I just took my 15th helicopter ride in Iraq.  I wonder when I start qualifying for points and miles? 

All the grunts dig my Dragon Skin body armor by Pinnacle and wish they had Dragon Skin.  It fits well and the fit takes a lot of the load off my shoulders which makes it a lot more comfortable.  The flexibility is also nice when traversing walls and rooftops. 

I leaned up against the humvee and cried in the parking lot of Fallujah Surgical. 

I knew right then I was not cut out for this type of work. 

It was even worse a few weeks later on a rainy night in Baghdad...

Fallujah, Iraq--

I have a new pet-peeve.

Some would say it is not new and that it just reached a tipping point.

The peeve?  Columnists, politicians, pundits, talking heads, talk-show hosts, bloggers and humans in general trying to comment on the situation in Iraq when they are not in Iraq, have never been in Iraq and will never go to Iraq.

The tipping point?

News item:  Green Zone food supply disrupted, spokesman "misses yogurt in the morning and my fresh-cut melon."

Meanwhile at OP Anchorage in Kharma....

"He says he knows who planted the IED," the interpreter said.

Captain Gregory stood there dumbfounded...

In the foyer outside the Tactical Operations Center of JSS Black Lion poster sized Post-it note is on display.

"When historians write about the war in Iraq they will write about the invasion of 2003 and the Surge...."

The media is already here in force...

Mortars are not like on TV.  You barely hear them coming and you do not have time to run.

"In fact, there is a civil war in progress in Iraq, one comparable in important respects to other civil wars that have occurred in postcolonial states with weak institutions.  Those cases suggest that the Bush administration's political objective in Iraq--creating a stable, peaceful, somewhat democratic regime that can survive the departure of U.S. troops--is unrealistic."  Professor James D. Fearon, writing in the March/April edition of Foreign Affairs.

There is one problem with Professor Fearon's thesis--the facts on the ground that I am seeing right now and that he has not seen in person or not seen recently.

In the small Kansas town of Delphos, a Memorial Service is celebrated that mirrors thousands of others across the United States.

Soldier's Angels Kansas City chapter's Kathleen Henry posted this on You Tube.

Take her advice and Thank a Vet.