I'm finally settled in with a room. It's nice to stop living out of a bag after everything I "need" fitting into a few duffel bags for the last three months. My room:
Our team room and our rooms are located in what used to be a hospital on FOB Rustamiyah in southeastern Baghdad. It's dusty, debilitated and more than a little smelly. But, hey, it's relatively safe and, other than helicopters landing outside my balcony at all hours, it's not bad.Our missions are conducted mainly in a part of Baghdad called Tisa Nisan. The people that live here are a mix of Shi'a, Sunni and Christian. There is very little in the way of sectarian violence that you probably hear about on TV. The truth is, the surge worked, and the bad guys are on their heels. Attacks are down across the board. Metrics that measure quality of life tend to be up overall. There are still bad places... and bad people that need to be killed. But it's a much different Iraq than the one I left.
When we go out, I keep my camera handy and I love taking pictures of kids and dogs.
Make no mistake, Baghdad is on the mend. Attacks, when they happen, tend to happen in more affluent neighborhoods. In fact, the attack that took place yesterday was in Karadah and that may well be the nicest part of Baghdad. The bad guys are in despair and the only real tactic they have left is to try and dissuade the people in charge from working with Americans and the rest of the international community.Yesterday, we passed the Baghdad Iraqi Theater Company:
They are open for business and doing theater from Iraqis and foreign shows as well.Everywhere I go, I see the problems inherent in a country that is getting back on its feet. There are police everywhere. In fact, the biggest difference between this tour and 2004 is that I hear sirens all the time. Police, fire trucks and ambulances... it's really amazing.
I should be able to post more now that I've got a semi-reliable internet connection and my team is starting to find it's battle rhythm.
2 comments:
What's this I see? Sheets? A microwave? A FRIDGE? If you had wanted this kind of luxury you could have joined the Navy. Well, there is that vomiting over the rail thing but you get used to it after a couple of weeks. It looks like a good room though. Throw in a Roomba to do the floors and a Filipino to shine your shoes and polish your "I floss" medals and you could be in the Air Force.
Yet, there is no Duke flag. Tell me it's on the wall at the foot of your bed so you can see it every night as you drift off into peaceful slumber. Tell me you don't have a Duke flag and I'll pay for one if Sheree will get it to you.
Good pictures too. Any more about what you do during the day would be great. Hang in there. We love you.
Yeah, yeah... I live in the lap of luxury. That is assuming you can ignore the thin film of dust that settles on everything.
And, check out my most recent post for Duke related items.
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