5 April Trip to Ali Al Salem

I left Camp Adder in the morning aboard a Japanese C-130 Transport Plane (this will be my second time flying on one of these Japanese airplanes). My mission is to meet Jack Rice of WCCO Radio at Ali Al Salem. About an hour later, we land at Ali Al Salem. Another soldier and I decide to see if the Japanese crewmen will trade their uniform patches for our unit or U.S. flag patches. I end up trading my Red Bull patch for a Japanese flag that says Japan under it. I even take a picture of this Japanese soldier with the Red Bull patch on the left shoulder of his flightsuit. Several minutes later, I find Rice in a transient tent. He tells me that we will be leaving for Baghdad International Airport early the next morning.