Sights and Sounds

Let me apologize for missing a few days worth of posts. It has been one of those weeks where day is night and night is day. Uh? It all runs together like an ugly sweater. We've had some awesome visitors here the past few days and it has been fun watching the excitement. The way the military jumps through so many hoops to make it right for the visitor only to have something go not quite right. I've noticed something though, I like being a little big shot. Like my brother says... change the o to an i. I get to go to the head of the lunch line, I get to sit in a reserved section to eat, I get a driver, a security guard, I am big shot, haha.

The sounds you normally don't hear at night got my attention the other night. It was the army sending artillery to some location that needed some motivation to stop doing bad things. To hear blast out of the howitzer then hear the rounds as they fly overhead enroute to their intended location is one of the best sounds I've heard from the military. The other sound of course is the sound of freedom from fighter, especially the F-16. They take-off here all the time and our hooches are right off the flight line so you feel the mighty buffeting of the engines in afterburner. Plus at night, there is the long plume of afterburner fire coming from the back of the airplane. Years ago I would be 10 feet away from the plume while doing a formation take-off at night. That is still one of those visual images that stay with you forever.

I think you can add photo now on this blog so I'm trying that with this post. If I can remember what I put the picture is. This is a picture of Saddam and me that he used to put his picture on his money. So I think you might have to click the link up on top of this post. I don't know.

A Crazy Few Days

Today starts out abnormal, (that's normal over here, so don't worry Mom), but as the day progresses it becomes more and more crazy. It's fun to be a part of the craziness because all I do is fix problems. And problems we have here. Dad taught me to fix things. Some things I can fix really well, and other things I can only make an attempt at fixing it but in reality I actually make it worse. I can't say what I'm talking about but someday I will let you in on the action.

As the week goes on I hope things become less abnormal and more Iraq normal, if that makes sense. Today I also thought how much I work here and came to the conclusion that this is the longest I've ever worked in my life, straight without a day off. No days off but what else are you gonna do? When I look at my watch, which smells, and I blow the dust off the face of the watch, and look at the date, I just say to myself, wow the days are clicking off.

But this is gonna be a short post since I'm so tired my eyelids hurt. I stink, my t-shirt crunches, and my feet are glued to my boots. So from the deserts of Iraq, I'll say that is that.

Nothing is Normal

The AF girl I mentioned in my last post received the power of prayers over the night and was improving and was stablized enough to transport to the forward area. She is still in critical condition, and normally in these cases when they leave here, there is no tracking of patients. But this case got to so many people that our leaders for morale sake will be following her condition. And by the way the dog made it unhurt and returned after the attack to guard her fallen soldier. I also learned that if the dog gets hurt or is a hero of sorts, the can receive medals. Pretty cool.

Another girl in the hospital has affected many in this unit because of her humility. She was hurt on patrol and broke her neck. Her fellow soldiers were also hurt but to hear her tell it, she wasn't hurt that bad....a broken neck.....and she wants to return to her squad as soon as she can. That won't happen but she is 21 years old and the most amazing thing about her is her fun filled spirit. She cracks jokes and generally gets everyone feeling good who talks to her. She is just an amazing person. She said she don't know why she joined the Marines but that she will not re-up next time around. She thinks a good and fun job would be to work at Hooters, I don't blame her.
The funniest I heard her say was the Hospital, the one I've been writing about, is the best place she's been to in Iraq, nothing is normal. That is that.

Dreams

I wish I knew more about dreams. I keep having dreams that someone is breaking, well not breaking into, more like just trying to get into my hooch. What is up with that? Oh well, at least I fall right back to sleep, and I don't worry about it. I've been able to fall off to sleep easily enough but I have "the brick" with me all the time and it goes off more than a few times a night.
Maybe it's the dust bunnies in my room. It's a mess with the dust, oops sorry, and my inability to clean up after myself. I will try to make my better looking tomorrow some time.....or Monday.

