Greetings from Iraq!

I sent an email to a bunch of friends and family talking about the beginning of life here in the war zone. From that email, I've had a number of questions. . .

1. Why didn't I drink BEER, or Irish whiskey, or at least an Irish coffee while in Ireland?

Easy. Not allowed. Once we checked in Friday morning to fly, no one was allowed to drink alcohol. If someone had come to check-in already drunk, they would not have been allowed to fly.

So why no alcohol? First, the trip here is exhausting. Imagine how a hangover would exacerbate that. When we hit the ground (and when soldiers do), we have to be able to settle in pretty quickly. . . and we're not talking about settling into the Hilton for a big vacation. We're talking about lots of heat and sand, less than ideal living conditions, no sleep, and lots to do. Second, the soldiers on the flight were carrying weapons. And even though they weren't loaded and other precautions were taken, alcohol and weapons are never a good mix. So. . . I settled for a good coffee, something I didn't get much of at Benning.

2. Why are we not allowed to wear open-toe shoes? First, there are a lot of rocks here. You're more prone to accidents or hurting your feet when you're walking in open-toe shoes. Second, at Benning there are lots of fire ants. I'm told that there are other critters here -- scorpions, spiders, and who knows what else. And third, if there is incoming, lots of open-toe shoes are not easy to run in.

3. Why did I choose to work the night shift (around midnight to 8-9 a.m.)? Well. . . this was the last shift I had in Kuwait five years ago, and I liked it. Not so many people are in and around the office while I'm trying to do cases (to handle emergency communications), there's more privacy, I don't have to spend too much time with co-workers (not that I don't like them, but we will see each other a fair amount anyway), etc.

The military issued ARC a vehicle, so the other female and I have worked out a system for picking each other up or taking each other home when shifts start or end at night. It's not necessarily wise for a lone female to be walking around alone at night. There are buses, but it's just better/easier for us to use the vehicle.

Last night I slept only 3 hours, then came back to the office to go to the hospital as I may be volunteering there. A woman on the current team took D (my female team mate) and I over to show us the ropes. I then went back to my room to try to sleep for 3 more hours before my shift began, but I'd been up too long and couldn't get back to sleep. So now it's 8:31 a.m., and I'm exhausted. I'm going home and going to bed.

Oh, and p.s. About the brand new tennis shoes I accidentally left in the latrine in Kuwait: Fellow RC'ers checked around for them, but they were not in lost & found. No surprise there. However, I went to the PX here and found a pair of the same brand (Asics) for just over half of what I paid in Bethesda for a pair. When I went to the cash register, they were half off so I paid about $35! I can't tell if they're the same exact model, but I think they'll be fine.