MARCH 1 – Today I learned something. We went out again on a mission into Baghdad. We stopped at a police station so that my chief could talk to the Iraqi commander. Another officer, myself, and an interpreter escorted our chief to the building while the rest of our convoy waited for us outside. We walked into a high-walled area where the front of the building was located. Our chief and the officer went inside so the interpreter and I decided to wait outside for them. As I was waiting a man walked past me with his wife walking about 5 paces behind him. Let’s just call my interpreter ‘Alan’ for namesake. I asked, “Why does the woman walk 5 paces behind her husband?” Alan our interpreter is from Baghdad himself and I was surprised at his answer. “When a woman walks behind her husband this is a place of honor because her husband is clearing the way for her.” He went on to say, “I once got into a fight with a policeman for looking at my wife. Any man that looks or says anything disrespectful to my wife I will fight them!” Wow! I work in downtown Charlotte and I have seen countless times women not given that kind of honor by their husbands or boyfriends. I have heard of this custom before but I always perceived it as a place of submission. The truth is this woman had her husband out in front of her proclaiming his protection and love for her!

MARCH 2 – We went back out again and as we were driving through the streets it was the craziest thing. We turn down one street and there is a man crossing the street with his herd of sheep and goats! An interesting note is that I found out that the goats keep the sheep in the herd. Also, I know why God calls us sheep. As I was watching this man, wherever he would go the sheep would follow him. It was as if they were trained. The disgusting thing that I saw was that the goats were also used to eat the trash that was piled up in the streets! Goats eat anything! Trust me I’m not trying to become relaxed while we are traveling but this part of the world is so interesting. There are so many palm trees as you go down each street. It’s getting warmer and soon the summer heat will be here soon. I have lost some weight already but I hope to lose more.

MARCH 4 – It was a beautiful sunny day. We had to go on a patrol in this prominent Sunni neighborhood. Instantly I noticed the difference between a Shia versus Sunni neighborhood. The Sunni are the class that is educated and have better-paying jobs. The Shia are the class that has low-paying jobs and most can’t read or write. Today was the day that I had to with 4 other members of my team dismount our vehicles and literally walk on foot through this neighborhood searching for illegal weapons! We pulled up to the neighborhood with support from another infantry unit. As we got out of the vehicle my heart was pounding. In front of our vehicle was a Bradley tank. So all 5 of us ran up to it and took cover behind it. Then a group of about 15 Iraqi National policemen ran to the first house. It was then that two gunshots rang out! We ducked down even further behind the Bradley for cover. The thought of them dragging a body out of the house was going to blow my mind! The order was given that if no one was home the door would have to be knocked down and the house would still need to be searched. By the time the Iraqi policemen reached the third house my team and I made our way behind them. And one of the officers with me had decided to follow the policemen inside the houses. We went from house to house. Some residents were home and some residents had left their house keys with the neighbors. There was one house we went into that totally surprised me. Most of the homes that we went into were a lot nicer than the Shia homes. All of them had furniture that was a cross between French provincial and bad motel furniture. The owner of this house escorted us in and I guess he didn’t have much choice when you have 30 individuals consisting of the police and American army at your door! As we came in the door several small groups of policemen began searching the man’s house. I went off to another room with 3 other soldiers. The owner showed us his living room. The man then led us to another room where he had pulled back a curtain and to my surprise, it was a scenic picture of the New York City skyline with the World Trade Center right in the middle! My jaw hit the ground. The owner could tell that I was disturbed by what I saw and he asked the interpreter what was wrong with me. With the help of an Interpreter, I asked the man why did he have this picture in his room. He explained that he had bought it in the marketplace and that he loved the beauty in that picture. Well, I couldn’t argue with him. New York is my favorite town. Nonetheless, we did finish our search of the houses. I and my team was whipped! Nobody was killed and no one was hurt. Thank God!

MARCH 5 – It’s my birthday! I have a group of dear friends that we celebrate each other’s birthdays with (Hey Trish, Scott, Dawn, and Wake!) I’m not the center of attention with the guys so today is just like any other day here. What I will do is go get myself a haircut buy myself a card and celebrate by myself! Please don’t think this is a sad thing. I am alive and that’s all that matters right now. So I wish myself a happy birthday!

