In German and Iraq thus far

Greetings from Iraq,

For whatever reason- I can access my blog, but only in German... I, of course, do not speak German and am not typing in German, so hopefully this pans out.

I'm writing from Balad AB/LSA Anaconda. Our flight in on the C-130 was completely packed with Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, contractors, and gear. When we got off the plane, it didn't register we were in the one country most try to avoid.

I'd describe what Iraq looks like but from the majority of vantage points I've experienced, Iraq is nothing but a never ending maze of blast walls... or at least the base has that look. To my surprise, there are a few trees here, albeit very dry. My billet is some sort of a porta-unit with two beds, some cabinet space, and a hardworking AC unit. The billet is surrounded by blast walls and sand bags with a bunker nearby so we are good to go and Randy (guitarist) and I slept well with body armor next to our respective bunks.

To continue describing the scene, it's best to use other senses. The air quality is less than desirable- the air tastes and smells like a combination of burning landscape, jet fuel, diesel fuel, and chemicals. The soundscape is dominated by engine noise- generators, air conditioning units, jets, helicopters, vehicles of both an armored and unarmored nature, and the occasional message from the "giant voice."

This base has a very serious feel, being it's inhabitants are directly fighting this war from both outside the wire and from the air. We all carry weapons and ammunition, so there's that wild west feel- minus the street gunfights and whiskey (unlike our previous location, there's no alcohol in Iraq...)

We played today and will play again in an hour or so- indoors (thankfully). It's a lot of fun to be playing gigs with all of our gear, with a pro audio engineer, and drums that sound good.

My morale factor just sunk a few notches after the TCN (third country national) barber interpreted my haircutting directions as shave it all off. If a bad haircut is my worst experience, I shouldn't complain.

I need to run! Take care, all!

J-