Today 27 July 2006 we had a convoy coming into the base here where I am and an IED went off beside the Medic vehicle. The explosion put a hole in the passenger side door at neck level about the size of a silver dollar. The soldier sitting in the passenger seat was struck by the shrapnel and was mortally wounded. He died at the small hospital that we have here. The medical personnel here are very good but when you are hurt that badly even the OR at Johns Hopkins might not be able to help you. Another soldier in the vehicle was wounded in the leg and hand. He will recover from those wounds. The soldier is not an American but he was brave and served with honor. A medic, he worked to save lives, bind the wounds of his fellow soldiers, and took care of their small and large hurts. He only wanted to do his duty and go home like all of these young warriors here.
Those of you who read this BLOG know that I am over here to get out of debt and serve the soldiers. I should reach my financial goals by this time next year. Then we will live within our means and not above them. I am in the business of customer service here and I really love the soldiers no matter what rank or nationality. Our differing cultures make for some interesting conversations and we always get along well with one another. When they come to me for the information or paper work that they need I am always happy to see them again safe and sound. When they have injuries or deaths in their units I grieve with them and when they have funny things happen to them I laugh with them. So now I am grieving. I am not so much sad as angry with the powers that be over here for their complete lack of aggrssion. A bully only understands one thing, strength. If you do not over-power a bully you will not stop him.
We have the power to over-power the punk terrorists and we are doing nothing to stop it. If we had aggressive patrols out doing the job of looking for people doing the wrong things then we would have found the coward who planted the IED that killed and maimed and killed or captured him. I am beginning to hate this place but I cannot go home and make a pittance and hope to get out of debt. Today is a bad day.
In His Service,
Craig