MARCH 7 – It concerns me that the guys on my team are starting to get grumpy and irritable with each other. People are starting to snap at each other. I try to keep my distance but at the same time, I try to offer some kind words. I know what it is. They are beginning to miss their families and the frustration of this mission is starting to take its toll. Life here at the camp is different. There are no weekends off, just time off. We experience the moment then it is over. We roll outside the gate and for the next 5 hours, you are on the edge. Your senses are up, your adrenaline is pumped and in some way, you lose track of time. I lose track of what day of the week that I am in. Why? Because each day can almost be the same and carry no significant purpose with it. , I keep myself busy, as you know, by writing this weekly journal and collecting videos for my show ‘Life on the Line’. I go to the gym to keep my fitness up and I attend chapel for my spiritual encouragement. I just noticed that some of the guys who don’t do anything for their MBS (mind, body, and spirit) are going to have problems. Some are getting letters and care packages from home but I think there is something they can do to keep themselves from going crazy. We are blessed here. The soldiers in the previous wars in combat zones such as Vietnam didn’t have internet service in their rooms! They didn’t even have rooms. They didn’t have a full-scale mess hall that offered ice cream every night. They didn’t have a PX to go to or a workout gym. So there is a lot to be thankful for. I have no complaints other than I want to come home.

MARCH 9 – We traveled to the police station where we work today. The building is a big two-story building that is located within a nice Shia neighborhood. As we turn the corner to go inside the station we can see children playing outside, women in their burkas walking to and fro. The neighborhood reminds me of some of the small neighborhoods I grew up in in New York. The house is 1 to 2 stories tall and most houses have a small courtyard that is fenced off. The children wave to us and shout something as we pass by. I’ve been told that they want candy. We soon arrive in the parking lot of the station and make ours into the building. I walk past a young Iraqi policeman who looks at me and smiles as if I am special. I’ve been told that they want to look like American soldiers when they wear their uniforms. I don’t know why because in my opinion, we carry too much crap. This body armor is heavy and I have a thousand things attached to it as well! I go inside the building and by no means is this what you call a police station. It looks more like an abandoned school. We go down this semi-lit hallway and make a left turn where there are a series of doors. In each room is an office for each officer who does something for the company. Of course, my dealings are with the Iraqi logistics officer. We have met each other once or twice already and as I walk into his office he is sitting behind his desk. He stands up and extends his hand to me. I decided that I would do all of the traditional Iraqi cultural stuff. So I shook his hand and I greeted him with the ‘man kiss’. The men in this culture will greet each other with a handshake and kiss each other on each cheek. As I did I could tell that he was impressed that I would do such a gesture. They know that most American men would never do such a thing. With my interpreter, we sat and discussed ways for him to get what he needed for his men. My job was to make sure he is following proper procedure to report to the proper channels the needs of his company. We are trying to make the Iraqis self-reliant and get them to use their own resources to meet their needs. We talked for another hour and I noticed that the officer had two twin beds in his office. He had his desk, a wall locker, and some chairs for guests. He stepped out of the room for a second to handle some business. I asked my interpreter why were the beds there? He told me that most of the officers live in the surrounding cities outside Baghdad. When they are here they live at the station house. That explains why each month staff members get 10 days of leave a month to go home to their families.

MARCH 11 – Another day on patrol through a Shia neighborhood. I am walking through this neighborhood with a patrol of Iraqi National policemen. We are looking for weapons in the houses. Some of these houses to my surprise are empty. About a good 300 yards in the distance is a big beautiful mosque. It is a big building with a blue dome that is surrounded by 5 tall towers. I am careful not to stand in front of its view because my interpreter tells me that snipers have been reported there. We go through each house and the policemen do a great job. The only thing is that we have to watch them because sometimes they can steal personal items from a house. We came to this one house in which the people were home. The Iraqi man, along with his wife, mother, and young children were inside. The soldiers searched his home and found nothing. We left the house and as we were leaving I was standing just outside the door watching the soldier leave I noticed the man’s little daughter staring at me. She seemed to be about 10 years old. The look on her face puzzled me. It was a cross between confusion and fear. I gave her a friendly wave and a smile but she didn’t change her expression. I guess I would be scared too. This big 6’2 big black man, with body armor, and Oakley sunglasses carrying a pistol and M-16 with a grenade launcher attached to it would scare the hell out of me!!!

