Camp Pozzi. GROM w Iraku - Audiobook mp3

e exact). Initially, as he recalls, the Navy SEALs somehow reminded him of the Sea Hunt television series -- it was all about beaches, girls, and beer, which seemed a good enough list of reasons to enlist. This is how, on our very first day of the war, we got to know a SEAL, whose service had started in the jungles of Vietnam. Who among us hasnt seen Rambo? It wasnt a very long way home for In Vietnam, the SEALs, including Pozzi, secured beaches ahead of Marine landings. It was a time of countless combat missions and patrols, and it was there that he first encountered an enemy face-to-face. Later in his career, he secured the landing of Apollo 12. He volunteered for the task, which definitely wasnt easy -- after the mission, he was just as exhausted as the astronauts returning from the Moon. This is how he became the first SEAL to meet the Apollo crew; his name appeared on TV. When Pozzi, at 54, wanted to enlist for the first Gulf War in 1990, the Medical Board rejected him as being "too old, too fat, and too dumb." Being a keen expert, he ended up going to Iraq regardless, and later, in 2003, he greeted us in Baghdad. At that point, nobody reproached him because of his age, or his belly for that matter. Pozzi was the mastermind behind our base setup. He built the entire infrastructure from scratch, took care of our supplies -- and, most importantly, he knew everything about our vehicles. He was also a generous man, raising money among the soldiers for a Catholic orphanage in Baghdad. Yet he remained a warrior until the very last days of his service, occasionally taking part in combat operations. The guy just loved to fight throughout his whole military career. No wonder our base was known as Camp Pozzi. Camp Jenny Pozzi, to be precise. Pozzis daughter was in the military too. He decided that instead of having the base named after him, he would rather honor her as a soldier. Thus, we called it Camp Jenny Pozzi. 1 PX, Post Exchange, base exchange -- a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading posts, they now resemble contemporary department stores or strip malls. 2. The Medical Board "Naval!" one of our combat section commanders, Robson, called me over as I was climbing the stairs to the department on my first day back at the unit after returning from the Persian Gulf. I had spent the last few weeks on mandatory leave, undergoing medical tests required upon our every return from a so-called mission abroad. Meanwhile, Robson got the order to form another component, which was to relieve some of the guys operating in Iraq and reinforce those staying. Without beating around the bush, he asked if Id be willing to go to war under his command. Most of my section was in Iraq at the time, and I had just returned from the waters of the Persian Gulf; when you get right down to it, I could stay -- but the most recent political decisions regarding the GROM meant that there were just enough of us at home to barely fill a roster for another round. Robson made it clear to me in a few words. "Sure, man, of course Ill go" was the only answer I could give. Our component was to be made up of three regular sections plus support from the guys in logistics, communications, and a few in operations. One section was to come from squadron "A"; another two were to be formed by the Maritime Element. I was overjoyed -- it meant that guys who had just come back from the Gulf with me would be going as well. Robson said the experience we gained during our MIOs[2] would count for a lot during the preparation period. Before we could start intensive training though, we had to take care of the mundane details of military life, collecting all the various defense department papers a soldier needs to be let off to war. The word "mission" surely doesnt reflect what we did on the waters of the Persian Gulf -- or what we were about to be doing in Iraq. Nowadays, the word "mission" is usually used to describe peacekeeping operations organized by the United Nations (I was on one of these in Lebanon). After the Persian Gulf, I know that our work there is not the same thing as a UN mission. Well -- its all the same to us what they call it; for politicians and journalists, I guess, its a somewhat softer description of the truth of war. As for the paperwork, let me let you in on who truly has the final say in whether or not you make it in army life. Nowadays, everyone who wants to be a soldier and go to war during their service has to be healthy as a horse. In the past, military service was compulsory for everyone -- as long as the basic medical tests didnt show anything that would disqualify them. Now its doctors that are the masters of service and war -- specifically, the Military Medical Board. In my personal archive, the biggest pile of paper comes from the Board in Warsaw. I have a bunch of different health certificates and statements of fitness for service, depending on what regu