iraq. (Most of the locals I have spoken with do not think that the changing of the US President will make any difference in Iraq). Most are afraid of what will happen when the US leaves. Regarding the violence, besides the above story with the Stryker, there were three American soldiers killed just outside the perimeter of my base the week I left. The hospital ER and operating room have increased its trauma care by about 300% over the past month and our base still gets a mortar or rocket attack about 3 times a week. I would tell you that I personally have not seen a drop in the violence from where I am at. I do think the media wants the American public to support the withdrawal from Iraq and one way to do this is “out of sight, out of mind”. I am ok with us leaving Iraq we need to at some point, but I am not ok with media “minimizing” the great work and sacrifices being made by our service members. I am not sure if the increase in violence is due to the spring weather and/or the increased sand storms, or simply a result of the decrease US patrols/presence.

I have come to hate sandstorms! They get sand in spaces that should not have sand. Below are two pictures of sandstorms at our base. The first one is outside of my living area. The second is by the hospital. The difference in color is simply due to if there are clouds present above the storm.

The problem with the sandstorms is that they ground all the aircraft. This means that the predators and other craft that prevent attacks on our base are unable to fly. We must then man all the towers and the risk for attack is very high. Needless to say they are miserable for every possible reason.

Let’s switch gears and lighten the tone. I have spent the last week and half on leave and spending time with my family. I flew from Balad to Ali Al Salem (Ali) air base in Kuwait. This of course was in a very crowded C130. When we arrived the military is amazing in its efficiency (not comfort). They processed 300+ people with briefings, worked as a travel agent to get us civilian flights all the way back to our homes, housed us, and worked us through customs all within about 24 hours. Ali had a lot of Australians working there. They even had a McDonalds… (I was good and resisted the urge). Anyway, there was a black cat that looked like my kid’s cat that was visiting our soldiers in this area.

This is a random soldier that was trying his best not to feed the cat. However, the cat was relentless. At one point the cat had both paws up on his shoulder. He did end up sharing his french-fries with the cat. It was actually pretty cute (in a manly, military way of course). If you look at the table across from the soldier and the cat you will see my “Kuwait desk”. This is where I gave one of my lectures to my PA students...awesome! If you look between the two buildings you will see some bunkers. Kuwait is still considered a combat zone, although it is pretty safe. I think they are a bit “sensitive” about the “combat zone” thing as during one of our briefs they had a series of practice alarms that seriously lasted 5 minutes…this was about 4.5 minutes longer than our real alarms at Balad.

From Kuwait we bused about 2 hours down to Kuwait City where we boarded a large civilian aircraft and flew to Leipzig, Germany which took about 5 hours. We then flew all the way to Atlanta which was about 9.5 hours of flying time. Upon my arrival in Indianapolis, I felt like a kid in the parking lot to Disneyworld. Walking out of the terminal to where my family was my kids almost made it to the magic black line on the floor before running to me. Well, we ended up about 12 inches across the line and some TSA agent started trying to yell at the kids to “get back”. I am in full uniform and it is obvious that I have just returned and we are so close to the line…she continues to yell at us. Watch out….terrorist could be anywhere…especially in four kids under the age of 12 and a U.S. soldier in uniform returning from Iraq!

It was great seeing my family. When I arrived home and was finally changing out my uniform I looked out my bedroom window and this is what I saw:

I thought this was a pretty cool view, what can you say?. This is the flagpole that was given to me and my family from the faculty and staff of the College of Pharmacy and Health Science at Butler University. Thank you to everyone that contributed, it looks great and was a nice sight to see on my arrival home.

I have continued my crazy pace since arriving home. I have continued to teach and even gave a live lecture to my PA1 students which I loved! I forgot how much I prefer lecturing live compared to via the internet. I also gave a general talk about some of my experiences in Iraq.

Here I am lecturing about the different influences in Iraq. Yes, that is a normal population curve on the whiteboard behind me! If you already knew that you are a math/stat geek! Thank you to all the people who came to the talk. I also want to thank Dr. Bonnie Brown for creating the miracle of “cokes and pizza” to feed the masses while I gave the “sermon on the podium”. Sorry….bad analogy alert.

One of my favorite things was the “surprise” birthday party that all of the PA students were going to throw for me. The idea was that they were going to “call” me via Scype at my party, but I was going to reverse it and surprise them at the party. Well it sort of worked out, but the secret got out and I am not sure how much of a surprise it really was. I was genuinely humbled by the turnout and the support that the students all showed me. It is amazing and reaffirms my decision to go into academia. Thank you! Below are all a series of pictures for my surprise birthday party.

There are so many things that need to be commented on in this picture. First, that is Kolbe, my son in the middle of the picture with the unicorn party hat, and my oldest, Mahayla on the left. Second, the creepy looking thing on the table is something that my wife would have tasered if she walked in and it was dark. The face cutout is in of itself a bit creepy, but I think my students took a little too much joy in cutting the eyes out. I do like how they added a “tasty beverage” to the guy. Third, if you did not think the guy on the table is weird, what about the “mini-me” hanging from the ceiling? The military would be happy as I have on my eye-pro (eye protection). Third, back to the table…the arm anatomy model holding the balloons…at least the models are getting used.

The picture above and below are some of the PA3 students who will soon be graduating. They have all worked very hard and are some of the best students that we have ever had!

Of course my kids all made it into the picture. Mahayla (11) is in front of me with the white shirt. Rachel (9) has the green hat on. Kolbe (7) has the Army hat on between Mahayla and Rachel. Abby (6) has the jean jacket on.

Above and below are some of the PA2s. I was this class’s advisor and have a special affinity for them. They are indeed one of the purely smartest bunch of students that I have ever dealt with…also the most high stress group that will all be on heart medication in the next 2 years!

They are wearing red for me. I wore red with our administrative assistant Mary Kay on Fridays to support the troops. They have continued the tradition in my absence. What a great group. I cannot wait to see what they do when they graduate. Finally, are some pictures of the PA1s.

Above and below are the PA1s. I have been lecturing them via on-line and this is the first time that I have really formally met them. I guess when you are a rookie (PA1) you get stuck eating your food on the floor. Maybe next year you can eat at the “grown-up table”.

Here are the PA1s, and of course my kids again made it into the picture…Rachel even is holding “creepy head” with the little bit of “extra effort” in cutting out the eyes. Below are all of the students that were there.

Without Photoshop this is the best picture that I can create. It is one big group shot of all the students. It is like a where’s Waldo picture. Find professor/Major Roscoe. Find three pairs of glasses. Find three “creepy heads”. Find a “pretend uniform” (hint: look for an Air force uniform). Ok, that is enough.

The final picture for this letter is a picture of my wife Shelby, who is one of the hardest working women that I know, and the secret of the success of our family.

If you look at my oldest daughter’s eyes you can see the evil spirit of a teenager lurking to get out. The beads around her neck are actually pieces of garlic to try to prevent the emergence (also to keep the boys away). So far it seems to be working. One of the reasons to include this picture is to note Shelby’s pixie haircut. On March 18th Shelby is going to shave her head along with Rachel my 9 year old daughter and Kolbe my son all in support of St. Baldrick’s day. It is an event to support the fight against childhood cancer. “Team Roscoe” is shaving their heads to support Joey Chamness (a student at St. Thomas Aquinas with osteosarcoma). Please see http://www.stbaldricks.org/ for general information. You can view the Team Roscoe site by clicking on the “find a participant tab” and typing “Team Roscoe”. Otherwise the following address will take you directly to Team Roscoe. http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/team_info.php?TeamKey=2009-4615 I do not normally ask people to support various causes, but this one is very personal to us and I would ask you to at least consider it…if not say a prayer for all the kids and families that are dealing with cancer.

I of course want to add an email story that was sent to me by Tina Vawter at Butler University.

"Six Boys and Thirteen Hands...Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?' I told him that we were from Wisconsin. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'
(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, DC, but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.) When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak… (Here are his words that night.) 'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. 'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it. (He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph; a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima . Boys. Not old men. 'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys.. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.' 'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes was one who walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'
So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and e ventually died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken). 'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky; a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away. 'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. 'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain. 'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.' 'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.' Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless. We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom. Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world.
STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice. God Bless You and God Bless America.
REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day. One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is. If you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God. Great story - worth your time - worth every American's time"

Sorry that this letter is a bit longer than some of the past editions, and maybe a bit more Butler oriented. I want to take a few minutes and recognize my St. Thomas Aquinas Community. All your support for my family is beyond belief! Thank you to everyone who takes my kids during the week, especially the Prein, Haas, Cain and Forsee families. Thank you for helping take care of my children. Thank you to Mary Kay for all her efforts on my behalf with all the Butler students, faculty and staff. I am sorry if I did not get to meet with everyone on leave…it was so busy and simply not enough time. I will be having a homecoming party when I get back and I want everyone to come. I must close this letter, and I think you know the words by now. NEVER FORGET the soldiers and families that are still sacrificing for all our freedoms. NEVER FORGET all those that came before us to provide for us to live and raise our families in the greatest country on Earth. NEVER FORGET our veterans. Thank you for all your support!

Major Roscoe

Letter 11

2009-03-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

February 19, 2009

Letter 11
Balad, Iraq

Hope this letter finds everybody doing well. Sorry that I have been slow in getting this out, but I have been swamped with teaching and working in the clinic with limited medical providers. I am happy to report that there have been no major attacks since my last letter. We have had some, but they have been isolated and not that close. I have been busy living ground hog day over and over as it seems everyday is the same. I am really looking forward to going home and seeing my family…and getting back to just one job.

The only major drama is that we still do not know what combat patch to wear on our uniforms. There has also been some drama with our current company commander, but we will get everything worked out. Anyway, I am finally going to be able to show you our clinic and a few pictures from the ER. First, here is the outside of our clinic; the proportions are a bit off as the picture is from a wide-angle camera.

The sick call sign is for our military sick call. We are actually open 24 hours a day, but we try to get routine items done during that time. We also hold a sick all in the afternoon for civilians, contractors and third-country nationals (TCNs). Our housing is to the right and it is “sealed in” by the T-walls which are mortar and rocket resistant to make our living area one big bunker. The painted T-wall in the middle of the picture is to protect the entrance of the clinic against rockets and mortars, and is in honor of a soldier that was killed a few years ago in an indirect fire attack. Below is a view of one of our three treatment areas.

This room is the main “emergency” room. The “bed” in front is a stretcher for our ambulances. We do have a fully stocked crash cart and can handle most emergencies on-site. The clinic is mostly similar to a Med-check or an outpatient family doctor’s office, however in the past two weeks; I have seen some pretty significant illness. I helped diagnose pancreatic cancer with acute ascites, diverticulitis with an acute rupture, pituitary dysfunction, and of course a 1,000 colds. We do get a lot of bone injuries and minor lacerations…but you can tell that it is busy and varied. It is interesting that we see everything that happens to people on a normal basis…then mix in the combat zone and everything that goes with it and the combination makes for some interesting medical cases. Down the hall to the left leads to the pharmacy, our portable x-ray machine, the waiting room and the main desk. Below is where we keep all our supplies

The cabinet that is in the middle of the picture is actually a chest that all you have to do is tip it backwards, put a lid on it and it can be moved quickly. We are actually stocked pretty well. It is hard to keep things well organized as we see at least 50 people a day and over 150 on our busy days. Below is a picture of some of the ER beds at the Air Force Hospital.

