Still smiling...

There is alot of discomfort here, mostly related to standing around or sitting around in heavy gear. This is a shot from the backseat of one of the Humvees. This was the end of a 10 hour day in that thing. Like I have said before, I REALLY hope I don't convoy much because I barely fit in the thing, and I have heard the up-armored Humvees are worse. Mostly my spirit is pretty high, although I miss my family alot and think often about what I might be missing on any given morning or afternoon or evening. My peer group (other company grade officers) is generally a good group of guys, although most people are politically conservative and some people say some downright outrageous things-- I think because everyone assumes that everybody else has the same viewpoint: that CNN stands for Communist News Network, that the Clintons are evil incarnate, and that Obama is a radical leftist. The more senior officers and the most junior enlisted seem to have the most radical views. The guys my age are more moderate and more concerned about family issues and economics and much more likely to doubt that they have a long term future in the military. Because it is an election year, of course people talk politics. I often keep my mouth shut just because I don't want to get into it, and in uniform it seems innappropriate. I do think that the most conservative folks are the most outspoken because on an Army post it is much safer to be conservative than it is to be liberal. Among both USAF and Army there is an outspoken objectification of Muslims and liberal use of the term "hajji". The Army trainers basically classify Iraqi's as filthy people, some of whom are violent insurgents and some who are not. You can't shoot the ones who don't have guns, but they are all dirty. I give them a break because they aren't here to teach us about culture or strategy, just here to teach us about staying alive, but it does drive me nuts on some days... I'm sure that that there are others who have views similar to my own, but we mostly remain quiet. Maybe that will change when I am in country, but maybe not. I guess I'll wait and see.