Month 10 Day 21

Notebook entry

14 reports given, $1 million per mile, $14.5 billion, 1000 per head, combined combat operations center morning, class Salim key terrain, test for intelligence :-),Sgt. Reisner almost hit.

Journal entry

I looked up the GDP stats for this country.   They are up from a base of 2.5 Billion when we invaded to 14.5 billion now about $1000 per head.  The statistics are a bit whacked because GDP includes FDI, but if GDP even increased at a base rate of say 20% there would be nothing like the GDP they have now.  I don't see how this is sustainable.  I am listening to another Ahmad Rasheed book, it is called descent into Chaos.  He talks about the cost of rebuilding the ring road, first built in the 1905s us the US and and USSR, apparently it cost the US $1million per mile.  Wow. 

I took the S2 and the S3 to the CCOC this morning.  The S2 was happy to learn a bit more about pattern analysis.  Maj Kraus wanted to 'partner' so I told him to come over and talk to Maj Tawoos.  As I suspected, shortly after speaking, Maj Tawoos started asking him for stuff.  I had prepped him and made sure that he was ready with the answer 'Capt Scott Shane will happily teach you how to fill out your own forms and get your own supplies.'  I had a chat with the Maj thereafter about classes.  He said that he was too busy for class, but when I asked him his schedule he couldn't give me anything that he was doing between 1400 and 1500, so I said 'you're not really busy the whole day then' anyway.  He was basically resistant to all teaching and I told him 'look this isn't my order it is from your XO'  "well he's going to have to assign me an hour every day if he wants me to do class." it was pretty childish and I was really annoyed.  I have fought this battle a million times.  Each of these guys think they know everything about intel and they don't want to learn.

I met up with Salim at 1500 and gave him another class.  He is memorizing the places in the AO well, and has his directions almost down.  He can brief a couple of slides from the beginning of the IPB pretty well.  We talked about key terrain and how canals really work, how they need to be dug out, created, all of the things that go into them.  Maj Tawoos came in and watched for a little while and spoke up with his own definitions of key terrain, they were right and it was nice, but Salim quit participating as soon as he came in.  I think he felt embarrased

I gave the Major a test on the METLs after I finished with Salim. He knows a lot of stuff.  He is solid on his HUMINT knowledge, and he's pretty good on his regular knowledge.  I'm stoked.  He wants to get down and get his own sources at the kandaks.  I started discouraging that telling him that his job should be to manage, not to run sources himself.  That might be an uphill battle. oh well.

Sgt Risner almost got hit during his own drivers course and the general exacted immediate justice on the guy (had one of his goons slap him three times).  Sigh

The LtCol pulled me aside and said that he was submitting me for a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V.  He told me he wanted to pull me aside because people were probably going to come down and start asking questions about it.  They might even ask me questions about it.  He's like I just want you to be prepared, think about what you did and be ready to tell them what you did.  He said he was putting in there that I raised Air Support when ANGLICO did not, that when they arrived I directed them to some key areas, that air support slackened the small arms fire that we were taking.  He said that I called a QRF and contacted the two levels of command up, keeping everyone informed, I dismounted from my truck and swept back to his vehicle using my metal detector this allowed him to dismount and move the vic.  That I directed the ANA, posted a roadblock, etc. He said that I did this while the ANA were running in every direction, the Poles were trying to figure out what was going on, and we were still under observation and fire. All of this is true.  I am a bit conflicted about it.  I feel like most guys who get a Combat V are doing something more heroic.  Running through grazing machine-gun fire while carrying a buddy, but I guess not.  Most of those guys get a silver star or medal of honor or something like that.  I don't feel altogether heroic.  My actions might have saved some other guys from getting hurt.  I didn't violate my training in any way.  I learned how to coordinate air support, QRFs, pass grids, use metal detectors, and everything like that at IOC, TBS or before.  I didn't do anything nuts, like run back there with just my pistol in my hand to figure out what was happening, I just did my job.  Do I rate it, I don't know. I must admit I don't feel like my actions were heroic, they were logical at the time, but other people, like a LtCol with a bunch of combat experience seem to think they were particularly good.  It's just wierd.  Other people don't understand, can't understand just as I didn't until today.  I think I understand now why guys don't talk about this.  With this, I am going to join their ranks and not talk about it again unless someone actually needs to know.