Another conversation overheard in the mess hall

Those guys were on the roof of the trailer again last night. Did any of you hear those guys?

What guys?

The guys that crawl up onto the trailers at night. They’ve been doing it for a week.

Maybe they’re some of Mookie’s boys (Mookie is what we call Muqtada al-Sadr). Were they wearing black pajamas?

Yeah, maybe they were Ninjas, come to take you out!

Aw… F-you man. These were those signals dudes, trying to set up that illegal satellite again. [my ears pricked up at this – it’s entirely possible that were talking about a couple of my guys]

What are you talking about? You can set up a satellite.

Not the satellite, dummy. They got an old satellite antenna, and they built a decoder box for it and they’re trying to set it up on top of the trailers so they can sell people satellite TV. Didn’t you get the flyer? [now I knew they were talking about my guys]

I thought you told them to go away last week?

I did, but they’re back. All they’re gonna do up there is give some Haji sniper a good target. And with my luck, the asshole will miss them and put a hole in my hooch.

Yeah, but how much are they charging for satellite service? Do you still have the flyer?

You’re an asshole, Rob.


[Note to self: have the Staff Sergeant inventory all of our satellite dish antennas tomorrow]