Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!! Today I figured I'd tell you what T-Day in Iraq is like...

We got up and rolled out to Camp Liberty (AKA: Disneyworld), the huge base up by the airport at about 1000. We decided on a later start due to a minor crisis last late night involving a very large find of a cache by the (IA) Iraqi Army. It seems the bad guys will try to use just about anything to make explosives, and this time they took a page out of Timothy McVey's book (the guy who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma). The cache was so big it is pretty much a HAZMAT site, so they had to wait until this morning to clear it, as the crew needed protective suits. Good got the IA-- they are finding stuff all the time.

The team all went and ate lunch together at the chow hall. The neat thing about the Army is they did it up huge, like they always do on holidays. The Army knows it moves on its stomach, so they set up quite the spread: Turkey, prime rib, ham, truot, and steamship round; shrimp cocktail, two kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, collard greens, corn, carrots, and cornbread. On top of that was a huge salad bar, lots of desserts, and some fake beer and sparkling (fake) wine (damn you, General Order #1...). The DFAC (chow hall, or dining facility) was decorated with lots of T-day stuff, some soldiers were dressed in the period garb, and part of the 4th Infantry Division Band was there to play some tunes. (the music selection was a bit odd, though-- Stairway to Heaven, Muppets music, and Disney tunes, go figure...). On the tables were some cards from people from the States. Our table had cards from a Catholic school in Conway Arkansas with messages from the students thanking us for what we are doing. It meant a lot. We ate until we were stuffed. It was very good, and a nice change of pace of what we have had. We couldn't be with our families this year, but if I was going to spend it with anyone else, I'd want to spend Thanksgiving with soldiers.

The rest of the day (it's about 1:00pm here) will be spent trying to get some administrative business done, we'll make a PX run, make some phone calls, and then we'll probably crash early so we can get up early (4:00am) to watch the Texas/Texas A&M game. We'll head back to Mahmudiya in the afternoon after we run some more errands, and then it's back to work.

This year I am thankful for those who served before me. Being away from family and seeing what the Iraqi people are going through in the creation of their nation makes me appreciate what our pilgrims and founding fathers went through in the creation of our Nation.

I am also thankful for my family, who is in Austin, and also in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Morgantown, West Virginia. My thoughts go to them today, and I remember all of the good Thanksgivings I've had in the past.

All the best to you and your family this Thanksgiving-- Take care.

Ron