Dawn Patrol

Mrs Greyhawk

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. (We have a daily "Open Post" too, if you have something on another topic you can link there.)

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IRAQ

Capt. James S. Eadie: Media ignoring all the George Baileys on Iraq's front lines -- [The SA Forums]
Capt. James S. Eadie
...The emergency rooms in Iraq can be eerily quiet or suddenly explode into a flurry of action, such as the day a Bradley troop carrier was hit by a roadside bomb, engulfing the occupants in flame and twisted metal. As an emergency physician, these are the days I trained for, but dread to see.
...I often reflect during the holidays on the classic story of George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." I, too, find myself standing at that metaphoric bridge wondering if I have made a difference here in Iraq. Is the poignant story still valid? The answer for me is a resounding yes.

I met the first of many heroes on the night of the Bradley accident. The courage and sacrifice of this soldier is not isolated; it is the norm here, a daily occurrence. What I have witnessed has profoundly affected me. I was completely unprepared for this.
Why had I never heard these stories at home? As a physician in a stateside military hospital, certainly I should have heard these stories, but either I had not listened or, more likely, they were not told. The news that I was accustomed to at home seems but a shell of what I see before me.

2005: The Year In Military Heroism -- [Riehl World View]
Between seeing this post of Sondrak's on Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith and all the brouhaha over various nonsensical year end lists, I decided to do a tribute post to America's War Heroes of 2005. In my view, they cannot get and certainly haven't gotten enough attention via the MSM.

Oh Boy, This Will Be Controversial! -- [24 Steps to Liberty - an Iraqi in Iraq]
I was encouraged to talk about the situation in Iraq under Saddam’s time and now. So, here, I will talk about myself in both eras.
...Before, I was forced to accept to be restricted in making friends, making comments, expressing my feelings, and judging the government. And that applied to all Iraqis. If I decided to be free and do whatever I liked under Saddam, I don’t think I would be breathing now.

Now, I am free to choose to be free or to fear. I can decide to be brave and practice the freedom I have, or decide to continue living silently and whatever happens is none of my business. Now, I am free whether to criticize lack of services provided by the government and the ill performance of this government, or choose to be silent. Now, I am free to choose to leave Iraq, or stay, or leave and come back to stay. Now, I am free to choose to love the government and admire it, or to curse it in public and criticize it.

A Failed Offensive -- [Threats Watch - Bill Roggio]
New Year's Day bombings a bust; operations continue up north
The insurgency kicked off the New Year with a coordinated suicide/roadside bomb offensive in Baghdad and northern Iraq. Thirteen bombs total were detonated; nine bombs in Baghdad alone over the span of three hours; two in Kirkuk; one in Tikrit;and one in Muqdadiyah. The targets were Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Soldiers.

Will the attacks were coordinated, they weren’t very effective. Twenty were wounded, and the majority were civilians. Two of the attacks appeared to be manned by suicide bombers, who killed themselves with very little to show. The rest of the attacks appeared to be bombs planted within vehicles parked alongside the roads.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006 -- [Chairborne Stranger - in Iraq]
Too busy today-we've been attacked a half dozen times or more in the last few days, more small arms fire and ground attacks, more indirect fire, mortars, rockets, the whole nine yards-it's like the insurgents picked out 2006 to come back and harass us here. Plus there is all of the stuff that goes with that--getting all your gear on, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on, waiting around to see if you need to respond to the attack, groups of men cursing at each other and cramming into vehicles and rolling out to---??? what, exactly, is always a mystery-- checking to see if everyone is ok. There were a few injuries in one of the attacks.

Chicken soup on a fire -- [J Barne's Coffee Shop - in Iraq]
Yes we have a microwave. But it is rather weak and a simple can of soup takes about 20 minutes to get even lukewarm. I find this method a little bit easier. I made this soup a few mornings ago and put it in a thermos to take with me. It's chicken noodle. It's the simple things in life that make this shit bearable sometimes.

