Greetings From Iraq

Sorry I haven't written sooner, but we have been busy since we finally got up to our FOB. They gave us a couple of days to acclimate and settle in before we began a whirlwind of patrols for the past four days. You think we have bad drivers back in the states, you should come over here. These people truly drive it like they stole it. Of course their driving is nothing compared to the way we drive our humvees around here. We command the road and you better not get in the way. Ive quickly learned that you drive fast and in the middle of the road to better avoid the chance of getting hit with an IED. Those people driving in the opposite direction by now realize this and are good about pulling off to the side of the road. As a gunner atop the Humvee this is fine with me, since I'm the most likely to get wounded from an IED. This point was made clear back in Kuwait when we were hearded into a tent to view an IED film. Guess what, almost everyone that got hurt was a gunner. Cool! It doesn't matter though, I still think I have the best seat in the house. I just hope that if an IED does go off that there will be someone that is clearly the culprit, so I can make use of the pretty gun I have up there with me. I would almost rather be shot at with an RPG, since you at least know the origin of the round and therefore the shooter. It sounded like I just wish to get shot at by an RPG. I promise I'm not crazy. You know what is really fun? Driving through a bustling city with hundreds of people walking all around and poking their heads out of windows and rooftops. There is so much to look for that it's nearly impossible, so you just don't worry about it. It's a very liberating experience though. Kind of like walking down the street naked with everyone laughing at you and not worrying about it. Not that I've done that, but I can imagine the laughs I would get, especially since it's really cold outside.

So far the people have seemed nice if not just indifferent to our presence. The kids are still great though, just like the last time I was here. I don't pretend to think that everyone here is enamored with us, but I think the vast majority of the people like us. In the week that I have been here I can already see a lot of the good things we are doing over here. The IA(Iraqi Army) are looking pretty well and seem to be proud of the job they have. We have already worked with once and will again tomorrow. I hope they are proud of what they are doing. I can tell that they respect the men that are in charge of them. I just pray that the men in charge are good people.

What else. Internet access in kind of limited. You have to normally wait in line and then only have a half hour to be on. If it seems I've been rambling, it's because I'm typing as fast as something comes to my mind. The FOB that we are staying at is not one of the better ones, but it's not a bad place to live for over a year. I only have to room with two other guys which isn't bad. The food is actually pretty good, a lot better than the crap we had in Kuwait. There are showers that are warm if you catch it at the right time and toilets in these little trailor like boxes. Of course we still have port-a-johns. I wouldn't know what to do without those around. It should be an interesting year. I will try to write again soon.