The other shoe...

So, it's nighttime on the 30th of June. They transfered power two days ago and NOTHING has happened. No massive attack. No volleys of rockets screaming into the Green Zone. No VBIEDS. This is totally unexpected in it's quietness. You can feel the tension, as everyone is actuely aware that things could get out of hand at any moment. This is a terrible place to be, afraid to be happy that things went smoothly and afraid that the attacks will start at any minute. I even had a dream last night about standing on the top of an apartment building watching hundreds of rockets impact on the Green Zone. Not exactly a plesant dream. Anyway, so, even the news is covering other things than Iraq. In fact, not one article on my yahoo homepage is about Iraq. Kinda feels wierd. Like, that this isn't a good thing. That the only way things get covered here in Iraq are if people get killed or seriously hurt. OR if we mess something up. Then for sure it'll be covered. Anyway, so we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The more hopefull, optimistic side of me is hoping that all the bad guys have decided to wait and see if Iraq really can be governed by Iraqis. The more realistic side of me thinks that they're just waiting a few days until everything calms down a little, and then they'll launch their attacks. But, I don't think anyone really knows what's going to happen. So, as usual, I'll keep ya'll posted! B

SURPRISE!

I wake up this morning to the words "hey, they're turning over soverignty in like an hour. wake up." Lol. Which, of course, confused me so much cause I knew it wasn't Wednesday. But as I woke up, I realized that it was a fantastic idea. If it caught all of us off guard, it certainly caught all the bad guys off guard. Paul Bremer only knew 30 minutes before we did. In fact, I went to my normal monday meeting with the Iraqis in our area, and THEY didn't even know. I had to tell them. Hey, congrats. You're in charge of your country now. Enjoy!
They seemed all happy at first, but then, I think they realized all the things the Coalition was doing for them, they had to do now. For themselves! I'm pretty sure they wanted to give their soverignty back. Lol. Unfortunately, we're pretty sure the bad guys will still try to do lots of damage, but at least they can't impact the change in soverignty. That's the good thing. So, that's about all that's going on right now. Tomorrow should be a very interesting day. Stay tuned! B

From Dallas News...

This article is written by an embedded reported that came here for a few days. Enjoy.

Green Zone: Safest place to be in Iraq
U.S. troops who guard Baghdad's Green Zone confident but cautious

10:52 PM CDT on Friday, June 25, 2004
By ED TIMMS / The Dallas Morning News

BAGDHAD, Iraq – Baghdad's so-called Green Zone is Iraq's ultimate gated community.

Heavily armed soldiers control access to the area's closed-off streets in central Baghdad, aided by a seemingly impregnable maze of dirt-filled barriers and imposing concrete walls topped with razor wire. From observation posts above, troops monitor potential threats.

Because U.S. occupation authorities and members of the emerging Iraqi government live and work in the Green Zone, keeping it safe and secure is a top priority. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Guard forces search thousands of pedestrians and vehicles that enter the area daily. In addition, high-tech sensors and dogs trained to sniff out explosives help keep bombs from getting inside.

First Lt. Jordan Enger, 24, of Houston is a 2002 graduate of Texas A&M University who serves with the task force responsible for defending the Green Zone and some of the adjacent neighborhoods. He said tight security "creates a much different atmosphere" than the rest of Baghdad.

"With our presence here, it's definitely the safest place to be in Iraq," he said.

In fact, life inside the Green Zone is more low-key. Pizza takeout is available. Nonmilitary personnel can visit several bars. Soldiers can walk around their compounds without helmets and body armor..

Civilian joggers in shorts and T-shirts or tank tops run along the streets unarmed. Women, including Iraqis, are more likely to wear Western clothes, including jeans and short-sleeved blouses.

But the Green Zone is a big target for insurgents who want to sabotage U.S. efforts to establish a more stable and democratic government in Iraq.

"If we don't protect this base of power, then we'll never get a reasonable democracy or government stood up in this country," said Lt. Col. Robert Campbell, 42, of Bonham, who commands the nearly 1,100 soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division's 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, and other units that comprise "Task Force Warhorse."

His soldiers are taking additional measures to beef up defenses and rehearsing for possible attacks in the coming days.

Even now, the Green Zone is not immune to attack. Mortar shells and rockets randomly detonate within its boundaries, usually harmlessly. Occasionally, car bombs – to date, the deadliest method of attack employed by insurgents – explode just outside its boundaries.

