30 June 2007

I really need to have my mom start writing more of my blog. She really makes it sound much more exciting than it really is. Honestly, mom, I think I would be less bored if I were doing all the things people think I'm doing. That said boring is better than exciting. (I've come up with my own scale: Boring = what I've been doing; Interesting = stuff like the Humanitarian Aid, stuff that keeps you occupied but has a low liklihood of violence; and Exciting = violence, of which I have personally not had any.)

Honestly, most of the things I do are incredibly boring, they just happen to be done in a relatively dangerous area. For instance: I've been sitting on an intersection fo a couple of days now, our strykers on the roads, overwatching to make sure no one plants any IEDs or tries to set up roadblocks, etc. Most of my guys are living in a nearby house. Nothing happens for days. My guys sit on guard for shifts, and when they're off they sleep, bullshit, clean weapons, etc. When we're in the house we are down to t-shirts because it's safe to, and its hot as hell with no AC or fans. A couple times we go on patrol through the neighborhood, but not for very long or far because I don't have enough guys to do full size patrols. Lots of families around, some with sick kids, some just hungry or hot or tired (like us, but with less hope). But overall, it's a safe place. We hear gunfire occasionally, but not often and not aimed at us. It's quiet mostly, and like I said, boring.

However, 4 days a go, a guy sitting in a Stryker at that same intersection got shot in the head. He's fine, it didnt go through his helmet (it was the 4th time this luckyluckylucky dude has nearly been shot). In response to his shooting, we leveled a house in the neighborhood (where the shots came from).

So, like I said: mostly boring.

posted by Interested Soldier @ 03:57