Memoirs of an Outlaw: Life in the Sandbox

Chapter 22: Daily Routine

The way our shifts were usually set up was that we would patrol for eight hours, be the react force for another eight, and have off for the last eight. Some days were ordinary, and others were broken up with new missions or happenings. But almost every day, we would try to find what little there was to do on base to entertain us.

Our days always seemed to start off the same. Most of our shifts either began at 8:00 p.m. or 2:00 a.m., two of the worst shifts to have because either way we barely got any sleep.

Each morning at 2:00 a.m., the guard on watch would come into our section of the hooch with a flashlight and wake the platoon. We usually had thirty minutes to get ready for the mission. In thirty minutes, we had to shit, shower, and shave, and then prepare our vehicles and gear for the mission. Once that was all done, the platoon commander would come out and give us our mission briefing. It was normally the same each day, but sometimes they would give us a cool one to do.

Once the briefing was over, we would load up on our vehicles and take off. Normally, we would patrol the main service route (ranked the most deadly in Iraq at the time) back and forth, which was about fifteen miles in length. We would break it up by stopping and setting up hasty listening and observation posts for about thirty minutes, and then we would go back to patrolling again. At times it could get extremely boring, and at other times it would be full of action.

Eventually, we began to devise new ways to break up the monotony and keep alert. A few people in the platoon had a lot of knowledge about the LAV and the small tweaks that could be made for added comfort. One of the most common add-ons in many of the vehicles was MP3 players hooked up to the vehicle intercom. This was probably one of the coolest features that we concocted. We would go on patrols, and the music would play in the background. The crew was able to hear it at all times, and whoever was wearing the CVC helmet in the scout compartment could hear it too; however, we usually hooked up the squawk box (speaker) in the back so all the scouts could hear. I had made it a point to bring my MP3 player with me on the deployment, and it held up well in the desert. Any player would do; the one we used for our vehicle was my Creative Zen. I loaded it up with over a thousand songs so we would never run out of new things to listen to. It lasted nearly the whole deployment, but on one patrol it fell underneath the turret and broke. Having music on patrols was something we sorely needed. Although some might view it as interference, it actually helped in keeping us awake and alert, and it kept morale high.

One of the worst things about our usual shift was that it ended when the heat was starting to get bad. We would usually return from patrols around ten in the morning, clean our weapons and vehicle, and then lie down for a nap. Unfortunately, we didn't have working air conditioning until July, and trying to fall asleep in 100 to 120 degree weather is damn near impossible. The solution was to strip down to our boxers. I would lie there and start to feel the sweat drip down my face. Within thirty minutes, my pillow would be soaked and it looked as if I had wet my bed. It was insane. So after about an hour of trying to fall asleep, I would get up to go find something to occupy my time. This was where things would get interesting.

Initially, Camp Baharia had little to offer. The only thing that provided some form of entertainment was the internet center. It had phones and computers for e-mailing and surfing the internet, but one could only do so much of that before getting bored. We needed other things, things that brought hours of fun. Seven months away from civilization made us very innovative.

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Spades was the ultimate pastime activity for us. It was equivalent to playing pool and drinking beer, except in our case, we sat down, played cards, and drank our Cokes. The game developed teamwork and friendships where there were none. Depending on who I played against, it would be for fun or would involve some cash.