This just in, I just got back from a place we like to call the TOD, top of deck. In other words the roof. This is the place that the senior leadership get away, to talk frankly and to smoke a stogie if you want and exchange ideas about the current direction of things. It has just come to our attention that a young female AF dog handler here was hurt severly by an IED (improvised explosive device) outside the wire while on a mission with the dog. And my good friend, a full bird Colonel, was responsible back in the states at his other job at the Pentagon, for putting that girl in Iraq on that mission. So he is way out of sorts on this situation, so please pray for the girl and him...alot. It's not his fault she joined the AF and it's not his fault she is hurt today. She is here because this is where she is suppose to be for whatever reason and I'm sure the reason is not to make him feel bad. Thanks for everything everyone is doing for people over here. And that really is that.

Long Winded Jungle

I wish for..... Things to speed up and for things to slow down. I like how the days are going fast and I like how the time at the chow hall slows down, especially ice cream time. But I've noticed that everyone is definitely settled into the work routine and how they many people are becoming friends that will likely last much longer than the 4 months we are over here. I each and every person here are the most up-beat people I've ever met. Every one is allowed to do their job and their expectation of the results of that job is incredibly high. The mission is the most important task. The mission overrides everything except safety. It's the sole reason we are in Iraq. And the General understands that as well as everyone on this base. The General I work for is one of the best leaders I've ever seen, especially given this combat environment. He leads from the front. He gets dirty when soldiers get dirty. He gets to follow when it is his duty to follow. He lets everyone understand that he a fully supporting commander. His close 2nd mission is to strengthen his airmen. Whether that means formal education as the name implies but it also means to fully support the troops when they are in tough situations. He's always aware of the responsibility he has to the mission as well as the airmen.

Blah Blah Blah. Sorry for being long winded. Alot is going on with the General this week and I get the pleasure of watching him as he works. It's truely an honor for me to be here. So with the 3rd week closing I'm hopeful that this next week will speed by again but be slow enough for me to eat and exercise. I'm waiting for the time when get to leave here, have a beer or two, see my friends and enjoy all of the good things we have in the good ole USA. I'm sure Iraq will have those things sometime in the future if they want to have them for themselves. It's ultimately up to them, they are not gonna shake our will to leave them hanging dry, you can be sure of that. They want us here and they need our resources and unique abilities to make things happen for the better. And that is that

Long Winded Jungle

I wish for..... Things to speed up and for things to slow down. I like how the days are going fast and I like how the time at the chow hall slows down, especially ice cream time. But I've noticed that everyone is definitely settled into the work routine and how they many people are becoming friends that will likely last much longer than the 4 months we are over here. I each and every person here are the most up-beat people I've ever met. Every one is allowed to do their job and their expectation of the results of that job is incredibly high. The mission is the most important task. The mission overrides everything except safety. It's the sole reason we are in Iraq. And the General understands that as well as everyone on this base. The General I work for is one of the best leaders I've ever seen, especially given this combat environment. He leads from the front. He gets dirty when soldiers get dirty. He gets to follow when it is his duty to follow. He lets everyone understand that he a fully supporting commander. His close 2nd mission is to strengthen his airmen. Whether that means formal education as the name implies but it also means to fully support the troops when they are in tough situations. He's always aware of the responsibility he has to the mission as well as the airmen.

Blah Blah Blah. Sorry for being long winded. Alot is going on with the General this week and I get the pleasure of watching him as he works. It's truely an honor for me to be here. So with the 3rd week closing I'm hopeful that this next week will speed by again but be slow enough for me to eat and exercise. I'm waiting for the time when get to leave here, have a beer or two, see my friends and enjoy all of the good things we have in the good ole USA. I'm sure Iraq will have those things sometime in the future if they want to have them for themselves. It's ultimately up to them, they are not gonna shake our will to leave them hanging dry, you can be sure of that. They want us here and they need our resources and unique abilities to make things happen for the better. And that is that

