Kids make the heart soft

We went shopping again for more supplies that they need here. This time we went in uniform. The kids came up to me all the time and ask if I was American and if I was from Texas. Alot of kids stared from far off, I would wink and smile at them and watch there face light up.

I befriended a 12 year old boy, Shahib, and he kinda followed us around the market. Found out he has no father. Really made me feel small. He ask about sports the kids played and he said he liked soccer. We were down there 3 or 4 hours and he kinda grew on me. He was in rags. Most of the other kids were dressed well but you could tell he didn't have much. When we were leaving I gave him $10 , a day and a half wages here, and told him to go by a soccerball and give the rest to his mother. Thought he was going to cry, as we pulled away I was tearing up.

Earlier in the day, alittle boy maybe 7-8 tugged on my shirt sleeve. He was very well dressed. He kept putting his fist over his heart and pointing to me. A shop keeper who knew him said he was deaf and mute. That was okay I understood him perfectly. If I didn't know what we are doing was right I did then.

Joking around in ErBil

So early on the morning of the 24th of Jan. I left Camp Freedom in northern Mosul for ErBil which is in Iraqi Kurdistan. PSD team was armed to the teeth. I saw at least 3 AK-74, the gun truck had a 50 cal, and every one of the team had atleast 2 personal rifles. Oh yeah, It was pissing down rain and really cold.


After all that build up, nothing happened on the trip.

Kurdistan is completely different from the rest of Iraq, they are actually glad to see us here. We can go out on the streets. There needed to be supplies bought for the little local Corp of Engineers office we have here in ErBil, so we took a trip into town. The resident engineer, the Major I am traveling with, our young female Iraqi intrepreter, and myself.

One of the things we had to get was a propane cook stove, which we found. The stores in town are laid out like a bazaar. Appliance stores one one street, computer stores on another, and cell phone stores on another, you get the idea.

Anyway, the propane stove needed an adapter to run off the small propane tanks they deliver here. We called it a head and we had to pay $5 extra for it. You can see where I am going with this. Major made a wise crack that for as much we paid for the stove we should have got head for free. The engineer said only in Iraq could you get head for $5.

Granted in the U.S.A. this joke would have been dead after that point. Enter our young female translator, hope was taking the term head literally. She would chime in that she thought in was a good price for a head, or if we shopped around we could of gotten a better price for a head. I was in stitches. She must of wondered what we were laughing about.

Also ate at a kurdish resteraunt, dont know what it was exactly. Was a lot of it and it tasted great.

God Bless,

Later,

Frank

A few sites I have seen

The mountains outside of Ft. Bliss, Tx.

Me in an old Kuwaiti Trainer



One of the palaces we lit up.




Sadam's parade ground

Good Morning Baghdad

Well I've been in Bagdad for going on 4 Days.

I started on in Ft. Bliss for a week of shots, physicals, and briefings.

A bunch of us left(15) left there at 2 PM on Friday the 14th of Jan. We arrived in Kuwait at 2 AM Sunday, later that afternoon we went on to Baghdad airport where I was finally able to get a bed and sleep some.

The next day Monday another guy and I moved to the Green Zone. But before we could leave a motar attack came in. We heard the whistle, but before it registered what it was it impacted about a klick away (1/2 mile) with a loud explosion. No one was hurt they over shot and it landed in an unused portion of the base. It was at noon and I think they were hoping for a lucky shot on a chow hall. Was enough to make my butt pucker!!!!!!

The trip from BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) was wild. It is follows a route the Military call Irish, the most dangerous 14 km of highway in the world. We traveled with a civilian PSD team (Personal Security Detachment) of 3 armoed SUV vehicles armed to the teeth.

The Iraqis still use it and at times is got very dicey. If this was the Old Disney land it would be a lot of E tickets. Speeds reach at times up to 90 mph with a lot of evasive driving thrown in.

Yesterday, there were three car bombs set off outside the Green or Internation Zone. Sure you all saw it on TV or Google News. They were any where form a mile to 3 miles from where I was working. Very loud heard in doors and all the windows rattled. one as outside the Australian Embassy and another at an Iraqi Police Station of some type. You also here alot of small arms fire around here, you here a few last from AKs then a whole crap load of ours. They might fire 10 seconds buts we follow and light them up for 3-4 minutes.

Sometime later I will be moving up to Mosul then back south to finally end up in Tikrit. One of the many hot beds around here.

Will right more then.
God Bless

Wolfie