The Pass

The weather is getting cooler. It’s still hot during the afternoon but bearable. The mornings and evenings are quite nice. The weather reminds me of the weather back home in Phoenix this time of year. Sure it’s still hot during the day but the evenings and mornings are more pleasant. It still hasn’t rained in months here. It’s a difference from Phoenix, which would be ending its monsoon season pretty soon. I’m just glad it hasn’t rained here. I can’t stand working in this mud. I’d rather go a whole year here without any rain whatsoever.

We went to one of the camp today that is a makeshift resort for some in the area to get away. I guess the big deal is that they have an Olympic size swimming pool there. I’ve also heard that there are private rooms as well. I don’t know what other amenities are available for the Joes. I’m sure they don’t have a casino or serve alcohol. A lot of guys like it because it just gives them a chance to get away from everyone and everything. It’s a local pass they get here in Baghdad.

There are others that get a pass to fly out of the country for a few days to an undisclosed location. I hear that the guys there get to wear civilian clothing and alcohol is served. It also sounds like a more entertaining place to be. I’ve gotten tired of hearing about people getting passes though. I especially heard it from my roommate up until now. He’s heard that he’s getting a pass out of the country. Lucky him. He used to bitch and complain about it all the time. “I don’t know why they’re getting a pass if they just got back from leave.” Or it’d be vice-versa and he’d say, “They’re getting a pass and they go on leave next month!” Well I guess now he has no right to talk since he’s getting a pass.

I was trying to fight for a pass for myself but I gave up. It doesn’t matter anymore and with us having almost no mission, I consider myself having the ‘crib pass’. Yeah I use to hit to my squad leader and inquire how people get a pass. That didn’t work. I guess he didn’t get the hint. So then I went ahead and faced the platoon sergeant about it. I told him that I’ve done the most missions in the whole platoon and I haven’t had leave since I went home in February. I could prove that I probably have the most miles ridden in the entire company because my driver has the most miles. They keep track of mileage driven for each soldier in the company. They also keep track of how many missions everyone does. I’m tempted to go to the TOC and inquire who has the most missions. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s myself. I would vouch for my driver too but he was out for 10 days back in May because of pain in his shoulder. So that gives me 10 more days then him right there.