I got my first day off in about 10 days or so today. Now, that's not to say that we don't get "down" days...days we're not on mission or in the maintenance bay with our vehicles. My platoon sergeant tries to rotate us on what he calls "comp days." On our down days, we'll do classes on various things such as how to troubleshoot radio problems (constant issues with radios create the need for such classes). On comp days, however, you're OFF. Today was no different for me. While the rest of the platoon went off to Provincial Hall (the main government building in the province of Nineveh), I slept in all the way to 9:30 and it was fantastic. After a pretty aggravating mission yesterday, I was in need of a day off. As much as I hate watching my guys go off without me on a mission, I'll never turn down a day off.

As I said, I had a pretty aggravating day yesterday. The day began with an unbelievably awful 8th inning from my Texas Rangers. (Because of the time difference, 7 o'clock games start before I'm usually up...around 3 am or so the next day). Already in a sour mood, I discovered oil leaking from my (previously) trouble-free MaxxPro (the vehicle pictured above -- the kids add perspective to the size of the thing). Being the savvy mechanic (NOT grease monkey...we hate that term) that I am, I quickly determined that it was nothing serious and we'd continue on with the mission. At Ft. Hood, if you're out in the field and your vehicle breaks down, it's not a big deal...you simply sit around and wait for a recovery vehicle. On the streets of Mosul, it's much the same. There are other variables (ie- bad guys) involved, though, so it's important that you feel confident about your vehicle making there AND back. I think I did. That didn't stop about 15 people from coming up to us and letting us know about the leak over the course of the day. Once back at Marez, we had the mechanics look at it, and they confirmed my diagnosis. The leak was not a big deal, but simply caused by the loose air compressor. When I say loose, what I really mean is that all that was holding it to our truck was 1 loose bolt. In most vehicles, a broken air compressor (or absent one) simply means an uncomfortable ride in the summer. In a 30 ton truck with air brakes, however, an absent air compressor means zero stopping power. In a 30 ton truck with no brakes, that means big trouble. Luckily, we made it back with all necessary parts and there were no other leaks present (after a trip to the wash), and proved again, that ignorance is indeed bliss.