Posted: 8/7/07
Deployment to Iraq provided many challenges for Sgt. Klinski
Editorís note: This is the second in a series of articles about Caledonia area residents who are members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division that returned to the United State on July 16. The 34th served longer in combat than any other Minnesota unit since World War II and was the longest-serving U.S. military unit of the Iraq war. Its mission was extended by 125 days as part of the troop surge ordered by President Bush earlier this year.
By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Reconnecting with family and friends, relaxing, and wetting a fishing line was what Sgt. Nathan Klinski had planned, as his plane touched down at Volk Field near Ft. McCoy, Wis. on July 16.
"It really didnít sink in that I was actually home until I got off the plane, smelled the air, felt humidity, and saw all the greenery. It was a long 16 months. It was good to have it (the Iraq deployment) behind me," said the 1997 Caledonia High School graduate.
For Klinski, the son of David and Jean Klinski of rural Caledonia, the deprograming procedures conducted by Uncle Sam was nothing new. This was his third deployment in his 11-year military career.
"Actually this time the procedure was much faster," Klinski said. "They have improved it each time I have returned."
Klinski enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard in the Advanced Individual Training program when he was just 17 years old. He took basic training between his junior and senior years at CHS. He studied communications in the Armyís AIT program and enrolled in Winona State Universityís criminal justice program.
The Army didnít coordinate things with the WSU registrarís office, Klinski noted with a laugh. His criminal justice studies were interrupted when he was deployed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in January 2001 and spent six months serving in a security patrol unit at a U.S. missile site.
Three years later, Klinskiís studies were interrupted a second time when he was deployed to Kosovo and spent 11 months conducting security patrols.
"We werenít in any real danger in Kosovo. The country is similar to the Coulee Region. Itís green and thereís trees, which was completely different than Saudi Arabia or Iraq," Klinski pointed out.
But when Klinskiís unit was activated in October 2005, and deployed to Iraq, the potential of being in harmís way was great.
Conveys across the desert
"The U.S. presence in Iraq obviously requires an immense amount of supplies, consisting of equipment, food, and more than anything fuel," he explained. "Our mission was to escort supply convoys into western Iraq from the Jordanian boarder.
"To accomplish our mission, we traveled in armored Humvees that weighed about 9,000 pounds. The armor-plated doors weighed 400 pounds each. You didnít want to get your fingers slammed in these doors. It would play havoc with your Bach or Chopin recitals," he joked.
The convoys took three days to cross the desert, primarily because of the many stops required to defuse IEDís (roadside bombs). During his first summer "in country," Klinski said they averaged between three and five IEDs per trip.
"Amazingly enough, we soon learned to take the IEDs in stride. Thanks to the vigilance of our soldiers, we were able to spot the majority of the roadside bombs before they could go off."
The worst and best Thanksgiving
Klinski and his comrades werenít always able to spot the IEDs. In spite of spending Thanksgiving away from their families and lunching on cold canned ravioli, tuna, and crackers instead of the traditional turkey and all the trimmings, Klinsiís unit found ample reason to be thankful.
"We were making a run on Thanksgiving Day when we had to stop to refuel and make some vehicle repairs. After dismounting our trucks, refueling and stretching our legs, one of my fellow soldiers, Sgt. Ben Mlynczak from Winona, spotted a wire leading to a tire down in the ditch that had escaped our preliminary search. We discovered there was a cordless phone base station in the tire. The other end of the wire led to one of the numerous dirt piles alongside the road.
"After the brave souls of EOD (the military bomb squad) arrived and safely detonated a very large IED buried in a dirt pile, we realized just how lucky we were. Two of our trucks and about eight of us had been well within the kill zone of the IED. If the triggerman had been watching that day, I have no doubt we would have been statistics on the weekly butcherís bill of Iraq casualties."
The danger was real
"Although other military personnel were possibly in worse, or at least different kinds of danger in Iraq, there was no denying the fact our lives were in danger every time we went out of the gate of the base," Klinski said. "It was surprising to realize how quickly my fellow soldiers and I became acclimated to operating under that kind of stress.
"In Iraq the insurgents do not care to wear uniforms to make themselves known as the enemy. They do not care if they hurt civilians, and sometimes that is the point. They are able to strike without exposing themselves and public perception is sometimes the only territory they need to conquer.
"During the first summer when we would leave the safety of our base, we didnít wonder if we would get hit by an IED, but rather when and where," Klinski continued. "And more often than not, how many. On the worst trips, we would encounter as many as a half dozen roadside bombs."
Coping with the "the extension"
Most of Klinskiís comrades coped with the unbearable heat, the constant stress of roadside bombs, and being away from their families by focusing on March 2007 and the end of their 12-month deployment.
"People started making plans - weddings, some seeing their babies for the first time, things like that in January when we only had about two months left. When we found out that our deployment had been extended, possibly up to six months it was very hard to cope with. It was difficult on all of us. Weíd missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, weddings. I was looking forward to getting home and getting some fishing in. Instead, we had to look forward to another summer of 130 degree heat and more IEDs.
"But it was tougher on the guys who had kids, wives. My heart went out for them. We even had one guy in our unit who got married over a video teleconference. I think they planned to renew their vows when he got home."
When he learned their extension wouldnít be for the full six months and they would be heading home in July, Klinski said he didnít want to get his heart set for another disappointment. So he continued to focus on his job, staying alert, staying safe.
"Our commanding officers kept warning us each time we pulled out of the base to not put our guards down. They stressed that we remain focused on our job. ëDonít do something stupid now. Youíve made it this farí they kept reminding us."
The week before they were to leave Iraq, replacements arrived and Klinskiís unit helped train the new troops.
Klinski and his unit spent five days at Ft. McCoy and then climbed on buses for Owatonna and the National Guard Armory from which he was based.
"When we crossed the river and were in Minnesota, I just wanted to jump off the bus. I was so close to home. I really wanted to just jump out and walk home," Klinski said smiling.
His unit was given an escort by the Minnesota Patriot Patrol, police and fire departments, as they motored across southeast Minnesota. And when they got to Owatonna, "the welcome home celebration was great!" Klinski noted.
"We appreciate all the support we received while in country and when we got home. Many of those in my unit received letters and care packages from home. I received Valentines from the Immanuel Lutheran Church Sunday School, and also letters from ninth graders at the public school. You just canít imagine how much those letters from home helped boost our morale. It doesnít take a lot of time to do, but the pay-off for the troops is unreal."
Klinski plans to take it easy for a few months, go hiking in the woods, and go fishing. He will then go back to school and finish his degree.
"I had a lot of time to just think when I was in Iraq. Iíve had to put my life on hold, but now I have the opportunity to get back on track."
Klinski isnít sure what he will do with his degree. Heís thinking about either becoming a conservation officer or getting into law enforcement canine work. He also re-upped for six more years in the Army National Guard.
"Yes, Iíll probably go for 20 years. Iím over half way there. I can see myself going for 20, I just hope I donít have to be deployed somewhere where thereís nothing but sand and 130 degree heat again," he concluded.
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