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Members of public affairs unit celebrate return home

Jan-24-2005 » Filed Under: TF Olympia

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By CHRIS WETTERICH, STAFF WRITER

Threatened by bullets, mortar attacks and suicide bombings while trying to bring home good news about the U.S. presence in Iraq and the soldiers' stories, a few members of the Army National Guard's 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment started a rock radio station.

Spc. Justin Savage, 24, of Roscoe and Staff Sgt. Rian Jopek, 40, of Madison, Wis., obtained a 1,000-watt transmitter, and Jopek became the "Mouth of Mosul," introducing Iraq to the likes of AC/DC and Judas Priest.

"We played everything from Green Day to Bowling for Soup," Jopek said, "mixed with Arabic press releases."

The 20 people from the 139th who were sent to Iraq included 14 members headquartered in Springfield and six from a detachment based in Madison. The unit was in the Middle East for about 111/2 months, spending most of its time in Mosul. They were activated on Pearl Harbor Day - Dec. 7, 2003 - and will be officially off-duty Feb. 15. It's unknown if they will be going back. [...]

Members of the unit say that although the United States and Iraqi democrats have faced a potent challenge from insurgents, the news as portrayed by the media has been skewed too much to the negative.

"The international media has proven to be an extreme disappointment," said Capt. Angela Bowman. "They go looking for bad news. There's been a lot of growth and development and development of infrastructure. Contrary to what you hear, the people of Iraq really appreciate what we're doing there."

Morale continues to be high, and the troops in general feel like they are fighting for a good cause, said Jopek, who was once a disc jockey and newsman for several small radio stations in Wisconsin. "American troops are dedicated to make sure it (a democratic Iraq) happens," he said. "But I think ultimately how long it takes remains to be seen."


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