07 Jun 08 - It's 5 AM at Balad

07 Jun 08 - It's 5 AM at Balad

It's 5 AM Saturday morning here in Iraq and the weather is...dusty.
Yesterday it was pretty sunny and soldiers were out running but on
Saturdays soldiers usually get day or two off every week so no one is
out running today. Below are just some average pics. One is me in a
bunker. I got a haircut the other day and the barbers here usually
give one a brief massage at the end of the haircut (which is evidently
the custom in Pakistan and India.) Having a barber start rapping is
knuckles on your head and massaging your temples usually comes as a
surprise to the uninitiated but you get used to it. Certainly the
custom associated with a haircut in Korea is much more of a shocker!
(If you're interested, google 'full service haircut Korea' and you'll
agree with me.) The big tomb-like building is a fortified power
generation building that has a big 'bunker busting' hole in the top.
All power generation on this base before the American invasion was
done in fortified buildings to protect the generators from bombs.
Evidently the building was no match for a guided 1000lb bomb and I've
been told its completely 'burned-out' inside and not worth repairing
so there it sits. Also there are some wicked thorns here. When I got
my bike I had 2 flat tires within the first two days. I used a bottle
of that 'green gue' to seal up the tires from all the thorns I ran
over. Even the plants here seem to say 'go away!' (and yes, those
thorns are sharp.
R/Chris