tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54496602011-11-22T02:07:26.402+03:30...the hardest lessons are the ones you repeat... ...like a second deployment to the middle east... (due to a recent flurry of negative feedback i have taken the liberty of changing or omitting any names or information that i see fit to protect national security and to cover my own ass...thank the haters...) ...my views do not reflect that of the military or the u.s. government... <li><strong>WARNING!! SPELLING AND GRAMMER: ATROCIOUS, CONTENT: SUPREME</strong></li>mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comBlogger1111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1167555143753007802006-12-31T12:21:00.000+03:302006-12-31T12:22:34.863+03:30

For those of you that might still care.I'm still alive and kicking although nothing turned out like I'd hoped, but what ever really does.

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1097859666982688902004-10-15T19:58:00.000+03:302004-10-16T12:19:37.656+03:30

out of the blue i get random emails...but isn't that how it always works...because if you expected them they wouldn't be so random... a few days ago i received one of these emails from a person who has meant a lot to me in the last few years...a guy i came to know deeply...who put things in a profound sense and helped me understand so much...he was actually the reason i started this blog so long

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1081508812289307612004-04-09T15:36:00.000+04:302004-04-09T15:42:59.826+04:30

one of the best soldier war blogs i've yet to find... e-rocky-confidential...maybe it's just his color scheme...damn you blog spot...with your limited user preferences...bah

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1064340074145646832003-09-23T20:32:00.000+03:302003-09-23T21:31:14.240+03:30

i sat at BIAP (baghdad international airport) for 13 hours for a 1 hour plane flight...the troop side of the airport is made up of giant tents...a small p.x. housed inside a big rig trailer...and a front gate with a sign that warns you in nice big red letters that "deadly force is authorized"...i slept on the floor...in the rocks...on my duffel bags...but not in the airport chairs which were

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1064102252400706892003-09-21T04:26:00.000+04:302003-09-21T04:27:31.733+04:30

i'm home...more later...much more indeed...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063389623729012742003-09-12T22:29:00.000+04:302003-09-12T22:30:23.760+04:30

thank paul woodward of warincontext.org for this interview

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063389195570195202003-09-12T21:33:00.000+04:302003-09-12T23:03:57.020+04:30

i'm writing from my tailgate...it's dark...the mosquitoes are bad...one of my best friends on earth...laub...he just left...he came over to my site and spent most of the evening with me...it was a good way to wrap this up...thinking and talking about old times...old parties...old friends...he just left...i may or may not see him again...it's hard to tell...i hope i do...i hope i see a lot of

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063296656256672712003-09-11T19:02:00.000+04:302003-09-11T20:52:30.420+04:30

some people join up...and they know that they will do 20 years...they just know some how that they are a 'lifer'...some people sign on for only 2...and they know they won't do a minute longer...i signed on for 6...boom...right off the bat...6 years...i would be lying if i said they were all easy...if they were all a cake walk...i've hated my job more then once...and a few times the only thing

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063214902136258692003-09-10T21:58:00.000+04:302003-09-10T22:08:06.936+04:30

i packed today...i still have a few days to go...but since i really had nothing better to do and i knew that packing would only take me a few minutes i went on ahead...i never really unpacked...i've lived out of duffel bags for almost 8 months...i used an old n.b.c. bag as a sock drawer and i hung it from the tent rail across the ceiling above my cot...i stick my underwear in there too...when i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063110573935420682003-09-09T16:59:00.000+04:302003-09-09T17:08:14.420+04:30

well i've caught hell over what i said about riverbend...what she said moved me like nothing that has moved me in months...it upset me...it made me feel bad... there are so many people out there who think that all iraqis are the enemy...that all of them are not worth one american life...i'm scared by this mindset...this is how these things will perpetuate and drag on forever...we will have a

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063034620795708732003-09-08T19:53:00.000+04:302003-09-08T19:58:10.143+04:30

everything i have ever written...or said...or will ever write...or say...is worthless in comparison to this post...08sep2003

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1063029077289681172003-09-08T18:21:00.000+04:302003-09-08T18:21:17.326+04:30

the word for the day is empathy... surprises for me this morning...i got in two new soldiers...new troops to take the load off my horrified privates...one of them is a reclass generator mechanic (which is always a good thing to have around) and the other has a few years of experience but it is all strategic...which means they both know nothing about tactical...but they will learn...they are both

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062928537062257322003-09-07T14:25:00.000+04:302003-09-07T14:31:57.956+04:30

i started throwing stuff out this morning...the whole mice thing has me freaked out...because i'm deathly afraid of snakes...i went digging around in my 'poggy bait' box...poggy bait is just junk food...i don't know why they call it that in the army...it's just one of the many things that i take on face value...once i reached down to the bottom and pulled out my ramen noodles i could see that

