blast from the past....

I didn't date this letter, but I remember writing it right after my first real action in Iraq so I date this Halloween 2003. I only sent this letter to those that I felt would be worried about me, to let them know that i was still okay (I was a bit shaken from all of the initial exposure to the bloodshed) I didn't want anyone at home to worry about me and I knew my mother was real worried. I learned through the Tao that it is bad to make your parents worry, so I wrote a rather bland letter. In addition, one cannot write many details in the letters home from the war, due to the sensitive nature of the missions. In hindsight, this letter describes a Disneyland compared to to the gulag that Iraq really was. I was so...(speechless).

Hello!

I am doing fine in the war zone, as to be expected. Some of you have heard from me and some of you haven't. I have replied to all mail that was written to me through the U.S. Postal Service; if you haven't received the letter yet, "It's in the mail!" If you aren't expecting a return letter, write me! I have read my email once since I got here. Electronic communications are difficult because the phone lines get shut off every time someone dies, until their families get notified. That is why I haven't responded to the emails directly due to the death that occurs in the war zone. I haven't called because we have two phones for a whole brigade of soldiers and 10 minutes to use them once you've waited in the long line. Email access is the same, but I can do a whole lot more with 10 minutes of email time then I could do on a phone. Also, I don't have everyone's phone number. I would appreciate phone numbers in the emails please.

War is different than you see on the news. A strange thing is, there are so many press officials here, trying to get the story, that war can seem trivial to a point. I try to keep everything in perspective. The way things get reported, compared to how things really are, can differ extremely. I think they call that media spin. People change for the camera as well. I ride with the media in my armored vehicle all of the time. They mostly get in the way. When the media comes along, we do politically correct things. When no one is watching we get much more rude. We should be on 60 minutes sometime in January unless the war comes to an abrupt halt.
Conditions are getting better for us. With the help of some other soldiers, we have designed a way to take showers that aren't freezing cold. It can get to be relatively cold in the desert and that doesn't make taking a shower very easy. The food has improved slightly since we have come but it is in short supply mostly. Don't worry though, I won't starve. I am resourceful.
I miss a lot of things that I had easy access to in the states. I encourage everyone to appreciate the small things in life more. In the United States, people are spoiled by a high standard of living. I am glad to have less, even if only temporarily; perspective of life changes as a have-not.
Ramadan is almost over and Thanksgiving is upon us. Soon it will be Christmas, Kwaanza and New Year's Day. I will still be at war but I will celebrate nonetheless. I just pray for everyone to have a happy holiday season.

James.
be deeper

And if you are wondering, the pic really is of my crew- those brave bastards.