So far, none of the car bombs have made it past the defenses. Insurgents sometimes fire at the soldiers manning the checkpoints, from the cover of buildings or from vehicles. But the task force has suffered no fatalities.

"It's like water coming up against the dam," Sgt. Daniel Stinebaugh, 43, of Killeen, said of the violence on the Green Zone's edges.


No illusions of safety

The soldiers have no illusions, however, that they have it safe or have the luxury of relaxing their guard. They know that insurgents would like nothing more than to successfully launch an attack against what is effectively Iraq's political and military nerve center – and that their security measures are constantly being probed for weaknesses.

"It's very hard to stop somebody who's willing to give their life for what they believe in, right, wrong, or indifferent," Col. Campbell said. "We know we can't stop a car bomber from setting off a bomb outside a checkpoint, or right at a checkpoint. What we can do is limit the number of casualties."

A tangible reminder of the risk is gouged into the road that passes through Checkpoint 11. The filled crater marks the spot where a car bomb exploded on May 6, killing Arkansas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Hesley Box Jr., 24, of Nashville, Ark., and seven Iraqis, shortly before Col. Campbell formally took command of the area.

At checkpoints, soldiers give Iraqi workers and residents the most scrutiny. Residents have been issued identification cards. They can receive visitors from outside the Green Zone but must meet them at a checkpoint and surrender their identification cards, as must the guests. The documents are returned when the visitors leave.

Iraqi workers and residents sometimes must wait for hours in line to be screened before they can enter the Green Zone.

"At the same time, there are ways that you can show that you care," said Staff Sgt. Richard Barrera, 25, of Fort Worth. "Some guys who are sweating in the hottest part of the day, maybe you offer them a drink of cold water. Somebody who looks like they're hungry, you offer them a little food."

This week, traffic at one checkpoint was halted for more than 90 minutes when tests indicated that a car might be carrying explosives.

"We upset some of the residents who live here ... but we don't want anyone driving through here while there is possibly a car bomb," said 1st Lt. Bryan Frizzelle, 24, of Baltimore.

None were found in the car.

The soldiers who man the checkpoints develop a knack for spotting vehicles and individuals who merit more scrutiny.


The 'low-riders'

Sgt. Edwin Ordanza, 36, a native of Baguio in the Philippines, looks for "low-riders" – cars that seem weighted down. People who seem nervous, appear to be sweating excessively, or whose hands shake as the soldiers check their identification also are more likely to get more attention.

Some soldiers are able to tell when a vehicle that's not normally in the neighborhood is parked on the street, potentially a car bomb.

Getting to know the neighborhood also may lessen the chance of a misunderstanding with potentially dire consequences.

Spc. Joseph Lampron, 43, of Rumford, R.I., one of several Rhode Island National Guard members who volunteered for service in Iraq, learned that some Iraqis living near Checkpoint 11 raise homing pigeons and wave flags to get them to land or fly. Soldiers who were unaware of what they were doing, he said, thought it might be a signal to insurgents.

To break the monotony, soldiers rotate through different positions at the checkpoints, and many go on patrols through Iraqi neighborhoods in the Green Zone, or in adjacent neighborhoods under Task Force Warhorse's control.

"Everybody likes patrols," said Sgt. 1st Class John Kaasch, 40, of Columbus, Neb. "One reason is that you get out and mingle with the civilian population."

By cultivating relationships with Iraqi residents, the soldiers said they hope to encourage their cooperation in helping deny insurgents use of Iraqi neighborhoods in the zone to launch attacks. They also said they want to help Iraqis improve their neighborhoods.

Capt. Alexander Rasmussen, 27, of Crown Point, Ind., the task force's civil affairs officer, said projects valued at about $500,000 – ranging from sewage system improvements to school supplies – have been funded in its area of responsibility. Task Force soldiers have helped jump-start neighborhood governing councils and provided aid to businesses.

Capt. Henry Alvarez, 31, of Roswell, N.M., whose soldiers operate in the Iraqi neighborhoods inside the Green Zone, said he is asked to help resolve everything from housing issues to domestic disputes.

"The only thing I have trouble with is everybody wants me to come over and eat at their house – and the Iraqi food kind of tears me up sometimes," he said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/ latestnews/stories/062604dnintgreenzone.746f.html

It's a good thing you can't OD on sunflower seeds...