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062888250966822382003-09-07T03:14:00.000+04:302003-09-07T03:16:56.690+04:30

it's the middle of the night...02:39 to be exact...blogger is finally up and i understand why they have been down for 2 days...they have totally revamped their template...it's actually pretty killer now...to bad i think i'm coming to the end of my journal...today i received a definite date for departure...i'll be out of country in a week...i've been giving a lot of thought as to whether or not i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062767570949796772003-09-05T17:42:00.000+04:302003-09-05T18:07:58.793+04:30

i was listening to an ex-marine turned army staff sergeant...and an ex-abrahms tanker turned signal puke...they described the scene as a long stretch of road running through the middle of a small foreign town...fox holes and machine gun nests littering the road way...snipers plugged up in windows...the enemy dug in deep...an assault by ground forces would prove catastrophic...there were very few

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062679457740618422003-09-04T17:14:00.000+04:302003-09-04T17:19:35.893+04:30

i'm sleeping as much as possible...every chance i get...so that my days will fly by...and they are...amazingly enough...for a while it was getting really rough...it started once i found out that i had a pretty tentative date to leave...i watched every minute of every hour...they couldn't go by fast enough...but the realization is starting to sink in...and i don't believe it...i almost can't

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062676843006608862003-09-04T16:30:00.000+04:302003-09-04T16:40:43.236+04:30

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, THE E-MAIL THAT HAS BEEN SENT OUT USING OUR COMPANY'S DOMAIN NAME IS A VIRUS THAT HAS MALICIOUSLY ATTACKED OUR WEBSITE. WE REFUTE COMPLETELY THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AND APOLOGISE FOR ANY UPSET THAT IT MAY HAVE CAUSED. WE THANK YOU MOST SINCERELY FOR ALERTING US TO THIS SITUATION AND ARE PRESENTLY DOING OUR UTMOST TO RECTIFY THE DAMAGE THAT THIS ATTACK HAS CAUSED

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062599239771297502003-09-03T18:57:00.000+04:302003-09-03T23:36:36.223+04:30

my soldiers are starting to get lackadaisical on me...i'm a pretty friendly guy...i like to joke...i like to laugh...i like to mess with them...but then they start to get to comfortable...they are both young privates...and they aren't able to distinguish the line that must be drawn within our relationship...that takes time...some n.c.o.'s never even try to relate to their soldiers...they are

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062424134174777292003-09-01T18:18:00.000+04:302003-09-01T18:26:12.283+04:30

there was some kind of screaming...i'm in bed...and i'm being waken up by something other then my alarm clock and my girlfriend once more...something bad...not mortars...or explosions...or even small arms fire...but screaming...horrible pain filled sobbing...in a flash i'm up...out the door into the dark...bare foot and shirtless...there's already a crowd forming...others are walking out into the

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062357071707937322003-08-31T23:41:00.000+04:302003-08-31T23:48:24.530+04:30

my soldier just returned from his r'n'r trip to doha quatar...he said it was an experience...they were allowed to leave the compound and go out into the city...they were not allowed to go to any of the hotels that serve alcohol because al quada had been testing the reaction time in which the m.p.'s could arrive on the scene...he didn't say how they had been testing... he went to a mall...and

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062332626660560562003-08-31T16:53:00.000+04:302003-09-01T00:08:27.530+04:30

while salam and river are duking it out over car bombers and the future of this here iraq...i followed some links off of his page...i ended up reading a site that is sure to bring the unhappiness of allah upon you...please take with a large grain of salt and maybe a prozac or two...ecstasy wouldn't hurt if you are among very faint of heart... i read through the whole thing...it is blatantly

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062265238270424952003-08-30T22:10:00.000+04:302003-08-30T22:17:40.753+04:30

everything is relative...i sound like a broken record...but nothing is more true...i was out at another compound...all out and gone in the middle of the desert...the similarities to afghanistan caused me stop and take notice...it felt like deja vu...green tents...not the kind with frames that i have now...but the kind with big poles in the center...they were every where...their sides rolled up

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062246090801566852003-08-30T16:51:00.000+04:302003-08-30T16:51:30.813+04:30

more convoy madness...pictures...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062154988287077362003-08-29T15:33:00.000+04:302003-08-29T16:42:14.000+04:30

I started to write yesterday…but I think I was on some kind of sensory over load from the convoy two days ago…I needed time to take it all in…I wanted to write about the presidential palace…but there was just so much going on in every direction…I didn’t even know where to begin…today the internet is down for the count…and I’m not sure when it is going to come back up…so you might see a few

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1062002973050108162003-08-27T21:19:00.000+04:302003-08-27T21:19:33.420+04:30

my alarm clock...went off early...a freakin' hour early at that...i've dropped/thrown it one to many times...and it doesn't read right anymore...but i make do... i'm up now with about 4 hours of sleep...late shift last night...i'm dressing...and off in the distance i hear small arms fire...it's 5 in the morning...outside it's pitch black...and i make my way towards my hmmv...in the back ground

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061925077057043182003-08-26T23:41:00.000+04:302003-08-26T23:41:17.106+04:30

i've spent the last 20 minutes trying to fix my M-16...it wasn't feeding ammo correctly...i would try to load up a magazine...but it wouldn't chamber a round...so i took it apart...worked at it...reloaded a different mag...released the bolt a few times...it jammed...i then have to wedge out a round that is lodged...i pull it out...i reload over and over...trying to make it work properly...every

