Iraqi Interpreters Face Grim Future in Iraq

Immersed in darkness, I rock and bob in the back of an MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected) tactical vehicle. The smell of smoke, burning tires, and sewage fills the rear compartment as we drive over the Trash City portion of Baghdad.

Somewhere under Main Supply Route (MSR) we are driving on is a village of people living in garbage.

I glance at the interpreter, dubbed “Jimmy.” He sits across from me in the darkness. He looks as tired as I feel. His eyes are closed, and his hands are folded across the harness that holds him in his seat. Earlier that day, he told us that twenty interpreters had been killed last month from his linguist company. He attributes it to “Iranian elements in the Iraqi government” who view the interpreters as traitors.

The most recent Status of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the United States considers the Iraqi local interpreters to be Iraqi citizens working in a foreign company. They now tax the income of the interpreters and require them to fill out a form that includes their personal information including their real names, family names, and addresses. “As soon as we turned in our personal information, interpreters started getting killed, man,” Jimmy says.

“Now they got our names, man. I got to get to the States or I am a dead. It's not going to be pretty when you guys leave.” Jimmy says. He is one interview and a “medical check” away from gaining what he called “refugee status” which would grant him a visa to live in the United States.

“Where are you going to live in America if you can get a visa?” I ask him.

“I don't care, man, as long as I get there,” he says.

Approximately 9000 Iraqis work for the United States in Iraq. This doesn't include the Iraqis who work for various government agencies and contractors, estimated in the tens of thousands.

“Rough road coming,” the driver's voice mutters into our headsets.

The MRAP thunders over some torn-up concrete. The massive armored box heaves, tossing Jimmy and me into the air. Once gravity slams us back down in our seats, we re-adjust into a comfortable position and rub down body parts that glanced off the fire extinguishers, ammo boxes, and assault packs. We shift our Kevlar helmets which just prevented concussions on the vehicle ceiling. We curse under our breath in English. Sweat pours down our necks.

“Sorry,” the driver said over the headset. “Nothing I could do about that.”

We settle back into our exhausted stupors.

According to a Times Online article posted July 15, a group of 25 Iraqi interpreters sued the British government for failing to provide adequate protection from militia groups who viewed the interpreters as traitors. The interpreters argue that they were due a “duty of care.”

The interpreters served the British Armed Forces while performing missions in Iraq. Britain had provided an assistance program for interpreters and relocated 200 former workers, including some family members. Another 700 interpreters failed to qualify for the program which was only made available to interpreters who had served 12 consecutive months since 2005.

Troops on the ground find the interpreters an invaluable bridge between cultures, an asset which de-escalates tense situations and streamlines communication in situations where a disconnect can lead to violence.

Sweat pours from us. It sops the clothing under my body armor and drizzles down my forehead, stinging my eyes. I wipe the sweat away, lean back, and watch the city lights gleam through the blast windows. This young Iraqi man, who daily risks his life for a free future in Iraq, whose picture hangs in numerous mosques with a reward for his death, fights daily for a secure and satisfying future. He exists between murderous shifting shadows and the shimmering light of justice.

Wisconsin Military Nurses Forge a Powerful Legacy

Nowhere are nurses more valued and needed than in war zones. From Dorothea Dix to Clara Barton to Florence Nightingale, these women bravely entered the most intense arenas of tragedy and human suffering armed with courage, compassion, and medical skill sets that resulted in patients and witnesses describing them as “ministering angels.” Their noble souls fought for an end to unhygienic conditions that killed more soldiers by disease than combat. They demanded dignity for their patients, and they struggled to ease the suffering of those affected by the jaws of war. Their legacy continues today. Building on the foundation of hundreds of years of medical advancement, nurses are contributing to saving more lives on and around the battlefield than ever recorded in history. They are masters of trauma treatment and preventative medicine.

Two of them are Wisconsin's own Major Rebecca Giese and Major Mary Jo Literski.  

Major Rebecca Giese is a Registered Nurse from Baraboo, Wisconsin, who performs case management full time for the Wisconsin Army National Guard. She is currently serving on active duty to assist in the largest deployment of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers since World War II. Over 3200 soldiers from Wisconsin have been called upon to serve in Iraq.

“The soldiers are engaged in pre-mobilization training during March and April 2009 and will serve in Iraq from May 2009 until spring of 2010," Giese says. "It's my job to ensure that soldiers are medically ready and able to perform their difficult job. This includes ensuring that soldiers meet a variety of requirements including pre-deployment immunizations, height and weight standards, dental health, and vision and hearing testing.”

Giese speaks about her decision to join the military. “My grandfather served during World War Two. I've always been patriotic and very proud of my grandfather. I joined the Army when I was seventeen years old—my mother had to sign my enlistment papers for me because I wasn't eighteen. Numerous uncles have also served. I just knew it was something I needed to do. I enjoy the military and intend to serve as long as I am able.”

