Fathers, Sons And Brothers: The Mission

Once In Iraq, The Guardsmen Face One Of The Most Dangerous Missions

(CBS)  Perhaps the worst place for a soldier in Iraq is Anbar province, the heart of the anti-American insurgency. And the most dangerous place there is on the road where the bombs are. It was the fate of the Iowa National Guard to be ordered to run convoy protection on the highways of Anbar province.

Two years ago, 60 Minutes and correspondent Scott Pelley began following the soldiers and the families of the 1st of the 133 Infantry, Iowa National Guard. On the road ahead of the Iowa guardsmen lay casualties, both in Iraq and at home.

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In March 2006, the soldiers traveled 6,600 miles. The guardsmen landed at their new home, the sprawling Al Asad Air Base.

There's a Subway sandwich shop and a coffee shop. The more the Army tries to make Al Asad like home, the stranger it seems: there's an armed guard posted outside the sandwich shop.

The guardsmen drew one of the most critical missions in the war: escorting the convoys that supply about 150,000 American troops. Everything is trucked in-millions of gallons of fuel, thousands of tons of supplies, from food to ammunition. The convoys are America's lifeline.

Scott Nisley is the guardsman who walked his daughter down the aisle. He’s unique in the battalion. Nisely spent a career in the Marine Corps and retired as a major. But he missed the military and took the only job the Guard had to offer and sacrificed nine levels of rank. Now he’s a staff sergeant, leading a patrol that scouts for the enemy ahead of the convoy.

Adam Wendling, who was so eager to get to Iraq, strapped a 60 Minutes camera on his helmet. On his very first convoy, the camera was off when Adam was hit by a roadside bomb. Seconds later, he turned the camera on.

"I saw a flash of red in front of me and then just felt like somebody hit me in the chest with a baseball bat, sucked all the wind out of me. And, there's smoke and debris flying everywhere, and it took, took a little bit to get back into sorts," he recalls.

Asked if he told his mother about that, Adam tells Pelley, "No, actually. I didn't. I didn't tell her about it. I didn't tell anyone about it actually."

The convoys are frequently attacked but there's not a lot the men can do about it. It's like waiting to get hit, endless hours of driving interrupted by an instant of terror. Some guys believe in God, some believe in the odds. Either way, they usually get through it.

To understand the experience, 60 Minutes cameraman Ray Bribiesca spent two months riding the roads with the Guard. The missions start before dawn and the routine is always the same.

There’s the briefing, the prayer, and the blessing of the lucky ladle. Everybody gets ladled-it's a good luck charm that has been to Afghanistan and that the soldiers brought along to Iraq.

For this run, the 60 Minutes team squeezed into a new kind of truck called an "Armored Security Vehicle." Adam Wendling, the gunner during the mission, sits in a sealed turret, using a scope and joystick to aim his machine gun and grenade launcher.

"Adam, what’s the mission? Describe to me what we’re doing here," Pelley asks.

"Right now we’re escorting KBR trucks," Adam explains.

KBR is an American contractor paid billions of dollars to deliver supplies. The convoy missions can last up to three days, some of them hauling supplies hundreds of miles from the Jordanian border. It's all hostile territory.

Asked what he can see up in the turret, Adam tells Pelley, "Right now I can mostly see desert rolling by. Mostly I just scan out in the desert to look for any potential threats."

Those threats are roadside bombs and suicide truck bombs. "Sometimes there are trucks out there, lurking in the distance and you keep an eye on them to make sure they're not doing anything they should not be doing," Adam explains.

[armybrat224]

Another thing to the family that went to where the guys were training to try and get pregnant you knew he was leaving for Iraq that he could be gone up to 24 months! I also thought the media could have shown how the families coped with their soldier being home and how the soldiers themselfs did when they got home and what services are out their for the soldier and their families and what services need to be but arnt!!! Some may call me cold hearted but my father left for a deployment on my 10th birthday so ive been their, this time I was seeing someone for 7 months knowing he was leaving for Iraq and having other great friends leave for Iraq. The care package goes out every two weeks the emails go out weekly, the yellow ribbons are on the car but yet the media still says we arnt supporting the war back home lol. Just like we are NOT making a difference last time I talked to the soldiers I know that are in Iraq and have been say we are, slow yes but we ARE making a difference.

[armybrat224]

When I got the email from the support group saying Iowa soldiers were going to be on 60 mins I thought great. Boy was I a foul. Growing up in a military family in Iowa and then having ALOT of my very close friends leave for 2ed and 3rd tours in Iraq and soon to join myself, I do know alittle about military life. First off when you get your orders for any type of deployment its for 24 MONTHS NOT 18 THAT MEANS THERE IS A CHANCE YOU WILL BE DEPLOYED 24 MONTHS most only 18 so its really not an extension its just doing your job that you signed up to do. Second from what I got from this was their only mission was to do convoy escorting from point A to point B so how can they really commit on if we are making a difference in Iraq or not if they arent interacting with the people of Iraq etc? Also I was disappointed to see how the media showed the soldiers views after getting the news they would be staying longer then expected.Im getting out when I get home, Ive done enough time etc what about are Iowa national guard soldiers that are on their 3 tours? The ones that havent been home long enough to hold down a job in between deployments? Do we hear them saying im getting out, ive done enough time?