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061923424980606902003-08-26T23:13:00.000+04:302003-08-26T23:13:44.960+04:30

they are working on getting us some perstempo (personnel op tempo[the number of days deployed]) money...i'll believe it when i see it...they cancelled it last year as soon as we got to afghanistan...they made me fill out a sheet listing all of my deployment time for the last two years...i was amazed to find out that i was deployed for 266 days last year...and this year is at 192...so out of the

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061902510425468852003-08-26T17:25:00.000+04:302003-08-26T17:53:34.170+04:30

it's been a pretty eventful day...i got up at 6...only because i had to use the port a potti...and while i was out there in the dark stumbling around...i noticed that the rest of my company was up to...pretty strange because it's supposed to be a day off type of deal...i wouldn't be so lucky...they had formed a 'sand bag detail'...not exactly the best news to hear while your wandering around in

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061815800865397242003-08-25T17:20:00.000+04:302003-08-25T22:11:51.580+04:30

they told us today...in a battalion formation...early in the morning...standing in the dirt of our motor pool...that we are here...to fight terrorism on its home ground...that we are taking the war to the terrorists...i'm not so sure about that...i think we've brought the terrorists/freedom fighters/militants/loyalists/what ever to iraq...i've read that al-queda is rushing to iraq to support

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061724753142944112003-08-24T16:02:00.000+04:302003-08-24T16:02:33.110+04:30

today...i found river bend...she is the author of 'baghdad burning'...and she is 24 like me...she is an iraqi woman and she is in baghdad...her take on this is not stereotypical...and she puts things in a much better perspective then i ever could...i'm very much reminded of salam when i read her words...and as i finished reading her whole blog...it's not very long...yet...i asked myself why i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061618479203368722003-08-23T10:31:00.000+04:302003-08-23T16:55:09.756+04:30

they are showing up...in strange uniforms...most of them brand new...with little colored flags on their sleeves...from far away places like portugal...and estonia...and south korea....they are here in one'zees and two'zees...little groups that stick together...they walk around big eyed...taking everything in... the 'coalition of the willing' is finally starting to show up...it's 6 months into

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061495029542850952003-08-22T00:13:00.000+04:302003-08-22T00:13:49.460+04:30

finally some pictures of my shower trailer...i say 'my' cause i cleaned it like it was my kid...on my hands and knees...join the army...travel to a hot and distant land...meet people of an intresting and ancient culture...and clean up 'freedom pubes'...while the militants shoot mortars at you while you sleep...how could i not love my job... i sure do wish i had G.'s eye and his camera...go look

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061478485133267582003-08-21T19:38:00.000+04:302003-08-21T19:38:05.196+04:30

they had steak...it's become sort of a weekly thing...you can smell it for miles because it is grilled...by little brown guys working over flaming pits of steak grilling goodness...they're cooking a lot of them...because there are a lot of us...i love those guys...they make me happy...just to see them out there...grilling steaks for us...in the heat...it makes me want to give them hugs...they

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061393785796607062003-08-20T20:06:00.000+04:302003-08-20T20:06:25.853+04:30

i think i've got worms...holy crap...i've got to turn in my computer to the sysadmin...i'm not sure when i'll get it back...i've got a lot of returned emails that i didn't write with .pif attachments...watch yourselves...people are crazy...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061387272559837422003-08-20T18:17:00.000+04:302003-08-21T17:23:51.880+04:30

the comments are dead...i know that many people enjoyed them for the discussion value...many good things were said there...but i was finding myself growing angrier and angrier with narrow minded people who wish to question my allegiance and my 'true colors'...to many people called me a whiner because of my different take on this whole thing...if you would like to read the super positive

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061319048151378792003-08-19T23:20:00.000+04:302003-08-19T23:20:48.046+04:30

thor has posted new pictures of his 'kuwaiti tree house'...check them out...and maybe at some point in the near future i'll get some new pictures of all this stuff up for everyone...stay safe

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061311885213527122003-08-19T21:21:00.000+04:302003-08-19T22:02:27.403+04:30

i've never claimed to be hard core...i know that i've got it good...compared to most...the internet...the phone...it's my job...that's what i do...so i get full access to them...sorry...my bad... the infantry pukes get my full respect...they always have...in fact i've got two here right now...i've never turned down a soldier when he's asked to use the internet or the phone...i'm not a

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061298754409883412003-08-19T17:42:00.000+04:302003-08-19T19:38:27.350+04:30

man...things can get screwed up...and there is something to be said for being a spectator in the chaos of your own life...a total lack of control...and all you can really do is hear about the days events over the phone...and give suggestions as to what you would hope your loved ones will do... unless you've experienced anything like it...you have no idea as to the amount of confinement it puts

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061214445476533832003-08-18T18:17:00.000+04:302003-08-18T20:19:04.783+04:30

i had to talk to a friend of mine today...thor...i need some kind of perspective...a different perspective...it's really to easy to get yourself all worked up over your own emotions...sometimes you need a close friend to step in a say "whoa boy"...he's one of my best friends from way back...there are many late nights and long days...new years 2000 in berlin...ms connexions in mannheim...the irish