A veteran of Desert Storm where she served in a field hospital, Giese began her career with U.S. Army Combat Medic training, followed by an LPN degree from Madison Area Technical College. Soon after, she achieved her Associates Degree in Nursing from MATC, followed by a BSN from Viterbo in La Crosse. Her experience includes medical/surgical nursing, labor/delivery/postpartum nursing, as well as working for a local Health Department.

She states of her current position: “I enjoy all types of nursing, but at this point in my life, I really enjoy working with injured soldiers. It's my part of assisting in the war effort. One of the most difficult parts of my job is knowing that some of the soldiers I encounter daily have been deployed as many as three times. It's also hard to watch soldiers who are stopped from deploying due to medical issues feel let down when they can't serve with their guys. Counteracting these experiences are the great pride and satisfaction I feel in seeing soldiers leave their jobs and families and not complain or look back in the face of doing their duty.” Freedom is not free, as they say, and the bonds of combat veterans run deep.

Major Mary Jo Literski is an Orthopedic Certified Registered Nurse who lives in Wausau, Wisconsin. She completed her Associates Degree in Nursing from Northcentral Technical School then achieved her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and was deployed with Milwaukee's 452d Combat Support Hospital to Bagram, Afghanistan in 2003. Prior to that, she worked on an orthopedic/neurological unit in Wausau.

She states, “During my tour in Afghanistan, we provided the highest level of care available in the country. When you are overseas, you still practice according to ANA guidelines. We still want to accomplish the same goals but how you accomplish your job, the equipment you use, and the ingenuity used changes with every situation.”

Literski's patients were not limited to U.S. soldiers. Local civilians were admitted for life, limb, or eyesight threatening injuries if beds were available. “I spent most of my time in an Intermediate Care Ward and assisted in the Emergency Department for trauma patients. We also performed humanitarian missions to local villages.”

“The main threats we faced were rockets, insurgents, and landmines, but some of the most frightening things were the camel spiders—I hate spiders, especially big ones--and mice that shared our sleeping areas and sneaked into the hospital, not to mention the lice infestations of the local patients.”In a country torn by decades of warfare, millions of landmines remain. Children often fall victim to these unseen dangers. “I was amazed by the resilience of the children,” Literski says. “We treated many with blast injuries from landmines. They lived in primitive conditions and rarely had any present family members.”  

Recollecting a ten year old patient, Literski says, "One little girl lost both legs to a landmine, suffered many soft tissue injuries to her arms, shrapnel to her torso, and had a colostomy. I accompanied her to her home village after teaching her wound care of stumps, arms, and colostomy care—keep in mind that she was only about ten years old. She showed up six months later happy and healthy in the wheelchair that we provided since she was a bilateral amputee. Her colostomy take down was successful, and it was rewarding to see that part of her return to normal function. At the time, she showed me a photograph of the two of us that had been taken soon after her injury. She had sewn it into a pocket of her garb. Although we only spoke a few common words, we shared a deep bond.”

Literski gives the following advice to those considering military nursing: “You need to be flexible, have a good support system, and know what relaxes you, whether that means reading, watching DVD's, prayer, writing, or using your computer. You also need to stay in contact with your family, but you won't be able to share everything with them. Some things are only meant to be discussed with those working with you. You have to remember that things will not be done just like at home. The injuries are different, and the language may be different. The supplies are limited and in a mass casualty situation, the most severely injured may get the least care so as to save the most lives—almost the complete opposite as in the civilian world. Above all of these stresses is the biggest reward, the appreciation. Whether American soldier, a coalition soldier, or a local civilian, the biggest difference between military and civilian nursing is that the people you serve overseas are much more appreciative of all your efforts and hard work.”

According to the Population Reference Bureau (Vol. 59, No. 4, Dec. 2004) only 1% of the overall population of the United States have served in the armed forces. This noble one percent selflessly serve their country and their fellow human beings, putting their own comfort aside to help others. Wisconsin nurses are numbered among these brave few. They continue to forge both a legacy of freedom and of healing.

published in Wisconsin Nurses Magazine 7/2009

The Power of Baseball

I'm standing in sand. The sun is blazing over Fort Bliss, Texas. Ten miles south, just beyond the US border with Mexico, drug cartels are murdering people by the hundreds. Open source reports put the number of dead at more than 1000 since January. The sand is so hot that I can feel the heat through the soles of my boots.

I'm embedded in a group of Army National Guard soldiers from Wisconsin who are deploying to Iraq. During their welcome to Fort Bliss, military leaders said that it's less dangerous in Baghdad than it is on the Mexican border.

They eat their breakfasts in chow halls while the television reports on the economic crisis. Soldiers remark about the stimulus packages that Congress is reeling out and wonder if it's a good idea to borrow billions from China. One soldier, in a moment of downtime before going to bed, reads from Alexander Tyler's “The Cycle of Democracy” published in 1770.

“Nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage.”

A mild debate occurs regarding where America is at in this proposed cycle.

The debate doesn't last long. Their thoughts are heavy with news that a soldier who had been with the unit for 6 years was just killed in Afghanistan by an Improvised Explosive Device after being deployed with another unit. Eyes go wet with memories and settle into a thousand yard stare as they cope with business they've chosen. It won't be long before these Texas sands become Middle Eastern sands.