[njva17420]

To helendem --

Good point, but give the men their due.

[helendem]

What about the Mothers, Daughters and Sisters who also lose life and limb in this war? Do they count for nothing?

[feelfree1]

The Bush Butchers' Bill- A Memorial Day Reflection:

The Iraqis-

According to the best available estimate, published in the Lancet, last October, the illegal war against Iraq had claimed the lives of 655,000 Iraqis, with more than 200,000 Iraqis dead as a direct result of U.S. bombs and bullets.

By now, with violence and chaos steadily increasing since that time, we can probably be safe in estimating the death toll on Iraqis at 1 million. With 1 million dead Iraqis as a result of the Bush regime invasion, we may easily conclude that millions of Iraqis have been injured and/or maimed by now.

Some 4 million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes, so far, with 2 million of them forced to flee the country, and another 2 million displaced internally.

We have seen wedding parties slaughtered for the air, a young girl gang raped, murdered, and set on fire by U.S. soldiers, and we have seen Iraqi children spattered with the blood of their parents by trigger-happy U.S. troops at checkpoints.

We have seen Iraqis tortured, raped, and soddomized by various U.S. agents. Most Iraqis still lack electricity, safe drinking water, and employment.

This is the legacy of the illegitimate and contemptible Bush regime.

[feelfree1]

The Bush Butchers' Bill- A Memorial Day Reflection:

American toll-

We note that the Bush regime has wasted 104 U.S. military lives in Iraq, so far this month, bringing their official U.S. military death toll to 3,731. We see another 600+ U.S. mercenaries dead since the beginning of the illegal invasion of Iraq, and 390 U.S. military dead in Afghanistan. We see tens of thousands more U.S. service men and woman injured and maimed from these military misadventures.

And at home? We know that the Bush regime was notified that the levies in New Orleans were constructed 18 inches too low, as a result of an Army Corpse of Engineers calculation error, and as reported by investigative journalist, Greg Palast. Out of incompetence, &/or out of apathy, the members of the Bush regime failed to take any corrective action, resulting in the deaths of another 1,500 Americans. We have yet to see how many Americans will die as a result of the Bush regime declaring the poisoned air in New York City, following the 9/11/01 attacks, to be safe.

Just from the above figures alone, we can conclude that the actions and policies of the illegitimate Bush regime have claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Americans.

This is the legacy of the Bush regime.

Happy Memorial Day.

[paclady1]

My son-in-law is one of those serving in the 1/133. His footage however must be somewhere on the cutting room floor. Since he and my daughter had moved to NY in the spring of 2005, before getting his deployment notice, I guess he didn't fit into the band of brothers theme for the show. Unlike the women in your story, my daughter gets her notices via army e-mail, there is no person from the army there for her to express her feelings too. The army assumes that she'll deal with it on her own or that her family will be there to pick up the pieces. Luckily for the army, her family is there, but that can't replace her husband. Since being deployed, my grandson has been born, my son-in-law has only seen him for 2 weeks out his 14 month life, and my son-in-laws mothers kidney transplant has failed. After the extension of their tour was announced, my daughter tried to do an emergency request so my, son-in-law could come home for a visit to see his mom, but this request was denied. It would have meant so much to my daughter and grandson and to his mom to see him in his surroundings in Iraq, performing the mission that he has been taken away from us to do. It's too bad that 60 minutes didn't focus more on all the men and on the units mission. To all those familys who got to see their loved ones, we are so happy for you. Lets hope that this time they will all really return in July like they are now scheduled to.

[feelfree1]

khubbell3,

Re: "After watching your story on the boys from Iowa, I was ashamed of myself for having sacraficed NOTHING so far in this war on terror."

You should be ashamed, and if you are ignorant enough to still support this illegal and disgraceful war, then you are far more qualified to be eliminated from the gene pool than most of Americans, and every single Iraqi.

What are you waiting for?

[khubbell3]

After watching your story on the boys from Iowa, I was ashamed of myself for having sacraficed NOTHING so far in this war on terror. The only people sacraficing are the families who send their loved ones over seas. I support this war and our soliders. I'm tired of being lumped into the group of "American's" that are against the war. Rather this war was the right choice or not is besides the point. Hind sight is 20/20. We are there now and we HAVE to finish what we started. To leave now would only empower these thugs and make us look like cowards. They do not think like us. They do not have the same standards as we do. They are not reasonable human beings. THEY WANT US ALL DEAD! We have to remember what happened on 9/11! Thank You to our troops and the families who are missing them. You are the real hero's and I wish there was more I could do.