The ER here is as nice as the ERs back at home…they have “real beds”. I like the quilts on the beds to try to make it more comfortable. The difference is that this building was built to be a hospital. Our building was some Iraqi building that we converted. I have included a surgery suite below. The patient is an Iraqi. Look at the excellent care that is being given! This is what our military is doing here…we are making a difference, even if it is one person at a time.

The equipment is state of the art, and it is one of the reasons why the survival rate is so high from serious injuries. The sub-specialists here have been great to us in referring patients.

I am going to switch gears and show you a few pictures from around the base. The first is for my dad, who is a Vietnam Veteran, and I am so proud of his service. I just wish that our country treated them better. If you see a Vietnam Vet, make sure to take the time to thank them for their service and welcome them home!

This is a Chinook helicopter and is what my dad served on in Vietnam. They serve a variety if roles. They are primarily a transport craft either for equipment or for personnel. When they are somewhat close to the ground they open the back hatch where a 50cal gun (or other weapons system) is manned.

The picture below is taken by the mosque on our base. The mosque itself is “off-limits” to all US soldiers, but not to the birds! I will show a regular picture of it in another letter.

This picture reminds me of “Baghdad Bob” during the first few weeks of the invasion. “There are no Americans in Baghdad”. The Helicopter is an Apache gunship. They are pretty lethal craft and are amazingly quiet. Keeping with the helicopters, here is a MEDIVAC Blackhawk flying over us to the hospital. They are coming and going all the time and at all hours.

If you have not noticed, the Army names it helicopters after American Indians (Chinook, Blackhawk, Apache, there are also Kiawa and others). The helicopters tend to fly in pairs for security reasons; they also fly dark at night, until they get over our base. Then they light up their spot-lights. It is to help them find the landing area, but also I have been told from our C-RAM guys that the air-defense likes to automatically “ping” them (which they hate) and they like to make sure that the C-RAMS know they are “friendly.”

The final picture is for my PA students. We are fairly close to the runway, and the F-16s are a bit obnoxious with the noise.

The fighters use their afterburners (seen above) to gain altitude quickly. It tends to create a sound “shockwave”. They seem to like to take off while I am lecturing which I can only assume is pretty loud for the students. I will show more of our base in future letters. I wanted to give some shout outs.

First, Terry Rankin…thanks for taking care of my son, Kolbe. Terry helped my son build is soapbox derby car for boy scouts. This is the type of stuff that makes it hard to serve overseas. It is the missed memories, but if I am not here, somebody else will have to be. Either way, I am blessed to have people in my life that I know are watching out for my family. Second, I have failed to acknowledge my parents. They have always been there for me, and have set my moral and value system that has enabled me to be the person I am today. They instilled the sense of service especially for something bigger than me. I am proud of my service, even through the hard times. Third, I must always acknowledge my wife, who is the strongest women I know, and is “surviving” my deployment. This goes to all the spouses of veterans…”They also serve”. Finally, I wanted to share a story that was sent to me by a good friend of mine, Matt Wright (US Marine) who served in Iraq. It is very, very moving and it goes along with my comments above regarding our Vietnam Vets.

“I encourage you all to check out this website:https://bumail.butler.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=9c52c657856f48a0b31003ae3be61fe4&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.roskamdogtag.comIt is the story of a woman and her husband who found 37 dog tags for sale in a Saigon (Vietnam) market, in 2000. They bought them for $20 and returned them to their rightful owners, or their families. There is a 40 minute video documentary their journey. I'm not entirely sure why this struck such a cord with me. Maybe the connection to my Uncles Larry and Lannie, having been in Vietnam. Or maybe a more personal cord of seeing myself and my friends in the stories of these guys. Either way...it is an impressive story. And they didn't HAVE to do this.

If you don't have time to watch the video, at least take the time to read the story. They have a nice website that documents all 37 of the men, what happened to them and how they went about returning their dog tags.

I'd also encourage you to thank a Viet Nam vet next time you see one. They didn't hear it enough, although (at least with my generation) Americans have seemed to try to correct that. Even if you don't, and all you do is read the story, at least you'll be another person that remembers what they sacrificed for all of us. And maybe, that's enough. I dunno...and I'm not going to sit around and philosophize if it is or isn't.Just remember that you woke up today in a country that allows everyone equal opportunity to succeed.
To be successful on their own merits.
To say whatever they want.
To elect their leaders.
To become President...literally anybody.”

Thank you Matt! I need to end this letter. So I must close with my message to anyone reading this. NEVER FORGET what our soldiers [sailors, airman, marines] are doing for our freedoms overseas. Please NEVER FORGET our soldiers and their families. NEVER FORGET that we have the fortune of living in the greatest nation and even when times are tough for us it is not nearly as bad as the rest of the World. I miss you all and look forward to the day that I get to see all of you again. Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers for all the soldiers and their families.

Major Mike Roscoe

Letter 10

2009-02-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

February 1, 2009
Letter 10
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

This has been a busy two weeks since my last letter. We continue to be down two doctors for our clinic which means no days off for the rest of us. We have been working non-stop everyday for about a month and it is starting to wear me down a bit. Between working 8 hours a day and then going immediately back to my CHU (Container housing unit…sometimes called a connex housing unit) to work on my Butler stuff has kept me busy until wee hours in the morning. The only other thing that I do regularly is go to the gym and eat. I guess this is good as it makes the time pass by quickly and you know what they say about idle hands!

I have lots of stories for this letter so lets get started. One of our doctors is a family doctor from Tennessee name Major Altman. Major Altman is a bit of a prankster and has been tormenting the rest of us innocent medical providers on a fairly regular basis. Anyway, Major Altman received a tasking to go to a base south of Baghdad for the next 6 weeks. Being the good soldier he packed his bags and went back to the clinic to finish his patient notes. Major Romig, a PA from Illinois, has received the majority of Dr. Altman’s “abuse”. The rest of us kept Dr. Altman busy in the clinic while Major Romig went to the PX and bought several packages of women’s underwear. He then “broke into” Major Altman’s room and took out all of his underwear and replaced them with the newly purchased women’s variety and repacked his bag. Now, I neglected to tell you that the base that Major Altman is travelling to is a small austere place with no PX or other “creature comforts”. About 12 hours later we received a phone call from base X with a simple phrase “good one”. We of course had to ask “commando or women’s”…..a pause……..a small voice replied back “I’m wearing them”. This caused a large round of belly laughs from the PAs and a sense of justice passed through the clinic.

It has not been all smooth sailing these past two weeks. In an incredible show of bad taste our active duty unit that we work for has decided that they no longer want our Indiana National Guard unit to wear their patch. We have since been ordered to stop wearing their patch as our combat patch, even though we have had an official patch ceremony. What can you say…it is ok, I am proud to wear my 76th BCT patch from my parent unit and of whom I deployed to Afghanistan in 2004/2005. We had Indiana citizen soldiers killed on that deployment and I will wear that patch proudly to honor them, rather than an active duty unit that would rather protect its own patch.

I must tell you another story that I found entertaining. I was seeing an Iraqi patient with Dr. McPhee (has since left Iraq), and we were trying to tell him that he needed to get any future care from a local doctor and that we cannot continue to see him as he is not a US citizen or soldier. He looked up at us and seriously said…”but it is dangerous out there” we were like “but you live out-there” he responded “I KNOW”. We ended up arranging some more care for him, but I found it interesting as he would rather come to the Americans.

This leads me to the next event. We had a mass casualty exercise (MASCAL) to demonstrate the American model to about 12 Iraqi doctors. The Iraqi medical system simply does not work. They are unorganized and egocentric. They will not accept any medical training certificates or validations if it is written in English (must be in Arabic). They also have no means or measure for ensuring competency. Anyway, we set this exercise up and it seemed to go pretty well and the patients were all moulaged to add to the realism of the experience. Here I am during the exercise with the “immediate” category patients.

You can kind of get an idea of the numbers as this is just one area where we were seeing patients, and they are all lined up. I was responsible for the three that you see in the picture and all three were badly injured. What made it difficult was that we were supposed to be in “full battle rattle” (I was still seeing real patients inside so I “escaped” this). It is hard to show the “organized chaos” that is present with having so many patients. Of course they are playing their parts, yelling if able, asking for their friends, having non-injured people trying to enter the area looking for people. I believe that the military handles this better than the civilian sector. I would have included some pictures of the Iraqi doctors but we are not allowed to show their faces if the pictures are going to be published.

Below is an action shot of me moving to another patient and giving evacuation orders to 1LT Nott the big guy on my left for the patient that I just finished up working on.

We almost had the opportunity a few nights later to actually perform a MASCAL for real. At about 9 PM we received a rocket attack of 5-10 rockets. These actually landed pretty close to our clinic. The sound was unbelievable, and it rattled everything in my CHU. It sent us all scurrying for cover. This is one of the first sustained or multiple indirect fire attacks that we have had since being here in Balad (usually the attacks are mortars and are 1 or 2). I have since decided that rockets are much worse than mortars! What made this more unbelievable is that the rockets actually ripped through a civilian living area just down the street. Nobody was killed...I do not know how. It destroyed three CHUs but two of them the residents were not home. The third had a person that was in bed and had just lain down for the night. Next to where his bed is are sandbags. These sandbags shielded his bed. The rest of his CHU was shredded. Below is a picture of the his CHU

I am not sure if you can see all the shrapnel holes, but these are the ones that actually went all the way through the building. If you look to the right there is a piece of cardboard taped to the wall which is where the majority of the blast hit. The person inside is about as fortunate as can be, and I have no idea how he survived. We saw lots of minor injuries associated with the attack. It certainly brings things back to perspective real quick.

Working in the clinic has allowed us to meet all kinds of people. One of our favorites is a guy named Baresh, we call him “boris”. He is Turkish and we have starting having dinner with him and his colleagues every Sunday. They spend a lot of time cooking for us and it is good to have some real food. Below is Baresh with me and Dr. Perez.

Dr. /LTC Perez is a family doctor from Guam. It is really interesting talking with him about “island life”…Shel…want to move to Guam? If you look at the left lower corner of the picture you may just see the edge of a fancy tea cup. This is for serving Turkish coffee after our meal. It is kind of similar to an espresso. It was good, a little thick, but ok. After taking a few drinks of the coffee, Baresh asks us if we liked it…being good guest we quickly tell him how great we think it is….he proceeds to tells us he hates it. What I like about this picture is that it really almost shows three different regions of the World sharing a meal and having a good time together, especially here.

