6 days of missions

Sometimes we don't go anywhere for days, other times it is a non stop parade of missions. This was one of those weeks. Tuesday humanitarian mission, Wednesday supply mission, Thursday escorted counterpart to IZ then followed on to FOB Hammer, about an hour's drive northeast of here, Friday no mission, Saturday no mission, Sunday 3 missions in one day. Today is rest day, but our A/C is out and it's 83 degrees in the room. I have a fan which is louder than most aircraft so a nap probably won't happen. The best part, the AC went out about 3:45 this morning, woke us all up making a lot of noise, then shut down. Sweated out the night and now it's going to hit 100+ today so the room might get toasty before they can fix it. Anyway, can't talk about future missions but there are always a mission for food (Class I) and mail each week. We just vary the day/time. More to come.

Humanitarian Aide

We went on a humanitarian mission today with the IA, very symbolic but I guess that has to happen sometimes. Anyway, it was way out in the middle of nowhere and it appears the problem lies in that Iran is damming up rivers that flow into Iraq to screw with their ecosystem. How nice. Anyway, the IA (IA is Iraqi Army)brought water and some other stuff, turned into a propaganda event for them. I actually ate an MRE today for the first time in a while. Also drank 4 liters of water and didn't have to pee all day. Anyway, it's getting hotter and soon it will be breaking 100. I can't wait. More missions coming and the team that is here is being replaced in two weeks. Anyway, need to get to bed up early tomorrow too.

Grenades

I know, two posts in two days, how exciting! I learned a lesson about grenades today. We were leaving FOB Loyalty when I asked about how arming a grenade happens. Since I didn't come in the Army originally, I was making sure I knew what was safe. After figuring out that just pulling the pin was safe as long as you hold onto the handle, we left the gate to the FOB. We hit a big bump and one of the smoke grenades we hang on our door fell, but it was just the body, the pin assembly separated from the body and it fell. I was worried it had armed at first, but we figured that it was safe for now, it was only a 10 minute ride to our base. So for 10-15 minutes, I rode with this at my feet paranoid it was going to go off. But it didn't because the pin assembly is designed to screw in, only when the pin is pulled and the handle release does it ignite. This led to a discussion about me possibly throwing one (a smoke grenade) for practice. I'll update if that happens. Anyway, thought I would share that tidbit and actually keep this thing updated better than once a month.

Moshgool

Moshgool in Arabic means busy, and the past month has just flown by on me. Today I was reminded that I hadn't updated in a while, and I apologize for that. Not sure how many are still reading since I post so infrequently but I will post more often. The key has been getting a USB keyboard to make it easier to type with. Anyway, over the past month, I have been over and around most of the Baghdad area. From Taji down to Mahmudiyah and from the Mada'ain to Victory Base. I have been so busy my advisor duties have suffered. But the time is flying by and each day I am one more closer to home. The only incident we have had happen is a VBIED (vehicle based IED) went off near were we were at on FOB Falcon, I heard it when I was in the PX and thought it was a controlled detonation (what we do to caches we find) but found out later it wasn't. Anyway, it was that day that 6 went off and one was close. Danger is imminent, coalition forces are still being targeted, let's hope we keep sneaking through.

Keeping busy

Well it seems the internet in the room isn't working out like I thought, and I have failed to update properly. We had to give up our extra PSD personnel so we're now internally pulling PSD for the boss. Spent a crazy 24 hours in the IZ, got to ride in a blackhawk and they fired the guns for testing while we rode to BIAP. It was cool, but I was sitting next to the gunner and he told me, the people in back probably freaked for a second. The trip back was much shorter and didn't include any fun besides a few flares going off. We landed at our top secret airfield (not really but it's small and hard to find) which was neat to see our area by air, though at night. Well, I've been working on Rosetta Stone, getting good with the help of my mutarjems (interpreters). Doing good and over two months down so far, only 10 to go.

Internet at last

We finally got hooked up in our rooms so I should be able to update more often. The past couple of weeks I have been busy each day, and the community computers are constantly busy. We just had a major change in the 1st Cav Div has taken over for 4ID so we fall under them for support. Not much of a change but we can wear the 1st Cav Patch instead of the Big Red 1. The weather here is still cool, but soon to warm up. Then it will be miserably hot until October, and we leave in December. Hoping to be back for Christmas but you never know.

I've been managing the interpreters and they are an interesting bunch. They make about 3 times what an Iraqi makes but all they want is more leave, more pay. We feed them, house them and they want more. They do put their lives and their families lives in danger, so I sympathize with their plight. Well, not much to update but I will try to get on more, if anyone is reading.

Iraqi Elections

Yesterday was a busy day, we went south to another post to pick up some news reporters and escort them around. We visited two polling sites and they filmed, but according to my wife the story did not make the big network news (It was ABC). Not that you would know me if you saw me, I was sitting in the gunner's seat in a HMMWV painted like an Iraqi HMMWV. It went very well, no incidents and the Iraqis really clamped down. We joked that they are more like us now because by 1400 they were arguing about who was winning. They even lifted the curfew and vehicle ban. We ended not heading back until the elections were over, at about 1800 local, getting back in settled about 1930. I met my counterpart and we discussed my family, hard to explain that I had no cousins, they are all about family and couldn't believe I didn't have cousins. He invited me to come to his village, but I think I have to pass on that. He wants a picture, though, so should be able to do that for him, but he wants me to wear a headdress and traditional garb (dish-dasha). Maybe it is for propaganda, who know but I will do it. Well, that is the update for now, hope to update again soon.