Lame Poetry

Does absence make the heart grow fonder,
Or does it make one prone to wander?
Through the distance can two souls reach and touch
Or do suspicious minds demand too much?
Can loneliness poison, leave us in pain,
Prevent us from seeing what we have to gain?
It seems that man will never learn:
To yearn is to blunder; to desire is to burn.
Love is tragedy; life is love; the end comes faster;
And all is unmitigated, beautiful disaster.
The common everyday emotional attachments
Are just snares, entrapment.
Don't try to escape, don't deny your need!
Join me in folly; this I plead.
In the end love is impossible.
Yet at the same time, love is unstoppable.

I am prone to write dumb poetry when I spend a lot of time on guard by myself.
I've got big plans, just not a lot of time to talk about them. Watch this space. I'll be back.

Going Places

If you don't hear from me don't worry. I am going to be at a location nearby where I cannot post to the blog for a while. In the meantime, go vote! Today's election will be the most important election to take place in my lifetime and could directly impact how long I stay in Iraq and whether I will have to go back. Those of you who know me well know how I would have you vote, but I don't want to go any further because I don't want to possibly insult the future Commander in Chief.
I am actually leaving in two hours so I'll have to cut this short.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!
From a guy who never went trick or treating as a kid.

Who are these people?

So I am receiving even more mail from people who apparently are visiting this blog. It's touching really it is. I am always amazed that people are interested in what I have to say.
Life around the FOB (Forward Operating Base if memory serves) is actually relaxed for once. At least it is when I am not being wrestled to the ground and cuffed by members of my own platoon. It could have been worse, the last medic was bound and stuffed in a box, a prank known in platoon history as "Doc In a Box". I would have killed someone before I let that happen. I am not angry really. They did the same thing to our Platoon Leader not long ago. No one is immune, except the Platoon Sergeant. I am sending out a warning. I will have my revenge. I am different from medics past. Those involved should sleep with an eye open.

Grammar police

I am expecting a visitation of the Grammar Police at any moment due to numerous miscues in the last few posts. When people start reading, I start proofreading and start wondering how much it would cost to hire an editor. This is from a kid who once boasted on a college application that he could teach 98% of graduating high school seniors something about English.
To my audience, (you know who you are, all 2 of you) thanks for reading; you keep me honest. Well at least you make me check my spelling.

What we all fear most

Silence is the most ominous thing a military family can hear.

MSNBC - Reservists refuse mission in Iraq

The military might be downplaying the seriousness of what these 19 people did but I know that if 19 people in my platoon did what these people did that the powers that be would rain hell-fire and brimstone on our location for days. I hope that they were justified and that the media can rescue them. Because not even God will help you if you disobey the US Army without good reason.
MSNBC - Reservists refuse mission in Iraq

A Soldier's Wish List

Someone emailed me and reminded me that people indeed do read this blog. I forget that people read what I write every so often. With those of you at home reading this in mind I came up with a list of things your soldier probably wants you to send him.