Long Winded Jungle

I wish for..... Things to speed up and for things to slow down. I like how the days are going fast and I like how the time at the chow hall slows down, especially ice cream time. But I've noticed that everyone is definitely settled into the work routine and how they many people are becoming friends that will likely last much longer than the 4 months we are over here. I each and every person here are the most up-beat people I've ever met. Every one is allowed to do their job and their expectation of the results of that job is incredibly high. The mission is the most important task. The mission overrides everything except safety. It's the sole reason we are in Iraq. And the General understands that as well as everyone on this base. The General I work for is one of the best leaders I've ever seen, especially given this combat environment. He leads from the front. He gets dirty when soldiers get dirty. He gets to follow when it is his duty to follow. He lets everyone understand that he a fully supporting commander. His close 2nd mission is to strengthen his airmen. Whether that means formal education as the name implies but it also means to fully support the troops when they are in tough situations. He's always aware of the responsibility he has to the mission as well as the airmen.

Blah Blah Blah. Sorry for being long winded. Alot is going on with the General this week and I get the pleasure of watching him as he works. It's truely an honor for me to be here. So with the 3rd week closing I'm hopeful that this next week will speed by again but be slow enough for me to eat and exercise. I'm waiting for the time when get to leave here, have a beer or two, see my friends and enjoy all of the good things we have in the good ole USA. I'm sure Iraq will have those things sometime in the future if they want to have them for themselves. It's ultimately up to them, they are not gonna shake our will to leave them hanging dry, you can be sure of that. They want us here and they need our resources and unique abilities to make things happen for the better. And that is that

Time and TV

Time...where does it go. I'm kinda glad that time is flying by. But I still can't believe where the week went. I was so busy today that I even missed lunch and dinner, ME missing food but I have to tell you I got some food and goodies today so I munched on that stuff all day and night.

We get tv over here with no commericial so that part is good, but with 2 channels we have to watch what we get. It's a tv station run by the US and they have to manage all different types of programming to fit the needs of all different types of viewing tastes. But the frustrating part is that the news is old, the sporting events are old and outdated. I do like how they show Jay Leno from the night before, then the next show is David Letterman, so that combination in a row works great for me because I like both shows.

On the war front, we did a great job of bombing this place 14 years ago. The part of my job is to try to put this place back into shape so that the Iraqis can use this place eventually I think. But it's amazing how precise we placed bombs in the right places. Like if you have intersecting taxiways the bomb crater is right in the center of the intersection effectively taking out both taxiways. Precise bombing certainly can save lifes. I think overall we are doing some good work over here when it comes to the locals regardless of what you read in the paper. I know that the press must make it interesting for the readers but I've seen and lived a different version of the events that make the paper, especially when it comes to building the infrastructure that never really existed. So ??? Believe what you want. And that is that.

Old Friends

I ran into an old friend today. We flew F-16s together years ago in Oklahoma City and he is still flying the F-16 over here doing so many different combat missions. The missions are so diverse now that the old saying "Jack of all trades, master of none" certainly applies today to the F-16. However, if you think about the pressures of a combat pilot, you really have to be in your zone or be perfect. Especially when you consider the abuse of gun camera film, and how the media, computer hackers or even Photoshop experts can manipulate the film to do harm to the actual pilot and or the mission. But these guys and gals day and night go into the mission fully aware that anything can happen to them on any given mission. It's more apparent to me as I fly this desk, that these fighter pilots must come back from a complex mission and decompress. Only now in this job I don't get to hang out with them and chair fly the flight with them so they can decompress. The other real reason they come back and just shoot the bull is so that others can learn something from the discussion but also to relax. They need to see how others act and react to the same or similiar situations. These missions always involve friendly forces and a mistake, any mistake, can kill a friendly and this usually makes the evening news. So the pressure is always on. I never knew it was so intense when I was flying the F-16. I guess you handle that pressure differently when you are actually in that part of the action. But at this point, I'm flying this desk for the better part of 15 hours a day now, and not too many people are shooting at me behind this desk. But it was good to see my buddy. It has been 11 years since I last saw him. He'll be here as long as I am so I'm looking forward to chair flying with him over a non-alcoholic Coors. Yuk! And that is that

