Mortars are a constant presence at FOB Loyalty

By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, December 28, 2006

Lisa Burgess / S&S
Sgt. Israel Arroyo, 22, left, of La Puente, Calif., and Sgt. Luke Draper, 25, of Long Beach, Calif., stack sandbags to protect a window shattered during a mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Loyalty.


FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq — The soldiers were eating their chicken fingers in the chow hall and watching Terrell Owens tell ESPN why the Dallas Cowboys got pounded by the Philadelphia Eagles when the first mortar hit."

More... Stars & Stripes: Mortars are a constant presence at FOB Loyalty

In April 2007 SPC Burnett, Robert; SPC McCafferty, and SPC Podell of Bravo Company were wounded in a mortar attack on FOB Loyalty. The good news is that SPC McCafferty and SPC Burnett were soon able to return to the company and are now back with their platoons. SPC Podell injuries were slightly more serious and he is now in Qatar recovering but is expected to return to the company in the next few weeks.

Update: I have been infomed that at the time of this posting SPC Podell was already back in Baghdad.