It's a sepia-tone world

It is getting hotter. When the air conditioning goes out you feel it in a matter of about a minute and a half. Humidity is also way, way up there. We're nestled against the banks of the Euphrates River, and the whole area is laced with canals and fish farms. There is almost always a haze hanging over the base composed of moisture, smoke from the power plant, and smoke from burning refuse, and dust kicked up by the wind and carried in from the West. It is a sepia tone world out here. Today for some reason we noticed that the fly population has skyrocketed! I've got one of the little bastards roaming freely over my computer screen right now.

 

It has been a while since my last blog entry, mostly because precious little of any interest has occurred that I can talk about. We're staying very busy, and we're making progress. Your humble narrator's role in a recent mission actually earned very positive recognition in the form of a commemorative coin of excellence presented by the battalion commander; a significant boost for team Centaur.

 

We get bits and pieces of news from back home, but not nearly as much as I would like since I'm quite a news-junkie in real life. I've been tempted in the past to use this little blog as a soap box from which to vent my spleen on the gross misrepresentations I see in the news, and I promise to try to reign some of that in. However, I will say that what we see here on a daily basis bears remarkably little resemblance to how this conflict is portrayed in the media back home. Comparisons of the two frequently blur the line between comedy and tragedy. This war is so much more complex than the armchair generals can conceive, and the consequences of failure would be so much greater than its critics can imagine.

 

Anyway, not feeling too great at the moment. I strongly suspect that the omelet I had for breakfast this morning was a bit undercooked.  Ah well... Drive on.

It's all about the kids...

It has been a while since my last posting, but it is not for want of trying. The Internet connection here is atrocious. It almost makes one pine for the days of dial-up...or carrier pigeon.

We're back from several more days at the "very bad place" Duane spoke of earlier, i.e. the hottest place in our AO. Fortunately, this trip was largely uneventful, although no less unpleasant. Had one heart stopping moment while manning a checkpoint (something that really isn't part of our job description). A thunderous boom rocked our vehicle. Duane and I looked at each other wide-eyed. "What the hell was that?!" Bob was in the turret and had the best view. He said other soldiers were staring at the back of our truck. When I climbed out to investigate, one of the infantry guys with us asked if we had explosives in the trunk. I said no. As I saw no damage, I popped the hatch to see inside. Turns out that the heat had expanded the air inside one of the soccer balls we keep in there to give to kids, and it exploded. Lets see if I can get Duane to push that up the chain of command for our Combat Action Badges!

We ended up having to sleep outside for a couple of days because the shipping containers we stayed in last time were full. Marshall opted to forgo the cots and slept inside the humvee. Unfortunately, a surprising number of mosquitoes, fleas, and gnats also thought this was a good idea and turned poor Marshall into a veritable smorgasbord. When he emerged in the morning, he looked like one of those historical medical photographs from the 1920's depicting smallpox. Have to give him credit. He didn't complain nearly as much as I think I might have, and he didn't let it slow him down a bit. Kudos.

Here is somebody I want y'all to meet. This is Muhammed. He is five years old, but he looks half his age. He has a birth defect that affects his digestive system. He needs several surgeries to correct the problem. The Americans are working with his father, and hopefully he will eventually get the help he needs. Today he got a soccer ball...a good one. One that shouldn't explode.

Last week we stopped by a children's hospital to deliver some stuffed animals to the patients. The hospital is located next to a city dump where we've seen mothers and children scrounging. They always smile and wave as we pass by in our convoys. Right now the dump is burning, and will continue to burn throughout the summer to keep down the pile, smell, and insects. What a great place to locate a children's hospital, eh? I think the trip actually meant more to me than it probably meant to the people we visited. It was a reminder of why we are here, why we are fighting and living in hardship, and where the hope for Iraq ultimately lies. I think we'll have to make regular visits there from time to time.

Hello to all, April in review

Hello to everyone, SSG "Sin-taur" here, It seems that title has "stuck" for me:) and it gives Lee a little chuckle each time.. A little "Chuckle" is good for everyone on the team, and we all get "our chance to be in the "barrell" so to speak. I want to THANK everyone for checking our "Blog" and more so for participating in it!! It really does give us a channel to the outside world back home.

April started out a little tough for us, We spent 4 days in a bad place, that stunk, was dangerous, and got two soldiers shot. It really started to "paint" the picture that we face over here. Iraq itself is really not a bad country, that bad part of Iraq is that in it's history and currently, the people trying to "run" the country are arrogant, self serving, "thugs"/crimminals, or dictators, that dont have any "CLUE" nor do they want any "Clue" as to how make Iraq good for the "people" of Iraq. For the most part, the general populace are simple hard working people that just want a chance at peaceful living. It gets "Complicated" and leathal when so many groups or organizations start up, and try to secure the power.