A visit to the Hospital

Well first off, it's not for me but I had some meetings at the hospital. But before I begin, the major attacks of the other day one of the Army guys was reported not injured too badly but he took a turn for the worst so please pray for him. They won't release his name. My visit to the hospital opened my eyes to the realilty of war. I saw things that will be with me forever. I'm am so amazed by the professionalism of the hospital staff that it makes me really feel good to know that so many people dedicate their lives to helping others in a combat zone. Most of them are not young, most are my age or older and are at the hospital doing what they do best, fix people. The conditions in which they work would never be acceptable in the good ole USA because of the.....dust. (Sorry) The facilities are in tents and these tents are a match away from a terrible tragedy. Please pray for these folks since they do incredible work in difficult conditions. I've made it one of my reasons for being here to change their environment; as well as many other operational things that need to be fixed for many many reasons that I can't say here.

On another subject, I've decided to start a work out routine. I need a break throught the day so why not lift some weights. Well people back in Phoenix told me I have skinny legs so when I return to Phoenix I will probably have too much muscle and mass that I'm sure I'll need new clothes. But the bad part of the work out is afterward when "the ritual" has to be done now twice a day, which I think I've already told you, I'm uncomfortable in the shower area; maybe it's the skinny legs. And that is that

Oops

Well I did it...I made a post that had no title. Now you are probably wondering how could that've happened. Well...I was writing yesterday's post when I had to leave the office quickly. But I already wrote most of the post. I don't always do this but when I write the post I usually get a sense of the post then come up with the title. But most of the time I just fill in the title then write and see what comes out. Kinda of like right now...bored yet? Well, I sitting here at my desk listening to the radio that I have to carry with me everywhere and I mean everywhere. The radio is affectionately called "The Brick". I have to leave it on during the night...just in case. It is a 1970ish walkie talkie. Heavy. But it does what it's suppose to do, that is, keep key personnel in a radio loop and that is good.

I can't tell you how many times I look up into the sky and see dirt. It is one of the images I'm taking away from this vacation. It just amazes me how the dirt can fly around and act like fog. When I was in my hooch last night the electricity went off again. I had my pre-positioned flashlight right on but what I saw shocked me. It was tiny dust particles floating around. Tiny pieces of dirt just flying around like a bunch of miniature aliens. I wasn't moving either. There was nothing moving in my room except these aliens. Then I began to wonder....how many of these aliens are inside me and what will happen later to me. But then I thought about Abraham walking around in all of this stuff, throughout this area and he lived a very long time. Maybe it's good for me??? In the future I will try and not talk about the dust again, but it's amazing to me, so don't hold me to it. And that is that.

I hope everyone had a good Father's Day. I sure did. I decided to start my day off by making sure I got my laundry back from the cleaners. They have people that do your cleaning for you. I can't remember if I've told you the clothes washing or cleaning process, but we just bag it up and take to a trailer that does it for free and it's ready the next day. Once I got my cleaning I went to church, very good service by the way. This was my 2nd attempt at going to church. The 1st attempt nearly failed. I had the wrong time so when I walked into the base theater (this is one of the churches) the Pastor was into his speech...er.... sermon, sorry Pastor Steve, its just a joke. But I did make it to another service and that was good.

I think that it is funny how small this world is when we are so far from home. I've run into several people that I knew from other Air Force assignments. Everyone has gotten older, more grey hair, and of course, the spare tire. I've also had several conversations with complete strangers or bosses about specific places and bars, sights etc. I think that is very weird how in such a remote location, people actually mentally transport themselves back to another place that each of them can describe in detail and have a conversation about that place; very weird. And that is that.

The rest of the night...

