Iraqi Reaction...

In my desire to get more people to ask me questions in the comments section, I'm going to answer the latest question posed to me. "How do the Iraqis respond to us?" I've been going out about 2 weeks now, so I think I have a pretty good idea of the answer to this one. For the most part, they try to stay out of our way and obey what directions we give them. A lot even make the effort to give us a clear lane to travel, and that works out better for all, because that way we get out of their way faster. There are those that are driving and just not paying any attention to anything and luckily 5 tons of armored truck with a machine gun mounted on top makes them wake up. I've had several close calls with inattentive drivers but none that have hit my vehicle. And then, there are those, teenage drivers who try and weave in and out of traffic not realizing that we will win any battle between our vehicle and theirs. That being said, the most important thing for us is to be clear about what we want the traffic to do. When we're clear, we usually don't have any problems. And that's good for everyone.

Today I got a grand tour of the city, going on my first long range mission and visiting lots of places in Baghdad. Depending on how much space I'm allotted on that picture site I have, we'll see how many I can post. As for now, peace out! B

Busy busy busy

Today I got my first day off in a week and a half since I've started my new job. Techically this was my first day off since I got into Iraq, since as the lone FSIO I never was "off" (even though I did have a bit of free time in between making badges). My job now consists of escorting people (civilian and military) to various locations around Baghdad. It has definitely allowed me to see much more of the city (pictures coming soon) and a new face of the Iraqi people. Before, as some maybe have guessed, I saw a very small section of Baghdad who was, for the most part, very well behaved and very well regulated by the government. As I'm getting outside of the Green Zone more, I'm starting to see much more of what would be called the "real" Baghdad. Lots of open air markets, people riding in ox carts, people going about their normal lives as best they can. There is a lot to admire in those that are carrying out their every day activities even though they know there's always a threat of a VBIED or mortar or rocket or even random (or not) small arms fire. That is definitely something to admire.

Moved...

I haven't been able to post in a while cause I got the call Monday evening to have all my bags packed in an hour and a half to move to my new job. So, here I am, in a TOTALLY different job having to learn everything over again. All my extensive knowledge of the Green Zone is now totally useless cause my new job entails me going all over Baghdad on missions. I'm still trying to decide how much I'm going to be able to reveal about what I do now, but I'll still try to post on things I know aren't classified, like how I no longer have an over abudant supply of hot water. And how after 6 months, Burger King fries can be the best thing I've ever tasted. So, I'll try to keep those sorts of things coming and let you know as much as I can about my job as it is now. Later. B

Crazy Morning

It was indeed a crazy morning (for those who follow the news will know what I mean.) I was attempting to fall asleep when a long series of mortars started dropping all around the Green Zone. The definitely was the heaviest barrage that we've sustained in a LONG time. And to cap it off, they even tried to blow up our checkpoint (not something covered in the news). Again, though the bad guys tried really hard to, they didn't kill or wound any Americans in the Green Zone. They only managed to kill their own people. I think that's the saddest part of all this, most frequently it's not the Americans who bear the brunt of the shrapnel, it's their own people. B

To Remember....

"It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press."

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech."

"It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate."

"It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burnthe flag."


Authored by: Dennis Edward O'Brien, Sergeant, USMC

Replacement...

Sorry I haven't posted much in the last few days. (Again.) My replacement is here and I've been fairly busy trying to teach him all it is that I do here. It's kind of cool, but a little annoying to be dealing with someone who is actually excited to be here and ready to work. This has become old hat to so many of us that we forget that we were once excited to be here. Sometime in the next week I should be switching over to my new job. Which has me pretty nervous, but a little excited too. I've been waiting a long time to get a platoon of my very own. I have no idea whether I'll be able to keep posting when I move, but I surely will attempt to. Ok, back to work. B

Games Soldiers Play

Interestingly enough, soldiers actually do get tired of video games after a while and what have we found to replace them? RISK. Someone brought a Risk board here and now we have nightly Risk games. Every once in a while it hits me: A bunch of soldiers in IRAQ playing a game of world domination. I hope Al-Jazeera never gets wind of this. They'd never let it go. B