We closed out today with a physical fitness test or physical training (PT) test. This is the lovely Army test that active duty likes to make us do in a combat zone to ensure that we are physically fit. It consist of 2 minutes of military style push-ups, 2 minutes of full sit-ups and a 2 mile run for time. Here I am in the middle of my push-ups

I chose this picture because there are a lot of items to point out. (My $5 haircut is not one of them). We are doing the test inside Holt Stadium in our base. It used to be a soccer field and track. Rumor has it that there were numerous public executions here. Somebody even said it is the infamous site where the Iraqi National Soccer team lost and were later tortured for losing. In front of the stadium and to the right are of course bunkers for any mortar attacks. The track behind me is concrete and in really bad shape. Finally, This was taken today (Feb 1st …sorry I am in shorts and a t-shirt and I have heard that it is cold with feet of snow back home in Indiana). Below is me immediately after running my two miles.

Ignore the toothpaste on my lower lip…or maybe it is that I am rabid? I am holding what position I finished in the company on the run…not to brag but I put in the fastest time at 13:36. It could also be the number of months before I get to come home on leave! It looks like I get another shot at leave and may get to come home toward the end of February. Of course, it is at the Army’s discretion.

I have received several email requesting pictures of different aircraft or other “cool Army stuff” from some kids. One of the more popular requests is for the Predators. Here is one flying over our base providing security for us.

I know it is a bit hard to see, but I will give you a better picture below. Apparently there is at least one predator up at all times. I do not know for sure as they are pretty quiet and we only occasionally see one. Here is it up close

I will try to add some pictures of our base in the next letter. I know that I have still yet to give you a “tour” of our clinic…maybe next time. I wanted to take a few moments and thank everybody again who has been helping my family out. I also must continue to get a shout out to Shelby, my wife, as she is handling 4 children, working, and keeping our house from falling down. Not so sure that I could do that job. Keep praying for our soldiers…to my Butler PA students…how is the drink from the firehouse? It will get better. To everyone, NEVER FORGET what our soldiers are doing for our freedoms overseas. NEVER FORGET the sacrifice of the families, and NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest nation on earth, recession or not, it still provides more freedom and opportunity than anywhere else in the World. Stay safe with the winter weather, and keep your prayers coming.

Major Roscoe

Letter 9

2009-01-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

Letter 9 January 16, 2009
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

I hope this letter finds everyone well. It is hard to believe that it is a new year already. Time keeps moving on, which makes me happy as I can officially state that I will be home this year! I do look forward to getting back home and seeing everybody again. The big news since my last letter is that I received my promotion orders, so I am now officially a Major.

This is my transition period in the picture…they just pinned the Major to my chest and we are in the process of changing my cover (hat). It was a nice ceremony and better yet is that there is no alcohol here so I did not go broke buying drinks to “wet the rank” which is an old Army tradition.

Here is one more picture from just after the ceremony. It is the three doctors and our commander and XO all helping to “point out” the new rank.

The entire back row consist of all Majors…we made the Captain kneel. I think it is a new tradition that we should really embrace. One thing to note in this picture is all the gravel. We have gravel everywhere…I cannot wait to stop walking on gravel.

There was a medical conference in Baghdad for physician assistants last week. Major Romig and Captain McFarland went, I unfortunately was unable to go as one of us had to stay to cover the clinic. I am including several pictures in this letter from their trip so that you can get an idea of Saddam’s area in Baghdad. Below is a picture of Al Faw palace, which is where the conference was held.

It is a pretty cool looking building right on the water, especially at sunset. I think it is hard to get the idea of how big this palace is. Below is the entrance.

The people walking below can give you a better idea of the opulence. What do you think of the marble outside the entrance? Below is the main foyer inside Al Faw palace.

What else is there to say? You can look at this picture and then look back at some of the pictures from earlier letters with the poor living conditions around Balad and you can get an idea of the class system in play here. Even the bathrooms were “over the top”

All marble everything. I chose this picture because if you look at the wall between the restroom stalls (with full wood doors) you will see a light switch. Those go to the stalls…why put them on the outside? We have them the same way here at Balad. Well, I do not have an answer, except it is fun to turn off the light when somebody is in the stall…It is a good idea to keep a small light on you at all times, especially if you need to use the facilities. You will only forget once.

Just to show the amount of marble stone used…here is a picture of a staircase.

Check out the multiple story chandelier down the middle. The picture below is of the former home of Tariq Aziz (the left side of the picture), who was the Foreign Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister under Saddam.

It is now home to our commanding General. The almost as impressive structure behind and to the right was the home of one of Saddam’s daughters.

The next two pictures are of another palace that is relatively close to Al Faw Palace…what is up with Saddam and his palaces?

This palace was known originally as the Victory over Iran, which was changed after the first Gulf War to be known as the Victory over America…I guess looking at this palace that it did not work out that well, and maybe they should have kept the original name. The damage is from a few JDAMs (bombs). Again, look at the person on the right side of the picture to give you some size comparison for the scale of the room. I cannot show all the pictures with this palace, but it had an indoor pool and outdoor pool and of course marble everywhere. Out the side of this palace was a bathhouse…on the water.

The structure in the foreground is the bathhouse. I am not sure about the juicer structure in the background. The picture below is a view of Baghdad.

There are a lot of Mosques which often have the minaret’s which can be seen in the middle of this picture. The structure behind it looks like a space port for Mos Eisley…if you got that last joke you have no life and should seek help immediately. If not, you are fine and we already know that I need all the help I can get.

I think that is enough Baghdad pictures for now. I will try to get more pictures of Balad in future letters…our base has nothing compared to Baghdad. I promise I will get clinic pictures in one of these email letters.

I have been so very busy lately. All I do is work in the clinic everyday, then go work at my desk to continue to work to finish my PhD and teach full time at Butler (with the 17th ranked Men’s NCAA Division I Basketball team). The only other thing I do is eat and workout. I was scheduled to take my two week leave at the end of this month, but one of our replacement doctors never showed up at the mobilization station, and Major Altman is scheduled to go on another mission…that means we were short medical providers so I “lost” my leave. I was pretty bummed as I was looking forward to seeing my family. I do not know when I will get the chance to have leave again, but I will keep everybody posted.

Thank you to everyone who helped take care of my family over the Holiday season, and sent me cards. It is nice to get letters from “the real world”. Everyday is the same here, it is really easy to lose tract of the days of the week. I also wish to give my condolences to you with your weather…it got down into the 30s a few nights here, but we spend most of our days in the 50s and nights in the 40s. It will all come around when summer returns and we have 120-130 degree temperatures. I must be closing this letter. Please NEVER FORGET our soldiers and their families. NEVER FORGET that we have the fortune of living in the greatest nation and even when times are tough for us it is not nearly as bad as the rest of the World. Keep praying for my family and throw a few my way. I will do the same.

Major Roscoe

Letter 8

2008-12-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

Letter 8 December 26, 2008
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

Well, I hope everybody had a great Christmas. I have been pretty busy since I last wrote. The first item is that I am finally a full PhD Candidate. This means that I get to start writing the final draft of my dissertation and hopefully be granted my degree soon. This is a long road that I have been working on for about 5 years…to say that I am ready for it would be a severe understatement. The topic of my dissertation revolves around cutaneous leishmaniasis which is a parasitic disease that is endemic in this part of the World. My research is specifically within Afghanistan. However, about a month ago I saw a patient in our clinic that I diagnosed with leishmaniasis. I finally just received the pathology report from Walter Reed and my diagnosis was confirmed! It is one of the few cases in American Soldiers seen in our area of operation (AO) within Iraq. It is amazing that I saw a case of leishmaniasis here and it is my dissertation topic.

We also received our combat patches since my last letter. The combat patch is a symbol that Army soldiers wear on their right sleeve below the American flag that indicates a soldier is a veteran that served in a combat zone. We are serving under the 421st Med BN which is part of the 30th Med Brigade. They are an active duty unit that is currently located in Germany. The combat patch is seen below:

The Army has symbols in everything. The patches are no different. Everything on an Army patch has meaning. The maroon background on the patch is the Army color for medical. The snake is a universal symbol for medicine. The sword indicates combat (I am not sure of all the additional meanings with the sword). The star in the snake’s mouth is for the State of Texas (star on their flag) which is where the 30th Med Brigade originated in 1933.

The Holiday season has been…interesting. It has not felt at all like Christmas to me. I have found it hard on me emotionally this time around as I really miss my wife and kids and of course everybody back at home. The Army and our unit as tried to help ease the difficulty of being away from home. Santa came to visit us at our unit…below is his surprise visit.

This picture is taken in our MWR (moral, welfare, and recreation) room at our clinic. We even have a Christmas tree. If you look along the wall of books you will see that nothing says Christmas like an M16 rifle…it kind of makes Ralphie’s request in “A Christmas Story” for a Red Rider carbon action BB gun a little less dramatic. Santa is actually Major Romig, who does a pretty good Santa. We actually had a Christmas parade on post and he was the Santa in the Parade. I also ran in a 5K jingle run road race…this means that we had small jingle bells on our shoes while we ran….yeah, that lasted about ¼ mile and they stared flying off shoes creating a potentially dangerous obstacle course for those in the back of the pack….No…I was not in the back…ouch that hurts to all of you who immediately thought of me falling down.

The chow on Christmas was pretty good. They served us prime rib, glazed ham, and turkey…wow…here are some pictures from our chow hall.

This is our food lines. That is “fresh” meet that is being sliced for us by some locals. Again, all the decorations are a bit over the top. It was a bit surreal to have Iraqi’s or locals serving us dinner with “Merry Christmas” aprons on and “Santa hats” on especially here in Iraq. Here is a manger scene that is actually made out of bread and icing.

The sign above the manager states that the items are all made out of bread dough. It was a pretty amazing piece of food art. I look at this picture and several questions come to mind…where is Joseph? The most pressing question to me is why is there a Holstein cow at the manger…Is it for baby Jesus? Got Milk Jesus? Here is another piece of Holiday art work from our chow hall.

Reindeer and penguins…together…with palm tree leaves? Is that surreal? Wow…the stage behind Noah’s ark is where some Iraqi men performed some local festive folk dances for us. I did not get any pictures of them dancing…sorry, yes it was…interesting.

Finally, below is a picture of our “Christmas tree” here at Balad:

Balad used to be a major Iraqi air-base. This is one of the major roads on our base and the “tree” is on a round-a-bout. This is near the hospital. The road leads to one of the major gates entering our base.

The base has been pretty quiet over the past couple of weeks…well, I say that and I just heard an “all clear” over our alarm system indicating that we just had another indirect fire attack and it was ok to leave the bunkers…yet another attack that I did even know we had. We did not have any attacks over Christmas; I guess the insurgents respect the Christmas holiday. We also did have another larger attack today…not sure where the mortars landed, but it was not near our area.

We are close to one of the runways, below is a picture of an F18 taking off near our clinic.

The fighters use their afterburners once they are airborne to get altitude before they leave the security of our perimeter. The use of the afterburners is very loud. It is a pretty awesome site.

