Report from Iraq

I was thrilled to talk to our nephew on the phone yesterday, who is home for a week or so from Iraq, where he is serving with the 10th Calvary Regiment. He's been in Iraq since April. In that time, he's worked his way up from the guy who has to drive the Humvee to the guy who gets to shoot the machine gun on the Humvee. He even got to be the gunner on the Humvee driving General Petraeus around (while his regular crew was off).

Luckily, he got away with only minor wounds (thanks, body armor!) when his Humvee detonated an IED. (Just a little shrapnel in his arm.) He also took a sandle to the face.

He's been in Baghdad mostly, but also Fallujah, Tikrit, and elsewhere. The good news is that the situation there has improved significantly since April. He said that, when he got there, the Iraqi police were afraid to leave their bunkers, and now he thinks they are in a position to maintain order.