Operation Sandbox

The Final Days of O4'

2005-01-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

The stepped up security has certainly altered the way Mayor Cell and IPP are done. (If you're not familar with those terms glance back to prior blogs) I won't give very many details as to exact operations, you can certainly understand why. I will say that the level of the seriousiness of those duties has gone up significantly. Daily there are briefings on the rules of engagement, so as guards we're empowered to "deploy, engage and destroy our enemies in close combat" (http://www.108soc.com/soldiers_creed.html). Should we be confronted by them while at our post. Additionally large numbers of guards are posted around post at key locations that weren't guarded as such in the past.

I bring this up because I was assigned to Mayor Cell for Seven of the last Eight days, including today. I actually volunteered, I really liked Mayor Cell before all the changes and additional duties that were added on. Another side effect of doing Mayor Cell all those days was my personal free time was eaten up. Mayor Cell is a twelve hour dutie, that's 6am to 6pm. So when I sign-in at 5:45 (early sign-in is required) it's still very dark and at 6:15 in the evening when we're released the sun has long set for the day. So I've gotten no daytime hours to do anything basically. My laundry has piled up, I need to pack to prepare to move, I'm backed up on emails, and just a whole host of things have simply gone undone.

For all my complaining I really do enjoy the actual tasks I've gotten this week. My least favorite was being apart of a team that stood in front of the PX for extended hours checking ID's and conducting frequent body searches. Besides that I got several tasks that I liked I got to work with the electricians as a security escort for one last time and things like that.

In the morning I leave my room at about 4:45 am and I don't return till the end of the day at around 7:00 pm. And normally when I get back I head straight for the shower, from there head straight to bed and hit the sack at about 8:00 pm so I can get my 8 hrs in by 4:00am. Aside from not being able to get anything done, this schedule is great for me. I love this early to bed, early to rise routine. However, with all this I haven't seen or held a conversation with anyone in my unit in the last week. And since mid week last week our units main office (called the TOC) has been staffed by people from the new unit that's replacing us. So when I sign out in the morning and in at night I've had no contact with unit members their either. So I haven't been keeping up the news of what's happening with our unit in terms of redeployment. On friday I got wind that some big changes are happening and we're getting out of here this week. I'll fill you in on that and write and entry looking back on 04 and forward to 05 next time I get a chance. For now it's 5:35 am and I have ten minutes to get over to Mayor Cell and sign in.

Merry Christmas!

2004-12-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Baghdad Iraq! It's currently about 6 in the evening Christmas day here. Today we had some steady rain that dampened spirits a bit.

My unit had a Christmas Eve party yesturday evening. Since I'm the unit's only cook currently in the area I got the happy job of barbacuing about a 100 lbs of assorted animals. We had jumbo hot-dogs, hamburgers, ribs, chicken breast and whole chickens that we grilled up. Things started with a strikkle at about 3:30 in the afternoon. People started showing up and munching on the chips, cookies and snacks that were laid out. At about 4:30 the brickets were nice and white and ready to get cookin'. Unfortunately, I was just handed these items when it was time to cook them. And wasn't given any chance to prepare in advance. So everything is like frozen solid. You don't want to be cooking meat that's frozen solid. But I didn't have much of a choice. We had a small microwave that wasn't going to be able to be of much help. We didn't have any sinks to run hot water of it for any length of time, nor did we have very much the time. I was afraid if we didn't get something ready quick that our hungry troops might wanna take a bit out of me. So once the brickets were ready I decided to put some hot dogs and hamburgers on cause I could make a large quanity of those pretty quickly. I opened the 18-pack of ultrajumbo hotdogs and found them to be encased in a block of ice. So ran to the microwave and did what I could to defrost them. So I popped those on one of the grills and them put some ribs and steaks on the other grill. At about 6:30 people were getting kind of full and we played games and mingled until about 7:30. Then came time for the gift exchange. All the gifts were passed out and then we went around the room and opened them individually and showed everyone what we had gotten. There's a really funny story here. If you get a chance ask me to tell it to you. My secret Santa got me book on learning arabic and a Koran. I tell you the Koran was at the top of my christmas list. Wow how'd they know?

Christmas morning I got up early as normal at about 4am. Then I headed over to the MCI phone trailer what was offering free calls for the holidays. And I made some holiday calls till about 7 then headed to breakfast. The Dinning Facility I normally go to was closed in preparation for the christmas lunch and dinner. So I hiked over to one of my other favorites and halfway through the meal they evacuated the place and searched the place and personal presumably for any threats. Security has really been taken up a couple of knotches since that suicide bomber struck up north in Mosul. I have to admit as I sat in the Dinning facility at the Christmas lunch celebration I did briefly feel a sense of vulnerability and insecurity. I thought it's be a great target to strike a crowed Dinning Facility as soldiers celebrate Christmas. But I didn't let myself dwell on that. I just reminded myself of the extensive security checkes that I had to pass through to get in and all the extra measures that they were taking.

In addition to being Christmas it was also the Sabbath today. This is now the forth week of holding a Sabbath Morning SDA service. We had five in attendence this morning up from our average of three. That shows that the word is getting out and some of the SDA's are coming out of the woodwork. Chaplain Cuzzins leads out and he and I are becoming fast friends. We've spent a number of afternoons talking and fellowshiping together, it's been great to get to know him.

There are many exciting developments with my unit here. We are winding down our deployment. Our replacements are here, they arrived on thursday. And this week we'll teach them the ropes and get them connected with our contacts around the area. I'll post a few more updates this week and give some more details.

I gotta fly. Merry Christmas!

Robin Williams & Company

2004-12-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hello All it's another cold day in sunny Iraq. There's not much of anything new around here. I'm still working up in the motorpool and carry on those day to day tasks that I've talked about at lenght in the past.

But I wanted to mention an event that took place yesturday, that was pretty cool. Take a minute to watch the news clip (entitled, "Robin Williams Entertains In Iraq" under the Video subgroup 25 Sec.) and skim the article at the following link then I'll talk about my experience there.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1103048661448_98457861/?hub=Entertainment#

Now if you look at some of the other articles on this from Fox News and CNN and so on you'll notice that it's dark behind them that's cause that's the show from the day before that was somewhere else. Only the pictures from the day are from here at Camp Liberty (Video Says "Camp Victory" That's the old name it was changed about a month ago.)

The event took place down at the PX which is one of the biggest in theater. It's only a short walk from my trailer area. They have a good sized wooden stage set up down there where people come and perform. The last person we had was Wayne Newton. He didn't interest me much so I didn't go down there. Anyway I got there at about 9:00 am to get a good seat. And already the line was a block long to get autographs. I decided that getting a good seat was more important than getting an autograph. So I took a good seat in the second row in the middle. It was a good thing I did that too cause autographs weren't down till after the show. So all those people in line not only missed out on some good seats but also pretty much wasted their time there since the signings took place on the other side of the couryard. To get the crowd warmed up there was a 1st Cav Band (1st Cav is the main Active Army Division on post). It was a group of 1st Cav soldiers that had started a rock band. They were surprisingly good.

As they were performing four helicoptors flew overhead. Now helicoptors flying over are quite common. But these four sort of flew around the crowd and dipped a bit as they did then landed behind the PX. Once again that's not unusual since the landing pad is behind the PX where hundreds of helicoptors take off and land daily. Anyway shortly thereafter while the band was still performing there began to be a comotion to the left of the stage. And reportors began to line up and then a small crowd emerged. A tall man with four stars, who was preceded by tactically dressed bodyguards with high power weapons was the first person that I was able to pick out. And the name tag on his uniform confirmed that this was General Richard Meyers (www.dtic.mil/jcs/core/chairman.html) Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. Leading the way in was another soldier with two stars on his uniform, this was General Chilarhi who heads up the 1st Cav. He confidently stroled onto stage and took the microphone. He welcomed us and introduced the Chairman who came up and thanked us on behalf of america. Then he introduced Leeann Tweeden (www.leeanntweeden.masefx.com/) who is a supermodel she was the MC of the program. Let me tell you the soldiers where quite dazzled with this stunningly beautiful woman, and she wore a an incredible outfit to compliment her body well. Then John Elway (johnelway.com) came up and talked about how much he supports all of us and so on. He signed a bunch of footballs and threw them out into the crowd. And he launched a few that I was sure would come back to earth in Iran somewhere. Then next up was comedian Blake Clark (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800169810&cf=mm) . He stared in Waterboy (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120484/) as "Farmer Fran." and he was a riot. He had us rolling in our seats. Additionally he was a Platoon Sgt. a Lt. in Vietnam and so he shared with us some of his experiences. Most of the news articles that I read on this even didn't even mention his name. I'm not sure why, but he was there and put on a great show. Then it was time for the master. In fact when the first announced this event the commander didn't say that General Meyers was going to down at the PX. And the others were also a happy surprise that iced the cake. The legend Robin Williams was the superstar in our midst and he lived up to his reputation. I don't need to provide a link to help to clue you in on his identity. He was able to take the common things around us such as a bottle of water and use it to make us laugh to tears. He entertained us for about half an hour then it was time for autographs. I didn't stick around for that part.

This event was wonderful and I'm so glad that it was brought to us here. They don't come hear cause they need to make a few bucks. These stars watch the same news that the rest of us do. They hear about the suicide bombings and roadside deaths due to homemade bombs and all the danger. And they stick there necks out to come here to Baghdad Iraq. To come to our PX that doesn't even have a paved parking lot. To come and personally tell us soldiers that our work is meaningful, our sacrifices appreciated and their pride in us strong. Speaking for myself I can say that it mean't a lot to me.

