Duckbuddy and the Jersey Express.

It's been a long time since I've updated this thing. But now I have something to write about again.

I was moved to a new unit and we're headed to Iraq this fall. Because of that I'm spending retahded amounts of time out in the field and at ranges.

This new unit also has a whole new cast of characters for you all to meet. Unfortunately because of the whole OPSEC thing I can't be as specific as I was last time, especially regarding people's names.

I'll introduce the characters of this comedy as they come along so we'll start with just a few tonight.

First of all - you all know me and this time I'm the gunner on "The Jersey Express." I absolutely despise the name, but my driver and TC are both from Jersey and one of the Philly guys in my unit started referring to our truck as that, and it stuck.

Duckbuddy - A Private from Montana. He was in the marching band back in the day and his band buddies called him Duck. And his Mom called him Buddy. So we call him Duckbuddy. And he hates it. He's notorious for falling asleep.

The Don - He's my TC. Has an unnatural love for the State of New Jersey and the Sopranos. Has a pirate tattoo, he thinks it's massive, it's not. If you've ever read The Game then you've read about this guy. He loves the book and practices it. He's good at his job and that's what matters the most.

Barney - My driver. He's getting ready for his second trip over with me and the kid can drive. He can't miss potholes for the life of him though. I swear I'll get a concussion. With the exception of holes in the road the kid knows what's up behind the wheel. He doesn't get stuck and he sees the road the way I see it.

This time we're headed to Mosul supposedly. Read the book My War by Colby Buzzell to get a feel for what it's going to be like there. I have no idea what to expect...

...oh wait, lots of stupidity and a dash of excitement.

 

New tattoos don't hurt. Taking off GIANT bandages hurt. Way more than the needle.

 

So I've been kinda busy living a relatively normal life.


My shoulder has healed completely. My unit is home from Iraq and I'm apparently getting ready to go back. Woo.

Married Man.

So I'm finally home. And married.

It's 6:51 AM and I have been at work for the last 12 hours. Oh yeah, and it's Sunday morning, and the guy who was supposed to show up and relieve me....well he didn't. And he won't answer his phone. Nor will anyone ELSE in the freaking unit.

We finally got wedding pictures put up! Jessica Bennett was the photographer and she did an amazing job. To get a good look at them all click on the picture above, or go to her website: http://www.jessicabennettphotography.blogspot.com

Update From Caleb's Mom

Just wanted to fill everyone in on Caleb's situation in Iraq. A week and a half ago, Caleb fell while climbing out of the guard tower. He landed on his shoulder and knocked it out of socket. The problem is, the shoulder kept falling out of socket, so they transported him to FOB FALCON, the big base where he used to live in Baghdad and he saw a doctor. They did an x-ray and exam and relieved him from combat duty (it was his shooting arm) and really believe he needs surgery for ligament damage. He spent several days in Baghdad and is now in Balad, Iraq at a hospital waiting transport to the country of Qatar for an MRI. He is not in pain (unless the shoulder pops out), and he is just enjoying the rest and trying to keep the shoulder stabilized . The doctors in Baghdad told him one of three things will probably happen, if there is ligament damage which they suspect: 1,, they will tape him up and send him back to Baghdad for non-combat duties,(and perform surgery when his tour is over), 2., they will send him to Germany for surgery and rehab, or 3., they will send him back to the US for surgery and rehab.

We are praying for the Lord's will, but would love for him to come back to the states!! Whatever the scenario, it looks as if his combat days are over for this tour and we are grateful for that!!

I asked him if he would receive a purple heart for falling out of the guard tower and he said "only if someone were shooting at me!!" We might as well keep laughing and at least be grateful for this little respite he is having, even if he has to return to Baghdad!!

We'll keep you posted!!

Hot Like Fire.

It's hot yo. Like for real.

Just a little sitrep:

The other night I fell down a ladder and dislocated my shoulder. They took me to a FOB where I got X-rays and the doc told me that my shoulder injury is serious, he just doesn't know what it is.

As of now I'm waiting for paperwork to get pushed through so I can get flown to Qatar to get an MRI.

I'll update as I learn more.

BBQ

Today was the best day in Iraq ever. I haven't been this happy since I got here, and I'll stay happy for another day or so (that's a long long time over here) all because of my lunch.

We had a mission this morning that lasted for a couple hours and on the way back we stopped at another patrol base. On this patrol base they just happened to be having a barbeque.

Let me stop here and explain something - I love barbeque. A lot. It's my favorite food, and it never ever gets old to me. For my first meal on leave everyone knew I wanted to go to O'Boy's BBQ, but that's a whole other story, and when I get home from this place my first meal will be BBQ of some kind. BBQ and sweet tea are pretty much my life force.

So we're all sitting in the trucks waiting at the PB when it comes over the net, "Hey if you guys want some, they got ribs out here." I immediately ripped off my headset and started to extricate from the turret of the MRAP. I took off running towards where the ribs were and lo and behold, the United States Air Force is good for something...those dudes can cook. I will never speak bad of them again, cause they gave me ribs.

So I grabbed a plate of ribs and went back to the truck to eat. I was a little hesitant at first just because food here looks good, then tastes like raw sewage, and if someone had committed such an atrocity with God's greatest gift to the South it'd been WWIII in the place. After staring at the glistening meat piled on the plate in front of me and savoring the scent of awesome I decided that the Air Force couldn't be so cruel as to make ribs that sucked. So I took a bite. It tasted like America! It was like the Air Force had just started Shock and Awe all over again - this time on my taste buds. It was so good. I inhaled those things. They were the best ribs I have ever had, absolutely perfect.

After I was done I just sat there and savored the sweet victory I had just enjoyed over my hunger and the monotony of food in Iraq. While I was sitting there I noticed that my hands still smelled like BBQ. Which was awesome, but what was better was that I could smell Carlisle too.

See Carlisle sent me a bandana in the mail and it smelled like her, and I've kept that thing sealed in a ziploc just so I could smell home every once in a while. Well today we had a pretty gnarly sandstorm so I decided to wear the bandana around my face (bandit style) to protect my lungs and all. Well mix the smell of BBQ, Carlisle, and the fact that it wasn't too hot today - I almost felt like I was home for a few minutes. It was amazing.

Thank you Jesus for BBQ.