Merry Christmas From Iraq...

Well, it's officially Christmas Day here, actually it's night, but it's been an o.k. day, I guess... at least we got some sleep, and didn't have to do much of any real work...

I've been on a mission up North, since the middle of last week... we're almost at our destination, just an hour or so away... we stopped in this camp an hour or so north of Baghdad early this morning, and didn't go anywhere because of a broke truck... it's not so bad, really... I mean, I'm actually in the same camp that I spent Christmas of 2003 in... so, it's at least a "familiar place", haha...

Well, at least we got a visit from Santa last night... we were parked at another camp a few hours south of here, along the side of the road just outside the gate, and Santa came by and talked with us for a few minutes, gave a few gifts... then he rode off on his four-wheeler (hey, it's the desert)... it wasn't much, but we all just do what we can to keep our spirits up...

So, from me to all of you who decide to read this, I say MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM IRAQ, and I hope all of you can spend as much time with your loved ones as you can stand... and maybe a little more...

Peace...

(it's actually 9:05 pm here, regardless of what the time-stamp at the bottom says...)

Another Week Going By...

(or is it, month?)

O.k., I know I haven't been exactly writing up a storm on here, but it's not for lack of wanting to... it's mostly because of lack of things to say...

But, what I really want to do now is wish everyone who logs on here a MERRY CHRISTMAS, and I hope that everyone plans well enough to have a HAPPY NEW YEAR...

I really can count myself lucky, I guess... I'm going to have Christmas 2005 in a whole 'nother country!!! And, not only that, but I'm getting PAID to be here... imagine the happiness and joy that I'll have... and, with all of the people out there just trying to give me gifts, like bullets and explosions, well, what could make a holiday any better than that? Not much, I'll tell you now... (well, maybe spending the holidays with my family would be better, I guess...)

All sarcasm aside, I know that I volunteered for the Army, and I knew when I did (Oct. 2003) that there was a war going on... hell, I ended up in Iraq 1 & 1/2 months after I joined... because of my service in the National Guard, I didn't have to go back through any training, so... I just got up off the couch (three years since my last Guard drill), and wham!!! I was in the middle of this war we've got going on here...

But, it's not all bad... at least I'm here with many, many people I consider to be friends... and even though I'm away from my family, I still keep in touch with them as often as possible, and I know that I'll get leave in a few months, and then I'll be home not too long after that...

I hope everyone can have the things they need to make this a Merry Christmas, and I hope that all your families and friends are able to celebrate with you... and, for those of you who can't be together during the holidays, just remember, no matter the reason you're apart, you're still together in you're hearts...

Peace...

The Simple Reality Of Things Here...

I know I've mentioned in some of my other posts about how things are dangerous here, and how it's all a part of the job, but...

I'm not trying for sympathy, or anything like that... but now, when I see the news on t.v. (yeah, we get it here in some places), and I see a headline like "Four U.S. Soldiers die in roadside blast while driving in a convoy" (something similar was on this morning's news), I have to wonder... could any of those (or all) be some of my friends? Or at least, someone in my unit or another unit that I know?

I say this because I heard that another convoy with some guys from our unit was hit the other day... and a very cool Lieutenant was in the Humvee that was hit... he and I aren't exactly friends, but we know and talk to each other often... and he's a very good person, and a good LT... to the best of my knowledge, he wasn't hurt badly, but... there's always the possibility that it could happen again, and worse, to someone else that I know...

We traveled a road a couple of nights ago that was literally a dirt trail through the desert... we figured it was fairly safe, because the conditions of the road was so poor that there was little traffic on it at all... when we got to the Camp we were going to, they were shocked... the reason there was little or no traffic on it was because of the fact that there was a very high chance of being hit by an IED somewhere on the route... which goes to show that even a dirt trail in the middle of nowhere can be dangerous, not just the high-traffic areas...

So, I guess we were lucky... I hope it stays that way...

Peace...

O.K., Now It's All For Real...

I haven't tried to play the fact that I'm currently in the Army, and deployed to Iraq, for any sympathy... I've only tried to state things as fact, for what they are...

We've been on a convoy mission since Monday. It's Saturday now, and we're just now turning around to head back home. Thing is, by the way it should have been figured, we should be back in Kuwait right now. We're not.

First, there was fog so bad for three days, that we got held up in the farthest north camp in Kuwait for two days. Then, we had to stop over at another camp, it was supposed to be for a few hours, it turned out to be an extra day. Because they had too many IED's on the road that they needed to clear. Then, we get delayed while on the road, and had to pull over, pretty much one camp early and spend a few hours there, which turned out to be twelve in all, and finally got to this camp early last night. Tonight was the kicker. (not sure if I counted for all the days there, we've driven during the night, and then day, and... I'm barely sure it's Saturday. Actually, here it's now Sunday, 2:00 am.)

Tonight, we get out the gate early as possible, then drive down the road about a mile. There's a block at a checkpoint, but the Iraqi's won't give us info as to why for a while. They finally tell us something about IED's, and a gunfight a few miles down the road. Then, we start seeing rounds (sorry, bullets) flying by our vehicles (tracers, they light up when you shoot them so you can see them at night). We sit, stopped by the checkpoint block, and watch as rounds are going up in the air, and across the road (over all the trucks, none were hit as far as we know now), and finally the decision is made to turn back around and stay at this camp (we've been here since early this morning) until tomorrow night (we can't travel during the daytime, it's WAY too dangerous).

Then, when we get stopped and settled again for a few minutes, our Convoy Commander comes back and tells us that the convoy that left out of here just a couple hours ahead of us, going the same direction, was hit by four IED's...

We've all been to night-fire ranges before, and seen our tracers going out and down the range, but... it was a bit different to see them flying around in front of and past our trucks...

Now, intel came down that the Iraqis were celebrating a big soccer win... so, that explains the shots fired up into the air (for the most part, they do that to celebrate anything)... but, the rounds going over the trucks, well... those were probably aimed...

Peace...

(if there's a time discrepancy, it's because my blog is set at Central time, while I'm on Iraqi time, and for some reason, the controls aren't displayed right now to change it like I usually do...)

Well, Now I Earn My Money...

I've been in Kuwait a month. I've sat around, went to classes, sat around some more, eaten chow hall food...

Finally, I get a chance to do the job the Army sent me over here for...

We're going on a "North Mission" as it's called here most of the time... which means, we're going to drive our slow, heavily armored tractor-trailer trucks into Iraq, and haul equipment and vehicles from here up to there, pick up stuff and haul it back... it's supposed to last a week, but it may be longer depending on how things go (we're expecting 2 weeks)...

So, I'll be off of here for a while (like I've really been burning up the keyboard anyways, right?), and when I get a chance, I'll try and relay back to everyone how things went... and hopefully, I'll just write that it was o.k., and nothing exciting happened, and we just took a little road trip and came home... because, the alternative is...

Well, let's just hope for the best...

Peace...