OIF

Ok so first off I want to clear up something.... I WAS NOT AT THE CLUB!!! :) Just wanted to put that out.

Ok so now, some scary stuff so you may or may not want to read, but the point is that I'm here and no one in the military got hurt.

So we went on our 3-day convoy up north to go to where we are going to be staying for about the next week or two. The first day was a great eventless day where we pulled into a place called Navstar Kuwait. It’s about 2 or 3 miles from the Iraqi boarder and that's where we stayed for the night. There was no place to stay so we had to stay on flatbeds of the transportation unit that was convoying up w/ us. So that was nice, but at least now I can tell my grandkids that I've slept on a transfer truck. Which by the way I have pictures of, so expect those in a couple weeks.
Day two was just as great. It was a long convoy up to a military equivalent to a truck stop. We stayed there and again, I stayed on a flatbed.
Day three was the fun one. We got about 45 min outside of where we were going and all of the sudden we had to stop in the middle of the highway. We pulled up and blocked off all traffic and watched the angry Iraqis use the other side of the highway as an alternate route. Yes, that's right, when we blocked traffic; they all turned a one-way side of an interstate into two-way traffic. Very nicely too I might add. No accidents. So we sat there hidden in our vehicles making sure that no one was going to try to shoot at us. What had happened we later found out, is that up ahead of us, someone had layer out an IED (which I explained in the last post) and when the convoy that found it stopped for it, they started taking on sniper fire from a building about 400m away. Let me explain two things first. Number 1 the dog is one of the lowest animals on the pole here and they use them as bait because they know Americans love dogs. This IED, along w/ others, was tied around a dead dog. There were others right beside it and they had them lined up all the way down the highway. Second, sniper fire isn't what you see in movies. It just means one person shooting from a long way away, so they guy wasn't accurate at all and didn't hurt anyone. All he ever hit was the tire of a passing civilian vehicle. One of the IED's went off and completely destroyed an oncoming civilian vehicle as well. We’re not sure if they survived, but it's sad to see what these people are doing to their own people, even if we are the targets.
So if that isn't enough action, we get to our last stop before we get to where we're going and when we leave we all get stopped again. So I hop out of the vehicle and pull security watching all the civilians walking about only feet away and an IED goes off about 400m away from where I’m standing. Now what had happened is that EOD had found it and they were destroying it, but it didn't get back to us that that was what was happening until it went off. So you can imagine my surprise, along w/ my heart sitting on my tongue. But nothing happened badly; we got back into our vehicles and went on our way. You think it's over. Hehe, NO!
So then we get to the base that we're at, and last night we got 2 mortars and 2 rockets shot into the base. This is apparently a regular thing here. But I don't want anyone to get scared because they don't have artillery strong enough to make it into the base, they only hit the outskirts and the gates to try to scare us, so not many people get hurt by these attacks.
But now for some good news. This place is very nice, very. We’re only going to be here for a week or so, but I here where we're going is just as nice, so it will be nice to get into some nice billets and have some personal space for a change. Not to mention the food here is twice as good as it was in Kuwait.
So that is my story. I told you that I would keep this posting honest, and I will, so if these stories upset you I beg you; please do not read them, because the action is not over. But I will try my best to be safe, I will not do anything stupid, and I know that you are praying for me while I’m gone. I love you all, and I thank you for keeping up w/ me. God bless

Hey guys. WARNING, MAY NOT WANT TO READ!!!


Ok so we had a little excitement yesterday, since no one got hurt I can say it was pretty cool. Here’s what happened. So we have this little night/dance club thing set up here. I think it's pretty lame, not sure, I’m not one for dance clubs. anyway, apparently someone found a UXO there. A UXO is unexploded ordnance. That can be anything from a bullet to a bomb. This on I THINK was an ied. And ied is an improved explosive device. It’s a device that the middle easterners have come up w/ that we really can't fight back. It can be any kind of bomb, disguised as any kind of object from a coke can to a broken down car, and when you get close to it, they can remotely detonate. But someone found this one and reported it. They cleared the area and set up sand bags all around it and the MP's exploded it (cause the only good bomb is one that has already gone off and not hurt anyone). When it went off I felt the concussion from the other side of the camp. Now it really wasn't even that big of a bomb from what I hear but it was so loud and the fact that I felt it was really cool to me. Well, cool scary but cool nonetheless. Ok but anyway.
Yesterday’s trip to the range was a good one. It was basically a free range unlike one I have been to. It was shot the targets till you run out of ammo basically. Very fun. But it was hot and I was glad to get back. We got off early today since it's Sunday and I have to say, I’m glad for the rest. So tomorrow we gotta put it in gear so we can get out of here in the next week. So I love you guys but im going to leave for now, stay safe and remember to pray, it's the best defense. Love you all. Pray for peace.