Happy Thanksgiving

2004-11-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came and went this week. They made sure to feed us well around here. The DIFAC (Dinning Facility), in-fact all three of them, put on quite a celebration. For those of you familiar with banquets that SDA academies and colleges put on, I would liken it to a Thanksgiving Banquet. I attended the one at my favorite DIFAC. The entire place was decorated from floor to ceiling. All decked out with thanksgiving colors of brown and orange. The tables all that nice table clothes and were covered with thanksgiving paraphernalia. And the food was great. Not only did that have all the fixin’s of a traditional thanksgiving dinner. But they also had rib-eye steaks, several varieties of chicken. This DIFAC serves an area largely housing units from Louisiana. So they had an extensive array of Cajun dishes. Most of them looked delicious, however being either shrimp or pork all I could was admire them and savor the aroma. The selection and variety truly was incredible. They had football going on brand new flat screen televisions set up around the building. They really did a good job at putting on quite the festival. Before the meal kicked of they had a number of neat things outside. They had Indian teepees set up, people walking around in costumed as Indians, pilgrims and even a turkey. They also built a Mayflower ship that sat in the middle of the courtyard. A small plaque on the side served to educate the curious on the history of the Mayflower. The ship was used as a platform for the General to give a thanksgiving address and for the chaplain to offer a thanksgiving prayer. Off to the side of the courtyard they had a pen surrounded with chicken wire. And inside they at four turkeys huddling together and being chased about by costumed Indians. It was a lot of fun. I took some pictures so I’m hoping to get those developed and make those available on this site. Of course no matter what the military puts on nothing can substitute a thanksgiving in a simple home surrounded be family with a home cooked thanksgiving dinner. I guess that’s apart of the sacrifice.

Well it’s true an SDA chaplain has arrived. I have not yet been able to hook up with him yet. And I learned at 11 am, that he was conducting an SDA service today at 10 am. But now I have his contact information and I’m going to look him as soon as I finish here. I am eager to talk with him and get involved in whatever activities he might be arranging.

I got to call a few of you on Thanksgiving Day, well it was still Wednesday in the states but here it was Thursday. It’s been months since most of us talked so that was a nice blessing. I even called CLC to send a happy thanksgiving their way. And don’t wait for me to call you, I sent out my phone number in an email a few months ago. Don’t be afraid to use it.

This week the climate continued it’s downward spiral in temperature. Most nights you can’t even walk to the bathroom without putting on a sweater or something. And in the mornings everyone is bundled up with long underwear, winter jackets, thick fleece overcoats, gloves and everything else to keep warm. So winter is moving in for us too.

I kinda like Mayor Cell....

2004-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? This whole week I've probably spent maybe three hours at the motorpool. That's a big change considering that's mostly just a single morning for me. This week I've had Mayor Cell three times. I had it on Monday, Thursday and Today (Friday). If you're not sure what Mayor Cell is I've written a few bloggers about it in the past that can bring you up to speed on it. For starters, I've really grown to really enjoy having Mayor Cell duty. Most people have no love for this assignment. In fact I've never met another single person who says they like it. But that's ok I'm accustomed to being in a class all of my own. Down at the motorpool, there's not really anything to do. Most of the tasks I do there are simply jobs that are invented to keep me doing something. I can put in a full day, with those busybody tasks and at the end of the day nothing useful's been done. However, at Mayor Cell in contrast, I get all sorts of tasks that got more to them. And the crews of foreigners, locals and Americans that I work with are all great to work with.

Let me explain that we get tasked out to various crews of contractors. And we serve a number of different funtions. First, we serve as (QA) Quality Assurance/Control, we make sure that work is actually being down. Many times we have count the number of trash cans emptied or the number of restrooms cleaned. To make sure that the workers don't just clock in and then go and aimlessly drive around for a few hours. Secondly, we serve as Force Protection, we make sure that these team of locals and foreigners aren't getting involved in any foul play such as stealing, planting bombs or things of that nature. Thirdly our presents serves to legitimize the work of the crew. For example if the vehicle needs fuel they just can't pull up to a feul point and say fill me up. We pull up and I need to request the refill, or they aren't getting one. And Finally, we serve as crew protection. If out crew were to encounter anything hostile in nature. The escorting soldier provides protection for the crew. That's just four items to give you an idea of what our duties as escorts encompasses.

Take Monday for example. I got tasked out with the crew that cleans the Port-O-Johns. There's gotta be hundreds of them in the area. And I had to fill out a sheet with the count of how many they did. I had a great time with that crew. I worked with three locals, I quickly learned their names and we were all fast friends. Although there was a definate language barrier we still found ways to communicate and establish some comraderie. That's true with all the crews I worked with this week. These guys like what they do and have fun doing it and I have fun with them. And we talk about our families many of them are young guys in their early 20's and they have wives and a few have a child or two. I show them pictures of my pretty wife and they share pictures of their families and we all learn a little bit of where the other comes from. Many of them also have very sad recent tragidies too. For examply I worked with a fellow with a masters in electrical engineering, he drives trucks. And within the last month his family has had to cope with the loss of two loved ones. He lost a cousin and a brother, both victums of the the insurgents insanity. It is truly a pleasure to work with these men.

