Update #9 - April 26, 2006

Hello #9

The other day I got a chance to meet some soldiers form Baghdad whose mission was to take Iraqi detainees to trial. On my day off I convinced them to take me along for a ride. During my briefing, the Officer in Charge neglected to inform me that they get hit often on these trips through the city. Good thing we had air support that day and that made me feel a little more comfortable. I love it how during rush hour down town, all traffic stops when we roll up and traffic laws don’t really apply to us. It’s an awkward feeling riding at 60mph on the highway head on to oncoming traffic. It’s normal I guess for the military to do such things. We finally get to our destination which was located right outside of the green zone. Close enough for safety, far enough to hear shots being fired but I was never in any danger. The building is Saddams old private museum with a clock tower. During the ground war, it was reported that many solders were dying from sniper fire and they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. One day an apache helicopte r decided to give the old clock tower a face lift. Problem solved! All that is left is a skeleton of metal filled with bullet holes and a beautiful view from the top as shown on the picture attached. After the tour, I got to escort a guy to trial and watch the new court system Iraq has set up. I felt privileged to witness democracy in a country where people used to get their hands cut off for something as little as having $USD. All is well and my trip home was as smooth as it was going there.
Thank you for your continued support,
SGT Santana, Alexandre C.
Bco 181 Engineers
APO-AE09342

Update #8 - April 26th, 2006

Mary Christmas Everyone! #8It’s that time of year again where we take a little brake from life and make a little time for family and friends. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that patience can make anything happen, and will power can make it enjoyable. I’ll be home in a year… How enjoyable is it going to be spending some time with my family and friends around the holiday season? Patience got me where I am today and will power will get me home safe.

Greeting,
SGT Santana, Alexandre C.
Bco 181 Engineers
APO-AE09342

Update #7 - April 26, 2006

Finally here and my first mission (JOB) is pretty nice. It’s safe and I work indoors. I get to see and talk to a lot of bad guys in a secure location where they have no way to hurt me. Every day I try to make time to talk to them and learn about their culture, talk to them about what they think of the United States , the War and their religion. Another plus to my job is that I’m picking up Arabic fairly quick and I get to play with some cool toys from time to time. On the picture attached, there I am holding 2 RPGs found in a raid from a weapons cache that would have been used against us. Progress is being made everyday here but it’s unfortunate that the news does not reflect that. Other than the extremists, the Iraqi people don’t hate us as much as we think. Everyday I get a thank you from people we’ve captured because what we do is making a difference. By the time I’m done I hope to have a big enough vocabulary to communicate back to them. I’m taking things one day at a time and enjoying every minute.
Thank you for your support,
SGT Santana, Alexandre C.
Bco 181 Engineers
APO-AE09342