Major General Ray Odierno, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, who joins us live from Iraq.
I want to close by saying Task Force Iron Horse has, over the past week, conducted two major operations, Peninsula Strike, which was a combined air, ground and river patrol operation to isolate an area known as a stronghold for Saddam Hussein loyalists. We initially detained nearly 400 people, with over 60 confirmed as being members of the former Iraqi intelligence service, Saddam Fedayeen or Republican Guard leadership. Over the past three days, we have conducted Operation Desert Scorpion. Task Force Iron Horse has conducted over 50 raids on suspected terrorists, Ba'ath party loyalists and Fedayeen members. We currently have detained approximately 400 of these individuals, to include local leaders of some new fanatic groups forming, such as the New Return and the Snake Party. We have confiscated millions of dollars of dinar, hundreds of RPGs and launchers, and have significantly degraded their ability to coordinate attacks.
Just this morning, less than three or four hours ago, soldiers from 122 Infantry conducted two raids on separate farm houses outside of Tikrit, seizing 8.5 million U.S. dollars, 300 to 400 million Iraqi dinar, and English pounds and euros yet to be counted. In addition, we seized a large cache of jewels, gems, estimated over a million dollars of value. In addition, we confiscated late-model Russian-made night vision goggles, sniper rifles, uniforms and equipment of Saddam's personal guard. We detained 15 to 20 individuals associated with Saddam's special security forces.
And just before coming in here, we also conducted a cordon and stopped a vehicle with over $800,000 of U.S. dollars in it that was trying to flee from that scene. In addition, we are currently inside of two other sites where we believe we have cordoned off and captured up to 30 additional Saddam Special Republican Guard forces.
We continue to work hard and I believe over the next three or four days, you will hear much more about the number of senior Iraqi individuals that we have detained here over the last couple days.
I've only scratched the surface of tremendous work being done every day by the brave men and women of Task Force Iron Horse. They are truly the best our nation has to offer.
Yet despite the danger he faces every day with the 2/5th Field Artillery attached to the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment
Bermudian soldier Jason DiGiacomo arrived home this week on a long-awaited and much needed leave from his duties in Iraq.
The 22-year old Sgt. DiGiacomo has not had a single day off duty since he arrived in Iraq seven months ago.
And when he begins the journey back to Iraq on Tuesday it will be at least another five months before he can come home again.
It has been a harrowing seven months for Sgt. DiGiacomo, who freely admitted to The Royal Gazette yesterday that he has seen many things he will not tell his parents about. His parents agree: they do not want to know.
Yet despite the danger he faces every day with the 2/5th Field Artillery attached to the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment somewhere in the north-west region of the war-torn country, Sgt. DiGiacomo seemed in good spirits – and glad to be home.
“It’s so good just to see greenery again, not sand,” he said, glancing out the window.
Conditions have been rough in Iraq, though at least temperatures are finally dropping (to 90-plus degrees from 130) and Sgt. DiGiacomo’s unit now has a roof over their heads, as opposed to when they first arrived and slept either in their vehicles or in cots outside because of the heat.
Even the food is beginning to get better, he said. Previously the soldiers survived on T-rations taken from containers and thrown into hot water, but now they have potatoes every day (breakfast and dinner) and chicken.
Even so, Sgt. DiGiacomo admitted it was tiring eating the same thing day after day. His favourite meal of all was “Granny’s bacon and eggs,” he said, and his parents added that when they were driving him home from the airport on Tuesday all he wanted was a pizza from Speciality Inn. Unfortunately, as it was Remembrance Day, Sgt. DiGiacomo could not get his wish – Speciality Inn was closed.
“Seven months without pizza,” he joked. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about for a couple of months now.”
Sgt. DiGiacomo has been training the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps. “We’re basically doing a crash course of what we did in boot camp,” he said. “Teaching them to work with Coalition forces to eventually give them their country back so we can get up out of there and go home.”
Some of the Iraqis seemed eager to learn from the Americans, he said. “Some are just there for the money, to support their families, put food on the table. Some are there to make a difference.”
However he felt it was hard to say if Iraqis in general resented the American troops or not. Though Iraqis often throw rocks at convoys as they drive by, and he has seen Iraqi children pantomiming firing guns at them, he said he has also seen people waving to the troops.
Nevertheless it is all too clear that the war in Iraq is not yet over. Sgt. DiGiacomo said it is probably once every two days or so that they hear of troops suffering attacks, often by bombs placed underneath the asphalt that are detonated as convoys drive over them.
In fact he said just recently a convoy was returning to base one morning and was about five minutes away when they ran into such an ambush: rigged out artillery rounds and bombs in the road. “We heard the platoon sergeant on the radio saying, ‘ID, ID,’. Then we heard the explosion. We could hear it from where we were.”
A friend of Sgt. DiGiacomo’s was driving and suffered shrapnel to the face, while another friend lost his Achilles tendon. One man was killed in the attack. “I don’t believe he had been in the country for more than a month and a half.
“They’re shooting helicopters down now. I had friends on board (the Chinook that was recently shot down). They were on their way home for R&R, to see their newly born kids, their wives and families.”
In fact that helicopter was making the trip just before Sgt. DiGiacomo’s trip home. When the Chinook was shot down, his parents said, they received “that call” to tell them their son may have been on it. “They didn’t know if it was him or not,” said Mrs. DiGiacomo, a teacher at Mount Saint Agnes Academy.
“I want people to know,” said Sgt. DiGiacomo. “We’re getting attacked every day. Some of the stuff I’ve experienced out there, it’s all stuff you take for granted back here.”
And he does not believe the end is in sight. “Not any time soon,” he said.
But is he ready to go back? “Yes and no,” he said. Though he believes in what he is doing, the change from Bermuda and the comforts of home and family to the barrenness of Iraq is understandably hard. In fact, he said he actually considered not coming back, just because he knew how hard it would be to leave again.
“I knew it would be hard to come home, readjust, and then say goodbye,” he said. “But I figured a break would be good.”
His father, retired US Army Reserves major Bob DiGiacomo, felt the same way. “I almost didn’t want him to come home because now he has to go back up,” he said.
“Tuesday’s going to be hard,” agreed his wife, with tears in her eyes. “Troops just need to know they have the support of people back home,” said Sgt. DiGiacomo.
“It gives them motivation, knowing they’re not there for nothing. That’s all we need.”
His parents could not express enough the gratitude they felt to everyone who has been praying for and thinking of their son.
“We just want to ask them to continue to pray because it’s not over yet,” said Mr. DiGiacomo.
“I just want to thank my good friend God,” Sgt. DiGiacomo said with a smile. “I know he’s up there watching out for me.”
Royal Gazette
Posted by: Patti / 1:26 PM