Times have never been so uncertain. When in the company of these brave men and women who are offering all for their nation, one's soul becomes ravenous for unity and strong, sensible civic leadership. These young people deserve it.

They, of all Americans, have earned the right to deserve such leadership. They heave their packs on their backs and sling their weapons in the intense heat. These young people embody the best values of their nation and possess a character which doesn't simply make an argument and then evacuate to comfort. They stand in harm's way to establish it.

It is an argument of freedom, of representative democracy, of mutual respect, of tolerance. It is an argument for a peaceful society where people are able to pursue the ends of their abilities without oppression and degradation. Those who decide to send these brave soldiers forward to fight for the preservation and protection of American interests possess a massive mantel of moral responsibility.

When these soldiers are about to be overwhelmed by the ferocious and chaotic portrait of the world they are forced to face, a simple white baseball emerges. When you think these young soldiers have been stressed to the end of their capabilities with language training, culture immersion, convoy operation tactics, physical exercise, marksmanship, dehydration, casualty carries, and sunburn, baseball gloves emerge from bunks. Soldiers who have been released for the day push through the door of the barracks and into the sand in their PT shorts and t-shirts.

The sun swipes the horizon with orange and red. Before this backdrop an ever-widening game of catch unfolds. A squad leader throws to a team leader. The ball smacks the dusty leather glove. A team leader grips the ball and makes the throw to his gunner or driver. The talk begins. The chatter about who's reporting to spring training, who did or didn't report to training camp, who's confessing to steroid use, who's going to hit the most homeruns, who's a garbage pail, and who's money. All this between the throws and the crisp smack of the leather.

The sun dips below the horizon. These sons and daughters of America immerse themselves in the miracle of American baseball. The warm blowing wind peppers their skin with grains of sand but their minds are revisiting a Midwestern ball diamond.

Instead of sand stretching for miles, there is fresh-trimmed greenery from the infield to the fence. Vendors are calling out “Cold beer!” and “Hot dogs, here!” The occasional scent of cigar smoke wafts by. They're catching up with their buddies in between pitches, lunging for foul balls as they drop, heckling the visiting team, and rising to their feet to watch the long balls meteor into the outfield stands. Future National Anthems will nevermore merely be song sung. It will wet their eyes for fallen brethren, and steel the heart with sacrificial pride as the wind shimmers through the flag.

They will face their next challenges bravely, and assault forward into all the tumult of this wild world. A bravery like this could not be sustained without a deep and abiding peace that exists between the foul lines in a simple game of catch.

Free Runners Invade London

Book your flight to London now. The 2009 Barclaycard World Freerun Championship is scheduled for August 15. Trafalgar Square is where you can tell your cabbie to take you. Joining you will be 25 of the world's best freerunners, 7500 spectators, and people from more than 15 nations who want to see urban movement artists 360 wallrun, reverse vault, and front flip their way through an urban obstacle course using only their bodies and momentum.

Free running is the more self-indulgent and acrobatic version of “parkour.”

Parkour was founded by David Belle. More similar to a martial art than to a sport, Belle crafted evasion and chase into a physical artform where urban or rural obstacles are overcome as efficiently, smoothly, and quickly as possible using only the human body. Belle has stated that the philosophy of parkour is to “surpass any obstacle, physical or mental.”

Born in Fecamp, France, Belle drew from his military, gymnastic, climbing, and martial arts experience to create the physical artform. As parkour gained notoriety, marketers sought to tap the American market and called the artform “free running.”

Free running diverged from Belle's parkour philosophy and began to include acrobatics, tricking, and street stunts in pursuit of a more aesthetically pleasing and athletic movement. Sebastien Foucan, featured in the film “Jump London,” defines free running as “a discipline to self-development, following your own way.”

The term “free running” was coined by Guillaume Pelletier. Foucan states that the goals of free running are “using the environment to develop yourself, to always keep moving, and not go backward.”

Four judges will judge competitors in London in four categories. Categories include technical difficulty, execution, creativity, and fluidity.

According to www.urbanfreeflow.com, technical difficulty evaluation covers the complexity of techniques. Execution is “based on how cleanly the athletes perform overall.” This covers the “mechanics of the moves, posture, foot placement, and how cleanly the athletes land.” Creativity is judged on “how well the athletes use their environment to create movement. We encourage the full use of the course but leave it to the athletes to determine how they choose to do so.” Fluidity judges how well an athlete “transitions between moves. The execution of the techniques are very important, but linking the moves together is vital in order to maintain flow.”

Two heats are scheduled. Each competitor will compete in individual runs of 60 seconds. The top 10 scoring runners will advance to the next heat. The best 3 scores in the second heat will “make it to the podium.” There will also be a “Trick of the Event” award which is chosen from the totality of the runs and can be won by anyone.

Gabriel “Jaywalker” Nunez, an American, will be defending his title.