2006: Year of the Eternal Optimist -- [Wordsmith at War - in Iraq]
My Battalion had a good year in 2005. We haven’t lost a single soldier. We have lost fellow soldiers in our Brigade, and even a soldier from back home. We have attended memorial services here on the FOB, and been surrounded by death and violence, but we have been blessed. *knocking on wood here* Our situation is a rarity in this area. We spent 6 months training up, and we have now been in the deadliest place in Iraq for 6 months. Yes, we’ve had injuries. We’ve had a lot of close calls. Our soldiers have been hit by a lot of IEDs, a truckload of mortar and rocket attacks, RPGs, and sniper fire. We have been called upon to support the Brigade in countless missions in cities and villages of the Al Anbar Province. We send soldiers outside the wire everyday on logistical convoys and combat missions. Some of our soldiers have been sent home from shrapnel wounds. We have a soldier who had most of his left arm amputated, and almost lost both eyes. I’ll call him Sergeant First Class G. I did not know him well, but I’ve listened to his Commander speak of him often, giving updates on his condition.

Middle of the road -- [Talking Salmons - in Iraq]
Things have settled in to a day-in day-out sort of operation. It’s a normal thing, I hear, to hit this hum-drum lull at month four or five – where you’re far enough in to the year to be established, but shy of the half-way mark.

Photos From the Front -- [Andi's World]
I always find it offensive when the left claims that our troops are nothing more than trained killers, conveniently putting aside the fact that our armed forces are comprised of fathers, sons, brothers and husbands who have hearts and compassion for others. Pick any blog written by someone in Iraq or Afghanistan and you'll quickly find that their biggest morale booster seems to come from their interaction with the locals, especially the children. This interaction tends to put their mission into focus and gives them a sense of pride, and rightly so.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

844 In U.S. Military Killed In Iraq In 2005 -- (New York Times)...Dexter Filkins
At least 844 American service members were killed in Iraq in 2005, nearly matching 2004's total of 848, according to information released by the United States government and a nonprofit organization that tracks casualties in Iraq.

Military support for Bush drops: poll -- (The Austrailian)...From correspondents in Washington
SUPPORT for President George W Bush's Iraq policy has fallen among the US armed forces to just 54 per cent from 63 per cent a year ago, according to a poll by the magazine group Military Times published today.

In its annual survey of the views of military personnel, the group reported on its website that support for Mr Bush's overall policies dropped in the past year to 60 per cent from 71 per cent.

Why Our Military Despises Donald Rumsfeld (Common Dreams News Center)...Ralph Nader
Civilian control over the military is a long established democratic tradition in our country. It was the military that was believed by our founding fathers to be susceptible to plunging our country into foreign adventure. Presently, however, the boondoggles, crimes and recklessness of draft-dodging George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and former Air Force pilot, Donald Rumsfeld, together with their draft-dodging neo-con associates, have turned this expectation upside down. The civilians are the war-mongers.

The Army, Faced With Its Limits -- (New York Times)...Fred Kaplan
One million men and women serve in the United States Army, so why is it proving nearly impossible to keep a mere 150,000 of them in Iraq?

A Life, Wasted -- (Washington Post)...Paul E. Schroeder
Let's Stop This War Before More Heroes Are Killed
Early on Aug. 3, 2005, we heard that 14 Marines had been killed in Haditha, Iraq. Our son, Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, was stationed there. At 10:45 a.m. two Marines showed up at our door. After collecting himself for what was clearly painful duty, the lieutenant colonel said, "Your son is a true American hero."

Since then, two reactions to Augie's death have compounded the sadness

Bush pulls the plug on Iraq reconstruction

White House to withdraw funding for rebuilding Iraq -- (The Independent)
The US government is not planning to continue funding reconstruction projects in Iraq, in what appears to be a major climbdown from the White House's one-time pledge to build the best infrastructure i...

Iraq must rebuild itself after £10bn fund is exhausted -- (The Times)
THE United States is nearing the end of its $18.4 billion (£10.7 billion) fund for rebuilding Iraq, with little prospect of further multi-billion dollar injections. ...

Washington goes back on its words, refuses to rebuild Iraq -- (alJazeera Magazine)
The U.S. President is looking at ways to lessen the U.S. commitment to Iraq amid increasing political pressure to start finding a way out.