I'm going to request to be put on Mayor Cell everyday. Normally we send someone different everyday. But hey why send someone who doesn't want to be there, when someone's who's motivated is available?

This week I actually put into action my plan to get out on the week nights and start going to things. So I went to a praise session last night at the chapel. And I had a blast. It was the practice session for the praise part of the church service. And I got up there as a vocalist with the praise team. We sang some great songs. There's nothing like a spirit filled praise and worship session. Additonally, one of the chaplains who was there who I'm friends with told me that he met the new SDA chaplain on post. So the rumors are true an SDA chaplain is here. I have yet to bump into him but I'm sure I'll make his acquaintance shortly. I really look forward to joining his ministry team. On tuesday night I went to a bible study that just started it was the first night. And we're covering a Purpose Driven Life (book by Rick Warren). I had started that book in the past but never made it through. The master sgt who's leading out is really a dynamic leader and really inspiring. I look forward to going on this jorney with him through this incredible book. It was just he and I. But that's ok, God's word says where two or more are gathered the Lord is present.

65 F buuurrr....Time to dig out the winter coat.

2004-11-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

This morning was typical of the recent climate we’ve been experiencing. You see it was down right cold. I almost went so far as to put on my snivel gear (army equivalent of thick long underwear). I was almost shivering, even though I was fully dressed down in my uniform with pants and long-sleeves. I don’t know how much more I can take of these 60 F temperatures. I’m going to have to start wearing my winter coat out there in the mornings. I checked weather.com and the temperatures were between 59 and 60 F. Talk about brutal. You may laugh….I know you in fact cause I also checked the temperatures for the same time frame in the Midwest was about 32 F with a real feel of 28 F. So 65 F might not seem cold to you, but I’m digging that gore-tex coat out.

Our main division here on the post is on their way out the door. The First Cavalry Infantry division is rotating out. Units come and go, but a whole division rotating that’s a lot of people. Some of the effects are becoming evident around here. See since there’s the biggest thing on this post, they’re the big fish in this pond. And they pretty much set policy and so on around here. Anyway the bolts have really been getting tight around here with a stricter approach to the rules. For example for a few days this past week we were on a heightened alert. So we had to wear our full battle rattle uniform everywhere including body armor and helmet. Then when exercise time rolled, we were allowed to go down to the gym in our PT uniform as long as we were wearing our armored vests and helmet. And a new policy was made that PTs weren’t allowed, we had to wear our regular uniform to the gym and change there. And at the gym there aren’t any locker rooms or anywhere to store your things you just lay in somewhere along the wall. That whole thing just added so many steps to my already tight morning routine. That’s just one example of some of the changes around here.

Today I went to a new Lutheran service that’s started up on Saturday mornings. Since there are no SDA services available I thought it might be a nice thing to look into. This in fact was the very first one to be held. It’s not even on the schedules yet that are posted around post. But I drop by the division chaplain quite often and he knowing of my interest in a Saturday service made me aware of it. I guess the word hadn’t gotten out yet so it was just the Chaplain, the Chaplain’s Assistant and I. But you know where two or more are gathered right. The service was slated to begin at 9am. It’s just across the street from the dining facility so I ate a late breakfast and waltzed over about 8:40. The chaplain and I chatted then jumped into out worship session. I really did enjoy it. And I plan to keep going. That is except if the rumor is true. I’ve heard a rumor, from the head chaplain in our area that an SDA chaplain will be arriving next week sometime. So if that’s true I’ll attend whatever services he starts up. And I’d be interested in joining his ministry team. That could be very rewarding.

If it were possible the amount of work down at the motor pool has gotten even slimmer. That’s incredible since I thought I had nothing to do before. Sure we are doing projects here and there of emptying storage trailers and reorganizing things. But you get everyone on something like that and it’s down with in a few hours then you have the rest of the day. Everyone is starting to get to the point where they just want this whole thing to be over with and get back to their normal lives.

Working In The Trenches

2004-11-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

The rains have stopped for now. And the sun has come out. Just in time too cause we were swimming in mud around here. Things have dried out around here and it's been pretty nice the last few days. I'm not sure how long it will last. The skies have grown grey and looked threatening a few times since. But haven't dumped water on us like it did before.

This place is really getting crowed. We're starting to have some of the replacement troops coming in and there are soldiers everywhere. The line for lunch at the dinning facility goes out the door and to the parking lot. It's crazy. We've never had that before. I hope that the wheels start turning soon and this clog will be cleared up.

Today we had to dig a trench. See our office phone service comes to us by a cord that is rolled out along the ground. Well last week some workers accidently cut our line. So we strung a new line and today we had to bury it. So we got the shovels and pics and we dug a trench for about 100 yards to bury the thing. I guess this is the forth time this has happened. I hope this is the last too.

Remember that blogger for a while back when we spent the whole day putting up some new barriars outside our trailers? Well the Mayor decided that he wants to change it again. They've given us a hint as to what there lasted idea is, we'll see when they actually come through and implement it. It's just a little frustrating when you spent a day and put our back into something and it's undone so quickly and easily.

