The following are unedited Facebook statuses from my old deactivated Facebook account detailing the actual conditions North of Baghdad at Camp Taji during the initial push by ISIS from Syria into Northern Iraq.

June 12, 2014

All right, there’s a ton of bullshit in the media right now about what’s going on out here in Iraq. Let me tell you what I have heard according to sources at the actual places where it’s all going down or as second-hand information from those who have spoken to them. Everything I’m writing is public knowledge and is strictly my own interpretation of events or information and no one else’s.

Mosul and Tikrit have been taken by ISIS (a powerful group formerly allied with Al Qaeda and very active in Iraq and Syria) and have stopped short of Balad where the Iraqi Army has stopped them with fresh forces. The ISIS are not destroying the cities they have captured, they have actually cordoned off many places in an effort to protect them amidst the mayhem. The Kurdish Peshmerga (the army of the semi-autonomous northern region known as Kurdistan) have joined the fight against ISIS. The U.S. Embassy is not bugging out and is operating normally, as are we. The improvised explosives detonated throughout Baghdad and the incidents of small arms fire are typical of the region. Western media outlets have not been reporting as heavily on Iraq lately and are quick to highlight events in what is otherwise a pretty normal week in a war torn country to inflate their stories. It’s not good, of course, but aside from the seizure of the northern cities there is nothing very new here.

The taking of Mosul and Tikrit was largely done through threat of force and not by actual force. The Iraqi Army stationed in the area –which had several preexisting issues regarding morale, welfare, and leadership– fled and the rest of the Iraqi Army, along with the whole of Iraq, seem to be pretty peeved about this. Locals I’ve spoken to have actually told me that they refused to speak to Iraqi soldiers at checkpoints or have openly showed their disrespect toward them in other ways. The IA are rounding up deserters and putting them back into the fight along with better-led more disciplined units. I have worked with the Iraqi Army as a U.S. soldier myself and now as a contractor and I’m pretty sure that many of them will be wanting to make up for this. Reputation is very important to Iraqis.

As for my welfare, there is currently no more danger than there ever was, which is and always has been far less than the danger most people take on their daily commutes to work, the grocery store, and what not. We have a great private security force here and we are inside of the largest military installation in Iraq. I’m not worried about my safety at all, and you shouldn’t be either.

Perception is everything, so don’t let the media frenzy confuse you. Remember, they are not there primarily to inform you, their first priority is to get you to watch in order to make money. As a former Army public affairs specialist I am probably better qualified than the average bear to speak on such matters. Please don’t ever take what any single source tells you as the cold hard truth. Do you believe 100% of what I say? You shouldn’t, and you shouldn’t believe 100% of what anyone else tells you either.

June 13, 2014

It looks like traditional means of accessing popular social media are being restricted at the moment. Things in and around Baghdad are calm and quiet. No worries.

June 13, 2014

So, it appears that Twitter, Google, Facebook, Facetime, and Skype (at least) are no longer accessible here as of a few hours ago. Reddit, Imgur, and Fourchan are still accessible though. Fortunately there are ways around such BS (obviously). I managed to call my wife and let her know everything in our area is still ok a little while ago. We can no longer access major news outlets online either, however I have heard that the media BS back home is continuing. ISIS HAS NOT MOVED ANY FARTHER SOUTH, BAGHDAD IS NOT CURRENTLY UNDER ANY ADDITIONAL THREAT THAN IT NORMALLY IS. Can this change? Possibly, but as of now all of the action is up North, and most of it continues to be propaganda-driven capturing of cities by ISIS that are already somewhat sympathetic to their cause. There has not been much more fighting than is normal.

Is it possible that the over-reaction of media outlets and their slants could be sufficiently well known and predictable to be used as a tool by clever politicians. . .

June 13, 2014

(In response to a posted article about the contractor Sally Port supposedly arming non-security force contractors who were left behind in Balad to fight against an ISIS attack.)

OMG this is so bullshit! Sally Port left Balad because all of their clients had already left. They did it by choice while everything is calm! Balad isn’t surrounded! ISIS stopped above the bend in the Tigris before it gets to Balad. Those fuckers came through here and had breakfast with us. This is fucking retarded.

Balad isn’t even under attack!

We’re not going anywhere, except to work.

Iraq doesn’t even own jets!

I’m going to get on my bicycle and go get breakfast now. This shit couldn’t be more ridiculous!

June 14, 2014

All remnants of faith in news media lost. If they speak or write, the only thing you should be sure of is that somewhere, someone, is doing something –like eating breakfast on a quiet morning whilst laughing at the BS he’s reading online.

June 18, 2014

Ah, a beautiful morning in Dubai.

— feeling good.

We evacuated Iraq and were out of country for a few months before returning to an alternate location to resume work.