Check it out. Its a hype. Thousands of people die every year from the regular flu. Here is how to prevent it. You don't. You gotta do preventative maintenance and not use hand sanitizer every five seconds and then your immune system doesn't suck. Then you win. Let your kids play in the dirt.

Thanksgiving day was pretty alright. I woke up at 0445 and went out and did my job but we made it back for Lunch chow and found a large carved styrofoam elephant in the defac. All of our food is supplied by contractors and I don't know what country they are from for sure, but they obviously have no idea what thanksgiving is

Age: 20 years
Height: 5'11
Weight: 155
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Red (I like to think its a burnt umber )
Hair Style: Military for now
Race / Nationality: White/American
Clothing Preference: Dunno how to answer this one?
Other Interesting Stats: One tattoo on my right shoulder blade its a m4 and m16 making a cross with a helmet on top and it says "Put on the whole Armour of God" on top and "Ephesians 6:11" on the bottom

Facebook. Myspace is not very clean. Facebook is pretty simple, very few ads. When I'm in iraq and I have nothing to do I waste hours on facebook. Depressing, I know

So when are we kicking this thing off?

Yea, I'm in. It will be good times.

I usually wake up at about 445 get ready talk to my girlfriend on windows live, go out get the truck ready, then go eat, do the mission, come back, all that other happy bs. So a day can last anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. Not too bad, depends on what we are doing.

The biggest thing for basic training that i learned is that the DSs (drill Sargent) don't owe you anything and don't be upset or shocked when you are treated terribly. It happens and the sooner people realize that its just going to happen the easier it is. Good luck with the marine corp and all. Marines don't have as nice of equipment as the army, but at least their uniforms look cooler!

MREs are physically about the size of a typical 1 subject notebook, but several inches thick (thickness varies per meal)

They contain about 1200-1400 calories if I remember correctly. Enough to get a soldier by on one meal a day.

I'm sure they have a shelf life but I know they can last a long ass time.

They have 24 meal sets. 12 in each box. They contain anything from Tuna, to spaghetti, to imitation boneless pork patty. Also they are accompanied by side items like crackers, spreads, candy, fruits, etc.


And no clothes i put on keep me cooler, only hotter.

MREs are physically about the size of a typical

Well we have AC in our rooms, it works pretty good. The AC in the trucks doesn't work worth a crap, but that's situation normal.

By rations i think your referring to MREs (Meal Ready to Eat). If you are hungry they do the trick. They have improved tremendously over the past couple of decades, even since I joined in 06. I've only had to eat one this deployment. I am pretty much MREd out.

Well there is a pretty nice DFAC (chow hall) here on liberty. So anything you can imagine really. Little pizzas, there is steak and lobster night, omelets, breakfast burritos, fish, ribs, etc. But don't get excited yet. Its not terrible food, but most of it certainly isn't good. Most of it is mediocre food that is over cooked and has no flavor or a weird flavor. Everything over here tastes weird. When we stoped in Camp Virginia, Kuwait I went to McDonald's really quick and got me a big mac, but it was quite the let down. Not the same at all. Quite depressing actually.

Originally posted by mapex

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I wanna kno what think about being over their?? Ive been thinking of joining the marine core n what not but i still cant get up enough nerve. i guess i just want to kno is it worth it?

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Here is the deal on that. If you wanna join, join. Just like Glenn said, you have to have determination and thick skin. Gotta get past all the b.s. And what do you mean is it worth it? What kinda question is that?

You find this by pure luck, divine intervention, or just some internet skillz.

That's an M240B machine gun. Its one of the machine guns used in theater by US forces. Its a hell of a weapon. My favorite machine gun hands down.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs107.snc1/4613_1146664421699_1080194621_30440886_3306056_n.jpg
There you are

I wouldn't know what to rate the violence. I don't get enough info about the country as a whole to make that assessment, but its not as bad as the media has it out to be.

I sleep in a two man CHU(combat housing unit) Gotta a wall locker, night stand, bed, some shelves i made out of old crates I found, and my tote.

Here is a picture or three
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs003.snc1/4403_1137743358678_1080194621_30405756_518286_n.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v4403/52/85/1080194621/n1080194621_30405750_2849962.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs031.snc1/4302_1141891342375_1080194621_30421476_7252969_n.jpg

Nope I haven't seen any camel spiders yet. I don't know if they are in my area. There are some nasty beetles around that are supposed to be incredibly painful if they bite your toe. One of the most painful insect bites or something.

Yea geeogree, the media is terrible. They like to blow it out of proportion quite a bit. I don't know if any of you have ever heard the song "The News" by Jack Johnson. Its a good one, pretty true about the news.

Iraq isn't safe, but it has made leaps and bounds. Especially since the summer of '06. Americans(i say that cuz there are hardly any other coalition forces left in Iraq) are handing over almost all control over to the government of Iraq. Jan 1 2009 they signed a new SOFA(status of forces) agreement. It mandates US forces do many things "with, through, and by" Iraqi forces.

But as I said don't let the news fool ya. Its not generation kill type of stuff over here(not to down play it and say its a walk in the park)

Well here in Iraq I have a descent amount of down time. So I chat with my girlfriend on msn, I watch movies. Hadj mart has got 6 for 10 bucks, play video games 3 dollars a pop, smoke a lot of cigarettes, and go to the gym every night

Yup I am alive and well so far.
Stuff is hoppin' and poppin' over here. Violence is up a little bit, but we have been fortunate to stay safe so far. So no I haven't killed anybody, that's a ridiculous question to ask anyways.
You say you're happy to see me alive like Iraq is a death sentence, lol. Its not that bad.

DM, for the most part my superiors are alright. And no my captain isn't like the captain from band of brothers, if that's what your referencing.

So I've been in Iraq for about a month now. Its getting hotter here. I think the highest its been yet is 115. Coming from Wisconsin, that's quite the difference. I've been doing pretty good. Keeping busy with missions and everything else going on. Can't complain too much, its been going pretty quick so far. Its quite a unique culture over here. For starters seeing the way males interact I would think a lot of them are homosexual back in the states.

Iraq is also very dirty. There is a lot of trash every where on the side of the road. Can you imagine your daily commute to work going past 20 or more armed checkpoints? I imagine not. Iraqis are pretty bad drivers too. There isn't a dmv over here where they go down to take a drivers test and get a license.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have!