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Friday, June 17, 2005
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Troops feel the heat As deployment nears halfway mark, area soldiers in Iraq coping with temperatures boiling to the 130-degree mark Senior Reporter Area soldiers in Iraq are serving in 120-degree heat these days and are about halfway through their deployment.
Capt. Mike Pazdernik, commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 194th Armor, said in an e-mail from Iraq that those temperatures have been the norm nearly every day in June.
"Yesterday was our hottest yet," Pazdernik said. "We hit the 130-degree mark for the first time. The day starts around 80 degrees, hits 100 by 9 a.m., and last night it was still 95 degrees at midnight.
"The soldiers are amazingly resilient and are dealing with the heat as well as can be expected. The air conditioners in the vehicles don't keep the vehicle cool like a car back home but they do help make things more bearable. We have coolers on every truck with plenty of water and ice."
Background
There are 152 Minnesota Army National Guard soldiers in Company A, 1st Battalion, 194th Armor.
Soldiers are on an 18-month deployment with 12 months of "boots on the ground" duty near Baghdad.
They were deployed Oct. 16, 2004. After additional training in New Jersey, they arrived in Kuwait on Dec. 22. They moved into Iraq in early January.
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Sleeping during the hottest part of the day is the hardest part for many soldiers, Pazdernik said.
"Most of the soldiers work from midnight until noon and sleep in the afternoon and evening hours. The tents have good air conditioning units but they are not insulated and it is still around 100 degrees inside the tents in the middle of the afternoon. Fortunately, one of the other units here is starting to move into the new trailers and we will be able to get some of their old air conditioning units. Our goal is to put another air conditioning unit into every tent."
The trailers, which were hoped to be ready to help ease heat and reduce bugs and sand and the number of soldiers in each sleeping area, are not expected to be completed in time. Pazdernik said trailer construction has been slow and the original plan to be living in trailers by July 1 is not going to happen.
"We have all learned that nothing happens fast in Iraq," he said. "Construction is about two months behind at this point. We will be the last unit to move into the trailers and we don't expect to move until late September at the earliest."
By then temperatures are expected to be falling and the soldiers expect to be within a few months of returning home and may not move into the trailers at all, leaving them for their replacements.
"We have been blessed with a relatively quiet past few weeks since the explosion that destroyed Sgt. Casie Tulenchik's vehicle with Spc. Ross Cameron as the gunner and Spc. Matthew Hardt the driver. The soldiers performed brilliantly that day. They quickly evacuated the area, secured the site, coordinated for additional security, and detained three suspicious personnel.
"We've received feedback that the detained personnel have given up valuable information that has us very close to taking down those responsible for attacks in our area. We have also stepped up our missions and have been given authorization to more aggressively patrol certain areas."
In response, Pazdernik reported the company would likely move personnel around in the coming weeks and modify the missions in order to keep insurgents off balance.
Pazdernik said the soldiers celebrated Flag Day and the Army's 230th birthday earlier this week.
"As part of our celebration, we started flying the first of the American and Minnesota state flags we've received from our Family Readiness Groups and other organizations back home," Pazdernik said. "The flags will be presented to all our soldiers here and to the other people and groups who have sent us flags. Each of the flags is flown, marked with the location and date, folded, and will be delivered upon our return."
There will be additional opportunities for promotions, Pazdernik said. And he expressed thanks for continued community support.
"The soldiers appreciate it more than they can ever say. Every letter, phone call, care package or picture from home strengthens the soldiers. They can endure, sacrifice and continue to serve our country well because of the support you give. You are all our constant reminders that there are things in this world that are worth fighting for and that freedom isn't free."
RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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