1. Books: I read at least 20 books in the two weeks 2ID was in Kuwait. I recommend light reading, Tom Clancy is much better in our situation than John Milton.
2. Magazines: Magazines are good also. You would be shocked at how many infantry men will read Cosmoplitan.
3. DVD's : If a soldier doesn't have a DVD player he will beg/borrow/steal one if for someone reason he can't buy it. Once he has obtained said DVD player he will watch everything on DVD in a two mile radius. It's true; I promise.
4. CD's: Same situation as with DVD's only not as desperate.
5. Baby wipes/Wet Wipes/Body cleansing towels: Soldiers use baby wipes on themselves just like you do on your baby. I wouldn't be that surprised if someone told me that a soldier somewhere was buying and wearing diapers. Baby wipes have other cleansing uses but there exists no better replacement for toilet paper.
6. Toiletry items: The PX's (Post Exchange - it's where military personnel buy enormous amounts of things they have no use for) are chronically under-stocked and there is always something that a soldier wants that isn't readily available. Also, I bet you would be surprised that macho infantry soldiers buy loofahs and body wash to use in the shower; loofahs are the best way to fight an affliction known as prickly heat. (Prickly heat is a skin condition that soldiers often get from constant wear of body armor. The sensation is something like having an infinite number of flaming needles jabbed in the skin at once. Those afflicted have been known to do the "Prickly Heat Tango", a dance requiring that the dancer scratch his back while writhing in agony on the floor.)
7. Video Games: I recommend multi-player games. True story: I recently bought X-Men Legends for my XBox and played it for five minutes and left to run an errand. When I returned, ten men had gathered around my Xbox to wait their turn to play.
8. Pictures of friends and family: I often see pictures of wives, girlfriends, children, friends, and family taped on the walls in the barracks, right next to the picture of naked women ripped from girly mags.
9. Clothes: There are no PT uniforms in the PX, none! PT's are the only other thing that most soldiers have to wear if they are not in their DCU's (Desert Combat Uniforms, they are the tan and brown uniforms that you see soldiers in on the news). You can buy PT's at any military base or possibly at military surplus stores. You can also buy them online at Ranger Joe's. PT, by the way, stands for Physical Training. PT uniforms are worn to exercise and sleep in. Most branches of the service have dark shorts and some sort of plain t-shirt with the name of the branch on the front. The Army personnel wear a gray t-shirt
   with Army emblazoned on the front and black trunks with Army written on left leg with white reflective tape. The Marines (which are not even a separate branch of the Service. They are a Department of the Navy!) insist on being different and wear plain green t-shirts with the shortest green shorts I have ever seen. There is nothing funnier than the sight of a macho Marine doing PT - in green short shorts. There official color isn't even green; the Marine color is red. Even the Air Force had the sense to wear dark blue. Send underwear too. The PX sells a very unsatisfactory narrow selection of underwear. They do sell thong panties, though. We all know how practical it is to be digging butt-floss out of the crack of your butt when the insurgents decide to start shooting at you. We all appreciate effort though. (Don't get me wrong, I am very much in favor of butt floss, just not on the battle field) Under Armour or some sort of moisture wicking t-shirt is also in high demand. Soldiers think they look cool in high tech spandex.
10. Food: Girls, if you send a soldier cookies you baked yourself and they make it to him intact and unspoiled, he will propose marriage. I promise. I recommend candy, beef jerky, powdered drinks (Gatorade powder is being sold by the gram in the barracks), and meal replacement bars for everyone else. Generally any food that will not spoil and does not need any kind of preparation is a good idea.
11. Letters: The most important thing you can send a soldier is your love. Soldiers measure love in mail. (or e-mail) If all you can do is write "hi" on a sheet of paper and mail that, at least he knows you love him a little.

So what are you waiting for? Send me something already!

On the Radar

Uh-Oh! It seems through extremely reliable sources that this blog is on Army brass' radar. In my experience this is the beginning of the end for most blogs. I do not think that will happen in my case since I take care to stay away from OPSEC violations but my fingers remain crossed.
Yesterday, I learned why the insurgents are such terrible shots by firing an AK-47 on automatic. It was enjoyable - I now believe that everybody should have their own AK - but was hardly a demonstration of outstanding marksmanship.

On Patrol in Iraq

So I was walking the beat with my peeps in an Iraqi village when I saw this Iraqi guy surrounded by all these children, his I suppose. He smiled at me and gestured at the water bottle I was guzzling cool water from. (cool water is more precious than gold in Iraq) He pointed at the youngest child, a girl with huge brown eyes and curly reddish brown hair. She was so perfect, a little angel. When I saw her my heart leaped in my chest. So I knelt and gave her the water bottle. She took it in both hands like a baby bottle and finished the water I had left. Moment's like that make me proud to be a soldier.

Election Scorecard - Where the presidential race stands today.

Election Scorecard - Where the presidential race stands today.
Bush is kicking Kerry in the butt according the people who like him least.

One down 11 to go

We've been here a little more than a month but I thought I'd let y'all know. To be brutally honest with myself, there is nothing I would like more than to leave this God-forsaken hell hole behind me. It is everything I can do at times to not weep when I think of the time I must spend here, a year! What was I thinking when I joined the Army? In calmer moments, I comfort myself by saying that I knew what I was getting into, that I actually wanted to do this, and most of all I wanted to serve my country. It's all true, but there are times that I would kill to be back in the States - anywhere in the States, at this point I'd go to Death Valley. It isn't so bad as I made out in the last two paragraphs. There are a multitude of benefits that will come to me by being here and my life isn't coming to an end. It's just not easy. Even when it isn't that bad, it really isn't that great either. I just want to go home. So I am alive despite the best efforts of our friends the insurgents. The chain of command is making every effort to bring as many of the comforts of home as feasible to the soldiers here and it is getting better. The one thing that never cease to amaze me is the sight of thong panties in the PX. We spend every day in mortal danger and someone is worried about whether their panty lines show. You can't see panty lines in DCU's! It is comforting though that people have time to think about sex on the battlefield. At least, some things haven't changed.

