bdogg39

Well, we're really not supposed to talk to the locals about religion but they are not as fanatical as the stan and they are more open minded (most of them) to other religions. In fact, the haji barber that cuts our hair is a Christian. Another fun fact, prostitution is legal here. Making porn is illegal but selling imported porn is legal. This is definitely not an islamic state. The stan was very isolated, it was like going back in time, but even the smallest village had a speaker that played music at prayer time, 5 times a day, but I haven't heard it here once. And there aren't any women here that where burqas (sp). So, you're pretty much right on, other than being a little poorer (for now) than the US, we have a lot in common with these guys where as the Stan, well, its about time to just turn that place into glass.

Yeah I love DZ.com. I stumbled on to it when I was looking at preyorpins.com, they have DZ.com necklace, so I checked out the site. I shouldn't be here much longer, we're supposed to be out of here in less than 30 days. I'll be back in the skies soon! -Mike

Yeah I see or talk to haji pretty much every day. I'm in a rural area south of baghdad and the people around are pretty supportive of Americans. Most of them wave at us, honk their horns, and flash their lights and hazards when we drive by. I went to Afghanistan too and from my experiences I would say that Iraq has a good chance of success. The Stan was just a complete mess. Don't believe all the crap you see on CNN, its not as crazy as they make it look. Thanks for all your doing as a firefighter, I was looking at it as a possible career when I get out of the Army. Take it easy and make a jump or two for me. -Mike

Hello, I just got my A license back in December. As luck would have it, I got deployed to Iraq three weeks later, but at least I got it! I can't wait to get back and start jumping again and looking for a rig of my own. Just wanted to say hello to everyone out there. Take it easy.