I want to thank Mr. Ansay and his local VFW.

He sent me some much-needed supplies such as wipes, soap, shampoo, and all sorts of other good stuff. I really appreciate it. I handed the stuff out to the other Joes in the platoon that were in need of any supplies. To him and everyone else at his post, a big THANK YOU!

I guess I tend to remember things when I say them or hear them out loud. Navajo and I met some soldiers from the United Kingdom Army today. They were both from Scotland. Anyway an Iraqi was approaching us when the Scotsman greeted him in Arabic. As soon as he said that phrase I remembered what it was from back in Lewis. I’m lucky he said it before I did because I forgot how to say good day. I usually speak English to Iraqis anyway because some of them know it and I think it might be good for them to learn anyway. I figure people speak English all over the world, might as well learn to speak the language here as well. Besides, I think English is already proliferated among the Iraqis from the British rule of this country in the 19th century.

Our mission got cut short today, mainly because we upset a few Iraqis. I can’t go into details. They just got upset when they’re identities were revealed. Others saw them when they did not want to be seen. Some of the nationals keep their identity hidden to protect themselves and their family and friends from reprisals. It wasn’t really our fault that they were seen. My guys didn’t know. My Joes were just following orders so I’m not at all worried about it. I told them not to worry about it either. I’m sure it’s hard when there were a bunch of Iraqis yelling their lungs off and pointing the finger at them. It’s like they were trying to blame my guys. They were just doing what they were told.

Anyway, I think it was a good thing because it caused our mission to end right there. The meeting was over and so we packed our bags and left. I guess we now know what to do incase we want to get the heck out of there.