Another Sunday...

Another mission come and gone. I'm thankfully intact, as are all my friends. I've been back for a few days, but honestly with the lack of sleep I've been getting I've been less than inclined to write.

It's Sunday, and the Diyala farmland has been slashed by rain these last few days. The cold has abated somewhat, and there's a sweet, warm breeze coming in from the North. I got up early today--about 0700--and so for now, I'm sitting in the local Internet cafe, enjoying the quiet and talking to an old friend from college over Instant Messenger. I really wish I had something more profound to say at the moment, but unfortunately with the Internet service down at my room, I have less time to commit every single thought I have onto digits. Too many ideas lately have been left to die of exposure overnight.

Our last mission took us out to Baquba, where we were sent to link up with a local armored cavalry element. I rode in the platoon sergeant's Humvee, with SFC Jameson, Spcs. Colton and Gonzales, and the Hopi, Pfc. Ahote, manning the .50 cal. Let me say first off, that I hate riding in Hummvees. They're cramped, prone to rollovers--especially when the new up-armor kits--and even with the armor, still considerably more vulnerable to IEDs than a good 5-ton or HEMMTT. That being said, the convoy out wasn't bad. I spent the trip pounding cans of Red Bull to stay awake, and bullshitting over private channel with the rest of my squad. We love private channel, because it allows us to hear each other over the din of the vehicle, while still scanning the main channel for official chatter.

We ended up getting lost as hell out at Camp Warhorse, unable to find our rendezvous point for our security element. By the way, Warhorse is a dump, from what I could see. The only good thing I've heard about the place is their DFAC. It took us an hour and a half to find our Cav guys, and before long we were rolling back out the wire again, this time with Bradleys and Abrams' speeding ahead of us on either side of the road. We got to our mission site a half an hour later, so between all the little hiccups and missed turns, what should have been an hour convoy took more like four hours.

The mission went well enough, though of course I can't say here exactly what we did. I can say what I did, though--I got covered in mud and sweat, and worked literally until sunrise. At one point, while securing a bridge we had to traverse, I nearly lost my weapon down a gap in the cratered median. I was climbing under a "overbridge" at the time, and in the process was required to unsling my rifle so I could lowcrawl underneath. The primary bridge atop which the temporary structure sits was damaged by a rocket at some point, and the whole thing straddles a quarter-mile-wide gorge that drops down over sixty feet to the river. I tripped on a chunk of concrete, and to my horror my weapon went tumbling down into the abyss. I thought my life was over at first, but upon shining my flashlight into the crack, I discovered a spool of razor wire had fallen partway into the opening, thus snagging my weapon by the sling and leaving it to dangle some fifty feet over a watery grave. I can't begin to describe the relief I felt at that moment. I'd be a buck private right now, if not for that length of concertina.

Thankfully, that was as eventful as things got. A few bursts of gunfire erupted over where our Cav boys where at, but nothing really came our way. We turned back around for home just before sunrise; a tense thing, because daylight in this area is the most deadly time for U.S. troops to be operating. That said, it was nice to drive through the winding dirt roads of rural Iraq just as her people were waking up for the day. Aside from the palm trees, I was amazed just how much the area reminded me vaguely of home. Like Filion, only with mosques instead of churches.

We got back on Thursday morning at around 0830, and after refueling, equipment turn-in, and
restaging of vehicles, we were finally released at almost noon. We downloaded the last of our gear, and while most went straight to bed, I headed for the nearest phone immediately. I always call Anne as soon as I come off a mission. This time, I called her at work, in a staff meeting. We didn't talk long, for this very reason, but it was nice to hear her voice again, and be able to assure her that I was safe.

By 1230, I was back at my trailer, moving quietly to avoid disturbing Brooks as he slept. Itried to lay in bed and read for a few, but before I knew it, sleep was pulling at me, and as far as I can tell I passed out, Camus in hand, still in dusty uniform. I don't think I even took off my boots.

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I dreamed I fell through a crack in the earth;

Where below me waited an endless void glittering

With alien stars. The light from my world

Faded to a pinprick as I fell. I rolled

Onto my stomach to face

The dead space between galaxies,

And as I spread my arms, I felt,

For a rare moment, at peace.

My mind blew out like a candle.