August 10th was a fun day! CPT Simer and I got to take a trip to Basra! Basra is the second-largest city in Iraq. It’s wayyyy down in the southern tip of Iraq, near the Persian Gulf. It’s right near where the two famous rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, come together. Because of this, some people say this was the site of the Garden of Eden! That goes to show you how much things can change in 6,000 years.

I didn’t enjoy the trip to Basra at all. I had to ride in a HMMWV. Even Josh thought the HMMWV was cramped, and he only weighs 168 lbs. Imagine how I felt! And it was really hot, too!

I had a good time once we arrived, though. Basra is where a lot of British soldiers are stationed! I liked the British soldiers. They seemed to be good humored. Their units have really funny names. I met one soldier who said he was from the “Dorsetshire and Devons,” and another who was a “Queen’s Royal Hussar.” I’m not sure what a Hussar is, nor why a Queen would want a royal one. Maybe Hussars are good to eat?

CPT Simer had some meetings with British officers there, but I can’t tell you what the meetings were about. At one meeting there was an Australian officer! It was fun to meet him. When the meeting was over, he said, “I’m going to go down to the cookhouse and secure us a table, mates. I’ll meet you there.” CPT Simer had to explain to me what a cookhouse was. And also, being a polar bear, “mate” means something very different than it does to Australians!

After the meetings, we had lunch with some British, Australian, and Danish officers. The chow hall there served fish and chips. I love fish and chips! Not as much as grilled cheese sandwiches or raw seal blubber, but I do like it a lot. And naturally it was served with tea. I’m afraid I drank too much tea, which made the trip home a little rough for the other soldiers in my vehicle, but that’s the way it goes.

I couldn’t take any pictures in the British headquarters in Basra, but here’s a shot of me and CPT Simer in a parking lot at the Basra Airport:

On the way back to our camp, we stopped at an outpost to meet the soldiers there. While we were there, I took a turn pulling guard duty in one of the towers. Here is SPC Lindbom from A/2-135 Infantry, showing me where my sector of fire is:

And here’s a picture of me pulling guard duty with an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon: