Cliff Buchan
News EditorDavid Scully is back in Forest Lake this month resting at home after spending nearly a year in Iraq with his Army National Guard unit. But the war is still far from removed from the Columbus Township manís mind. Fighting has escalated this month and with more than 100 service personnel killed in April alone, Scully can only bite his lip.
ìIt makes me want to go back ó to help in any way that I can,î Scully said last week, obviously frustrated by the mounting casualty rates from combat with Iraqi insurgents.
This Saturday will mark just three weeks since Spec. Scully stepped off a plane in Minnesota after spending the better part of a year in Iraq with the 142nd Army Engineers, a Guard unit based in Fargo, ND. His unit was activated in January 2003 and after three months of training at Fort Carson, CO, was dispatched to Southwest Asia April 10, 2003.
A full yearís duty in Iraq has not dampened Scullyís desire to continue his military service. Scully, 24, a 1998 Forest Lake High School graduate, will soon see his six-year Guard enlist expire.
He plans to extend another four years and knows full well his heavy combat engineer unit ó one of only 10 battalions of its kind in the Army ó could well rotate back to Iraq on active duty.
ìIf they need heavy combat engineers, there is a good chance weíll have to go back,î Scully said, looking to the future and where his military duty may take him.
Work to be done
The intensified attacks by insurgents and growing casualty rates did not come with any great surprise for this local soldier. He has seen both sides of the people of Iraq and knows there is good, but also the bad and dangerous side.
Although the main offensive had ended and Saddam Hussein had been toppled from power when Scully made his way from Kuwait to a base in Balad, Iraq last May, there was no false sense of security.
ìWe were training for the worst,î Scully said. ìThatís the mentality we had. I took this stuff very seriously.î
During the trip north to Baghdad and the one hour journey beyond to Balad, Scullyís convoy met many Iraqis who cheered their arrival.
ìPeople were in awe of us,î he said, referring to the Iraqis who would come up to greet the convoys.
ìThe people were waving and smiling. They loved us. I thought they would hate us. They were happy for us to be there.î
But in city of Baghdad, Scully said the attitude was different and he sensed resentment.
In the months that followed in Balad, he said those feelings were reinforced and U.S. soldiers learned to share their trust with great caution.
U.S. troops at Balad are involved with training Iraqis who will serve in a new Army and police force.
ìYou donít know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy,î Scully said. ìYou donít know who is your friend. Itís hard to trust them. You want to........î
The high casualty rates this spring have only brought to light in the U.S. the reality of the danger troops have always faced in Iraq, Scully said.
ìThis has been going on from Day One,î he said of his stay in Balad. ìI didnít think it would get this out of hand.î
Since last July, Scully said, the base at Balad came under rocket and mortar fire several times a week. It was harassment of a serious kind that claimed three lives of members of a Bismarck, ND guard unit convoy that was attacked.
Scullyís company of 145 Guardsmen came through tour with no serious injuries.
ìWe were very lucky,î he said.
Home support big
Scully was one of the soldiers taken under the wing of the Parents Support Group that formed at American Legion Post 225 in Forest Lake at the onset of the invasion of Iraq last year. The support group collected and shipped care packages to troops serving in the conflict.
His parents, James and Anita Scully, were active with the support group.
ìWe had no PX,î Scully said. ìThe packages were a big morale boost.î
Each package contained enough supplies, candy, snacks and reading material for about 10 men or women. Scully became a quartermaster of sorts when the boxes would arrive from Forest Lake.
While the troops used most of the items, some of the candy wound up in the hands of Iraqi children and it is the younger set that Americans need to win over, Scully said.
Such support meant much to the troops, Scully said, but the anti-war sentiment arising at home was discouraging at times. Scully says he understands the right of free speech and the ability to express opinions, but he hopes protesters understand the consequences of their comments.
ìDonít forget our soldiers are over there (Iraq),î Scully said. ìThey need everybodyís support.î
A welcome change
Scully in no way regrets his decision to join the military. He believes it has been good for him.
Heís not proud of his teen years in Forest Lake and a scrape with the law.
ìI was getting into trouble,î he said. ìI wanted some discipline in my life, some adventure.î
Six months after high school he hooked up with the Fargo Guard unit. He joined thanks in part to a strong interest in carpentry and the fact this specialized engineering unit trains at Camp Ripley near Little Falls.
His skills landed him a job with Tappe Construction of Eagan and he will return to that job in May. While in Iraq he used his carpentry skills at building guard towers and other base installation projects.
When he wasnít swinging a hammer, he was carrying an M-16 rifle or other automatic weapons while on guard duty or convoy duty.
He believes the military has helped him redirect his life.
ìI learned a lot about myself,î he said. ìI have (new) respect for family and community. Iíve matured a lot this past year and know what I want in life.
ìIn a sense it (the year in Iraq) woke me to the reality that you need to get going and moving toward your goals.î
He plans to enroll at St. Cloud State University later this summer and will study political science.
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