Time in the Desert

I'm Home!!!!

2005-03-30T19:38:00.000+03:00

Hey everyone!
It is so nice to be home!
We were scheduled to arive on the 14th, but after a 12 hours layover in Germany(normally, hanging out in Germany would be nice, but they just stuck us in an airplane hanger, serving us coffee and cookies for 12 hours), and a 2 hours stay in New York, we finally made it home on the 15th! Even after traveling for over 24 hours, we were so excited that we could hardly contain ourselves.
After taking our weapons and processing us into the States, we were bussed over to the Division Parade Field.
At the parade field, we undloaded the busses and gathered into formation.... The busses pulled out of our way, and we marched onto the field, with the stands filled with our family and friends.... It was so hard to stay in formation. Then the Commanding General spoke. He welcomed us home, and praised us for a job well done... Then, after saluting the Stars and Stripes, they released the stand to come onto the field with us. Everyone, including myself, was crying. We were so happy to be home. My mother came down for the event. She took some pictures, which I will post as soon as possible.
Well, I have spent the past week and a half going through briefs and debriefs, as well as medical screenings, and evaluations. We are almost through with it all, and I will get to start my leave on Friday. I can't wait to see my children.... I miss them so much.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you so much for your support. All of your kind words, letters, e-mails, packages, and prayers have meant so much to me. All of those things put together helped me in so many ways that words could not possibly describe my gratitude to you all.
Thank you so much.

Now that I am at a good and consistent connection, I will go through my 3500 or so photos that I have taken since leaving Fort Hood back in February 2004, and post some that highlight various parts of my time there in Iraq.
Thank you all again

Signing off

2005-02-23T10:21:00.000+03:00

Well folks,
Looks like this will be my last post on my time here in the deserts of Iraq. I wanted to thank everyone for their support, and for all of the kind words that have been sent to me.
Thank you for the packages and all of the prayers and such too.
I will be here in country for a little bit longer, but will be unable to get to any computers.
Until I get back State-side....
This is Stallion 23.. out.

Happy Valentines Day!

2005-02-15T12:59:00.000+03:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone!
Unfortunately, time is beginning to run short for us over here. I am finding less and less time and ability for me to come on here and post.
I will try to put something up whenever I can, but unfortunately, I cannot make any promises as to when that will be.
As for what is going on over here, we have been quite busy with trying to pack and prepare for our trip home, as well as still conducting missions. Our replacements aren't quite ready to take the "hand-off" yet, and it appears that it will still be a few more days or so before they will be ready enough to begin doing things themselves.
The elections went over pretty well. I am personally very happy about that. It all went pretty well, considering where we are, and the surrounding circumstances. Let the international community cast their doubts on our abilities again. Sometimes I get real sick of the news only showing the negatives of what goes on over here.
I am sure that everyone needs to know that some females wrestled around together, and their breasts were seen, or whatever the details were of that last story. But, with the exception of the election results, I haven't seen a whole lot of positives being reported. Why is that? Of course, anyone who doubted how well we would do to get the Iraqis ready for an election would have had no other choice based upon what makes the news, but that is simply not all that is going on. Perhaps if some more of the positive things that happen would make the front page along with the negatives, people would see how things are going over here. That doesn't mean I think that people shouldn't be told about the bad stuff that happens, I think that that information should be available to them... but if the "free press" is going to do their part to show the "news" then perhaps they should show it all.
Just my thoughts...

Tough times ahead.....

2005-02-13T12:41:00.000+03:00

Well, having been here a year now, I would think that I had things pretty much figured out. But, with our replacements here now, it would seem that I am wrong.
Our replacements are the 3rd Infantry Division, who was the force that made the initial push here into Iraq. Apparantly they consensus amongst our replacements, is that we are going about things the wrong way.... and that is why we are getting attacked so much by the insurgents. I have been told, by more than a couple, that if we went about things more like they did when we first got here, then we wouldn't have the same problems we are having. I am told that we are doing to much to try to build things here (I thought that was the goal).
I don't claim to know the future, but some of the guys here... with their attitudes, are going to be in for a rough year if they think that they can go about things in the way they did when they were here the first time. When 3rd ID came here the first time, the mission was clear-cut. Go from point A to point B, and take it. Destroy any obstructions.
Now, the obstruction may not be a "bad guy" but an Iraqi National Guardsman, or Iraqi Police officer with a weapon, who, if you kill him, could be considered murder. Hopefully, the majority of these guys don't feel the way the ones I have spoken to feel. Or I fear that we may be in for more soldiers getting in trouble if that attitude is sustained.
Those of us that are getting ready to go are getting antsy. We are going through lots of work to get ready, but the time just doesn't seem to be going by fast enough. It's been a year, and I miss home.

Superbowl Sunday!

2005-02-07T14:34:00.000+03:00

We received a nice treat last night.
For the Superbowl, they brought out truckloads of beer for all the troops. Every soldier was entitled to 2 beers! You could either get them with dinner last night, or at 1 in the morning(an hour before the game started). It was so funny to see everyone wandering around with a "buzz" from two beers, since we all haven't had alcohol in so long. It was really nice to be able to take a break like that.
I read in the "Stars and Stripes" the announcement of 15,000 soldiers being sent back home in March. It makes us all feel so good about going home when it's made the news like that. There's always that risk of extension, and the news announcement makes that so much more real. I pray it stays that way.

Running short

2005-02-04T10:05:00.000+03:00

Well.... time is beginning to run short. We are making preparations for our rotation back to the world. It's funny. We have been going through briefings about our return, and they always reference it as us going back to the "real world." But, when we were back home and preparing to come over here, it was to come over to the "real mission." Is there a fake one? Is the world over here not real? Seems real enough to me.
I have seen things that I won't be able to tell my children about without risking giving them nightmares... hell, I have them myself. I have also, however, seen things that make your heart resound with joy that so much compassion can come from an individual.
There is a family that had been given permission to come onto our camp and operate a small sewing and alterations shop. They were a very nice family. They would also, bring in other little items that soldiers would ask for, and would sometimes spend days searching for things that someone would ask for. Well, while they were leaving our camp the other day, someone walked up to them as they were waiting to turn onto the street just outside our gate. They shot the husband/father in the head in front of his family. This man was shot because he found a way to take care of his family in the midst of all of this, and it happened to be through coalition soldiers.
Anyway, in spite of those unfortunate circumstances, the woman is still coming here to work. It turns out that a bunch of people have taken up a collection and she ended up getting thousands of dollars to assist her in taking care of her family.
Don't have any more time now.... I will post more when I can.

