BAGHDAD, Iraq — It's 121 degrees, and for 2nd platoon of B Company, another day of choking dust on the rural outskirts of Iraq's capitol.
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| The unrelenting heat of Iraq can be draining, with temperatures reaching 121 degrees, but members of 2nd Platoon, B Co., 2nd Battallion of the 299th Infantry Regiment say that their shared Hawai'i ties help them feel closer to home.
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The five heavily armored Hawai'i Army National Guard Humvees, their rooftop air conditioning units struggling against the blast furnace heat, rolled out of makeshift living quarters at the foot of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.
On this day, like many, 2nd platoon's mission wasn't high profile. But it is part of the backbone of what U.S. forces do in Iraq.
In this case, it was to maintain a presence on the streets, make "flash" stops of some vehicles to check for weapons and their occupants for possible ill intent, give out some soccer balls and Frisbees, and check a route for possible roadside bombs.
Nearly five months into their year-long deployment to Iraq, patrolling outside and guarding inside the sprawling network of bases that encircle Baghdad International Airport have become a daily drill for the citizen soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry.
So much so, they've pretty much left behind their old jobs as teachers and police, students and tradesmen.
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| Spc. Jerome Uyematsu, 27, of Wai'anae and a member 2nd Platoon, B Co., 2-299th Infantry Regiment splashes himself with water after a patrol in Baghdad. Between the unrelenting heat and talcum-like dirt that gets stirred up by vehicles, water is an essential for the soldiers.
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"You start to forget about what it was like to be back home," said Cpl. Richard Sauque, 23, from La'ie, who was a student at Brigham Young University-Hawai'i before the mobilization of more than 2,200 Hawai'i-based Guard soldiers.
Like all the soldiers, he was in full "battle rattle" — body armor plus extra magazines, M-4 rifle and Kevlar helmet — as the convoy rolled along dusty streets and past date palm groves.
"For me, sometimes I forget that at some point, this is going to be over," the 1999 Kahuku High School graduate said. "Seems so long ago (that I was in Hawai'i)."
The "Koa" battalion has more than 600 soldiers headquartered out of Camp Victory near the airport on the southwest side of Baghdad.
B Company commander Capt. Paul Agena, 36, has base security duties for a unit he can't talk about, entry control checkpoints, responsibility for a suburban area that is two-thirds favorable and one-third unfavorable to U.S. forces, and irrigation and freshwater drinking well projects.
On the recent hour-long mission — typically one of several 2nd platoon has in a day — the soldiers first pulled over a red, four-door sedan with three men in ankle-length dishdashas and a woman in traditional black dress and tribal tattoos on her face.
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| Spc. Lowen Lewi, 24, of Kona watches for approaching vehicles as traffic, at right rear, is kept from a nearby intersection where soldiers from his unit search a vehicle. With suicide car bombers the top killers of U.S. troops in Baghdad, such searches have become a common part of patrols. Some cars are searched randomly, and others are searched if the driver seems to be acting suspiciously.
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Such a "flash" stop is sometimes made at random, and sometimes if a driver is acting suspiciously.
Suicide car bombs are the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in the Baghdad area. Soldiers are correspondingly more on edge in convoys because of it, and prudent Iraqi drivers now pull over to the side of the road when a convoy passes.
In the region where B Company patrols, there was a rocket-propelled grenade attack about a week ago. The same night, the body of the son of a sheik who had been tortured and killed was dumped less than a mile away.
B Company patrols also have been shot at in some cases, and soldiers have heard bullets pass close by, but the 2nd of the 299th has not had any soldiers wounded in action so far.
Talcum-like dirt gets kicked up any time a Humvee leaves the road, obscuring the path for any following vehicles. Soldiers checking the red sedan on foot passed several chunks of tank tread among the litter on the roadside.
After a check of the car's engine compartment, trunk, interior and underside, the woman in black told the soldiers "shokran" (thank you in Arabic), and the group drove away.
