 War
Stories
Andrea Domaskin, The Forum
Published Sunday, September 9, 2007
Working on an air base in southern Iraq gave Tamara Heibel a new perspective on life and death.
Patrick Wiebe became more honest, even blunt, after his 16 months at Camp Taqaddum west of Baghdad. Tom Sauvageau returned with a new focus.
Two years ago, they were among a group of 2,600 Minnesota National Guard soldiers who made history from the start of their deployment.
They were the largest group of Minnesota Guard members to deploy at one time since World War II.
The soldiers, including several hundred from this area, spread around Iraq for what was to be a 12-month stint.
Photo caption: Master Sergeant Rich Eggert (Lieutenant with the
Moorhead Fire Department)
RICH EGGERT
“I firmly believe if we don’t fight the enemy overseas, we’ll fight them here.”
– Rich Eggert, 38
What he did
Master Sgt. Eggert was a senior non-commissioned officer. For the first year, he served at Camp Fallujah in Anbar Province. His company worked directly for the Marine Corps. At one point, Eggert led 250 soldiers, sailors and Marines.
He was a brigade safety officer at Talill Air Force Base for the remaining four months.“I guess it was fairly stressful, in retrospect,” Eggert said.
Eggert regularly left Camp Fallujah with soldiers who went on patrols.
Three soldiers in his company were killed. Several others were injured.
The deaths made Eggert angry, but he took comfort that no one died because a soldier made a mistake.
“We didn’t have anything happen because someone was stupid,” Eggert said.
Eggert believes that if U.S. troops weren’t fighting overseas, they would be fighting on U.S. soil.
“The insurgents – these people have nothing. They are not afraid to lose anything,” Eggert said. “But by the same token, they are some of the most cowardly people I have ever seen in my life.”
Eggert said it’s hard to tell who the enemies are because they’re not uniformed. He said he had his rifle sights on hundreds of people, but never fired a shot.
“They were probably insurgents. Some of them probably weren’t,” he said. “Didn’t fire a shot. Got shot at a bunch. Had bombs go off around me, rockets come down on me. Couldn’t identify. Wasn’t sure what I was shooting at, so I’m not going to shoot.”
What he’s doing now
A month after returning home to his wife, Lisa, and four children, Eggert is back at the job he’s held for 15 years as a Moorhead firefighter. He’s coaching football for his boys this fall.
Eggert, who’s been in the Guard for more than 18 years, thinks that puts him in a different spot than some of the younger soldiers he led in Iraq.
“I’m not coming back, trying to find a job,” he said. “I’m not trying to rebuild relationships. My wife’s a saint. I’ve got lots of good guys at work to talk to.”
He just wants to get back to normal.
How he’s different
“I don’t think I’ve changed a lot,” Eggert said one recent morning at the Fryn’ Pan restaurant in Fargo. He turned to son James, 7. “Have I changed a lot?” he asks.
“Huh-uh,” James said between bites of French toast.
When you consider a deployment to Bosnia in addition to Iraq, Eggert has been gone for nearly half of his son’s life.
“That’s why here he’s at breakfast with me,” Eggert said.
[ Home ] [2007
News]
| 