US air raid kills Iraqi family: officials -- (Reuters)
BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. air strike killed several members of a family in the oil refining town of Baiji in northern Iraq, Iraqi security forces said on Tuesday

Murtha says he wouldn't join military now -- (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S....

Iraqi Civil War? Some Experts Say It's Arrived -- (Los Angeles Times)...John Daniszewski
...In a speech delivered as Iraqis prepared to go to the polls, President Bush said he didn't believe a civil war would break out in the country. But some observers believe it has already begun — a quiet and deadly struggle whose battle lines were thrown into sharp relief by the highly polarized vote results.

Memorial To G.I. Sets Off Blaze -- (New York Times)...Associated Press
A burning candle that was part of a shrine to a soldier killed in Iraq caused a house fire outside of Chicago that left a family homeless. No one was injured in the blaze, which occurred last Tuesday in Elmhurst.

Saddam Prefers Death By Shooting -- (Washington Times)...Paul Martin
Saddam Hussein has told his lawyers that he wants to be shot by firing squad, not hanged, if sentenced to death during his murder trial, which resumes later this month in Baghdad.

AFGHANISTAN

Al Jazeera Crew Arrested Photographing Security Features of US Base In Kabul -- [Jawa Report]
From The Peninsula:
KABUL: US forces yesterday arrested three employees of the Al Jazeera TV channel for filming near a US base here, but later released them. Correspondent Waliullah Shaheen, cameraman Nasir Hashimi and driver Mahmood Agha were filming the removal of concrete block barriers which had been installed outside all military bases and offices of foreigners for protection. “We were arrested and detained by coalition for an hour, then handed over to Afghan police, who kept us for four hours before releasing us,” Shaheen said. “The American soldiers confiscated five telephones and our camera, and kept it,” he added. A US military spokesman, Lieutenant Mike Cody, said the three were held after they were seen “filming security features in the vicinity of Camp Eggers in Kabul”.:
Al Jazeera claims that:

Protect Afghan Kids This Winter - Part III -- [BlackFive]
Protect Afghan Kids This Winter - Part I and Part II
Major Doug McKewan sends this message to us - you all have done wonders for those children:

Deadline for foreign NGOs -- [Afghan Lord - an Afgani in Afghanistan]
On 31st of December, Interior ministry issued one week deadline to all national and foreign NGOs, to remove their barricades that are blocked the roads and subway in the capital – Kabul to ensure smooth traffic in the city. This deadline is including military base and institutes based in the crowded part of Kabul.

Afghan Certificate Lust -- [Miserable Donuts]
If there is one thing that will set an Afghan official's eyes ablaze with desire, it is a certificate. Our Task Force CSM had given out some simple ones that had been highly prized. So I stepped it up a notch. I had made one up in English and Dari, put it in a flag holder-frame with a small Afghan flag and presented it to Kabir Ahmad, the District Attorney of Bagram District, Parwan Province. He had been a terrific help to us, and to his people, so I thought a little public recognition wouldn't hurt.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

U.S. Cedes Duties In Rebuilding Afghanistan -- (Washington Post)...Griff Witte
Four years into a mammoth reconstruction effort here that has been largely led, funded and secured by Americans, the United States is showing a growing willingness to cede those jobs to others. The most dramatic example will come by this summer, when the U.S. military officially hands over control of the volatile southern region -- plagued by persistent attacks from Islamic militias -- to an international force led by the NATO alliance.

Afghanistan deployment in doubt -- (The Australian)
AUSTRALIAN plans to send a military reconstruction team to Afghanistan have been thrown into doubt by warnings that al-Qa'ida and Taliban forces are threatening a fierce ...

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

A rumble in the east -- [Peace like a River]
Over the weekend, there was an unsettling step in Russia's efforts to use its natural resources to put it in a position to dominate its neighbors.