Visit Lost in Desert.com

Visit my platoon website. The people who are going to keep me alive in Iraq.

Umm Still here

You know, I am scared witless of saying anything interesting about what is going on here due to operational security and I don't get outside news so my blog for at least the next 11 months could probably be summed up with, "I am still here!"

Our man Jack In Iraq

So I am firmly ensconced somewhere outside of Baghdad near a major hot spot in Iraq and I am still in one piece. The key phrase in the first sentence is "still in one piece". Death and destruction find the unwary and the wary alike although the unwary are struck down with much greater frequency. There are a few simple things one can do to protect himself here, but the truth is that when the day comes death will find you and nothing can prevent it. So I don't think about it... Much anyway.
Communication with the outside world is intermittent due to operational security and unreliable technology. I have also succeeded in destroying some of my personal electronic equipment with the 220 volt electricity generated by the installations overworked generators. Luckily my laptop is more resilient than my XBox. I have nothing of consequence to say really. I am alive. That's all.

Live from Iraq

You know the title for this post is silly. Of course I am "Live from Iraq". If I was dead there would be no post. Or maybe it isn't so silly. The only thing that is constant about life now is the sheen of sweat on every soldier's brow at midday. I've experienced mortar attacks for the first time. Most of the time mortar attacks are only acknowledged because of the noise they make, but one round came close enough that we could feel the rush of air from the blast. The battalion that we are replacing once had nearly half of its tents burn to the ground due to mortar fire. Men were caught in the shower in the midst of the attack and were forced to wander the camp in towels. I giggled like an uncaring school girl when my platoon sergeant told this story. He immediately pointed out that insurgents target medics and would love to kill me first. I still couldn't stop laughing.
As to my living conditions, all I'll admit to is that I live in squalor compared to the air conditioned tents we slept in while in Kuwait. I'll live though. And I am done.

Soldier and Psychopath

Soldiers are psychopaths. The act of traveling to a strange country and causing fatal bodily harm to people one barely knows must surely be madness. War is merely the process of building perfect little murderers enmasse. Yet war is the only form of diplomacy that really works. War is more than necessary. War is inevitable.

First Blood

My unit has drawn first blood today in Kuwait, we produced our first non-friendly casualty. Granted it was an innocent civilian who stumbled into a live-fire range but I caught myself wishing I was there so I could have treated my first gunshot wound. My motivation is curiosity. Does everything I have been taught work? If someone is bleeding from a wound will dressing the wound really help them? If someone is in shock and I initiate an IV will they be revived? Inquiring minds want to know. Mine does anyhow.

Come On

I can't escape the feeling that my life is on hold. The longer I stay in Kuwait, the more impatient I become. I saw an old buddy of mine from boot camp but we had nothing to say to each other. Beyond the momentary elation of recogniton, there was nothing.
I don't have any insights gained from living in the desert, no knowledge gained from constant introspection. The most productive thing I have started doing again is lifting weights. I am bored.

Can't Wait, I'm in Kuwait

That has to be the corniest post title I have ever used. I've been in Kuwait four days now and I think that the desert agrees with me. At least it does when the Army installs showers, air conditioned tents, dining facilites, an internet cafe, and a Subway. Life cannot be that hard when there's a Subway restaurant within walking distance. I won't even eat there, the only restaurant that could make me feel more at home though is a McDonald's.
I made the mistake of not bringing half of my laptop charger. So I am hamstrung. But it's ok.
One of the things that has been so surprising in Kuwait, is how "hajji" has so easily replaced "ottoshee". Foreigners in Korea called every Korean male "ottoshee" now in Kuwait and Iraq we have "hajji". I suppose that I'll stop liking "hajji" so much when he starts shooting at me. Time is money, in the internet cafe it's $5 an hour, so I am done and on to the next one.