I served with the 1-124 Infantry, Florida Army National Guard out of Miami. My job was the S2 NCOIC and the unit was stationed in Ramadi, Iraq from May 2003 to March 2004. Our mission as I understood it was to occupy Ramadi, provide security, help rebuild the police force and root out insurgents. This we accomplished effectively even though our training prior to deployment was to provide static security for Patriot Missile batteries.

Some of the things that stick out most in my mind was how many "close calls" or "should have beens" that our unit endudred while in Ramadi. Our Charlie Company had a three man gun truck crew take five IED hits on five separate occassions and suffer only a puctured ear drum. The same crew were 10 feet away from a 60 mm mortar impact and did not get hit by any shrapnel, although the truck lost a tire and received several shrapnel holes. In another case, an RPG was fired at a vehicle but went completely through the cab without causing damage, but the crew had stepped out of the vehicle only seconds before.

Before leaving our armory in Miami, our commander, LTC Mirabile had vowed to bring all of our soldiers home alive. That was a pretty bold statement for not knowing where or when we were going. A year later we returned with all soldiers alive, though a few suffered missing digits and near amputations. We were the only infantry unit at the time to not suffer any friendly KIA. Divine Providence was watching out for our small, unprepared and under strenth infantry unit.

Addendum: It has been almost a year since I returned and have learned even more about Ramadi. LTC Mirabile used his knowledge of colonial policing to keep Ramadi relatively quiet and stable. Ramadi's sheiks were held responsible for the actions of their tribes and also given construction contracts to help rebuild schools and other government buildings. The sheiks kept the tribes employed, which, in turn, kept them off the streets as insurgents. LTC Mirabile also acted as a defacto mayor and held the police chief accountable for his officers while our battalion trained his police force.

The Hurricane Battalion's soldiers would patrol in early morning and late evening in platoon strength looking for roadside IEDs and conducting raids for insurgents. Downtown Ramadi remained a thriving market place each day.

Divine Providence kept us safe. The skills and knowledge of Florida's citizen soldiers were used to accomplish a successful mission of rebuilding Iraq.

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