Nearing the ½ way point, well that is just what we tell ourselves to make it easier. Actually we are only 11 weeks, 4 days, 22 hours and 44minutes into a 29 week tour, leading the blind and screaming at the deaf. Just kidding, the time really has flown by and we are making same small steps with the Iraqi Police (IP) and huge leaps for the Iraqi man kind. It is weird to think how the days of the week are remembered only by events that are seemingly small but find their way into consuming your whole thought and presence. . .and then boom there you are another week has gone by. The days are long but the weeks fly by. When I think that it is already October, it feels like we will be home tomorrow but when I think of the times spent in extremes, i.e. Aggression, happy, tired, confused, alert, lost, confident, sick, proud, accomplishment, I suddenly realize how long we have actually been here. You see, we (Transition Teams) come over here and get to see the reaction and improvement of the people we are helping to reform, (95% of the people that come over here never even see or meet an Iraqi). Tonight I had a conversation with two Iraqi officers that had fought in their army, in 2003, watching the wave of destruction and the ' men in bionic suits with their armor, tanks, jets, night vision goggles etc' roll over their homes, families, traditions, and way of life. It is amazing to see that we can sit and have chi (Iraqi tea) together only 3 years after they have been driven to nothing. The even more amazing part is that they want more than anything to be able to live in 'Amaryca' which they know nothing of but what they see on T.V. and from the men and women that have been over here. This is what they dream about. Just helps to put things in perspective when you are trying to find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning.
The team is keeping things together while we are going through a refitting stage in our deployment. Reassessing the job and duties at hand while still fulfilling all daily requirements. Again I would like to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers, I do believe our path has been relatively smooth because of all the positive thought that are coming our way. I hope all are well as fall comes into season, talk to you soon
Luke
Well here we are at the beginning of the major Musilum holiday and let the games begin. For those of you who do not know what this holiday is, join the club... just kinding but seriously i have gotten so used to being weirded out that weird has become the new normal. Most of your are probably thinking that is funny coming from me but the Iraqi people see things in a very different light. Ramadan is a time lasting about 28 days (the moon's cycle, and yes they still use the moon, not science, a lot of people still live out in the desert and don't know what science is) where they fast from sun up to sun down. Fasting is not just food, it is smoking, drinking, playing, bedroom play and many other things like work, which makes it hard to Advise, Teach and Mentor people when nobody wants to work. Each sunset is a small party for being able to make it through the day without eating, which still baffles me because everybody sleeps all day and stays up all night, i guess that is a reason to party. Sounds more like college to me, but to each is their own. Anyway enough bagging on the beautiful people of Rawah, for now, just a quick up date on Ramadan from my eyes, if you really want to know what it's about ask google, we have mike and ari, our terps.
We are living on the COP (combat out post) now and life is fairly good for being in Iraq. The huts we live in are all wood and do very little for keeping the moon dust (a form of sand/dirt /get in EVERY last thing you own kind of powdery mist) and I for one am having a hard time getting used to it. Other, 'not so cleanly' members of the team seem to be doing just fine and are making the best of the situation. Mike and Ari are at home in this evironment and they help teach us new ways of living. We commute to work now, it is like getting all the family together and going to the beach, river, lake etc. with all of the rafts, towels, food, drinks etc., only it is a different kind of gear. It is only 10 minutes away but for some reason it takes it out of you. We have only been doing it for a week and we are getting better at it. The should be 10 minutes drive only take 30 minutes now. The other great part of being on base is we get to be treated like the red headed step children (air wingers) by the base CO, but thats just part of the game. We do get to do some cool stuff, like train with the navy seals on their shooting range. They also let us barrow a truck becuase we live out by ourselves (about 1/2 a mile away), in exchange we get them things from town, like food and other things they might want. That is one major perk of working with the IPs (iraqi police) we can get things for the people on base that never leave, that definitely helps us bargin for comforts on base.
All in all we are doing good and we continue to get better at our jobs everyday. I make it sound horrible, and it is but honestly on the scale of hard when you look around the world or sometime just accross the room at the lives that others have had to endure, life's not all that bad, at least we get to leave. Sometimes it feels like I push these guys too hard for the little things but these guys are hanging in there (any crying comes your way, from this end, let me know and i'll take care of it, just kidding). Thank you to everyone that continues to send thoughts and prays our way we truly appreciate everything you are doing for us. We will stay in touch. i heard a good one the other day
"I am only one, but am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!" Everett Hale"
Semper Fi
Luke