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Categories:
Iraq
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29 November 2008
27 November 2008
Thanksgiving Dinner
Categories:
Iraq
This is a photo blog,
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So we returned from an early morning mission today and they had a great meal set out for everyone. Turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing and lots of other goodies. In typical holiday tradition, the officers and platoon sergeants as well as the 1st Sergeant all served the meal to the troops. After a wonderful prayer by SPC(P) Nwusu we stuffed ourselves. It was a great meal.
Posted by bsorge at 12:00 AM | Link | 0 comments
20 November 2008
Another SWT Mission
Categories:
Iraq
This is a photo blog,
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Today we went on anothe assessment mission to two very remote villages. The first one had absolutely NO infrastructure what so ever. No running water, no electricity, no sewage, nothing. I am not sure what we can do for these folks really. The US is no longer paying for projects as the Iraqi governement has started to support it's own country. I do suspect though that it has been this way for these folks for a very long time.
Another village we went to today had an infrastructure, incuding a school. But the sad part is they have no teachers to work in the school, so the kids have to do without. Sad really. I feel that no matter who you are or where you are, you really do need some kind of an education.
The areas we went to today were several miles away from any city. They are all farmers really. Lots of farm land in the area. I even saw some greenery today.
Posted by bsorge at 7:38 PM | Link | 0 comments
19 November 2008
Close Call
Categories:
Iraq
So we were on a mission last night on one of the shittier roads we have to go on. Basically this road is along a canal and is a little wider than the MRAP in some places, and a couple of the bridges that we have to cross are pretty bad and narrow, with sharp turns. One of our MRAPS cut the turn a bit short. My and my TC were watching them (this was a night mission, around midnight or so). Suddenly his tail lights literally disappeared and we both said 'Shit, the LT's truck just rolled'! We turned on the search light and I dropped my thermal site and started scanning, and we saw his antennaes, so we knew that the truck was still upright. So we drove closer and saw that the truck was in a ditch. The additional armor that is bolted to the sides of the truck actually saved it from rolling over as the armor was sitting against the other side of the ditch. After about 20 minutes we finally got the truck out and all was well. No one was hurt other than having the crap scared of them. Unfortunately I was too far away from the truck to get some good pictures.
Posted by bsorge at 6:21 PM | Link | 0 comments
12 November 2008
Iraqi men don't do shit
Categories:
Iraq
So besides raids and good will missions, we also do Force Protection (ForcePro). While on ForcePro, I get the honor of spending 4 hours in a guard tower for two days, and I also get to stand in the tower where I get to observe everyday Iraqi's doing their thing. We have the typical kids playing around, the older ones get herded to school, and a couple of old timers who sit outside and do absolutely nothing, sort of like what some old timers do at home.
Well I also observed that the Iraqi women do almost everything. A woman will go out and put the rug and pillows out for the old timers, and throughout the day will bring tea and food to them. I also observe that the women heard the cows to the corn field every morning, and bring them back in the evening. Women are the ones who are constantly washing and scrubbing the driveway and sidewalk in front of their house. Since their sewer system is almost non-existent, trash accumulates on the streets, and the women go out every couple of days and sweep that up too. They also do all the cooking and cleaning, and wash the car. Today I observed five women walk out almost a mile to a bunch of reeds, cut a shit load down, and carry them back to the house. Mind you the husband was home and he had a vehicle.
What I see the men do is....... NOTHING. Well, I take that back. They do have store owners who like to sit in front of their stores with other guys, drink tea, smoke and shoot the shit, and when someone comes to the store, they reluctantly get up to help them. There are also some workers out there, but not many.
Long story short, the women do almost all the shit work and the men pretty much chill. So when you women want to complain about the corporate glass ceiling, remember, it was not long ago when what I typed described the life of an American women. We have truly come a long way baby!
04 November 2008
New MRAP
And a new blanket to boot
Categories:
Iraq
This is a photo blog,
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So we picked up our new MRAP's today, and although they are much heavier than the older ones, they have a lot of nice improvements.
- More comfortable seats
- More advanced counter IED equipment
- Nice drivers thermal display
- Better internal communications
- More armor
It is going to take a bit of getting used to to drive these new ones as they are about a foot wider than the other ones and almost 20K heavier with the added armor. But the protection is worth the weight increase. The nice thing about these vehicles is that all crew members and the dismounts in the back all have headsets so we can talk to each other without yelling, and everyone can talk on the radios. Makes it nice for situational awareness and to break the boredom of long missions.
I also got a new blanket so I don't have to sleep in my sleeping bag anymore. Makes it nice and makes me feel like I am home (sort of).
Posted by bsorge at 12:00 AM | Link | 2 comments