I wanted to have a picture of all of our medical staff for our clinic.

This was taken in our provider room in our clinic. From left to right: LTC O’Bannion who is our dentist is from Kentucky. Next is 1LT Welch (Butler Grad), then me, MAJ Baez who is from Massachusetts. 1LT (now CPT) McFarland in front is another Butler Grad. Behind him (blocked by CPT McFarland) is Major McPhee from Michigan. Major Romig a PA from Illinois, and finally Major Altman from Tennessee. What do you think of our new camouflage scrub tops?

Finally, I wanted to thank everybody who has sent me pictures, cards, care packages. I am overwhelmed at all the generosity. Here I am opening one of the packages that was sent:

I am in the clinic (can tell by the coffee pot)…for those that have been overseas, there is nothing like getting mail. I am sorry that I have not written to everybody, but I really want to thank everybody for all the support for my family and all your thoughts and prayers. There are simply too many people to thank. I also wanted to tell all my students that I am proud of all your hard work this semester…one more down.

I look forward to the New Year. Please keep all the soldiers in your thoughts and prayers. Please especially remember the families and NEVER FORGET why we are here and what we are doing. NEVER FORGET that we live in the greatest nation on Earth. I did almost forget; Major Romig is helping some Iraqi doctors try to set up some healthcare clinics in this area for the local population. They really have nothing. If you are thinking of sending something to us over here and not sure what to send, maybe you might consider anything medical. We are not talking about anything major, maybe a cheap stethoscope, blood pressure cuff etc. The clinics have nothing and there is not a lot of money that our State Department is willing to spend for an Iraqi clinic. You can mail it to me or directly to Major Jeff Romig. Our address is 215th ASMC/Phipps Clinic, APO AE 09391.

God bless all of you, and know that you are all in my prayers as well! Have a great New Year, and I look forward to seeing each of you in person in 2009.

CPT Mike Roscoe
(Almost Major)

Letter 7

2008-12-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

December 06, 2008
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

I hope this letter finds everybody well. Things have been pretty busy here since my last letter. The clinic is busy as usual, and I have been pretty swamped with teaching and working on my PhD. The weather has started to turn cold…it actually gets into the 50s now at night…sorry, I know it has been pretty cold back home. Thanksgiving was interesting here. It just was…off…here are some pictures from our chow hall to show you what I mean.

Nothing says Thanksgiving like a bunch of carved watermelons…especially with carvings of frogs. It was pretty amazing “fruit art” but having a local serve me fruit just didn’t feel right. Here is another picture.

This is a view back toward our serving lines. Look past Tonto and Pocahontas and you can see some more of the over-the-top decorations…”Thank S”…The food was pretty good. We had all the traditional staples of a good Thanksgiving dinner, and there really was an effort to try to give us a sense of home. However, the two mortar attacks during the day were an effective reminder that we “are not in Kansas anymore”. I think that is what makes this place so surreal. We have things like a movie theater, Burger King, a pool and….bunkers.

The world is a small place! I met up with the head of the ER at the Air Force Hospital, which is the hospital for this part of the country. Anyway, his name is COL John McGoff…six degrees of separation means that he is an ER doc with Community Hospital North and East in Indianapolis. I worked for him as a PA for several years! Even more…he was a class mate in med school with my boss at Butler, Dr. John Lucich! Can you believe that? Below is a picture of Dr/COL McGoff, me and 1LT Travis Welch (a Butler PA grad).

We of course are standing on Indiana Avenue. The large building behind us is our PX (mini Walmart type store). The large roof on it is for mortar protection. What is most amazing about this picture is that Dr. McGoff is Air Force and has his weapon on!

Anyway, I will send pictures in the next letter or two from the hospital and our clinic. Col McGoff wants me to work some shifts in the ER with him. More to do, but it would be great experience. I am not sure if you saw on the news this week about another suicide bombing in Falluja…I was in the ER when several of the patients (all Iraqi) came in…it is amazingly terrible what these blast do to the human body. The blast was of course meant to kill innocent civilians. This place is insane…it just seems that the Sunni and Shi’ites just can’t wait for us to leave so that they can get back to killing each other.

We do not get trauma in my normal clinic. We generally see “med-check” or “doc-in-the-box” type of things, but I did see four US soldiers that were in a vehicle that was a direct strike on an IED. The vehicle they were in was similar to the one in the picture below:

These are very, very, very armored vehicles. The soldiers all walked away from the blast without any injuries! This is the same type of blast that was killing our soldiers less than three years ago. It is really amazing all the things that we now have to keep our soldiers safe. Speaking of that, below is a night picture of what is known as a C-RAM. It is an anti-mortar system. It shoots down incoming mortars before they hit the ground. In this picture it is a test fire (I would not be out if it was a real attack).

It looks like a laser, but it is a bunch of large tracer rounds that are moving so quick the camera can’t distinguish the difference. It is a pretty awesome site; it is close to our clinic, so I feel a whole lot safer. It is one of the primary reason that no mortars have landed close to where I live and work.

I want to show you “Hero’s Highway”. This is the tunnel where injured soldiers are moved from the MEDEVAC helicopters into the ER.

The top picture is from the Air Ambulance entrance into the ER looking out to the landing pad. The bottom picture is from the landing pad looking toward the ER. It is very solemn, but I also felt proud of our soldiers and their sacrifices in this place.

Ok, Ok…time to lighten the letter a bit. Last week we had a USO show here on base. Aaron Tippin, a country music singer, gave us a concert. Below is a picture of the show.

We are sitting in the stands of a stadium on base. This base was an Iraqi air base before we took it over, it was also the site where the Iraqi Olympic team trained. The stage is actually on a soccer field surrounded by a track. The lights just over the American flag, in a line is actually the perimeter of the base. I guess it gives motivation for the singer to put on a good show, in that everybody (except the Air Force) is armed…gives a new meaning to “knock ‘em dead”. It was a good show; I have a lot of respect for the entertainers that are willing to come here for our soldiers.

The final part of this letter is a tribute to how God always seems to present something to me at just the right time. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything going on, I was missing my family, busy with teaching and working on my PhD, I had just gotten off a very busy shift in the clinic when I walked into our break room to find some hand knitted caps that a Church sent to us. I took a picture of the message that was sent with the hats. Anyway, I wanted to share it in my letter because I think that there are several people that need this simple message besides just me. I know that there are a lot of PA students that are feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with finals being next week. I know how hard it is for my family with me being gone…We all have a purpose that God has given to us and nobody said that our cross would be easy or light, but we have to keep moving forward and be willing and open to His plan.

Thank you everyone who has written me, sent me packages, and has prayed for me and my family. I appreciate it more than words. However, I think I have had enough Halloween candy to last a lifetime! Thank you to everyone who continues to help my family out. I appreciate it more than words can say. Please continue your thoughts and prayers for all the soldiers and their families, especially during this holiday season. Never doubt that you live in the greatest country in the World with freedoms only dreamed by others. I will hopefully have the next letter out within two weeks.

CPT Mike Roscoe

PS: If you are just receiving this letter for the first time and you want to see previous letters, please go to http://buprofessor.blogspot.com/. Additionally, my address is:

Mike Roscoe
215th ASMC/Phipps Clinic
APO AE 09391

Letter 6

2008-11-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

November 15, 2008
Balad, Iraq

Everyone:

I hope this letter finds everyone well. Sorry that this posting is a bit late but I have been swamped with my clinical duties, teaching, and trying to finish my PhD. There is a ton of topics that I wanted to cover in this letter.

I have received numerous questions regarding the reaction from the troops and Iraq regarding the election. The troop reaction is probably exactly the same as it is in the United States in that we are nothing more than a cross-section of the general population. There are those that are ecstatic and those that were upset…and every shade in-between. If you noticed during the election there were no “reactions” in the new from soldiers. There were no cameras or media allowed on our bases in Iraq. The real reason is that the head of the military is the President, and it is punishable by UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) to openly speak out against the President, President-Elect or any other public servant. We can also get in trouble for openly supporting a candidate while in uniform or on active duty. Since we are deployed soldiers, we are always on active duty with no down time. I would say that I am cautiously optimistic with a new President, but I think that people should be realistic in what he will be able to accomplish once he enters office. I have also spoken to several Iraqis here at the base. Most of the Iraqis here are Kurds and Chaldeans (very pro-US) which leads me to my next section.

In my last letter I discussed some background on the Sunni and Shi’ites. I actually did have an error that I need to correct. I erroneously mentioned that Iraq had a Sunni majority; it actually has a Shia (Shi’ite) Majority. If you recall from the last letter these are the two main Muslin religious factions that had influence form the Arab (Sunni) peninsula, and from Persia (Shi’ite). Anyway, if you were to put this into a percentage, Iraqi is about 60% Shi’ite and 40% Sunni…so it really is a crossroad (or battle ground) for these two religious sects. In simple terms, neither of these two groups particularly likes the United States. Almost all the insurgents are from these two groups. The other two groups that I wanted to discuss are the Kurds and the Chaldeans.

The Kurds are a nomadic tribal people that had a large area under the Ottoman Empire that extended into Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The area is often known as Kurdistan (although this is often now only means the area in Northern Iraq – Iraqi Kurdistan). They compose about 17% of the population in Iraq and are mostly Muslim. They associate themselves more with their tribe then their religion. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the Kurds supported Iran, and Saddam Hussein retaliated and implemented anti-Kurdish policies and committed mass murder of hundreds of thousands of civilian and wholesale destruction of thousands of villages. (He often used chemical weapons (WMD) to complete the task…so yes they were here).

The second minority group that I want to discuss is the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans trace their heritage all the way back to around 500 B.C. and King Nebuchadnezzar II. In this time period Chaldea was a kingdom/territory. King Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Phoenicians (Syrian population) and territory of Judah (Semitic population). In keeping practice with the time he brought the King of Judah and forced a large part of the Jewish population (estimates of more than 10,000 people) to relocate to what is now North Central and Northern Iraq. On an aside King Nebuchadnezzar rebuild the city of Babylon to be the most impressive city of the day and included the Hanging Gardens of Babylon which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Nebuchadnezzar also rebuilt the great temple-tower or ziggurat, the Biblical "Tower of Babel," ….what does this history lesson have to do with Modern Iraq? …well we are getting there.

In the first century A.D. Saint Thomas the Apostle brought Christianity (Catholicism) to the Chaldeans. This Christian population was East of Rome and was then part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Byzantines (Christian empire in the East) were in constant conflict with the Persians and also broke ties with the Universal Church (Roman Catholic). In 634 A.D. Muhammad conquered the entire region and brought it under Islamic rule. In the 16th century portions of the Christian population re-established ties to the Church of Rome. From this date forward those Christians in union with Rome were known as Chaldeans and the remaining Christians were known as Assyrians. Here it all is in simple terms: Chaldeans are the largest Christian population in Iraq. There are about 650,000 Catholics (Chaldeans) and about 200,000 other Christians Assyrian, Nestorian, Armenians, etc). Now, do you remember about King Nebuchadnezzar…he brought a large contingent of Semitic population to Chaldea. These Christians have maintained some of the original B.C. culture (Semitic) and actually have their own language that has a Hebrew base. We talk about this area as the cradle of life (between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers), well the Chaldeans have ties to all three major religions in the world. To say that they are persecuted by the Muslims in this part of the world is an understatement (Christian and with a Semitic heritage).

