"Terrorists Google"

SO much to do and SO little time. This is kind of turning out to be the mantra of the semester. But in the midst of the craziness and sheer madness, I still think journalism is pretty beautiful. Insane and nuts, but beautiful.

Speaking of mantras...my team story for this week is about anti-IED training. IED stands for Improvised Explosive Devices (more commonly known as roadside bombs) and it's these things that cause the most casualties in Iraq. And basically, we're working with officers and soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood here in Missouri, and their mantra is, "Terrorists google." In other words, there is only so much information they can release to us because insurgents will go online and look in news media archives and learn about the techniques and tactics U.S. soldiers are using to counter-act their IED attacks.

Needless to say, this story is intense. We went to Fort Leonard Wood today and I learned so much about the military that I've never even had a clue about. Just being "on post" was a learning experience. They have a self-sustaining community, which comprises of multiple elementary schools, middle schools, a high school, hospital, grocery store, post office, gas stations, etc. You can tell who the soldiers are walking down the sidewalks even in "civilian" clothing - not by their haircut, but by their robotic, yet rhythmic gait. There's so much I could talk about right now, but honestly, after getting up at 5:30 in the morning to drive over two hours a day, running around with equipment on a military base and then getting back to campus 12 hours later, my brain is quite fried.

I just have to say that I have so much more respect for the men and women who are active duty and who are preparing to go serve in Iraq. We only really know the half of it here.