China Tries to Sell Stolen U.S. Technology -- [Strategy Page]
January 3, 2006: China has produced a new twin 23mm antiaircraft gun that, apparently uses stolen American technology. The Chinese describe their new antiaircraft system as using “Chain Gun” technology. The U.S. Boeing company holds patents on the chain gun feed mechanism. In 2001, China first mentioned that they had adopted the “chain gun” technology, but at the time, these weapons were only available for Chinese use.

Reservists Rebuild After Katrina -- [Strategy Page]
January 2, 2006: The U.S. Army is allowing over two hundred Louisiana National Guard troops, just returning from Iraq, to stay on active duty for up to a year, to help with reconstruction. Priority will be given to troops who had their civilian job destroyed by Katrina, and have a skill needed for reconstruction efforts. In a low wage area like Louisiana, many reservists make more money on active duty, than they do just with their civilian job.

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Russia, Ukraine to Resume Gas Talks -- (AP)
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed Tuesday to resume talks on resolving a dispute over the price of natural gas that has reverberated across the continent and left Ukraine cut off from its supplies....

WAR ON TERROR/TERRORISM

Life under Saddam and Post-Saddam Iraq -- [Iraqi Blogger Central]
...Meanwhile, as Raed Jarrar watches the New Year's fireworks over the bay of San Francisco, he starts to think about his new "project":
I’m planning on starting a new project estimating the compensation that should be paid by the occupation countries to Iraq as a country and to Iraqis as individuals. This project will be based on the legitimate and fair UNCC compensation scale that Iraq followed in the last decade in paying compensation to Kuwait.
Raed Jarrar, (Raed in the Middle) the guy who glories in and counts and laughs at the deaths of American soldiers, is sitting in the Bay Area, awaiting his greencard interview after marrying Niki Akhavan, and now he is trying to figure out how much money the US owes the Iraqi people in general and the JARRAR FAMILY in particular.

I have contacted Homeland Security about Raed Jarrar. I urge that you do, too. I know that others have already left a tip at the Homeland Security website, as I have done. Join us. Let your voice be heard.

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

TERRORISM: VIDEO OF AL-QAEDA No.2 APPEARS WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES -- (AKI)
Rome, 2 Nov. (AKI) - A video message by al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, first broadcast by the Qatar-based TV network Aljazeera in September, has been posted with Italian subtitles on several Islamist internet sites. The move appears to be an attempt by al-Qaeda to reach directly to an Italian audience. In the 40-minute clip, titled 'A meeting with Doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri four years after the [September 11, 2001] attacks agaisnt New York and Washington," the Egyptian-born militant denounces last September's general elections in Afghanistan, and praises the July bombings in London.

New Rules Set for Giving Out Antiterror Aid -- (New York Times)
The Department of Homeland Security will evaluate new requests for city grants based less on politics and more on assessments of where terrorists are likely to strike.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

God Bless Them - Every One -- [Some Soldier's Mom]
I had another post ready for today... but my high school girlfriend Gail (whose son is a Navy pilot and currently stationed in a hot zone) sent this to me and it moved me just as much as it affected her... so I wanted to share it with all of you. God Bless the Levins and God Bless America! What a great country we live in!

The Liberty Limited -- [Sgt Hook]
A couple in Philadelphia decided that they wanted to do more than just say, “we support the troops.” So they did support the troops, 88 wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

MILITARY LIFE

Conspiracy -- [Mom in America] ...As far as tattoos go, this one is not horrible, except for the fact that it is a tattoo and it is on my son's body that I devoted nine incredibly long months growing inside of my body and took years preserving from his attempts at breaking every bone in through childhood. #2 was my daredevil, you see. There was not a tree too high or challenge too great for this kid, which is probably why he felt compelled to be a Marine. It was not an easy task keeping this kid alive as a youngster! Now, there he stood, gleaming at the fact that he had gotten a tattoo. My first reaction was to take some dish water and soap and try to scrub it off, assuming that he and the girlfriend had been playing with the sharpie markers.

Washing ACUs -- [The Patriette]
In preparation for his departure, one of the great challenges I'm facing is to wash his new ACUs. Why is this such a challenge? Well, you CANNOT wash them in ANY laundry detergents that contain optical brighteners. What the heck are those? Well, I don't know for sure, but I do know two things: 1) Almost every detergent seems to have them even if they don't SAY they have them and 2) They are bad for ACUs. So what is a girl to do? Turn to the 'net of course!
Here's what I found out....