And If I can't Swim after 40 days.......

2004-11-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Well it's finally here, the rains have started. Actually it's more like the drizzling has started. Except for a few somewhat brief episodes nothing has come down very hard. However, don't let that fool you a few days of steady downpour can soak an area very well. Especially an area with no grass and plants to drink it up. That's right all there is, is God's brown earth to deal with all that water. The 1st Sgts predictions were right, everything is turning to mud soup out there. Every day the mud gets deeper and more slippery. As I'm here typing I have at least an inch of mud caked all around my boots, it's glorious. And the mud is only half the story. There's the constant dampness and dreariness to add to the daily comfort levels.
For a couple of weeks our mechanics were out at other sights working on some of our vehicles for personnel at other locations. But now most of them are back. Since most of them are back the maintainance tent is pretty crowded with people at work, so I'm not really needed in there. Because of the the rain we've halted our work of pulling things out of our storage trailers, so there isn't much for me to do there. The long and the short of it is, is that things have grown really boring at the motorpool. With nothing to do, the time just drags by up there.

Ripping Out Fences & Dangerous Convoys

2004-10-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

At the motorpool we have like six conex's full of parts and all kinds of stuff. Well we've began the process of pulling everything out and moving it to the other side of the yard. On the other side of the yard it is being shelved nicely to be inventoried. And needless to say this process involves a lot of toil in the sun. So we've put some very full days with no end in sight. In addition we're putting in a new gate. Let me explain that our current gate exits onto a very busy road. Everything from trunks to Tanks rumble by frequently. So that makes it a very dangerous place to pull out. In addition, as you pull out your view is obstructed by various concret barriers and a building. So we requested the funding to put in a new gate and so that work also started today. I was on the crew this morning who tore out about 200 feet of barbed wire. And let me tell you I have cuts on my hands and arms to prove it. It was especially difficult cause I've never work with anything like this before. So when I first hit the task I didn't have a clue as to how to even begin. So I kind of watched a few of the others and kind of clumsily mimiced their motions. But it wasn't long until I caught on and I was in there working with the rest of them.
Not all our work of the last few days has been in the motorpool. We did a convoy yesturday. And it was with heigtened trepidation that we prepared our vehicles and our gear yesturday morning. There had already been one improvised explosive device found on our route to the green zone. And in addition just 90 minutes prior we had felt the jolt and heard the a loud explosion that rocked one of the check-points on our route. We in fact we held up cause the authorities closed the highway. So we sat in our armour with our weapons, vehicles and equipment ready to roll when the all clear signal was given. We got word that the insurgents were moving out of Fallujah and coming up to Baghdad, cause they feared the major US assault that is looming on the horizon. So they're trying to shift attention away from that city. So even the soldiers with a lot of iraqi miles under their belt were feeling some butterflies. So we got the all clear and we set out. Before we set out the 1st Sgt. gave the mission briefing. He looked sternly at our gunners, who ride on top of the gun trunks with machine guns. And he told them to strickly use the rules of engagement. To use hand signals to communicate with traffic to our rear. And to kill any one who defies those commands. As we pulled out the driver expressed some fear this time around. I told him not to worry. That I had said a prayer and God's Angel was going before us. It was hard to tell if that was much of a comfort for him. The route was very heavily beset by Marines, Army Soldiers and Iraqi forces. I counted numerous tanks and many more heavily armoured patrols. It was with much relief that we arrived at the hospital in the green zone. It was lunch time so we headed for a small chow tent that is set up next to the hospital. Here were we live we have large, spacious dinning facilities with a large selection and variety. But this tent featured no frills. It's small and uncomfortable with only a basic selection of food. But it's all we had since no one wanted to make the trip to the pizza place that's about a mile away. After lunch I relaxed in the hospital lobby and watched the O'Reilly Factor on the TV that was there. When our time came to return to our camp we learned that the roads were closed again. So after waiting an hour and a half the 1st. Sgt. decided on an alternate route that was a bit unfamiliar. But the plan was to head down the closed route and only go for the alternate if we were turned around there. So we set out and indeed the route was closed. However, we had a remarkable piece of luck (or answered prayer). There was one of those armed patrols that go back and forth along the highway that crossed over and got behind us as they headed back up the highway. So the checkpoint was opened to allow the patrol to come back through and we sailed on through since we were just in front of them. What a blessing that we completed our mission on the most dangerous road currently in theater without an incident. Praise God.

Long Distance Convoy

2004-10-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the BBC the other day and was startled to hear my Camp mentioned by name in the news by the BBC. I heard the same story on CNN however they didn't mention the name of my camp by name. I have to admit that it's not in reference to anything all that noble. But apparently the State Department lost a diplomat in a mortar attack. That's kind of surprising in a way but not surprising in another way. Cause we get mortored quite frequently. But they rarely actually hit anything. But I guess they got someone this time. Here is the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3948929.stm. As for me I trust God is protecting me and that He has a plan for my life that He plans to keep me around for. So I don't let these things worry me or bother me. A very fitting scripture comes to mind when I here the explosions of mortors or when the building rocks from a nearby vehicle born bomb going off it comes from Psalms.

