More changes

Life gets very boring over here, and before you know it (and against your better judgment) you hope for more exciting and dangerous missions. When I first arrived in Iraq my stomach was full of butterflies every time we left the wire. Now I have to try my damnedest just to stay awake. It’s reached the absurd point now that we actually hope that someone will be foolish enough to take a shot at us. We’re still scared witless of roadside bombs, but the thought of a nice little Sunday morning fire-fight is what some soldiers pray for before they go to sleep. The missions that I most enjoy are also the missions that I most fear. Walking through the middle of villages in which a large number of insurgents operate is quite an adrenaline rush. I realize that it doesn’t make much sense and that the hair on our mother’s heads is growing greyer as they read this, but what can I say? Maybe we just need a few new hobbies. It isn’t that we’re violent monsters. It isn’t that we look forward to hurting someone or having our lives cut tragically short. I think it’s a combination of things. We spent a mind numbing amount of time training for a worst case that we have yet to face. Frankly, we’re bored out of our ever-loving minds. Also, and this is a large part of it, we’re tired of hearing that our fellow soldiers have been killed or mutilated. I don’t wish to lash out at innocents, but you can bet your sweet ass that I’d like to make an insurgent or two pay the price for what they have done. As I’ve stated before, this is not an open battle field where two armies stand across a field in perfect formation and trade shots. Often, an insurgent is not even around to see the bomb he planted that results in the death of a U.S. soldier. The situation breeds frustration and a feeling of helplessness. I hate to seem heartless and I hope very much that being here has not stoked my sense of inhumanity. But that said I wouldn’t trade the life of one U.S. soldier for that of 10,000 insurgents... in my opinion, the fewer existing on this earth to cause death and misery the better.

But as it turns out, our wish for more work, for better or worse, has been granted. Though we thought our last month in Iraq was going to be a cake walk, that isn’t going to be the case. Our mission, and the area we are responsible for, has changed. We are now tasked with patrolling a much greater area which includes several villages and important routes. Over the course of the year many of us have hoped for additional responsibility; now it has been given to us. The good news is that the transition will most certainly be a smooth one. We have been here for several months now and know the job well. The only thing changing is where we carry out that job. Personally, I’m looking forward to the change. We are not going to be in Iraq for much longer and this gives us a chance to see more of the country and to stretch our legs a little.