Chris' Deployment Journal

We gave out a LOT of lahaba that day friends. With the cars off the streets, the kids were out in force, many of them flying the Kurdish flag (like the kid in the white t-shirt in the center of the photo). A couple of kids were riding bikes festooned with several of the flags, but I couldn't get a good shot of them (mind you, I do actually have to man the machine gun and keep an eye out for bad guys most of the time). Regardless, they were loving the unique and celebratory atmosphere. We were loving the quiet.

As a matter of fact it was so quiet, that our afternoon patrol was actually cancelled. Our lieutenant wisely decided that they just didn't need us to be out in sector since there was nothing going on but peaceful voting. I would like to think, or perhaps hope, that it was so quiet because the Iraqis were actually doing a pretty good job of running their own elections. After all, the sooner they can manage things here, the sooner guys like me don't have to be sent here any more.