Spurs

2005-01-29T09:25:00.000+03:00

FIDDLER'S GREEN
Halfway down the trail to Hell In a shady meadow green Are the Souls of all dead Troopers camped Near a good old-time canteen, And this eternal resting place is know as Fiddlers' Green
Marching past straight through to Hell The Infantry are seen Accompanied by the Engineers, Artillery and Marines, For none but the shades of Cavalrymen Dismount at Fiddlers' Green
Though some go curving down the trail To seek a warmer scene, No Trooper ever gets to Hell Ere he's emptied his canteen. And so rides back to drink again With friends at Fiddlers' Green
And so when man and horse go down Beneath a sabre keen, Or on roaring charge of fierce melee You stop a bullet clean. And the hostiles come to get your scalp Just empty your canteen, And put your pistol to your head And go to Fiddlers' Green.

SGT Bryan K. Mayfield, brandishing saber and colt, follwed the Cavalry Guidon to the birthplace of civilization in the ancient city of Baghdad, Iraq. He has demonstrated the skill, fitness, dash, discipline, and cunning of a United States Cavalry Trooper, and is hereby entered into the rolls of the "Order of the Spur" and is authorized to wear a pair of Cavalry Spurs at all formal formations.

First Team!

Those words were read to me the other day as I was awarded my combat spurs. One of my former soldiers from my last unit asked that I come to mount his spurs on him. It felt nice to know that they were still thinking of me.

Have to run, as we have lots to do with the elections coming.... it's a busy day!

So there I was.....

2005-01-07T08:40:00.000+03:00

So there I was....
I was minding my own business.... Enjoying a good bit of sleep... okay, actually, I don't really sleep well at all. As a matter of fact, lately, I end up having to take some kind of sleep aid in order to get some rest. But, anyway, I was laying in my cot, rolling around, while trying to sleep.
I get startled by a boom.... it felt and sounded like it was about 500-600 yards away, so I just kinda rolled over (we have concrete barriers up around our tents). Another hit that sounded to be in the same vacinity as the last, and the combat camera guys they attached to us to take photos of our mission, woke up and were asking me if we should go to the bunkers. I told them that those rounds weren't that close to us, and it would be best if we stay put, as if there were any injuries, they need as few people running around as possible to be able to handle it.
Then, another round came in... it landed about 30 yards away, and you could hear the dirt and shrapnel bouncing off the barrier outside.
Well, that woke me up. I told them that now would be a good time to get to the bunker. Five minutes later, the guys working came to check and make sure we were all alright. They couldn't find one guy.... but I remember seeing him run quickly out of the tent after the close round hit.
We finally found him 20 minutes later.... apparantly he needed a shower real bad, right after that round hit. No one said anything, but I think maybe he ended up makinig a mess of himself after that close one hit. I know I wouldn't have been ashamed if I did.

Happy New Years

2004-12-29T20:45:00.000+03:00

Well, I didn't know what kind of connection capabilities I would have over here, but as it turns out, I have an accessable connection over here. We ended up moving with support from the 13th Signal Battalion, and they sent a node over here that links us to the main servers in Baghdad.... kinda nice, since there isn't much of anything else over here.
I will try to test the upload bandwidths the next day or so so that I can post some pictures soon. The Marines are a neat bunch over here. They like to do things a little bit differently than we do over in Baghdad, but it's great to see that we work together so well.
Of course, there are still the running jokes and such, where we poke fun at each other. The latest I heard was... Why do the Navy boys carry the marines around? Because sheep would be to obvious! Then the Marine response I heard was... Why do people join the Army? They weren't tough enough for the Marines, and not queer enough for the Airforce.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know what's been going on lately. Currently, my task has been to establish a good clear communications link up to HQ in Baghdad. It's isn't really a daunting task in the whole idea of it. Unfortunately though, there are always issues that come into play over here, when establishing a point-to-point wireless link.
On the entertainment side, we have set up a new game over here. In this area that we have set up in, there seems to be enough mice and rats over here to cause trouble for the pied piper. Our solution, obviously, was to get mouse traps. The first night that we set them up, it took less than 2 minutes before a trap caught the first mouse. Less than five minutes elapsed after resetting that trap before it was sprung again, so we acquired some more traps and numbered them. Now we have a betting poll that runs nightly to see whose trap will spring first. Forget roulette, or poker.. we have the best odds!
The living situation over here still has much to be desired as well. I am no longer in the fancy trailers with heat/ac and a roomate. Now I am back in a tent that is horribly familiar to when we first got here..... a real big tent with 40 or so people stuffed in. There is electricity though, so I can keep my laptop charged to write these posts and such.
I was watching CNN a bit today while I was in the chow hall here. That stuff with the tsunami is tragic. I'm not sure I understand all this talk with warning systems and such. How can you prepare for something that you can't know is coming? Perhaps I am not completely informed to the whole situation with my being here in Iraq, but I thought that they can't predict an earthquake? Isn't that what caused it? I know that they know where fault lines are, and such, but there isn't a way to know, reasonably early enough, that one is coming, right?
Anyway, I hope that everyone has had a great holiday so far. New Years is coming.... everyone set a drink aside for me please. I will toast with you mentally.
Have to run for now.....

Merry Christmas!

2004-12-21T08:49:00.000+03:00

Hey everyone..... I'm not sure how much access I will have to the internet for a while after this, so I want to tell everyone Merry Christmas. Thank you all so much for the support you have given us over here.
Of course I can't talk about anything up-coming because of OPSEC (operations security), but I can say that this may be my last post for a good while.... possibly the last one before we pack up to head home..... as long as a couple months. We have a lot of work to do, and it looks like I will be going to help the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit a bit.
That said.... just in case this is my last post, I want to thank everyone, and let you know that you have all been in my thoughts over there. Thanks to that whole news story thing that Channel 11 did, I have been in contact with people I haven't spoken to in years! It's been very neat. We have accomplished alot of things over here, though, I am afraid that it''s still far from being done over here.
The 1st Cavalry Division Band was playing in our chow hall the other day, or I should say some of the soldiers from the band were.... they had a wind quartet, and a brass quintet there playing Christmas music. I think CBS was there recording it. It was pretty cool.... made me wish I had stayed in the band when I was in school..... I would have loved to have been able to help everyones spirits here like that. Anyway, I need to go.
Pass my love on to everyone please. Luke and Brooke... I love and miss you so much. Daddy will be home as soon as possible. I promise.