With what's been going on here, I got tasked to work night checkpoint last night. Wow, what a tedious boring shift. I stood up in one of the guard towers and watched traffic. Woo hoo. I ate so many sunflower seeds it wasn't even funny. But, it was pointed out to me that being bored is much better than the alternative. I was so glad to get back and fall asleep. Especially since I hadn't really slept in like 3 days. Anyway. So, Baghdad. There's just this...tension right now and we're still FIVE days away from the transfer of power. And there's not guarantee that things will calm down after that. Some here think it's going to be just like the year 2000 thing. Lots of freaking out before hand and absolutely nothing happens on the actual day. I sure hope that'll be the case. But, I can't shake the feeling that the really bad attacks are still to come. And for the most part, it isn't even Iraqis causing all these problems. It's these foreign fighters who are scared to death of a healthy powerful Iraq. They will do whatever it takes to keep Iraq down and fighting with itself. Even Al Sadr, once he talked with the Iraqi President, agreed to stand down his militia and become a political power instead of a military one. But, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. (I have to admit, it is pretty cool to be here at the "birth of Iraq" and witnessing all this first hand.) I'll keep ya'll updated. B

Iraq burning...

The proverbial stuff has hit the fan. We've been waiting for it for a while, but it is still a tad bit of a surprise to wake up and realize that the bad guys have launched their major offensive. What I've read so far is that 4 cities are being targeted and multiple things are happening here (I can't really post those). What's worse is that I tried from 11 pm to 6 am to fall asleep. I finally fell to sleep around 6 am and of course, got woken up several hours after that for dumb stuff. So, I'm pretty thankful for all types of caffiene right now, especially iced coffee. There's not much more I can post on here about what's going on, but things are crazy. I will continue to try to post small blurbs to let you know what I can. B

The best laid plans of mice and men......

Anon#2 got me thinking of another fun encounter with Iraqi Culture...My first day riding around with the unit we were to replace, they were telling us the small bits about meeting people here. As we rolled up to a house, they told us that if we wanted to drink the local water, it was our choice, that it didn't mess you up that bad. I just kind of shook my head. So we sit down, and the owner of the house brings out a pitcher or tap water and ONE glass. So, I'm kind of wondering where the other glasses are as the first guy takes the glass, drinks the water and hands it back to the host. He fills the glass back up and hands it to the next guy. And of course, I'm like the last guy in the line of people. Now, being new, I'm being really paranoid about offending people I've just met so, it comes my turn, I took the glass and drank a couple of sips. Hoping he would be offending, I handed the glass back and all was good! Well, not all was good about an hour later...but I think you can figure that one out on your own... B

Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! For all fathers out there but especially for mine, because every day I realize a little more just how right he was on just about everything and how I wish I had just taken his advice. Especially the advice to maybe not do ROTC. lol. But, here I am and I just want everyone to know how absolutely great a father I have. Thanks so much Dad, for everything. (And there should be a phone bank set up here in the next few days, so I look forward to calling home.) B

I HATE BADGES!

Now, I really hate badges...8 straight hours of making badges...........

TGIF

Well, I guess here it would TAIT (Thank Allah It's Thursday). Anyway, last night, some Iraqis got married and the Reception got a tad out of hand. Apparently one guy accused another of stealing beer and things went downhill. By our reports, it was a 100 person brawl and I missed it. Bummer. Ah, probably a good thing, as soon as we showed up to start crackin heads there would have been news cameras all over that place. So, I guess it's a good thing we missed it. I definitely just passed out for like 3 hours today. I'd been outside all day, drinking more water than I thought humanly possible, and started not to feel so good. So, once we got back, I decided to lay down for a bit and woke up 3 hours later. Lol.
So, I read the other day some group conducted a poll in Iraq and found out that all of them want us gone and see us as occupiers. Well, I know where they must not have checked. The Green Zone, cause everyone I've talked to, young or old, has said they like having us around. That if we leave, there will be a civil war. One said asking us to leave is like playing Russian Roulette with an automatic pistol. I don't know if maybe it's just that our unit has had the right approach, or that we have the right people, but they like having us in charge of their security. They surely do not want Iraqis in charge of their security, too many are still taking bribes and not enforcing all the laws. My crew was discussing that they just need to grab up all the Queen's New York cops, hand them the rules, and let them loose. The Iraqis would never know what hit them. I'd love to sit back and watch that transformation. Anyway, my main point is that the Iraqis do actually want us here, at least until they can clear out the corruption and get their feet up under them, then they will allow us to leave and invade Syria. J/K. Well........

Pictures from Baghdad...

I put up some pictures on my yahoo account...you can get to them by going here

http://photos.yahoo.com/phantomdw2

and checking them out. Let me know if ya'll want to see more pictures from around Baghdad or of me ;-), just let me know what you want to see.

