We recently recieved a briefing on the upcoming Muslim holiday of "Ramadan". We are told that this is a most sacred time for muslims and takes about thirty days from start to finish. I believe it starts with the first crescent moon of October, this explains the red crescent for Arabs as opposed to the "Red Cross". My understanding is that the entire "Koran" will be covered over this period and theres is fastinf from dawn to dusk. The final four days involve gift giving and feasting, kind of like Christmas I suppose. We have been told not to eat or drink in front of Muslims as it can be offensive.

We are also expecting a rise in insurgent activity due to the upcoming elections, Sadaams trial and the town nearby that he orderd the murder of over one hundred and fifty people. I hope to be home on vacation for most of this time and when I get back should be a "Two digit Midgit". We still have some very serious activity in our area and everyone is staying as vigilent as possible, we all are looking foward to coming home.

It seemed as though it was cooling off and now it's back to being very hot again. I haven't been able to interact with as many children as before and that was really one of the most rewarding things about this mission. I continue to get frustrated by the constant begging og the Iraqi soldiers for daily "gifts". What's sad is that the concept of sharing is just so foreign to them, every man for themselves is not what we are teaching them. Some of the soldiers almost seem to get angry if I don't reach into my pocket or vehicle and give them a handout. I know we may seem to have constant access to everything they may want but we really don't.

For the most part I will be content with what we have done here and will look foward to the day the entire region has some stability. The Iraqi Army will soon be in a position to handle all there own matters and that day can't come soon enough. Until that day I wil try to "Tell it like it is".