GOOD MORNING BAGHDAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004-12-15T17:36:00.000+03:00

The past couple of days have been neat....
We have been preparing for an upcomming mission that take a little more work to get ready for than normal. Will probably be a few more days before everything is set to go... in the mean time, yesterday, we had the USO come and they brought some people to see us... John Elway came and threw some footballs. Some female announcer from Fox Sports News came (she recently posed in FHM magazine), as well as the comedian who played, amongst other films, in the Water Boy with Adam sandler... he was the Cajun guy that no one could understand when he talked.... that guy was funny... from talking about how we should get Steve Irwin(Crocodile Hunter) to come and help us in our search for Osama Bin Ladin... to talking about his time in Vietnam as a infantry platoon leader...
The icing on the cake, however, was Robin Williams, who opened things up with a big "GOOD MORNING BAGHDAD!!!!" I have seen some of his material back in the days prior to his acting career, so I knew that he was a funny guy... but man this guy is hilarious! After seeing him perform like that, I wonder if they just hire him for a part, and just have him run with it, because I bet he wouldn't follow the scripts, if he's liek he was there.... It was real nice to get that kind of show. They all spent time signing autographs as well, and all wished us a merry Christmas. Topping things off, the show was started with an introduction from the Chief of Staff, General Meyers.
Other things in the news over here..... a fellow soldier over here walked by me and said "84 days". I asked him what he was talking about, and he told me that that's how long we have left if everything goes according to plan... or thereabouts anyway. Man, only a couple months left! I remember thinking, after only a couple months here, that this time would go by so slowly.. but it has flown.... we have done so much over here. Between trying to improve the situation for ourselves, and our replacements, along with the main mission of helping ensure that the people here in Baghdad have a safer place to live, so that they can focus on developing themselves into something functional.
Also, I have read about this fiasco about armor on vehicles over here, and that story about National Guard soldiers asking Hon. Rumsfeld questions regarding it..... I want to say my piece to that.... The reason that the soldiers that are down in Kuwait are not getting uparmored trucks, or kits for their trucks, is because those of us up here, who are in the fight, haven't all gotten them yet. I drove a "soft" vehicle my first 4 months here, out on mission... through the town, etc... I don't want to hear anymore of that nonsense. The truth of that matter is that the Army is, and has been, providing us with the ability to protect ourselves better, however, the supplier is only making the stuff so fast. That doesn't change the mission that we have, or the risks that we soldiers have taken when we made that oath... including those National Guard members who signed up for "the college money". Guess what buddy.... you joined a crew that teaches you to shoot real bullets at real people... what did you think you might get activated for????
We will always do everything that we can to increase our safety, however sometimes there is only so much that can be done. As far as I am concerned, I would have asked some other questions myself..... like... is there any way to get some sugar in at the shoppette here? Army coffee is much better with just about anything in it..... or howabout this.... the PX here is charging soldiers prices comparable to the prices you would find in a Walmart on a particular item.... except AAFES doesn't pay taxes on these items, nor do we..... so why the hell is the stuff the same price? They say that it goes to MWR(Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) But I sure haven't seen any extra morale, welfare, or recreation stuff put up over here.... Also, I am seeing soldiers here who are getting things such as school dates for professional development, and are going to get to go, as well as those that are getting promoted are able to move up to a position related to their promotion, yet we have soldiers who can't leave, even though their ETS date has arrived, because the need for them is too great, so they are stop-lossed (can't get out until uncle Sam says so).
Boy I can go off on a tangent sometimes.... Anyway, just wanted to put some words down....got to run.

2004-12-08T22:27:00.000+03:00

You know... normally, this time of year would be so exciting for me.... but unfortunately, it isn't. Instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off wondering what I am going to do for my children for Christmas, and being filled with the Christmas spirit, I am finding myself rather depressed.
I don't mean to just sit and whine, but alot lately, I am finding myself thinking more and more about all of the normal things I would preffer to be doing.
I would really enjoy being able to be stuck in traffic, instead of jumping out of my truck with my weapon at the ready, ready for anything, and my heart beating a thousand miles an hour, wondering if I will hear gunshots again....
I would much rather be in Houston, where there is always something green growing(with few exceptions), or in Mississippi for that matter. Bundling up because it's "cold" out..... instead of walking outside to see that it sprinkled for 5 minutes, which is just long enough to turn all of the dust and dirt into peanut butter.... it sticks to everything!!!!
I want to have a normal "busy" day at work that keeps me late, but I can stop at McDonalds on the way home afterwards, so that dinner wouldn't be a issue... then I could go home and take a hot bath... or plop down on the couch, and watch the news...... man that would be nice... or I could go play golf.... or even just be in a room by myself.... change clothes without someone else doing the same thing..... or take a shower with more than 3 feet separating me and the next guy.... have a beer..... not have to remember all of these things when going somewhere - weapon, ammo, earplugs, protective eyewear, ID-card, clearance badge, body armor, helmet, map, COMSEC device(crypto), remember the MEDEVAC freqs for emergencies, medevac procedures, routes to take + alternate routes, and which are closed due to IEDs or attacks, military drivers liscence, vehicle dispatch, etc. etc.... plus check all my soldiers for the same...
I really miss my children..... I have pictures of them on my walls, and I think of them and look at them all the time, but it just isn't enough.... I dream of the day where I can sit on the couch with them, watching cartoons again, or listening to my daughter fussing about something her brother did.... or helping with homework....
I received some e-mails from some old friends that I had not heard from in ages.... because they had seen the story on the news about me. It made me feel good when I found out about how good some of them were doing....
I also received many, many e-mails from people stating their thanks for what we are all doing over here.... I really want to thank you all for your support... it really helps us over here.
I can't just put everyones full names up here, but on behalf of the almost 30 soldiers that I work directly with, on a daily basis... I want to thank you all for all of the letters, and boxes of goodies that people have sent us.... Some of the soldiers in my section have no family, and nothing to look forward to other than the packages that have been sent that I have shared with them. They thank you very much.... I have to say that you have made their time here much easier to deal with... All of the support we have received has been amazing.
To those that e-mailed me with comments such as "baby-killer", "murderer", and the like...... I can only say that I pray for you.... Your true lack of concern for those of us over here, going through what we are going through, and utter ignorance to the situations that we face on a daily basis is a true testament to just how stupid people can be.
Please forgive me for my harsh statement, however, I cannot always let statements like those go without my venting just how upsetting it is.
Anyway, I am writing this post from a borrowed computer... mine decided it didn't want to go on... the hard drive crashed.... which means that almost a thousand pictures (those taken since my last back-up) are lost, along with pictures of my children that I had to look at..... I think that's part of my frustrations over here... I get alot of comfort in my ability to write and record my feelings, and I lost a little over a months worth.... lesson learned = BACK UP YOUR STUFF MORE OFTEN!!!
Anyway, I just wanted to put some words down as to what's going on. Sometimes I wish I could speak more about the details of what is happening, right now... or what's coming up, but due to security reasons, I can't.... That makes it really hard to tell everyone what's happening, but safety is important too.
Better go.. post again when/if I can.

