These are some of the puppies that were "gotten rid of."

Wednesday night I was standing outside with a some of the guys when we heard an unusually loud wop-wop of helicopter rotors. As we looked overhead we saw a Marine Corps Sea Stallion coming in low and fast with gunship support, they were headed for the hospital with casualties.

For those that don't know what a Sea Stallion is think of a flying green banana, most people from Ventura County have seen these a few times flying overhead. The Sea Stallion can carry about 40 combat-ready Marines, and because of the size, we wondered out loud "How many wounded today and how many dead?" Being so close to the hospital keeps things in perspective. Hopefully it just had a lot of VIPs.

A few days ago on the way back from the supply run at the dump, we got a reality check. Five of us were riding in the back of a truck when one of the guys mentioned his old bones can only take so much. When I asked his age and the age of the others, it turns out our average age in the back of that truck was 44. I'm 43 and would like to know what happened to all the 23-year-olds. We've got grandfathers going to war, and the Army can keep us until we're 60. We're not complaining, we think it's funny, but the reality is "This isn't right."

I just returned from spending the night at the camp of the Iraqi Army, and it wasn't all that bad. I did find out though that we had four dogs there that we were kind of taking care of and had to "Get rid of them."

The Americans that I talked to said they tried to find them homes, but Iraqi people don't see dogs the way we do, and we didn't have much luck. I took pictures of the three puppies and Mama and will get them posted fairly soon. One of the pups was seen being dragged dead from behind a vehicle, there was nothing we could do about it.

The Command level people have made pets a violation of policy in theater. They were beautiful creatures and deserved better. We still have 80 pounds of dog food and no longer the need. The guys at the base did their best to shelter and hide the dogs and are really bummed out. The thing is we have what's called MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) and what they do is think of ways to sustain our morale and get a lot of money to do this, and all the guys needed was a puppy.

I think the Iraqi soldiers regret what our commander made the men do and show a very real concern for our well being. On every trip to the dump, we try to bring back as much stuff as possible for them to use. And believe me, a lot of the things we bring back are brand new -- I mean still in the wrappers. Lately the hot items have been rugs and mattresses.

Well that's all for now from Balad, Iraq. Today's word is Sah idnee - help me

I recently had a conversation with a fellow Sergeant and he mentioned that he had to go through some paperwork and change the verbiage. It turns out he keeps all the "official" records for my specific unit and, in turn, the Army itself.

What he had to change was the word "escort" to "patrol". My unit goes outside the wire daily and our duties vary sometimes, most of the time, we are escorting items from point A to point B. We are always ready and expecting hostile acts.

The problem was that "escorting" does not qualify for the same recognition and awards as "patrolling." So in order to get the added benefits for future awards the verbiage had to be changed.

We essentially are always patrolling so it's, in fact, true. All trips outside the wire are patrols. They don't meet the old standard of "patrols" but in today's Army, they do. How sad is that? That the Army is so concerned with awards and medals that we become obsessed with verbiage.

What I find really interesting about this is that the public, in general, wants it, the hero talk I mean. We seem to want to hear drastic terms before we will act.

Let's just look at what terms got us here in Iraq.(And for the record I will say our being here is a good thing.) And even more important is the politically correct verbiage. It's gotten to the point where we don't really want to hear the truth if it does not meet our politics. It's just not enough to say I did my duty, we've got to pretty it up and wrap for the politicians always. Remember this, the guy that pulls the trigger tells the story.

I had a chance to talk to more Iraqi soldiers, and as much as they hate war, they hated Saddam much worse. They were very pleased to have gotten that POW and were pretty upset when they heard we were thinking of taking him to Bagdad. We didn't do that, and the reason was that it is their country and their prisoner. I don't think the POW liked it too much but maybe he shouldn't have caused the Iraqis so much grief.

I have discovered that a lot of information I had thought was confidential really isn't. For example, I can say that we are near the town of Balad and operate out of LSA Anaconda. (Logistical Supply Area) My unit is based out of Hawaii, Samoa and Saipan. That's right, Pacific islanders in the Middle east fight for the mainland.

