Friday, August 31, 2007

Green to Gold

Ok, so I found out about this program for enlisted soldiers who want to go to college and become officers called Green to Gold. What it'll do is after Iraq, I'll leave the Army to go to school for 4 years at any school I want as long as they have an ROTC program. Because I want to be close to Tiff and the family, I'll probably be going to University of Texas at Austin. Anyway, I can a degree in anything I want, and then after college, I'll go back into the army for 2-4 years depending on the contract I sign. Only this time, I'll be a lieutenant, and life won't suck nearly as bad. Not to mention that I won't have to worry about coming back to Iraq for at least 4 years, if ever. So, just do me a favor and pray that this works out ok. Thanks guys.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Getting Hit...Hard

Ok, so it was Friday, Aug 17, fairly normal day in Iraq. We go out to recover some broken down vehicles and headed home after a fairly boring day. anyway, on our way back we go by blast hole after blast hole. We go past one that we all hate b/c of it's location and nothing happens, but the truck behind me gets blowed up. Gunner's knocked out, so my truck, with the medic goes back to check on him. A coupla minutes later, we're rolling again.
Well, we get maybe 150m down the road when my truck gets hit by God knows what. I mean, the explosive was so big it left a whole you could put a queen size bed in. Not only that, but it went off less than 3 ft. from the truck. Anyway, my eyes are burning really really bad from all the dust and i drop out of the turret yelling at the medic to splash water in my eyes. this he does and before i had a chance to get back up in the gun, he says "Hey dude, you're necks bleedin' bad." Now I'm like crap, what happened. anyway, turns out i got hit with shrapnel in both my neck and face. Medic patches me up and i get up to join the firefight that's been raging outside for 2-3 minutes. Well, i had to use my personaly machine gun seeing as the .50 cal which mounts to truck had been blown off it's mount and onto my head (thank God for helmets). Well, I start shooting, not having a good idea of what i'm shooting cause i still can't see, and after about 75 rounds, put 3 rounds in my own shield.
At that point in time, I fired myself as the gunner and hopped down. team leader then hopped in the gun while i applyed pressure to the wound on my neck and continued flushing my eyes with water, while at the same time my truck and the truck behind me (the first truck to get hit within the last 7 minutes) head for home at top speed.
anyway, all said and done, I got some stitches in my neck and am being put in for a Purple Heart which, believe it or not, I wasn't trying to get.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

HANDS HELD HIGH

Here's the lyrics to my favorite song right now; Hands Held High by Linkin Park on their Minutes to Midnight CD. I highly recommend it. Also, favorite saying from this song; "When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die."

"Hands Held High"

Turn my mike up louder I got to say something
Light weights step to the side when we come in

Feel it in your chest the syllables get pumping
People on the street they panic and start running

Words on loose leaf sheet complete coming
I jump in my mind and summon the rhyme, I'm dumping

Healing the blind I promise to let the sun in
Sick of the dark ways we march to the drum and

Jump when they tell us that they wanna see jumping
F*** that I wanna see some fists pumping

Risk something, take back what's yours
Say something that you know they might attack you for

Cause I'm sick of being treated like I have before
Like it's stupid standing for what I'm standing for

Like this war's really just a different brand of war
Like it doesn't cater the rich and abandon poor

Like they understand you in the back of the jet
When you can't put gas in your tank

These f***ers are laughing their way to the bank and cashing the check
Asking you to have compassion and have some respect

For a leader so nervous in an obvious way
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay

And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
In their living room laughing like "what did he say?"

[Chorus]
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
[End Chorus]

In my living room watching but I am not laughing
Cause when it gets tense I know what might happen

World is cold the bold men take action
Have to react or get blown into fractions

Ten years old it's something to see
Another kid my age drug under a jeep

Taken and bound and found later under a tree
I wonder if he had thought the next one could be me

Do you see the soldiers they're out today
They brush the dust from bullet proof vests away

It's ironic at times like this you pray
But a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday

There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads
Inside your market, your shops, your clothes

My dad he's got a lot of fear I know
But enough pride inside not to let that show

My brother had a book he would hold with pride
A little red cover with a broken spine

On the back, he hand-wrote a quote inside
When the rich wage war it's the poor who die

Meanwhile, the leader just talks away
Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay

And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day
both scared and angry like "what did he say?"

[Chorus]
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you

With hands held high into a sky so blue
As the ocean opens up to swallow you
[End Chorus]