I woke up late this morning to a cool breeze and a sweet smell of burning garbage and "waste". Nice image, sorry about that. I'm sure everyone that reads this just couldn't sleep last night wondering if I made it to my hooch early enough to relax and watch a movie. Well, let me tell you....almost. I left the office around 9pm, went to the hooch to set up Matt's old laptop, got some Chips Ahoy cookies from the BX, blew the dust off of said Chips Ahoy package, turned on the laptop and got the movie going with earphones. Spread everything out on my twin bed and began to relax and watch Ocean's Twelve. Just as it was getting good, the electricity went out! So there I am in the dark with crumbs of Chips Ahoy all over my twin bedsheets, a half drank Orange Crush soda and I can't find my flashlight. I usually put my flashlight where I know where it is but tonight, I guess I was Americanized. I just took everything for granted and forgot that the electricity may go off or that I might need to get up in the middle of the night to accomplish a required ritual by getting dressed in uniform and walking 200 yards to accomplish said ritual. Oh no, I just laid on the big ole twin bed eating cookies and veging (is that how you spell it?) out. So imagine this, crawling around in the dark looking for anything to shed some light on anything, in my GI Joe underwear, in the talcum powder dust that follows you like "Pigpin" from Charlie Brown...not a pretty picture again...sorry. I finally find my flashlight headgear that you put on like a hat, very cool idea by the way, switch it on and look around for my big flashlight, that you could use as a baseball bat, find it, turn that flashlight on. What I see shocks me. I see an incredible amount of Chips Ahoy covering my bed, I see caked on dusty, dirty hands and kneecaps and even some dirt on my face. I actually look like Pigpin. So now I have to get dressed in uniform and go thru my new ritual to get clean. All of the hooches are dark, no lights anywhere and as I find out, when the electricity is off, there are no showers. So I drudge my way back to the hooch, get undressed and just fall into my bed where I find my Orange Crush, and book and just read until I fall asleep. I get woke up by the sounds of electricity coming on in my hooch after nearly 3 hours. It is very hot now and I hope I can go back to sleep in this heat. I notice the time and after about 45 minutes, or mikes as we say over here, 45 mikes it is back down to my normal 64.5 degrees. Fun times huh? So I'm off to finish the movie. And that is that.

A Very Slow Day... Yeah!!

This by far has been the easiest day. I got to see what it's like to go to only 3 meeting, with no flak vest or kevlar helmet, no attacks, no interruptions and no stress at those meetings. Actually had fun in a VTC, that's a video teleconference, in GI Joe terms. The set-up was exactly what my dad and I went thru in the month or so before I left where we tried, successfully I might add, to set-up and broadcast using a webcam that is complete with voice and picture. It is rather antique in the quality of picture but it was a picture and voice over the internet nonetheless. Looks like the pictures from 1969 during the moon landing. We have come a long way haven't we? But right now it is nearly 7pm and I'm gonna go eat dinner and have ice cream for dessert, followed by a movie in my room. I haven't had the chance to use Matt's old computer to watch a movie but tonight I will make that happen. This will just make my day and night. I don't plan on going back to the office after dinner or anything like that, just watch my movie. (Now let's see if I actually do that. I'll let you know tomorrow). Until then, that is that.

What a Day!

This for me was probably the most difficult day since I've been here. We were severly attacked today by rockets and mortars, many many of them and they were close to my desk. Mom not to scare you but they aren't good shots. But I had just come into the building from lunch and was sitting down at my desk on the computer when some very loud explosions were felt and heard close by. Everyone in my office looked at each other and gave the look of "what the ...heck", follow by words of "that was close" we all jumped up and grabbed our flak vest and helmets and took cover. The explosions continued but what was amazing was people were just running into our building, just parking their cars in the street and running inside to take cover. 6 or 7 people were hurt by 9 separate attacks. The injuries were not serious thank God. It makes me realize just who is in control of this war. God is truly protecting all of us over here. There should have been much more serious injuries but by the hand of God, that did not happen. The sheer numbers of falling items over the past week should've caused more damage, but God is working to keep that from happening. It strengthens me and my faith so much more. My daughter Melody gave me a necklace to wear for protection. It is a shield with a cross on the front and scripture on the back. It's from Joshua 1-9, which reads " Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified: do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go". I have worn this necklace since the night she gave it to me. She gave it too me the night before I left for Iraq. It was a special time, just me and her in the living room. And yep, I cried when she gave it to me. It certainly was the gift I had hoped for and told no one but God knew and provided for me via Melody. She said she knew she needed to give that to me the moment she saw it. So I've worn it ever since because it is my reminder not to be afraid and I am not afraid. The bombs hit without warning so you never know where or when it will come, so you release it all to God and that my friends is something I'm glad I'm here to experience. And that is that.