I am here because these units were critically short of Infantrymen, and since I was an Infantryman in the Army reserve, I was cross-leveled into the Hawaii unit. That's pulled out of my unit and forced into another. I'm not complaining because I believe in "Gods will" and, if nothing else, at least the readers are getting informed. I am seeing things I would never have imagined and will be a better person for it.

I can also say that roughly half the people I'm serving with now have just completed their first year here and asked to stay for a second. Their reasons are their own and I can only hope they don't regret it.

One more final note. I have talked to other soldiers about the shooting out of the truck drivers' window, and the guys that got here with me and witnessed the shooting don't feel it was justified. And agree that, like me, they wouldn't have pulled the trigger. The guys on their second term say "It's all they'll understand." Attitude is everything and verbiage reflects attitude.

Todays phrase - Teh Taj do wa, do you need medicine?

Today was Easter Sunday, and we had a fairly light day. We did send a small convoy "Outside the wire" to take care of some business. I didn't get picked to go this time and went on a supply detail.

We went to the surplus (Dump) area to find materials for future use. I was amazed to see how much perfectly good material and equipment we had marked as trash. I suppose it's like the old saying, "It's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it." We spent a few hours picking up useable stuff, then some of use went to church services here on the base. There was some concern of attacks against us since it was one of our religious events.

I did some chatting with one of our Terps and found out that most Iraqi men have served in Saddam's Army, it's a requirement, I also found out they only received the equivalent of a $1.50 a month, and had to reimburse the Government for all items used and meals. We've also been told that only officers were allowed to make decisions in the military, it's no wonder they were defeated so quickly. It's also easy to see why Democracy is so welcome here. These folks are really going to do well in the future they just need a little more time.

That's all for now from central Iraq. The word of the day is - Mutha Turee or what do you want?

Today after I took care of my personal hygiene, I was on my way to breakfast and was told to cancel it and report to the hospital for guarding an Iraq POW. When I arrived, I was told that the local Iraqi military had brought him in the night before, and he had a bullet wound to the stomach. I also was told that he was a prime suspect in numerous insurgent acts and that the IA was rather pleased to have him in custody. Maybe he's the guy that fire bombed our little girl.

Thursday was a bad day, we started off asking for blood donations for a 2-year-old little girl in need of O pos. About three weeks ago, the local insurgents decided to fire-bomb the house of one of our Iraqi soldiers. The only people that were home at the time were his young wife and two little girls, ages 8-months and 2 years. All three were badly burned as a result. But the 2-year-old was the worst of all three. We were told that she would be alright after some skin grafts and time in our hospital.

However, we just received word that she only had a few days left and that the parents should be notified. We are all saddened by the news, but must stay focused. The mother had declined to stay in the hospital, even though her burns were severe, because in their culture every day in the company of other men is disgraceful.


Children, as I've said before, are often targeted by the insurgents. There was recently a RPG attack on an elementary school. I think this is the hardest part being here, the fact that the innocent children must endure so much. I really don't understand such cruelty.

One of my ongoing concerns has been the attitude of a lot of Americans here in Iraq. Later in the day, I overheard a fellow sergeant briefing a group of soldiers, and he actually said that "If it comes down to shooting an animal or a person, shoot the person. It's cheaper for us because we don't have to pay for future revenue the cow might bring and plus there's no body to file a claim."

Now a lot of this is just more fools talk and bravado, but I still see it as a reflection of attitude.

This is the truth, we have the power of life and death over those people outside the wire and a good deal of people are just drunk with power. They/we seem to enjoy the use of it. This same person soon thereafter berated one of our Iraqi soldiers for throwing away some MRE food, I really didn't feel it was needed. But we don't want to challenge each other in front of those we are here to help.

Earlier in the day, some of the guys, including the sergeant mentioned above, ran a convoy outside the wire and had to use their weapons to get a man in a vehicle to stop. The rule here is "WE OWN THE ROAD" all people in this country have been told to pull over, stop and let us pass, or else.

