Student's convoy attacked in Iraq

Senior and Indiana National Guard artillery 1st Lt. Matt Schoettmer was involved in a roadside bomb incident while deployed in Iraq Thursday morning. His convoy passed a Tikrit gas station 90 miles north of Bagdad when an explosion lifted his vehicle into the air. He was not injured in the attack.\nSchoettmer, a 24-year-old Columbus, Ind., native, was commanding the patrol when an improvised explosive device detonated between his vehicle and another in the convoy, according to an e-mail account of the incident sent to his brother. After the force of the explosion lifted his vehicle in the air, the proceeding vehicle was struck with ball bearings and shrapnel from the bomb. Schoettmer was "jarred," although not injured in the attack. Two soldiers from the other vehicle were airlifted to a hospital, suffering from minor shrapnel wounds. \n"I am absolutely unscathed of course, I've been telling all of you that I'm invincible," he told his brother in an e-mail. "Both soldiers are fine and excited that their children now will have free tuition at public universities in Indiana."\nSchoettmer, a political science and history major and former IDS columnist, joined the Army National Guard in 2003. He has been deployed in Iraq since January 2005. His units were responsible for protecting voters in Tikrit, Iraq, against attacks during the recent constitution vote. \nHis brother, Patrick Schoettmer, a graduate student at IU and IDS columnist, said his brother looks forward to returning to Bloomington when his deployment ends.\nIn April 2005, he wrote an article titled, "Life in a War Zone," about his experiences in the country in an IDS guest column. \n"The nature of my mission here is non-humanitarian ... (but) I've witnessed more significant things than the military complexes that demonstrate the prowess of our armed forces or the unimaginable technologies we possess; I've witnessed the conditions in which the citizens of this country reside," he wrote.\nDescribing Matt as pleasant and mild-tempered, his brother admits his family worries about Matt, but fully supports his \ndecisions. \n"We take (him being in Iraq) with a grain of salt," but he makes good decisions, Patrick Schoettmer said.\nIn an e-mail, Schoettmer maintained a good humor about the incident. \n"One of my guys had some shrapnel too deep in his leg for the surgeons to dig out. But, now he gets to tell everyone that he's got shrapnel in his leg from the war ... Should be good for a few free drinks"