The Collision(s)

It was yet another boring horrible mind numbing monotonous nauseating suckfest of a day, repetitive and relentless with more than a dash of dull. I was sitting in the back of the Stryker, looking at my assault pack holding my radio with a complete and absolute disdain that would melt the face off of any average Hot Topic goth wannabe. Being that we were undermanned, I was the only one actually sitting down. I contemplated standing in the unoccupied air guard hatch, my friend was in the other. After a careful bout of deliberation (a solid three seconds), I decided that no, I would not follow that course of action. I was going to be walking around with that radio on my back all day long, and to be honest, I'm a whiney little baby. . .

I Enlisted to Come Here

That's right, just another young nineteen year old male without a clue about how the world works, completely arrogant and convinced that my way was the only way. The ribbon-magnets with "Support Our Troops" written on them weren't enough for me. No no, I thought that I had to enlist and lend a helping hand. You know, honor and glory and duty to country, little things like that.

A little over two years later, I find myself used to triple digit temperatures, the absense of vegetation or creature comforts. Conditions that I wouldn't have ever accepted not so long ago...

Sheik Sattar: Bloody Debt Due

Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was murdered in Ramadi by a car bomb attack.

The perpetrators of the attack obviously thought the death of the man who worked hard to organize and sustain the Anbar Awakening was a tactically wise move.

But strategically the murder of Sattar will likely fail.

The Awakening has its roots in the murder of a Sheik Abu Ali Jassim in August of 2006. . .

Radio, Bullseye!

Once again, there I was, on the ground, with that blasphemous radio strapped onto my back. Antenna sticking straight up, like it was screaming, "Shoot ME!" I was filling in for someone else, should only be temporary, right? A few months ago, this exact job got a friend of mine killed.

"All right, move quick through open areas, when we stop, take a knee. Stay sharp. There's supposed to be a sniper cell in the area."