Fruits and Nuts

I finally got away from my desk!! Yes, I'm sorry to say that I have a desk job...but I am still a Medic at heart, so yesterday I went out on a convoy to go fill the water truck and drop off medical supplies at another base camp. It was so cool...all the things I've learned about convoys kicked in. I was in the lead vehicle operating the radio, and we had to look out for IEDs and ambushes and stuff. When we got to the other base camp, we dropped of the supplies and as we were staging to leave their gate, they took small arms fire and two people got shot (all pretend, of course, but they use blanks and stuff...it's pretty realistic) and I was the only medic around! So I jumped off the gun truck with my aid bag and went through the mud to where the first casualty was, treated him for an abdominal wound and then ran to the other one, gunshot wound to the buttocks (not funny!:-) treated him, then by that time the patrol had gone out and cleared the road for us. We stopped at the water point on the way back and had to guard the water truck with the gun trucks, which are Humvees with 50cal machine guns mounted on them. The fittings on the water truck weren't working, so the gunner from our truck had to go help them, so I had to put my rifle down and man the 50cal...it was a truly comical sight. That's a big gun, and I'm not so big, and it looked really funny. I wish I had a picture! Anyway, no one attacked us, and we made it back fine. It's really good training for Iraq, even though over there I'll probably never even leave the wire. I'm going out on a foot patrol as the medic today which should be pretty fun...hiking around in the mud with a bunch of guys, with a big aid bag on, looking for the place from where the enemy has been shooting mortars at us. It's almost over, only two more days of the exercise, then just pack up and go home!!! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.