Any Iraq/Afghanistan Vets here?

[lazarus4444]

Hi All,

I just wanted to start a thread for Iraq/Afghanistan vets. I was a contractor in Iraq for 32 months from March 2004-November 2006. Had good times, bad times and absolutely frightening times. If any of you were over "there" and are a n00b here I would love to help you out however I can.

[NCMedia]

Very noble of you.

Would be interesting to hear some of your stories. Feel free to break the ice for us, what was it like there overall? What was one of the most tense moments? How did you overcome postwar shit?

[tripple]

My dad is a contractor, he works in Iraq in Camp Victory or something.

[lazarus4444]

Very noble of you.

Would be interesting to hear some of your stories. Feel free to break the ice for us, what was it like there overall? What was one of the most tense moments? How did you overcome postwar shit?

Ok, i can break the ice. Just as a little backdrop, I saw no actual combat because I was designated mission essential but in a support role. My job was to go out to new small bases and setup communications with COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) equipment.

I left for Iraq in March 2004, right when all the contractors started getting kidnapped and their heads chopped off and their bodies shot, beaten, dragged burned and hung. Since I had never been in the military it was pretty damn scary.

Some of the people I started with decided to cut ties before they left the USA, others cut ties after they hit ground and experienced their first mortar or rocket attacks. Most of us stayed though and did what we had to do. Yes, we were there for the money, but I was there to help support the troops in whatever way I could (Cliche' i know but it's true).

My most intense moment was when I was at Camp Blue Diamond in the middle of Ramadi. At one point we were mortared and/or rocketed at the base for 10 straight days. I almost became shell shocked. If it would have lasted longer my ass would have been gone.

After the Fallujah offensive things got a LOT better in Ramadi. That was when I was sent on my next assignment elsewhere in the al anbar province. Basically, it was boring times freckled with very intense moments that I'll never forget.

I also got to ride in all sorts of different helicoptors because I was designated important enough to fly everywhere (for what its worth), i never thought so but flying decreases your exposure to danger. A blackhawk flight could take you 2 hours but a convoy all day. Would you rather be exposed to danger for two hours or all day? That was my way of thinking.

The funny thing is, when we invaded Iraq in the beginning I laughed at all those fools who were stupid enough to ride in military helo's because they were crashing all the time. Then I end up riding in them so many times I couldn't even tell you how many times....Murphy's Law, Karma, whatever you want to call it, you always have to watch yourself.

Some positives, i got to see the Temple of Abraham. It was really f'n cool, I enjoyed it immensely:

Temple of Abraham








On top of the temple

Arabic Sign at the archaeological site (IF you can translate please post it here)







Camel Buzzing in Southern Iraq



Lead blackhawk on our mission



As for when I got back...Well, my fiance' (now an ex-fiance') was a shrink and she thought i was depressed. Well, I left her and it turns out she was the source of it all, crazy bitch, lol. So now my life is great, right?

Well, I got home in late november 2006 and find out on March 13, 2007 that I have Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and it is not treatable, just cut it out and pray. I got a huge scar on my back but it's all gone (for now) and I'm healthy again. But, I never even got the option of chemo because melanoma isn't affected by chemo so i don't know if that was a plus or not.

Don't feel sorry for me if you are....Iraq & Cancer have irrevocably changed my life. It's weird, nothing stresses me out anymore. I mean i get the little stresses that are inevitable but shit doesn't affect me like it does most people and i'm VERY happy about that.

I just do what I gotta do and keep moving on because that is all you can do. When you think your going to die over and over for 3.5 years, that is enough stress to last a couple decades at least So, do i get stressed when i don't make a sale? Nope, change the landing page, drive more traffic. DOes it stress me out when i get a google slap? Nope, I just start another page and get that one to the top and try to figure out why it happened to me. Most shit doesn't matter once you've been through hell and back, believe me.

I know there are people out there with similar experiences too. So, i'm not affected in a bad way mentally with Iraq & Cancer. Although I do think being in Iraq caused that cancer but I can never prove it. There is enough latent radiation around there though to fak up all kinds of people. I know another guy here in town that went for only a year and when he came back he had cancer too, testical cancer. We're young guys, in our late 20's early 30's. I have no history of melanoma on either side of my family and neither did my buddy.

It'll be interesting to see how the other guys i know fare when they get home too. I expect in 10 years or so a pattern will emerge, we'll see how it goes. Enough rambling for now, if you have any questions post here or PM me, thanks for reading this ramble, lol.

[MedicAffiliate]

Ah, sharing your life's story on the net is always a cathartic experience.
And I'm glad to see someone defying the depressed soldier cliche and being changed for the better by experiences in war. All the best for the future, and let's keep that attitude up

[Vadym]

Terrific story, and I guess Iraq really set you up for this type of work such as marketing. You'd do well in day trading, since if you can lose emotion there, you're already rich.

My girlfriend is prone to Melanoma, and it kills me every time she goes into a tanning bed [I'm slowly but surely teaching her out of it], so I can't imagine the scare you got when you got the news, but I live by the ol' "if it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger" proverb, so goddamn it, you're one strong person in my eyes

[lazarus4444]

Thanks guys. I would suck at trading though, i'll always feel like i haven't learned enough. That is why i really and truly love these forex robots that Norb is pushing. I think robot trading is the way to go.

[NCMedia]

Fcuking wow.

I love war stories, and don't know enough soldiers. My opinion on the wars is... well not important here. All I can say Matt, you are one of the strongest people I know. You are absolutely correct in your way of thinking and not letting bullshit interfere in your day or in your emotions.

I wish I could give you a medal or something, wait I can, hopefully you'll get it from the brotherhood launch... Truly inspiring for anyone that is about to face something heavy in their lives.

I'm addicted to this shit so feel free to spill as much as you'd like, educate us, inform others of why you think they should or shouldn't do the army thing. Not sure if this is the right thing to do here but I watched a few youtube vids recently that touched me a bit, and had to post them.

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

[lazarus4444]

Honestly when you are out there it stops being about the government and politics and starts being about surviving and making sure your buddies survive too. I was never in the military, i did this all as a contractor. I think the military is worth it to bring structure to life and see the world and make the world more real for somebody.

Nowadays people are busy living their lives through reality tv shows and that is bullshit. Go out and live life yourself. Stop watching other people lose weight and go do it yourself. Stop watching dumb jocks get to pick from 20 beautiful women or whatever and go do it. The military can help with that, it is real, you see the world, experience life.

I feel guilty watching TV because i think i should be working on my project or doing something productive. That is what i got from Iraq....Hell, i worked 12 hour days 7 days a week for 32 months so working 4 weeks straight doesn't bother me like it would have before.