Tis the season

2004-12-06T17:25:00.000+03:00

Well, I haven't posted in a bit... but in my defense, it's been hectic over here. I did manage to throw a couple pictures up, and will try to post some more as soon as I can.
I have been exceptionally busy lately, and some of it is stuff that I would rather not be busy doing... but others, I don't mind at all. I have begun inspections on all communications equipment in order to ensure that everything is working properly for the return trip..... THE RETURN TRIP!!! It's still months away, but it feels so good to be making efforts towards that.
Additionally, I can't really talk about, but as a forewarning... I may not be able to post for a bit after this one..... it may be a few weeks yet, before I can post again.
Anyway, everyone here is trying to get into the Christmas Spirit.... I received a couple care packages in the mail... one from a friend of my mother-in-law, who sent CDs and cookies and such..... all the soldiers in my section say a BIG thank you!
Also, everyone has tried to do things to get into the Christmas spirit over here. We put up a fake tree that another NCO in my section had sent to him. Others have aquired lights, or made wreaths, or strung together odds and ends, calling them ornaments, and hung them from the HESCO barriers that we have surrounding our trailers that we stay in.
I have received quite a few e-mails from people asking me what the deal is with my user name...
No, I odn't know anyone named Ms. Piggy..... my skin isn't green or turning green.... I have no obsessions about pigs.... I don't sing about it not being easy being green, or about rainbows.... I don't know what the letter for the day is either..... so everyone knows, and to eliminate any questions... my middle name is Kermit. I was named after my great-uncle, who was a Medal of Honor Recipient for his actions during World War II.
Reference other e-mails I have received.... thank you all for your support. I have responded to some of you, but honestly, due to limits to my time around my computer lately, I may not have time to respond to everyone right away.... please forgive me if I don't respond right away.
Anyway.... I will post again as soon as I have a chance, but unfortunately, I am not sure as to when that will be.
For those of you that do see them, please remind my children just how much their daddy loves them.
Gotta run...

2004-12-05T08:53:00.000+03:00

They literally just throw their trash anywhere.

2004-12-05T08:44:00.000+03:00

It always feels good when you see these guys flying overhead.

2004-12-05T08:41:00.000+03:00

"Meestah! Meestah! Chocolatah!"

I'm FAMOUS!!!

2004-12-01T15:04:00.000+03:00

Okay... not really.
I found out that the KHOU Channel 11 News in Houston did a piece on my blog, and my family and such.
It was apparantly on the 5 o'clock news. Kinda neat. Though, they talked alot more about me than I would have preffered. I'm only one of the many over here.
Anyway, here's the link to the footage of that piece they did. KHOU Channel 11 News There's a link for the video on the page I linked.... or you can read what was said. I don't really have time to post anything big, as I have alot to do for the next upcomming mission.
I will try to post again as soon as I can.

Keeping Busy

2004-11-29T11:03:00.000+03:00

I got an e-mail from my children... well actually, it was from my mother, who was with my children... but it's all the same to me! Man I miss them. I was talking to one of my soldiers yesterday, and we were talking about family. He said that he would trade every dollar he's made over here if he could get to see his family soon.... I had to agree with him.
While out on the last mission, I spoke with a guy who was part of the Iraqi Army back when Saddam was in power. Back then, you didn't have a choice as to whether you served or not, and failure to obey any orders got you into alot more trouble than we risk. We talked about the US being over here as well. Though he said that he didn't want us here, he did say that he could see the good things we were doing for the people here.
Unfortunately, though, it's really hard to know what is the truth when these guys are talking to you. They like to tell you alot of what they think you want to hear when they talk to you. Words, and honesty apparantly do not rate up there with alot of the people here. But, then again, I have never been on the receiving end of having people with guns walking around my neighborhood.

2004-11-24T11:43:00.000+03:00

My lunch yesterday... lamb, two rice dishes and the locals bread that they eat with everything.

What's going on.

2004-11-24T07:09:00.000+03:00

The past couple days have been interesting. Monday, we went to a meeting down in the southern portion of the city... I got to have a smoothie at the MWR center there.... very tasty.
Then, yesterday we escorted an officer over to have lunch and a meeting with some affluencial local who lived over near Sadr City. We blocked off the street where this guy lived and then set up security points throughout while the brass was inside schmoozing. On the positive side, whoever he was, he was good enough to have a handfull of bodyguards. They brought us some food out. We got two rice dishes.. one with white rice and some interesting stuff on top that I don't have the knowledge of to describe... the other was with yellow rice, some kind of nuts, dates, and some interesting spices.... along with what I assume was lamb, since they eat lamb all the time here... like we eat chicken or beef... and of course their kind of bread, which is like a cross between pita bread and a tortilla... very tasty.... it was all very tasty actually, but I will think twice about eating their food again though.. I was on the toilet all night last night...
The weather has begun to get cold over here. Not real cold by any standard back home... but I assume it feels so cold because we are adjusted to 120+ temperatures. It couldn't have been colder than 55 yesterday, but people were wearing lots of snivel gear. The locals have begun to burn stuff to stay warm... I wonder if thats why they don't dump their garbage anywhere... I could swear that's what it smelled like they were burning.
I posted a few pictures from the past couple days.... I will try to put up some more when I get time.... I got so angry yesterday.... these children that I guess lived around where we were, came up to us and were asking for candy and chocolate, saying.. "Mistah! Mistah! Chocolatah!" Putting their little fingers to their mouths. We didn't have any chocolate, but I had a huge ziplock bag of gum that I just got in a package from my mothers company, SEI. So, I was handing out gum, when who I guess would be one of these kids fathers came up yelling at the children. I don't know what he said because I only understand a few words in arabic, but it was apparant he was yelling at them for talking to us.... then he kicked this little girl who couldn't have been older than my daughter (she's 4). When I say he kicked her, I don't mean he knocked her around, but he actually reared up and kicked her like you see in the movies when someone is whooping someones ass. The little girl fell to the ground holding her stomach....
I don't know where actions like that are placed anywhere in the Quran, but it sickened me....
This guy had an arm in a sling, and I was ready to put his other one in a sling. I was about to go and do some things to him when I was told to stand down... domestic issues like that are for the Iraqi Police (IP). My NCOIC there was right, but that didn't make me feel any better about it.
Well, I have to go.... got some work to do over the next few days to prepare for the next mission... am told it may be a long one... I will post again as soon as I can.

2004-11-24T05:33:00.000+03:00

Here is one of me out on mission yesterday.... I promised my family some pics of me.... I don't really have many, so I handed my camera over for this one.

2004-11-24T05:23:00.000+03:00

Here is a picture I took while we drove around baghdad the other day.

2004-11-22T16:55:00.000+03:00

Trying to relax a bit after eating chow at one of the other FOBs we stopped at while out on mission.

My own mortality

2004-11-20T02:31:00.000+03:00

I just got word that a friend of mine has passed. He was hit by an IED on convoy. He was in the unit I was in when I first deployed here to Iraq. Sometimes I think that perhaps I am getting used to the fact that people are getting hurt or killed over here, because sometimes it just doesn't bother me. Sometimes though, it bothers me alot.
Now is one of those times. He was killed doing exactly what any one of us here would be doing..... his job. It could have just as easily been me that was driving by that explosive. After being here a year, to be honest..... when you hear a boom, or bullets whizzing... you often don't give them a second thought unless they are within a certain distance from you... otherwise you would be on the ground all the time... but when the situation hits close to home like this.... it reminds of how real the situation is. I would like to ask everyone to pray for his family. I can't say the name because I don't know if families have been notified yet, but the way I see it, you don't have to know a persons name for your heart and prayers to go out to them.
That said, I also want to make sure I thank everyone who has been supporting me over here. My family and friends have been sending me packages, prayers, e-mails, and replies to my posts here on this blog. I cannot put together words that eccurately portray how gratefull I am. I know that I haven't said thanks enough for all the support I have received.... that's how I make it.... you guys.

