Here's Mike's first email from Iraq:

Quote::

I am officially in Camp Liberty(victory..same place) Baghdad. I am on the north side. We really don't have anything to do till next year but we are staying busy. We are living in trailers...rooms are kind of small but all in all ok. We have heat and ac in the room and a twin bed. Of course mine is broken so it kind of sags in the middle. I put a piece of plywood under the mattress so it doesn't sag all that much...but since my mattress is about 2 in. thick, I might as well just sleep on the plywood. At least we have a roof over our heads and a warm place to sleep at night. The food here is awsome. I usually have my choice of oriental stir fry, cheeseburgers, philly cheese steak, hot dogs, chili dogs, and of course the main line. They also have seperate areas for roast beef..freshly sliced off the bone, and a great salad bar. The drink selection is pretty much anything you can think of including near beer(non alcoholic)....and yes they do have DR PEPPER....yeah for me. Just imagine...this isn't even the fancy DFAC. There is another one on the south side that is even better than this one. It is cold here in the mornings and everything is a pretty good walk to get to...except the bathrooms which are far enough after a warm shower and cold weather. Well i need to get back to work so I will update later. I love y'all and man do I miss Texas. Mike

Complaining about your BED?! I slept on a cot for the entire time I was there...in a tent! With no consistent A/C, heat, or power! And I ate T-Rations and MREs until the last three months!

I told Mom to send you an air mattress. I did end up getting one about half way through my tour and it made life much better, except on the cold nights without heat when the air in my mattress sucked the heat out of my body.

Post your wish list for care packages.