I’m burned out.

After a long week of doing missions every day I was glad to have the day off. I took advantage of it by sleeping in this morning. I went to the gym and got in a little workout. I was so tired that after lunch chow, I came back to my crib and knocked out. I took a little nap before I got back up to write some postcards and e-mails.

This evening our platoon sergeant went around doing a sensitive items check. Apparently, someone lost something. The command won’t mention who lost what. They like to do this once in a while. They like to have everyone check everything. There’s always someone that loses something. So far someone has lost a weapon and body armor in our unit. I’m glad it hasn’t been me. I don’t the Joes lose stuff. It’s almost happened to me a few times. We just forget where we place things. That’s why I like to keep things in the same place all the time.

I’m sensing that the IA (Iraqi Army) and the IPs (Iraqi Police) are handling more of the situation here. I think it’s a good thing because they know their people, their country, and the language. I just hope they begin to gain the trust and respect of the people. I see them out in the field a lot. Sometimes they are a good site too see but sometimes I don’t trust them myself. I almost shot an IA the other day because I didn’t know who he was. He was lucky. I guess I’m lucky too because it would’ve been a big mistake. That’s the stuff we all have to go through here. I’d hate to end up on the evening news for making a mistake.