Those of you that know me and or follow Cool Dadio know I was in Iraq last October. I did six months of research before setting foot on Iraqi soil. The research continued up until I stood at the border and then continued in-country Iraq. The knowledge I used to get me through it and stay safe started way back when I grew up on a farm, on through my combat training in the Army, and all the years I trained and worked on an ambulance. All the process as it unfolded for the six months prior to my trip to Iraq was not shared by me with many people. Selected people got the dispatches after I left on the journey. I reposted some of them on my travel journal (link) after I was back safe in Wisconsin. 

   This year I have a daily blog which is in a way tied at the hip to all my projects. Today I begin the journey to research embedding myself in a Wisconsin Guard Unit in Iraq. 

   The quest may fall flat on its face from day one, or like my independent work in Iraq it may take on a life of its own and come to fruition. That is one distinct difference between traditional journalism and blogging journalism as I see it. The writer, if they desire, can share the process of an idea or story without the interference of editors, marketing, managers, politics, and deadlines. At any rate, this time you as readers and friends may follow the process. Let the journey begin. 

   Today I made three phone calls just before noon to two different people in the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs - Public Affairs office. No one answered. I left succinct messages introducing myself and my query to update my Wisconsin National Guard knowledge; and, to request information on the current embedded journalist dynamics - in specific for Iraq. For my troubles, I received no calls back. 

   This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Corporal Jesse L. Thiry, age 23, of Casco, Wisconsin. Jesse was in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.  Corporal Thiry was killed by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq, on April 5, 2004.  Casco is a small town just north east of Green Bay. Thiry died in Fallujah, where a mob attacked, killed, and mutilated four U.S. contractors just the week prior.  Jesse was the fourteenth Wisconsin military member to die in Iraq. At the time of Thiry's death, 631 U.S. service members had been killed in the Iraq war.  According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Thiry had been in Iraq less than a month when killed and was part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's mission of occupying Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities about 30 miles west of Baghdad. At the time it was one of the areas of Iraq with the most intense fighting during the U.S. military's 11-month deployment in Iraq.  The Journal Sentinel also mentioned that Cpl. Thiry was a Marine weapons instructor in Quantico, Virgina. He transfered to an assignment that would take him to Iraq just eight months before he was scheduled to leave the military. Jesse Thiry is survived by his mom and dad Susan and Randy Thiry and seven siblings. He is the fourth of eight children and a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School where he wrestled and ran track. He entered the Marine Corps shortly after graduation.

   3,607 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   26,558 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   108 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.