In this case "or else" meant shooting out one of his mirrors. The perceived threat is that a vehicle in motion can accelerate and collide with our convoy. If it's a VBIED,(Vehicular Born Improvised Explosive Device), untold numbers of soldiers will be killed as well as bystanders. So,the gunner makes the call in a fraction of a second and deals with the aftermath.

I should mention that the Sergeant above used an interpreter to get his message to the Iraqi soldier because after being here a year he still can't speak the language. This is true with the majority of military personnel here. The attitude is that learning to speak the language just isn't important, we've got weapons and power.

I disagree with the whole concept and have been learning as much Arabic as possible. Listen to this example what of not knowing the language can cause.

"Food," that's all I heard him say and he said it three times. We had just returned from a short mission "outside the wire" and were getting ready to enter our base. While out on patrol we are at 100% alert and always expect the unexpected. We are also never to throw candy, food or water to anybody, especially not children. This is because they can be used as "bait" for an ambush and get a lot of us killed or injured. And the children are always waiting for the Americans coming and going from our base.

It really pulls at one's heartstrings to drive by so many children and act as if they don't exist, but we rarely have a choice. So, as we were pulling into our safety zone, I took the ammunition out of my machine gun and removed my goggles. (We were in a lane that had heavy machine gun coverage, fences and concertina wire as security for us.) "Food" I heard from a very faint child's voice, and looking over the top of my weapon and through the wire, I saw him. A child of perhaps 4 to 6 years, a boy, barefoot, soiled and hungry.

A soldier said "Hey Sarge, look he's hungry don't we have something?" Yes! I had candy and food in my fanny pack. "Food" he said it again. I knew I had to hurry, we'd be moving in the compound soon. "Food" for the third time, and now he rubbed his stomach. "Help me out of this gear!" I said to my fellow machine-gunner. I had to get to the food. I didn't move fast enough, the child caught me unprepared for kindness.

Our vehicle bolted into the base to water, safety and food.

Salam Alekum, or peace to you. Today in Iraq, we got a little rumor control, which is just that, unconfirmed information. From the beginning of our deployment, there was a lot of talk about "Getting some action" and sending some rounds down range. I consider it fools' talk, and I'm troubled by it. Well, rumor control says one of my former units got what they wanted, one dead person.

Today, I would like to bring you, the reader, up to date on how things have been going here in Iraq and some general information. I will start by saying that most of what I send will be nopnspecific. By that I mean we in the military have what's called "need to know" information and that's what I will be sending. If there is no "need to know" then it will not be known. This is for security reasons, and I hope this can be understood.

I did something yesterday I might not live to regret.

We were given our one day off at around 11 a.m., and I went to the PX. When I arrived there, I bumped into an officer I knew from training in Texas. We greeted each other, and I asked, of course, "So what's new with you?" And this Captain said "I'm glad you asked Sergeant, I'm on my way to a new assignment north of here for the rest of the year."

Well, it turns out he got a pretty cush job at one of Saddam old castles. And would be in an air-conditioned office and never have to risk getting ambushed and blown apart by a roadside IED.

I then asked if he needed an "Aid de Camp." I didn't think he would since he'd be around a lot of General officers and should have a lot of people wanting a cush job. To my surprise, I was told yes, he needed an assistant and if I wanted, I could go with him.

Today I escorted an Iraqi interpeter to the dentist for a toothache, where I met a soldier from Mississippi. As the terp (Interperter) and I stood on the entryway discussing the ancient record of Iraq and its historical/biblical standing. A young American soldier named Jeravic joined in. He first said how beautiful he thought the country around Balad was and he was suprised at the greenary.

I asked him where he was from and he replied "About forty clicks south of Bagdad." (That's Kilometers) And I said "I meant the real world." I learned he was from Mississippi. He then said how he'd been here since late December and all he wanted now was to go home. Of course, I asked him "Why so soon?." And he let me know he'd seen enough to last the rest of his life and that he would never take for granted what "home" meant.