More from Iraq

Well, I have been gone for whats seems like quite some time now, but it hasn't even been two full months. However, today does mark our 4 month anniversary! We have only been together for half of the time that we have been married. I still get to talk to Rebecca quite often which makes the separation a little easier. We have finally gotten into our battle rythm and I am happy to say that it isn't bad at all. I work from about 0800 until 2200 or 2300 depending on the day. I usually go out on missions about 4 or 5 times per week. Going out makes the days go by a lot faster. Usually my missions include city council meetings, meetings with the mayor, and micro grant assessments. Sometimes I will just tag along on a regular patrol if they are going to a neighborhood that I need to go to.

This is me out on a patrol looking for a weapons cache based on a tip we got from a local farmer

This is me with one of my many Iraqi friends

Nothing too exciting has happened and I am just fine with it staying that way. I am still living in a room with about 12 other guys. I heard that we should be spreading out once some of the empty rooms are hooked up with electricity which is supposed to be happening sometime this week. The food is still pretty poor. They have all the junk food you can eat but really lack in the healthy choices. Don't worry about me starving though, with all the food that Jim and Jony and my parents are sending me, I will be just fine. Sorry this blog is so boring, but nothing much has really happened. I have some big projects coming up that require a lot of work that are keeping me busy. I usually get done with what I plan on accomplishing each day around 1700 and then I have dinner and wait for my CO (commanding officer) to get back from his nightly meetings and then there are always new, last minute taskings that keep me busy until close to midnight. After that, I usually try to make it to the phones or the internet to talk to Rebecca. Other than that, life is pretty regular. I will try to continually update this as things happen. I miss you all and I can't wait to see everyone (especially you, Rebecca).