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061141120504813982003-08-17T21:55:00.000+04:302003-08-17T21:57:01.113+04:30

many people are writing me requesting info on how to get packages to the troops...well the troops always need more loving and the good people at operationmilitarypride.org are in need of all the help you can give...they are a great organization devoted to helping out us soldiers...check them out...we all would appreciate it over here...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061125701924656872003-08-17T17:38:00.000+04:302003-08-17T17:55:39.923+04:30

i don't know what it is about me...when i get really upset...i mean really really mortified...my body wants to sleep...right then and there...i can't help but passing out...like an over load switch has been thrown..."all systems red"... how long would i have lasted if i was cro-magnon man...just chillin' out by my cave...doing the usual hunter gather type thing...and out of the corner or my eye.

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1061116159195620972003-08-17T14:59:00.000+04:302003-08-17T15:03:16.536+04:30

something’s are so private and so personal that you shouldn't share them with anybody...something’s should go to the grave...honesty is not always the best policy...and the truth almost always hurts... there are things that i will not share with anyone...there are secrets and fears that will die with me...because there isn't a need to know...the knowing in itself could always cause more problems

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060968016001177502003-08-15T21:50:00.000+04:302003-08-15T21:50:16.010+04:30

we were seriously talking about swiss bank accounts...i mean come on...swiss bank accounts... it all seems to have started by a simple mistake...a mistake that probably cost some poor teenager their job at a currency exchange inside an airport... a friend of ours recently went home...he flew in to the states...and out of curiosity he stopped in to see what all of his iraqi dinars were worth...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060888065730711422003-08-14T23:37:00.000+04:302003-08-14T23:42:17.566+04:30

i read salam's post about G.'s arrest and beat down...it was so disheartening...i am in a strange place where i can see all sides of a thing...but that does not make it right...i'm sure G. was just doing his thing peacefully...trying to get the story and the pictures...he might of got to close...or he just may have been in the wrong place at the right time... the soldiers are over worked and

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060780380524819312003-08-13T17:43:00.000+04:302003-08-13T17:57:21.316+04:30

after i finished up with my daily shower cleaning...some iraqi local nationals showed up with their armed g.i. escort...they were there to fix the broken shower...they needed me to hang around so that i could open up the locked water heater rooms... the iraqis are good workers...they don't waste any time...they get right to it...plumbers digging up pipes...pulling up muddy pumps...there is an

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060715098310558332003-08-12T23:34:00.000+04:302003-08-12T23:41:01.513+04:30

the troop said he had his weapon when he left the last check point...but when the arrived at the one closest to our compound...it was gone...he lost his weapon...there is no bigger screw up in the military...especially when you lose it in baghdad...it's gone...out there on the town...i hope it's having a good time...checkin' out the clubs...seeing the sights...meetin' the ladies..."hey honies...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060619745967821322003-08-11T21:05:00.000+04:302003-08-11T21:12:03.926+04:30

i woke up on the floor...well i didn't actually wake up down there...but that's where i fading back into reality...that's where i found myself asking "why am i on the floor"...then it all made sense...the explosions...they just happened...and i dove to the floor...in my sleep...they were that close...they were that loud... i'm breathing hard...and i crawl towards the door to the tent...looking

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060532615767912602003-08-10T20:53:00.000+04:302003-08-13T18:00:59.626+04:30

i think it's hilarious when people bash on the french because they didn't support this war...the whole 'you're either for us or against us' spiel is so old...i'm here in freaking baghdad and i don't even know if i'm for us or against us...changing the name of french fries to freedom fries...and french toast to freedom toast...so petty...i guess we are pretty quick to forget which country helped

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060448841044208952003-08-09T21:37:00.000+04:302003-08-09T21:37:21.030+04:30

if i would of left 10 seconds sooner or later...i would have missed him... my troop showed back up after his classes this morning...and i rolled out to lunch time chow...carrying all my gear because my night shift guy had already driven the hmmv back to the tents...i walked down the steps through the gate in the wall...into 'salute ally'...officers every where...past the smaller pool...and the

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060409182097245112003-08-09T10:36:00.000+04:302003-08-09T10:47:14.193+04:30

i'm pulling a double shift today...my soldier had to attend classes all morning...and then he's got a football game...the classes are over basic army stuff...s.a.l.u.t.e. reports (size of enemy unit, activity of unit, location of unit, uniform of unit, time you saw the unit, and any kind of equipment you see the enemy using)...medivac procedures...proper internet responsibilities (stemming from

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060370076254096712003-08-08T23:44:00.000+04:302003-08-08T23:44:36.283+04:30

my poor comments link is dead...i don't think they could handle the amount of response that they were receiving...i'm not sure if i will even put more up...they were kind of getting a little bit crazy any way...lots of off topic stuff and internal bickering...like a message board or something...i guess i should be flattered...in a way i am...i never expected such a world of feed back and

