Today (17/May) is Kris' 54th day overseas.

I apologize for the lateness of this update. Time has conspired against me, and I have been unable to get fingers to keyboard in any endeavor other than real work for quite some time. Thus, this update is actually many updates in one...

A note about content - Kris shares many different aspects of his life with us. Some are good, fewer are neutral, and many are bad. The bad fall into two different categories: General life as a soldier, and the chain of command. Out of concern that the things that I write about Kris will circle the globe and come back to bite him, I have chosen to omit the details of the problems with his chain of command, and some of the more ugly aspects of his assignments. Other topics may be written about in a far more generic manner than they were originally relayed to me by Kris. I hope you understand.

Stuart

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17-Apr-2004
The packages from Daryl and Laura arrived. It seems that there is about a 2-week transit time on both cards, letters, and packages. Kris says that he'll try to write back to everyone that writes to him or sends something. Postage for him to send letters home is free. Unfortunately, though, his time has been very, VERY un-free.

Most of his time is spent performing MP-like duties. Kris considers this a waste of training. Lots of time sitting on overpasses, watching cars, and doing convoy security. The last 4 - 5 days has been spent patrolling 7km of roads in 10 hour shifts. Work has been more of a priority than rest. At times he works 10-on and 14-off, but sometimes, it 12 and 12. Tomorrow may be a day off, and he's really looking forward to that.

Dust allergies are really kicking his butt.

There have been lots of missed opportunities for pictures. It seems that whenever a good picture presents itself, he always has his hands on his weapon. I don't mind.

He has been getting lots of good sun. From the top of his cheeks and nose down his neck, and on his forearms, he's got a great tan.

Things that he likes to see in care packages (hint) are sunscreen, granola bars, and original Pringles. He says that you're free to use your imagination, though.

Kris told me of a particular night, while he was asleep. Far in the distance, he dimly recalls hearing a couple of faint "boom" noises. Shortly after that, there was a huge explosion, not far from his sleeping quarters. Close enough for the debris kicked up by the exploding mortar round to land on the roof of his quarters. He said that he went right back to sleep, and hardly remembers it. I'd have been lucky to get back to sleep for several days…

In another apparently close call, Kris tells me of doing traffic security from the top of an overpass. He says that he doesn't remember hearing or seeing anything, but all of his buddies tell him about an RPG round that was fired from a car below the overpass. Apparently, the RPG went over the overpass, but Kris, being not overly concerned, shrugs it off.

Kris also tells me of the terrible conditions that many Iraqis are living in. I'm not talking about living in the bombed out ruins of neighborhoods. Kris told me about a very large landfill, that seems to go on forever. There are people living in the landfill. Complete families. The people are getting water from rainwater pools in the landfill; taking baths and washing clothes in the same water shared by livestock sharing the same space. Kris told me that he had never thought that people would be able to live in conditions like these. It has made him very thankful for what he has waiting at home for him.

Many of the people that Kris has encountered are pleased to see the troops. There have been many good exchanges with Iraqi children. There has been good interaction with some of the locals, too. Several people in Kris' unit have purchased chairs from a local woodworker.

Kris says that their intelligence says that the vast majority of attacks are not from Iraqis. It's so hard to balance what I've heard on the news with what I hear from Kris

Some of his patrols have yielded some personal treasure - Kris has found a Russian cargo parachute, still in its packing, as well as a personal chute (also Russian) and harness. He has also purchased some old Iraqi money (dinar???) from kids in the street for a couple of dollars.

Mortar attacks into his camp have tapered off. Kris believes that the show of force that the troops are making is having a calming effect.


21-Apr-2004
This was a short conversation, with Linda only, that focused mainly on how Kris was instead of his daily comings and goings. Kris is very tired. The days are hot, the hours are long, the missions are (to some degree) boring.