Psalms 91 4-9 NKJV
He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side,And ten thousand at your right hand;But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

Most of our convoys are local ones. We run to Abu Graib Prision or to the Green Zone or somewhere close like that. But yesturday we did a 75 mile run down to a town called Scania. It took us about 2 hrs to get there. And let me tell you there is absolutely nothing to see in the countryside of Iraq. If you've ever driven through the Dakotas you have something of an idea of what is was like. Quite literally that's what the countryside looked like. This major highway is closed to civilian traffic for certain stretches so we were alone most of the time. Which is what we prefer. And at every underpass there was a group of Marins or Soldiers with fortified fighting positions making sure no troublemakers harmed passing US Military personal. At certain sections of the road there would be farmers crossing the highway with a herd of Sheep or cattle that was kind of wierd. Also at certain areas there would be groups of children on the side of the road they would run out to greet us and wave to us as we passed by. I'm not sure why they were hanging out on the shoulder of the expressway but they seemed eager to get a glimpse of us. We spent a couple of hours at Scania and did two promotions. Scania is quite a dump I must say. Their Dinning Facility, PX, living quarters and everything were all small and primative. But our personnel who work and live there seem to love it. Or that's at least what they say. On the way back we got stuck in a traffic jam just after we came in the gate. There was a whole line of Semi-trucks that we were at the end of and we were parked for close to two hours. So that was the first time I really went anywhere really far. I can safely say that I'm glad that I live here.

Misc. Day Off

2004-10-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well today was my day off. I slept in till about 7am. I normally get up at 4:30 to work out at the gym. But today I slept in. I’ve been trying to brainstorm about ways I could connect with other SDA soldiers who may be around the base here. It’s not easy cause unless you’re already a leader with ecclesiastical endorsement (www.adventistchaplains.org/endorse.htm) from your church; you can’t use any of the official channels. That include bulletin boards, interest events ect. So while I’m waiting on the Illinois Conference (www.illinoisadventist.org) to get back to me about that endorsement. In the meanwhile I’ve set up a group in the Army’s Web AKO Community (www.us.army.mil) called, “Camp Victory SDA Fellowship.” I set up a homepage with information and instructions at www.geocities.com/SDAguy_InChrist1978. Then I set up a permanent chat room at AKO for SDA soldiers. All these things are new as of today so we’ll see if I have any luck connecting to other SDA soldiers. Lord willing the wind will pick up and the right folks will blow my direction.

This past week I had a few class sessions on drivers training. See in order to get an army drivers license you need to go through 40 hrs. of their drivers education. It’s going pretty well. I’m getting licensed up to 5 ton, which is very good size truck. The classes have been somewhat boring. And they not only include topics on safety, weather conditions, and defensive driving. They also include sections on how to do a complete Preventative Maintenance and Safety Check (PMCS) on every vehicle on the ladder up to the 5 ton. This is actually a very useful aspect of the class cause we PMCS every Monday morning. And so far beyond checking the fluids, lights and washing the windows I really haven’t known what all PMCS entails. Or even how to properly fill out the forms that go with this procedure. So I’m getting the whole nine yards on all that. I even have a learners permit for now while I’m going through the class. And I’ve gotten out a bit and driven these hulking monstrosities around the post for various errands. The hardest part is stopping, and also turning. See as far as braking you’ve got to apply a lot of pressure, really slam your foot down hard to stop the thing. Turning is the same thing. I’m pretty sure there’s no power steering on these beasts cause you’ve got to turn the wheel a hundred times as you’re gripping the thing with white knuckles to get the thing to turn. All this is certainly new to me. But it’ll be fun to be able to drive some and not just be a passenger.
I went to a bible study Friday night. It was more like a vespers in that it wasn’t a discussion format. The speaker presented a study about the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. Of coarse I raised my hand and got some of my own thoughts in there. I really enjoyed it and plan to attend weekly. The speaker is a first sgt. So he is a lay leader and he is on fire for God and a very charismatic individual to listen to. There were about 40 people there so it was very well attended. This week I’ll also be exploring some of the other groups that meet. I’m going to make it a point to get out some. For example tonight they have a movie playing outside on the deck in front of the PX and I’m going to go and pull up a chair and catch some of that.

IPP Inner Perimeter Patrol Revamped

2004-10-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Things have been rolling around here with the usual highs and lows. I’m sort of in a rhythm and routine now. However, I have decided that I need to get out more and interact with people. I tend to do my own thing and keep socializing to a minimum. I’m just not one to stand around and talk and go and sit around in people’s rooms and chill. I can always think of something else I’d rather be doing. I do pay a price for it though. The price of being relatively isolated, which I both relish and lament at the same time. But there are things around to do. There are activities at the gym, there are bible studies; there are concerts and similar events at the PX (Wayne Newton was just here). See in my mind when I start considering doing those things I can’t help but think that I’ll miss out on some sleep cause I’ll get to bed later. But it might be worth it.