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060273598774623372003-08-07T20:56:00.000+04:302003-08-07T20:56:38.773+04:30

here are the crappiest photos yet...the camera is an atrocity...it chews through batteries like bubble gum and it can not handle any kind of light what so ever...i had to adjust the pictures on a photoshop type program...you couldn't even make out what they were until i screwed around with them...when i finally get to leave iraq i am going to run over the camera with my hmmv...enjoy...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060263256958291712003-08-07T18:04:00.000+04:302003-08-07T18:21:26.506+04:30

big shout outs to salam pax...i've been hoping for months that you would find my site...you are the reason i started this one...you're an inspiration man...and you give me hope for the future...stay safe... i think i heard the embassy explosion this morning...i know i saw the smoke...it's so hard to tell with all the 'blowing up of stuff' that is going on around here...but i know that e.o.d. (

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060196275589531532003-08-06T23:27:00.000+04:302003-08-07T16:34:23.783+04:30

the on again off again game with the a/c is getting really old...it went off about 2:30 in the a.m. last night...it's so hot outside...even at night...you wake up immediately...and after p.t. this morning...after i worked out on the little bench with the broken dumb bells...which coincidently i took 2 different sets of broken dumbbells and combined them to make 1 complete set...i am a genius...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060099801350812592003-08-05T20:40:00.000+04:302003-08-05T23:38:18.130+04:30

the v.t.c. (visual teleconferencing) went really well...i waited around until the middle of the night and then i was escorted into the 'restricted area'...where all the magic happens so to speak...past giant wall size television screens with maps and diagrams...past rows and rows of desk with computers and soldiers working around the clock on the war effort...into the back of the room...through a

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1060018225041644212003-08-04T22:00:00.000+04:302003-08-04T22:00:25.100+04:30

they called in the 'net rangers'...and they had a bust...some fool was using up a third of our bandwidth on mp3 downloads...very bad...there are guys whose sole purpose in life is to catch people doing stuff like that...some people just think they are smarter then the rest of us...they're special...they get caught...they always do...if you do the wrong thing long enough...you will get busted...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059923186777801982003-08-03T19:36:00.000+04:302003-08-03T19:36:26.916+04:30

the a/c's in the tent city are dead...at least for the time being...they were trying to set up the 'prime power'...the commercial power...they want to pull the strain off the military generators...because they are dying too...but they screwed it up and now everything’s dead...but we do have lights...which are very important at around noon...in iraq...it's like an oven inside my tent...and sleep

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059829375785122412003-08-02T17:32:00.000+04:302003-08-02T17:56:17.970+04:30

i hope they find nuclear missile silos filled with i.c.b.m.'s spouting steam and gas from their sides...i hope we find chemical factories filled with barrels of mustard gas and nerve toxins...i hope we uncover all the banned weapons that we said were here...i hope we find it all...every last bit...then all of this will have served a glorious purpose that no one can argue with...and we were over

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059758769249619692003-08-01T21:56:00.000+04:302003-08-01T22:03:35.236+04:30

i'm up at 5...staggering...blind in the dark...my p.t. shirt...over my head...hands feeling around the floor for my socks...got them...shoes slipped on...twisting my ankles...i'm on my feet...throwing the poncho wall to the side...i'm outside the tent...the sun is just barely lighting up the sky...it's a dull grey...and my face is still so sleep swollen that i can barely see...and i can feel it..

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059582768691312642003-07-30T21:02:00.000+04:302003-07-30T21:06:58.036+04:30

my youngest soldier...the heat baby...just came down with some viral strain of the iraqi flu of death...103 temperature...explosive diarrhea and uncontrolled vomiting...poor guy...i know just how he feels... we admitted him into the t.m.c. (troop medical center)...they're gonna keep him over night to monitor his condition...i went to see him when i came on shift...he had just finished his 6th i.v

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059491761065390472003-07-29T19:46:00.000+04:302003-07-29T20:20:34.823+04:30

my woman's birthday was on the 24th...i'm horrible with dates and statistics and numbers...so i of course could not remember her birthday for the longest time...it made me feel horrible...i knew the general month of it...but i couldn't put a date to it...now this created a problem...especially since we were together for quite a long time...so it was past the point of asking...because that would

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059405994189557362003-07-28T19:56:00.000+04:302003-07-28T20:07:16.800+04:30

everything here is by a wall...i'm encircled by them...the danger is on all sides...there is no escaping it...we try to keep things spread out a little bit out of safety...you don't want to put all your eggs in one fish barrel...so please...no one write centcom and tell them i am immanent danger at my shower point...it won't help my situation...and luckily they have started to install commercial

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059322191528706152003-07-27T20:39:00.000+04:302003-07-27T20:46:42.963+04:30

the iraqis are starting to use mortar rounds...that's not good...today...at my shower point...one went off...it was some distance away...but just the thought of a mortar freaks the hell out of me...the mortar can travel pretty damn far...and i'm not even sure what the radius is on something like that...the iraqis are going to try everything they can...they aren't pulling any punches...the only

