Spotswood G.I. relates his experiences in Iraq

Two weeks out of basic training, soldier overcomes battle fears

By Vincent todaro
Staff Writer

Spotswood G.I. relates his experiences in Iraq


JEFF GRANIT U.S. Army Pfc. Raymond Remus stands in front of a welcome home sign outside his Spotswood home.JEFF GRANIT U.S. Army Pfc. Raymond Remus stands in front of a welcome home sign outside his Spotswood home.

Two weeks out of basic training, soldier overcomes battle fears

By Vincent todaro

Staff Writer

They saw the dirt kicking up, then heard bullets being fired at them. Houston, there was definitely a problem.

"We came to realize we were being fired upon. We ran back for cover, and a couple of us drew weapons," said U.S. Army Pfc. Raymond Remus, a lifelong Spotswood resident who related the scariest moment of his recent tour of duty as a combat engineer in Iraq.

Remus’ fellow soldiers called for their first sergeant, who then called up an infantry squad to bail the soldiers out of trouble. The infantry pinpointed the enemy’s location and "neutralized" the problem, Remus said.

Needless to say, Remus is enjoying his current, albeit brief, leave from the Army.

Remus, 24, is in Spotswood for the next few weeks visiting family and friends. Now stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., he said it is possible he will be called back to duty in Iraq, where he already served March 17 through July 17.

Remus, who attended Spotswood High School, serves as a combat engineer as part of the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Division.

"Our main task as combat engineers is to provide mobility for our infantry units and counter mobility for our enemy infantry units," he said.

Stationed in northern Iraq during the war, Remus was responsible for clearing and securing mine fields to make them safe so American troops could travel. He also used explosives to take down fences and any other obstacles in the infantry’s way.

"We helped control northern Iraq. We were in charge of securing northern Iraq," he said of his division.

The combat engineers not only worked to clear paths for American troops, but they also had to make it difficult for Iraqi soldiers to travel. Engineers installed wire that stretched for long distances to block the Iraqis and also laid anti-tank mines, Remus said.

"We usually don’t use mines because we’re not on the defensive much," he said. "Our army’s pretty strong."

He said the scariest part of his three months in Iraq was the incident were Iraqi troops began firing on him. The face-off occurred in Karbala, he said, when his engineering squad was on a mission to destroy anti-aircraft artillery on the ground.

"We rolled out there, six of us, to incapacitate weapons," he said.

The most frightening part, he said, was that the engineers couldn’t even tell which direction the shots were coming from.

"We were most vulnerable at that time," he said.

Pretty scary stuff, especially for someone who had finished basic training only days before.

Remus said he was graduated from basic training on Feb. 28 and was in Iraq by the middle of March, where he joined a battalion that had been in the country for three months.

"The toughest thing was trying to overcome the fear and trepidation I felt," he said. "You see all the war movies and they instill a fear. That was my main thing — to place trust in my fellow soldiers and trying to overcome fear of going to a combat zone for the first time.

"I was pretty much going in there with no experience," he said. "That was something else that worried me — could I do the job effectively or would I place someone else in danger? I really didn’t know what to expect."

Remus said he joined the Army because he wanted a change from going to college and working full time.

"I pretty much went for love of country," he said. "A lot of people joined for college, and I did sign up for the G.I. Bill, but mainly it was for love of country."

He said he was surprised by many things he learned while in Iraq.

"I learned that Iraq is a very beautiful country; it’s not all desert," he said.

There is a lot of livestock as well as agriculture there, he said.

A lot of Iraqis were happy to have the troops there, he said, in part because the Hussein government had torn families apart by requiring members to serve in the military. Those who refused to serve were tortured or killed.

He said the U.S. presence in Iraq will remain for some time, as the country is now a "duty station."

He said he was not surprised the United States won the war quickly.

"We’re pretty unbeatable when it comes to desert warfare," he said.