We recently had some dust storms past through and it was something to remember. I can best describe them as similiar to fog. It wasn't really windy as one might think, it was just alot of dust hanging in the air. Visibilty was down to about a hundred meters and even less at times. This just added to the stress of being on gaurd for IED's and VBIED's (Improvised Explosive Devices and Vehicle Bourne). Often times the locals are very familiar with the roads travelled and won't slow down during poor visibility. This means they'll get very colse to us very fast and that's when things can go bad fast, hopefully we won't get too many more dust storms.

The heat here is still as intense as before and should start cooling down in four or five weeks, anything below a hundred degrees would be welcome. The worst thing for me about the heat is the salt from my sweat always dripping in my eyes, I'm constantly wiping away the salt or drying off my glass's. If I opt to not wear glass's I stll have to deal with the sweat. This is why alot of soldiers here carry towels around their necks, even though it's over a hundred and twenty degrees one still needs to wipe away the sweat. Sometimes it seems like hot salt is in the eyes and it really burns. It also has the effect of just draining ones energy, even though physical activity is minimal.

I found out last week that Donald Rumsfield was about ten miles away talking to soldiers at the LSA, it would have been nice to speak with him but for obvious security reasons that would not have been possible. Instead the REMF's and POGE's got their opinions in.

I would strongly suggest for those that want to know more from military people all over Iraq, that they log on to the "Stars and Stripes" website. I read recently were some REMF's from LSA Anaconda were complaining about no longer being allowed to recieve two meats with their meal at the same time. The REMF's have a choice of five or six different meats, salads, pies, cakes, sandwiches, soups, milkshakes, hotwings, burgers, hot dogs, fries etc. And yet have the nerve to want, demand, Steak with their Lobster. I don't believe we on the FOB have ever been given a hamburger let alone the variety the REMF's are complaing about. I was on the LSA for two months and know all they have to do is finish eating and go through the line again, too much work I guess. For us here it's always meat,starch ,veg, salad and it comes labeled just like that. The starch is eight out of ten times rice and potatoes. Hell we don't even get gravy with the always dry meat. I, like most people here, now purchase my own food or have it shipped to me by familiy.

The reality is that none of that stuff really matters so long as we get home alive and in one piece. We can't sweat the small stuff like the people in Kuwait and the LSA's. It's TCOB always.(Take care of Business)