Basrah, Iraq - You would think Louisiana National Guardsmen would be better prepared than most to beat the heat of Basrah, Iraq.
“It is so much hotter. The equipment back home in New Orleans we are in a sedan and all we had was a bullet proof vest,” said Sgt. Jamie Mobley. “Here, we have to carry IBAs that are 50 or 60 pounds of gear it is hot and miserable.”
Mobley and Staff Sergeant Arden Taylor are two of the Louisiana Guardsmen sent from Task Force Gator -- patrolling New Orleans city streets -- to the war in Iraq.
Everything we learned in New Orleans in Task Force Gator during the times of the storm and now, we are deployed out there still, it is all police work,” Taylor said.
Not only does Taylor see similarities in his job in Iraq and his job back home with the NOPD, he hopes to share with Chief Warren Riley how one experience might benefit the other.
The ideology of police work is different. The military is black and white. It is structured, whereas the police department, it is street survival,” Taylor said about working in New Orleans. “Sometimes we go out in pairs and sometimes we go out alone. If we put this together with military work, I think it would be helpful to us. I am so glad I can bring some of this back.”
“I think we will be mentally prepared to handle any situation thrown at us. Mentally and physically there isn't a lot they could throw at us that we haven't seen or dealt with us before,” Mobley added.
Mobley also sees how the skills he is learning in Iraq will be put to use in his job as a corrections officer in Louisiana.
He sees similarities, too, in what drew his dad to military service.
“I remember as a kid, I was real young when he went to Desert Storm, but i remember how proud, even as a kid, how proud I was,” an emotional Mobley said.
He hopes that same pride will be waiting for him at home.
“One of the reasons I love doing what I do is maybe my girls will be as proud of me as I am of my dad,” Mobley said.
Pride shared by a city defended by the Guard, both home and abroad
