My brother has been in Iraq almost a month now, so, he's had time to adjust to the lifestyle. We e-mail each other several times a week discussing what is going on in our lives. We have always been close, so this back and forth banter is very good for both of us. Being a specialist in his field, he probably will not venture off base, since his work is confined to that area. Hopefully.
The most disheartening thing, where he is, is the rocket attacks at night, rockets that can land anywhere on base. Everyone lives with that fear of not knowing if your time may be up.
The best thing there is the ice cream. He says, "Yup, the food is quite good. They have the creamiest, smoothest ice cream I've ever had. In fact, they also have the best eggs, sausage and hashbrowns, too. Lunch and dinner is regaled with fresh veggies and fruit. The dinner entrees themselves are not noteworthy, however they do have a large variety...There's an abundance of low quality desserts as well (except for the ice cream!)" I wonder if the ice cream isn't sent in from Russia. Russia is well known for having the best in the world, believe it or not.
"The food gives us much gas which can be a real joy at night. I've never had so much gas. I think it's because we don't chew our food as diligently as we should in hopes of getting out of the ever so populated chow hall in a rather quick manner - high density means high target value. It's always, always on everyone's mind." I told him it was always rumored that the military put saltpeter in food to keep one's libido in check. Maybe they switched to something else to keep them from getting any strange ideas about each other.
The temperature ranges from the low 30's at night, to the low 60's during the day. Not too bad, for having to spend time where you'd rather not be.
There has been news about the lack of armor on Humvees and other vehicles. This photo should help disperse some of those rumors. My brother brought this to my attention. This photo was posted today at a military website, which I then uploaded to my blog post. Of course, I blurred the faces. Here, these men are in Iraq to install protective armor on Humvees and other vehicles, in this case, installing an armored roof. There is probably a lot going on there that we don't know about. Stuff that normally wouldn't be reported in the press. I've found from other blogs that many, many Iraqi people are appreciative of our efforts. I'm not trying to take sides about being pro or anti-war, but always be aware of what is actually going on in the world. We tend to view the press as being open-minded, but I think they can be pretty closed when it comes to espousing their own views. Especially with this war.
I would love to hear from people who would like to send their wishes and thoughts on to my brother. These soldiers really do appreciate messages sent from anyone. Any and all words of encouragement mean an awful lot to them. E-mail me at marinadedave@yahoo.com or add a comment here and I will forward every one of them to him. Thank you very much.
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