By Laura Lane
The Humvee's driver and gunner were silent as Garbarino stuck his machine gun out the window and took aim. "That car coming toward us could be a car bomb, or a suicide bomber, or maybe it's just an erratic driver," said the reservist, who is the father of two, Alyssa, 9, and Christina, 6. "When I put the gun out the window, they drove away. It was a car full of kids."
But in Iraq, anyone, even children, can be the enemy. "You can't let your guard down for a second," said Garbarino. "I saw an American soldier who was drinking a soda on the side of the road get shot in the head by an Iraqi. It was for nothing. But it's Baghdad. Anything can happen."
Garbarino got the call to leave for Kuwait two days after Christmas 2003. He was on the Kuwaiti border when war broke out in April and could have stayed there, but he said he didn't want to do that. "I volunteered to go into Iraq," said Garbarino. "I was trained for it, and I wanted to see an operation in time of war."
Assigned as an operating officer at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, the military policeman's skills were put to the test. His mission was to round up prisoners from throughout the country and transport them to Camp Bucca. "It was dangerous, because the insurgents were on the roads and units were being shot at," Garbarino recalled. "I had the bulletproof vest that my wife had sent, because even though we kept asking, the military hadn't given us any. My vest wasn't as good as the military's, but it was better than nothing."
Garbarino had bought a bulletproof vest to ensure his safety in his civilian job as a court officer at the Queens County Courthouse.
His requests for bulletproof vests went unanswered for some time. "I'd hate to think we didn't get them because we were reservists," he said. "Our unit should have been a priority, since we were on the roads and were military police."
In June, Garbarino and his unit of 10 men arrived in Baghdad to set up a prison system. They weren't prepared for what they encountered. "There was a very limited police force in Baghdad and no prison guards," he said. "It was like starting from zero."
The prison was a square mile in size, and the entire area had to be rebuilt. "The Iraqi prisons were brutal under Saddam," said Garbarino. "I saw hooks on the walls and blood all over the place. And the prison had been looted, burned, and there weren't any records on the prisoners who were there."
There were only three American civilians waiting for Garbarino's unit to help set up the prison system, instead of the promised 175. Sixty additional soldiers eventually arrived. The unit was not only understaffed, but it also had to contend with hostility from the Iraqis in Baghdad. "Their attitude amazed me," said Garbarino. "I thought they'd be happy we liberated the country."
He added that the civilians were sympathetic to the insurgents, and would allow them to shoot at the Americans from the villages. "The insurgents would even kill the Iraqi prisoners," Garbarino said. "They wanted to show the Iraqis that the U.S. couldn't even protect the prisoners, so how were they going to protect the average civilian?"
And there were many insurgents. When Garbarino's unit arrived in Baghdad, Iraq's borders were open. "They were all coming over to get rid of the Americans," said Garbarino. "We'd capture insurgents from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Iran, and they'd be wearing civilian clothing. They'd already thrown off their uniforms and would try to lie to us about why they were there, saying things like they were in a sandwich shop looking for a job when the fighting began."
Garbarino said the insurgents arrived by the busload. Their gun and mortar fire slowed construction of the prison system. The military police had to continually patrol the area to protect themselves. "The prison was all lit up so we could see the prisoners," he said. "It was like we were saying, here we are, shoot at us. At first the insurgents were inaccurate with the mortars, but then they got better at it, and killed some of our soldiers."
Garbarino soon met with the local sheik, who controlled the nearby villages. "I told him if the civilians continued to let the insurgents fire from their villages, we were going to fire back, and we'd end up killing some of the civilians," said Garbarino. "He was very upset, not because the civilians might die, but because we'd end up killing the animals. That amazed me."
When Garbarino left Baghdad, he had helped rebuild 18 prisons. He returned to North Merrick hurt from carrying the injured and heavy equipment. He underwent joint replacement in his shoulder and continues to experience back pain.
Garbarino follows the war closely. He said he is concerned that President Bush hasn't offered an exit strategy. And it upsets him deeply when American soldiers are killed. But the reservist believes the U.S. can't leave Iraq until the Iraqi people commit to running their own country.
"The Iraqis need to stand up and exercise some control," said Garbarino. "The Iraqi soldiers can't be dependent on the Americans. I don't know how we could get out right now with dignity. If the Iraqi government isn't able to stand up and we leave, we've created a terrorist training camp right in the Middle East."
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
