Heading to Iraq.

All right, pals, time for some serious talk. Not to say that The Amazing Race isn't serious, but this is more evening news-style serious.

Today is my last day in the Herald-Leader office for several weeks. I'm heading to Iraq for a rotation in McClatchy's Baghdad bureau. We're also working on an embed with a Kentucky National Guard unit, which I hope will give you a closer look at what's really happening over there, and the people moved to make it happen.

I'll land in Baghdad in the middle of next week, and I'll fly out of there on Jan. 15, if all goes according to plan.  My colleagues there will include Bureau Chief Leila Fadel, the woman behind the blog Baghdad Observer. I also have the great honor to work with an Iraqi staff that risks everything to  witness events no Western journalist can truly report. To read more about them, visit their blog, Inside Iraq. Six women staffers were recently honored with the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award, too.

I'm not doing this to catch a thrill or chase away boredom. I will miss you. But I feel that this is one of the most important events that will happen in our lifetime. For many people, on many days, it seems like old news, far away, with little effect on us beyond the gas pump. I understand where that perspective comes from, but it doesn't ring true for me. What happens there, I think, will determine a lot about the course of this world, and certainly how our country fits into it. We live in the United States, and regardless of whether we agree with this war, we all will bear its worst consequences and live in thrall of its successes. As one person, I feel helpless. It's only six weeks, I know, but as one reporter working with a team of dedicated talents, I hope and believe we can show that any war, any recovery, anywhere in this world is our war and our wound. If it happens in our world, we're responsible.

People ask often if I'm scared, and much to my surprise, I'm not yet.

That's not bravery or stupidity talking -- I will be shaking in my body armor, I promise you. I have a lot to learn, about everything. It's a scary time, and fear is a solid natural response that deserves serious consideration. (Oh yes, when people start running, I will learn to sprint.) But I've decided lately that I need to start living according to the ideas and traits I value, so I'm through being a person that acts -- or doesn't act -- out of fear. No smart decision has ever been made out of panic and anxiety, and I've been prepared well by friends, family, doctors, coworkers, reporters and a pack of funny and terrifying British marines. If something terrible occurs, it will be bad luck, and that kind of misfortune doesn't read a map before it decides to land.

Of course, I say all this knowing that I will have the benefit of security guards, body armor and a well-protected bureau inside a hotel near the Green Zone. We've got technology and cash and Nomex goggles and, well, we're the media. My confidence going into this experience make me ache for those working and living there who feel unprepared, uncertain and unsafe. Already, I am lucky. Some people here have expressed pity, perhaps not realizing that there is  no journalistic draft. We haven't had a journalist in Iraq since former H-L reporter Tom Lasseter and photographer Pablo Alcala embedded early in the war. Let me make it clear: I hate that we have to do it, but there no assignment I'd rather report. It feels distant, but it is our story, your story, my story.

I will continue to blog. Alas, you will have to go elsewhere for your Amazing Race updates. (Sorry! Go Kynt and Vyxsin!) I'm also hoping to do some multimedia work that will give you a closer look at the lifestyle.

While I'm gone, a bevy of Herald-Leader reporters are stepping up to pick up my slack. I hope you'll look for them in the newspaper as they cover everything from the Lexington Art League's annual nude show to the Kentuckians on Kid Nation. In particular, keep an eye on Rich Copley's blog, Copious Notes, as he keeps his ever-watchful eye cast on Lexington culture. A lot is happening in local arts and entertainment, and it deserves attention. I'm so grateful that my friends here are willing to help, and next year, when we send a few more reporters to Iraq, I know we'll be happy to keep their seats warm.

Feel free to post questions or comments, or to e-mail me at jgumbrecht@herald-leader.com if you'd like to be out of the public eye. Life is a little frantic at the moment, so I can't always respond, but I promise that I am reading. As one of my wonderful friends at the H-L pointed out, courtesy of Helen Keller, this life can be a grand adventure, or nothing at all, so here I go. Stay with me.

Comments

[The J Train]

Stay safe, and never doubt that we'll be hanging on every word.

[Asian Steev]

be safe.

[Alison]

What an experience! Do take care. I'll be reading.

[elissa]

Oh my god! I'll definitely be thinking about you a lot. Stay safe, girl.

[Kelly]

Wow, what an opportunity. Not necessarily career-wise, but just humanity-wise. I look forward to your reports, and as everyone else said, take care!

[TMH]

Please try to see Michael Franti's "I know I'm not alone" before you go. It will give a different perspective on the people than the military perspective.
www.iknowimnotalone.com
Be safe, and ENJOY the Culture!

[Shannon]

Wow. Wow. Take care, stay safe, and do the things you do best! Ahh, crazy, I cannot speak!

(Also, you do have cat sitters, I assume)

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[crypticguise]

I suggest you read Michael Yon's blog for the past several years to know what reporting from Iraq is really about.

I guess it's time to send the girls to work now. :)

[mrbill]

Finally....McClatchy has its full contingent of folks to fill out the ranks of "F" Troop.

Along with Bobby Caina Calvan (who got celebrity Alzheimer’s — “Do You Know Who I Am?” — the first time he came across a guard shack). The bureau also gave the world the headline, “As violence falls in Iraq, cemetery workers feel the pinch.”

[Michael J. Totten]

Welcome to the sandbox.

You will be fine. Iraq is a lot scarier from far away than it is up close and in person, as you will see.

Michael J. Totten
Fallujah

[Lolliloo]

WOW! I'll send good thoughts daily. Good for you, Brave Girl.

[Scott]

According to Sunshines blog, http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/, things are not going well in Mosul. You may want to do some reporting from there.

[Matt]

I appreciate your work and wish you the best. We'll see you when you get back.

[mick]

super cool, jamie. keep us posted.

[Paul Steszewski]

I'm an employee at the Miami Herald and spent a month and a half in Iraq this year with my reserve unit. You will be with the most amazing people on earth. Listen to them, stay positive, and help them work through their time there. Good luck and God bless