Chris' Deployment Journal

Our last days on Barbarian Base were spent packing up. We thought they'd be as quiet as the rest of the year.

Unfortunately, just as our replacements from the 101st Air Assault started to take over, insurgent activity jumped. We started getting a lot of IED's. (We think the insurgents were trying to send a little notice to the active duty guys, who are younger, more gung-ho, and perhaps – just perhaps – not quite as respectful of the locals than us older National Guard types.)

Then, on our second-to-last patrol, our guys from second squad got hit bit a VBIED (a car bomb).