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Ltc.Jim Walton
RSIC-S / RPAC
FOB NATHAN SMITH
APO, AE 09355
This soldier's name is Lieutenant Colonel James Walton; this is his second deployment in 3 years. He and I served together in Iraq for 13 months. He gave up a cushy job with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to go fight for his country. I have included a pic of Jim. I must tell you that even though Jim is an officer and I was a sergeant in the army he didn’t care about rank he always believed in taking care of his soldiers first and he put our morale and welfare before his own. He is a great leader and an even better friend and he normally would never ask for help but he has recently asked me to see what I can do about getting him some powdered drink mixes for his soldiers because the temp is getting to be around 125 degrees and his soldiers are dropping like flies having to get IV’s almost on a daily basis. Any help would be greatly appreciated
I am writing to inform everyone that my address has changed I appreciate all the packages and cards that everyone has sent thank you Please do not send anything else to my old address if you want to write me you can send mail to my new address at
640th SB
Unit =2342204
APO AE 09342
On November 26th I convoyed up from Camp Arifjan Kuwait to Camp Buehring Kuwait enroute to Baghdad Iraq We were delayed for 24hrs for an escalation in activity on MSR Tampa the Main Supply Route that runs throughout Kuwait into Northern Iraq After the delay on the 28th we left Camp Buehring and traveled to Khabari Crossing (1 hour drive) which is the border crossing for Kuwait / Iraq We crossed the border and got to Camp Scania after about 6 hours of travel from Khabari Crossing The following night we left for Victory Base Camp (VBC) located in Baghdad We traveled for two hours and then got held up for a PIED (Possible Improvised Explosive Device) that was spotted ahead of our convoy. A route security team spotted it and it was exploded on site. After sitting on the road for about three hours we continued into VBC and arrived at my current location at Camp Striker The convoy was amazing there are very poor sections and also some rich sections of farm land and in between a whole lot of nothing I was with an Infantry Gun Truck unit from Alabama They allowed me to do the test fires for their weapons the 50 Cal and M240 two big guns that are mounted on top of the uparmored Humvees that we rode in The convoys generally travel at night due to the curfew (11pm-5am) that has been implemented in order to lessen the traffic on the road which in turn lessens the threat level
The overall base that I am at is Victory Base Complex (VBC)=2C within the complex there are 4 camps Camp Victory, Striker, Slayer and Liberty These camps together make up the VBC In the center of the VBC is Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) I live and also work on Camp Striker which is located on the Southwest end of the VBC. My official title is Convoy Support Team (CST) Officer In Charge (OIC) The Convoy Support Team is about a 10 minute walk from my room The VBC is very big much of the area is made up of Saddams old palaces and vacation homes man made lakes and mosques Downtown Baghdad is just outside the VBC it is reassuring to know that the surge in troops has made the area more secure over the last several months.
I am getting used to my job here I am assuming responsibility of all the equipment vehicles and Soldiers right now so there is a lot of paperwork I am in the process of finishing up the paperwork and also going around to the different organizations that I will be working with for support I will be busy with this for the next week or so and then I should be up and running my own operation (which I am very anxious about) Everything else is great I am much happier being in charge of my own team and I am definitely looking forward to learning this job and completing the mission. But even more than this I am looking forward to in January and redeploying in the spring I hope all is well with everyone I am looking forward to hearing from everyone and seeing everybody within the next several months.
Love
Mike
CPT Michael R O'Hara
640th SB
Unit =2342204
APO AE 09342
