(Things I Learned in Iraq, Revisited)

by W. Lee Warren, MD The author in his “full armor,” Balad Air Base Iraq, 2005.I should have known better. I was walking alone across the base on my way to the Post Exchange. The PX, as we called it, is like a miniature Wal-Mart where soldiers can buy groceries, magazines, books, military supplies, or whatever else they may need while deployed. It was about 2 miles across the base from my trailer, and most of us walked there taking the most direct route.

This path avoided the roads with the bustling traffic of hum-vees, tanks, trucks and other vehicles that seemed determined to run over you, and crossed large swaths of empty desert between developed sections of the base. Each time you decided to walk somewhere you had to make a decision: wear running gear to make the trip faster, or strap on the 40 pounds of body armor and Kevlar helmet and sweat it out in the 100+ degree heat. A couple of days had passed since there had been a major mortar or rocket attack, and I made the easy decision to head across base unprotected. Torn tent wall from mortar attack, Balad Air Base Iraq, 2005.Of course, just as I reached the most exposed area of my walk, it happened. The all-too-familiar sound of the sirens announcing that there were incoming projectiles to the base. This is preceded or shortly followed by explosions as mortars or rockets (or both) begin landing inside the perimeter of the post. In this case, the “thud” of a nearby mortar round detonating followed the “Alarm Red” siren by about 5 seconds.

I looked around for the nearest bunker, and realized that in this part of the base there were none. The only protection for about a quarter mile in any direction was a lone concrete T-barrier about 12 feet high. I ran to it and sat down on the ground with my back to the wall, figuring at least I was protected from one side.

Over the next two hours there were at least 12 separate detonations, involving over 20 projectiles in what would prove to be the largest coordinated attack on our base during the 4 months I was there.

It was about 3 hours before the “All Clear” was sounded. And during that time, I sat on the ground in shorts and tennis shoes and prayed that one of the mortars would not land within the 10 meter “kill zone” around me. The kill zone is the imaginary 30-foot circle around where a mortar lands, in which nothing is expected to survive. Of course, it’s a larger circle for the rockets that were also coming in that day. I pressed my back up against the concrete wall, tried to shrink myself into the smallest area that I could, and waited.

People talk about needing to take time out of their busy lives to “clear their heads,” or “figure out who they are.” Let me tell you: if you need 3 hours to think about your life, try being in the middle of a live mortar attack with no protection and no where to go. The clarity you achieve in your mind will stun you. I’ve never forgotten that feeling of being so helpless, so alone in the middle of that sandy field.

The sirens announcing the attack make a very characteristic sound that I was surprised to find almost exactly mimicked by the severe weather siren they test every Wednesday at noon in Auburn, Alabama where I live. The first time I heard it, I literally dropped to the floor. Even though I was clearly safe in the middle of the United States, every emotional reaction to a mortar attack showed up instantly in my body. My heart raced, I started sweating, and the hairs on my arms and neck stood up- even while I was literally telling myself that it was not a mortar attack.

A few months after I got home, I was giving a speech to a local group at a restaurant. During my talk, someone in the nearby kitchen shut the door to a walk-in cooler. You know the ones that have the heavy rubber seal around the door? When they shut it makes a deep sound that almost feels like it’s pulling the air out of the room, like a vacuum. It turns out that mortars sound almost just like that when they land pretty close to you.

Right in the middle of my talk that sound happened and I froze. It only lasted a second, but I realized what happened and told the group I was speaking to that I had just heard the sound of a mortar landing nearby- none of them had even noticed the sound.

I guess after over 100 such attacks happening around me my body had developed an automatic reaction to the sound. Fortunately, those reactions have diminished over the years since I have been home. But I can still remember the way it felt to be caught in an attack, and I learned a lot of lessons from it.

First of all, I learned that even if it had been a couple of days since the last time we were mortared, the enemy was still out there plotting to kill us all.

Second, I learned that it is not a good thing to be caught in an attack unprepared- I never again went out without wearing my battle gear.

Finally, I learned that it is unwise to take a route that exposes you to danger- there were ways to get across base that had bunkers every few yards in case of attack. I didn’t take the shortcut anymore to save time- it was too dangerous. I think that there are a lot of lessons from my experience with a terrifying mortar attack that we can apply to our lives here at home. You don’t have to be in a war zone to come under attack.

The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we have an enemy who hates us and wants to hurt us. In I Peter 5:8, we are instructed to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Just as there were terrorists outside the base who were constantly plotting to try to bomb us and do us harm, we have a spiritual enemy that never stops trying to either keep us from submitting to God’s will or at least limit us in our effectiveness in the Kingdom.

In Revelation 12, Jesus called Satan “the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night.” And in John 10, Jesus describes Satan as someone who wants to harm you when He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

So one of the keys to surviving spiritual warfare is to never forget that you’re in it. By remaining vigilant to the danger, we are less likely to stumble into situations where we are exposed to the danger of spiritual attack.

I made a decision to walk across the base in an unsafe area because I had grown complacent about the dangers. And more importantly, I did not prepare myself for the battle in which I found myself. When the mortars and rockets were landing around me, the Kevlar helmet and body armor that were sitting in my trailer were doing me no good. They remained strong and effective, but I had not taken advantage of their availability and it was now too late to matter. Does that ever happen in our spiritual lives?

If we fail to equip ourselves with the gear that God readily supplies for us, it should not surprise us when we suffer damage in the inevitable attack.

The apostle Paul describes the battle gear that the Lord has freely available for us in Ephesians 6:10-18. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. In my situation, even if I had been wearing all my body armor, I would have still been in a lot of danger because I was in the wrong place.

My choice to avoid the roads and head off across the base led me down a path that offered no protection. I put myself in danger unnecessarily. This is similar to times in our lives when we choose to put ourselves I situations that invite spiritual attack. If you think about all the times when you’ve struggled with sin or with discouragement, is it possible that you could have chosen a different path and avoided the situations that led you there?

In hindsight, it always seems so clear to me how easily I could have stayed out of certain troubles. This should not surprise me; the Bible promises in I Corinthians 10:13 that God always gives us safe passage if we’ll choose it: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. When I was deciding to walk to the PX, I knew that the roads offered the safety of bunkers and buildings but I chose my own way. Thinking we know the path we should take is a common way we get into trouble- a habit so common among humans that we had to be warned about it twice in the book of Proverbs (14:12 and 16:25): There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Make no mistake: regardless of how well you prepare or which paths you choose, you will be attacked by the devil.

Satan may use other people to discourage or tempt you. He may use circumstances in our lives to convince us that God has forgotten us, that we are unloved, unnoticed, unworthy. Satan really hates you.

What’s the answer when we’re under attack? Prayer. King David knew about warfare; he spent a good portion of his life being hunted like an animal, literally in danger at all times from Saul’s army trying to kill him. Listen to his thoughts from Psalm 3 on how to get through the battle: O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, 
       “God will not deliver him.” But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

As terrifying as my experience of being caught in the open during an attack was, it pales in comparison to the terror of some of the spiritual battles I have fought over the years. When you feel like the whole world is against you, your family and friends have deserted you, you’ve lost everything… you can feel like there is no hope.

Iwant to encourage you that many of these attacks can be avoided by remaining aware of the fact that we have an Enemy that desires for us to hurt, being prepared for the attack that will come, and choosing our steps wisely to avoid as much danger as we can. And when you do come under attack, remember that you are not alone. There is strength in numbers and help in other Christians and the church (Hebrews 10:25).

Most importantly, remember to talk to your Father about it- He will remind you of the victory He has already promised you, and He is faithful to deliver you out of danger. I learned that in Iraq.