Busy week

Sorry for no updates this week; we have been busy. Here are some random paragraphs:

9 April: The day the Saddam Government officially fell. Most reactions were good, but as you saw from the news this week, in some places they were not good. Six carbombs went off in Baghdad, a couple were north of here. One stupid insurgent ran out of gas and never made it to his destination, and one stupid insurgent prematurely detonated his, killing only himself. March and April is when insurgents do dumb things, but most of the old pros are either dead, in jail, or on the run. We caught a couple of biggies this week, too.

Today we went to the big American base I call Disneyworld. It is huge, and there are lots of people there who, well, I'm not really sure what they do. But there is a bunch of them there. Lots of contractors too. The rec centers (yes, they have rec centers) have salsa nite. The dining facilities are huge, and judging by the girth of the people who never leave the FOB (FOBbits, as they are known) they frequent the places often. If you are in PT clothes (why you are wearing PT clothes --shorts and a t shirt and running shoes--at 1 in the afternoon when you are not running or in the gym is beyond me) then you have to wear a reflective belt, in case somebody can't see you. They actually have traffic rules, and guys who drive around and pass out tickets. It is a mini-city. They are fighting a different war than we are. One tour of this place and I understand why the war costs so much. I was happy to get back to my little IA compound, where, conveniently enough, there is a range right next door, so I took out my frustrations by re-zeroing my boomstick.

Today is also Good Friday. I had a conversation with my Iraqi Brigade Commander about Easter. he is a Shiite Muslim, so he doesn't quite understand how we go from the crucifixtion of the Prophet Jesus to Easter Bunnies, colored eggs, scavenger hunts, and candy. I told him I had no idea; I really have wondered the same thing myself. I think there is a big dinner planned for Sunday in our small chow hall. Other than that, it is just another day in Iraq. But they do recognize it as a religious holiday (every holiday in a muslim country is religious) so they think it's ok.

The team is longing for football season. There are some hoop fans on the crew, and baseball is a good thing to watch to kill time, but the majority yearn for football season. Plus, football season means it is August, and we are in the last quarter for the tour.

To be honest, things are going very well. I think we are hitting our stride, and we are making some good progress. We ran three different schools this week (tough with only two interpreters working) and I'm batting 1000 for pitching ideas to the IA Brigade Commander for him to try. Scary, stuff is actually working. It is good to see the progress.

Sorry, nothing too funny, thought provoking, or deep, just work and progress, believe it or not.

Hope you and your family have a great Easter. Take care-

Ron