2004-11-19T17:43:00.000+03:00

See... the local's tastes aren't too bad.... Our dining facility has a "sports" design to it. We have a couple TV's playing ESPN, and the walls are decorated with sports memorabilia.... you can see what has caught my eye though. The football is sitting on our desert counter.

2004-11-19T08:19:00.000+03:00

One of the lesser fun areas to drive through.... kinda like driving in some areas inside the loop in Houston.

2004-11-19T08:13:00.000+03:00

One of my firers on the range.

2004-11-19T08:04:00.000+03:00

Some of our neighbors.

2004-11-19T08:02:00.000+03:00

On patrol

2004-11-19T08:00:00.000+03:00

The name of the range we fired on.

2004-11-19T07:22:00.000+03:00

Well, this past few days have been pretty dull, all things considered. We had rocket attacks on our living area like clockwork over two days time, but yesterday there were none. Unfortunately. that probably just means that they ran out. If that's the case, it will start back up again once they obtain more.
They are no different with each other either. There are two neighborhoods north of here with two opposing tribes that fight each other almost everyday. It's like the Hatfields and McCoys. Every evening, they start shooting at each other... fire until they run out of bullets, usually not hitting anything, because they don't know how to shoot. Then they pack up and call it a night, acquire some more bullets the next day, and continue again the next evening.
We conducted a weapons range here the past couple days, in addition to everything else going on. I was the "Operations NCO". I now have no voice left, after screaming commands to a bunch of people wearing hearing protection. It went well over all though. We fired alot of people. The range is along the "wall" on our FOB, and although, we fire into "HESCO" barriers(big baskets filled with dirt), the locals didn't like it too much, and decided to fire upon us a couple times. No one was hurt though, and things ended up going pretty well.
Gonna post some pictures now from the past weeks mission and range and such.

Hectic times

2004-11-16T23:33:00.000+03:00

It has been pretty crazy over here since coming back from leave.
While conducting our normal mission here, we also gave assistance to the Marines over in Fallujah. At the same time, we also conducted firing ranges, because apparantly, having to shoot weapons in real situations doesn't mean you know how to use them..... so we qualified on our weapons over here..... which turned out to be a good idea, because I had to help more than a couple with their marksmanship skills.
I read an article today from the local newspaper called "Baghdad Now". It's printed in english and arabic(it's convenient that english is read left to right and arabic right to left... the english portion is written at what we would recognize as the beginning, but the arabic is written at what they would consider the beginning.... works out well with things being equal).
Anyway, here's a quote from the article from the Nov 1-15 issue;
"Sixth-grader Ahmed Hassan Hadi stood at his desk as if answering a history question or solving a math problem. Yes, he knew someone killed in the Sept. 30 car bombing, Ahmed said politely. It was his friend Ali.... his best friend.
Earnest but unnervingly matter-of-fact, Ahmed told a visitor how he and Ali survived the first bomb, the one that ripped through a crowd of children who had gathered to collect prizes and candy from American soldiers. The second blast, the one that hit while Ali was trying to help his wounded brother, killed the boy.
"An American soldier tried to protect Ali, but the soldier got hit in the neck," Ahmed said. "That's when the shrapnel hit Ali."

There have been alot of situations over here like that. I heard about that marine that supposedly shot an innocent.... to that, I say that if he did it, he will get what he deserves..... but I hope that people don't believe that all American soldiers can take that kind of action. It worries me sometimes when I see or hear about something bad happening over here like that. It saddens me that my fellow soldiers can have horrible things thought about them because of the actions of a few nutballs.... like the lady I was lucky enough to meet over in Atlanta.... I guess she wasn't completely wrong... but people who conduct themselves in that way are no different from a murderer back in the states... justice will find them.
At the same time though... I hope no one forget people like the soldier who sacrificed himself for Ahmed.
Gotta run.... still lots to do.

I wasn't gonna post about this at first but....

2004-11-07T17:49:00.000+03:00

Sometimes I just don't understand people at all. While I was in Atlanta waiting on my flight out of the country to come back over here, I got quite bored. So, I went into a book store there in the terminal and found a book to read. This was shortly after the announcement of the victor in the Presidential election.
When I got up to the register, There were two women behind the counter. One appeared to be some sort of manager, while the other was ringing up my book. Well, the manager(or whatever she was) tried to make small talk to me, and she apologized to me that George Bush was the winner. I asked her why she was apologizing to me, and this was her responce;
"I'm sorry for you that George Bush was re-elected because now you will have to go back over to Iraq to kill more innocent civilians. If Kerry had been elected, you wouldn't have had to go back."
Now.... as she says this to me I was thinking a whole lot of things, but fortunately, I have a little common sense, as well as the common curtesy to not just fly off the handle and tell to just fuck off.
Instead, I asked her what innocent civilians I had killed, and that with her never having been over there, how can she dare try to pretend to understand what things are like over there. Secondly, I told her that she shouldn't listen to everything the news is showing, because, well, frankly they only show the blood and guts because that's what they want you to see.
This woman wouldn't hear it though, and stormed off.
After arriving back here in Iraq fom my R&R though, I found out some things that I wish I had available to tell her at the time.

This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently(that probably wasn't all in the news there in the States)
* Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
* School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
* Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so education can occur.
* The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
* The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
* Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
* The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
* 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
* Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
* Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
* Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
* Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
* Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
* Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
* Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
* An interim constitution has been signed.
* Girls are allowed to attend school.
* Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.

There have been so many people here that have told me they are so grateful for us being here. Most of the people I talk to know that they may not ever see the type of freedom we talk about, and try to help them to attain... but they want to keep going because of the hope and vision that their children can have it.

Now, with that in mind, I also want to say something that I had a discussion with a friend about. It has taken the United States over 200 years, a revolutionary war, a civil war, numerous civil rights movements... the list goes on and on... to get to where we are today. Now, if the goal in mind is to help others achieve the kind of democracy that we have, well, how can we ecpect things to go so smoothly when we couldn't do it without alot of strife as well.
Additionally, the last time I checked, we are at war. We conducting a war on terror. Yes the war in Iraq is over. But only in the sense that we are no longer fighting the nation of Iraq. What happens in war? People die.
If you ask me if the risk of my life is worth the chance to give millions of people a chance to have even half of the freedoms I enjoy? My answer is yes. That doesn't mean that I want to be here, because you can scroll down the the picture of my two kids to see where my heart wants to be, but what kind of world will they grow up in if we do nothing?
I think I am done with my rampage.