What do you think the response from the few Iraqi that I have talked to are? I have talked with two groups of Iraqis that have been heavily persecuted in the past. They are terrified that the United States is going to leave Iraq. I mentioned to a Chaldean that it was a shame that there would probably be a civil war between the Sunni and Shia when the United States left. He merely stated “good”. He said that with the US here the Muslims here have retaliated against the Chaldeans because they are easier to “pick on” then the armed Christians (US military). See the United States looks at this as a geo-political struggle. Many Iraqi’s view this as a religious “thing” almost more than a political thing. Of course the Sunni and Shia just as soon have us gone tomorrow so they can get on with fighting each other. They are happy with the prospect of the new President sending US troops home.

On election day we were received a mortar and rocket attack and had an IED at our gate…more attacks in one night then the entire week prior. However, since Obama won, we have not received any attacks. I guess they figure that they have won in a way in that the US is going to now start moving soldiers out of the cities and back to the big bases and finally out of Iraq. I guess we will find out if the overall attacks decline.

I think that is enough of the historical background. The weather has certainly changed here. It is now only in the mid 80’s during the day and gets in to low 60’s high 50’s at night. We also had a torrential rain storm and it flooded our living area. The water was so deep it was above our ankles.

This is a view from my door looking down into all our bunkers. I tried to put out a wooden pallet down at the base of my stairs so I could hop to the area on the right between the bunkers and then try to walk through the bunker to get to the clinic. The problem was that the water was so deep the pallet kept floating away. Here is another view with me standing just past the bunker in front of you at the bottom of the stairs looking left.

I think I saw a Venetian gondola go by. Each of the openings in the bunker goes to a housing unit like mine. There really was no way around the water to get to the clinic so most of us just put on chemical boots and waded through the water, trying not to cause any waves as it was almost to the top of the boots.

I took a trip to our perimeter to see what it looked like. Here is a picture of what it looks like through our perimeter fence.

It is true then that Army = plant death. Outside our perimeter is pretty lush. This is a palm tree grove. It is really pretty…it is a lot different from my experiences in Afghanistan. Here is another picture that I found interesting.

This picture is of a home just outside our perimeter. Look at all the satellite dishes. Just to the right of this picture is a herd of cattle.

One of the traditions that have developed for military is the painting of a bunker wall when a unit is leaving. Some of you have been aware that the headquarters of the 76th Brigade Combat Team, which is all Indiana National Guard, was here at this base. I am the commander of the medical company for this brigade. Anyway here is there wall; it really is an amazing piece of artwork. Understand that this was painted with crappy brushes, bad paint on a dirty bunker wall.

Each one of the crest on the right is one of the Battalions in the brigade. I am actually part of the 113th SPT BN which is the fourth one down (has the cross on it). They will almost all be home by the time you read this letter.

My last talking point is about the Air Force. They are a bit of a challenge to work with as they have different rules and protocols then all the other branches of service. They are a bit pompous. Let me give you an example…we were going to the chow hall. 1LT McFarland (Butler PA grad) just got back from the gym and did not have his weapon on him. He was not allowed to enter the chow hall because of this (we do not have to kill our foot first…just protocol), anyway right after him were three Air Force soldiers no weapons at all…they get to go in without problems. In fact the Air Force does not carry weapons on the base at all! Army, Marines always have to have ours with us. They also have areas where only Air Force go and Army is not really that welcome including gates. Additionally, getting them to assist the Army on the post for some task is like pulling teeth. Anyway, I think they are just mad that they were originally the Army Air Corps. Here is a comic strip that pretty much sums up the differences between Army and Air Force (thanks Matt):

Well, thank you for all the notes on Veterans Day. I am proud of my service, I am proud of our military, I am especially proud of all the support given to our soldiers. Given Veterans Day and the upcoming holidays:

Support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day.
'It's the Veteran, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.''It's the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.''It's the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.''It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.'

I think that pretty much sums up my views. Thank you everyone, NEVER FORGET. Thanks for the packages; I have shared most with the soldiers here. I am proud of my wife who is managing a house and essentially being a working single mother of four kids under the age of 12. YOU ROCK! She just recently accepted a new position at Butler University. She will be leaving Advancement and moving to the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. It was really hard for her (and me) as Advancement has been so kind and generous to us. This move however should be better for her and our family. It is just so hard to make changes sometimes. I will close this letter, please continue to pray for my family, and all the soldiers, especially as we enter the Holiday season, which tends to be rough on everybody.

Love you all!

CPT Roscoe

Letter 5

2008-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Joint Base Balad, Iraq October 26, 2008

Everyone:

Well, I have finally made it into Iraq. The trip was a bit arduous in that it took awhile. In typical military fashion, we got up at 3am, drove an hour to Ali Al Salam (another base in Kuwait). We proceeded to sit in this “airport” for about 15+ hours. The reason for this long delay was the Air Force. We drove all the way out to our plane, only to find out that “their duty day was over”…meaning that the crew was done flying for the day…even though we had a scheduled flight. So we did not end up leaving Kuwait until after 2200 hours (10pm). The good news (sarcasm) is that we were able to fly in a C-130 (this is a 4 propeller cargo plane). This plane is not built for comfort as can be seen in the picture below:

What is hard to see is how tight it really is. You have to make a deal with the person sitting across from you on how to work your legs. Of course we have to be in full gear as we can take small arms fire while over Iraq. Notice the red straps on the left…these came down to form a very comfortable mesh seat for us…nice.

We finally arrived safely in Balad, Iraq with no problems. We slowly got settled into our new living quarters (I will discuss more below), met the soldiers that we are replacing and immediately got to work. The base that I am at used to be known as LSA (logistic support area) Anaconda, but is now more of an Air Force base so it is known as Joint Base Balad. It is one of the largest bases in Iraq, housing as many as 30,000 people! It is divided into East and West sections based on the runways. The base is affectionately known as “Mortaritaville” due to the high number of mortar and rocket attacks that it receives. In the past two weeks we have received numerous attacks, the sirens go off, and we get into bunkers…I think I have slept through a few…most of the time we never hear any impacts or detonations. I guess that they land on the other side of the base. Either way, we have lots of “things” here to keep us safe.

Let me show you how nice my room is…best accommodations I have had while in the Army. I have been a bit lucky as the Brigade that I am normally a part of and the soldiers that I deployed with to Afghanistan are all here on the same base…they have taken care of me and again “found” items for me to “set me up”.

Here is the inside of my room. Check out my desk and chair! I was told not to ask…so I do not ask. If I turn the camera just slightly to the left:

I have the Butler flag flying proudly in my room…thank you to everybody for signing it. When I find that I am having a hard time, all I have to do is read a few lines and it really “picks me up”. I appreciate it. Of course, I have my trusty new body armor close on its stand (another gift from the Brigade). The next picture I stepped up by my chair and essentially it is 180 degrees from the above picture.

I actually have a TV which has about 6-8 channels from the Armed Forces Network (AFN). These channels carry a variety of shows from ESPN to ABC etc. They switch and are varied. There are no commercials though…so the military makes its own commercials…I call them my daily download of brainwashing messages. I have a DVD player, a refrigerator and a microwave. I am living like a king now. The door to the room is just out of site to the right next to the big chair. I am good as long as a mortar does not come crashing through my ceiling.

If you walk out my door here is the view:

This is the back of our housing units. The concrete all makes a big bunker to protect us from indirect fire (mortars). If you go down my stairs there are more concrete bunkers inside the big housing bunker that we get into when the “Red Alert” sirens go off. This gives us some added protection. The reason that the picture is a bit grainy is that I took it during a huge sandstorm.

The first few days that we got here the temperature was Hot! There is a thermometer outside 1LT Welch’s room that read it as 120 degrees. Then we got a cold front that instead of bringing in thunderstorms it brought us a sandstorm. If you go down these stairs to the edge of the bunker and turn to your right about 120 degrees you get a view of our PX:

It may be hard to see in this picture, but the big white building is the PX (mini-Walmart type place). The white roof is actually a mortar protection structure build over it. The smaller brown building in front is actually a little food court. If you can see the three small signs on the building they are for “Cinnabon, Burger King, and Pizza Hut”

Here is the same picture during the dust storm:

The above picture was taken in the middle of the afternoon! It looks like fog, but it is literally sand and dirt. It gets in your hair, ears, mouth…pretty terrible.

I showed my room with the Butler flag, well I flew it over the base. Here is the Butler flag flying proudly over Balad:

On the bottom picture you can see all the signatures!

I wanted to take the remaining time with this letter to see if I can help make clear some of the geo-political issues here in Iraq. Below is a picture of Southwest Asia and the Middle East which includes the Arabian Peninsula between Africa and the Middle East (Persia).

First Balad is about 40-50 miles due north of Baghdad. There are two major factors at play in Iraq. The first is based on ancient geographic history. To the West (and including Iraq) the people are Arabs…being from the Arabian Peninsula. To the East is Iran, which is ancient Persia. These people are known as Persians (not Arabs). Iraq sits between these two populations and is the “crossroads” between them. The Arab influence is the red arrows coming in form Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and of course Saudi Arabia. The Persian influence comes from Iran. There are enough feelings over this Arab versus Persian that the Persian Gulf is often called the Arabian Gulf by some Arabs. Collectively this area is known as the Middle East (although technically Iraq and Iran are Southwest Asia). Afghanistan and Pakistan are actually part of Central Asia which has a large Asian influence and are thus not technically Arabs or Persians, but rather Asians. What makes this more complicated is the second feature which is Religion. The Arabs are traditionally Sunni. Most of the World’s Muslim population is Sunni ( ~90%), and the Persians are traditionally Shi’ite. In Iraq, the Sunni population is the majority and is mainly located in the central and western parts of the Country. The Shi’ites are found south of Baghdad. These two groups do not get along and essentially hate each other. The third group are the Kurds (tribal group), who are located to the North by Mosul.

What is the difference? Well, The Islam religion was founded by Mohammed in the seventh century. In 622 he founded the first Islamic state, a theocracy in Medina, a city in western Saudi Arabia located north of Mecca. The hatred between Sunnis and Muslims goes back to 632 CE and the death of Prophet Mohammad. The most critical issue following Mohammed’s death was his succession. The forbearers of the Sunnis followed the tribal tradition of having a council of elders select as the head of the Islamic community the individual most qualified to lead. The forbearers of the Shiites on the other hand believed that Mohammad’s heirs should rule the Islamic community. The conflict came to a head in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE when the Sunnis forbearers massacred the prophet’s grandson Husayn and his followers. Gleefully, the victors carried Husayn’s head to Damascus and paraded it there. This is why for the next thirteen hundred years, there has been hatred and recurring warfare between these two sects within Islam who differ radically in their religious practices.

