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‘With The 10th’…Part 3

Some soldiers from Fort Drum live near Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

Many of the soldiers live on a large base next to the downtown of the million-strong city.

Others live on small bases in the countryside.

Patrol base Bushmaster is hardly bigger than a couple of football fields

“It’s not very big at all. You can pretty much see side to side. If you look over here, it starts at the south gate and it ends about where that tower over there,” said Specialist Zachary Ziegler of Fort Drum.

With space limited, the solders need to double up and then some in their cramped living quarters.

“Four to a room. You can see space is kind of limited so its best to get along with the other occupants,” said Specialist Jared Lawson of Fort Drum.

Soldiers spend free time hanging around and staying fit.

The base includes a well equipped outdoor gym.

“We got everything you need - free weights, curl bar, straight bar, leg machine. Stay in shape when you’re not out or you come back,” said Sergeant Andrew Aldridge of Fort Drum.

Soldiers say having amenities like the gym makes a big difference.

“Having a gym here is great because there’s really not much else to do but work out…Other than that it’s just good stress relief too,” said Sergeant Dustin Evans, a Fort Drum soldier from Calcium.

Soldiers keep busy with long work days and free time is at a premium.

The toughest part of living here, they say, is missing their families.

“It sucks. I have a wife and three kids back at Drum and it’s hard on me as well as hard on them,” said Private First Class William Medlin of Fort Drum.

But for soldiers to stay in touch isn’t that hard.

The base has easy phone and internet access.

“It’s pretty easy. They have phones here. I call my wife up. I call my mom up….go on the Internet, check my email. It’s pretty cool. I keep in touch with my family on a regular basis every day,” said Private Phillip Gonzalez a Fort Drum soldier from Calcium.

The soldiers spend most of there time living and working in the Iraqi countryside.

But, every few weeks they’ll ship back to the main base near the city of Kirkuk, where the amenities are slightly better.

See Part 2

See Part 3:

‘With The 10th’…Part 2

Soldiers from Bravo Company, 2-22nd Infantry walk the village of Al Noor.

Located south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, the village was once one of the most violent communities in the area.

Now U.S. soldiers are there all the time.

“There were some bad people who lived in here. So we came in and we just started talking with them and engage the populace in a positive manner and they were very receptive to it.,” said First Lieutenant Chris Holmes of Fort Drum.

“The village was real run down. had a lot of terrorist activity coming out of here. and now it’s made a 180 degree turn around,” said Corporal Jeffrey Morris, a Fort Drum soldier from Watertown.

The soldiers live on a small patrol base named Bushmaster, located inside the village.

They man the guard towers and keep watch constantly, cautious about against insurgents trying to get back in.

“You’re always watching your back. You can never let your guard down just in case. It’s one of those - don’t give an honest man an opportunity to turn dishonest,” said Private First Class William Medlin of Fort Drum.

Soldiers walk the streets of the village every day.

They play around with the kids and work with the local men, offering work and security.

The locals reciprocate the attention.

“The populace likes to say that they will secure us, is how they put it. I think they really enjoy us being here. We put some money into their economy, buy stuff at the local stores, sodas water stuff like that,” said Lieutenant Holmes.

A major reason it’s quiet in the village is because the Iraqis run their own armed security groups.

Private citizens, called the Sons of Iraq, are paid by Americans and help keep Al-Qaeda and other terrorists out.

“They’re Sons of Iraq. To have their support in the fight against the terrorists and insurgents just makes all the difference,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Sullivan, commander of the 2-22nd Infantry.

Soldiers say the closer to the people they get, the safer their lives become.

See Part 1

See Part 2:

7 News Special Report: “With The 10th”

Soldiers of Delta Company 2-22nd Infantry search cars at a bus station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The soldiers say insurgents bring in contraband through the station, which offers easy access into the city from from all over the country.

“We think it’s an easy way for people to kind of come in and out unchecked. So it just kind of helps us disrupt things every now and then and kind of keep people on their toes,” said Lieutenant Sean Kane, a Fort Drum soldier who lives in Sackets Harbor.

Soldiers work alongside a large number of special Iraqi police.

They search for armor-busting grenades and other weapons.

The biggest threat to Americans is not roadside bombs, also called IEDs, but grenades and sniper fire.

“This year in Kirkuk we’ve dealt with a lot more sniper fire. Last time we were here I was down in Abu Ghraib and there were a lot more more IEDs down there,” said Sergeant Michael Hovanec of Ithaca.

The soldiers say violence has dropped dramatically in the city over past year.

However, they still do come under fire.

Several soldiers, such as Specialist Ryan Shipley, have been shot, but soon recovered.

“It was my right calf. It just went through the meat. Nothing important. It was annoying for two weeks or so. I got to sit back and do nothing,” said Shipley.

The soldiers who have been injured say when they go through trauma like a shooting, it is best to get back out again as soon as possible.

“It’s a little crazy. You don’t really think you’re going to be the one to get shot. But you got to just deal with it and get back out here,” said Sergeant Jeff Mass of Fort Drum.

“You got to get back out here as soon as you can. You can’t be afraid of it. You want to be scared, but you don’t want get too scared that you think about it too much and you can’t do your job,” said Shipley.

The battalion has seen two men killed in the seven months it has been here.

The were both from one company and were on patrol far south of the city.

Officers say the casualties are tough to take but everyone pulls together.

“We have to find the people that are down and help bring them up and the people that are kind of up need to be the ones that grab those guys that are kind of hurting. It shows the true camaraderie of the unit,” said Captain Greg Hotaling, a Fort Drum soldier from Syracuse.

Soldiers form Fort Drum patrol inside Kirkuk every day.

But because there is only a company of them, the bulk of the security is actually provided by the Iraqi forces.

See Doug Grindle’s report:

The 5 Day Forecast

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