6 march 2007

Hi everyone,
I can't remember the last time I wrote, so I figured it was probably time to write again. We've been really busy over the last couple of weeks; so much so that everything has blurred together, and I am forced to write about only those occurances that stand out in my mind. We've been running all kinds of different missions at all times of the day and night.
Since the last time I wrote, we've started to change some of the ways we're operating in the city. First, we're now starting to utilize the Humvee's instead of only travelling in the Bradleys. This is nice, as we're now able to negotiate some of the narrow or more residential streets in town that we'd never be able to travel in the Brads without knocking down the walls on either side. Not that we haven't thought about taking a Bradley down these streets, but its probably not going to boost our popularity with the town. The Humvee's also allow us to get a better view of the city, albeit through 4-inch bullet-proof glass. Not the most panoramic view, but better than the back of a Bradley. We've gotten to see most of the city this way, including several of the markets in town. No wonder they say not to eat the meat; the butcher shop just has meat hanging from the awning out front. Some of the shops look interesting, though I doubt if we'll ever be able to go shopping. The downside to the Humvee's is that there's not a lot of room when riding in the back seats. They're all bucket seats, and with all of my gear on its a fairly uncomfortable ride. The seat mount to the front seat is solid, so you can't stretch out your legs; this means I end up with my kneecaps at eye-level. The AC "works" to the extent that it will circulate the hot air in the cab, while tossing in so much dust that you can't tell if the cloud through which you're gazing is inside the vehicle or from the vehicle in front of you. Pros and cons to everything, I suppose.
Second, we're starting to do some patrols on foot during the day. This is a major change as the only time we patrolled on foot was at night, being as quiet as possible so no one knew we were there. It seems that as we patrol down the streets, everyone sits in the gateway of their courtyard to watch and wave at the Americans. This was a little disconcerting at first, having a neighborhood think of your patrol as a strange parade, but now we're starting to get used to it. We say hi (as best we can in Arabic) the the families and usually just smile and shrug when they start speaking to us; they smile back when the realize we haven't understood a word they've said. Some of us toss candy to the kids (who are everywhere!) making us very popular with the younger crowd and their parents. Even after a number of these patrols, no one has spoken harshly to us, though the women who are more conservatively dressed still turn their faces from us when we pass.
Most of the missions we've had recently haven't been planned. In fact, most of the time the only notice I get is when someone bursts through the aid station door and says they need a medic for a mission. We're usually in full "battle rattle" and out the door in under 2 minutes.
We've kept the bomb squad busy over the last couple of weeks; usually IED's to be taken care of, or weapons caches found in town. Usually I'm on the roof of a house with a team of guys making sure the area is secure; this also gives us a great vantage point to view the explosion. We were on a roof one time probably a good 500 meters from where the IED was located, and after they detonated it (with a sizeable amount of C4) we saw chunks of road, dirt and stone flying through the air; then we realized that they were flying towards us. Some were only the size of baseballs, but a few were the size of beachballs and volkswagens. Needless to say, we moved inside "with the quickness." We were out on the edge of town, so no buildings were damaged by it. This was where one of the IP's asked us if we wanted to shoot his RPG. Of course we said yes, but we had to call back to base for permission; it was denied, of course, but made for some interesting jokes between the IP's and us, even though we spoke very little of each other's language. It was on one of these missions that I covered a pair of my boots in tar; it was a warm afternoon and either it was melting, or had just been freshly tarred. It stuck to everything! In the end, we found some cardboard and stuck it to the bottom of our boots as we left the house. Just imagine 7 Soldiers rapidly exiting a house, covered in tar with cardboard stuck to their soles. Yeah...good stuff.
We've been doing a lot of short-notice raids lately. The IP's are doing a lot of the searching and interrogating, and we pull security for them outside the house. I've gone out on a number of those, including two today. Usually they turn out well, though several of them have ended up being nothing more than wild goose chases.
Sounds like we'll be staying here at least for several more months. There was talk of us leaving here for another area, but for the time being, we remain here. Its nice to have some idea of whats going on, and any projected missions. We're pretty happy with our life here, apart from a couple minor issues. We're away from the rest of the battalion, which means I don't have to see much of our bosses, or do things just for the sake of doing them. I heard some of the medics at the bigger base down the road a ways had to paint the helipad because a general was flying in. We did nothing in preperation for his visit, and upon his arrival we carried on like normal; we had a mission to run. Life out here is good.
Things are definitely starting to warm up; there are bugs everywhere, and the nights aren't nearly so cold. Its only in the upper 70's right now, which means for this region of the country we have about 70 degrees more to go until we reach the highs for the year. I can only imagine, and dread, what 140 degrees feels like, though we'll find out soon enough.
Ok, its about 4am, so I'm going to bed.
Thanks for all the letters, packages, emails, thoughts and prayers everyone has sent my way!!! I really appreciate it!

Hope all is well,
Troy