One can begin to see that many of the foreign fighters here have alternate agendas rather than just “anti-US”. In the Shi’ite South is a city known as Najaf, it houses the Imam Ali mosque and is considered to be the third holiest Muslim site in the World especially to the Shi’ites. Muqtada al-sadr is a Shi’ite cleric in Najaf and was a source of one of the largest resistance forces in Iraq. There is obvious tension between his Army and the new Iraq Sunni Government. Iran obviously supports Al-sadr and wants to “be a good neighbor” and build a highway to Najaf for all the Persians (Iranians, Shi’ites) to be able to get to Najaf…of course this would flood the Iraq with the Shi’ite influence and help push its “beliefs” west. The Sunni’s do not want this for obvious reasons. This may just give you a hint at some of Iran’s motivations (remember that the some of the more extreme Shi’ites want a return of the Caliphate).

Many people want the US to just leave Iraq. If we just leave, there will be a huge power vacuum and all the “arrows” will flood into Iraq…there would be a civil war between the Sunni (Arabs) and Shi’ites (Persian) with the winner gaining control of Iraq and the influence at the “crossroads”. This is why Syria and Iran have both been very interested in getting the US out as each side thinks it will gain the upper hand. The other exit strategy is to carve the country into three pieces…Sunni, Shi’a, and Kurd….the problem is that you have two religious groups and one tribal group. Also the Sunni area is mostly desert. Not so sure the other two groups would go out of their way to help the Sunni state survive (Saddam was a Sunni). The bottom line is that there really is not a good solution. The US is trying to help Iraq become strong enough with all the groups to prevent the impending civil war.

I think that I have given enough of a liberal arts lecture here, please know that this is very simplified and how I best understand the situation. Finally, I wanted to include some nice emails that I have received recently for my “shout out section”. It is essentially a prayer that was shared with me by my friend Alex Ansara, which in turn, I wanted to share with you. It is essentially two prayers. The first is a prayer that he says daily…not a bad idea:

"Look at your life. You can walk. You can talk. You can hear, see, taste, and touch. You have your family, you have great friends, a good job, a place to live, food to eat, clothes, a car, TV, internet, and the joy of music. Most importantly, as if all that isn't enough, you're healthy and you have God in your life. What the heck are you upset about???"

The second prayer:

DEAR GOD: I want to thank you for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because; YOU haven't given up on me.

Thank you again to everybody who continues to support my family, and me. I miss all of you. I almost forgot to give you my address:

CPT Mike Roscoe
Phipps TMC / 215th ASMC
APO AE 09391

Finally, never forget our soldiers, their families, and all those who serve. Never forget that we live in the greatest country on Earth. Never forget all our blessings. Please remember to vote…does not matter which side of the fence you are on, just don’t sit on it! To my PA students…keep working hard!

CPT Mike Roscoe

Letter 4

2008-10-09T18:57:00.001-07:00

Camp Buehring, Kuwait
October 9th, 2008

Everyone:

This letter opens as Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities ”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The best of times was that I was able to spend 4 days with Shelby; the worst of times is the time spent here in Kuwait.

I will keep this letter in chronological order and start with my leave time that I was able to spend with my wife. My leave started with a day trip into Seattle. We went on a walking tour of the Seattle underground. I love trivial knowledge so let’s take a moment and share what I learned. Seattle at the end of the 19th century had a large fire and had a serious sewage problem as it is basically at sea level on an island. They decided to rebuild first, then “fill in” dirt around all the buildings. So when they rebuilt the city they made all their entrances in the 2nd and 3rd floors depending on what block the building was located. This was accomplished by placing large concrete barriers at the edge of the street and letting dirt fill in the “gaps”. The tour actually let us walks on “old” side walks between the barriers and the old buildings (underground). It is hard to explain, but it is pretty cool.

I think this area of Washington is beautiful, although the humidity is high enough that it rains a lot. It is not really rain, but more like a mist, something that you would see at the supermarket in the vegetable section. This high humidity coming off the ocean tends to get caught on the Cascades [mountains]. This creates the ever present gray clouds, rain, and thick fog. The picture below shows this effect as we were driving into Seattle.

The picture is a view of downtown Seattle. There are numerous other skyscrapers, but they are occluded by the clouds/fog. Most of this was burned off as the sun came up. After our day in Seattle we went north to Anacortes, Washington which is about as far North as you can go and not be in Canada. This was a beautiful sleepy area that just happened to have a motorcycle rally going on when we were there. Here are a few pictures of Anacortes.

This is a picture of deception point which is a bridge that spans between Fidalgo island (where Anacortes is) and Whidby island. The water flows between that gap at about 17 knots (fast current). I actually tried to make a video for my physiology class showing how flow can have a high velocity (in the middle), but with reduced volume (laminar flow)…I am really dorky, as I can not seem to turn off the teaching gene. Here is another picture of the bridge, it actually gives a hint at the velocity of the current.

It is hard to demonstrate the beauty of the tree-lined cliff face with against the ocean, but it is a magnificent view. The picture below I included because I promised my wife…she was fascinated by the seals.

The seals are in the middle, if you look close you can see them lying on the rocks. I almost got in trouble when she grabbed me to show them to me…I said something to the effect of “yeah, their seals” (maybe with a less then enthusiastic voice)…I felt a tremor in the force as Shelby began to get irritated and I quickly made a recovery of fascination at them just lying there and how it would be nice to just be able to lay around…I think it worked…well at least until she reads this letter. Here is Shelby and I at a nature part at the base of deception point.

It was so nice to be able to spend some time with my wife before I left, it was very hard though to say goodbye again, and I wish I could have spent some time with my kids. Sometimes, you just wonder if you have said everything that needs to be said to those you care about…it just seems that words often fail. I feel that way with everybody that is currently helping my family…thank you…it just does not carry the emotion of my feelings.

Well from the best of times to the worst of times…Shelby had to return to Indy, and almost immediately we prepared to move to Kuwait. Here I am at the Air Force terminal getting ready to leave.

“No liquids please, you will need to throw that away…but you can keep your sidearm.” We flew on a commercial aircraft from essentially Tacoma, Washington to Bangor, Maine. This flight took about 6 hours. In Bangor we were greeted by about 20+ veterans who were there to cheer for us and shake our hands as we entered the private terminal. These guys have not missed a military flight in 5 years. It actually brings tears to my eyes writing about it as they ranged from WWII to Vietnam (the most numerous). They came in the middle of the night just to greet us…to make us feel special. I did not know what to say, especially to the Vietnam vets, who are working so hard to make sure what happened to them does not happen to us. To any Vietnam vets (and all other vets) I thank you for paving the way for all of us, and your service…Thank you dad, Uncle Greg, Dr. Hatcher, Uncle Walt (gone, but not forgotten!)…and all others! There is no “shout out” good enough for all of our past veterans, especially those veterans that came in the middle of the night in Bangor, Maine just for us.

From Bangor, Maine we flew across the Atlantic to Leipzig, Germany. Here is was a bit cold, but we stayed only long enough to fuel the plane. This leg took about another 6 hours. So, we are at about 12 hours of flight time and counting. From Germany, we flew into Kuwait City, Kuwait. This was another 5+ hours…that puts total flying time at about 17.5 hours…too bad I do not get frequent flyer miles…at least I did not get any blood clots. The disorienting thing was that Kuwait is 7 hours ahead of Indianapolis (10 from Fort Lewis), so with the flying time and time change we lost a complete day! From Kuwait city, we were put on a bus, and drove about 2 hours into the middle of the freaking desert to arrive at the 5th ring of hell known as Camp Buerhing, Kuwait. Here we have daily temperatures above 100 degrees (but it’s a dry heat) and just sand everywhere. To add to the experience check out the wonderful living conditions that the Army has supplied for us…no Air Force quarters here..

My bunk is the bottom right bunk/cot is in the foreground on the right. It is hard to tell but along both walls are cots that are about 6-12 inches apart. It is terrible! At least we do have air-conditioning. To all my PA students you will learn about communicable diseases, they often will talk about “Army barracks” etc….this is why we get sick. Love the Army!

This base is literally in the desert, so everything on the base gets delivered, including all the water. We get a daily total amount of 15 gallons of water per soldier. Below is our shower (and personal hygiene) area.

The big “tubs” at the end hold the water. When the water is out, it is out for the day. The latrines are all “port-a-jons”. The Army has attempted to help us feel at home, so we do have an MWR (moral, welfare, and recreation) area known as the Oasis. Here is a picture of one of the sides of the oasis (it is a boxed in area).

Ahh, just like home…nothing makes you want to eat Taco Bell like 110 degree temperature in the blowing sand. To the right of this picture is a Green Bean coffee (like a Starbucks) and a stage. Then on the other side (opposite these buildings) is the Great Steak and Potato company, a little internet café, and honestly a Harley-Davidson dealer…seriously. You can buy them here and pick them up in the States. The other night Scott Stapp (head singer of Creed) played at the base.

We have done some training while here in Kuwait. We went way out into the middle of the desert…seriously…to the point that all you could see was a sea of sand and fired our weapons. I did not take my camera but we did run across a herd of camels (20+), we had to make sure they did not enter the range area. I also walked to the edge of our camp to see what the perimeter looked like…here you go.

There is a fence row beyond the barricades. It has motion sensors…but beyond the lights…desert…more desert…desert as far as you can see. It is like the prison without walls. Two days ago we had a small sand storm here. It was blowing pretty bad, and it literally hurt to be outside with the little pebbles flying through the air.

I almost forgot; guess what…we got new body armor! This stuff is actually much better. It has a pull cord that literally lets the body armor fall off. This is most excellent if we have to treat an injury. It is also much lighter then the old body armor. It only weighs about 30-33 pounds with the plates in! Of course, I still have to carry the old body armor in my bags…cool.

The final picture just shows how geeky I really am.

This is sunset from the edge of my tent. I think I saw a sand speeder and obi-wan-kanobi go flying past being chased by Jawas. Just look at the picture and cue Star Wars music with Luke looking out over the moister farm. I think this place sucks more then Tatoonie…see I am a big geek.

Today…it is blazing hot…I am sure well above 100, but I do not have a thermometer. It almost takes your breath away when you first step outside, and of course…instant sweat. You can imagine that my tight living quarters above is beginning to smell a bit rank. I am counting the days down until I get to go to Iraq, which must be the ultimate plan of the Army. However, living in these conditions has made me realize just how lucky I am to be an American and have all the freedoms that we have. I just happen to receive an email that I think sums my thought process of this. Apparently, it is from David Letterman, and I will include it below:

' As most of you know I am not a President ush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is notabout Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and itseems to hit the mark. 'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent ofthe country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being theknuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'Whatare we so unhappy about?''

A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the lastyear?

E. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopterto take you to the hospital.

I. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K. Or if, while at home watching oneof your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gunand a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L. This all in the back drop of aneighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has everseen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They seeus for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan toget us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes tobring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all thegood things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane! Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the NewYork Times for the bottom of your bird cage.Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mudslides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing upthe country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are wesure this is a good time to take God out of thePledge of Allegiance?'

David Letterman

We do live in the greatest country on Earth, I just think that we forget this sometimes. Living in these conditions here in the outer ring of Hell, makes me realize all the blessing that I have in my life and how much better we have it then many others. I will spend my time here and in Iraq and I will defend our way of life, and hopefully help others experience what it means to be free. Just remember to pray for all the soldiers as they are willing (volunteering) to defend our freedoms and keep our families safe. All of them are willing and accept the risk of the ultimate sacrifice. Finally, I need to add my shout out section. First, Susan O’Reilly, thank you for all the help with childcare for my 4 kids. Second, thanks to Jenn Timpe for helping to arrange weekly meals for my family for the year…and all the moms taking time from their families to help cook for mine. Wow, how can words express my feelings toward taking care of my wife and kids? Third, Paul Fulkerson-Bird for drawing the short straw with the STA Men’s club…he came over and Shelby put him to work doing yard work and a thousand chores…again, thank you for taking care of my family (to all the STA men’s club). All the 7th and 8th grade STA kids who have been doing service hours by spending time with my kids and helping them with homework and babysitting. Finally, thanks to Dr. Lucich for helping with my Physiology class with my virtually non-existing internet connection here is Kuwait (you are a true mentor). With all the last minute lectures and class preparations thank-you…thanks PA1s for your patience with me (and the grading). I know I missed many shout outs but thanks to all those I missed …thank you and I love all of you! Keep your prayers flowing, and never forget our soldiers and their families…and vote J…after you do your research…

CPT Mike Roscoe

Letter 3

2008-09-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Fort Lewis, WA

September 24, 2008

Hello Everyone:

I cannot believe that is has been 2 weeks already since I last wrote. It is hard to describe the phenomenon of “ground hog day” when deployed. I honestly have all but lost track of what day of the week it is. Everyday is the same day…we get up at the same time, put on the same clothes, eat the same stuff at breakfast, do a similar event during the day, eat the same stuff at dinner, go to bed, and repeat.

I received multiple emails from people asking me what my opinion is on the current Presidential election, as many want the opinion of a soldier getting ready to go overseas. The truth is that the soldier’s viewpoints are as diverse as the general population. They run from the far left, to the far right and everything in-between. Honestly, I wish I had an answer that worked for everybody, but the one thing that I can say is to vote. I am willing to risk my life, and thousands of soldiers before me have already died so that we may have this freedom. I was in Afghanistan during its first ever free election and the risk of getting killed was very high for the locals who voted...more than 95% of the country voted in spite of the risk...they wanted to feel that freedom. We should not take it for granted. I feel very strongly about who I am going to vote for, but it comes from research on the topics. I suggest finding the platforms of the candidates, find 5 or more topics that are important to you and form your opinion then look at the platform positions. Make your informed decision based on the issues, not based on media, friends, how they speak, etc. Make it based on what you know, not on what you think you know! There are lots of websites that will have the platforms, just make sure that the site is not biased. I like http://www.votegopher.com/ as a neutral site.

Did you know that it is actually against the Uniform code of military justice (UCMJ) for a soldier while “on duty” or in uniform to speak on politics…endorse a candidate/speak against the President. Next time during the State of the Union address, watch the soldiers (Joint Chiefs) with their applause…it is only on non-partisan issues.

Many of you reading this were “with me” during my first deployment, and/or followed the entire process with baby Qudrat. I spoke with Stacia Mathews (Channel 6, WRTV in Indianapolis, IN http://www.theindychannel.com/), and she just finished a follow-up story on Qudrat and his family. I thought I would include some of her email to me in this letter:

"Last Friday I did a follow up story about Hakim Wardak [Qudrat’s father] and all that has resulted from that initial exam, medical journey and Hoosier generosity.
Jim Graham told me Hakim, Tasbara [Qudrat’s mother] and their youngest daughter moved back to his village in Northern Afghanistan. He used the money Hoosiers gave to give back to his community.He went back to college for two years. Then he opened a school (shaded by thicket only) that's attended by 120 kids ... 40% are girls.He teaches in the morning and runs a medical center in the afternoons.Rotarians bought land to build a well for fresh drinking water.Right now women walk a mile to the nearest river for water, but it'scontaminated and Hakim has been treating children with cholera.Rotarians are trying to collect more money to build a school house sothe kids will have class indoors.What we didn't know is that Hakim had eight kids before Qudrat.Jim said he was too ashamed to tell us how poor he was; the familyseparated to keep from starving to death. He was able to reunite with six of them.Right now it's too expensive to move to Indy, but Graham hopes Hakimwill be able to come back for a visit.He could have kept that money for himself, but he didn't.It's an incredible story."

I wanted to add a few comments to Stacia’s update that I think is hard to fully grasp. The poverty in Afghanistan is beyond comprehension. The World Health Organization has listed Afghanistan as one of the 5 poorest nations in the World. Hakim was given a huge amount of money by their standards, and could have easily used it for his personal gain and for his family. He did not, as he understood that it was the generosity of the Americans that tried to save his son, and help his family. Look at the “butterfly” effect that has taken place simply because I chose to treat him when he came to our gate….then all the people (Americans/Hoosiers) that have been involved after the initial visit that has lead to the above. This is what our country is all about! This is the America that I defend, the greatest and most compassionate country on the Planet. Thank you Stacia for the update and please let me know if you hear anything else and I will keep everyone on this blog “informed”.

The big news for this letter is that we have finished all our official training before we make our move into Iraq. The past two weeks, our training cycle has increased dramatically. Most of our training has been with infantry tasks, but what is interesting with this training versus when I deployed 4 years ago is the more realistic situational training. The U.S. has employed many Iraqi’s and brought them to various mobilization sites. We encounter them in various “training lanes”. We have to use our interpreter, and work with them as we would overseas. The picture below shows how fast and chaotic events can occur. The first picture was at the gate to our base. The group of “locals” are protesting the fact that we increased our searching of their village, which is just outside our FOB (Forward Operating Base). The reason for our increased movement was that insurgents have been moving into the area and mortaring our base.

The villagers were chanting, and protesting. Of course most of them were armed. Suddenly, mortars started going off and our base started taking small arms attacks. The picture below is some of the chaos the ensued.

This was just after a mortar landed close to the civilians. Obviously, some of them were hurt. What made it real was the blank ammo, the “actors” playing their part. Look at the lady in the middle holding her baby. She is yelling as her husband was injured. She is holding a baby that is loudly crying (it had a speaker). Our soldiers were trying to get to them on the other side of the wire, but there was a sniper that had a line of site just outside the truck and wall. Additionally, there are injured locals in the way to pull the gun-truck out to suppress the sniper…what to do. Of course, while our soldiers are trying to figure this out, mortars are going off, and small arm fire is coming from the village. This picture is actually taken from a guard tower that is firing at the sniper position. It makes me anxious just writing about it, but this is what our soldiers are facing and the training really has been very good to help us deal with impossible situations.

Here is Baji village from the same tower that took the pictures above. If you look closely you will see a foot patrol entering the village on the right. We of course are worried about taking fire from the large Mosque, as we are not allowed to engage that building. Look at the all trees! It really is actually very pretty here.

Below is a scenario that we set up a quick traffic control point to screen some vehicles and personnel. Again, these were real Iraqi citizens and they spoke Arabic, and we actually had to use our “terp” to speak with them.

Below is a picture of Mount Rainier. It is taken from our training area at Fort Lewis. The picture does not do it justice, but it is a pretty amazing site, especially with all the trees.

We finished the infantry part of our training with a lot of convoy operations. This was all with gun trucks (Humvees with large weapons in the turrets). This training was very good, and it is an amazing experience to be in one of these trucks when it is firing live ammunition. It is amazing at how fast one can become desensitized to mortars, and the sound of gunfire.

The last 3-4 days we have been doing our medical training, and simulation of clinic operations. This involved general sick call all the way to mass casualties with critical injuries. All the patients, even the simple sick call patients were moulaged. The make-up was so well done that I almost forgot that they were not real patients. They stressed us as much as possible and it was actually fairly difficult. Just know that the soldiers are being trained well, they are learning how to fight with deadly force, but at the same time provide compassion.

Tomorrow starts our four day pass before we are shipped overseas. I am excited to finally get to see my wife, but it is also hard as I do not get to see my kids. Additionally, I have to say good-bye again which is always difficult, especially, when you know that this good-bye is it for a very long time to come. We did just receive the news a few days ago that it looks like we are going to get our two weeks of leave while we are over there.

I think I am going to end my blog with a “shout out” section. First, I have to give kudos to my PA1 students for enduring several lectures with mortars going off in the background. That is the level of my dedication to teaching! I want to also thank a specific anonymous PA1 student who sent me a note in the mail that I appreciated more than words can say…thank you, I appreciate your words, prayers and encouragement. Thank you to the Sundance spa guy for helping my wife with my large outdoor bathtub (I would call it a hot-tub but it does not seem right with 4 Barbie dolls, a snorkel, and plastic fish floating in the water. Finally, thank you to everyone who has brought foot and helped with my kids…and dogs. I know that I have forgotten many, but I will “get you next time”

Finally, never forget our soldiers and their families. Never forget the sacrifices of a few for the freedom of many. Never allow anybody to let you think you do not live in the greatest country on Earth. Do not ever lose faith or trust in America, we have always prevailed. Be proud of your country. Please remember my family in your prayers, and throw a thought and prayer my way (and for the soldiers) if you think of it. My next letter should be from Kuwait.

Captain Mike Roscoe

Letter 2

2008-09-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2008

Fort Lewis, Washington
Blog address: buprofessor.blogspot.com
www.butler.edu/cophs link to my blog on the left side.

Everyone:

I hope this letter/blog finds everybody well. Usually, I try to keep these entries spaced about 2 weeks apart, but I wanted to go ahead and send this one out a bit early to spend a few minutes talking about September 11th. I hope that you have not forgotten! I have added some pictures below that I know effect me deeply. To look at these pictures brings back emotions and memories that I will never forget.

This is special to me as it is what changed my life. Four years ago to the day I stood in Kabul, Afghanistan preparing for the first free election in their country. I was there to fight terrorism to keep all of our families safe. Here I am three years later preparing to go to Iraq to help fight for a people to regain their freedom, and again to keep all of our families safe from those who would gladly hurt our loved ones. The pictures above demonstrate what evil in men’s hearts can do. Please NEVER FORGET what happened on this day in 2001. Never forget that it is not the United States that “asked” to be attacked, it is not our fault that innocent women and children were murdered. It is not America’s fault that there are terrorist in the world that would rather kill then talk. Please do not forget…please do not subscribe to any opinion or belief that would have you believe any of these things.