I wrote an entry back on September 20th called, “Sunday/Day OFF…” Well today I had the same assignment but they completely revamped it. No longer do you report to your local neighborhood office at 9:00 am and check in every couple of hours and hang out in your room in between. Now we had to report to the Mayor Cell office at 6:00 am. And now our patrols are on foot walking miles through the neighborhoods. Then once you did a round you had to sit in the waiting room and wait for another assignment or for your next patrol. To say the least, this assignment has lost all it’s fun. All in all this was a pretty boring day. The only excitement came at around 10 am, right in the middle of our break. When we got a call of something found in a dumpster in one of the neighborhoods. So we huffed it over there and inspected the dumpster. Sure enough it was a 150 round for a Bradley tank. This sucker was huge. And looked like a bullet you would use on King Kong. So we took up positions around the dumpster to keep people at a safe distance. Pounded five poles in the ground and strung up safety tape to tape off the area. And detoured traffic around the area. We were out there for about and hour and a half till the proper authorities showed up and took care of the hazard. After that it was back to our mundane stuff.

It’s starting to cool off considerably around here over night. When we get up in the morning for PT we’re starting to notice that it’s a bit chilly outside. Now mind you that chilly is 68-72 F. As the day wears on it warms up for us. But it’s a sign that the season is changing. Another sign is a cold/mild flu that is popping up around camp. I’m just getting over my run with it. I till have a lingering cough or two. But the medics say that it’s something that people everywhere are coming down with around here.

Operation Sand Bag

2004-10-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

You know how this blogger in entitled, “Operation Sandbox.” Today our company got a chance to romp in the sand. However, it was not a day of fun in the sun. Let me explain that I arrived about three weeks to late to participate in the company’s major re-sand bagging effort. See sand bags in case of mortar attack surround our trailers; to provide protection against flying shrapnel. Most of the other company areas looked like “sub-standard” shall we say (if you get my drift) cause they only have the old sand bags which are terribly deteriorating with sand spilling everywhere. The company Commander decided that we weren’t going to look as disgraceful as the rest so he had new sand bags brought in and the whole company tore down the old wall. Emptied the sand bags, filled the new bags and built some excellent walls. It looked really good. Then a month after they were done the Division put out that we all were going to do away with sand bags and use these basket-like barriers that are very thick. So that is what we spent our day doing. We started at 8am and worked until almost 4 pm. It was some backbreaking work; the soreness is setting in throughout my limbs by the minute. We had to pull the wall down, assemble the barriers, put them in place then fill them. It sounds easy right? I assure you it was some of the dustiest and most demanding tasks that anyone can ever do. These sandbags weighed 40 lbs each, we were working in an average temperature of 105 F, and we covered an area about a block long between the 15 of us. Notwithstanding the conditions it actually felt good to put in a day of work like this.

On top of that it seemed like everyone one else was out there working on their barriers for a couple of days. It seemed like they made everyone responsible to work on their own trailer. However, we didn’t do that. We started at the first trailer everyone lined up and went on down trailer by trailer knocking them out. We got a good lesson in teamwork today.

I had to go down to the south side of the camp. So I caught a bus at the PX. And the driver was a gentleman from the Philippines. Actually all the bus drivers are from the Philippines. I’ve gotten into the habit of getting to know these guys. So I struck up a conversation with this bus driver. His name is Reggie and he’s been here for about 6 months and had a year and a half left. He has a family a wife and a son back home. I expressed sympathy to him about having to be separated from his family for so long and I told him that I can understand what he’s going through cause I have a wife at home too. He said that is was hard but it was a sacrifice that he had to do for his family cause the excellent pay he’ll receive from his work here will pave the future for his children and give them a better life. And you know these guys are real inspirations to me. Their deep commitment to their families, and heartfelt service to do whatever is necessary to provide for them and support them. On top of that these guys are some of the nicest people on earth that you’ll ever meet. They are such nice guys.

I’ve really been stepping up the PT (work-out sessions). We’ve got a PT test coming up in December. That seems like a long way a way, but all that time is needed to get up to the level to pass these tests. I hit the gym every morning at 5am. I have grown to love the elliptical machine I spend a half hour on that baby, burn about 400 calories and go about 3 miles. It’s an excellent work out. Then I hop over to the treadmill and run for 16 minutes. See my goal is to get my two mile run under 16 minutes so I run that long and have been increasing the distance covered in that time frame a little more and a little more over time. Then I do 50 push-ups & sit-ups then I hit the weights for 15 to 20 minutes. When I exit that gym, I’ve gotten a good work out in.

It's Wednesday?.....Mayor Cell that's right!

