Hello, All...
Time once again for a weekly update from the wacky, wild, always sunny, and sometimes sandy land of Iraq...
Well, the lat week passed as they all tend to do. Sun comes up, it gets hot and sandy. Sun goes down, it gets cool and sandy. If nothing else can be said about this place, it IS consistent. Had a week of QRF and convoy runs, yadda, yadda, yadda. Heard and felt an explosion (it rocked the barracks building we were in, watching yet another mooooovie), mounted up to react (it's what Quick REACTION Force was intended to do, we thought) and were called back in before our second vehicle left the gate. Hmph. And here we thought we were out to fight a war. The TOC, in their expert opinion (by expert I mean picture 12 slightly learning disabled monkeys and a dartboard with tactics written on it - even when they hit a solution, they may or may not correctly read the words on it), decided the explosion was far enough out of our AO (Area of Operations) that it did not warrant investigation. Hmm... the explosion was (A) powerful enought to rock the trailer we were in (B) felt by an LPOP (Listening Post / Observation Post [the infamous TOWERS] on the other side of base, and (C) viewed as a large plume of smoke on the horizon. Methinks something that powerful should have warranted investigation, but hey... what do I know?
Started this week last night at 2200 (that's 10 PM for all you silly civilians!) Third shift guarding the entry control points. Not a bad gig. Everyone else is alseep which means no one's around to bother you. There are a few of us at each ECP, so we keep each other company. A roving patrol brought coffee and cookies out, so we were set.
By 0600 this morning, we were ready for a little shut eye. And little is what we got. About two hours after our shift, one cell block of the kindly Iraqi EPWs decided instead of moving to the newer, more secure compound, which would mean forfeiting all the homemade weapons and contraband they had managed to collect in the interim facility, they would rather threaten rioting. Some went as far as the tear off their shirts and proceed to cut themselves, showing they we willing to shed blood over it. Hmm, kinda took our job away from us, there, huh fellas? Well, off we go to the prison, trading rifles for wooden sticks. Picture us, lined up in our ranks, officers walking up and down the lines, prepping us for battle with a band of dirty, unkempt men who did not want to move forty feet across a street. It was very Braveheart or Gladiator-esque, except I for one, think I looked much better than Mel GIbson or Russell Crowe (humor me).
Well, the IRaqis proved that ignorance and stupidity do not go hand in hand and after about an hour of looking and acting tough, they decided that "hey guys, those sticks the soldiers have? Yeah, about them... see, they look like they could really hurt and well, they do only want us to move across the street and all. Whattaya say we just do what they say. And Habib, you should have the slash wound to your chest looked at -- don't be so rash next time."
So score another one for the good guys. And say a little thanks to a Brits -- they managed to break up a major arms deal in Um Qasr. IT has been reported that RPG attacks are threatened as retaliation, but if the Brits broke up the ring, where are they going to get the rockets? These are the days of my life.
Well, I'm going back to my air conditioned trailer to contemplate life's little questions, such as "how do you spell 'W'?"
Until we meet again, please keep the emails coming.
Miss you all!
D
D's Daily Tip on "How to Prepare for a Deployment to Iraq"
Find the roughest, most crime-ridden, violent city in your area. Move to
the worst part of the city. Set up a tent in the middle of the roughest
street. Carry a gun, hand our bad, ultra-preserved food, and tell everyone
you are there to help them.
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