From FOB Hammer - Letter From Capt. McGrue

Monday, April 9, 2007
It was so nice to hear from Capt. McGrue. He is such an awesome guy and knowing how much respect Chris has for him I am so proud to be kept in the loop by him. I was glad to hear his injury was not any worse than it was. Still have not heard from Chris...this has been the most concerned I have been since he left. I am hoping it's a matter of not having access to the computer (since there is only 1 on the FOB) or that he has been super busy. As long as he is okay, it doesn't matter.

Subject: From FOB Hammer

Greetings, Assassin Family,

I sincerely hope this letter finds everyone doing well. As it leaves me it leaves the men and I in good spirits. I know that this is not the end of the month, but it has felt like a month already. To further add, with all the events that have happened since I last sent a letter, I felt the need to update you all.

The majority of us are here on FOB HAMMER (no longer called FOB SHAKOOSH, because it offends some of our locals with a translation meaning little hammer). But we still call it the BRICK. As dusty and as hot as it has been, we’ve had some other colorful names about this place, but I won’t repeat in this letter (smile). We are waiting for some Soldiers to arrive here from various details or specialized training: PVT Frueh, SSG Griggs, SSG Gowins, and SSG Zdral. We anticipate their arrival soon.

FOB Hammer isn’t too bad. As I mentioned before there are Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) tents. Two contain weight-lifting equipment, two contain cardio equipment, and one contains a library and billiards. The dining facility (DFAC) is awesome. It is a series of tents connected together with plenty of seating. The food is good in comparison to DFAC food and we get a variety. Presently the DFAC serves breakfast, dinner, and midnight chow. The PX (“corner store”) was suppose to be operational yesterday. I do not know if it is, because I was on a patrol all day yesterday and did not check on the status of the PX. Laundry service is available by a military laundry unit. Eventually they will cease operations and the laundry will be handled by a civilian organization. Hopefully they keep the same hours. Living areas aren’t bad either for us. We were given like five or six tents to use (we are using five, but we receive a sixth one when we get an additional platoon assigned to us). Also our mailing address has been updated, but don’t fret the mail and packages sent already are getting here with no problems or delays:

RANK LAST NAME, FIRST (ex: CPT McGrue, Arthur)
A Troop, 3-1 CAV, 3HBCT, 3ID
Unit #5958
APO AE 09308-5958
(This address does not apply to Chris)

As for our area that we will be patrolling, to quote some of the Soldiers it is boring. I will take boring for a year personally, especially with the events I have already experienced during my short time here. We have one town and one village in our area. Two villages are attempting to establish themselves (reminds me of Northern Columbus with all the subdivisions sprouting up). The town in our area is called Saba Nissan (that may be misspelled). It is an Arabic name so I will not be able to refine it until we meet with the town locals.&n bsp; However, the town and villages have children that run to us and wave as we drive by. The adults really don’t pay us any mind they just carry on with their business as usual.

Lastly, I understand that Urs informed some of you at the last FRG meeting about the situation that happened to me. I also learned that some of you learned second hand or from another source. Please understand that the patrol I was with did not involve any other Assassin elements. As you know I arrived into Iraq earlier than the men and therefore was given the opportunity to participate in five patrols with other units. The purpose of those patrols was to understand the current situation in Iraq and give me some situational awareness how units are operating in t erms of the combat outpost. The units I accompanied on the different patrols do not have the same capabilities as we have. Therefore when this patrol in particular received information about a “bad guy” in a nearby village, he could only approach using the simplest forms of night vision capabilities (the Assassins are more advanced and we have the ability to identify possible positions long before we make any move). So before we arrived to the village, the “bad guy” was already alerted of our presence and had the opportunity to assume positions we could not see. I do not wish to go too much further into detail, because I am attempting to be sensitive to some of your emotions. I will only say this; I am fine with two minor wounds to my left wrist from shrapnel.< style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Please do not listen to any of the rumors that are slowly making their way back there for I have heard some winners. And let it be known, I will not send our men on any mission with proper planning before hand and the necessary equipment needed to be successful.

Well, I am going to close this for now. Please know that the men are doing well and everyone is in good spirits. Take care and God bless.

Respectfully,
Captain Arthur L. McGrue III
Troop Commander Alpha Troop
3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry