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Home from the war
By Deb Gau
Independent Staff Writer
For the last several months, Doug Brunsvold has experienced dust, heat and separation from friends and family as an Army National Guard first sergeant serving in Iraq. But what stands out most to him, he says, is probably the Iraqi children.
“The kids are very open,” Brunsvold said of his experiences meeting Iraqi youth. “They’re very friendly children. Guys will basically adopt some to themselves in special cases.”
Positives, like the friendships and local improvements Brunsvold has seen in the Baghdad area, are seldom seen in media coverage of Iraq, Brunsvold said. But they are there, he told members of the Reflections Family Readiness Group gathered at the National Guard Armory in Marshall on Thursday night. Brunsvold attended the meeting while on a 15-day leave from active duty.
Reflections is a support group made up of family and friends of local soldiers, organized by Brunsvold’s wife Carmen. The group has met monthly since the Battery “A” 1-151 Field Artillery Battalion was deployed last fall.
“We’re called ‘Reflections’ because we’re the reflections of the soldiers,” Carmen Brunsvold explained.
Doug Brunsvold answered questions from the group at Thursday’s meeting. One of the first questions raised was when will the battalion come home. To avoid rumors, Brunsvold stressed that nothing is certain yet. In the worst-case scenario, it could stay in Iraq until March 2006, he said.
“There are no promises for when we’re gonna come home,” Brunsvold said. “But we’re gonna come home.”
So far, the troops’ morale is pretty good, Brunsvold said. The unit is mainly providing support and training for Iraqi police in Baghdad, he said.
Brunsvold said the area is slowly starting to improve as a result of the training.
“We’ve instilled some pride into the Iraqi police officers,” he said.
Soldiers are also getting to know the local people, he said. Many Iraqis have offered the soldiers help, translating or pointing out explosive devices on the roads.
“We have a lot of good working relationships,” Brunsvold said. “We’ve made friends with a lot of them.”
Even with local support, the troops are being careful, Brunsvold said. Alertness is vital in an unstable and dangerous environment.
“They’re all very serious about their jobs,” Brunsvold said. “Your alertness is increased, because the only one you can rely on is you.”
Living conditions for the soldiers are comfortable, though a lot less temperate than in the States, Brunsvold said. The summer weather in Iraq, he said, is like a constant blast of heat from an oven broiler. Temperatures of over a hundred degrees are normal.
“Our interpreter classifies August as ‘the time of two hells,’” Brunsvold told the group. But the heat isn’t too bad, he added — air conditioning inside headquarters and barracks keeps temperatures down to about 80 degrees.
Brunsvold also has access to the Internet, and is able to contact Carmen every day while overseas. He says he also keeps in touch with his sons Eric and Quentin, both members of his unit, although not as often because of differing work duties.
Brunsvold said he didn’t really have to change gears when he returned to Minnesota, although he was glad to have a change from Iraq’s desert landscape.
“I was looking forward to some green for a long time,” he said.
Brunsvold returns to Iraq on Wednesday, but in the meantime he’s been catching up with friends and family. He took a trip to Bismarck, N.D., to visit his mother, and attended the Marshall Fire Department picnic.
Brunsvold said that everyday conditions in Iraq are getting better, but gradually. He used to see long lines of people on the street waiting to buy fuel, but not as much any more. The streets have a little less garbage on them, and the police are getting more effective.
“You don’t see the positive,” he said, referring to American media coverage. “It’s a slow process, but it’s getting better.”
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