Walls

One of the most noticeable changes to things around here is the number of walls that we see. Almost every section of almost every base is sectioned off by protective walls. The barracks have walls of a type with how our lockers are arranged. One mission in Iraq, we actually drove past the coffee shop four times because there were so many layers of walls between the shop and the road we were on.

Even on the bases in Kuwait there's more walls around than there used to be. Most of them are just short barriers to help indicate where different areas are, unlike the bases in Iraq where they are usually taller than a person by a foot or more. As mentioned the walls are usually for protection to help keep things out, or blast damage in. Sometimes the walls are to keep unknown things out of sight for OPSEC reasons, sometimes not. Many times groups of smoking soldiers can be found hanging around the walls, and often you see colourful unit insignias painted upon the walls.

Much like the bases around here it sometimes feels like there are personal walls inside me. My heart feels walled off, keeping people out as well as feelings in. Certain bases stir memories best kept behind the walls in my mind lest they bring about nightmares of times gone by. Hopefully it is just a passing phase.

I think everyone has walls of some sort or another in their lives for various reasons. People seem to tend to have walls around them after being hurt emotionally. Sometimes they seem to have walls after seeing horrors in their lives. Sometimes I think it is just so others will leave them alone because they'd like some privacy...but that's just my observations.

Everyone be safe, and don't build too many walls while I'm gone.



~~~

(Photo of the top of a wall along the road at a Convoy Support Area in Iraq.)