5 Jan

After a long and exhausting week I chose to take it easy and try to recuperate. The goal today was to inventory all 32 vehicles that arrived over the last 2 weeks. After a brief look at 2 of the vehicles it was clear we had and will have several missing accessory parts. Each vehicle was to be equipped with tools, trailer hitches, first aid kits, etc. but it soon became clear not all the goodies were in the vehicles. So, my third observation over the last 30+ days would be that not all Iraqis can be trusted. Unlike the Japanese culture, if you leave something lying around chances are it may not be there when you go back to look for it. Let me make it clear, it is not like all Iraqis are thieves but it is more like a "finders-keepers" mentality. After inspecting 11 of the vehicles we only have 7 fully "accessorized" trucks. We plan to inspect the remaining vehicles tomorrow. That's all for now.