Linguist returns to Iraq after 20-year odyssey
 
  By Alun Thomas, 63rd Regional Support Command
  **CAMP TAJI, Iraq –** With Iraq in the clutches of Saddam Hussein, one man made the critical decision to leave his native country.
It took him 20 years but he finally returned, serving with the U.S. Army, now attempting to rebuild his nation.
For Spc. Khalid Hermez, from Detroit, linguist, Company F, 3rd 
Battalion, 227th Aviation Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry 
Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, his deployment in support 
of Operation Iraqi Freedom brings him back home to the country he left 
so many years ago, this time as part of an army fighting in the country 
he was born and raised.
The story began for Hermez when he was born in 1974 in al Karada, a city
 in the heart of downtown Baghdad, where he lived until he was 16.
“I left when Saddam was ruling Iraq and things were very bad,” Hermez said. “I wanted to leave and have a better life.”
Hermez said under Hussein the simplest things were forbidden, such as 
hair length, even down to the way you held your schoolbooks, something 
which even at his age he knew he did not want to follow.
“It was uncomfortable as a Christian living in Iraq because we had no 
freedom in our lives,” Hermez said. “At school we were forced to learn 
Islam and take their classes. If you had a hobby you weren’t able to do 
it.”
“You were under pressure all the time,” he added.
This meant leaving Iraq, something which was extremely difficult in those years, Hermez said, which meant taking chances.
“At that time you weren’t allowed to leave Iraq, but we managed to get 
someone to make a passport for me and take me to the airport and fly me 
to Turkey,” Hermez said.
From Turkey Hermez then flew to Greece, where he stayed until he went to the U.S., leaving by himself without his family.
“It was just me in the beginning,” Hermez said. “I managed to leave 
because they (his parents) didn’t want me to go into the (Iraqi) army 
like my two brothers.”
“The next year my family decided to leave as well,” Hermez said. “They 
went to Syria and from there they went to Sydney, Australia.”
After leaving Iraq Hermez realized he was on his own, which made his attempts to start a new life difficult.
“It was hard, especially when I went to Turkey because everything was 
new and fresh,” Hermez said. “I didn’t have to stay long and I went to 
Greece on a small boat to a village called Saloniki.”
Hermez said he traveled to Athens where he found fellow Iraqi Christians
 who aided him in finding a job and how to survive, which eventually led
 to him departing for the U.S., starting from scratch again.
“When I got to America it was harder, because everything was new, even 
more than in Europe where things are simpler, like the life I used to 
have in Iraq,” Hermez said. 
Despite not knowing anyone, Hermez said he adapted to the U.S. and found
 work in the Midwest, settling in Chicago for the better part of 10 
years before he met his future wife and moved to Michigan and its cold 
winters.
“I was a valet, parking cars and dealing with a lot of students, which 
helped me learn English more ... and I was shoveling a lot of snow under 
the cars,” laughed Hermez at the memory.
While working in construction, Hermez soon had another calling, one 
which involved joining the Army of the country he had adopted.
“I met one of my father-in-laws friends and he asked me if I spoke 
Arabic,” Hermez said. “He told me the Army had positions for 
interpreters and said it would be a better life for my family and my 
future.”
Hermez said he was excited to join the Army, despite being 35 at the 
time he enlisted, which for him was no roadblock to serve the nation he 
was now a citizen of.
“It’s never too late and the Army gave me the opportunity to be a 
translator, so I went through basic, AIT (Advanced Individual Training) 
and all that good stuff,” Hermez said. “I was patient, I graduated and 
finished everything and got the chance to deploy and once again see Iraq
 after 20 years.”
Hermez , who was assigned to the 1st ACB’s only ground unit, said the 
deployment has been somewhat bittersweet, as the unit has yet to conduct
 extensive ground operations.
“So far on all the missions we’ve flown on Blackhawks, so I have only 
seen Baghdad from the air,” Hermez explained. “It would be nice to go 
outside the wire and see more.”
However Hermez sees the improvements that have taken place since the 
fall of Hussein and said people are finally communicating with each 
other more.
“They are learning how to protect each other and protect themselves,” 
Hermez added. “I’m looking forward to seeing it myself one day.”
The addition of Hermez to Co. F has been vital, given his mastery of the
 Iraqi language, which is a major asset for the ‘Felons’, said Spc. 
Justin Birht, from Sumter, S.C., saw gunner, Co. F, 3-227th, 1st ACB.
“He is very valuable if we have to roll out and talk to somebody and 
extract information,” Birht said. “He knows if you’re on the eastern 
side or western side and how the Sunni’s and Shiites do this or wear 
this. He knows all of it.”
“He can tell the differences between the languages and cultural accents 
too,” Birht continued. “Personally he is an awesome person and I hang 
out with him all the time.”
Hermez said he likes the Army life and would like to stay in, not 
regretting his decision to move to the U.S. and forge the life he has 
carved out for himself.
“I’m not the kind of person who looks back, I just keep going forward,” 
Hermez said. “People were impressed when I learned to speak English, 
learned their culture and how to fit in with people and adapt.”
"I like my job and I’m looking forward to doing more missions,” he said.*(This story was originally written in 2009 but not released due to security concerns)*