DAY 50 52/ JAN19
Is it really 50 days since I left home? It only seems like last year! Or maybe some year before that. Anyway, its been too long and every day is one more day too long. But, every day is better than the last, and we've been over that before.
Hmmm, but after a quick count, a reconciliation if you will, I think that we really have been here a total of 52 days, not 50. Here's the math…. 2 days of November 2005, 31 days of December 2005 plus 19 days of January 2006 = 52 days. Look at that, I just got two more days!
Another quiet day on the FOB. We have a detail practicing for the memorial coming up soon. Back home, they would be using blanks for the 21 gun salute (really 7 guns x 3 volleys = 21), but there are no blanks in the Iraq theater – only live rounds. So, now the issue is, do we fire live rounds for a 21 gun salute here? If so, that's a lot of clearance that need to be made for where the rounds might land. Also, we'd need to practice with live rounds too because it changes the way the rifle functions. With blanks, its easy because they do not have enough powder to cycle the rifle completely without a blank adapter. So, the Soldiers have to go through the whole charging handle issue when they fire the blanks. With the live rounds, they will cycle just fine – that changes the whole system of the 21 gun salute. Interesting. I wonder how the other units have dealt with this – I've never heard of the issue before.
Arg, some things just don't come together sometimes. I recently had to send a patrol up north of here to fix a satellite system. When we got there, we found out that the part we took was not enough – more was broke. So, we got that part together from somewhere (flown in here), and then drove it up (3 hours one way over dangerous roads). Now it turns out that even more is wrong with the system and MORE parts are being flown in here to be driven up there (which brings me to wonder why they can't just FLY them up there in the first place). So, here I am, all ready to send yet another convoy of signal Soldiers on the road in a hurry to fix a piece of equipment that isn't really even ours (although we are somehow expected to fix it). And then I find out that my convoy that went out today, is stuck halfway between here and there because of a blown head gasket on one of our trucks. Thankfully they are on a FOB and safe. They will be towed back here as soon as possible. But, now I can't send out a patrol any time soon because I'm out of vehicles to do it with. Ahhh, does the fun never end?
But, you know, still no attack and I don't worry about going outside and hearing the whistle. Don't get me wrong, I still keep an eye out for where I can jump if shit starts to fall, but I don't get a nervous feeling walking around outside.
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