AT09-Day 7

The FOB

Okay, I've changed how I post-by email rather than MMS picture mail-and it definitely seems to be looking better, as well as not having the sending problems the previous method did. Leave a comment if anything still looks wonky.

I saw a UFO today! It was weird. Driving out to the FOB (pronounced 'fob') this morning, I saw a light in the sky. At first it was fairly small, but then it brightened into a globe. High and far away, so it looked pretty small, but still very noticeable. Then it dwindled a little and just vanished. It was almost certainly sunlight glinting off a small plane or perhaps even a weather balloon (do they still use those?), but the way it was just gone was freaky. I don't know what it was, so it's definitely an Unidentified Flying Object to me.

Today was not a lot different from yesterday. We didn't get to do the car bomb yesterday, nor did we today. It's just as well; combat (well, simulated combat) is a lot of fun, but that's not the point of the training we're doing here, and the tamer scenarios we did instead were better training.

Nonetheless, I achieved one of my objectives: I got killed. I mentioned that I had been playing an Iraqi chieftain, trying to get on base for a meeting with the commander. Then we would get hit by sniper fire. Only the first group handled this really well, getting us down without letting us run free. This group did neither; they didn't protect us, and when we did finally get behind cover, they didn't watch me very well, or cuff me, so when my 'wife' moaned and fainted from excitement and lack of water, I ran to her aid and got shot for my trouble. So now an entire friendly tribe of Iraqis has turned hostile. I'm happy; I've tried to get killed by them all week with no success (it's a different group every day, remember).

As the picture from a couple of days ago shows, I've been wearing a Middle-Eastern robe for several days. First off, it's too big; they ordered only extra large and double-extra large, apparently. Secondly, the tag on them said that the company has been making them since 1403. 1403. ~1403~?? Geez. Thirdly, I see why Arabs wear these; they're damn comfortable. I'd bet that with no clothes except perhaps underwear they'd be pretty comfortable even in the desert heat, as long as you kept outside and moving around, and they stay comfortable in the cool down to about 50° or so. BUT it doesn't work without the headdress. I see why they wear that thing. I haven't had one, and my head is hot and very sunburned.