MARCH 13 – I wish I could take back every meal that I refused to eat when I was little. Today we have to spend two nights down at the police station. Of course, the team is reluctant to do it but the policy is changing here. The higher-ups want all of the ‘military transition teams’ to spend more time ‘outside the wire’. That means that we are being pressured to spend a few nights down here. Don’t get me wrong the Iraqis that we work with are great but to live with them is another issue. We arrived today with our gear and moved into a wrong that they gave us. We moved 5 bunk beds into a room that was used as an office. The room was sectioned off by thin plywood on all four sides. The walls didn’t go all the way up to the ceiling because there was a 2-foot gap that led to the next room. Our bunk beds are about a foot apart from each other. We arrived in the late morning to do some training. Soon it was lunch and we were served a pita-like sandwich that some of the guys thought tasted good. It tasted like munch from my lawnmower and inside the bread were these like fried hush puppies. The Iraqi officer bought plenty for everyone to have at least two sandwiches! In this culture, you have to be respectful and not refuse you can anything they offer you in the form of hospitality. It was the nastiest sandwich I have ever tasted. Being a big guy all my life people want to feed me. The Iraqi officer motioned for me to have another sandwich but I was trying so hard to eat the sandwich fast. I didn’t want him to see that I was dying inside from the taste. Well, I got through that experience which led us up to dinner. I went to the bathroom and as I walked into the door two attendants were bringing out these two big fish! I just stared and began laughing to myself! Of course, I knew instantly what dinner would consist of. About 1 hour later we were all called to the table for dinner. The attendants had 4 platters on the table. The big fish were cut into halves and laid on each platter garnished with vegetables. There were bowls of rice surrounding each platter. Well, I took my seat with my team at the table. The attendants brought in flatbread (which I love) and offered it to everyone. Well, me being an American I was looking for the plates and forks and knives. I sat there hoping that this wouldn’t be what I thought it would be. It was. Some of the Iraqi officers begin pulling off a piece of the bread and using their fingers to pull off pieces of the fish! I could have died! There is one Iraqi officer who really likes me who said to me in his broken English “Eat Sgt. Lewis, eat!” I would have settled for a liverwurst, peanut butter, and jelly sandwich if I didn’t have to eat that fish! With all eyes looking at me I pulled off a piece of my bread grabbed a hunk of fish and ate it. As I sat there with my fake smile chewing the flavor of the fish was beginning to taste pretty good. Then about 15 minutes later the Iraqi officer that likes me offered me from his fingers what looked like pickled cauliflower. Of course, I smiled and took one for the USA. It tasted sour as it entered my mouth. I smiled and pretended that this was the greatest thing I had ever tasted. After the meal was done I retreated back to our small room and told one of my officers that I couldn’t stand much of that any longer. When he asked me why, I told him that I could not eat things that didn’t taste good. It will upset my stomach! So horrible tasting sandwiches, fish being cleaned and washed in the men’s room and people eating without plates or flatware was the crisis of my day. Can life get better? I submit that it can not!!!

MARCH 15 – Who would have thought I would be watching the sunrise on St. Patrick’s Day? I got up about 6 a.m. this morning. I grabbed a bottle of water and my toothbrush and headed outside to the latrine (bathroom). I chatted with the front gate guard who is American. The sky is a light charcoal gray. I can still see last night’s half-moon slightly through the clouds. The police station that I stay in has highly fortified walls with one entry and exit way. I stand there for a moment to let the fresh air go through my lungs. I just realized that the smell inside the police stations where we are sleeping has this lingering stench to it. Once I smelled the fresh air I realized just how bad it smelled. My favorite place to go and live is in New York City. I remember being inside the subway system in the city and having to smell the horrible odor that came from the transient that was relieving themselves. I remembered how it almost made me sick to my stomach. This here is different. It’s a cross between the subway and the dungeon where they keep people and the smell of bodies is always present. I stood there for a smell breathing in the fresh air. My thoughts for the moments take me back to my wife. For some reason the thought of how pretty her eyes are and how they are a unique color of blue makes me smile for the moment. Suddenly I can hear the ‘call to prayer’ which is a man singing something in Arabic and that is the moment that all Muslims lay their prayer rugs out and begin their daily ritual of prayers to Allah. To think that about 6 months ago I was walking the streets of downtown Charlotte and headed to Starbucks to get my morning venti bold coffee with a shot of hazelnut! I amazes me how the morning commute to work is done almost repetitively without any thought to it at all. The city comes alive as people maneuver in their cars hoping not to get caught in traffic that Charlotte is so famous for. Also, the Charlotte Gold Rush transport vehicles can be seen going up and across the streets of Charlotte moving people to the buildings where they work. Here it’s different. The people live here with the sights and sounds of violence and death. I am just blown away by just how easy they can do it. The sun comes up and the children come out to play. The women go out to the marketplace. The men if they have a job go to work to support their families. The thought is always there. Be careful!