B

(New pics updated 19JUN04)

Metaphor for Iraq...

As you know by now, my unit is responsible for the security in the Green Zone. And in that "Green" Zone, we have an apartment complex inhabited by mostly good people, but we know there are some bad living there that we haven't managed to uncover yet. So, the people requested that we seal off all but one of the entrances to this apartment complex to increase the security and allow no unauthorized access. Being the high speed unit we are, we immediately began emplacing a barrier for the 2nd biggest entrance (one that leads in from a back way). So, we blocked off this entrance with concrete barriers and LOTS of concerntina wire to make sure no one could get through. As we're putting this up, two old women walk up and start argueing with us. They tell us their house is right over there and could they get through. No, this is blocked off, you need to go around. But but but. They stayed there for like 30 minutes trying to argue with us. I think finally they realized that we weren't going to open it up just for them and so they left. It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes later when I saw them on the other side of the barrier entering their house. So, for those who are now wondering why in the world I told you this story, here's the point. Sometimes, I feel like Iraq is just like these two women. They'd rather sit and argue and complain then just do a little extra work to solve their problems. They want us to do everything for them. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are those here that have done TONS of hard work to solve their own problems, but the majority of them just want us to do everything for them. I have serious doubts at this point that Iraq can become a soverign nation in 14 days. But, I guess we'll see...

lost in translation...

At lunch today with my CPT, and two of our translators, (one who is like 24 and the other who's like 50ish) the server handed us all canned sodas. I take mine, and like subconciously, like normal, I tap the top of the can to make sure it doesn't explode when I open the can. Our younger interp looks over at me and says, "Why do Americans tap the top of the can before they open it, because I've started doing it and I've been saying to my self 'you IDIOT, you keep tapping the top of your can and you have NO idea why you're doing it!' so please tell me why you do that?!?" I'm just rolling on the floor at this point, so, I stop laughing long enough to explain it knocks the bubbles off the sides of the can, keeping it from exploding when you open it. He looked SO relieved when I finished. So, now he knows why he's tapping the top of the can. LOL.

ahhh...found my last box of tic tacs...

It was hiding from me, but I found it! Of course, being my last box, I'm trying to save it, but, they're just soooo good. I cannot stop myself...

Some interesting news...

For those of you who took the time to read the post on what my job is here, first off, congrats for making it through that post, and secondly, here's a little more to add to that. As a lieutenant in the Field Artillery, there are three jobs I am supposed to have before I make CPT (usually takes 3ish years): Fire Support Officer (FSO), Fire Direction Officer (FDO), and Platoon Leader (PL). I'll spare you all the boring details of what these jobs would entail if we were back at Hood. I'll just fill you in on what they mean here. Basically you know what I do right now as an FSO. The PL and FDO, as far as I know, have both been turned into patrol leaders with the mission of escorting important guys around baghdad. It's a very interesting and ever changing job. Obviously there's a reason I'm explaining all this (no snickering, I heard that), that I'm due for a change in jobs here soon. I've been an FSO for about as long as I could manage and they're telling me it's time to move on. Partly I do want to move, but partly I want to stay doing the job that I'm doing. I'm right here in the thick of everything that's going on. You cannot find a more central location than the Green Zone. But, I keep seeing lieutenants who have no leadership skills or understanding of how an officer is supposed to act, running platoons right into the ground. So, I want my own platoon, so I can use all the things that I've been seeing, good and bad, to run a platoon well. Well, at least I hope I can.
The big news, and what prompted this entry, was that one of my fellow LT's might get relieved here soon, and since I'm next to move, that would mean I would take his platoon. So, this could all change very shortly, OR at the scheduled time in 3 months. I'll definitely keep you informed. B

A little bit ironic, don't you think?

Definitely found a new definiton for the word ironic. Sitting in downtown Baghdad watching the Iraqi Police Colonel play the shoot-em-up game Conflict: Desert Storm on his computer.

This one time...at the checkpoint...

In order to get in the checkpoint, you have to have some sort of access badge, and in some cases, a memoradum with a proper photo ID can get you in. So, this one time...at the checkpoint, this teenager walks up and says he works at the hospital, he needs to get to work. They ask him for some proof, and he's got no badge, no name or number to call, nothing. They tell him without some sort of proof he's not getting in. He stands there for a second, walks 20 feet away, and whips a piece of wrinkled paper out of his pocket. He scribbles furiously on it (IN ARABIC) for a few seconds and signs the bottom. He turns, walks back to the checkpoint, and hands it to the soldier. He says that this his is proof that he works at the hospital. The soldiers just shakes his head. Just go away.