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

The Pentagon's Homegrown Theater of War -- (Washington Post)
Grandma used to say that there's a silver lining inside every dark cloud and maybe she was right. This month, Harper's magazine has found a big, heartwarming silver lining inside that gloomy old Global War on Terrorism. Here it is:

Our government has hired a bunch of poor souls who lost their arms and legs in accidents and has rigged them up with bags of fake blood so they can play wounded civilians in war games down at Fort Polk, La.

POLITICS

Scott McClellan’s Mom Runs for Texas Governor -- [Outside the Beltway]...James Joyner
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the mother of White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, is running for Texas governor as an independent.

The AP presents this as a stunning break in the GOP.

Chaplain ’starves himself’ over Navy no-Jesus prayer policy -- [Stop the ACLU]
The chaplain who has gone without food for two weeks in protest of the Navy’s policy against praying in Jesus’ name says Americans are giving the White House switchboard a workout each time he appears in the media, as supporters urge President Bush to sign an executive order allowing military clergy to pray according to their own faith traditions.

Bush Pardon's Less! (Excuse me?) -- [ROFA Six]
USATODAY.com reports that "Bush grants pardons less than predecessors." It is a non-story about how Bush has granted pardons to "people who have surmounted their mistakes."

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Democrats to hit White House, Republicans on privacy issues-- (THE WASHINGTON TIMES)
Democrats on Capitol Hill are drafting a strategy to attack the Bush administration and Republicans as having little regard for the privacy of Americans.

THE MEDIA

Schumer: Loony Leftard Likely Leaker -- [Gunn Nutt]
Chuckie Schumer wants to know what motivated the leaker who gave classified NSA info to the NYT. "There are differences between felons and whistleblowers, and we ought to wait 'til the investigation occurs to decide what happened," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told "FOX News Sunday."

Anyone want to take a guess?

The diligent picking of nits -- [TigerHawk]
Hard as it may be to believe, I'm going to begin the day picking on the New York Times. As full as the paper's editorial pages are with misrepresentations, sleight-of-hand arguments, blown predictions masquerading as statements of fact, and unacknowledged changes in position, it is more relentless than a Japanese customs inspector in its pursuit of tiny defects. Behold the sum total of the corrections in this morning's "for the record" box:

The ethics of journalism: A proposal for reform-- [TigerHawk]
...I am appalled that the press has gone ahead and published stories that palpably undermine our security in time of national peril over the specific request of the President of the United States. Yes, it is their lawful right to do so, but it is, frankly, disgusting that they have exercised that right. That the leak came through the same newspapers that thought that the outing of Valerie Plame was the worst affront to national security since Aldrich Ames exposes their political agenda in stark relief. That the New York Times seems to change the position of its unsigned editorials without a hint of acknowledgement gives away its own intellectual bankruptcy.

The MSM is Full of it: Bush Support Still Strong Among Military-- [Camp Katrina]
Check it out: the MSM is trumpeting a new poll that shows support for President Bush among the U.S. military has dropped, although it still remains far above fifty percent. From the article:

AP Shills for Risen's New Book -- (NewsBusters)
Who needs a publicist to promote your book when the AP will do it for free? The AP is shilling for James Risen's new book, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration. In an article titled, "CIA Ignored Info Iraq Had no WMD", posted on yahoo.com, the AP states that the book "describes secret operations of the Bush Administration's war on terror". The articles cites an instance of the CIA sending an Iraqi-American MD to Iraq to talk to her brother about Iraq's nuclear weapons programs. Despite reports of a nuclear weapons program that ended years before, the article reports "In October 2002, a month after the doctor's trip to Baghdad, the U.S intelligence community issued a National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program". According to the article, "New York Times reporter James Risen uses the anecdote to illustrate how the CIA ignored information that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction.

On leakers and the MSM -- [Macsmind - News, Conservative Commentary and Common Sense]
"Every journalist who is not too stupid or full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible. He is a kind of confidence man, preying on people's vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse.