Kenny's Birthday

I can't believe how fast things go over here. Each and every day seems to fly by at a rate I've never seen before. Before I knew it, the day was over and I was walking to my hooch thinking "where'd the day go?" I know the day is flying by because it's time to eat again, when my first thought is, I just ate, but no 6 hours have past.

We hit 119 degree today and the forecast is for more heat. I'm from Phoenix but this is a more dry heat mixed in with the stickiness only blowing moon dust particules can produce. I wonder what makes the dust so powdery and sticky. Strange. But one thing is for sure I hate to walk to my hooch and not have the energy to take a shower. I just fall into bed feeling the worst anyone could feel only to fall asleep so fast that it doesn't matter how dirty you are. The really good news is my hooch is a constant 64.5 degrees. I love it.

Happy Birthday to my brother Kenny. We are definitely brothers. We act like each other; everytime we see each other it's as though no time has past; and we always seem to have fun even when things look grim. Just like a few years ago during a Christmas visit that me and my son Matt made to his house on Christmas. His house was going through a re-model with no dry walls so we put up Christmas wrapping paper as wallpaper. Made his place very Christmasie. Plus when we went fishing, Matt caught the best fish of the day and the most bizarre fish of the day, a tree fish. Anyway HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kenny, I'm still the favorite son. hehe. That is that.

Kirkuk, Iraq

Well today started off way too early for me. Up and thru my ritual in the dark to make a flight to Kirkuk. There was a change of command ceremony up in Kirkuk and I was part of the General's staff to visit the base and be a part of the dignitary party. Way cool. The aircraft we flew on was one of those with the United States of America on it and we were assigned some special escorts. As we descended into the airport we had to make a few defensive manuevers for a few flying objects but of course our highly skilled pilots smoothly lead us in for a perfect approach and landing. After landing at Kirkuk, we were quickly put in a protected convoy and shuttled around the area. I was in the General's car along with the old and new commander and we got the royal treatment. Not bad for a boy from Callahan, FL (that right near Jacksonville). I knew right then and there that this job over here was gonna be way different than I expected. The city of Kirkuk has 700,000 pissed off people and most are not necessarily mad at the US. They've been fighting for a very long time. But as we were having the change of command ceremony a suicide bomber blew up, I guess a bank killing more than a few Iraqis. We were not really that close but the timing was perfect. It put us all in a different mode with the protection and all. We finished the ceremony and we were briefed on the incident and a few other things planned that evening so we did our business and left town. I did get to see a significant amount of damage to many buildings, including a tree that had a big hole in it from a big bullet. We got back onto the aircraft and flew back to Balad only to have to hold for awhile due to some unwanted visitors. Once that was taken care of we landed and taxied to parking. But, the most striking things I saw all day were the dedication and professionalism of our United States military people. True to what anyone would expect, the military does their job under the most extreme conditions and does not flinch when danger is close. And yet with all of the ugliness outside, the pomp and circumstance of an established tradition that defines a military change of command ceremony goes on with such dignity and demeanor, that it still puts a lump in my throat. This is especially true for the Air Force Honor Guard..well done. Then, as we taxi to our area at Balad with the outgoing commander onboard our airplane going home to the states, Balad airmen had gathered into formation to receive and welcome the outgoing commander in style that again made me proud to be a member of the best group of people in the world. And that will be that for now.

