A lot of what I do here in Baghdad is on the ugly side of the US effort here. Me and my team of 20 soldiers and interpreters advise the Iraqi Army Brigade of about 5,000 soldiers in charge of security for a section of downtown Baghdad that contains roughly 300,000 people. With Police and Security lacking, a lot of bad stuff goes down, and I'm often the first to show up and try to make things right- not just terrorist stuff like rocket launches, suicide bombers, and firefights, but all crimes- murders, rapes, abuse, etc. Its my job to grab hold of whatever Iraqi security force is around- usually my Army Brigade- and better enable them to handle it. After that, we help them plan an execute the missions to bring these people to justice. Depending on the timeliness or sensitivity of the target, me and my team are involved at the forefront of these missions to varying degrees. I've sat in my truck and observed as Iraqis raided a house and brought an assassin into custody, using methods we taught them, and I've also been the one kicking in the door to a house with a bomb maker inside, three of my team mates stacked behind me shoulder to shoulder.

I've always been an optimistic, positive person, but thats easier to be coming from a good family in a nice suburban life- here in Baghdad, I see a different side of human nature and life and that can get depressing.

Fortunately this weekend, despite the enemy's attempts to keep us pretty busy, I got to do something truly wonderful. We hosted the biggest soccer tournament in Iraq since we invaded in 2003 at Sha'ab Stadium. 23 different local, youth, and combined-forces teams played over two days. At one point on saturday afternoon, I found myself sitting in a seat in the shade, soda in hand, watching kids play soccer; crazy fans all around me beating drums and cheering; Iraqi kids coming up to me with their constant 'meestah, meestah! whats your name?' It certainly wasn't a situation I envisioned myself being in when I considered this deployment. CNN was there though I didn't know it- most of the time we were on the perimeter with our Iraqi troops, securing the stadium and making the event safe for everyone that was there, but they do have a video:

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2009/05/24/perry.iraq.us.soccer.friendly.cnn.html

Mostly the things I do here are not worth remembering, but this is one thing I can really be proud of being a part of.


So...

That's just my little way of putting a personal spin on your day. Please go out, grill meat, drink beer, and enjoy the early summer. It even cooled down to a pleasant 91 degrees here this afternoon. Memorial Day for me was always about enjoying the weather, good food, and my friends and family- and by all means that's what it should mean to you. As a soldier over here, those are the things I miss the most. While you are enjoying all that, take some time to remember someone you lost, whether in war or not- we all have them. And if nobody comes to mind, raise a beer for Dave Boris and Tom Bostick- two of my brothers who I am unable to honor with a beer today.

Happy Memorial Day!

Cheers.

Great story Bren :)

Thanks for sharing that Bren. Now I need to go get myself a steak to grill.

Mmm... I think I'm long overdue for a BBQ! I'll have to do that sometime soon. But today is not a holiday here. Enjoy your day off, Yankees!

Ok, maybe it's hormones, but you made me cry Bren. Thank you for that...and a huge thank you for choosing to serve your country in such a profound way.

Thanks for sharing Bren.. We take our freedoms so casually sometimes and forget we have men and women who are willing to defend it every day. I no longer have family in the military, but I've had plenty of first hand experiences overseas where I was proud to be an American. Sometimes, even closer friendships were formed in foreign countries than in America. It's like an unspoken bond of friendship that brings everyone together. Today, I made burgers and probably go see Terminator=) Maybe even have a beer, too=)

Happy Memorial Day!

Beer has been raised, Thanks Bren.

Thanks Bren.