CNN reports on the last troops in Iraq

Frank Rosenblatt returns to Iraq as a lawyer -- and a new father
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
updated 2:11 PM EST, Sun December 11, 2011


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Frank Rosenblatt is among the last soldiers sent to Iraq, to shut down U.S. bases
He leaves his wife and young daughter in Texas in late July, expecting to be gone a year
The military lawyer finds himself going after the enemy -- in an Iraqi court
Among his greatest concerns: Will his 1-year-old know him when he returns?

Editor's note: This is the first of four stories profiling soldiers and their families whose lives were defined by the Iraq war.

Kirkuk, Iraq (CNN) -- Rocket alarms pierced the quiet at Camp Warrior, breaking the concentration of Army Maj. Frank Rosenblatt.

The 35-year-old military lawyer was talking strategy with other attorneys on their effort to push the Iraqi government to prosecute a man accused of launching attacks against the American base. Now, another assault was under way.

A voice blared from the loudspeakers: "Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!"

It was early October, and insurgents had targeted the base in northern Iraq with surprising accuracy in recent weeks. Most of the time, the explosives fell short, hitting the ground in the base's protective perimeter. But sometimes a rocket found its mark. One had struck a housing area nine days earlier, killing a young soldier who was part of Rosenblatt's security detail on his trips to the courthouse in Kirkuk.

read more here