Hillah, Iraq. I knew that I would regret the spicy stir fry and Indian curry. I had no idea that I would pay for days. Today’s entry is not exciting, as there is not much exciting about making multiple trips to the head in a single day. Let me again offer my sincere thanks to […]

Hillah, Iraq. I did not receive a call from the guy who was supposed to call me about scheduling a helicopter borne assault, so I took the initiative by calling him. He confirmed that he was the guy to talk to about such a mission, and gave me his email address. I sent him all […]

Hillah, Iraq. I was brewing coffee this morning as the Green Berets were gearing up for a quick run over to the embassy. One of the Green Berets, Zeus, remarked that with all his armor and weapons, he would have been a knight in medieval times. I said, “Zeus, titles of royalty are forbidden to […]

Hillah, Iraq. [knock knock knock] I must have slept through my alar m. [knock knock knock] “Sir, you have a phone call.” I grabbed the flashlight, and found that it was 0300. I quickly dressed, and went to the team room. I picked up the phone, and spoke to the Special Forces duty officer in […]

Hillah, Iraq. [knock knock knock] I must have slept through my alarm. [knock knock knock] “Sir, you have a phone call.” I grabbed the flashlight, and found that it was 0300. Wait a minute. I already wrote about this. How could it be happening again?Once again, I quickly dressed to go answer the phone.The phone […]

Hillah, Iraq. It is hot. I know, I know, I am in the desert. But it is really hot. Today it exceeded 50 degrees Celsius, which is the top end of the official Camp Charlie thermometer. One of the Green Berets saw 55 degrees on his personal thermometer, but I didn’t photograph that, so I […]

Hillah, Iraq. The visiting Green Berets returned to Baghdad today, escorted by half of the Special Forces and Anglicos. Things seemed really quiet after a week with four extra guys, a busy operational tempo (optempo), and nonstop briefings.The quiet put everybody in a mood to not work. The morning passed by with people going through […]

Hillah, Iraq. Apparently, watching movies and eating popcorn did not purge the Demons of Slack from the commandos, because nobody felt like doing anything today. Again.I have duty today, so slacking is perfect. Actually, tomorrow is my duty day, but the Warrant Officer is not back from Baghdad yet, so I took his duty.Duty involves […]

Hillah, Iraq. Today we took a trip up the road to a nearby camp. The ODA guys had to meet the ODA team there to talk about SWAT training. I went for two reasons: 1. I wanted to meet the helo guys we have been working with face to face. 2. Make friends with the […]

Hillah, Iraq. We are still required to wear all the gear to chow, so driving to the chow hall is very popular. As previously mentioned, if you spend a lot of time with the same small group of people, topics of conversation can run a bit thin. Today, however, we had a lively and often […]