LAWDAWGS - Luke Shaffer

Rounding third with home in sight

The sun only shines for 10 hrs a day but the days last FOREVER. It has always amazed me how the closer you get to home the more you want to be there. If you were to see the team, they look like pros, and the true enemy has now become the day-to-day, we have seen some lively events the last couple of weeks but we maintain safety and security. Having two districts helps to keep the monotony to a minimum. We look forward to things like our new chow hall and a new laundry service that actually returns cloths that smell fresh out of the wash and not fresh out of the sewer.
Both Chiefs (of each district) have started to make positive steps towards big picture understanding. Last week the two recently reformed rivals (2 months ago) made a surprising gesture toward a brighter future. A new Iraqi Army (IA) commander has moved into the area. The IA commander has not yet made it to any of the weekly meetings that usually requires all three of their attendance (both IP chiefs and IA commander). The IA commander has sent a fill-in the last two weeks, a 2ndLt who was very disrespectful. By the end of the second meeting with a disrespectful 2ndLt, the 2 IP chiefs, who hadn't even met the new IA commander, were ready to “toilet paper” the IA commander's compound and have a “pillow fight” with his men. After a short, or long conversation about being the bigger men and making an effort to make him (IA commander) feel welcomed in his new home, these 2 IP chiefs realized that they hadn't even made an attempt. The term “kill him with kindness” was the topic of our conversation.
You see in this culture there are many things that may strike us as weird but for them it is just a way of life. In this culture if a man gets mad a another man and happens to pull his knife out, it is a major sign of weakness, if he returns his blade to its sheath without blood on it. So, that being said if a man happens to get carried away with emotion (which never happens in Islam ;->) . . . and then decides it was a bad idea, he is now in the zone of no return. I would say that prison rules definitely apply over here. 'If I don't have my prison yard respect, then I don't have anything.' and where we believe self-restrain is a sign of the bigger man, they believe, 'he who says he'll jump. . . BETTER JUMP!' After many years of this kind of thinking and habitual inbreeding you can see the train wreck about to happen.
Now, with hopefully a little bit of understanding, maybe you can appreciate my surprise when the 2 IP chiefs, decided to make a friendly neighborhood visit to the IA commander's compound. They took him baq'lawa (a traditional holiday pie or cake but a little different) and made him feel welcomed. When they returned, you would have thought the three of them (both IP chiefs and IA commander) were BFF.
I don't know if this story make sense to anyone but this is a significant event. One small step for normal man, and one giant leap for Iraqi man kind, to quote a man fighting for a brighter future. It's like watching a kid use the potty right for the first time, which brings up a whole different problem we're facing.
Well as we get closer to home we will be busy, so I would like to take this chance to thank every last person who has supported this team in our highs and lows over the last 5 ½ months. We will remain safe and always have a respect for a better future because we have people who love us. You will always be the fire that drives the warrior.
Semper Fi
Luke