Out in Sector!

All the local kids home on their lunch break--they refused to leave me alone, so I had to choke one (just kidding). I'm still not sure exactly what they wanted, although that little kid on the far left went ecstatic when I gave him a bottle of water (which another kid later tackled him for and stole it). Candy made a few of them go away, but not many. One kid handed me his English text book, and asked me to read it. I was happy to, and then translated the text back into Arabic, much to their surprise! Eventually the sergeant next to me convinced the parents to round up the kids and bring them inside, using........questionable methods.

"Ninja", this guy has split personalities. He's just a regular soldier over at the IA Battalion HQ, but half the time he's convinced that he's a Ninja Master, and then he's a pilot the other half. He likes to talk our medic, who's Korean, about kung fu masters and UFC championship. The funniest part is that he says it in Arabic, with a Japanese accent. The tab on his left arm says "Special Forces"...yeah right

Doc and a few of the guys in the back of an MRAP singing Queen. Not a moment goes by without singing or random Star Wars trivia in the back of the truck. Always fun, but it can be frustrating when trying to maneuver a platoon!

Woops!

We were out on mission about a week ago when our tank took a sharp turn threw some uneven ground and nasty mud. The result was not pretty--the track came completely off the road wheels. We had to spend about 4 hours out in sector just waiting for the recovery vehicle (the M88 "Hercules") to show up and recover it. Fortunately the locals were willing to accommodate my guys with some chay while they were waiting...after I gave them some cold bottles of water in return.

The view from behind the tank about 5 mins after the incident, you can't see it but everyone was standing around laughing.

A better view of how the track came off...at this point I'm trying to estimate how long we'll be out here, and if we'll need the IA to help pull security. Fortunately their base was only about a 3 minute walk from where the tank blew track.

Just another one of those sites in Iraq. This was about 75 meters away from the tank while we were fixing it.

Who I work with

Me and one of our interpreters (or terps), "Scott". Scott, like most of the terps, is from Kurdistan which is infinitely better than Mosul. He showed me a picture of a theme park in Kurdistan that he went to on leave, and it looked like Great America--wow! This picture was taken just before a huge feast at the IA Battalion HQ. The food was prepared for the 12 man MTT (Military Transition Team) that helps train the IA, but we showed up just in time! My company commander, CPT Rasmussen, is the guy behind my right arm.

The local Kurdish Army Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ali...this guy was ecstatic when I showed up the first time, as they don't see Americans very often (and for those who don't know, Kurds love Americans................And hate Arabs)

The "LTs"...me with the IA officers in charge of the same neighborhood as me (which is approx. 25,000 people). On my right is 2LT Muthana and on my left is 1LT Sa'ad. They always make sure to have a cup of chay ready whenever I stop by.

All the wildlife

One of the first things you notice when patrolling in Mosul is the number of apparently random animals there are roaming the streets. Except for the cats and dogs, most of them belong to someone, but I'm fairly confident that even the locals don't keep track and just make it up depending on what day of the week it is. Anyway, here's a small sample of what I've come across so far...

Conducting a raid on a courtyard late at night in attempts to find a weapons cache. I was searching around with my light and found this group of sheep in the corner. You may need to turn up the brightness on your computer to see them

I was interrogating a local and noticed that one of my soldiers was chasing this rooster around. The owner told me that he is the local champion of cock fights, and is actively searching for a female hen to mate with him.

The "Cow-borne-IED"...sometimes when on patrol you have to make jokes like that, no matter how disturbing they are. This cow was wandering around a vary dangerous median...

The COP

Here are some pictures of our COP (Combat Outpost). There's not a lot here, but the computers are always close by, and there are always plenty of cookies and muffins to eat!

The outdoor gym...cardio equipment is rather lacking here, but there are plenty of free weights

A 400-ft tall tower belonging to "Al-Mosuliya" TV station that is attached to us. My knowledge of Arabic has helped me acquire some friends who work at the station. A necessary evil: A snare set up by my gunner to trap the diseased cats that roam the COP eating our food. A little bowl of milk is being used as bait.

Some more pictures

All right everyone, I have tons of pictures to add over the next day or so...

Minutes after opening four packages from my Aunt Ann's class--simply amazing. Thank you to each and every one of them, a truly patriotic class!

Thank you letters from the kids and family--my room is much more friendly now!

The other side of my room, the first thing that I see when I wake up...thanks to Becky and my mom for sending me these pictures

It's Time To Confess....

That we're expecting! Baby Burnham is due in May!

We were a little surprised, but very happy with the news. It's a little strange discussing names, parenting, symptoms, etc. from such a long distance (and with those conversations few and far between) but so far we've been able to communicate very well and have a short list of names that we both like. While I've been home dealing with morning sickness and fatigue, he's been in Iraq suffering from dysentary. The two of us have made a pretty pathetic pair these past few weeks, but luckily we're both starting to emerge from our respective funks. Hopefully we'll both be feeling good as new this week!

I hope that you don't mind a bare belly picture, but it's the only way to show off my tiny, tiny bump. This was taken around 11 weeks, and I haven't really changed since. Today marks the start of 14 weeks, so it shouldn't be too much longer before I actually have something to show.