Happy New Year! Tracer rounds, machine guns, and mortars.

So Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you all had a great time, I did! I got an email suggesting, “in case of celebratory fire on New Year’s Eve, duck and cover. If you’re in your trailer, pull your mattress over top of you.” Instead I donned full body armor and a Kevlar helmet and went outside to watch the tracer rounds light up the sky at midnight. I know it wasn’t what I was supposed to do, but I did tuck my arms into my body armor vest…doesn’t that count for something? I heard how amazing the night sky looked after the soccer game a couple weeks ago, tracers of every color flying through the sky and wanted to see it. I guess New Year’s isn’t as important as a soccer game because the display wasn’t all that impressive. It was pretty, colored tracers cutting through a black velvet night sky. There just weren't that many. I guess that’s actually a good thing because I heard a bunch of people went to the hospital after the soccer game from rounds falling from the sky. Anyway, I had a good New Year’s Eve. Matter of fact the whole day was a bit exciting for me, both good and bad. The good first, ok? That’s always better. We went to the firing range and it was awesome!!! I finally got to fire my pistol, which I feel much more comfortable with now. I’ve wanted to buy a Beretta since the last time I fired one in the military, back in 2001. I liked it then and I loved it this time! We also got to fire an M16, just to stay familiarized. The best part though was getting to fire a Sterling MK4, a British (I think that’s what they told me) machine gun that’s believed to have been Uday’s and was left in the palace. I don’t know if that’s true but I don’t care…it was freaking awesome!!! It was so damn accurate, I couldn’t believe it. And light, it didn’t weigh hardly anything. I don’t know much about weapons, actually more like nothing. I just don’t see why we don’t use this weapon in the US military…is it not that great? Is it illegal? Does it jam? Too expensive? I would think it’d be awesome to issue to soldiers who could put it to good use, with this accuracy, I know I would love to have one…I just wouldn’t want to have to use it on anyone. I think I’d just want one to take to the range.
Ok, enough about it, I’m sure there’s a good reason we don’t use them. So after the range I got dropped off at home cause it was kind of my day off. As we were walking into the palace I heard a huge boom not that far away. I looked up at my buddy and said, “Let’s go inside.” He looked at me like I was crazy…he didn’t understand why I was worried about it. Since it already hit he didn’t see why hide. From what I’ve heard here, when you hear one always get somewhere safe cause there’s usually more on the way. We went inside just after a 2nd one hit and the duck and cover alarms started going off. This being my first duck and cover I didn’t know what the heck they were saying on the intercom. It was funny, while I was walking in the hallway trying to listen a bunch of Marines came down the stairs mimicking the loudspeaker…they had it down! So I finally heard “move away from all windows…” and everything from the Marines. And since it seemed like they at least knew what was going on I followed them downstairs. I heard a couple more booms, they sounded farther away though, thankfully. I acted like I wasn’t nervous, just sat down and read my book. Really though? I was eying the ceiling; I kept thinking something would crash through. Kinda dorky, huh? Oh well, I don’t care.
Other than that, New Year’s was pretty good. I found out where to go for Midnight Chow (very important), played on the internet at my friend’s trailer (since I still don’t have internet in mine), and got to play Tiger Wood’s Golf 2005…that was awesome!! It’s one of the few video games I’m decent at and I love playing. That about does it for my New Year’s blog…hope you all have a great year, enjoy the hell out of 2006, I know I will. I’m living it up Baghdad style baby!