Showers and Rituals

Each and everyone of us has a daily ritual we go thru as we get up in the morning. Everyone usually takes a daily shower, for me it is in morning. I like to take my time getting to the bathroom area and not have to worry too much about anything. As a 44 year old, I'm kinda set in my ways especially when it comes to my rituals every morning. So when I arrived here I was surprised to find rows of showers that are too small and too close together. This makes me uncomfortable. The ritual starts out with way too much effort. I wake up and have to get dressed in a uniform. My ritual has been a work in progress because of the effort it takes to get going is very different than what I'm used to. You must wear a uniform always. I tried getting dressed at the showers and I regreted that the moment I tried that technique. So I've decided to put on a dirty uniform to wear to the shower, which by the way is probably over 200 yards away. Next, you must wear socks with your shoes so that you don't chip a toe nail or step on something that might hurt your feet. This makes you take shower shoes or flip flops to wear in the shower along with a towel as well your shaving kit, US gov't ID, bottle of water (more on this later), shampoo, and soap and a flak vest and helmet; and of course render a salute if someone salutes you. I think those guys saluting you just want to watch you try. Next, comes the combat shower which means 30 seconds to wash down, turn off the water and lather up, 2 minutes to wash off, that's it. This is uncomfortable for me too, I like long, hot showers with NO MEN around. Then, for me the tough part comes next. You dry off and put back on the dirty stuff to wear back to your hooch to change into your fresh clothes. Now I bet you are wondering about the bottle of water. Usually I take the bottle of water with me to the shower because you must brush your teeth with the bottled water since the water is no good from the sink. But the ritual breaks down all the time because there is too much to remember to bring with you when you just woke up. So I shaved dry in my hooch, too lazy to walk back to a sink, dry brushed my teeth, walked to and from with messed up hair because I left comb in hooch, all of which I could mess up at anytime up to the day I leave this place. Anyway, none of it matters because as soon as you get dressed and walk to work, you are sweating and you start to feel the dust stick to your skin. But I have 110ish days to go on this vacation. That is that for now.

Rules for this Blog

As I write things on this blog, please be careful about what you do with this stuff. It's not that I don't want people to read this stuff, it's just that I don't want people to take this stuff to the press and expose me or anything that is going on over here. I trust that the people I've given this private site too are taking the extra care to protect me and our mission. Although I'm not giving out anything that is sensitve or classified rest assured that anything is good as far as the enemy is concerned. Realize also that information containedherein may not be exactly as you read because things are changed to conceal and or protect my fat red ass from insurgents or being hung out by the agents of the press, haha. That is that for now.

Typos and Mistakes

Well after reading my lasts post, I came to me that I'm an idiot. Sorry for all of the typos and words that just should be something else, so I'll leave it up to you to exchange letters in words that don't seem to fit. One I can remember is "down" I think fits somewhere in the post. But sorry for the sloppiness. I was kinda in a hurry and didn't proof it. Oh well too bad. That is that.

Attack and Dust

Today has been like a day in San Diego. Well, if you take the surf and cooler weather away and put in fog you would have a day in Balad when the dirt is blowing around. The visibility here today has been around1/2 mile most of the day and here at dinner time it has gone done even more. Not necessarily a dust storm, just a dust bank...just like the sea fog in LA or San Diego. Anyway, I'm not running so that I don't breathe too much of that crap, but of course that has always fit into my exercise routine...no running/exercise.

Funny thing happened today when I was talking to Melody on the telephone. I called home because Matt is in one of his friend's wedding as the best man and I wanted to see how things were going with all of that. Then when he gave to phone to Melody, we came under attack. I missed the warning and just sat here talking away to Melody, mentally putting myself in my living room talking to Mel. When I saw someone walking by with the flak vest and helmet on, I said what's going on? Are we under attack? Uhh yea, came the reply. So sorry Melody, I asked her to hold on a second while I put on my vest and helmet, then Melody and I resumed our talk about her job and the wedding etc. One of those things but at least I got to talk.

Last night however was had power failures again and I have to tell you, that's irritating. First comes the brownouts, then the power comes back around then back down, then back down and it stays down and then finally just fizzles away and there you are...sitting in the dark again. No heat, light, noise and your mind races, is this it? What will be outside if I open the door to my hooch. So I go back to my book. I'm reading "America Soldier" by General Tommy Franks. Very good book and in fact it's giving me some insights on joint operations since he was the CENTCOM Commander during the first part of this war. So take a look.