2004-11-06T13:09:00.000+03:00

This is one of my sisters sons.

I'm back!

2004-11-06T01:56:00.000+03:00

Well, it has definately been an exciting few weeks! I got to see my children. Man they are beautiful! I will post a couple pictures after this.
I went down to the Mississippi coast to see my brother and his family. Their bew baby girl is absolutely beautiful. I also got to spend a couple days in the Beau Rivage Casino there. That was alot of fun. I drank too much and won some money playing blackjack!
The biggest thing though, was my children. I miss them so! They were absolutely amazing. I got to see much of the rest of my family as well. I went to the Zoo with my brother and his family, my father, step-mother, sister and her family, and my kids of course. I enjoyed some wonderful time with my mother(whom I would appreciate if you all coud keep her in your thoughts and prayers, as she has been ill).
My flight back was absolutely no fun. First, I flew to Atlanta Wednesday morning. Then, sat in the airport in Atlanta until almost 10 PM before departing. We stopped off in Germany after about 9 or so hours of flight to refuel and pick up soldiers who spent their R&R time there. While there, we had an hour or so to stretch and walk around the terminal, but not before sitting through 20 minutes of briefings about the airport, safety and such. Sometimes I really don't understand the Army at all. Twenty minutes of crap so I can sit in a terminal for an hour. After which we flew for another 8 or so hours out to Kuwait. After landing, we took a 30-45 minute bus ride to a camp there, where we received more briefings. These briefings would allow us to continue our individual trips from there to various destinations in Iraq and Afghanistan. After all was said and done, it was about 1:30 AM on Friday. We were then given about 2 and a half hours to go eat and to rest before standing in a formation at 4:00, where we were informed only when our next formation would be, which was at noon. At noon, we held another formation and boarded busses again to go to where those of us whoe were headed into Iraq would board a C-130 aircraft. But, after arriving at about 1:30 PM there at the airfield, we were informed that we wouldn't be flying out until around 10 PM, so, we waited yet again. Then, got the call that it was time to board the planes, got on a bus to the plane, drove up to it and turned around because the flight crew had decided that they just weren't ready to go yet, and wanted another hours or so. They said to go back to our "holding area" and they would call for us.
Anyway, you get the idea. Needless to say, I was actually happy to get here back in Baghdad, as long as it meant I didn't need to get on another plane for a bit.
Well, that's about it for now. Postomg some pictures now.

2004-11-06T01:29:00.000+03:00

Here's my daughter and her "paw-paw" as we are leaving the zoo.

2004-11-06T01:28:00.000+03:00

Here is a picture of my kiddos. Aren't they beautiful??!!???!!

Last post for a bit...

2004-10-17T10:49:00.000+03:00

This will be my last post for a bit.
I am in Kuwait right now.... got in around midnight last night, and have been through briefings out the ying yang.
The flight over from Baghdad was exciting. During our ascent in the C-130 we were in, we took some fire. The crew said they were unsure as to how close the fire was, but it was close enough to trigger the automatic Electronic Counter Measures(ECM). It looked like 4th of July when that suff went off.... eveything turned bright and we heard all the little explosions frm the counter measures.
Landed in Kuwait safely though.
I got a couple pictures from in the bird, but will be unable to post them until I am at a real connection. I am currently at an internet cafe here in Kuwait.
I need to go.
Talk to you all as soon as I can.

See you in about 3 weeks

2004-10-15T08:29:00.000+03:00

Ok guys,
I fly out in the morning.... I will be on leave for about 2 weeks, but will be gone about 3 weeks because of travel time and such. Man, I have needed this for a while.
While I have time tonight, I will try to post some pictures....

That's no fun

2004-10-14T06:54:00.000+03:00

Well....
I had just finished taking a shower last night. I get all my stuff together, and leave the shower trailer. Apparantly, while I was in the shower, a dust storm blew in. By the time I walked the 125 feet from the showers to my room, I looked like a powdered doughnut. Even my eyelashes were coated! I had to go back and take another shower after dust storm died down. Man I love this place!!!!!! Yeah right!
Anyway, I have been working lately on getting everything ready for my leave. I head out in 2 days! Man I can't wait! I get to see my children! The prep work isn't so fun though. With everyone realizing that I fly out of here in only a couple more days, they all have "emergency" stuff that really needs to be fixed before I go on leave. You have to ust love how reactionary people are. Most of the stuff I am working on has most likely been broken for weeks. Oh well. At least it is keeping me busy enough that the time passes quickly enough.
Anyway.... better get to work.... I will try to post some more pictures before I head out for leave.

Good times

2004-10-10T01:18:00.000+03:00

Well...
I got the lucky dice roll that puts me on duty tonight..... It's been fun so far though... well... fun considering where I am. We have an AFN(Armed Forces Network) satellite dish set up here in the company headquarters. Tonight, I got to watch the Oklahoma vs. Texas football game. It was an exciting game. Several guys from our LSA came over to watch the game. It's nice to get a little bit of normal stuff mixed into things over here.
You know, I really don't often consider how dangerous things are over here most of the time.... you just don't think of it that way. For example... we have had about 12-14 mortar rounds come into the area in the past few hours. Now, though, you hardly pay them any attention unless they are real close. I don't mean that we ignore them, butit just loses it's shock factor after a while. It's like before they pulled me up here to work at division level. Before, while out on mission, you would see alot of things about Baghdad that really make you think. Some things you would see would really shock, or even frighten you. I know they did me.
One time, we rolled out on a mission to the Southern part of the city. We had some guys that were staying in a FOB down there. Anyway, on our return trip from there, we got caught up in some traffic on the freeway that had us stop under an overpass. Now, one of the biggest fears, at least for me as a driver at that time, was overpasses. The insurgents liked to set up IEDs on the overpasses and blow them when military vehicles were passing underneath,, or they would simply sit on top and throw hand grenades down onto the passing vehicles.
Anyway, along with what I was saying. We stopped at this underpass, and I looked to my left, and there was this guy walking towards the vehicle in front of me(the lead vehicle in our convoy). As he is walking towards the vehicle, he pulls out an AK and is pointing it at our lead truck. My heart shot through my throat. I started shaking, and couldn't even talk. I raised my weapon and switched it over to semi. I was taking aim, when my Sergeant Major, who was in the back seat, screams to hold fire. On the right side of the vehicle was this persons vehicle. It was an Iraqi Police officer.
I was a half of a second from shooting a guy, who was wearing blue jeans and a flannel shirt, and nothing to identify him as one of the good guys. That is the biggest thing here... not knowing the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, because they look the same sometimes.
Another time, while out on mission to the international zone, we had an IED blow in front of our convoy. Luckily for us, the "trigger man" apparantly got a little excited, and he triggered it to go off in front of us instead of on us. It did demolish a civilian car though, and destroyed the two people that were in it. The car flew into the air in a fashion that you would see in a movie. It was as impressive as it was horrifying.
Now, though I still go out sometimes, my new job has be doing the other end of my job, which is fixing and maintaining communication equipment. Well, anything with electronics really. I fix computers, satellite equipment, radios, phones, speaker systems.... I repaired a guys Playstation 2 the other day, as well as piecing together a sound system for our MWR (Morale Welfare & Recreation) guys so that they could put on some music entertainment for our guys.
It keeps me busy, but it just isn't the same, to tell you the truth.
I have to say though, that I have been real lucky. The ones who are putting the most on the line aren't people who are in a position like me, where I am now. But it is the rest that are going outside the wire every day. I am no longer in that position anymore. They are the ones who patrol the streets.... the ones who are in the line of fire every day.
Well... I better go.