28-Apr-2004
This one was a tough one to write. Kris called this morning, at about 3:30am. He was not in the best of spirits, and I guess rightly so. His work schedule has been brutal. The "shifts" that he works have been typically 16 - 20 hours long. The remaining time in the day is for chow, laundry, weapon cleaning/maintenance, and lastly sleep. Both Linda and I could hear the bone-deep fatigue in his voice.

Uniform appearance has been enforced to a level not seen since Basic Training. This includes having sleeves rolled up during "off" time, in an attempt to cool off, and the insistence that neck protectors be worn in spite of the fact that they restrict field of view (a catch-22).

When out on night patrols, Kris' team enjoys visiting with the Iraqi police. He says they're a good group in tough jobs. They enjoy "hanging out" in the police stations. I didn't want to spoil the story by mentioning that the Iraqi police stations weren't the safest place to be just "hanging out", according to the news.

Mortar attacks on the camp have increased, but Kris still didn't seem overly concerned. Perhaps that's his way of putting my fears at ease. If he only knew - the only way for my fears to be calmed would be to see him standing in my living room.

Kris says that his access to email is still very, VERY limited, thus no time to read or send any thus far. He did say, however, that any letters would get answered. With his current state of fatigue, I wouldn't want to hold him to that. It seems that it's about all he can do to get from one day to the next without falling over asleep.

We actually cut the call short, asking him to go get some rest. Kris didn't seem to disturbed by our request.

12-May-2004
We hadn't heard from Kris in 14 days, but he called tonight at around 9:30pm. He had just finished a 7-day QRF (Quick Reaction Force) rotation, and was finishing a 24-hour shift. His spirits were up, although he still sounded quite tired. He said that the QRF rotation had been good, and that he had had the opportunity to work with Army Rangers, and the Delta-Force, although I'm not 100% sure what that might have entailed. Kris did not go into any detail as to what type of activity the QRF rotation involved. At the time he called, I was embroiled in another matter and wasn't able to talk with him for very long. Most of the conversation was with Linda, and I haven't been able to get any notes from her. Regardless, though, he sounded good - much better than his previous call. He was pretty excited - they had finally got their own beds…ones that had not been "acquired" elsewhere.

15-May-2004
Another call from Kris in the wee hours. It seems that I always sleep a little better right after one of his calls, even though my heart races every time the phone rings. He told me that he had had a little time online, but with everything he had to do, email wasn't at the top of his list. He encourages everyone to write regular mail though. With only 1/2-hour per session online, there isn't much that can get done. He says that there is a huge pile of email waiting for him to read, but the time he has doesn't let him get to them. He has much more time to read letters that arrive in the regular mail.

One highlight, though, was that he was able to quickly email some pictures to his girlfriend. I contacted her, and had her send them on to me. In a couple of the pictures, you can see the fatigue in his eyes. I cried when I saw them. I have posted the pictures online, and I encourage you to take a look at them at the following address: http://www.pbase.com/stuartkpeterson/iraq_photos_01

Kris also said that he was going to mail a couple of CDs-worth of pictures. I'll post those as soon as I get them. Because of limited space online, I probably won't be able to post all of them, but I'll select the best of the bunch.

Packages from Rick & Donna arrived. There was another package that had arrived, too, but I'm writing this a couple of days late, and I didn't take notes. Kris wants to thank everyone that has sent letters and packages. They're a bright spot in his pretty rotten days.

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I promise to start writing the updates before the memories fade. Future updates will be much, MUCH more complete, to the best of my ability, and as far as I can detail what I'm told. I've also planted a note pad and pen next to the bedside telephone. I'll take notes, even through the burry eyes.

As of this update, Kris has not told us of any direct fighting that he may have been involved in. If there has been direct contact with the enemy, I'd prefer for him to volunteer that information in his own time.

Another thing - Kris' mailing address has changed again. Please write back to me for the latest. The old address will still work for an indefinite period of time, but the latest battalion newsletter has the new address, so I'm passing it on to all of you that want it.

Please keep those prayers flowing - the dangers are ever-present.


Stuart