Day 237

After getting a late night flight to Camp Warhorse from Balad, I was quickly sent to the JCOP (joint combat outpost) in Baqubah, Iraq. This large three story building is manned by our company and Iraqi Army soldiers. Although patrols are more fun here due to the number of people on the street, the living quarters aren't that great. The building has high ceilings and is open to the outside. The weather has gotten cooler and it gets pretty cold at night. That means you get cold even in a heavy sleeping bag and we've been wearing plenty of extra clothes.

For the most part things are slowing down and the situation here is under control. Every so often you hear a random gunshot or an explosion from somewhere in the surrounding area. Usually the explosions are controlled detonations, IED's that our patrols find before our vehicles hit them. Our leadership has been working with that of the local town to clean up buildings and public works that were destroyed such as hospitals, schools and peoples' houses.

A few days ago a female suicide bomber injured seven of our soldiers while they were on patrol. She was wearing a vest with explosives and ball bearings, the equivalent of a claymore mine. A few of our guys might not make it, and seven of them are out of the fight for sure. There was an anonymous threat of more vests in the area as well, causing some tension and increased awareness on patrol and on guard at the entrance to the compound. The threat of suicide bombers and extremists is all too real, and it gets in the way of interacting with the people in the area. You don't want to get friendly with them because this can become a weakness. Often times children will come up and ask for food or chocolate, but this can be a big distraction.

There is a resistance group here in Baqubah called 1920, why they are called that I don't know. They used to work with al-Qeada but got fed up with them because they don't treat people right and pay them enough. Supposedly the 1920 forces have agreed to work with the U.S. forces to combat terrorism in the area. To what extent they are actually helping I can't be sure. There are also neighborhood guards who wear reflective belts and are allowed to carry AK-47's. We don't really work with them but they are not against us. I think these guys should join up with the Iraqi Police and get paid, but some people disagree with the Iraqi Police force. There is not enough entry level screening and some of them have ties to terrorism and extremist groups.

I have been hanging out with the Iraqi Army guys on the second floor where they stay. I like to play chess and some of them are willing to play, so I go up there every so often. Their Sergeant Major is a nice guy who tries to relate to the U.S. forces when he can. The Iraqis drink lots of tea, chai as they call it. They just toss the ground up leaves right in the pot and boil it. The tea is strong and they take lots of sugar. The other day I went up there during the afternoon and they boiled potatos and we ate them salted with pita bread and some kind of pickled vegetable on the side. The Muslim world has their own TV networks as well, including Al-Jazeera. They watch soccer and soap operas and lots of music videos, the music is mostly about Allah, their god.

We are all hoping this situation will end soon and that we will begin to pull out. There have been rumors that our unit will leave in May 2008, but there is no guarantee. The latest we will leave is August. I look forward to getting home and eating good food rather than this quickly prepared cafeteria food. I try not to complain though, things could be much worse.