Commander: "Christmas is just another day" in Iraq

There are turkey dinners, gifts and fake Christmas trees on hand at their base in Iraq. But as the holiday season rolls around, many soldiers in the Washington National Guard's Alpha Company prefer to stay busy so their thoughts don't dwell too much on family. That means more nighttime duty as they take to the highways to guard convoys of food, fuel and other supplies that sustain U.S. troops in central and northern Iraq.

"Quite honestly, Christmas is just another day over here," said Capt. Daniel Bugbee, the company commander of the 130 soldiers of Alpha Company, in a telephone interview from Iraq.

Alpha Company is part of the 81st Brigade Combat Team, which is composed of some 2,400 Washington soldiers, as well as about 900 from California and other states.

As the Christmas season arrives, the brigade is about two months into a roughly 10-month tour of duty in Iraq.

This is a second Iraq deployment for the 81st Brigade, and comes at a time of transition for U.S. forces as they cede more of the neighborhood patrols to Iraqi forces. That trend is expected to accelerate next year as a new pact calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities by June, and an exit of all U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011.

So far this year, the 81st Brigade soldiers are largely focused on base security, supporting base services such as housing and protecting convoys. The brigade has been split up, with the headquarters unit in Ramadi in Al Anbar province, and units in Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul, Balad and other locations.

For the soldiers of Alpha Company, their main view of the world outside their base comes in night-convoy missions. They travel in armored vehicles, wielding spotlights to help pierce the darkness as they search for signs of roadside bombs.

It is a frustratingly narrow window on Iraq. Many of these Washington National Guard soldiers got to know the country on more intimate terms during a first tour of duty in 2004-2005, when they helped patrol neighborhoods, guard health clinics and safeguard polls during a historic Iraqi election.

"I think I can speak for everybody in the company: All of us would rather be doing the missions we had before," said Staff Sgt. Tim Waters. "We all miss the contact we had with Iraqis."

Alpha Company is based at Joint Air Base Balad, a huge installation in central Iraq that once was the training ground for the Iraqi Air Force under Saddam Hussein.

Several nights a week, company soldiers head out of the base to protect convoys that have long been a favorite target of insurgent attacks.

This year, as the violence in Iraq has ebbed, so, too, have the attacks. U.S. troops are also better protected than before. The Washington National Guard uses heavily armored Humvees, Armored Security Vehicles and a new generation of vehicles known as the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected).

Alpha Company is part of the 1-161st Battalion, a unit of more than 750 soldiers that currently reports about two bomb attacks a week.

So far, there has been one significant injury that required a medical evacuation, according to Bugbee.

Waters said he was involved in one bomb attack on the night of Dec. 12 that damaged a convoy truck.

Back at the Balad base, the soldiers spend their shifts maintaining equipment and vehicles and planning details for the next convoy.

During their off hours, the soldiers have access to banks of computers and phones to call home. The base has several gymnasiums, one with an indoor swimming pool.

There also are a few dances. A recent one featured Ugandan music and drew a big crowd of African contractors who work on base, while another dance featured salsa music.

Earlier in the war, this base drew frequent and occasionally deadly mortar attacks.

When an 81st Brigade unit arrived for its first tour of duty in 2004, some soldiers were given the perilous task of trying to locate enemy positions. Staff Sgt. Mark McPherson, now retired from the guard, led some of those patrols. Two platoon members were killed in an ambush and another soldier was killed in a roadside bomb attack.

It's quieter now.

The base still draws mortar fire a few times a week, and the Alpha Company's living area has a protective wall, which is decorated with Christmas lights. But the mortar fire is far less frequent and less effective than in years past, said Bugbee, the company commander.

Bugbee said he's proud of Alpha Company's performance in Iraq.

"Even though the mission might not be as dangerous, it's still just as important," he said. "These guys are making a big sacrifice to leave their civilian lives behind and spend a year over here."

During the holiday season, the gifts are arriving.

Waters is an area manager for Starbucks, which has shipped coffee supplies.

Bugbee is a law student who spent the summer working at the Seattle firm of Karr, Tuttle Campbell. The firm sent more than two dozen gift boxes with salmon, cigars, board games, Mariners clothing and other items.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com