For those wondering...

For those I've left wondering just what is it I'm actually doing over here, I'm going to try to explain all that my job entails over here. I am the FSIO for my company, FSIO standing for Fire Support and Information Officer. My primary job, and what I went to school for, is the coordination of all indirect fires (artillery, mortars, close air support, attack aviation) for the company. Well, since we're not doing much shooting of artillery in downtown Baghdad, they added the Information Officer part. This part means basically that anything not normally done by the company, I get to do. Yipee. Primarily, that's debriefing every section when they get finished with a patrol in the Green Zone. I pass that up to higher so they can decide what to do with the info I gather. I also gather HUMINT (human intelligence), which is a glorified way to say that I talk to people about things that are going on and hope that at somepoint they tell me about bad people doing bad things in our area. That is without a doubt the most fun, becuase I geniunely enjoy talking to Iraqis and finding out how they think. Also, in my scope of responsibilites is handling GZ access badges, translators, the census of everyone in the GZ, any walk-up HUMINT source, and any other thing that no one wants to do. That may sound like a gripe, but it ensures that my job is very varied and I cannot get bored doing the same thing every day. Burned out, but never bored. Lol. OH, and any impact in our area, I have to go there ASAP and analyize it to figure out where and what was fired. I love that job most. LOL. So, I hope that explains things a little. Any confusion, just leave a comment, and I'll clear it up. B

Welcome to Iraq...

A few weeks ago, an Iraqi approached me while I was chilling out by our Humvee. He started talking almost perfect english (a semi-rare thing here) telling me that he was Iraqi but had moved to Oregon and become an American citizen. (He showed his passport and Oregon driver's licence.) He had come back because he was homesick and wanted to visit the new Iraq. His issue dealt with borrowing the apartment his brother's cousin lived in and paying to have his brother live outside the Green Zone. This was very important because his wife and kids were coming here for their summer vacation. I thought that was pretty cool, except I think I would have waited at least a year before bringing my family here. Anyway. So, he goes in to talk to the Neighborhood Advisory Council (who controlled housing at this time, and was trying to figure out who lived in each apartment and whether they were their illegally) and they told him to bring the apartment owner in to discuss the issue soon. So, yesterday, this guy, named Laith, and his brother's friend show up. The NAC tries to sort it all out and find out if he is telling the truth. During the discussion, I'm kinda zoned out since it's all in Arabic. I hear the noise level rise dramatically and so I start paying attention again. My translator is like 3 feet from this guy and they are both shouting at each other. The other NAC members join in and I realize they're about to throw down. So, I jump up, one hand on my pistol, and move over to calm the situation down. As I walk over, everyone starts standing up and yelling. The room goes quiet just as I grab the interpreter to ask what's going on. At that point, the CPT comes in (he'd be outside the room) and pushes the two apart. I'm like, what's going on? He just said that he would kill anyone who tried to take his apartment away from him or go in the apartment. And that he is an Amercian citizen so they cannot do this to him. One of the NAC members throws down his badge saying he's going to quit because of the threat on his life. The CPT tells him to SIT! We verify that this AMERICAN CITIZEN just threatened the lives of Iraqis. Sure enough he did. The CPT calls for Zip cuffs and says "LT, grab your rifle and lock and load." CHA CHINK. He realizes at that point how deep he's in and tries to backtrack. Too late bubba. We haul him out in zip cuffs. I'm just shaking my head at this point. What a bonehead move. What was he thinking? Jeez. So, drive him over and lock him up in an Iraqi prison. As we're leaving, he asks, what did I do? Both the CPT and I give him a incredulous look and the CPT says, you threatened to KILL members of Iraq. He looks at us and with all seriousness says, but I have free speech. I was just using my free speech rights. What? Bubba, you're in IRAQ. They haven't quite gotten to putting that in their constitution yet. And you cannot even threaten people in the US. I'm again shaking my head. And yeah, guy, WELCOME TO IRAQ.

You know it's hot when....

You know it's hot when the internet guy says the reason we're not getting our internet service is because the cables on the roof have MELTED!

The Usual Suspects...

