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The Story of an American Soldier in Iraq
Life as a soldier in Baghdad, Iraq is definitely interesting and full of life changing experiences, like... being shot at and blown up! Yee haw, what fun eh?
Actually, it has its ups and downs, and as a journalist in the US Army (assigned to CJTF-7 Public Affairs) I've had the chance to see many things that others have only heard of through the news themselves - I hope you'll enjoy them too, through my eyes. ; )
Monday, July 28, 2003
Well, Saturday was enjoyable, until it was almost over...
I had the day off from work (my one day a week) and slept in until almost noon. Then one of my infantry friends, Shane, from downstairs came up and we watched a few movies - about half of "Daddy Daycare" before the skipping (pirated disks remember...) drove us insane, then "Daredevil". I was always into comics as a kid, but never really Daredevil - I had no idea he was supposed to be blind, and I thought that part was pretty cool. I got a chance to talk to Shane a bit more too, he's a great guy and really interesting but seems a little shy - no, that's the wrong term... reserved? Quiet. Maybe nervous? I dunno, guess it's possible. Great company though!
My friend Litten stopped by for a quick 'hello' too - I enjoy his company a lot too. He's really upbeat and laid-back at the same time. He makes me laugh too - who else might I meet out here who's more concerned with ruining his tan than getting shot? Ha ha. It's a nice change. I let him sneak in to use the bath tub - it's a rare treat to find a bath tub anywhere in the Army, let alone in the "field", and highly prized.
Anyhoo, my day was going pretty well - nice and relaxing, just a "veg" day. Then in the evening I wasn't tired (after sleeping 'til noon it's no great surprise...) but I didn't want to keep my roommate awake so I headed up to the club (the hotel opened a small one). A bunch of friends were up there and somehow they talked me into dancing (I'm a horrible clutz so I usually avoid dance floors...) and I didn't get to sit down very often after that! When you're the only girl with a dozen guys who all want to dance, but are afraid of looking like 'dorks' alone out there, you end up dancing with everybody. After a while we were kind of in groups because nobody wanted to just sit out. It was a lot of fun - they all treated me like a queen and made me feel really good about myself : ) They ALMOST have me convinced I can dance - hee hee.
We were all having a blast until it was time to go, when we discovered that someone had raided our table, which was interesting considering there was someone there almost every minute (everybody got up during the last few songs of the night). Someone had stole a folder of CD's one of the guys brought and my WALLET!!! Now, having your wallet taken is never "fun", but in a war zone it's DISASTER. Everything that proves I'm an American soldier was in there - without it I could (theoretically) get stuck out in the middle of Baghdad with no support! It had my Army ID, my ORHA pass badge and my SECURITY CLEARANCE too!!! I TOTALLY freaked out. The guys were total sweeties - they turned the place upside down - literally crawling under all the tables looking. They searched every bag in the group (just in case someone mistakingly grabbes it) and asked all over the hotel. We didn't find it, but we looked EVERYWHERE. They even looked in the trashcans on the way out, in case someone just grabbed my cash and dropped the rest. So, I went to bed without finding it :( It took me forever to get to sleep because I was worried.
Luckily, Sunday afternoon my "boys" found it! Apparently, someone finally turned it into the gate where they work and they made a beeline for my office to give it back. I gotta say - I just love these guys! I definetly have to arrange another movie or something to say "thanks". Of course, they DID make me promise to keep coming with them to the club ;) What a 'chore' eh?
Well - time (actually, well PAST time) to go home.... I'll write again soon.
Love,
Becky.
I had the day off from work (my one day a week) and slept in until almost noon. Then one of my infantry friends, Shane, from downstairs came up and we watched a few movies - about half of "Daddy Daycare" before the skipping (pirated disks remember...) drove us insane, then "Daredevil". I was always into comics as a kid, but never really Daredevil - I had no idea he was supposed to be blind, and I thought that part was pretty cool. I got a chance to talk to Shane a bit more too, he's a great guy and really interesting but seems a little shy - no, that's the wrong term... reserved? Quiet. Maybe nervous? I dunno, guess it's possible. Great company though!
My friend Litten stopped by for a quick 'hello' too - I enjoy his company a lot too. He's really upbeat and laid-back at the same time. He makes me laugh too - who else might I meet out here who's more concerned with ruining his tan than getting shot? Ha ha. It's a nice change. I let him sneak in to use the bath tub - it's a rare treat to find a bath tub anywhere in the Army, let alone in the "field", and highly prized.
Anyhoo, my day was going pretty well - nice and relaxing, just a "veg" day. Then in the evening I wasn't tired (after sleeping 'til noon it's no great surprise...) but I didn't want to keep my roommate awake so I headed up to the club (the hotel opened a small one). A bunch of friends were up there and somehow they talked me into dancing (I'm a horrible clutz so I usually avoid dance floors...) and I didn't get to sit down very often after that! When you're the only girl with a dozen guys who all want to dance, but are afraid of looking like 'dorks' alone out there, you end up dancing with everybody. After a while we were kind of in groups because nobody wanted to just sit out. It was a lot of fun - they all treated me like a queen and made me feel really good about myself : ) They ALMOST have me convinced I can dance - hee hee.
We were all having a blast until it was time to go, when we discovered that someone had raided our table, which was interesting considering there was someone there almost every minute (everybody got up during the last few songs of the night). Someone had stole a folder of CD's one of the guys brought and my WALLET!!! Now, having your wallet taken is never "fun", but in a war zone it's DISASTER. Everything that proves I'm an American soldier was in there - without it I could (theoretically) get stuck out in the middle of Baghdad with no support! It had my Army ID, my ORHA pass badge and my SECURITY CLEARANCE too!!! I TOTALLY freaked out. The guys were total sweeties - they turned the place upside down - literally crawling under all the tables looking. They searched every bag in the group (just in case someone mistakingly grabbes it) and asked all over the hotel. We didn't find it, but we looked EVERYWHERE. They even looked in the trashcans on the way out, in case someone just grabbed my cash and dropped the rest. So, I went to bed without finding it :( It took me forever to get to sleep because I was worried.
Luckily, Sunday afternoon my "boys" found it! Apparently, someone finally turned it into the gate where they work and they made a beeline for my office to give it back. I gotta say - I just love these guys! I definetly have to arrange another movie or something to say "thanks". Of course, they DID make me promise to keep coming with them to the club ;) What a 'chore' eh?
Well - time (actually, well PAST time) to go home.... I'll write again soon.
Love,
Becky.
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