Hello, this is mike writing this one. I just wanted to share some of my pictures with ya'll from my last few months...you may have already seen some, if so...bite me. hah. anyways, all is going well. everything is pretty quiet out here in IOWA. At least that's where it seems we are. we're just to the west of Abu Ghraib and east of Fallujah, along the Euphrates River...to give you an idea of where we are. Pics from top to bottom: SFC Vaden and I at Sadam's parade field, my MRAP and crew in front of crossed swords, me joking around with a 57mm mortar tube i found, PULLUPS...i made the bar and everyone loves it/uses it muchisimo, me, ssg becker and lt mohammed in front of the euphrates river on a patrol, all the 1LTs before our first patrol during the RIP (relief in place) into this AO, breakfast with the iraqi army dudes... eggs and tomatoes mixture with hobus (flat bread) and chai, fallafals! i bought fallafals for my platoon on a patrol while we were interviewing for microgrants...we're gonna give the fallafal shop owner a microgrant to get a fridge and kitchen stuff, my platoon, me with primary school kids at a school in zaidon.