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Soldier prepares to return to Iraq

Oct- 2-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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By Kim Henderson

The winters are cold, often snow-laden, the summers scorching. The culture is almost 180 degrees from our own. Then, of course, there's the war.

Michael Ricchiuti of Gantt, a soldier in the Army's 2nd Infantry Division - 3rd Brigade, knows all too well what goes on in the battlefields of Iraq.

Having been stationed there since November 2003, Michael recently returned home for a brief 15-day respite.

"I've been all over Iraq," the 2002 Red Level High graduate explained Friday.

His company's official station is in Mosul, a large city that lies along the Tigris River in northern Iraq.

Without going into detail (because military regulations won't allow it), Michael recalls some of the stringent, stressful conditions he and fellow soldiers have endured.

Ricchiuti's company is by nature involved in combat missions.

"Basically, our mission was to go into Iraq and get all of the bad guys out we could," the soldier said of the military's overall objective.

"You sit up on top of a roof, watching. That's all you do sometimes."

He touted the close relationships and camaraderie he's formed with his fellow Armymen, relationships which are especially vital in such a dangerous environment.[...]


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