Bill Ardolino is on his way home after a month-long embed in Iraq. He’s done terrific work, has much more in store, and reflects:

This trip has briefly exposed me to personal extremes of stress, humor, camaraderie, nobility, savagery, hope, despair, fear and excitement, either as an observer or participant. I’ve arrived at a better understanding of the chaos that stalks civilization and met a lot of inspiring folks who make me want to be a better human being. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world.

Ditto that.

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Meanwhile, Tim at Broken Masterpieces is posting blog essays written by his friend Duke–a pediatric cardiologist in the states and a flight surgeon just redeployed to Iraq.

And I’ve heard from a few other troops who blogged from FOB Justice, where Bryan Preston and I were embedded. Alex Barnes was there last spring. Bryan Palumbo also blogged from Justice last year–with a very different view of Iraqi Army trainees than the depressing one the NYTimes provides today. Some IA divisions are doing better than others. Some neighborhoods are doing better than others. Some local councils are doing better than others. Baghdad is, as Lt. Col. Steve Miska of the Dagger Brigade told us, a “messy, complex city environment.”
“The way ahead will be neither quick nor easy.”

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Update: Michael Yon’s latest dispatch–on a mission with the 2/7 CAV.