9.28.2004

Apparently we were lucky today. Just before I woke up, the building next to my work-place got hit with a rocket. It hit the building, then bounced off. Fortunately, it was a dud. EOD (Explosive Ordinance Diposal) came and disposed of it, but everyone was locked in the building until it was taken care of. It was about 50 yards from where I work. As you can imagine, when I got to work, the place was a-buzz about the rocket. If the wind had blown a little harder, it would have hit us.

....no need to worry though. :)

I'm just a little concerned about Ramadan. It's going to get worse. I have a feeling we'll be in "battle rattle" again for the most of the time I've got left here (I leave in January).

Well....I'm off to breakfast. At our chow hall, the food is pretty much the same every day. I eat the hard-boiled eggs because I've gotten sick the last few times I ate the omelettes -- you can't go wrong with hard-boiled eggs, I've decided. I was actually surprised at our selections -- fresh fruit every day, yogurt, all the bacon and sausages you could want (which looks disgusting so I don't eat it).... of course, some times we're out. Yesterday, it was salt. Today, it could be the yogurt. It's not that big of a deal -- there are soldiers out in the field that have to ear MREs. Oh, I found out that during April, when the supply routes got cut off, at Abu Ghraib they had to eat MREs for a few weeks -- the prisoners were ensured 2/day, but the soldiers only got 1/day. We had to make sure the prisoners were treated well, because that would be "unforgivable." It astonishes me sometimes how badly people want to make Americans over here look. I assure you, the soldiers (from the lowest ranking to the biggest General) want the people over here to be happy, have security and stability, and finally realize what democracy means. Unfortunately, there are too many "bad guys" who are taking advantage of the situation, and they find it easy to sway the POIs (Pissed Off Iraqis) in their favor. Most of the Iraqis just want a job, a home, food, and safety for their families. They don't want to be out on the roads setting up IEDs, but if their wives are shoving them out the door to "quit being a disgrace and get some money," they'll do it. What would you do, in their situation?

Ok, now I'm really off to breakfast. :-)