Humvee Driver

During the invasion phase of the Iraq war Marine infantry units traveled in AAV's through southern and central Iraq; after Baghdad was secured those infantry battalions were each assigned cities in which to patrol and occupy, 3/5 was assigned Diwaniyah, a city of over 400,000 residents and some 80 miles south of Baghdad.  During our occupation of Diwaniyah I was "promoted" to the position of team leader of first fireteam, second squad, third platoon; I was a private first class at the time and was responsible for three other Marines, I was also chosen to be one of the designated Humvee drivers within our platoon.

        The majority of our patrols in Diwaniyah were squad-sized patrols conducted on foot through different neighborhoods, both during the day (really hot!) and at night (really quiet!) with two Humvees for our three fireteams; in addition to being 1st fireteam leader I also drove one of the Humvees on our patrols with my fireteam riding along with me.  Our squad would drive to a particular area and dismount, then patrol on foot in a tactical formation while I and the other Humvee would creep along slowly at the middle and rear of the formation. 

        Driving the Humvee had some benefits, the most obvious being that I got to ride instead of walk which was especially nice on a hot daytime patrol; another perk was the "freedom of expression while driving" that we exercised as liberators of Iraq: imagine twelve young Marines riding high on the adrenaline of invading a foreign country, all either in their teens or early twenties, with two beastly Humvees to play with.  We were certainly not "driving Miss Daisy" as we drove throughout the city; there was one instance where we actually topped out the speedometer at 55 mph on a highway leading out of the city, which is a big deal for an old humvee.  I witnessed one driver slam on the brakes and execute a "J-turn" on a side street, much to the disapproval of one Iraqi woman in her black burqua, who quickly walked away from the street, turning back to stare in searing indignation.  Two sergeants, who shall remain anonymous, got drunk on bootleg liquor purchased from an Iraqi peddler and attempted to "off-road" their Humvee and only succeeded in wrapping a long, very unyielding piece of rebar around the rear axle. 

        Aside from the "freedom of expression" that we exercised from time to time, we used the Humvees very effectively in Diwaniyah.  Humvees were to Iraq what helicopters were to Vietnam: tough, durable, and seemingly everywhere. 

View from the driver's seat

This small child really stuck out to me, taken on patrol through a slum of Diwaniyah

 On patrol through a business district, note the woman in a burqua at the far right of this photo.

Driving on the outskirts of Diwaniyah

 One of the many precocious Iraqi children that followed our Humvees while we were on patrol, they often asked for chocolate or cigarettes

Doc Lowry

This is a picture of one of my closest friends in Iraq, Nick Lowry, also known affectionately as "Doc".  It was taken on top of the Right Side Bank in Diwaniyah, about a mile or so from Camp Got Some.  He was 2nd squads Corpsman and joined us when we arrived in Kuwait before the invasion.  Like all Marines in a small unit setting, we were initially skeptical about this outsider as he was yet unproven to be able to "suck it up" and hang with us grunts in the field.  The most common problem was when our unit would get a Corpsman from a Navy hosptial or from the Battalion Aid Station who had spent too much time "in the rear" and not in the field.  This usually resulted in them falling out on long humps or foot patrols, especially if they were carrying packs.  

Doc Lowry soon proved to be more than able to hang with 2nd squad.  Friendly and soft spoken, Doc won my respect as a friend after one of our many training evolutions in Kuwait.  Our squad had just finished practicing immediate action drills; rushing towards the enemy, gettind down in the prone, firing, getting up, sprinting, getting in the prone, firing, getting up- repeating the process until the threat was eliminated...  Doc Lowry was rejoining us as we conducted our post training brief; he was no doubt as tired as the rest of us and could have walked to our group but instead Doc was in a full out sprint, wearing combat gear and carrying his 1st aid pack which weighed at least 40 lbs.  We all watched Doc as he sprinted several hundred meters towards us and finally stopped at our little huddle, panting for breath with a wide grin on his face.  This Doc had what it took. 

Doc further proved himself during our subsequent tour in Iraq: fighting in our first ambush against the Iraqi army, lending me his M-16 when my SAW jammed in the middle of a firefight against a unit of foreign jihad fighters from Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Doc conducting countless patrols with 2nd squad throughout Diwaniyah.     

SAW Range



A field expedient SAW range outside Diwaniyah, near a brick making compound.  Lt. Heath, Derek Jimenez, and others.  Practicing sustained bursts of fire, no less than five rounds per burst.


Mars over Iraq

In 2003, Mars made it's closest pass near earth in recorded history.  It was really easy to see from our camp, "Camp Got Some"- a play on words of 3/5's motto during the war- "Get Some".  Camp Got Some was an abandoned Iraqi army base (and I use that term loosely), outside the city of Diwaniyah.  In the late evening Mars was brilliant, illuminated in the dusky red light.  We would sit outside our squad bays at night when the air was a bit cooler; smoking cigarettes, and talking about anything but where we were and what we were doing.  I think it was a bit easier to see Mars since we were outside city limits so there was no light pollution to interfere.  Funny, Mars is the Roman god of war.  Go figure.