Let the good times roll... It's Ramadan

It's that time of year again when all practicing Muslims stop eating for a month. Well almost, they get to eat a bit late in the evening. Of course I eat at my desk a lot when I'm not out on the road because I work some crazy hours. So for the next month I have to be very discrete about it, in fact I actually have to try and hide it. So I've mastered the ability of stealthy consumption. I keep one of my desk drawers open with my food on a plate inside it and just before every bite I quickly scan the room for locals. If it's clear I eat. Fun stuff...

To make this holy time even more special there is a huge increase of attacks expected during this month on the Forward Operating Base (FOB) where I am based when not moving remotely. As everyone knows the only way a good terrorist can enter their version of nirvana is to at least make a valiant effort to slaughter as many gringos as one can.

I may be generalizing here - just a bit. But every time I hear another suicide bomb detonate at check point 2 (a half a click from my me) followed by hundreds of rounds of assault riffle fire it tends to reinforce the pettiness in me.

Of course one of the cleaning ladies just came over and gave me the phone number to her house because she wants me to call sometime and speak with her children who are trying to learn English. In a flash I realize how easy I let myself slip into such a limited and hostile perspective and I am reminded that most of the people here are VERY good people who are trying to make a better life for themselves and they would never advocate hurting anyone in the process.

Ramadan On...

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...

More Scenes From Iraq

These two shots are the exact place Saddam was standing in that video where he's in a suit wearing a 1950's style hat shooting a riffle up in the air. I wonder what he would say if he knew a few years later some privileged American would be standing on his podium like a tourist taking pictures of his precious Parade grounds.

(Looking East over the Parade Grounds)

(Saddam's perch)

Ok, somebody's head was just a little too big. I've been told the hands holding these swords were actually modeled after Saddam's.

This is the front side of the Palace that sits above the Parade Grounds. The people standing by the SUV's are part of a security detail I was assigned to. Those Toyota's are hardened (armored). We all had M4's and AK-47's. Crazy huh...

Note the bullet holes in the side of the middle SUV.

The next pic is inside the Parade Grounds Palace.

This pic says it all...

I came across this graffiti while exploring the deserted parade grounds.

Army Spc. Michael J. Stokely, 23, of Sharpsburg, Georgia. Stokely died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, Griffin, Georgia. He died on August 16, 2005.

My heart goes with you Michael and with your family. Thank You for your service and your sacrifice...