CAMP LIBERTY, Baghdad -- American soldiers at most major bases in Iraq seem to live in trailers that generally house a couple guys apiece. But Camp Liberty ran out of trailer space when President Bush ordered more troops to Baghdad to try and stop the sectarian violence.

So the Fort Lewis troops here have been living in tents and sleeping on cots. It looks like there are maybe 25 guys living in the tent where Tony and I will be staying for the next week or so.

It’s 9:30 p.m. here and a couple of guys are playing football on a video game system set up in the corner. Others are reading or just listening to their iPods. Most of the cots are empty. Their occupants could be at the gym, grabbing some food, or out in the streets of Baghdad.

Missions outside the wire go 24 hours a day here.

-- Sean Cockerham

CAMP LIBERTY, Baghdad -- Finally, we’re embedded.

It took almost six days from the time we left Tacoma to make our way to Baghdad, get our press credentials from the Army and link up with the Fort Lewis troops we’ve come to Iraq to cover.

Anyway, I can now finally start writing some stories. We’re embedded with Comanche Company of the 1st Battalion of the 23rd Infantry. These are some of the Fort Lewis Stryker soldiers who were diverted from their planned deployment in Mosul to help with the fight in Iraq’s dangerous capital.

These guys are responsible for the predominately Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliya and the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Shulla. The two neighborhoods are divided by a creek which doesn’t really flow because it’s overloaded with sewage.

Comanche Company lost two soldiers in late August when a massive improvised explosive device tore into their Stryker vehicle. Things haven’t been as bad since. But the wild card is that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts on Sunday. A lot of people expect an attempt to step up attacks on U.S. forces during the holy holiday.

-- Sean Cockerham