Holy sh!t it’s hot!!!... again! Just like before the sand here in Kuwait is blinding, the port-a-johns smell and the lines are long. But this time we’re on our way out! I can’t wait to get home.

The sunset above was the last sunset we saw in Iraq. Below, I’ve included a few pictures from our trip from Iraq to Kuwait.

Everyone is pretty excited to be headed home. Unfortunately, the process involves quite a bit of down time and waiting around for different flights. And, god knows idle time for us is a BAD idea... Poor Duarte had to celebrate his birthday at the PAX terminal in Speicher. Luckily for him, Chapman was able to find a make shift birthday cake or shake for him consisting of a snack-pak with a flaming tampon candle. One would think that in itself would be enough shock-and-awe, but not for Dewie. He chose to use his freshly extinguished candle as a spoon while enjoying his delicious snack-pak... Then, in the next tent over, a sing-a-long broke out. It was hilarious to see Barbito fight off tears as Furtado belted out his rendition of "That's What Friends are For". We all sung poorly, but enjoyed ourselves.

Well, I had promised myself I wouldn’t post pictures from yet another one of these public relations save the world missions, but this one was pretty fun, and we got a bunch of great pictures. On Tuesday, a few of us headed out to the fertilizer factory North of town. These folks were better off than some of the other villages we've been to, but they could still benefit from a little American medical care, and school supplies for the school year that started a couple weeks ago.

Around lunchtime, we were informed that the cafeteria had enough food for us to all eat there. Initially we were a little hesitant, but the food ended up being pretty good. Granted, I still have no idea what was in the soup, and no amount of persuasion could convince Flynn to touch anything but the bread...

Aside from the normal nervousness while on the road, this entire mission was a good time. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Hanging out with the locals and the Iraqi Army guys was nice. McGonagle helped spread a little American culture:

And, Captain Mendoza may have received over a dozen marriage propositions. One guy after posing for a picture with the captain, walked over to me, and said, "I love American women." I was like, "yeah, me too." Then he looked at me and said "I love American men too. You have beautiful eyes..." To which McGonagle and Flynn may have actually pissed themselves. Overall the day was a huge success.

Hockey in a time of war
By Ryan Heffernan, Globe Correspondent
August 14, 2005

In a land where it's "140 degrees in the shade," as Sergeant 1st Class Andrew Fay put it, frozen ponds and ice skating rinks are hard to come by.

But that hasn't kept Fay, of West Roxbury, and his fellow National Guardsmen from playing the game they love while stationed in Iraq. They took their hockey sticks and moved the game inside, converting what was once a basketball court for Iraqi soldiers into an indoor street hockey rink.

The three hours a week that the soldiers spend playing street hockey is one of the only ways they can relax.

"We can go back to basically being a civilian," said Fay. "We don't have to worry about being blown up."

"A few of the locals have tried to play," said Fay, a Boston police officer assigned to Roxbury's Area B-2. "And we have other people coming in, too. People from the Iraqi army and civilian contractors."

"We're in an environment where people are trying to shoot at us and blow us up," he said. "[When we play,] it's almost like your brain is taking a break from the everyday stress of what we're going through right now."

Here is a quick, fun video for everyone(no fingers this time). People kept asking when I was going to release an Iraq video, or if the Airhorn videos had replaced the slideshows. My original intent was to do an Iraq video midway through our tour, then do a final video when we got home. Unfortunately, I got tied up with the Airhorn episodes and did not have a chance to do the mid-tour video. That is until now.

This video is intentionally light hearted and quick. I was torn between doing a heart wrenching video to a Staind song, or this light hearted video to a Bosstones song. I went with the Bosstones, deciding to focus on some of the fun we've had between the long stretches of monotony. I figure the heart wrenching, reminiscent crap can wait until we're almost home.

Note to Soldiers: This video was created primarily from my own pictures and pictures from SSG Richards. If you have additional pictures that you would like included in the 'final' video, please get them to me.