From Iraq

We have now all arrived safely and are trying to get accustomed to the difference in weather between here and Fort Lewis. For the most part the mercury has risen above 100 degrees in almost all of our locations. The common refrain is, "yeah, but it's a dry heat." Dry heat or not it is simply hot. All our Soldiers are performing in an outstanding manner and doing a great job of looking out for one another. As is often heard we had to hit the ground running. I am amazed at how quickly we were able to get ourselves established and quickly gain an understanding of the areas where we are operating. To say our area is vast is a bit of an understatement, it is equivalent to several Southeastern States lumped together. While we have certainly stayed busy setting up our areas and getting into the rhythm of our operations I know that our thoughts often drift back to our Families at home. We have only been here a couple of weeks but already the countdown timers for when we will be home have shown up on many computers. The one that counts the seconds is a bit like torture to look view.Most of us have a decent ability to communicate with back home but sometimes those systems fail or we are in a surge of activity that prevents us from staying in touch. The fact that we have not called or emailed is most likely based on circumstances not under our control. I cannot tell you how proud you can be of all the Soldiers here in Iraq, there discipline, attention to detail and superb training is already earning all of them an outstanding reputation. The CSM and I have been out an about seeing some of the Companies and teams and we are always impressed with how they are conducting themselves.

-Submitted by Bat. Commander