Day 40

I have been in Iraq for a few weeks now. Patrols started not long ago and there has been some action, but not for my squad. We've been assigned to the night shift which is uneventful and safe. We ride up and down "route Tampa and make sure no one plants roadside bombs. We wear night vision goggles and use thermal sites to see better. There is almost nothing the enemy can do against us directly at night. As soon as they attack us we will fire back and conduct a full search of the area. I've got it easy. Other platoons go to the villages and talk to people and put themselves in danger. I just sit in the truck and pull guard. There will be all kinds of missions from what I hear, not like I'm off the hook.
Life at camp Taji is not what I would call pleasant, but it's livable. The roads are not paved, but a truck rolls around every so often and sprays water on the road to keep the dust down. One of the most exciting things to do is go to the PX where you can buy whatever personal items you need. My squad goes there almost every day. I try to save as much as possible but some things you've gotta have. Back at the barracks they've built for us, known as surge housing, we live about thirty to a room in bunk beds. Buses take us to the PX and the rec center and chow hall because they haven't built us that stuff near our housing yet. One of the main complaints is that we don't have a gym. I haven't been getting much exercise and have been eating, I'm not in tip top shape anymore. This tour is going to fly by I can tell. We're always busy.