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059222398033207262003-07-26T16:56:00.000+04:302003-07-26T17:14:57.330+04:30

i'm sending another soldier home this weekend...finally...i've gotten three of them out of here now...i've watched them leave and it gets me excited and depressed all at the same time...i'm glad to see them go...but i do wish that it was me...but that is the burden of the beast...i've still got a job for as long as they tell me that there is one... i have been using this blog to get me up out of

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1059051224506927472003-07-24T17:23:00.000+04:302003-07-24T18:04:55.626+04:30

i had to mix up the routine today...it's starting to get rough and i just got word that i'm here for at least a few more months...this delay should put me well into the 8 month range...and that's if everything from here on out goes exactly as planned...which i know it won't...i waited for 2 months just for a plane flight home on my last deployment to afghanistan...but i might fall into a military

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058963908603934212003-07-23T17:08:00.000+04:302003-07-23T17:10:23.660+04:30

they cut out the internet access yesterday...for most of the theater...they do that when something big is happening and they don't want it to leak out via email...or blogs...opps!!! the internet was reconnected a few minutes before i got off shift...so i was able to send off a quick bit of intel...but i couldn't even get to the news...i would rather go to bed...because i am getting sick of

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058902886583815322003-07-23T00:11:00.000+04:302003-07-23T17:56:55.946+04:30

Fireworks are lighting up my sky…not happy to be alive…forth of july fire works…but rather m-249 tracer rounds and parachuting flares…red rounds arcing up in sweeps…distancing themselves from each other…losing their luster the farther they fly… When I get up on top of my truck I can pick out from where they are being fired…from the individual guard points…and compounds…I think we do it just to

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058800326426874512003-07-21T19:42:00.000+04:302003-07-21T21:11:29.093+04:30

i'm lucky in a way...i've discussed this with other soldiers and we...your american troop massive...defending freedom and u.s. interests all over the globe...are lucky...because we...the american military...can never again...from this point in time to the unavoidable day of reckoning...take any thing for granted...some will...but they are not allowed...they have not been made aware of the rule...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058708952664344312003-07-20T18:19:00.000+04:302003-07-20T19:48:11.523+04:30

the cursor...it blinks...as it waits...for something prolific...so you type...something heroic maybe...a story of valor...or the mundane...and as soon as you stop...it's blinking again... i feel like that cursor...in an automatic mode...doing things with out thought...because they have become a part of me and my day...each day...off into the unending infinity of everything...blinking... still

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058633254141794802003-07-19T21:17:00.000+04:302003-07-19T21:33:01.563+04:30

the joes come out of the wood work...when they find out your the 'phone guy'...they ran a phone into our tent...it's 'for official use only'...as they say...we keep it hidden...because they will ask...when we are sleeping...when we are naked...when we don't want to be bothered..."hey man is it cool if i use the phone"..."no man sorry it's not"...then they get surprised because you told them no...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058559180221780322003-07-19T00:43:00.000+04:302003-07-19T00:43:00.303+04:30

one of my best friends started a journal...he's still in kuwait...his wife just had a baby six weeks ago...he was lucky enough to get to go home for the birth...he left two weeks before the due date...he got on a plane 4 days after his child was born and flew right back out here...he has no idea when he is going home either...you think i've got it rough... a soldiers paradise

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058544510918627582003-07-18T20:38:00.000+04:302003-07-18T20:38:30.973+04:30

my girlfriend sends me emails that fail to hide the fact that she is just a little bit tipsy...she had a girls night out and now she is sending me love letters over the internet...it's late at night and her sister is passed out on the floor...and i smile as any good boyfriend would...and i laugh at her misspellings because unlike me...she is an excellent speller...she types to fast when she's

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058462536852492452003-07-17T21:52:00.000+04:302003-07-17T21:56:09.863+04:30

i couldn't do it...not a minute longer...i could not sit there on my cot...and read...or sleep...or eat...or think...or even pretend to sleep...i had to get out and get some kind of insight...some kind of perspective... so now i'm thinking...where can i go...where can i get away from all of this...for just a few minutes...a few stinking minutes to myself...that's all i really need...some of that

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058379678155382652003-07-16T22:51:00.000+04:302003-07-16T22:51:18.236+04:30

so you wanna see into the mind of an american soldier...what's he seeing...what's could he be thinking...i wonder what he's smelling...does he feel like i do...could he be hearing the sounds of war... i see port-a-johns and dirt...which...coincidently is what i smell too... i hear explosions and helicopters...all day...and all night... and i what do i think??? i don't even know any more... on

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058290490955813852003-07-15T22:04:00.000+04:302003-07-15T22:04:50.986+04:30

today was deja vu...we recently had a change of command...so the new commander made his first walk through today...just getting a feel for the troops...putting names to faces...he wanted to look at all of our new shiny equipment... the way briefings usually work is pretty standard...the youngest soldier gives the brief...he practices for a few days...getting down signal flow...and putting names

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058203186731880672003-07-14T21:49:00.000+04:302003-07-14T22:01:42.750+04:30

a friend of mine got the bronze star yesterday...he left with the first wave way back in the day...off through the desert with the tanks...he says they actually went forward of the line...they took their little hmmv's and their little box...which are just like mine...right up the middle of iraq...with a full fledged war raging... they were shot with artillery...they were carpet bombed...mortars

