Medic In Iraq

A Novel of the Iraq War

by Cole "Doc" Bolchoz

Told in journal format, this novel of the Iraq war is a fictional story that revolves around a medic and the day-to day activities of the unit he serves. He tries so hard to keep his men safe, in a world where safety is not an option.

ISBN 1-59431-547-7 Fiction / Iraq War

Cover Art © by Maggie Dix

Also available in HTML and RTF formats



December, 2006

December 12

I want to tell you about the importance of Ramadi to the United States Army and the war we are trying to win.

The Red Steel Platoon is attached to 1-41 Alpha Artillery Battery, part of the Army's First Brigade, Third Infantry Division.

We work with the Iraqi Police in Ramadi in Ana bar Province, and have secured the permeable post into one of the most insecure places in the province. This isn't Bagdad, so most Americans listening to the news don't think it is a dangerous place for us to be. You have to be kidding.

Only a few months ago, mortar shells were landing on our forward operation base at Ramadi. In August of 2006, the Jazeera Iraqi Police station, which we now occupy, was nearly leveled and eight Iraqi officers died due to insurgent action.

At that point, the Third Division got involved and we reclaimed large parts of Ramadi in the defensive. As a result, most of our soldiers here sit safely and watch the activities as the Iraqi Police run their patrols.

But it is ludicrous to make the false assumption that Ramadi is now safe for commerce and trade. Late in the day on July first, Jazeera was hit again with another blast so powerful soldiers on the forward base observed shock waves peeling away grains of sand from the buildings.

The blast set wooden doors off their hinges, destroyed a solid 12 foot steel storage room, shattered several windows in the Iraqi Police station, and threw A/C units around like they were matchbox cars in the hand of a first grader.

Throughout the history of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ramadi has been the site of gun-running and explosives manufacturing by various terrorist organizations. The city has also been identified as the artery for the passage of explosive materials, and the infiltration of insurgents from Syria as well. I have attempted to put this information into a working background for the reader so you can see to why Ramadi is important to its people and to America.

Ramadi has a population of about 400,000 people. Most of these inhabitants live within the ruins of a city that has no running water or reliable utilities. The lack of an economic infrastructure leaves many of the citizens to wander about the lanes of town looking for work amid the crumbling, brown and white tenements.

The side of town Ramadi Red Steel protects consists mainly of farmers who bring their produce to the various markets in town. To a Western observer, the heavy traffic should mean productive and prosperous people. Still, the gas merchants charge a kings ransom for gas, or benzene, as the Iraqi call it. Young boys can be found standing at attention beside 50 gallon metal or plastic containers of fuel. They use worn funnels and leaky hoses to pump this prized commodity into the waiting vehicles.

The Iraqi Police officers offer quite a story. They are different from our police back home. There are concerns about the open homosexuality among the officers at this station. The cult of male closeness may seem innocent and part of this civilization's accepted customs, but the Red Steel Platoon soldiers are appalled when we see these men sitting on each other laps and kissing each other in their distinctive blue uniforms in the vehicles we provide for them.

The Iraqi Police are dressed in chalk-colored blue shirts and dark blue pants and are easily recognizable among the more drably dressed residents. Many of these men hold hands while strolling about their sleeping quarters. Yesterday I saw two young men lying in a crude wooden bunk fondling one another, both dressed only in boxers and wife-beater undershirts. You would think they could keep their private life private, for God's sake. We are supposed to be watching out for each other, and our guys are getting killed while they play stink-finger around the corner. It makes me sick.

The irony of these open demonstrations of homosexuality is the fact that at least many of these officers have wives and children. It seems their philosophy tells them that women are for meant reproduction, and men are provided for sexual pleasure. The ancient Greeks were like that too. Huh. It makes you wonder.