MARCH 16 –We spent another night at the police station. The stench in this place is really bad. The smell would make some of you sick. I and about 11 guys are crammed into one room together. They gave us some bunk beds so everyone had a bed. The mattresses are so musty the smell comes right through the fabric. I don’t feel bad because there is an infantry unit that is next door to us and they have about 30 guys slammed into a small room! Being here in Baghdad over the last 3 months has made me really appreciate the simple things that I had when I lived in the United States. For instance, like running water in your house. I appreciate how my wife keeps our house clean. I found out that all of the houses in the city are not running on what we might call a power plant. Electricity is come by way of a series of generators that are powered by diesel fuel. Because of Muslim customs chicken, lamb, fish, and beef are the only meat sources here. When the heat gets here, which will be in May, this place will be like an oven. Some of our guys are showing signs that they are getting sick. It’s probably from the dinner we ate with them last night.

MARCH 18 –Today we are beginning a 6-day joint operation with the Iraqi army and the Iraqi National Police who I work with. What I have learned about the Iraqi police so far really blows me away. For instance, when they go out on a mission for that day they are handed their ration of ammunition for the day. I asked about food and water for their soldiers and I was told that they are given some water and a biscuit. You would think these guys are pitiful but as I spend more time with them they impress me with how well they can network to have their needs met. I was on patrol one day with them and we were traveling in a small convoy through this neighborhood. All of a sudden we stopped and then a few women walked past our vehicle carrying big platters. They made their way up convoy where most of the troops were. Everything stopped because these guys had lunch brought to them by the people in that neighborhood! I have at least seen this very thing three times. Iraqi culture is so different from ours. After they eat lunch it is customary to take a 1-hour nap. I like that myself.

MARCH 20 – We are clearing houses in a Shia neighborhood. My job is to watch our National Police guys do this operation. The process is pretty easy. Every house on that street must be checked. If the owner is not home then the soldiers will break down the door to get in. If that happens we leave a form that the owner can contact the U.S. coalition forces with a claim to receive payment for any damages done to their property. There were times when a next-door neighbor would be coming running up to us with the house key to their neighbor’s house. What gets me is that this operation is supposed to be a secret and a surprise. The soldiers come into the home and go through the house looking for weapons. Each household is only allowed 1 AK-47 with one magazine of ammo. Think about it every house has a loaded semi-automatic weapon in it!

MARCH 22 – It’s about 5:30 a.m. and we are getting ready to go out again with the Iraqi police. There are about 20 trucks out in the parking with about 4 guys to each truck standing around smoking and joking. It’s still dark outside as we make our way to get our trucks ready. I didn’t sleep too well. Well to be honest I was up to about midnight working on my computer. Also over the walls, you can hear the talk between the Iraqi soldiers. We didn’t understand what they were saying but they had no consideration that we and others were trying to sleep. I was a little on edge because I wanted to know what our security looks like. What prevented some guy from coming up in here and blowing us up while we slept? The police station we stay at is surrounded by 12-foot-tall cement barricade walls. There is a guard posted at the entrance to the station and a fence that leads to the building. People were coming and going in and out of the building in civilian clothing and I couldn’t tell if they were enemy or friendly. The sun was slowly making its way out from behind the clouds. We must have cleared about 30 houses yesterday! I was so exhausted after that. I don’t look forward to clearing houses today but somebody has to do it.

MARCH 23 – Iraqi houses are different than American houses. They are for the most part bigger. Just about every house has a fenced-off courtyard in the front of the house. I guess this provides security allowing you to know if someone is trying to enter your house. There is a front gate that is locked. Once you enter the house you can walk right into a kitchen area that is plain with a gas-burning stove and an eat-in dinette. Next, you could go into what might be called a dining room. Here there is a big 24-inch television in there. The furniture in these houses is always of a deep red or green color. Some of the houses didn’t even have furniture. I found out later that most of the houses were abandoned by the Sunni and the Shia has come and taken over the house. This is all legal. On the first floor, it continues into another living room area and maybe a bedroom or two. I looked in the bathroom just to be curious (laughing). To my surprise, they had that hole-in-the-ground thing but also a regular toilet. I saw a few houses that had a bade (a French toilet)!

