Recently we've been able to go on longer patrols and they are very long and usually involve alot of interaction with the local villagers. I want to mention that when I was a young Paratrooper we would go on foot patrols that could last days, here in Iraq a drive of twenty minutes is now considered a "Combat Patrol" for the reasons of awards and medals. But the patrols I've been going on last an average of ten hours and in the current heat that's plenty.

When we drive down the backroads to avoid IEDs and ambushes one of the greatest dangers is the terrain itself,terrain has always affected military tactics and always will.Because of the farmland
within our sector of responsibility there are quite a few irrigation
canals and these are the biggest threat. The roads next to these canals are very narrow and made of dirt and gravel,they also usually
slope towards the canal itself. Our Humvees are heavily armoured to protect us from bomb blast but because of this armour they are top heavy and will roll over very easily, they weigh about eleven thousand pounds. If this should happen and we roll into a canal with
just three feet of water in depth, all of us could drown to death. It's virtually impossible to get out once the vehicle is upside down. Part of the reason is that the mud is like clay and will suck the vehicle
in with a vice like grip. Since we always travel in groups there will always be other vehicles and soldiers to try and pulls us to safety, it will just take time. So we have been provided with a
means to survive submerged,in the dark upside down,in freezing water.
We have the means to survive for about ten minutes provided panic
doesn't set in and we don't come under fire while so vulnerable. it's really nerve racking driving these narrow passages with sharp turns and loose soil.

As I just mentioned another factor is the possibility of an ambush
with rockets and machine guns. The terrain is perfect for those that want to set an ambush, however the insurgents really don't have the assets to conduct such operations but it's still a possibility that we must be prepared for. The terrain greatly effects our abilility to manuever and counterattack, but the patrols must be conducted regardless of the current risk.

On the upside we do come in contact with a great number of villagers and at times seem to enjoy celebrity status. On a recent patrol through some farmland and canal roads I could see children running at a full sprint to try and catch up to us before we left the area. It's ironic that machines meant to destroy life and structures
represent so many good things to these people. It's pretty much common knowledge that almost everytime an American convoy stops and the trunk of our Humvees open out comes things like candy,stuffed animals,crackers,cookies,punch,books,pens,crayons,soda pop and so on.
It doesn't always happen put if it does and your one of the first children there the possibilities are endless, at least it seems so.

I want to thank those that sent gifts and clothing recently, they were quickly passed out. Part of the problem for me is that when two or three kids recieve a gift as many as thirty will so up in minutes. I generally try to have enough for as many as fifty but the kids don't know this and go into a frenzy to not be left out. I have to make most of them leave until the numbers are managable. One of the things the locals have learned is to tell us that they have sick or hungry babies and expect us to cave in immediatly. What I've started to do is say in Arabic " The baby's not her, I only give to those here". That kinda backfired on me, I had one lady bring out an infant of maybe four days and tried to get me to hold the baby and almost shoved it in my face. I was very upset with this woman because the baby should not have been outside in the heat, and it wasn't even her baby. I saw here grab the baby from a young mother standing nearby.

I also have noticed the socialization of the little girls in Iraq, it is clear to me that women and girls are second class citizens here and unfortunatly that is what it is. I go out of my way to get gifts to the girls but often times the boys will just take from them what they want.

I have also meet quite a few men that have shown me the physical scars of Sadaam Husseins reign of terror, some missing fingers and bearing deformity from whips,burns,cuts and bullets. It can be sickening to see up close. There is only so much we can do and we do just that, what we can.

Here some of the words or things I've learned to use on our visits to the villages.
Isma ahni - listen to me
Arja - back up
Bint - little girl
Walid - little boy
Estamur - keep going
Dobb - stuffed animal

So take care back home and take everything on the news with a grain of salt, we're doing the best we can and will try to make all of you proud to call yourselves Americans.