Ghost Troop Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 5, 30 Jul 2003

Hello families. Baghdad continues to be our home for the foreseeable future. At least things are starting to get better at the barracks and for the quality of life which is a good thing considering we should be here a while. The temperature here has cooled off a little; I don’t think it made it to 110 all week. By the way,

This ia a soldiers personal web page for lightweight hiking tips. However, he has recently been posting updates to soldiers families and all those concerned about "what is really going on in Iraq". I do not know his political affiliation, but its very interesting reading!

From the website:

"...The replacements are still not keeping pace with the losses....<<

That doesn't sound good.

I wonder if he's talking about casualties or troops being rotated out (they don't still do that like in VietNam though, do they?)

Great post. Thanks! The troops shouldn't have to inform as well as save the world - yet they do. Their letters from Iraq are rare glimpses of reality - instant press-spin debunkers. Bless 'em all.

Another excerpt:

Finally, the biggest news yet, on the 22nd, Saddam’s two sons were both killed in Iraq by coalition forces. The shooting last night in celebration by the Iraqi people was so intense we had too bring everyone in under cover because bullets were falling out of the sky. This morning when we got up, there were bullets laying around that were easy to see in the sunlight.

Morale Computers, Mail, and Phones

Regiment now has their Internet café and according to the soldiers that have seen it, it is a pretty good deal: $4 an hour for Internet connection. We have a contract to get ours, but I do not have a firm projected date yet; the projected date is “sometime in mid August”. Once it is up, soldiers should be able to go there during their free time to e-mail and maybe even chat with people back home.

The pay satellite phones continue to suck; I cannot say it any other way. The Army satellite phone is still available and working most of the time, although last week when we had phone time, there were problems with all the available lines being busy. Ther ... read more

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