On my blog site, there was a post that I want to take the time to answer. It was in regard to my comment in my first letter about my statement “doing the right thing is always hard, and serving my country is bigger than my family and my wants…” The post was essentially asking about my priorities and how perhaps the Army and what I am currently doing is not “in-line” per se with Christian values that should be God, vocation (spouse), children, and then avocation (job etc). I think this is a valid question, and I will address it as I see it.
First, I believe that God guides all of our actions. He gives us choices, but his hand is always present. I actually decided several times not to join the military, but it kept coming around and around…it is as if God was hitting me on the head until I finally learned to duck. When I was in Afghanistan I took care of so many Afghans, including baby Qudrat. I was able to help get four very sick children back to the United States for life saving surgery. I went to numerous refugee camps and provided medical care. I went to orphanages and distributed tons of donated items to kids who had nothing. I have seen and felt hope return to people who have had nothing. I have seen first hand what is capable by caring, compassion, and love. This is what my experience has been with joining the Army. I have spent days with Afghans, and I have eaten with them, slept with them, and talked as a father, as a son, as a brother to many. I still receive emails from some that I met while I was there. I even received pictures from Qudrats family of their new daughter, who was born after Qudrat died. I have taken care of many injured US soldiers, most being kids who are serving their country. I feel the presence of God with me everyday with what I am doing in the military. I believe that God is the one that guided me here, and to not be here would be to not be serving God first. The fact that you are reading this blog and thinking about our soldiers and the people is an example of what I believe to be God’s mission for me.
Second, is the concept of vocation, and serving others. It is indeed hard to not be with my wife and children. I feel that I am serving them by keeping them safe. I am here to protect your family not just mine. I have met first hand true fanatical Islamic militants and Taliban fighters. Make no mistake they would kill your children if they could, I am here so that others do not have to be. I am willing to die for my children; I am willing to die for your family and children as well…without regret. Serving my country is like serving the Church. It is not a place as much as it is a community. We as soldiers tell you to sleep well at night, for we will watch over you and your families…even at the cost of our life. That is what the American soldier does. So I feel that I am fulfilling my vocation to my family and selfless service to others. Additionally, I am teaching my children what it means to serve others, even if it is hard, even if it hurts, or even it is not what we want to do. I do not want to be away from my family, my job or my “life” But this is what I mean by “bigger then me”.
Finally, there is the idea of avocation such as a job or a career. This is not a factor for me. The Army is not a job to me. Yes, I get paid, but I am not a mercenary. I serve my country because I believe in my country. I believe that I am keeping you and your families safe. I believe in the young soldiers who are serving. I believe that freedom is not free, but paid for by the sacrifices of others. My final comment is to again look at the pictures above, feel the pain in your chest, the tears that come to the corner of your eyes, and I ask to Never forget what and why we serve.

Transition time…sorry for the “heavy” material above, but I wanted to share some deep passionate opinions that I hold. Over the past two weeks we have settled into a very much regimented routine. We get up at 5am (0500), have a formation, eat, get “geared up”…which means put on your heavy body armor, Kevlar helmet, gas mask, weapon, and an assault pack (backpack) of lots of additional gear. We then proceed to train all day on various tasks which I have included below. Then we come back “home” and eat and get out of our gear that gets very heavy and is incredibly hot…even though it has been cool here, I still manage to sweat through my undershirt and my top almost every day.
We received our “updated” body armor which actually means “more pieces”. Here I am after putting it together for the first time.

Cozy…I think it feels like what the old samurai warriors must have felt like. It has additional plates on my sides, and shoulder pads. Additional neck pieces have been added as well. I think it is close to 50 pounds when all the pieces have been added. Here are all the medical professionals in gear just after our formation.

I have no idea how I could actually treat a patient with all this gear on. Fortunately, we only have to use all the pieces when we are doing convoy operations. Here I am learning the great life saving procedure of how to clear the ER waiting room of minor complaints.

Yes, that is me throwing a grenade (training grenade). They actually have a small explosion/pop. Let’s take a moment and look at this picture…why does the instructor have a look a pure terror on his face? Maybe, it is my “pouty” lip…Maybe it is that he was afraid that I weighed so much with my gear that I might fall backwards like a turtle and not be able to get rid of my grenade.

Anyway, from the grenade range, we had to hurry to the chemical weapons training. This is the station where they call “gas, gas, gas” and you have like 8 seconds to get your mask on and fully cleared and secured. Here I am with 1LT Welch.

“The force is strong with me” At least that is what I was told while attending the Darth Vader look-a-like class.

We also spent an entire day doing “combatives”. This is a fancy way for saying hand-to-hand fighting. If you have ever watched ultimate fighting, it is essentially what we learned. All the submission holds etc…let me tell you they work! I did have some pictures…let’s just say that the editor got to them and they did not make the blog. (I tapped out). However, there were two signs at the gym that I thought were priceless (or I am just a geek). Here they are…love the military!

For my PA students, what is wrong with this sign?....if it is 100% of everybody…is it still random? I know, I am a big geek. The next sign also made me laugh…

What is up with the dramatic last sentence? It is as if there might be some confusion about the fact that there will not be water… can you see Forrest Gump raising his hand (use your Gump impression)…”Excuse me sergeant, when you say there will be no water in this facility…do you mean that there is also no bottled water in the Dasani bottled water machine that I see through the window?”.…Shut up Gump, that is a dumb question…”yes sergeant….but I have to pee”

I almost forgot…I was successful in my quest to “acquire” a desk for my closet office. Check it out:
This desk is solid steel…I think it would survive a nuclear blast. Anyway, it just “showed up” outside my make shift office one day. I was told not to ask…so I don’t ask. Except that I am on the second floor and I have no idea how they got it up the stairs. It does make my life much easier, although it is very difficult to lecture to a laptop in a closet…and not sound like I am lecturing to a laptop in a closet.

I wanted to close with another picture of all the PAs on this mission.
The PAs are from left to right: 1LT Travis Welch, who is an orthopedic PA, who specializes in the spine and a graduate of the Butler University PA Program. I am next, and I think you know enough about me. To the right of me in the picture is Major Jeff Romig, a family practice PA from Illinois. Finally on the far right of the picture is Bryan McFarland, another orthopedic PA, but he specializes in the hand. He also graduated from the Butler University PA Program. We have a great crew, and I am looking forward to actually getting to work seeing patients.

I have another two weeks of intense training, then I get to have a pass and see my wife before I deploy overseas. The pass is 4 days…I am really looking forward to it, but it feels like forever before it gets here. I think that I will close this letter for now. Please continue your thoughts and prayers for my family, as well as, the families of all the soldiers here. Take a minute to remember the victims of 9/11 and all the soldiers who have died defending our freedoms.
CPT Mike Roscoe

Please see my blog or pass along the address:
Blog address: buprofessor.blogspot.com

www.butler.edu/cophs then link to my blog on the left side.

Letter 1

2008-09-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

August 31, 2008
Fort Lewis, Washington

Everyone:

This is my first letter chronicling my journey to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The intent is to tell my story as I am living it…for better and for worse. This letter is staring off during a very difficult time for me. Minutes ago I said goodbye to each of my four children, and to my wife. I wish that I could say that it is easier doing this a second time but it is not. In fact, I have found it to be much harder this time. My children are older and I have grown much closer to them. There are times when I feel as if my heart has been ripped from my chest, and I find myself wishing I did not have to leave my family. However, doing the right thing is always hard, and serving my country is bigger than my family and my wants. God does not hand us trials that we cannot handle.

These emotions are tempered by the pride I have in serving my Country, the pride in knowing that I will be caring for our soldiers. I take comfort in knowing that my family will be taken care of and all the amazing support that my family and I have received from Butler, from St. Thomas Aquinas, and all the surrounding community. I am amazed at how strong my wife is, how she can essentially be a single working mother of four…and do such a fantastic job. I cannot fathom the professional phase PA students throwing a surprise going away party and providing a digital camera so that I can share pictures with you. I cannot fathom the COPHS community and the office of Advancement throwing a surprise party and donating the funds for my family to get a flag pole for our yard. The meals that the parishioners from St. Thomas have already started to bring to my house. Simply put: THANK YOU…I love each and every one of you. We (my family and I) cannot do this without you, and our soldiers are only as strong as our community.

Below is a picture of Shelby and I at the farewell ceremony at Camp Atterbury.

If you look closely at the picture I believe the lead singer of Megadeth (rock band) is standing against the wall. Anyway, we left Camp Atterbury and flew in the middle of the night to Fort Lewis, Washington. It is between Tacoma and Seattle. The weather here cannot be more different. It has been in the 60s and 70s during the day and cold at night. This morning I saw my breath at our morning 5:30 formation.

This base is very old. We are living in barracks that were constructed for WWII. My uncle who served in Vietnam actually stayed in these same barracks. Below is a picture of my building….I think, they all look the same.

If you turn about 45 degrees to the right of the above picture, you get the picture below:

At the other end of my building here is the view:

I think you can appreciate all similar all the buildings are to each other. The last building on the left (the small one) is actually our chow hall. We share the chow hall with a large group of Air Force soldiers and some Navy soldiers. I am sure that the Air Force is getting paid substandard housing as there is not a concierge available.

It is actually really pretty here. There are trees, specifically pine trees everywhere. The weather is pretty nice, and I am able to work on teaching more class at Butler with relative stability. Speaking of that let me show you my desk that I have been using to teach from…I have made a deal with some crusty old supply sergeants and they are going to work to get me a “real desk”

Yes…It is three old footlockers in a closet. Hopefully, I can “upgrade” with my supply deal. Those of you with a military background know how important these “black ops” are. Below is the barracks that I am staying in from the inside.

Notice the strong decorating influence of the “barn motif”. The person looking back at the camera is 1LT McFarland, another PA…nothing but the best for our fine medical officers. Major Romig and I have it slightly better as we are “Senior PAs” and “higher ranking”. If I turned 180 degrees, there is my lecture closet and another small room where we get to sleep. Below is my bed and just out of view is Major Romig’s bed.

It really is no different then all the other beds except we do have a door. I must show you our latrine…I know who wants to see a bathroom? Well, from my previous deployment, it was actually one of the most common requested pictures…really!

I think that there might be two more sinks on the left side. To the right is four stalls with doors! Moving past the washer you move to below:

Cozy is the only word to describe the showers…yes that is the wall to the left…there is actually one more shower head that you cannot see. We have to set block shower times for obvious reasons. Actually we are better off than the other barracks as we only have 22 guys in our building. It will actually be nicer once we get to Iraq.

We have been training but the days have still been slow. We did receive our new body armor and I feel like a Middle Ages knight as it takes at least two people (squires) to get into the system. I will save that for the next letter. I hope everybody is doing well. I miss everybody…sorry PA1 class that I am not there, but I hope you are enjoying my lecture videos. Yes, I actually do laugh at my own jokes. I will try to get another letter out within the next two weeks. Keep praying for Shelby and the kids, if you have time throw a prayer my way as well. Remember to keep the soldiers in your thoughts as well.

CPT Mike Roscoe