I didn't even realize what day it was. My birthday came and went. We were on a nasty little convoy to Bilad to pick up and drop off. Pretty tense, since it was a very late and very long convoy. The convoy ahead of us got shot up pretty bad, and apparently the head of of wagon train got hit right as we were leaving the gate, so the pucker factor was pretty high there for about 4 hours. Anyways, to pass the time, and keep our mind of of the fact that we were driving around in a 4 wheel coffin (SUV) we were just keeping watch and making light conversation when I we started talking about birthdays. So the guys sang happy birthday for me, kinda badly, but fun none the less.

You never really appreciate the whole male bonding experience until you have a moment like that. Three guys, just trying to stay alive, trying to keep it all together, dragging 100 foreign soldiers with us in the middle of a war zone, but singing happy birthday just to make each other feel better..

No cake though.....

Strangely enough, the days have been pretty quiet. Not a lot of new activity. Damn its been hot though. We have been pretty busy the past few days, since the change over. Convoys here and there, stuff like that. We have taken to the Iraqi habit of hanging out on the rooftop as the day goes by, people watching, talking and generally trying to escape from the heat. Its kind of funny, if you think about it. The Iraqi's do it, we do it, yet we are trying to tell each other how different we are...

There is a particularly offensive smell comming from the sewers. The base utility people switched to a new plumbing system, and I the old one wasn't designed to handle it, so now there is raw sewage floating all over the place. Wonderful country..

The New World

Sooner or later it had to be done, I suppose. Yesterday the Coalition Provisional Authority turned over control of Iraq to the new Iraqi government, in a small cerimony with very little press coverage, at least until after it was over. The fact that is was done ahead of schedule was not much of a suprise, and didn't seem change much of anything. I did notice that the Iraqi army here was caught completely unaware. Not like they are paying much attention to what goes on around them. I should give them some credit though, at least they are making an effort to stablize this country.

Well, it is a pretty good day when you get to watch people go home. We had some Soldiers going home today, or, at least starting to make their way for the airport, which, in this country, is pretty good. Its easy to tell the guys who are getting ready to leave. They walk a little taller, smile a lot more. Its nice to see, as if the war is no longer something they have to worry about. Well, that won't last long, since most of those soldiers will probably be back here within the next 5 months. But its nice to see, and I am glad to have served with them.

I spoke in great detail with some of the Iraqi's we work with, and they are very concerned about the immediate future of this country. The believe that the new leaders of this country are not really Iraqi's, having been living outside of the country for the past 10 or 20 years. They do not understand the problems, the people, they come from money, from privilege. I can see there point. They feel that the leaders are out of touch, and they want to know how it is that the common man has a say in his own future. Well, I told them with hope and hard work, and the belief that what they are doing is the right thing. I tell them focus on what is important; your family, your friends, staying alive. I tell them that the reason we are here, the reason we stay, is because Americans believe, hope, and strive to make a better future. We understand that it takes time, and nothing changes overnight. He tells me that the people here believed that freedom in Iraq meant big changes overnight, but when they didn't come, the people became aggitated.

Maybe I am just kidding myself though. Its all just crap..

what is the date anyway?

Its amazing to me how easy it is to forget the day around here. Days are the same, over and over again, until the time is measured by SUN UP, or SUN DOWN. I don't know how the locals do it. But sometimes I think I understand what they must feel. Time is not very important over here, its just a way to measure progress, or the growth of crops, the seasons. Hours, minutes, seconds, don't matter much here. Not like home, where progress is measures in micro-seconds. I actually find myself envying these people, if anybody can believe that.

Well, I am currently assigned to a unit that is supposed to teach the Iraqi army to be an army. Its different, to say the least. I will say that they do try very hard. They try to learn, try to hide, try to be like us, try to hate us, all in the same day. I try to start each day with a couple of goals, but by the end of the day I am disillusioned by my achievements. Its not the same when your successes include things like getting the soldiers to pick up their trash, or stop brushing your teeth with your fingers and use the toothbrush we gave you. Small steps, they tell us. Small victories.

Excuse my spelling, its miserably hot and my fingers are sticking together some. And if you don't like it, well, to bad, you have the freedom to stop reading at any time. Doesn't that sound just great.