Here comes another round of rockets and morters that are randomly shot so I got to go. That is that

Joint Forces: Iraq

As of today I have been in country exactly one week. I have made an observation about how the military combines its forces to make a joint effort toward, I believe a common goal.. Win the war with the minimum amount of forces necessary. However, I still believe that each service still likes to puff themselves up to make them either feel better about themselves and their choice of service or that they just like to think that they are in charge. This is true here at Balad. Army and Air Force working on one base trying to see who can be bigger, better and more important in charge. But the good news is, new groups of these people keep coming here year after year, month after month. This is what we call fresh meat or fresh ideas. I've never been a staff guy but this makes me think that flying a desk is more harassment than anything and that you need to struggle daily to just keep your head above water. Now with that off my chest, I plan to write on this thing daily so that I can vent and you can read how tough war is. This base is crowded and evolving and I have to be at the center of the planning here and three other bases. The part that concerns me is the airfield and what flies into and out of this place so nearly every construction project goes thru this office...ie. me since I'm a one man office. I do have a civil engineer to help with the drawing the relative placement of buildings and such so that is way good for me. But there is always some new construction going up on this base and the guy I've replaced had a saying, "where'd that come from?" I hope I don't say that.

On the food side, I had some great pasta today at dinner. It was followed by a dried piece of cake and chocolate ice cream. The cake was so bad that as it approached my mouth to eat I could feel the moisture from my mouth getting pulled into the cake. It still didn't help. Ice Cream was good though.

When it got dark, the power failed and I had to walk to my hooch in the dark. And let me tell you it is so dark that it is impossible to see anything. I bet it was really scary in big cities when the lights go out because just looking at our compound of hooches in the dark with no lights makes you stop and think how lucky we are with electricity. I finally got to my room and found a flashlight and an extra flashlight, walked back to the office and gave my buddy a flashlight so that he could walk to his room with a light. I went back to my hooch, dark as could be, getting hotter by the minute and all I could do was read a book by flashlight. When I woke up the next morning the electricity was back on. That is that.

Day 9 Iraq

I'm starting out this post with a little catch-up with what I've been doing since I left Phoenix just in case you were wondering what happened to Day 1 thru 8. I will tell you here briefly but maybe later I can expand my thoughts a little more. I left Phoenix on May 31st at 11:00am, flew on America to Chicago and landed about 5:00pm. Took off again on a non-stop flight at 7:00pm, by the way talked myself into Business Class on the first row, and I landed in Frankfurt at 10:30am. Went straight to the hotel, changed $ into monopoly money, went to the bar for several German beers that I have to say it was very GOOD! American beer is good but the Germans sure know how to do beer. Anyway I took off the next day at 1:15pm for a non-stop flight to Al Udeid, Qatar arriving at 10:30pm. Became the troop commander for about 50 people and was told to be back at the passenger terminal....tent...at 0730 the next morning. By the time I left the in-processing area it was 2:00am. 5 1/2 later I was back at the tent and at 11:50am we took off for Iraq. The flight was long, hot, cold boring but the neat part is we got hit with about 7 small arms bullets but no problems in our big heavy C-130. We landed in Iraq at 3:00 pm and I didn't get to bed until around 12:30am, then up at 7:00. And I've been going full speed ever since. Went to a meeting in Baghdad via helicopter on June 7th and was really amazed at how populated the city is and just how dirty the whole place is. But I got to see alot of gold at one of Saddam's Presidental Palaces. I will have to go to meeting at this place alot, usually every Tuesday, except for June 14th where I'll be in Kirkuk. But as far as today, I had some surgery to take out some sand fly that had worked it's way into my skin, probably from the bed. It hurts but it really will feel better after the incision heals and of course when they give me my purple heart. hehe

Today in Iraq

Hello, I'm here in Balad, Iraq and I am starting this blog so that all of my great friends can read about my vacation. I will be posting some pictures, I think, when I figure this out and of course be adding more and more text as we go along, so I hope you enjoy this blog and of course add any comments you deem necessary and appropriate. As far as pictures go, I may have to include a different website on this blog for your viewing pleasure. More on that later.