I am of the same opinion. However, we are under high scrutiny here (go figure, you'd think they'd want to watch the bad guys instead of us, whatever), and the corporate rule is if you have a firearm and they find out, you go home now. No exceptions. KBR is even worse, they don't even allow their security team to possess firearms, what is up with that???

I do have a nice Cold Steel SRK, which is nearby, and there are some items here I can improvise with. By and large I am at the mercy of others. I disovered that when properly motivated eg mortars dropping nearby, I can run faster than just about everyone here in our compound. It taks a while to recover, but inside of 400 meters I am hell on wheels. Funny how getting shot at makes you forget how bad your knees hurt. Sure I pay for it later, but the old quote of "I don't have to outrun the bad guys, I just have to outrun the poor sod next to me" applies here as it does out in the woods facing grizzlies. I did impress a few folks who didn't think a 42 year old weighing 260 lbs and 6'6" tall could move so fast.

When you are at the bottom of the food chain, you can't always stand and fight, it is better to run away quickly. It is like a barracude moving through a school of fish.

Of more immediate concern is knowing what is safe to eat at the chow hall and what is to be avoided. Two bouts of food poisoning and I have learned. I may never eat pork or fresh produce again.

One other point, anyone thinking of coming here for the pay is a fool. If you don't have a better reason than that, you won't last more than a couple months here. The money is only one small factor, which offset my need to stay with my family. Otherwise I'd have come here for a lot less. Some of you may understand why, others won't but it is not something that can easily be explained.

You will understand f you can answer this question: Why did Davey Crockett go to San Antonio? John Wayne gave a good monologue in the movie "The Alamo" that sums it up nicely.

Maybe, in the big picture of things, this is the biggest survival technique of all. I dunno. All I know is they asked me to come help, and I said I would. The rest is trivial.