Ron Barr and Sports Byline USA LIVE from Iraq

I grew up in a military family, so “packin up and movin out” isn’t anything new to me. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott, who also came from a military family background, and I once talked about how military kids seemed to be more flexible and better able to deal with life’s ups and downs. Hearing, “Dad has new orders and we’re moving” was just a natural part of both our growing up years. So, my return to Iraq, on the heels of having just been there, is not upsetting or unsettling. To me, it’s appealing, satisfying and eagerly anticipated.

To the average person that might sound strange and like I have a screw loose, especially going to a place that is still dangerous, unstable and unpredictable. But, I’m a true Aquarian and my previous visits to Iraq and Afghanistan have been life altering and motivating. I’ve told the story many times on Sports Byline and in speeches about my last day of broadcasting on my first trip to Iraq. We were in Mosul with the 125th Stryker Brigade, out of Fort Lewis. It was August and the temperature was an unbearable 132 degrees. We were under a protective canopy with soldiers all around us listening to the show. For the week, we had had the biggest names in sports as our on air guests and each hour of the show I had one or two servicemen co-host. Watching them talk with Bill Belichick, Tony LaRussa, Steve Young, Pete Carroll, Bobby Knight and others brought me a sense of satisfaction that still makes me smile each time I think about it. The most touching moment though came after the last hour of our broadcast. Soldiers from a returning Stryker patrol came by the last hour of our broadcasts, grabbed bottles of water and laid on the ground and listened to the show. After we said our last on air goodbye, a 19 year old private, who was dirty, wet and tired from being on that Stryker patrol, came up to me and said, “Mr. Barr, thank you.” I said, “Thank you for what?” With fatigue in his eyes and sweat on his face, he said, “Thank you for making me feel this week like I was back home.” Those words will always make my efforts and desires to return to Iraq and Afghanistan an easy choice.

Now, as I think about returning again, it brings backs many memories and experiences from my previous trips. The 90 pound female mechanic in the motor pool I found lying on a bed of rocks working on a humvee in 130 degree heat. It was her second Iraq tour. The conflicting sounds of combat and peace as I heard gunfire and grenade explosions during one part of the day, and the melodious, serene sound of the Muslim call to prayer during another. My impression that if I hadn’t known where I was, I would have thought I was on a college campus with all the young men and women. The only difference being, they all were carrying guns. My talk in Afghanistan with a 20-year, veteran, combat hardened special forces sergeant who wistfully and sadly told me he had been married for 18 years, but had probably only seen his wife and family for 4 of those 18 years. And, I always think of the 24-year old Iraqi interpreter I met, who was working with the U.S. military and was living next to our sleeping quarters because he’d be killed if he went home. Before the war he was a lawyer. He’d cook his favorite local dishes on a hibachi and we’d eat and talk into the late night and early morning hours about his family, life in Iraq and his dreams for himself and his country. As I get ready to go back, those and many other indelible memories come to mind again. No, for me, this is an easy decision and a trip I look forward to making again.