I know... I know....

2004-10-08T22:05:00.000+03:00

I know I said I was going to post pictures of the rocket attack scene on my friend.... but I have to wait on the OK from higher... I will post them when I can(in responce to some e-mails about when I was going to post those)

2004-10-08T22:02:00.000+03:00

Here is where I lay my head to try to sleep.... though, to be honest, I have lots of trouble sleeping lately. On the positive side, the pictures on the wall here and above my laptop on the last post help immensely. They are of my kids...

2004-10-08T22:00:00.000+03:00

This is the end result of a guy with too much skill in the art of communications. Even in Iraq, he will find a way to stay on the internet in his room(although it isn't very consistent). We have about 25 of us who pitched in and bought a satellite dish from the locals and an internet account from europe.... not grea, but nice.

2004-10-08T21:41:00.000+03:00

Well, the sign makes it so that there would normally not be a caption needed... though, the locals we hired to paint the sign(we hire locals to do as much is possible without comprimising security) weren't too skilled in the area of the english language. The wording looked like this at first....
WEL COME TO
CAV COUNTRY

Then, they fixed it... a bit.... and it looked like this....
WELCOME TO
CAV CONTRY

Then... after a third time, it got to look like it does now.

2004-10-08T21:32:00.000+03:00

One of the many presidential palaces once owned by Saddam and his family.

2004-10-08T21:31:00.000+03:00

Doesn't look like what I thought an oil rich nation would look like.. though the mosque is real pretty.

2004-10-08T21:29:00.000+03:00

I took this while some of my soldiers were taking a break from work. It was 128 degrees out, so we kinda had to pace ourselves sometimes.

Some things to think about...

2004-10-08T20:12:00.000+03:00

You know... these people here amaze me. First off, being here during all that is going on isn't really the most scary thing for alot of them. Alot of people here lived in such fear of Saddam and his regime that they had forgotten what life can be like.
The people that worked for Saddam were no better than the man himself either. They murdered thousands of people in the Northern portion of the country using chemical weapons... under Saddams orders. They placed people under firing squads who opposed him and buried them with bulldozers. This man was in charge of a country with 10% of the worlds oil supply, yet these people here live in poverty. Running water and consistant electricity is a luxury. Some people were well off, but many were not.
Additionally, I don't think I ever really understood the true meaning of persecution until I came to this place. Some of the ways that the extremists work here, in my mind at least, remind me of nothing more than any other extremist group out there in the world... past or present. Not believing the way that they do is cause for your death... as well as being from a certain part of the world.
In one market here in Baghdad, you will find people excited about their new freedoms. Eager to try to find ways to provide for their families. In another, you will find merchants selling videos of the executions of the people who have been captured by the insurgents. Many sit next to CD copies of the Quran.
So the CIA says that there were no significant amounts of weapons of mass destruction here in Iraq prior to our invasion. So be it. I personally do give one rats ass about the politics of it. But I will tell you this. The number of people who have come up to personally thank me while I was out in the "International Zone" in downtown, plus those that seek work here on the FOBs are enough for me to feel that our coming over here was the right thing. I really don't care about the who's and why's of it These people needed a better way of life, and we have paved the way for it.
I rellay don't care too much about why we came here anymore, but I do care about why we are here now. We are here now because the Iraqi people need our help to ensure that they have every opportunity to have a way of life that is worth living.
Anyway, Sorry about not posting pictures.... my connection went down for a bit.... since it is up now, I wanted to post. I will put some pictures up in the morning.

They don't get any closer than that!

2004-10-05T01:44:00.000+03:00

I got word a litttle bit ago about a friend of mine here, who lives on the same FOB as me, but in a different area. He was laying in his bed, watching a DVD, when a rocket shot through his wall. It went through his wall after shooting through a neighboring trailer and skipping off the ground. It came through his wall and slid across his chest... went through his wall locker, and ended up resting at the head of the bed in the room next door. All it did to him was knock him down to the floor. He ended up with a strawberry across his chest.
The rocket didn't explode, but they say that if it had been on a 1% lower trajectory, it could have cut him in half.
I don't care who you are.. that's probably going to be one of his best days of his life. That really tells me that he is meant for bigger and greater things in life, and that he just hasn't done everything that God needs of him yet. Just my opinion on that.
I got some pictures, and will try to upload them as soon as possible.
I tell you what. Sometimes, I feel a little scared at being over here. Other times, I am humbled and honored to be here. Usually it works out to be both.
Also, in recent local news. A soldier in my section, while pulling duty, was walking back from the chow hall after midnight chow. In front of him, a humvee was making a turn along an part of the trail from the chow hall goes by a irrigation channel. Well, the humvee took the turn too close to the embankment, and ended up sliding down into the channel, but not before it rolled over. The soldier from my section, seeing this, didn't even think about his own safety in the situation, but only jumped into the water, and forced open 150 lb doors off of the "up-armored" vehicle, and pulled the trapped passengers to safety.
I tell you what... if I ever need to be humbled, I will always be able to think back upon some of the people I have met here, and remember some of the things we have been through.
Anyway, that's about it. I will get those pictures up as soon as I can.

2004-10-03T23:05:00.000+03:00

I took this picture tonight. I was sitting outside just as the sun was setting and these guys were just coming out. Ever heard of the saying "blind as a bat"? Well.... when the flash went off to snap this picture, this guy dive bombed me! He swooped down and ran smack into my head.

I get to escape!!!

2004-10-02T17:37:00.000+03:00

Got the official word on my R&R leave. Man I can't wait to get out of here for a bit....

