Damn...

Yesterday we had two security teams engaged in a nasty ambush. They both occurred within twenty minutes of each other and in the same part of Baghdad. Three guys were wounded from small arms fire including a guy who took one in the chest and the fourth was killed. Today we had two more guys killed and multiple wounded, all in ambushes throughout the city. I sat helpless, listening to the radio comms as those guys were dying...

Last 30 hours: 3 killed, 1 kidnapped, 6 wounded, 3 vehicles destroyed - Just from my Compound.

Those Crazy Fijians...

I recently spent a night drinking Kava with a group of Fijians who are doing security work in Southern Iraq. In the typical Fijian tradition of welcoming a new friend they brewed a large bowel of a popular drink in the South Pacific called Kava. Kava (Piper methysticum) is an age-old herbal drink that was the beverage of choice for the royal families of the South Pacific. Believed to originate from Melanesia, kava grows abundantly in the sun-drenched islands of Polynesia. It produces a kind of "high" that, ah, well lets say I was feeling no pain when I finally hit my rack. We spent most of that night in the middle of a warehouse in Southern Iraq talking about Island life and getting baked. Very cool...

The Fijian Team

Me and some of the Fijians

Trip to Umm Qasr

Well I just got back from a trip to a small port city in Southern Iraq called Umm Qasr. I both flew and drove to get there. The trip down and back was uneventful and it was good to get out for a bit. Even better I had my first day off in six weeks and I spent it at the Kuwait City Beach Side Hilton. Even though I only had a day I hit the beach, the pool, went out for dinner... It was a much needed break. The Hilton down there has a unique relationship with military, gov employees and contractors. They put us up in townhouses right on the beach, it's all very plush, very luxurious, etc, but you see all of these guys walking around and we are all dressed in our khakis, T-shirts, weapons kit and we're toting around our guns. It's strange to be sitting in Starbucks drinking a coffee while my M-4 is sitting on the table next to my biscot (or whatever those things are called). Anyway I only got to spend a little bit of time there, most of my time was in the Red Zone.

Here are a few pics...

Hitching a ride on a BlackHawk. I used to jump out of these when I was in the military. I have about 5000 hours in this model (well, the Navy/USMC version - UH60 SeaHawk).

The Red Zone - Outside the GZ

Me in a pool while briefly in Kuwait City awaiting military transport into Iraq. My flight and convoy would leave the next day so I'm trying to enjoy as much down time as possible.(talk about white)

The "Villa" I stayed in when passing through Kuwait City (to and from Iraq). Talk about an absurd contrast in conditions...