I just felt like putting together some statistics for comparison. You can draw your own conclusions.
The number killed on September 11, 2001: 2,996
The war in Iraq began in March, 2003. We are still there.
As of mid-November 2006, there were approximately 152,000 US troops deployed to Iraq.
2882 US casualties in Iraq
Current US population: 300,305,463
US citizens killed on the nation’s highways in 2005: 43,200
US citizens killed in alcohol related incidents in 2005: 16, 885
US lightning fatalities in 2005: 43
US tornado fatalities in 2005: 39
Babies born in US in 2005: approximately 4.1 million
US began fighting in WWII in August, 1945
US casualties in WWII: 292,131
US occupation of post-WWII Europe and Japan: 1945-present
US involvement in Korea from June, 1950 to July, 1953
US casualties in Korea: 33,686
US occupation of post-war Korea: 1953-present
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
This Is Very Interesting-Happy Thanksgiving
I was intrigued while reading this and I think many of you will also be interested in reading it.
http://rofasix.blogspot.com/2006/11/zais-nails-us-strategy-in-iraq.html
I just returned from eating Thanksgiving lunch with my section at Chow Hall 3. I have to say I am stuffed more than a normal day here in Iraq. People have been saying 'happy Thanksgiving' all day long, but it never really felt like Thanksgiving till we got to che chow hall. Even then it wasn't that it felt like Thanksgiving, but it reminded me that I'm away from home on a day that we traditionally do the same thing every year. The food was good and all, but I really missed home a lot more than normal. I started to think if it would be more beneficial to pretend that today was just like any other day and the holiday wasn't really upon us. Despite what I'm missing I think that maybe I should focus more on what the holiday is really about and remember everything that I'm thankful for. So if you're reading this today, remember the true meaning of the holiday.
I should also mention that today I got a letter in the mail from Michelle that smells reall really really good.
http://rofasix.blogspot.com/2006/11/zais-nails-us-strategy-in-iraq.html
I just returned from eating Thanksgiving lunch with my section at Chow Hall 3. I have to say I am stuffed more than a normal day here in Iraq. People have been saying 'happy Thanksgiving' all day long, but it never really felt like Thanksgiving till we got to che chow hall. Even then it wasn't that it felt like Thanksgiving, but it reminded me that I'm away from home on a day that we traditionally do the same thing every year. The food was good and all, but I really missed home a lot more than normal. I started to think if it would be more beneficial to pretend that today was just like any other day and the holiday wasn't really upon us. Despite what I'm missing I think that maybe I should focus more on what the holiday is really about and remember everything that I'm thankful for. So if you're reading this today, remember the true meaning of the holiday.
I should also mention that today I got a letter in the mail from Michelle that smells reall really really good.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
I Should've Been in a Better Mood
I'm sorry that Thursday's post was so disheartening, but I had to get it out there. It was something I wanted everybody to know. Putting the whole day together I should've been in a much better mood. We actually had a celebrity stop by on Thursday. I'm sure none of you will know the name, but CW4 Phillip Brashear came to visit us on his tour around Iraq. He is a warrant officer and flies Blackhawk helicopters. This in itself is impressive, but not enough to launch somebody to celebrity status. However, he is the son of Retired Master Chief Petty Officer who recently passed away this summer. If that still doesn't have you then you may recall a movie called Men of Honor starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert DeNiro about the life of the Navy's first African-American Master Diver. I'm sure not all of you have seen the movie, but you should. If you have, then you know how excited I was to meet this guy since he grew up in the household of a man who is one of the most driven and unbeatable people I have ever heard of. If the world had more people like Carl Brashear in it then I am positive all of the world's problems would be solved. I Had so many questions I wanted to ask CW4 Brashear, but his time was short and he had more important people to visit with. I was able to get his autograph and helped him navigate around the immediate area of our building. When I mentioned to my boss that he was here, my boss went to go talk to him since they had gone to Warrant Officer school together. Talk about a driven classmate.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Fear In My Heart
In this years mid-term election, the American people showed that they wish the Democratic party to control congress. Now, there are many factors that contribute to the results of every election and the votes that each individual person makes, but for one reason or another, republicans were taken out of the majority. More and more each day it becomes clear to me that the leaders of the Democratic party want to 'cut and run' from Iraq, withdrawing US troops as they do so. I know full well just as I'm sure the rest of you know, that withdrawing before the job is done would be disastrous. Either these leaders don't believe this or don't care.
I am able to breathe a small sigh of relief that most military 'experts' as well as commanders in the Armed Forces all agree that an early withdrawl would be a very bad idea, especially within the next four to six months (ah hem, Carl Levin). My very own commander, Gen. John Abizaid, in charge of US Central Command stated in Washington that we essentially need to stay the course and allow the Iraqi people to stand up for themselves. It is might hope that despite anything the Democratic party promised the American people or wish to pry some kind of control on Iraq policy, that the job will be completed and the mission successful.