YEA, We finally have some office space, But unfortunately dont get to spend alot of time in it. We need some back home products to decorate "our" space,lol.. Bronco flags, Rockies banners,poster of the "Mile-High City,etc.. The team is coming closer together also, which is great process to watch, and be a part of. The guys are doing a great job, and the unit that we are "attached" to really likes us. We are looking forward to posting some cool personal pic's and pic's of actions real soon..

Bad Kabobs...?

We've been offline for a while for a number of reasons. Foremost among them is simply the fact that the Internet service here is stunningly slow. We've also had a pretty high mission tempo. However, another reason is that the Army shuts down communication when a soldier is killed to allow time for investigation and proper military notification of the family. This policy was implemented several years ago after families started complaining that they were receiving news of losses from other military families as well as the rumor mill before officially being notified by the Army. Chalk this delay up to all three reasons.

Woke up to a cool, cloudy, slightly damp morning. Extremely dark clouds hung low and heavy over the base, contributing to an almost otherworldly surreal gloom. Brisk gusts of wind tugged at the ropes securing the tents, creating quite a racket inside the Internet cafe.

Missions have been...interesting. We found ourselves on a foot patrol right through the middle of one of the biggest cities in our AO. It was quite an experience. The streets were teaming with people just going about their daily lives. All the shops were open, the cafes and restaurants were pumping out some amazing smells, street vendors were in abundance. Kids were playing and riding bicycles, and old men were clustered around tables laden with chai (tea) and bread. The atmosphere conjured memories of my trip to China last year, and strolling through older sections of some of the big cities there. In this case, however, we didn't come as tourists. We came encased in heavy body armor, laden with weapons, and our eyes darted from rooftop to rooftop; from open windows to down back alleys, always looking for that sniper, gunman, or RPG. As we neared the conclusion of our patrol, an encounter reminded me that for all the concern about safety, situational awareness, and security, I wasn't doing my job; that 90% of which is simply to talk with people. I passed a small group of old men clustered in front of a cafe. A white-haired gentleman reached out and touched my arm. "Hey, why Americans no smile? Smile!! So full of life!" I had to laugh, and I promised him that I would smile more from now on.

Still have all fingers and toes. However, the local cuisine (and associated bacteria) have been playing havoc with the digestive systems of a couple of our team members. I don't want to embarrass them by naming names, but I'm not one of them, and neither is Duane. We're doing an excellent job of integrating into our supported unit, and are becoming much more familiar with the issues afflicting our area.

Recovery

Four long days away from base. We arrived back "home" late last night dirty, sore, tired, and incredibly stinky. For four days we lived in an upside down shipping container, half a dozen paces from a smouldering trash pile consisting largely of burning plastic and cardboard; right around the corner from blazing oil drum pots in which the troops incinerated human waste from the latrines with a mixture of diesel fuel. It can be easily surmised that my frame of mind on any given day shifted with the wind. Rack time (sleep) meant trying to cover every exposed piece of flesh (else it becomes a feast for the mosquitoes) without smothering oneself. Every morning I awoke bright and early to the deafening cacophony of birds, donkeys, cows, dogs, roosters, etc. You would not believe the noise! More than once I was ready to strap on a bandoleer, lock-and-load, scale the walls and go Steven Segal on some farm animals!

We were on a patrol base, which is a smaller, temporary base situated in a particularly troublesome piece of our area of operations (AO). It is essentially the size of a supermarket. This area is right on the al Qaeda superhighway, and snipers, IED's, and mortars are nearly daily occurrences. As we were heading out the wire on our first mission, nearby shots followed by the crackle of radio communications changed our mission to sniper-hunting. What fun it was to run from cover position to cover position, through boot-sucking muck and sewage, through palm groves, over broken concrete walls, and through tangled wire, as fast as your legs can carry you while wearing full body armor that gets heavier with every breath. Unfortunately, this bad guy got away... for now. Another attack the next day lead to an equally unsuccessful chase, although one cow did pay the ultimate price when an Iraqi soldier used a machine gun to vent his frustration at the elusive sniper.

A bit of good news. While patrolling the neighborhood trying to get info on the sniper, I found myself standing in unidentifiable red muck that stained the middle of the road. Interrogation of the locals revealed that it was the remains of a couple of terrorists who apparently got fumble-fingers while trying to place an IED nearby. Ah, so THAT was the big boom this morning! That is the kind of terrorist activity we LIKE to see!

Also, had the opportunity to pass out some school supplies and goodies to elementary school kids as their school day ended. Holy crap!! It was like being dipped in steak sauce and dropped in a tank of piranhas! As it was winding down, one little kid tugged on my sleeve, "Mista, mista! Give me money!" I started chasing him. "No, you give ME money!" Don't think he thought it was funny...

Just trying to pass on some "atmospherics" here. OpSec makes it difficult to drill down to any kinds of detail in a blog. Also, just want to let everybody know that we still have all fingers and toes, health is good, morale is good, and we all miss family and friends very, very much.

Shout out to the rest of 324 out here. Hey guys. Keep up the good work, and keep your heads down.