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 Subj: 5-Hello From Iraq From: Master Chief Michael J. Korman, US Navy Command Sergeant Major Civilian Police Assistance Training Team Hello My Dear Family and Friends: It has been quite a while since my last update. This is due more to the pace of work here. Each and every day I wake up here in Baghdad and don’t always know what the day will hold. Since my last update my team has added a few hundred Soldiers and my organization is over 1,000 total military and civilian personnel. Hard workers all, these Patriots from the US, our coalition partners and the local Iraq population amaze me every day with their commitment to mission, bravery and ingenuity in living in the most adverse conditions. Since my last email I have traveled throughout Iraq including trips to Mosul, Nasiriyah, Numiniyah and most notably to the Iraq/Syrian Border at Al Waleed. The picture above is with fellow Navy Chief Don Bunch on the left and Colonel Wenger, the head borders guru for Iraq right now. We were standing on the berm that separates the borders between Syria and Iraq. From the news you all know that this is a critically important region from which we can try to stem the flow of insurgents to Iraq. These insurgents are bad folks and it turns out they are rarely Iraqis. This is the same frustrated lot that we have run into in Kosovo and Bosnia before that. These insurgents don’t care about the people of Iraq, what they care about is taking the fight in whatever way they can to the US. Well, I say lets take ‘em on here to prevent them from harming our families back home. OK, so in the more than 1 month since I last wrote I also visited Amman, Jordan. My organization, CPATT, has a police training academy near Amman and I went for the graduation at the end  of last month. Amman is
another amazing city on this incredible journey of mine. A mix of old and new,
parts of the city are built to the highest construction standards with beautiful
hotels and parts of the country seem untouched in 2,000 years. It is amazing
the history that has happened in this part of the world. Right, I attached a
photo of the graduates prior to their parade to the Generals that were in
attendance. Very enthusiastic, the cadets all wanted their pictures taken and
then wanted copies. This is very common in Iraq. No doubt you all have heard in the news about the increase in car bombings throughout Iraq. I don’t mind telling you that all these boomers are very unsettling. The longer I am here you learn to gauge how far away some are and even what type or kind of explosive it is. I want all of you to know that I take the safety of all of my troops and myself as the highest priority. Trips outside the Green Zone are limited to mission critical trips only. Fortunately the security within the Green Zone is at the highest level and there have no no insurgent attacks here since I arrived. We are always vigilant though and work hard at improving security and safety every day. My hope is that all the fine and brave work being done by the Marines under  Operation Matador will pay off by increased security throughout
Iraq. The photo left is with Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger, US Army. He is the CSM for Multi-National Forces Iraq and General Casey. He is the senior Non Commissioned Officer in Iraq. He visited Adnon Palace a few weeks back to learn more about our missions and to meet with our troops. An inspirational guy, he is under consideration for the new Senior NCO post to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I hope he gets it. My last photo below is of a neighborhood in Baghdad. This is a pretty typical of Baghdad and the other major cities in the country. One recent change is all the satellite dishes on top of the buildings since the fall of the old regime. The creative sales agent that had the market on those dishes made some big money. Well, let me close by saying that I truly appreciate all the kind emails, letters and packages that I receive from the most generous people in the world. I donate most of my loot to other Soldiers here, or at the local hospital or within the community to local Iraqis. The smiles I see every day from the Iraqis make what we do here worth it. Please keep up your sprits up back home. I see some of the same news on TV that you do but please know that what we are doing here, rebuilding the Police Forces, will ultimately lead to a free government in Iraq.  I heard an interesting thought the other day; It won’t
be the Army that builds a democracy, never has it done so. It will be the civil authorities that enforce the laws of a free Nation that build the democracy. Please remember that it took our Nation many years to ratify the US Constitution. Our work here will be successful and will reverberate throughout the region as we have seen with the recent democratic rumblings in Lebanon. The fine patriots of Iraq will see to their own success with some help from us, the United States and our many partners. My Best to All of You, Your Friend, Mike Master Chief Michael J. Korman, US Navy Command Sergeant Major Civilian Police Assistance Training Team |
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