09:12 AM EDT on Thursday, May 26, 2005

Comfort level matter of degree

BAIJI, Iraq -- It's getting hot. Three days ago, two soldiers put their watches with built-in thermometers out to find out how hot. Sgt. Chet Crowell, of Cranston, hung his off a Humvee parked in the sun. Specialist Sean Judge, of Narragansett, laid his watch in the shade. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. Crowell's read 113 degrees. Judge's read 108.

A rock-solid plan to boost morale

BAIJI, Iraq -- The 173rd has been hauling a medium-sized boulder around with it. In the latest move, they used a forklift to place it at the door to the warehouse that is their headquarters.

The rock is painted black and written on it is: RANGER, Long Range Surveillance, and the unit number. Jump master wings are painted in white.

The rock originally sat in front of their headquarters in East Greenwich. They took it to Fort Drum in New York. To ship it to Kuwait, they buried it under other equipment and called it "MWR equipment" on the manifest. Morale Welfare and Recreation. They are quite pleased with the rock.

Treetop flights are a breeze

The helicopter ride out to Baghdad yesterday was low and fast. The wind tore through the open door. The desert flowed under us and date palms were so close you felt you could touch them.

It was early morning and we could look down into the courtyards of homes and see people still asleep on the beds they had dragged into the cool open night air. We could smell the air and the villages. Flying low in the big thundering helicopters is still a kick.

What a difference a few miles makes

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The dining hall here is huge. The choices boggling.

Most of the soldiers here looked strange to us. They aren't dusty and faded. Salt stains don't trace the outlines of body armor on their shirts. They don't look tired. There were colonels all over. Even a couple of generals. One with two stars.

At Forward Operating Base Summerall, when the brigade commander, a full colonel, visited, he was pointed out as a phenomenon. Unless there is a special ceremony, it's rare to see brass around some of the forward bases.

Digital Extra: Browse previous dispatches from Iraq by Journal Executive Editor Joel Rawson and photos by Journal staff photographer John Freidah, at:

http://projo.com/extra/2005/iraq/rawson/