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In Iraq, mortality is always on your mind

Sep- 7-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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By Jerry Jimenez

(Editor's note: Jerry Jimenez, who joined The Salinas Californian reporting staff in July 2002, left work in April 2003 to train for civil affairs duty in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserve. He plans to write a weekly column about what he experiences and observes until his departure from Iraq later this year.)

I'm 10 months into a one-year deployment in Iraq, and I've learned a few lessons.

Like, you can take a shower with only two bottles of water, if that's all you have. Also, when you're dealing with Iraqis, it's good to use phrases that contain the word "Allah." And don't use too much soap when washing socks by hand. You'll be rinsing forever.

But perhaps the biggest lesson I've learned so far is that life offers no guarantees.

Being in Iraq makes you completely aware of your mortality. I mean, we all know we're going to die someday, right? But surely not today. Surely not now. That's supposed to happen when we're old. After we're married and have kids and grandkids and all that good stuff. When we've quit smoking and found God and accomplished all we wanted in life.

But that veil of false security is lifted here in Mosul, Iraq. Here you know, really know, that you could go on any given day, especially if you're not being careful.

You could get hit by mortar fire, which happens far more often than the media reports. You could get hit by a roadside bomb or a car bomb or get ambushed by Anti Iraqi Forces (what the local enemy is now called).

And it doesn't matter if you're on a mission or just relaxing on base. Anything could happen anytime. Some people got hit with shrapnel while playing volleyball. Others while walking to chow.

But that's not to say we fearfully walk around dwelling on death all the time. Most of the time we don't even think about it. We just go about our daily business, only with the newfound knowledge that we're all just passing through in this world. [...]

Salinas Californian reporter JERRY JIMENEZ is a civil affairs sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving with the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Mosul, Iraq. His weekly "Letter from Iraq" column appears Tuesday on Local News.


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