Kyle decided before he left for Iraq in December of 2006, that he would keep a journal of everything that was going on. That didn’t happen, as he was OBA (Overcome By Activity). However, he did manage to keep it up all throughout, here and there, whether he wrote something every other day or once a month. His journal was for his time there, events, work, emotions, everything; in order to share it for future generations to come, and now for you, our loyal listeners:

Entry #7 of 17:

7 Jan 07
5:30PM

It's only been 10 days? OK... where do I start... The night after I wrote my last entry, I had to fight with a generator for 2 hours just so I would have heat for the night. The next day, what does it do? It dies on me again. Anyhow... I'm really at a loss for where to start. There's been a bunch of people leaving and new people coming in lately. There have been approximately 10 people that we got so far. This group of Rangers are pretty good at capturing people instead of just shooting them.There have been a couple people killed though, but they weren't the people that I sent them out for, mainly their friends/coworkers. Not sure if I'll ever get used to seeing dead people. I'm coming to find more and more that Ramadi is, out of all of Iraq, one of, if not THE WORST places to be, safety-wise. It's located right next to Fallujah in the Al Anbar province. Apparently that's pretty bad. Living conditions certainly mirror such accusations. I just got done having a cold shower/shave, and now I'm back at my place. I moved rooms, I'm still in a tent, but it's sectioned off. I'm not choosy... as long as I have a bed to sleep on, a light, and a nightstand, I'll make due. I feel like I might be starting to get sick.

Lately, I've noticed more "war sounds", it's not uncommon to hear 4 or 5 bombs in a day, and if you stop (not recommended with all the snipers around) for a minute or two, and DON'T hear gunfire at least, that's very unusual. I may be writing in here less and less, now that I'm getting into the swing of things. Of course I miss home and all the niceties of everyday life like indoor plumbing, a quiet moment, and paved sidewalks, but I try not to dwell on that too much, it will only make me miserable. Until I get back, I will just go through the motions, and hope time goes by as quickly as I keep being told it will. "

Kyle Mills - Kyle's Bunk In The New Tent
Kyle Mills - Kyle's Bunk In The New Tent
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Kyle Mills - Sandstorm Knocked Down The Front Of Tent
Kyle Mills - Sandstorm Knocked Down The Front Of Tent
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From Kyle, today:

This was a big deal for me, moving tents! When I first got there, I was in an "overflow" tent that had a dirt floor, and about 25 cots laid side-by-side for everyone to sleep in. That was pretty rough, it wasn't uncommon to have mice crawling all over my stuff, and forget bringing any food or drinks in that tent. This new one was a little nicer - the big thing was that I got my own "room" that was separated by a thin tent wall. My neighbor to the one side was my good friend Jeff, and the other side was vacant for a moment. I was so excited to get into that room. It doesn't seem like much, but getting your own room was a huge deal for people. One small luxury, amidst a sea of uncomfortable hassles. "

This is the seventh of a 17-part series, that will cover my entire journal, from my deployment to Iraq from December 2006 – July 2007. Check in next week for the next installment, when I cover two weeks worth of entries, because one was very short. 

CLICK HERE to see last week’s installment of this 17-part series.

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