MARCH 25 – The last day for clearing house. Thank God. My team and I are exhausted. We started off like every morning this week at 5:30 a.m. and moved to our link-up area waiting for the Iraqi army guys. We started clearing houses and there was one house where we came in. There was the cutest little Iraqi girl. She was about 3 years old and she was crying her eyes out. She touched my heart because she looked exactly like my little girl when she was that age. Her father was talking with one of the soldiers. I remembered that I had a piece of hard candy in my pocket. I walked up to her dad and asked through an interpreter if it was okay if I could give it to her. Her father said yes. His daughter ran to him and as he comforted her he told me that she was so scared! I know I must have been frightened because I am big already and when I put on my body armor and come through the door holding a big rifle with a sidearm that is scary for any child. Well, the little girl took my candy and she was beginning to stop crying. Then Steve one of our interpreters gave me a single serving size of some pop tarts. I gave this to her and she took those from me as well. She was so cute. She reminded me of my little girl. My little girl is eighteen now but it was a good memory. For the moment I had a lump in my throat.

MARCH 26 – I guess the thing that is crazy about being here is that every day is almost the same as the next. We go out on a mission do our thing and come back in or spend the night out at the police station. I was telling my wife how I tried to combat that problem with my MBS concept. Mind/Body/Spirit is the concept. For my mind, I am pursuing my BA degree online. For the body, you all know that I hit the gym 6 to 7 days a week. Also, I will be teaching a weekly hip-hop class on base. Spirit, I seek the righteousness of God through daily prayer and Bible reading, and I attend chapel when I can. This is working because my teammates are beginning to bicker and fight with one another. I truly believe that they are bored. It might sound crazy but I am almost glad that we leave the camp every day. I think I would go nuts if I were the person who stayed here for the whole year and didn’t get to see any of Baghdad. At the camp, we have a gym and a place where they show movies and have internet but that stuff gets old quickly. It’s funny also because I can see people trying to hook up with each other. That’s one thing for sure, I don’t need a combat zone romance. I try to put some kind of little schedule in my life so that I have something to retreat to. Here was a guy who was teaching 8 to 10 classes a week, holding down a full-time job and family. Now I am reduced to doing one thing and one thing only. When we travel ‘outside the wire’ my senses become alert and my heart rate increases. My eyes are watching and looking for anything that might be strange looking in the road. I am like that for at least 2 to 3 hours until I come back. When we clear the camp’s entrance gates and we are back on our turf I notice that I am overwhelmed with fatigue. We go back to our rooms and take a nap to refresh ourselves and start the same process over again. That is why I encourage our guys to find a hobby or something they can escape to.

MARCH 28 – I heard on the news that there has been some retaliation between the Shia and Sunni. I can’t help feeling that I am standing right in the middle of a domestic dispute. Most of you know me as a positive person. I am trying to keep my optimism up about all of this but I can’t help feeling that I am fighting a lost cause. I don’t get a sense that these people want to take charge of their country. They rely entirely too much on the U.S. I have gone on several patrols with the National Police. When it gets to the late afternoon some of the Iraqi soldiers are asking us for water and food. My team’s goal while we are here is to help the transition of Iraqi force to take over their own operations. This means food, water, fuel, and whatever it takes to run this unit. I just see us (the U.S. forces) giving them what they want. I can’t help but feel like we are being taken advantage of.

MARCH 30 – I really miss being home today. I got a package from my wife a few days ago and she is really something. She put the CD set of ‘All in the Family’ in there. Also, she put the cd set of the ‘Three Stooges’ in there. They make me laugh so hard. I don’t know why but they do. I decided not to put a TV in my room. I want to concentrate on my writing and reading while I’m here. I realized that when I was back in the States just how isolated I was from the rest of the world. I know right now as I speak everyone is waking up in Charlotte getting ready for work or school. The rush hour traffic is in full gear by 7 a.m. The lines are forming at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. The traffic down South Tryon Street is increasing because it takes me about 3 to 5 minutes to cross South Tryon in my car from my subdivision. The kids are standing on the corner waiting for their school bus to pick them up. Downtown Charlotte people are parking their cars and catching the Gold rush that will drop them off in front of their building. Everyone is rushing off somewhere to someplace. I am just reflecting because these circumstances have slowed me down. So much so that now I can think. I can think about things like how much I love my wife and kids. I can stop and watch the sun go down. It just makes me realize how much our American lifestyle is so fast. The crazy part about all of this is when this is over for me I will jump back into this fast-paced existence again.