Day 134

I am stuck here at the JSS for a double shift totalling more than ten days. There isn't much to do here for the mortars, we're just on standby. It sounds interesting going out on patrol but it's so hot out there I'd rather not. For the first five days I pulled guard on the roof with fourth platoon. Three hour shifts twice a day from 0300-0600 and then 1500-1800. It gets so hot up there on the roof that the corporal in charge of our four man team told me to go downstairs and 'lower my core temperature.' I thought it was a bit funny but he wasn't joking. The vest we wear weighs a good 30lbs. and with the helmet and weapon you have to drink water continuously. Wouldn't it be great if we took fire, I thought to myself. There were some pop shots down at the flea market 500yds away, but I couldn't identify a target. Sometimes they just fire their AK's around like toys.
There has been some action outside the wire, one of the snipers shot a suspected terrorist who fled from a vehicle with a rifle. An Iraqi man was escorted to the medic station by the Iraqi police after someone stole his truck and shot him in the crotch for resisting. The bulk of the cases our medics treat here are Iraqi citizens and the Iraqi police. Occasionally one of our guys will come in badly dehydrated but that's about it.
General Patraeus and another general came around this past week on separate occasions, but I missed them both. I had to pull gate guard, where you block the entrance to the compound with the stryker. I did however manage to swipe a coin from the second general, one of the other guys didn't want it. The generals hand out coins randomly based on merit. The visits were the highlight of the week, besides the new weight set they put in upstairs. That means that everyone can do bench presses instead of sitting around.
One day I was pulling radio guard outback in the stryker. I was standing up in the hatch getting some fresh air when I heard a whistling sound like a roman candle or something. They fired an RPG at the rooftop but missed. It exploded in the field on the other side, and then they shot at us and fled. We fired back and the whole thing was over quickly. They fired the 240 from the roof right over my head, and man was it loud. anytime a weapon is pointed in your direction it is much louder. Another time late at night I was standing up looking around, which I'm not supposed to do and there was a large fluorescent burst and a crack from a bat flying into the power lines. The guys were laughing about it over the radio. That's about all there is for real excitement out here besides DVD's and reading and some card playing. Everyone plays spades. I'm starting to smell bad and want to go back and relax and eat real food. All that's left is MRE's and self heating beans in a can. God bless America.