Fruits and Nuts

29 July 2007:

We've had a few incidences, all from IEDs, concussions, shrapnel, and one amputated hand, but nothing life-threatening so far. I've gone out on three missions, all disabled vehicle recovery missions. They were all at night, lasted about 8-12 hours, and were all within 50 kilometers of the base. Nothing happened, just a few vehicles got too close to our convoy and we shot flares at them and they backed off. I did get scared once though. It was about 3 in the morning on the way back and I was in the lead vehicle with 3 other people...driver, truck commander, and gunner. We weren't seeing much, just lots of foxes and crickets. No hostile action or anyting. Well we had to pass by these big pillars where at one point they were going to build an overpass but abandoned it. It's a prime place to place an IED. About 300 meters out we saw a vehicle coming toward us. It stopped at the pillars for about 30 seconds, then when we got about 150 meters away, they flipped a u-turn and sped out across the desert on a dirt road hauling ass. We could see them through the night vision, but we were too far away to make out what they were doing. We slowed up when we got close to the pillars. Our truck commander said that they could have dropped or emplaced something there before they sped away. Man, I've never been that tense! As we were creeping along between the pillars, all the spotlights blaring...it seemed like everything was a bomb!! Dirt clods, tire shreds, pieces of trash. It was crazy. it seemed like it took an hour to pass those 10 meters through the pillars. There was nothing there. I swear it took a year off my life, my heart pounding like that!! I was just filling in for someone, so I'm back at my desk full time now. Good thing...I dont' know how much adrenaline I can handle!!