I read on the web about the debate between the two presidential contenders. I didn't get to watch it myself, but with the way things appear, it just really seems to depend on what news site you go to if you want to find out about who is ahead at this point. Sometimes it really bothers me with the things that they go on about. I personally don't really care one bit about what either of them did 30 years ago. I also don't really care too much about how we got to where we are. To me, what we are going to do now, and in the future has a little more importance here.
I read alot about how people say that this war wasn't about terrorism, though, that's all we face over here..... terrorists. Even the bulk of these guys that have been fighting with the "Mahdi Army" who support al Sadr are terrorists, some from this country, some from the surrounding countries. There really is no other name to give them. The news likes to call them "insurgents" or "militants", but that doesn't do these groups justice in my eyes. They attack with VBIEDs(vehicle born improvised explosive devices) in places that have large quantities of the civilian population around. They attack 2 or three people, but take out 30-40 civilians in the process. Tell me who the victim is there?
It sickens me when I see how impoverished these people of this "oil rich" nation are. We hired a group of locals to help us to fill sand bags and such. Not one of them had shoes. Some of them had sandals, but that's it. They wore the same clothes every day. Brought what you or I would call a snack to have as a meal.... a tomatoe, a piece of bread, some water.... then, share it with 2 or 3 of the other guys there who didn't have anything to bring. We gave them some of our worn out boots to wear, but instead, they took them and sold them so that they could feed their families.
Anyway.... not trying to turn this page into a rant. I need to get some thins done. That's it for now.

2004-10-02T17:21:00.000+03:00

Still one of my favorite pictures from here

4 the troops

2004-10-01T21:01:00.000+03:00

Well... I'm not sure who did it, but someone signed me up with about a bazillion different organizations similar to "4 the troops". It's fantastic, because some of the things they are sending to me are things that you just come across around here. Q-tips, some junk food items, etc.... Other things, though, are a different story..... for example:
I received a package the other day that must have weighed 40 pounds. People must spend a fortune on shipping costs! Anyway, I open the package and it is filled with 3 things.... toilet paper, different kinds of lotion, and a bunch of romance novels! Holy cow!!!! Are they trying to tell me something?
I know that being over here in another country can, at times, be kinda lonely, but I haven't reached a point where I need a bunch of romance novels.
From a different person I received a letter. This letter was from a 17 year old from Mojave California. She wrote about herself.... likes, hobbies, etc. She also wrote to thank me and my fellow troops for our sacrifices, and to say that she was quite proud of us over here. The end of the letter looked similar to this:
.... and I just want you to know that I will always be thinking of you over there. You are always in my prayers.

Love always,
(her name)

P.S.- If I have a rooster, and you have a donkey, and your donkey eats the feet off of my rooster, what do you have? Two feet of my cock in your ass.

I tell you what, I needed that. I laughed for probably 20 minutes when I read that, and showed it to everyone I know over here. Thank God that some people have a sense of humor still. All in all though, I have to say that the support we receive over here is wonderful.

On a separate note, I have been thinking about how many things I used to take for granted while I lived back in the states...running water....electricity that stays on(as long as the bill is paid).... being able to run to the store for any little knick-knack.... grass.... never underestimate the beauty of grass.... sidewalks... I can't count the number of times I have twisted my ankles on the gravel we have put down to cut down on the dust. In case you were wondering.. to get an idea of what the dust is like, go to the store and buy a couple of the value sized things of bab powder.... now dump the powder all out into one pile, back up and walk through it. It doesn't matter if you stroll through it, stomp, run, or tip toe.... the dust will go everywhere.... that's about what it's like. Then, the fun part..... rainy season... where that same dust becomes pancake batter. Being in the desert, the ground doesn't absorb the water very well, so you get a real good mess everywhere...

Other recent news from around here.... While it's pretty common for us to receive pretty regular fire of some type over here, we have been pretty lucky over-all that the militants are not very good at what they do. They really like to launch mortar rounds over our walls at us, but most of them don't have mortar tubes. Instead, they weld a pipe to a steel plate at some guessed angle. Then, they drive up to some place along the wall, pop a few rounds and drive away. They also like to launch RPGs over the wall as well. To our benifit, getting rounds acurately to any target is practically an impossibility.... though, that also means that walking around the FOB (Forward Operations Base) has it's own "Russian Roulette" quality about it, because you just don't know where a round will come down, or when. Anyway, a round found found a target several days ago... it ended up being like most situations outside the wire. The person who was killed was an Iraqi. We have small shops that we have allowed the locals to set up to sell items from the local community. One of those guys happened to be outside his little shop when an RPG round came in.
It's amazing to me how these militants kill more Iraqis than soldiers, yet they seem to feel that they are doing something good. Many of these guys are terrorists from other surrounding countries, who apparantly could care less about the Iraqi people. More often than not, these guys just attack Iraqis. How are they fighting us? I know they are trying to undermine what we are trying to accomplish over here, but I just can't seem to understand it. Luckily, I don't have to understand their reasoning too well to do my job.
Anyway... I think that's about it for now.... sleep is always a good thing.... and I need some.

Things that have to be said...

2004-10-01T20:02:00.000+03:00

Okay... there are some things that have to be said...

I want to thank everyone who has been supporting my being over here. My mother, father, step-mom, Brandee, Sean, Lee Michael, Donny, Nancy, Heather, Josh, Bob and Mary Beth, Doug, Gremmie, Joedna & Randy and all the people I have been getting mail from that don't know me but support me anyway. Thank you all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for the goodies and hygiene items as well.

Most importantly, my children.... my little boy and my baby girl.... Luke and Brooke, I miss you and love you so much! There is not a day that goes by that I don't stare at a picture of you two and dream of holding you again. I can't wait until I get to see you again.

I love you all.

In the beginning....

2004-10-01T06:02:00.000+03:00

Well....
I will begin this by stating how I am not original by doing this. There are many other soldiers out there who have beat me to this idea. It does have merit though, and since I would like to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with others, I have started this blog.
I hope that I can do it justice, and make it worth both my time, and those that read it.

Just a little background information for those who may not know me....

My name is Bryan Mayfield. I am a Sergeant in the United States Army. My MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) is 31U - Signal Support Systems Specialist, though I have just heard that my job now has a new designation and description. I don't know yet what it is. It doesn't really matter too much though, because with the way things have worked for me, I have ended up doing multiple jobs due to both my abilties, and my unit. I have been in the Army since 1999, spending all my time in service(minus basic and AIT) at Ft. Hood, Texas. I went wheels up from there in February of this year headed here to Iraq.
I spent my first month down in Kuwait doing RSOI operations(getting everything ready to go) as part of the advanced party(ADVON) of the Military Intelligence Battalion I was assigned to. We spent the first few weeks getting aclimated, as well as downloading all of our gear from the boats at the port, and basically just getting things ready to receive the rest of the Battalion, as well as the Division my unit supported.
Because of my filling dual positions, I was chosen to move ahead of the rest of the unit to prepare for the rest of the Battalion to arrive. In addition to being a commo guy, I was also the BC's driver, R&U, and armorer, which meant cool training and such, but also meant that I had to jump through alot of hoops to get all of heir stuff ready before they arrived.
Blah, blah... leapfrog through time..... We moved north into Baghdad and set up operations, conducted missions daily..... In May, I was told that the Division Sergeant
Major at the time was pulling me up to division to manage the commo maintenance for the Division Headquarters Elements... So here I am.

I will continue to put my thoughts here as well any cool stuff I see, be it on the web, or out about town, whatever....