Expectations, Reality - 2-7 Infantry Soldiers reflect on combat

Courtesy Photo | Pfc. David Teregis, of San Clemente, Calif., and Pfc. Justin Moon, of Weatherford, Texas, both of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry, sit out during the evening hours at Fire Base Four in Hit, Iraq.  

HIT, IRAQ

07.23.2007

Story by Spc. Ricardo Branch 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

Spc. Ricardo Branch
1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

HIT, Iraq – Expectations and reality for Soldiers new to the military can change at a moments notice. Some Soldiers enter the military expecting they are going to deploy and fight in constant battles against insurgents in Iraq.

Such was the case for two young Soldiers with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry when their expectations in Iraq and the reality on the ground were worlds apart from their initial entry.

Pfc. David Teregis, whose first unit is 2-7 Infantry, sits down and relaxes on his bunk in a small room he shares with three other guys.

Teregis, 20, of San Clemente, Calif., has been with the company for almost two years. In that short span he found himself immersed in a sea of training to prepare him for the challenging trials he would face when coming to Hit earlier this year.

"We took classes every day to get a better grasp of what 1-36 Infantry (the unit 2-7 Inf.) was doing here in Hit," he said. "We heard they were having trouble from improvised explosive devices, so we wanted to get as much information about the city as possible."

All the training at Fort Stewart, Ga., prepared the Soldiers for what they would be expected to face in Hit.

Teregis said that before deploying, his unit conducted a lot of training based on the experience of Iraq veterans and intelligence about the area in and around Hit.

"We did a lot of react to contact, battle drills, react to ambush, room clearance, classes on culture and lots on improvised explosive device procedures," he said.

Teregis believes the training prepared him for the worst. All the training however can't prepare anyone for a new enemy: complacency.

"I was really thinking worst case scenario," he said. "We heard there were lots of fire fights, react to contact and IEDs here. With all the training we did, we are prepared for the worst but it feels like things are getting too complacent around here."

The lack of serious engagements in Al-Anbar is a sentiment echoed by many of the Infantrymen scattered throughout the province. Some view the relative peace as a blessing; however some see the calm as a burden with more down time making it harder to stay focused with thoughts of home creeping a Soldier's conscious.

"You watch TV or pickup a Stars and Stripes newspaper to find out what's going on here in Iraq so you keep your head in the game," Teregis said. "Something can happen anytime. We hear a lot of what happens to the other Soldiers in 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad. You never know, we could move somewhere else where it might be more dangerous."

The relative quiet coming from Hit has made the stay like a double-edged sword for many of the Soldiers.

"Really we're itching for something to happen sometimes, but at the same time we don't want to have to worry about one of our buddies getting hurt," Teregis said. "Really you just want to stay busy and do what you're trained to do to keep your mind away from thoughts of home."

When the Soldiers conduct operations it can still be a harrowing experience for the most junior of men because in the relative calm, it's hard to tell who's the enemy.

"It's difficult sometimes because some people are ignorant of a Soldier's job," said Pfc. Justin Moon, who came to the company at the same time as Teregis. "Sometimes you'll be patrolling down the street and Iraqis will walk up through your formation or come up to talk to you. It's tough because you don't know if they are suicide bombers or someone trying to hurt you."

Moon, 21, of Weatherford, Texas, said that although they don't see contact, the calm these days is a big change from when the battalion first arrived in their area.

"I was worried, it was real dark, and we couldn't see what was around," he said. "Our sergeant was like, "we take sniper fire from here, we get mortared from here." We couldn't even use white or red light, and had to be in our gear for the first few months outside of our rooms ... for the first two weeks I was waiting for mortars to hit us."

Although many young Soldiers in 2-7 Infantry have usually only themselves to worry about, this deployment causes more stress on Moon because he's young, married and a father.

"Me and my wife have been together for three years," he said. "We've been married for a year and now I've been here longer than I've been married."

Laughing he said, "I got an Iraq honeymoon."

Regardless what the future holds, both Moon and Teregis have one message for anyone that thinks they may be getting complacent, "we're always ready."

• Date Taken: 07.23.2007
• Date Posted: 07.31.2007 13:21
• Story ID: 11552
• Location: HIT, IQ