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058112075018987982003-07-13T20:31:00.000+04:302003-07-13T21:40:56.593+04:30

i had heard that there were iraqi barracks on this compound...and some swimming pools...i went looking for both today...i found them...and i took some pictures... the first pool was in doors...it was very majestic...big and curved...the far side had a diving board...and behind it there was 2 story sauna...with windows...wooden...i've never seen anything like it...a sleepy looking female soldier

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1058024596822011172003-07-12T20:13:00.000+04:302003-07-12T21:19:19.180+04:30

brown and root is on the ground...this always boost soldiers spirits...when those guys show up things start getting nice quick...they start putting up buildings and chow halls so quickly...they hire out local nationals to cook and serve food...the chow is already a step up from A-rats...but that really isn't that hard to do...it amazes me how much normal food will excite you...i'm not even

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057934244668524522003-07-11T19:07:00.000+04:302003-07-12T17:37:03.656+04:30

i've speaking with an ex-navy seal who now holds political office (not gov. jesse 'the body' ventura)...we first started our dialog with a barrage of hate mail...he thought i was an ill informed ignoramus and i thought he was a neo con artist...but once we got past that we started debating on the issues at hand with a good deal of level headed discussion... he feels that as a soldier i should

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057861292345301152003-07-10T22:51:00.000+04:302003-07-10T22:51:32.376+04:30

the ants are back...holy shit they piss me off...they're trying to escape the heat...one of the drones discovered the climate controlled comfort of my canvas house...and they went and told all their little mindless buddies...and every ten minutes there is a new line of them...i sweep them away...i slap them with my shower shoes...they fall back...they regroup...they send out a new scout team...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057764730538859502003-07-09T20:02:00.000+04:302003-07-09T20:03:45.740+04:30

i didn't know what it was at first...it was a popping sound...like someone slamming books on top of the table outside...i ignored it for a second and tried to go back to sleep...then someone ran into the tent and grabbed their rifle and dropped it...i sat up...the popping continued...and then it went automatic...it was so close...in a flash i'm out side...no shirt...no shoes..."what the hell's

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057684101522608632003-07-08T21:38:00.000+04:302003-07-08T21:38:21.570+04:30

from my shower point i can hear small arms fire...while i'm showering...with the cold water...TAP TAP...i pause for a second because that was pretty close...yesterday i heard an iraqi car horn...it sounded like it was playing la cucaracha...i had to smile at that... the infantry pukes who volunteer to go out into the city...tell me to just yell over the wall and tell them to stop shooting...i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-105759200953905192003-07-07T20:03:00.000+04:302003-07-08T19:37:09.450+04:30

I saw an old friend today…from the company that I went to kandahar with…I didn’t even know that he was out here…they’ve got him working in the p.x. right now…but before that he was part of a task force whose sole purpose was to provide dial up internet access to the Iraqi people…they don’t have to many routers so they can only grant about a 1000 connections…which isn’t much…but the people are

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057423623599057882003-07-05T21:17:00.000+04:302003-07-05T21:25:12.173+04:30

i spent the good part of the day getting my cheap ass digital camera working...it's all good now...i got some help and i uploaded about 30 pictures of my imaginary deployment to iraq... i had to enlist the help of one of my old friends...we actually went to a.i.t. (army school to learn your job) together 6 years ago...i went to germany and he went to korea...we met up for a while at my new duty

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057335450044504382003-07-04T20:47:00.000+04:302003-07-04T20:50:43.383+04:30

the forth of july...the whole day was filled with 'mandatory fun' as we like to call it in the army...arnold was even supposed to be here...i didn't make it out to see him...i don't like battling lots of people...they started the day with a 5k fun run around the main lake...it was long...longer then i've ran in a while...i tried to keep a good pace...but it was futile...to long for me...it was

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057242909235927932003-07-03T19:05:00.000+04:302003-07-03T19:13:22.723+04:30

i don't get out much...i work 12 hours a day...7 days a week...in a van...down by the river...which happens to be the tigris ..i don't convoy all over baghdad...i'm not chasing down militants...i'm watching from the sidelines...your watching from the t.v....just like monday night football...the game is a lot more real from this angle...i can hear the conversations from the huddle...and i can feel

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057161686463448112003-07-02T20:31:00.000+04:302003-07-02T20:38:45.443+04:30

people are haters...they say i don't exist...well i'll tell you...it is really freaking hot in my imagination right now...they reported that the temperature in my imagination topped out at about 110... people are picking at every little thing i write...sorry...i'm not foxnews...i'm not "fair and balanced"...i'm real and tired... maybe if i posted some real good intel on my situation people

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1057078887629430272003-07-01T21:31:00.000+04:302003-07-01T21:31:27.520+04:30

i woke up freezing...and needing to take a wiz...a horrible combination...but i'm not complaining...being cold is so nice... i get up and do my business...i entertain the idea of getting back in the rack...naw...i need to run...i'm trying to lose that last 10 lbs...so i can go home and amaze my woman...i wanna be super freaky ripped...i'm almost there...2 wars in a year really help in the weight