--Janet Malcolm, The Journalist and the Murderer, 1990"

AJ Strata is drumming up support to possible throw a little class action on the MSM because of all the recent "leak reporting", specifically by papers such as the NY Times and Washington Post.

MSM Asshat: Kevin Sites – Part 2 -- [JammedGun]
...The latest offering by Mr. Sites, is nothing less than a "puff piece" for one of the most vicious terrorist organizations on the face of the globe: "Hezbollah." But, leave it to Mr. Sites to give Hezbollah a much-needed "face lift" for Yahoo's reading public -- a facelift, which (to read from the comments posted on the site) seems to have been swallowed hook, line, and sinker by many uninformed and gullible readers around the world. (Not all those posting comments are fooled, however.)

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

U.S. curbs soldiers' blogs -- (Newsday.com)

Letters home filled with tales of death and danger, bravery and boredom are a wartime certainty.

And now, as hundreds of soldiers overseas have started keeping Internet journals about the heat, the homesickness, the bloodshed, word speeds from the battlefront faster than ever.

More and more, though, U.S. military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan are clamping down on these military Web logs, known as milblogs.

WELCOME HOME

Happy New Year from The BERRY BUNCH! -- [RustyBerry.com - husband home from Iraq]
We have some very good news, Rusty is home.He was able to get an earlier flight than planned. What a great way to start the New Year.He will have a few more days at the base then he will be home for good! It's hard to believe it's been eighteen months. We want to thank everybody for your support.

Our Soldier is HOME! -- [Two Blue Lines]
My Soldier is home from Iraq!! He got home last night and it is so wonderful to have him home again. I have posted pics below. He has had his first hot plate of homemade spaghetti with the kids all around asking questions about the incredible DVD collection he has amassed during his travels overseas. He got a chance to hold Annabelle for the first time and even actually changed a dirty diaper (yes, we took pictures!). He finally filled the void space that has been next to me in the bed for the last 18 months. I am not giving details there…… but I am smiling really BIG!

Welcome Home, RAOC! -- [The Ammo Crate]
The 151st Rear Area Operations Center (RAOC), in Iraq for the last 11 months, retuned home to Montevideo, MN on Friday night much to the delight of hundreds of friends and family members throughout Minnesota.

Home for a Holiday! -- [Combat Medic - home on R&R from Iraq]
R & R, and what a feeling it brings...
...The old days of the *spoils of war* or taking back a trophy are now history! Today if you want to take back something tangible to remind you of t he year of your life you dedicated to Iraq you have to buy it at a bazaar or a U.S. owned, Iraqi run *gift shop* that is on almost every post. Luckily, I escaped with my tin sign that I brought back for my mom, who collects them. After making sure I had no weapons, ammunition, cats, small children, palm trees, RPG’s, naked lady pictures or WMD’s, I was finally allowed to go through customs and wait 8 hours until the bus came to bring me to the airport, where freedom was within my grasp!

Dénouement -- [Medicine Soldier - home from Iraq]
...Meanwhile at the demobilization station, we were ready to receive over 1,500 soldiers before the holidays and try to process them before the holiday shutdown. We made frequent trips to Gulfport to receive the units coming home. We tried hard to vigorously and enthusiastically greet every single soldier coming off the planes. Although it was great to see everyone home and look for people I had not seen since early in the deployment or worked more closely with, it was almost like the end of Return of the King with the continuing endings. Our fellowship was over four thousand and after greeting the first couple hundred, or when it was the fourth consecutive plane in 24 hours of no sleep, it was hard to smile and welcome these guys and girls home. Still, everyone did their part and deserved a warm welcome home.

The Polish Are Staying!! -- [My Turn - in Iraq]
The Polish should be anyways, staying here at Echo. This is good news as they practically run the show here and I don't really want to go anywhere else. I enjoy how things are here, go to work, come back to the room, go on the internet, go lift weights... crazy cycle but it works. Besides, it gives me plenty of time to dream about my future and what I can do to make it actually happen.

(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)