Saturday, January 20, 2007
Middle East Report - Matt Settle
I hope this finds everyone happy, wealthy and wise. I’m at least one of these and sometimes two. J This week started out like the rest of the weeks I have been here but finished out with some unique happenings. No! No mule riding or snowshoe wearing but I guess some of you back home could have used the snowshoes this week. I heard that it even snowed in part of San Diego this week. Well, it did not snow here in Kuwait. Most days things are pretty much the same as the day before. ... CONTINUTES in the COMMENTS link under this post. PICTURES HERE.
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I guess after reading over my last couple of updates, this must be the reason why I seemed rather down. It takes a lot of effort to make the days different than the last, so I have taken some advice from a good friend. I tried to wake up each day with a smile as well as a good attitude all this week. It does not make the days or weeks any shorter or more interesting but at least people are being greeted by someone that seems a bit happier. It does make a difference for the people around me.
As usual, I have some photos to share with the group. Now, what I am about to share should be viewed in the up-most privacy. These are some photos that have not been released to the rest of the world and I do not want a situation like Abu Grab Prison Atrocities. I was given these pictures by a guy who witnessed this battle up somewhere near Baghdad. I will have to warn you again that some of these photos are of the insurgents that have met their ultimate demise. I do not condone some of the actions shown here, so you will have to be the judge. I usually have a hard time and will not try to second guess our guys in battle when they are in harms way and have to make the split decisions in battle. As you can see the Combat Cameraman was in the tick of the battle and risked life and limb to capture these photos. Also, you will notice that our guys used overwhelming numbers to overcome the insurgents.
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I thought you might like to see what it is really like and what was really going on around here. I have always said that, “If you are not having fun, you must be doing it wrong”. It is just like I mentioned in the first paragraph, we all have to do what it takes to stay on the right side of sanity. However, I would have never thought that grown men would be playing with toy soldiers in the sand like this but hey who defines sanity anyway?
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OK, so on to another topic: food. I have mentioned the steak and crab leg dinners that we receive here in Kuwait. So I thought I would let you see how it looks. The first picture is of the Wednesday night D-FAC (dinning facility) dinner. It is the surf and turf, or steak and crab legs that are served EVERY Wednesday. Now, I am not complaining since I have not seen any Surf and Turf MRE’s, yet. The last time I was here I ate a lot of MRE’s. But when a person has the same meal on Wednesday nights, 22 weeks in a row, it does get old. Not only the same entrees but the corn on the cob and greens are always present on Wednesday night. I have been either skipping meals or eating a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches lately. Most of the time, I just choose not to eat at all.
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The second picture is of the lunch I had out in town today. I had the opportunity to be the NCOIC on an MWR trip. (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge and Morale Welfare and Recreation) You have to love the military with all the acronyms that we use. I have actually seen acronyms that were made up of acronyms. J Anyway, the trip was to visit the Science Center and a local mall near Kuwait City. The Science Center is similar to the ones that we have in larger cities in the States. This one has an IMAX movie theater, a place for children to play and a giant aquarium. I didn’t go into the IMAX movie since it was a movie about aliens coming to earth and landing in an amusement park. One of the guys that did see the movie actually got motion sickness from the picture. However, I did walk through the aquarium. It was one of the best I have seen. Before I got to the fish, I got to walk though an exhibit that showed the shore line and all the animals that live near the ocean in Kuwait. I took so many pictures that I can not share them all and I am sure it would bore most of you. J Here are a few of them for your viewing pleasure. All in all it was a great day. I got to do something different for a change, eat a regular meal, and drink some Kiwi juice and Starbucks coffee. I also got to see normal people who do not wear funny clothes, combat boots doing normal things.
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Well, it is getting late and as you can tell from the picture above, I need to go get some more beauty sleep so I’m signing off on another week in Kuwait. I’m looking forward to another eventful week next week. I have a line on a hot tub that I want to install at home when I get back in town. Hopefully I will get some pictures of it so I can share it with you all. As always, please remember all of us in your thoughts and prayers.
3 Months, 17 Days, 8 Hours and 14 Minutes remaining, hopefully. J
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