December 15

Hello everyone,

Been a couple of real busy days with the weather being quite cold yet totally blue skies. We all dressed warm as the highs for yesterday and today were under 25 degrees. You should see all of the clothing that is worn by these guys from Arizona or Alabama.

Anyway, on the 14th we had some excellent training or the military GSP which is far superior to commercial GPS units only because it is encrypted and can't be jammed. Obviously that is a major factor. We also trained on the use of several types of radios as we may encounter varying types. The ones we use have to be able to link to satellites and be able to overcome jamming
signals. In the afternoon we spent the time going over more Muslim cultural awareness. You may have seen one of the pictures where I've got the traditional head wear on. Being the senior ranking NCO I was the ginny pig, along with the senior ranking officer. Anyway, everyone had a good laugh at our expense. One that will ride us for a while is where we had to hold hands. Holding hands is a common practice among men in the middle east. In the end we were happy to let go of each others hand. I simply prefer to hold Tina's hand.

Today the 15th we spent the entire day dealing with IEDs. Improvised Explosive Devises. IEDs are the leading cause of military injuries or deaths in the war on terror. Anyway we ran through every kind of IED there is and it basically scared us to death. But I guess that is the reason we train so we are prepared.

I trust that all of you are doing fine. I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Love Lincoln.