Sorry this picture is a bit blurry. This is one of the Iraqi Army guys I always see daily. He is one of those guys you usually talk to briefly, but he is always very nice to you. One day we just sat down and talked for hours. I was asking him about his life. He is two years older than me, has 13 years in the Kurdish Militia (Peshmerga) and has two kids. I told him it seems he has already lived an entire life and he has plenty of more years to go.

What you see here is typical of greedy Iraqi children. You throw one piece of candy to a kid from your Stryker and a mob immediately forms. They then proceed to fight over that one piece of candy or whatever you throw out. It really becomes a mob though, especially if you pull a soccer ball out. If they don't get something, they want a dollar. Giving to the parents generally goes over much better. They seem to appease the mob of kids much better. So, on this day of thanks, what am I thankful? I am thankful for all of you, your continued care for the well-being of me and my soldiers. I'm also thankful for warm water. I had my first warm shower in weeks. Cold showers get old very quickly.

Picture with one of my Team Leaders. He controls 3-4 four guys. The news has been broken to some of you. We will be moving down to Baghdad at some point in time, doing something. Yes, I can say this. No, I have no idea whats going on. As far as I know now. I'm still in Mosul and I'm still doing the same stuff day in and day out. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.