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056992577977527652003-06-30T21:32:00.000+04:302003-07-02T18:11:11.366+04:30

the war shrunk for me today...drastically...the world did too for that matter... i received an email from a girl in japan...she's been reading this blog and missing her man who is also deployed some where in baghdad...she asked me to look for him in this giant mess of troops...218,000 strong...i said i would do my best...and by my best i would look for his name...craig...good luck... out side

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056903749051968262003-06-29T20:52:00.000+04:302003-07-11T22:10:21.790+04:30

i may be cynical...but i'm still a soldier...i know when to keep my mouth shut...i know when to follow orders...i will not hesitate when given a mission...and i will work until it's completion...but i may look back a question it later...after the fact... that's the glory of america...i don't have to agree...and i don't have to fear...but as a soldier i do have to do...i live with that...and i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056818171213496412003-06-28T21:06:00.000+04:302003-06-28T21:06:11.240+04:30

i went searching for carnage...i was curious...this is iraq...i drove my hmmv around just to see what was out there... i could follow bullet holes...they were in lines where they struck walls...fire fights...on the corner of one building you can see the line of fire of a 50 cal that lit up an iraqi on a roof top...i would have thought that there would have been more blood...i didn't find any...i

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056742838434953002003-06-28T00:10:00.000+04:302003-07-04T19:59:11.563+04:30

i recently finished a memoir called "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" by dave eggers...excellent book...he wrote something that really struck me...he said that there are 3 types of people on earth...the first kind is just oblivious and boring...the second is so self absorbed that they want every one to know about their painful life...they are seeking some kind of positive reinforcement.

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056634987554405452003-06-26T18:13:00.000+04:302003-07-12T18:20:31.940+04:30

i got a big yank back to reality today...i can almost forget where i am sometimes...i get busy...i work out...i take a nap...read a book...watch a boot leg copy of 'the hulk'...and then somebody walks in a drops a bomb shell...a bomb that is big enough to scare me yet i don't think i can talk about it because i haven't seen it posted up on any of the news sites this afternoon... (i finally saw

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056551381702619932003-06-25T18:59:00.000+04:302003-07-09T18:22:33.370+04:30

i took my first day off in 5 months...i think i've earned it...2 nights ago my tent finally put in an a/c...i'm living wild style now...i can actually escape from the 120 degrees of gentle warming warmth... laying in my cot and not sweating...actually feeling cold...is so foreign to me now...for the first time this entire deployment the night actually flew by...i woke up almost immediately upon

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056469074565203992003-06-24T20:07:00.000+04:302003-07-01T19:29:00.440+04:30

the army has sent me so many places...from croatia to san francisco...from italy to guam...from paris to georigia...from germany to iraq...all over the world... and when i look back...or i listen to another soldier reminisce about the times past...the craziness...the fun...the drunken stupors...it amazes me...the sheer amount of friends...true friends i have made through out this enlistment...

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056358481078474162003-06-23T13:24:00.000+04:302003-06-23T13:30:37.033+04:30

daydreaming is a part of this life...with so many hours of down time it is hard not to fantasize about your days back stateside... i slip in a good house c.d....or punch up some trance mp3's...and all of sudden i'm back there...behind my tables...looking out over the crowd...spinning at the house parties...feelin' it... i started spinning records during my first deployment to bosnia...i had

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056288614357761752003-06-22T18:00:00.000+04:302003-07-08T17:57:53.826+04:30

i've read that many soldiers are being repositioned into military police duties to meet the rising demand for law enforcement in baghdad...soldiers with little to no training in that area are being sent out into the city to keep the peace...that's where people are dying... they are driving around for 12 hours a day with the wrong equipment for the job they do not know how to do and are expected

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056209855481091442003-06-21T20:07:00.000+04:302003-07-08T18:07:02.746+04:30

living with these guys...so close...is wearing on me...they are always there...2 feet from me...asking the same questions...looking the same way...doing the same things...i notice little idiosyncrasies that drive me berserk...and i try my best to keep my mouth shut...because i know they are noticing mine...i sleep in a tent with 11 other men...there is no a/c...i have no light at my end...they

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056126233840825052003-06-20T20:53:00.000+04:302003-06-20T21:00:23.853+04:30

there are so many difficulties that come with a deployment to the middle east...a major portion of your life is put on hold for 6 to 9 months and all the areas that could not possibly pause for your war are forced on to the phone lines...this creates so many problems... emotions can't come across with the same amount of intensity...intentions are hidden under dial pads...ideas are delayed by

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5449660.post-1056039780923730882003-06-19T20:53:00.000+04:302003-06-19T20:56:53.210+04:30

i'm not a religious man...so i feel a gentle irony in what is going on around me...there is a world at war and it is over so many things...but the main breaking point lies in a difference of religion...any one can see it...everyone is afraid to talk about it... we, as the american massive hide a sneaking suspicion that all believers in islam are jihad flinging terrorists...while a large

mojahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05367563405818252448noreply@blogger.com