Turkey Day

Thanksgiving edition!

So, it is my first thanksgiving not spent back home with my family. It would be cool to be back home, but I am still excited to finally be out here in Iraq. Not homesick too much, I only arrived in Kuwait two weeks ago.

My day started off by touring the sector with the Commanders personal security detail (PSD). He wanted to wish all the soldiers in the Battalion a happy thanksgiving, and they though it would be a good opportunity for me to check out the bases in our sector. I figured out that our sector, though very heavily populated, is pretty small, but it is also considered one of the busiest sectors in Iraq in terms of activity. From what I did see of the city from inside the MRAP (haven't patrolled on foot yet), it reminds me of China town: Open markets and stores, boxes of produce and food stuffed on pallets in the sidewalk, can't understand anything written on the store fronts, and dirty. A very very condensed china town full of Iraqis. The traffic is not that great either, especially with the occasional convoy rolling by. It was a little disconcerting being around so many cars and people, but it seems like the shia extremists don't really want to blow us up when so many of their own people are around us.

I got a chance to meet my new CO (commander/ company level) when I take over a platoon in a month or so. He seems pretty intense, and told me it will "start sucking" once I become a PL. The "suck" refering to... sucking... hard to explain. I am looking forward to it, and I wish it would come sooner than later.

Other than that, I will just be "a fly on the wall" for the next week, trying to absorb as much knowlege as possible about the area.

Finally, the thanksgiving meal I had was superb. Crab legs, steak, shrimp, deep fried turkey, etc. It was a damn good meal, especially coming out of a random ass post in the middle of Iraq. I stuffed myself and passed out for about an hour before I could function again.

Hopefully I just got my pay raise...

OUT