Hillah, Iraq.
The Marines returned to Diwaniyah at 8 this morning. I took a shower, then came back to my hooch to get a bit organized now that I had it to myself. I moved furniture and gear around seeking the ideal arrangement, then decided that I needed to think about my options for a while. I wandered over to the Delta Force TOC. The captain said they had just got a mission, and asked if I wanted to go.
“Sure!” I said in what I hoped was a motivated tone. Holy crap. In town for about 24 hours, and a mission already. Please let nothing happen please let nothing happen please let nothing happen. A local school receiving El Salvadoran aid was opening, and they wanted the El Sal detachment to attend. SF was providing security. I provided the SF air cover.
I got my gear out of my room, and grabbed an extra magazine to complement the minimum seven required for a mission. I loaded up in the humvee with the captain. On the way there, I noticed that I had grabbed the one magazine that I happened to stuff odd rounds in. Great. If there is a firefight, my first magazine has about seven rounds in it.
Turns out, it was a non event. Actually, it was a big celebration, but nothing happened. I noticed a lot of stuff to keep in mind, and definitely to pass on to the Marines. There were about a zillion kids around, which is normally a good thing, as the insurgents don’t like to hurt kids. However, all those kids milling around makes it hard to concentrate on looking for bad guys. Also, the kids pester you to give them stuff. They really wanted my sunglasses, and I felt bad about saying no. Until they kept after it for half an hour. I was invited inside by the captain, and enjoyed the food being served. Traditional Arabian bread (like a pita), chicken, falafel, and various veggies, mostly onion and tomato. It was all very, very tasty, and the Iraqis were quite generous. An empty Pepsi was replaced quickly. I was eating a plain pita, and an Iraqi gentlemen took it out of my hand, replacing it with a chicken one he made exactly like the one I had eaten previously. I commented to the captain about how tasty the bread was, and he said, “Oh, yeah. It is awesome. Probably the least harmful thing here, too.”
I told him that I was worried about getting sick, and he replied, “Meh. You’ll just the shits. No big deal.” Looks like I got my week planned out.Finished getting all my gear packed up and put away. Then I played X Box!