Several miles away, in a sparsely populated neighborhood of one-story homes, barking dogs and children eager for handouts from soldiers, some soccer balls, Frisbees and water were given out.
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| Hawai'i National Guardsman Cpl. Richard Sauque, 23, of La'ie motions to an Iraqi child to come and get a Frisbee during a patrol in Baghdad. The boy at left was given a soccer ball a few minutes earlier. Such gifts are one way soldiers build ties with the Iraqi people.
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"My favorite job," said Spc. Saul McGirr, 24, a college student from Hilo who also worked at Starbucks before the deployment, as he hauled out the items from the back of the Humvee.
"Mistah! Mistah! Food," a barefoot boy of about 10 with an untucked shirt yelled to the soldiers.
In the back of one of the homes, Sgt. Daniel Cabilin, 30, from Makiki, tried — unsuccessfully because of the language barrier — to find out who was living there.
"American or Greece?" a smiling Iraqi in a white ankle-length dishdasha asked. Attempts at explaining about Hawai'i didn't seem to go very far.
"When we do the humanitarian missions — meet some locals, kids and adults — we'll make a friend and next time you'll see a familiar face," said McGirr, a medic who sometimes gets recognized on returns because he's 6 feet 3.
The National Guard unit's successes are measured in moderate accomplishments like detaining several Iraqis a couple of days before for having traces of explosives on them.
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| Pvt. Donald Wier, 18, of Wai'anae peers out the turret of his Humvee as his platoon rolls out for a patrol near Baghdad's airport. Body armor and other equipment worn by Guardsmen weigh more than 30 pounds.
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"Every day, these guys can't get enough of it. I'd say if anything, they're getting better at what they do," 1st Lt. Justin Otto, 25, said of his troops. The 2nd platoon lieutenant from Philadelphia joined the Hawai'i Guard because he knew the soldiers were heading to Iraq.
Comparisons always are made to regular Army units and their capabilities, but Otto said in many ways he believes his platoon is superior to some regular Army soldiers because of nearly a half year of experience in Iraq.
2nd platoon now is responsible for training three regular Army platoons on escalation of force and rules of engagement, he said.
Back at a garage the platoon uses as a briefing area, sweat-soaked Hawai'i Guardsmen piled out of the Humvees and peeled off body armor that weighs more than 30 pounds.
"OK, who needs IVs?" asked McGirr, only half-jokingly. Because of the heat, dehydration is never far off, and the soldiers constantly remind each other to drink lots of water.
The platoon performs a mix of off-base missions and entry control at base gates.
McGirr admitted "the job can get dull sometimes." But he added, "It's the guys you are with — that's what makes it all worth it."
Sitting shoulder to shoulder in the garage, the platoon of mostly younger Guardsmen joked about the Hawai'i bonds that tie them together — and Mainlanders assigned to the unit who are doing their best to catch up.
"Most of us have been together three to four years," Sauque said. "In some ways, it's still like being at home. We understand each other's broken English, and nobody freaks out at the strange food we get from home."
Some wanted to know what was happening back in Hawai'i because TV news and newspapers other than Stars & Stripes are scarce commodities and Internet time is limited.
Cabilin's family on the Big Island sent him Hawaii Skin Diver magazine. Like others, he said it reminds him of what he no longer has, for the time being.
"It makes you appreciate Hawai'i, hobbies, the things you left back," he said, "because you could jump in your truck and drive to the beach. Here, you gotta grab your (body armor), your weapon."
Staff Sgt. Fredrick Schaben, 35, from Waialua, who has been in the Hawai'i Guard for 13 years, is looking forward to seeing his 8-month-old daughter.
"I was there when she popped out. That was about it," he said. He deployed soon after. His wife sends him baby books to look at.
McGirr said he joined the Guard to "go see the world." That's what he got with the deployment to Iraq, and he's not unhappy about it.
"Not many people can say they've gone to the Middle East and served their country," he said.
