I weigh 283 lbs. My M4 only weighs a hair under 7 lbs. I only weigh a little above 180, so where does the other 90 come from? Wherever it comes from, despite being in tennis shoes, and shorts,I felt 280 today while playing Jason today in Basketball, in the JunkHouse Gym we have downstairs. I took a nice elbow in the face trying to protect his 11-4 lead as he made his way up for a lay up. Another one. All and all I can say that I'm glad I officially retired from Basketball at the age of 13. Otherwise I could've been heartbroken.
Our living conditions continue to be absolutely amazing. We haven't lost power in two days, and it was nearly 80 degrees in our room last night. We've gotten our two meals a day, luckily. Yesterday we even got a day off during the worst dust storm of the year. Of course other than my sore jaw, I can't really complain.
The fourth floor during force pro on the early and late shift, is still quite haunting. Of course there are those in the platoon who think nothing of it, and then there are those who are absolutely terrified if you put any thought of ghosts into their head. My buddy Donovan, the youngest man in the platoon is particulary scared while on guard. It doesn't help that everyone messes with him while he's on guard. Tonight wasn't to bad of a case, but he has been spooked many times before.
The guard posts you sit in are much like a reinforced shack built on the roof. They have sandbags and other things that fortify it from the obvious dangers of doing this kind of job. They also have camoflouged netting that protects you from silhouetting yourself. This netting while a huge advantaged to concealment, is also a disadvantage for your average ghost enthusiast. Especially when certain individuals climb on top of the observation point and make 'scratching' noises, while moving the screens when there is no apparent wind. You also have to factor in the fact that you've been by yourself in an extremely dark area for anywhere from two to six hours. That really helps the mind to wander.
The two weeks back have really flown by so far, which I hope is an indicator of how the next 6 months will go. In a place like this, the time can't fly fast enough. It's once again a late night in Eastern Baghdad. COP 763, "The Sauna Hallway" is always buzzing. Either with ghosts a haunting, or platoons patrolling, the days are weeks, and the weeks are just hours.
Only The Nose Knows
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