A dark shadow is cast on my small glimmer of hope and I feel that the world is turning a blind eye to what is plainly visible in Iran. Many times the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has expresed how Iran will wipe Israel and its Western ally off the face of the Earth. To this point the mainstream media has dismissed any serious threats coming from this man. They have even gone so far as to interview him along with his visit to the US and the UN council taking these two instances as his true feelings to the rest of the world. Yet nobody has shown us what he tells his own people on a regular basis, until now. While listening to Rush Limbaugh (mp3 files) today, he had Glenn Beck, from CNN Headline news, join him on the radio. Beck was explaining to Rush that they would be running a segment on the kind of propaganda that is run throughout the Middle East on state run media channels. I was only able to find the transcript of the segment on the CNN website, but it was enough to back up some other things that have come to my attention. To sum it all up: Iran is developing nuclear weapons under the guise of nuclear power. They don't need nuclear power, they have oil up the wazu. From Ahmadinejad's own mouth we have heard him talk about destroying Israel along with the rest of its allies, he plans to do this with nuclear weapons. There is a bigger picture to all this death and destruction, however. It is the hope of Iranians as well as other extremist groups in the Middle East, that this man made apocalypse will bring the 12th Imam of Islam to Earth and wipe the world clean of Jews and Christians, bringing about the rise of a world wide Islamic regime. I'm fairly confident that any amount of nuclear explosions will not bring any sort of spiritual beings to Earth, but I'm not so sure Ahmadinejad thinks as logically as I do, and I'm not comfortable just sitting here waiting to find out what his next move will be. The lack of media attention to this is very concerning and I hope despite what kind of politics may be happening in Washington DC that somebody is keeping a close eye on this and is not about to let it get worse.
I urge you all to maintain some kind of awareness on what is going on in the world today. It is all our resposibility to keep our family and friends safe from our enemies.
I am able to breathe a small sigh of relief that most military 'experts' as well as commanders in the Armed Forces all agree that an early withdrawl would be a very bad idea, especially within the next four to six months (ah hem, Carl Levin). My very own commander, Gen. John Abizaid, in charge of US Central Command stated in Washington that we essentially need to stay the course and allow the Iraqi people to stand up for themselves. It is might hope that despite anything the Democratic party promised the American people or wish to pry some kind of control on Iraq policy, that the job will be completed and the mission successful.
A dark shadow is cast on my small glimmer of hope and I feel that the world is turning a blind eye to what is plainly visible in Iran. Many times the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has expresed how Iran will wipe Israel and its Western ally off the face of the Earth. To this point the mainstream media has dismissed any serious threats coming from this man. They have even gone so far as to interview him along with his visit to the US and the UN council taking these two instances as his true feelings to the rest of the world. Yet nobody has shown us what he tells his own people on a regular basis, until now. While listening to Rush Limbaugh (mp3 files) today, he had Glenn Beck, from CNN Headline news, join him on the radio. Beck was explaining to Rush that they would be running a segment on the kind of propaganda that is run throughout the Middle East on state run media channels. I was only able to find the transcript of the segment on the CNN website, but it was enough to back up some other things that have come to my attention. To sum it all up: Iran is developing nuclear weapons under the guise of nuclear power. They don't need nuclear power, they have oil up the wazu. From Ahmadinejad's own mouth we have heard him talk about destroying Israel along with the rest of its allies, he plans to do this with nuclear weapons. There is a bigger picture to all this death and destruction, however. It is the hope of Iranians as well as other extremist groups in the Middle East, that this man made apocalypse will bring the 12th Imam of Islam to Earth and wipe the world clean of Jews and Christians, bringing about the rise of a world wide Islamic regime. I'm fairly confident that any amount of nuclear explosions will not bring any sort of spiritual beings to Earth, but I'm not so sure Ahmadinejad thinks as logically as I do, and I'm not comfortable just sitting here waiting to find out what his next move will be. The lack of media attention to this is very concerning and I hope despite what kind of politics may be happening in Washington DC that somebody is keeping a close eye on this and is not about to let it get worse.
I urge you all to maintain some kind of awareness on what is going on in the world today. It is all our resposibility to keep our family and friends safe from our enemies.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Uniform Update
The normal PT uniform is the gray Army tshirt, black Army shorts, white socks, running shoes and a reflector belt. The only exception was wearing shower shoes when going to take a shower. Now there is no exception, we are required to be in the standard PT uniform at all times, including going to the shower.
Monday, November 13, 2006
I'll Start Here
So I'm going to give this a shot since it seems to be working out so well for some of the other Joes in my section. This is just a draft post so I can see how smooth this operation works. I guess you could say things have been fairly normal these last few days except for the fact that it's not 100+ degrees outside. We have been seeing lows in the mid 40s and highs in the 70s. Talk about a turn around. We've just been doing the same old stuff we always do around here. We changed up our mail operation so we will be able to operate on a larger scale once the holiday mail starts coming in. It is a much better process since we have a truck that is able to load, carry and unload an entire shipping container. It now acts as our mail room on the ground out in the parking lot. All of our subordinate units are able to just drive up with their vehicle and throw their pile of mail in the back. It is a much faster process than carrying it in and out of the building.
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