[duhnet1]

father and son different points of view. I see it reflects the view of most age gaps.The older generation is subservient to our government, which is hard to believe after Vietnam.We were told to fight over there so we don't have to here.Everyone is scared we are going to be taken over.I fear the gov. more than I fear I will be praying to Allah. The president asked if we want to go after them, and we said yes then bush took the wrong road and jumped off a cliff.90% of the hijackers were Saudi. Osama was In Afghanistan not Iraq. No thought went into studying history and to see that fighting there has been present since before Christ. Of course Bush thinks god chose him. so he hasn't had a lot of time study this biblical stuff.He may not of taken any history at Harvard either.This land is the peoples land and I believe that we as a people will fight and defend it as necessary.I do appreciate all in the military and I also think we were duped in going after the bush family's enemy not the people of America threat.We are losing freedoms here at home and we aren't even at war here.Police are everywhere homeland security is hugely funded and the only thing I heard them do was get on the tv about the snow days missed from school. 7 million people are in prison or on probation in this country. 50% of Americans don't have health care. This is a scared generation. You ought be scared that after we are broke from war, this may be a third world country.

[duhnet1]

father and son different points of view. I see it reflects the view of most age gaps.The older generation is subservient to our government, which is hard to believe after Vietnam.We were told to fight over there so we don't have to here.Everyone is scared we are going to be taken over.I fear the gov. more than I fear I will be praying to Allah. The president asked if we want to go after them, and we said yes then bush took the wrong road and jumped off a cliff.90% of the hijackers were Saudi. Osama was In Afghanistan not Iraq. No thought went into studying history and to see that fighting there has been present since before Christ. Of course Bush thinks god chose him. so he hasn't had a lot of time study this biblical stuff.He may not of taken any history at Harvard either.This land is the peoples land and I believe that we as a people will fight and defend it as necessary.I do appreciate all in the military and I also think we were duped in going after the bush family's enemy not the people of America threat.We are losing freedoms here at home and we aren't even at war here.We are losing it to our own government.Police are everywhere homeland security is hugely funded and the only thing I heard them do was get on the tv about the snow days missed from school. 7 million people are in prison or on probation in this country. 50% of Americans don't have health care. This is a scared generation. You ought be scared that after we are broke from war, this may be a third world country.

[feelfree1]

Here is a letter posted online, allegedly from an Iraqi war veteran, ofering their opinion on the U.S. occupation of Iraq (excerpts):

'You ******* and that god-*** lying sack of *** they call a president are the reason my husband will never see his baby and my kid will never meet his dad.'

'And you know what the most ******* up thing about this Iraq *** is? They don't want us there. They're not happy we came and they want us out NOW. We ******* up their lives even worse than they already were and they're pissed off. We didn't help them and we're not helping them now. That's what our soldiers are dying for.'

'*** you, war supporters, George W. Bush, and all the god *** mother ******* who made the war possible. I hope you burn in hell.'

www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/309485032.html

[sbstephens]

Congratulations, once again you have succeeded in producing an extensive coverage void of all the facts resulting in the message you wanted to tell...at the expense of heroes and families in Iowa. They welcomed you into their lives at this difficult time so that you can edit in the "****** in the armor" of the National Guard and their losses. Furthermore, you edited out any successes with the exception of a "killed" tanker truck. Another shameful episode. Sleep well.

[remade2]

WOW! What planet is Iowa? I've not seen such faith in all of Modern Day America. Is this a
dream? Real Americans? Faithful? Unafraid? Loyal? Patriotic? Mature? Forgiving? Unselfish? Loving, whole,'normal', even Godly families? What happened to Jerry Springer's
and Hollywood's America? You mean, there are other types of humans that live here? Will
this different portrait of Americans be available for our enemies to see as well as the
others? I'm encouraged that there is hope for this country after all. There is good news
worth watching. All salt hasn't lost it's savor. I am thankful to have seen such reality
TV. Real Men and Real Women. Praise-worthy lives. Makes me want to keep on praying for them,
and their families, this country,etc. How can we help them? What has happened to a mandatory
draft, so that our resources won't be so stretched out, and our good people can get home quicker.
I am proud of them and there families. I am not against them at all. Everybody does not hate our government and our troops, thank you again.Such self hatred and dis-unity only benefits our enemies. By the way, the world is not becoming safer, and we will need larger armed forces for world security.
If the world is taken over by the Islamo-Fascist, as they wish it to, there will only be more blowing each other up anyway. I don't see where they love themselves, or that their god loves them, anymore than they love us. God Bless America! God Bless Our Troops, Indeed!

[bettiemader]

I just watched the segment, and I have to say that I am very disappointed. For the commentator to tell those soldiers that most of the people at home are against their mission (the war) I think is incomprehensible! They are over there risking their lives for us every day. I have a brother, nephew and many friends that served tours over there, and I get a much different viewpoint from them. The media needs to cover ALL aspects of a situation!!!! The people over there that are grateful for us being there. The soldiers that interact with the people...play with the kids, get hugs from the adults, and many many more things that I NEVER see in the media. It's your responsibility to be truthful, and thorough!!! How do you think these soldiers feel hearing someone tell them that most people at home are against the war!!! They risk their lives, and they need to believe in what they're doing for their own piece of mind. Attitude is everything!!!! HE WAS WRONG!!!! Most of the people at home ARE NOT against the war!!!! Some of us continue to stand for what we believed in on 9/11!!! I hope I never hear another reporter tell a soldier over there that we are against what they are doing!!! We are proud of them!!!