Welcome back to the Suck Hollywood!

I was asked in passing today “LoveBreed – just how many countries have you been to in the last couple of weeks?” I had to think a bit on that. “Four – Four countries sir…” “Well welcome back you’re looking refreshed.” That doesn’t tell the whole story. I can try to catch you up but I’m a bit short on time. I think you’ll just have to wait for the Journal. That said I’ll give you a brief review of the past three weeks.
It all starts with a severe case of the Baghdad Crud (flu like sickness) – A trip to the clinic netted me some over-the-counter meds and a couple days of bed rest in my hooch to prep me for an upcoming trip.
Then I had several close calls with indirect fire – Yes it is like the movies (sort of) - No it’s not fun! Lost some friends to that IDF and an IED – Yes Virginia this is real.
Next…a trip to Kuwait, then UAE, followed up by a trip to Qatar. The trip took us into the belly of the beast – Our MNF-I Spokesman did live interviews with Arab media and even Al-Jazeera. Now this is what I came to do – Make a difference!
Next I heard excerpts from my handy work read by speeches given from 1 and 2 Stars to White House Spokesmen to the President. Wow! I guess they liked my work.
After the trip I went back to the clinic for some hearing problems (those damn combat landings cause a lot of ear pressure) I was scheduled for another flight in a couple days. What I thought was a case of the Baghdad Crud turned out to be initial stages of Pneumonia. This netted me a trip to the CSH for Chest X-rays. When I asked “But what about my ears?” Doc laughed at me – “Your hard headed Sailor - Hearing is the least of your troubles!” Had to go through some “rehab” and got lots and lots of meds. I’m also now the proud owner of an inhaler. Nice! So much for a good running time on my PRT.
And this led me to a 4 day pass back to Qatar… Via Kuwait which turned into over a week stay. Additionally Travel in this area of operation is a real pain - 48hrs of grueling work in both directions at all hours. Let’s just say I’m getting real good at convoys. I got lots of sleep and have some great observations to share with you but for now it’s been about 2.5 weeks since I‘ve been in my hooch so I’m going home. Hence, why you haven’t heard from me in a while - That and we have to maintain stringent OPSEC during hellish moments so there’s really not a lot we can talk about. Not that I want to tell you much about Hell anyway! I’ll fill you in on camels, green troops, and the wonders of Guinness Stout in the desert later. Good night, Adieu and Ma salaam alakum…