138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Maj. David Albano

by Maj. David P. Albano
138th MPAD

With each unit conducting battlespace handover's to the Iraqi Army throughout the Nineveh Province in Iraq, Logan, the boy interpreter has become an unofficial part of the process.

"He's a good kid, works hard and we enjoy having him around," said Sgt. Maj. Du, 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Du has known Logan since his first deployment to Mosul in 2004 during Task Force Olympia.

At age 15, Logan was working in a restaurant where soldiers from an infantry battalion of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) frequented to buy food. They told the owner that they would call for food when needed, and asked to have it delivered.

Logan did not speak English at the time, but his boss sent him to deliver the food and while delivering to the soldiers, they would talk in English and point to things. It took about 14 months for him to become fluent in English. He also speaks Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish.

His English became so good in fact, that a lieutenant from the 101st asked him if he wanted to come with them to work as a grounds keeper for 120 dollars a months. He went home and told his mother "I'm gone, I'm moving". She asked him not to go, but he expressed his determination to her, and she didn't argue after that.

"My father came home and said where is my son? My mother told him I was with the US military," Logan said, "At first, I felt a lot of sadness, but the soldiers of the 101st made me feel better. The chaplain and the first sergeant came and hugged me and gave me cookies to make me feel better. The soldiers gave me an Xbox that I played when I felt sad. After three months, I felt better and forgot about it."

According to Logan, Lt. Col. Flower, 101st Airborne (Air Assault) named him Logan because he could not pronounce his name, Lukman Omar Saleh. Flower's made him a translator for the Mayors cell because he spoke English so well.

Logan recalls the day Coalition Forces killed Uday and Qusay, the sons of Sadaam Hussein.

"I was inside the vehicle when they called the unit I was with to go on a mission. I saw the Apache fire some rounds at the building. They were firing back at us from the building and a couple of soldiers were killed. The firing back and forth continued until the Apache came and fired on the building. Then after, they went in and searched," Logan said, "When we got back to the Forward Operating Base, they told us they got Uday and Qusay."

Logan faced many dangers with the soldiers, "One day we got called to drive in the neighborhoods, a Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device rammed into our Stryker and exploded. Our vehicle rolled over. The explosion was so loud I couldn't hear anything afterwards. The helmet and vest helped me a lot. I was brought to the Combat Support Hospital and checked out. They gave me two weeks off at the hospital. After a couple of days, he felt better and visited with the other wounded soldiers for the rest of the two weeks."

Logan recalled. "A month later, I went out at night. The soldiers asked me to get in the hatch to interpret graffiti on the wall. I was only in the hatch for a couple minutes, and an IED went off. I got hurt in the face from the explosion, so they brought me to the hospital again."

Logan met SGM Du for the second time in 2006 when 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team returned to Mosul, Iraq. Du bought him a uniform with boots.

Logan now works directly for SGM Du as a translator for Du and Col. Steven Townsend, Commander, 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

"I called him [Du] to say hello when he came back to Mosul, and he said Logan you are going to work for me. I was very happy, because I like and respect the Sergeant Major." said Logan.

Logan is now 18 years old and still working for the US Army. He wants to go to school in the US and join the US Army.

"I want to be a Specialist in the infantry. I want to be a Specialist because they work hard, and I want to work hard. I like the Army because they respect people and treat people with respect. It would make me proud to be a Soldier," Logan concluded.

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