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War.com: every day in Iraq I conduct house-to-house searches, hunt down insurgents, get shot at--and then return to base and blog about it. Here are some of my posts from the front lines.

Article Excerpt
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2005

BACK TO IRAQ

* The rotor wash of the UH-60 Black Hawk tossed dead weeds and sand around us like a warm tornado as we sped to gather ourselves and our gear off the dependable bird. We were greeted by our company XO at the airfield. A stout, bright-eyed first lieutenant with a slight Northeastern accent, he greeted me with a firm handshake: "Welcome to your FOB [forward operating base]. Go ahead and load up your bags, and I'll escort you to your new home." * The second my feet touched the Iraqi earth, I felt as I often did when I'd return home for an overdue visit during college. A comforting feeling of the familiar, only without the reassurance that the visit would be short-lived. * The brief journey ended at the doorstep of an old Iraqi amino bunker. A concrete hangar was fortified by steep mounds of sand and rock, much too small to house 24 grown men. I grounded my gear and immediately reconnoitered our new home. KBR had been busy the last year. Electric outlets, a big-screen television with satellite, air-conditioning units, outhouses, and portable showers. I was happy as a pig in shit. * I eventually began talking to members of the National Guard unit we were to RIP [relieve in place]. Their eyes were heavy with the burdens of combat they never thought they'd have to endure. They were tired, homesick, and ready to wash themselves clean of this place. I could tell the sight of us and our energy disgusted them. Thus far, their battalion had suffered fifteen KIA and over two hundred wounded. Killed by IEDs, indirect mortar and rocket fire, and snipers.

The majority of poop we received from the Guard ran along the lines of how worthless the IA [Iraqi army] company was. They entertained us with stories about how the IA has no reliable support system; their commander steals from the company; they run when they're engaged; they're always late, never want to train, lie, cheat, steal, have no honor, no integrity, and are related to the insurgents. "Our condolences to you guys. It's going to be the longest year of your life."

Music to my ears.

At night I went on top of our bunker and looked at a city lying five hundred meters away in a blackout. The night is incandescent, and a luminous moon casts shadows onto the coarse ground, turning it into a still, gray lake. It's beautiful. Speakers from a dark mosque break the quietness of the evening and fill it with prayer. Right on time. Two neon green lights powered by an independent source light up its tower. We hear they use the lights to orient their rockets and mortars in the direction of the FOB. How ingenious.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2005

HOME OF CIVILIZATION

* Time has flown by. It% hard to believe, with all the frustrations. Because we are a specialty platoon, we are only authorized a certain number of soldiers, which makes us one of the...