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 #11 of 17:

14 Mar 07
7:30PM
H/C: 22

We got in a new group a couple weeks ago, and they've been working me to no end. This new group is so worried about keeping a clean work center, that it's detracting from the quality of their work. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the attacks on our base have been more frequent. I had to go pick up some of our guys that got wounded in a IED attack the other day. It's tough trying to act like everything is fine when I'm on the phone with friends and family, but I just don't want them to worry. You don't want your mom to know that you're in the most dangerous base in Iraq. A few days ago I was on the phone with my dad, and a mortar hit 40 feet away. I'm surprised he didn't hear it. Or maybe he was just ignoring it and hoping it was something else. Oh well, I have to get my laundry, so I guess this concludes today's entry. "

Taking down a flag over Ramadi, Iraq
Kyle Mills - Taking down a flag over Ramadi, Iraq
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Kyle Mills - "The Alamo" - Ramadi, Iraq
Kyle Mills - "The Alamo" - Ramadi, Iraq
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From Kyle, today:

The difference that I found between the different groups, is that they all have their own set of priorities and Rules Of Engagement (ROE). For example, one group will go out on a mission like a scalpel - collect what they need, capture the target, and end up with whatever intelligence we can get to further the mission. Others (not pointing any fingers) will go out on a mission like the Tazmanian Devil, just mess up the area and kill before even considering capture. Problem is, I cannot gather actionable intelligence from a dead guy."

This is the 11th 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 end up with a pretty serious case of home sickness. This really is a rollercoaster of a deployment.

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

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