Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Brian Poole

Operation Iraqi Freedom | Multiple Units

His father and both his grandfathers had served so it seemed natural to Brian Poole to enlist when he turned 18. That was in July of 2001. In September, that decision became a lot more significant as America entered a new kind of war. (7:01)
Boot camp was a real culture shock. Brian Poole had lived in a dorm at boarding school so missing his family was not an issue but everything else was. After that and Marine Combat Training he was assigned to an artillery unit. (5:52)
Brian Poole loved firing the howitzer. As he and the howitzer prepped to enter Iraq, it was determined that it was missing an important part. (Caution: strong language) (6:15)
As Brian Poole's Marine artillery unit moved towards Baghdad, they fired a lot of ordnance at the retreating enemy. Once, they pushed out too far ahead of everyone else, stretching their supplies. They were close to the city when they got a piece of news that no one ever wants to hear. There had been a friendly fire incident. (6:13)
It was not what he expected. When Brian Poole walked the streets of Baghdad, he found out that liquor was for sale, that there was a Catholic church and, even more surprisingly, a synagogue. His unit returned to the States by ship, which turned out to be a blessing. (7:46)
Brian Poole lived and breathed artillery but when he went to Iraq for his second deployment, it was as part of a provisional rifle company. The first mission was guarding convoys but his platoon lucked out when they were assigned to be the security detail for General John Kelly. (5:20)
After two other corporals were busted for getting in a fistfight, Brian Poole was put in charge of the fire team. The job was above his rank but he was undaunted. As the calendar rolled into Easter Week, the news that Chance Phelps had been killed in a firefight severely dampened the mood. (Caution: strong language) (7:19)
Marine corporal Brian Poole got to cuss out a General. He was on his security detail and when the General got out of the Humvee during a firefight, he was told in no uncertain terms to get back in the vehicle for his own safety. (Caution: strong language) (4:34)
It was different the second time. After his first tour in Iraq, Brian Poole returned on a ship, which gave everyone time to decompress and deal with the memory of combat together. After the second tour, they all flew back which meant they went straight from combat to what passed for a normal life. Very stressful. Then he had to decide whether to reenlist. (6:56)
They had great ambitions in Iraq. Marine Brian Poole served there and he can't shake the feeling that the war there and in Afghanistan can't be viewed as anything else but a failure. Maybe if they hadn't had one hand tied behind their back, the outcome could have been different. (3:48)