Interview With A Warrior: JawBreaker 2 Delta

JawBreaker2Delta

Thanks to the guys at Centcom, UCV was hooked up with a great Warrior Blogger for an interview. He is JawBreaker 2 Delta, one of America's finest, a good writer and funny as hell. JB2D will be deployed again soon and with everything he's got going on in his life, we truly appreciate the time he took to answer our questions.

So without further ado, here 'tis:

F MCDONALD: As a mom, I'll get a little personal. Are you married or single? Children? How is your family coping with the news of another deployment?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: Married just before my first deployment in 2004. 2 kids, 2 ½ and 6 months. My wife likes me being deployed as it means more money to pay for the house we are now buying. She worries, but knows I can get the job done and come back safe. My extended family is still freaking about the first one, let alone the up-coming one.

CARGOSQUID: As a blogger, are you having any restrictions other than operational security placed on your blogging?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: Well, I’ve been pretty well trained as to the Op-Sec issue. So no worries there. I’m also pretty sure that no-one in my current chain of command even knows about my little corner of the interweb. My old team knows, but not my new one.

CARGOSQUID: Have you thought about connecting with a local paper and being a freelance embed while deployed?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: I would love that idea. I also work at a television station, but I don’t think they could handle the truth.

CARGOSQUID: What would Your advice be for any green troop on his first deployment? What should he take/expect/etc?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: Well, you’ll get a ridiculous number of briefings. Some will apply and some won’t. Pay attention to them all, you’ll be able to determine what information is current and applies once you get there. Drink LOTS of water. If you’re not sure what gear to take, pack it, take it, you can ship it home after you determine you don’t need it. Chances ore, you’re gonna need it. Pancho, rain gear, gortex, poly-pros and the like. You’ll get a lot of stuff at RFI (Rapid Fielding Initiative) in Kuwait . Ask a LOT of questions of your counterpart/team you’re replacing. Get their SOP and look it over. It’ll help your team develop one that applies to your AO.

F22STRIKE: Do you have any contact with the embedded reporters that come to Iraq/Afghanistan, and if so, do they seem as if they do have an "agenda" when they cover the stories or ask questions of our military people?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: No. The majority of the “slanted” reporting seems to come from back here in the states ironically enough. You want the real deal, check out Michael Yon’s website or The Mil-Blogs. They’ll get you in the right direction.

F22STRIKE: In your opinion, what has been the most important thing to come out of the war so far?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: In my opinion, the most important thing that SHOULD come out of this WAR is that you can NOT win a war in 100 days(Desert Storm). Wars are long, hard, brutal and bad for your health. Once the American public realizes what it takes to WIN, it will make this a lot more understandable. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you sure as shootin don’t rebuild Iraq in a couple years.

F22STRIKE: In your opinion, are the people of Iraq (not the terrorists, or anyone supporting them) 1.) truly happy that Saddam is gone, and 2.) angry with America for our involvement in toppling Saddam?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: Just about EVERYONE is glad Saddam is gone. The only ones who are mad are the ones he gave power to. They had a very easy life. And they are ticked off they are one of the common folk.

F22STRIKE: Many politicians here have made loud and boisterous speeches about our troops having a lack of appropriate body armor. Some from the theatre have argued that we are in danger of adding too much body armor to the point that it impairs tactical performance.
Was there a crisis in the amount of available body armor to our troops?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: With the Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) and the average (sad that I can say that) 155mm artillery shell types of IED, there is no real effective armor, just varying degrees of safer. Case in point, before I left Baghdad , it was brought to my attention that turret gunners were going to begin wearing an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) type suit. Complete with it’s own air conditioner. Go ahead, Google that. I’ll wait…… What do you think? Wanna wear one in 120 degree weather in the turret of a Humvee flying down the highway at 70 mph trying to keep vehicles off your tail while dodging rocks thrown by kids and trying to win their hearts and minds? No. I didn’t think so. Thank you, next.

F22STRIKE: In your opinion, is the amount of body armor currently available to our troops more adequate, and do you feel the need to add more body armor to what you already have available?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: See above. Also, more armor can be a bad thing. It can get in the way and make it impossible to fire a rifle. I’m just fine with the Interceptor Body Armor.

F22STRIKE: If you could host a 15-minute interview on national television about this war, what message would you give to the American people?

JAWBREAKER 2 DELTA: Be patient. This is, not only a learning experience, but we are doing this the best way possible. To set a deadline would make things worse. You do this to STANDARD. NOT TIME. Don’t set these people up for failure. We don’t need another Saddam/Mahmoud/Qadafi. This is our chance to show all of them what we are capable of. Not only can we kick a country's ass, we can then fix said kicked ass and make it better.