Focus

My network access has been on the fritz lately, so I haven’t been able to post. And, I’m working on a large case that is taking up lots of my time, so posting has been thin.

- It got to 127.6 degrees the other day. The main thing I noticed was that it smelled hot, like hot dirt. And, the wind in my ear made it ache.

- I picked up a copy of “1984” by George Orwell in the laundry facility, and just started reading it. One of the slogans of the Party is “War is Peace.” This doesn’t sound so far from “We fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here” to me. Of course, the most famous slogan is "Big Brother is Watching You."

- Rumors of when we’re going to pull out are swirling around. Nobody knows anything for sure, but that doesn’t stop, and probably encourages, speculation. And, it causes soldiers to think about going home rather than about the matters at hand. Inevitably, I suppose, soldiers being human. I’m also seeing soldiers who are reluctant to go outside the wire; no one wants to get hurt or killed so close to the end. Before, with departure so remote, it was easy to put it out of your mind and just think about the mission. Now the mission is not new and exciting, we’ve been there, done that, it’s hot and uncomfortable, and soldiers are weary. I heard a soldier blurt out, as we drove along returning to our FOB, “Iraq can kiss my ass!” No one had been speaking. He just felt like saying it, I guess. Even with this type of mental distraction, our leaders are doing well at keeping the soldiers focused, and most soldiers are focused. It just gets more difficult as we go along.