We got a call yesterday from the Marines guarding CPA headquarters. There were two older ladies there who had been there every day for the last month and were harrasing these Marines to death. (They were demanding to see Paul Bremer.) So, we roll up to the CPA parking lot. CPT and I walk to where the Marines are holding these two ladies. We get the brief about them, that they keep demanding to talk to Bremer and that they would like the women to be escorted outside the Green Zone. So, CPT and I ask them to stand up and come with us. The first lady is like 5 feet tall, with her arm in a sling. (From a car accident a month ago, in which she wasn't hurt.) CPT takes the lead and asks me to take the trail position. The second lady is, I kid you not, all of FOUR FOOT FIVE and chinese with big square red glasses on her face. The Marines decide to walk with us to the vehicles. Since the first woman could walk pretty good, they soon pulled ahead. So, picture this in your mind. 2 heavily armed marines and two soldiers (one of which was me) in full battle rattle escorting this FOUR FOOT FIVE Tall old lady down the sidewalk in front of the CPA and she's walking slower than I can low crawl. Every CPA official walking by was ROLLING. These two Brits come up behind us and one says "Make sure she doesn't run away!" I was just hoping there were no TV cameras. Although, everyone would be laughing, cause I sure was. B

Something to Ponder...

When is doing the right thing not the right thing?

What an insane day...but I'm okay...

WOW. Today was the mother of all crazy days. I had a feeling this morning that it was going to be another one of those days. Especially when I found out that the IGC was going to be choosing a president and prime minister to run the country until elections in January. So, that being said, we rolled out to our normal "meet the community" day and there was about half as many people. I turned to the gunner and commented on the bad omen this was. Sure enough, as we're driving from the community center. BOOM! BOOM! One was close and right behind us. So we turned around and drove to the impact site. No damage cause it hit in an empty piece of dirt but the shrapnel went everywhere. So, I do my crater analysis piece (more on that when I get around to telling ya'll what I do here), take some pics and entertain some special forces guys who heard the blast and want to sightsee. About half-an-hour passes and I get back in the truck to continue our mission. Both the CPT and I are sitting in the truck with our Kevlars off trying to cool down in the heat when we hear the sky torn apart. RIIIIIIP! We both just look at each other and scramble for our kevlars. BOOM! BOOM! He throws the car into gear and squeels the tires getting to the impact. We get the grid and realize that the impact is in the middle of a housing complex (the KDP, Kurdistan Diplomatic Party). We turn onto the street into a tornado of activity. People are running everywhere. Screaming. Crying. Shouting. I grab the radio to call it in as the CPT sprints to the scene. Wounded he yells. I call up the information to my fire support guys. Realizing I'm sounding just a tad bit too freaked, I take a deep breath to calmly call it in. At least 4 KIA, mulitples wounded. Main copies and askes if we need medical support. I tell them no because the Kurds are throwing people in their silver SUVs and hauling butt to the Combat Support Hospital. About 4 SUVs speed off with lots wounded. After they clear out, I run over to the house and go inside to asses the damage and make sure there's no UXO in the house. I couldn't believe the damage. It ripped part of the roof off of the building and just decimated the room. Ensuring everyone left was okay, I ran back downstairs to the truck. Taking a deep breath and lots of water, my heart slowly returned to normal. Hearing that the other boom is close to where we are, we drive towards the reported location. Luckily, this one hit a building no one was in and there aren't any casualties. Hot as all get out, I'm downing as much water as I can without getting sick. Taking a pause, we sit on the side of the road waiting for everything to get cleared up. After about 15 minutes, we turn around and start moving towards our checkpoint. We're driving on the road leading right to the checkpoint when BOOM! and the whole HUMVEE shakes. I look up the road and all i see is this massive cloud of smoke rising up from past the checkpoint. I know immediately that it's a VBIED (vehicle borne improvised explosive device) and that lots of people are very hurt. The driver floors the gas to get to the checkpoint. Rolling up, we hear tons of small arms fire, about 500 meters in front of us. Sounds just like a firefight. I jump into the tower to see what's going on and see a burning building but not much else. I look around for a while, and decide to go back to the ground to see what else is going on. The VBIED is outside of our sector, so we can't really do much about it but listen to the radio. Lots of reports coming in, all pretty bad. Luckily though, no American soldiers hurt in any of the blasts. What a crazy day. That's a really long post so I'll leave it at that. I hope it all makes sense, if something doesn't, just post a comment and I'll clarify. To reiterate, no Americans were hurt today and I am safe and sound. But I think I definitely earned my combat patch today. I think, in some ways, I'd rather be in a direct firefight instead of having rockets falling all around me. Anyway, we'll see what fun things tomorrow brings. Black Knight 14 out!