More The Trib in Iraq

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Transition Point

I'm at a base in Kuwait, basically a transition point for troops heading to or from Iraq (and, in smaller numbers, Afghanistan.) I'm not supposed to interview anybody here or take pictures, so there's not a lot I can report. Sometimes, a few details can say a lot, so in that spirit, here are a lot of details that hopefully say a little.

A list of things seen here:

- Far more civilians than I expected, even expecting to see quite a few.

- Far more Australians than I expected, and pretty able-looking ones at that.

- Air conditioned, singlewide trailers serving every purpose from shower room to restaurant.

- Concession stands run by Kuwaitis selling trinkets that could pass for the shabbiest spoils of war ever collected by a mighty power: cheap rugs, miniature metal teapots, ancient computer peripherals.

- McDonald's, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, a donut shop and a Green Beans Coffee, which also sells doughnuts. I read that the average soldier gains 10 pounds during a deployment to Iraq. The mess hall, run by civilians, is also pretty good. I had a breakfast burrito (no green chile, though,) bacon, grits, a banana and an orange while watching baseball tonight on an LCD big-screen.

- Toilet stall graffiti (forgive the transition,) mostly insulting "your mama" and the Marine Corps. The Corps has more defenders. By and large, the wit here is about what you'd expect, but I've come across a couple of memorable phrases:

"Americans fight wars so they can learn geography."

"I'm going home to (sleep with) you girlfriend." Response: "Good, she has the clap."

- Sand. Dust. Imported gravel. No kind of vegetation. Mosquitoes. Stars, very dimly.

- Large glass refrigerators filled with bottled water, next to open cases of bottled water. Signs: "Take one, put one back."

- Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper. It's run by the government, but it has an ombudsman whose job is to report any interference by the military. Today's top stories were the British announcement they'd be withdrawing more troops and the ongoing investigation of Blackwater, a private security contractor involved in the deadly shooting of Iraqi civilians last month.

- A special military edition of The New Avengers comic book, called "letters home."

In the comic, a group of soldiers is attacked by some kind of evil, goggle-wearing humanoids whose only statement of purpose seems to be: "Hail Hydra." The soldiers are chagrined because evil satellites have blocked communications, meaning they are unable to transmit their holiday messages home. The Avengers come to the rescue.

The Ghost Rider (a flaming, motorcycle-riding skeleton, in case you've forgotten) manages to rout the advance party of evil humanoids and then produces a flash drive ("7.5 gigs, USB-enabled) to spirit away the holiday messages. Meanwhile, his compatriots take on the main body of the Hydra-worshipers.

Mostly, the action plays out amid the text of the superhero's own letters home.

"I don't know where this long, dust-choked road will eventually lead me," Ghost Rider writes to his sweetheart, Roxanne. "I hope with all my heart that we all come out of it with our souls intact."

I thought Capt. America died, but apparently I haven't been following the Marvel Universe very closely, because there he is.

"Sometime we have to take some pretty big risks. I don't think you really want to hear about that and I don't always like talking about it, either," he notes.

Finally, The Punisher shows up to finish the deal. He's surprisingly sentimental. I didn't really picture him with a wife and kids.

"Right now, I can't think of anything I want more than to see you and the kids. I don't know what'll happen then, but I hope I'll have learned something from this experience.

"And I really hope, deep inside, that I'm still the same man you married."

Not sure how much today's soldiers really connect with the costumed set, but I'm sure they can identify with the sentiment. Last night at the phone center (a singlewide) I overheard one soldier end his call home by saying, "kiss my son good night for me."