I don't even think it's still possible to come up with an accurate number of times I've had to do some overnights here at Striker, but I'm sure I could go back and re-read, and it would be there. After all, I've written about being at this place every single time I've landed in this limbo.

This morning I when I was walking back from breakfast I passed the spot we used to park at. It's about the only place on here that hasn't changed, so many barriers and ditches and roads and buildings since.... For a moment it was a July afternoon, and we'd just had ice cream. There was that three-day dust storm, and then it was clear. It had gone from visibility of fifty feet to one of the brightest afternoons I can remember. Alpha Section was gettin' it on, headed back to the Mahm and points south. We were all still together.

The more time I spend in Iraq, the more I see ghosts.

Shoot straight. Drive on.