A Little Noisy Lately

(Betsy writing for Vince)

You may have seen reports recently of rockets and mortars in the Green Zone. They have experience a lot of shelling every since Easter Sunday. Now whenever Vince goes outside it's in full 'battle rattle,' body armor and helmet. He's fine. Work changes a little since they go to lock down every time there is incoming, but mostly life is the same.

Easter Sunday he was planning to get up earlier, jog from 5:30 to 6 and then head to a 6:30 am service. He messed up his alarm setting, and by the time he got up they were in lock down. Later he found out a rocket hit about 100 feet from the running track at 5:50 am. That changed his perspective on the day. We are thankful.

I wish I had more to say, but mostly I wanted to let everyone know that he's fine. I talk to him for a few minutes almost every day, usually before he goes to bed. He's working very long hours so he's just tired.

The Waiting Room

I was ushered into a fairly large and ornate waiting room. The waiting room is just outside the main conference room in a building know as the “New White House”. It is a large white building along the Tigris River surround by fountains and nice landscaping. In the waiting room is a large oil painting of the people known as the Marsh Arabs. The painting appears to be two brothers and their sister (smiling) in a dug out canoe on the marsh water with a grass thatch home in the background. Soon, about 15 Iraqi Army generals enter the room. The senior officer is a 3-star Iraqi general from a province where the most fighting continues. They are there to update the Ministerial Council for National Security (MCNS, their National Security Agency) on the fight against terrorists. They all greeted me warmly. We sat on large couches with soft red upholstery and white/gold wood trim. Soon, several body guards entered and then in walked Prime Minster Nouri Maliki. I was the second one he greeted as we shook hands, and he proceed to greet all of the Iraqi officers. He was sincere and generous in his greeting. The following week at the MCNS, I presented one of our reconstruction projects to PM Maliki and his council. The presentation was well received and appreciated. As Deputy Commander, it looks like I will be making these presentations on a regular basis and spending some time in the Waiting Room.
Gen. Petraeus on winning hearts and minds
“… We’re not about winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis – our goal should be to help Iraqis win hearts and minds of fellow Iraqis.” (ABC, Mar 08)

The Lunch

My boss asked me to attend the Board of Directors (BOD) lunch on his behalf since he would be visiting a project site last Friday. I was honored to be at the lunch table with General Petraeus and his senior staff. Since the Gulf Region Division (GRD) is one of the major supporting commands (MSC) to the organization that he commands (Multi-National Forces – Iraq or MNF-I), he has given us a seat at his board meetings. I was the only Air Force officer in the room and the lowest ranking of the board members (a 4-star general, three 3-stars, five 2-stars, a 1-star and me). We had salmon, potatoes, steamed vegetables, salad, desert and a variety of beverages to choose (I drank my typical water). General Petraeus sits at the head of the table and there is a screen and video projector at the other (not used this time). My commanding general (CG) and I prepared some items to share specifically for the BOD lunch and he warned me that GRD always goes first. After we ate and enjoyed some casual conversation, General Petraeus looked down the table toward me and said, “Let’s go ahead and start … Sir”. Overall, I was humbled to be there with our senior leaders and a part of the warm and collegiate atmosphere he has created as part of his “commander’s climate”.

Bridges

Bridges. Bridges are very important. Bridges are heavy on my heart and mind. The country of Iraq desperately needs good, quality bridges.

Bridges span small gaps like wadis and creeks and large obstacles like the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The people of Iraq and our senior leaders have identified about 25 bridges that are in need of repair or rebuilding. Some have had spans exploded into the Euphrates river, some have decking with a large hole in it. An enemy damaged these bridges (typically with vehicle bombs) because they want to keep the people separated and from prospering.

The Iraqi ministry responsible for bridges struggles to award contracts to rebuild these important bridges. In over a year we have had very little movement on repairing or rebuilding bridges. Many sensitive issues surround the reasons for the inactivity. In the mean time, the people of Iraq suffer without the bridges.

You may have read about “reconciliation” in the newspaper. Our senior leaders discuss and receive military briefings on reconciliation efforts throughout Iraq. Reconciliation is more than a casually used word here, it is a word of force and action – it receives financial and soldier resources – from both the Embassy and the Multi National Force – Iraq (MNF-I).

If you are separated from a person or from God, you need to be reconciled so the relationship can be restored. If you are on one side of a canyon and you want to build a relationship with a person or with God on the other side, you need a bridge. Bridges help bring reconciliation. Iraq needs bridges -- good, strong, permanent bridges – both physically and relationally.

My Army organization, the Gulf Region Division, is responsible for working with a particular Iraqi ministry to rebuild bridges, and we need guidance and wisdom on how to proceed. Please keep bridges in your thoughts and prayers.

I am back from my “battlefield circulation” around Iraq and am now in the seat as Deputy Commander. I hope to blog more regularly as my schedule allows. I can feel your thoughts and prayers and I appreciate them so much.