Guard Duty and Another Week Down

Well last night was another fun night in cozy confines of Camp Anaconda. If you all slept better last night its because I was on guard duty making sure that the farmers, and the kids and the cows did not get too close to the LSA. Damn it...I would have shot them on the spot if I ever thought that they were a threat. The cows over here are a little skinny. So if I see I fat one...I will know its because the enemy has thought of an ingenous way to kill us. Beware of the new killing machine...the IEC.....IMPROVISED EXPLODING COWS!!!...They strap a few hundred pounds of explosives on those poor creatures and they walk up to us...awwww we say...look at the fat cows...so peaceful...so cute....I want to pet the funny cow......and then BLAMMMMMMMMMM!...Flying meat everywhere...and we never saw it coming. Let's hope that this information does not fall into the wrong hands....like terrorists or even worse...PETA...that would be ugly. But I digress. Today was my recovery day from guard duty and it has been a pretty good one. Nothing like the Sundays I mentioned in last week's post, but alright for Iraq. I got two new packages from home...My friend Cathy T (who is taking such great care of Elvis)..sent us a big box of treats and a little something for Licia...I got bags and bags of jelly beans...and plastic eggs with candy in them...thank you so much Cath!...I also got a great package from Barb and Vin (they are the ones that gave me the St. Christopher necklace...which I wear every day.) I got an Elvis Gospel CD and a couple of movies, including the classic Gone With the Wind. Thanks Barb and Vin! This week we spent alot of time on planning for our redeployment. I do not have an exact date, but it will be sometime in mid-summer. Noone really wants to tell any of their family and friends definite dates (which would violate OPSEC) because they do not want them to be disappointed if we get extended. I am not sure what the future will hold for me when I get back but I am looking at many options at this point. I am enjoying the military life...but I miss my love and all my buds and all the theater. So I will have some thinking to do before I commit one way or another to anything. The war itself is raging again. The new Baghdad security plan, which seemed to reduce some of the killings in the Capital initially, has been tested again after a bloody week of bombings, kidnappings, and sectarian killings. The President, ect., continues to say that the "Surge" is working and needs more time. Meanwhile, back home....the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Its been a rough week. But it is another week off the calendar for me. Talk to you soon.