2004-10-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today was another day out of the ordinary. Well it started ordinary enough. See I woke up at 4:30 am as usual. I shaved and brushed my teeth and prepared to head to the gym as usual. I went and did a heavy work out for an hour and headed over to do a two-mile run with my company. After the run I headed to breakfast and had a very satisfying meal. Then I walked over to the motor pool and walked through the gates at about 8:45. On mornings where we run we have formation at 9am (other days 8am). So I like to get there 15 minutes early, cause in the Army if you’re on time-your late. As I was walking through the gate I was listening to a very funning report on the BBC World Service on my short-wave radio (Here is the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3712960.stm although it was told much funnier on the radio). As I came through the gate my Assistant Platoon Sgt. Was seated, he was the only other person there as of yet. He started to motion to me. I thought he was just being friendly. So I gave him a thumbs up, but I could detect that he had something more on his mind. Once I reached him he asked, “Did you check the duty roster?” I briefly searched my mind and asked myself, “What day is it? Could it be Wednesday?” I had a vague mental note of something I was assigned on Wednesday. The Sgt. informed me that I was almost three hours late for Mayor Cell duty. I gave myself a swift mental kick and began the 1 ½ mile hike over to the Mayor Cell area. I had to stop at my room to get the rest of my battle gear, which you’re required to wear when you report there.

Well when I finally dragged myself into the Mayor Cell office signed in and went over to the soldier waiting area. I found out that all that I had missed was a few hours sleep. Cause everyone was in there sleeping and watching the Cartoon Network. I plopped down, laid all my stuff aside, put my head down and joined the napping crew. I woke up a few hours later to go get some lunch then I went back and napped a little more. That is until the Sgt. On duty there popped in and said he needed a soldier to escort the electricians. He said that looking straight at me, not leaving any room for doubt as to who was supposed to volunteer. Well it turned out to not be so bad. I rode around with a crew of three others. One was the American supervisor, who was from Texas. He had gotten here about the first of September and had been lured by the $80 K tax-free salary. Then there were his two underlings from the Philippines who have been here seven months. Here in Iraq they make about double what they’d make in their country. But they have to work here for two year continuously with no breaks to go home (Americans get up to four vacations in a year, most take only three cause they want to get in 330 days.) It was a lot of fun actually. He rode around on a gator while they did minor repairs in various rooms. Then we went all the way down to the infantry area. We had to go room to room checking outlets.

Apparently, you’ve gotta be careful when you’re in that territory. See these are the guys who are out killing day in and day out. Anyway, I guess my electrician friends have gone through there before and these infantry guys come flying out of their trailers weapons leveled. One of them felt that we didn’t give enough warning before entering and he gave us a good tongue-lashing. But beyond that we it went smoothly. The Texan was telling me about some of the wild life he’s seen. I guess down by the river that flows through camp you can see big footprints of lions. And I guess he’s spotted some pretty big antelope around the area too. And I thought this was a pretty dead area with some birds and flies.

Well That’s it for my report today.

Pushing The Envelope

2004-10-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

My normal unit is ok, the 452nd CSH that is. However, I’m glad (so far) that I was mobilized with the 477th Med Co (GA). Cause with this unit I’m doing things and getting training & experience that I never had before with the 452nd. A large part of it is the training in regards to military vehicles. How to drive them, service them & care for them. Also the other soldiering skills I’m learning. See normally the kitchen staff is a world of their own. We have our own formations our own PT (work out time). We normally didn’t interact with the company or unit’s leadership; cause the only NCOs and Officers we saw were related to the kitchen. Except when we served the others their meals. I’m talking about more in deployment situations with these generalizations. So there are always circumstances that are the exceptions. I’m just glad that I have the chance to roll up my sleeves and get involved in these new things. Like yesterday for example. There was next to nothing happening at the motor pool. So a few of us were marched back to the pad and we cleaned a few Saws (large machine guns that need to be mounted before a person can fire them). Now that was the second time in my life that I handled one of those weapons. The first time was on US. Weapons Day back in basic a year and a half ago. So I got to be introduced in how to take it apart, clean it and put it back together. Now that I think of it I think I did help clean one a few times back in basic training on my bay guard duty at 3 am once or twice. But that’s only a faint shadowy memory.

Yesterday evening I ran into a roommate of mine from Advanced Individual Training from about a year ago. He and I shared a room with three other soldiers. He was with me at 92 G (Golf) school. Which was my first AIT coarse to get certified as a basic food service specialist. He is working over in the dining facility doing head count as people enter the facility. I asked him how he got lucky enough to work in the dining facility and I’m changing axels in the motor pool? He said that he’s regular army and works for the division unit so he’s able to get some sweeter deals. He also told me that a few other golfs from our class were attached to infantry units. And they were out knocking on doors looking for intelligence on insurgents and so on. So I told him I’d stick with changing tire treads. Knocking on the doors of Iraqi nationals seems high on the list of dangerous assignments.

There is a PT test coming up in December. So next week the Commander is going to start mandatory group PT. See normally we stretch for about 20 minutes as a group three times a week then break up for individual PT. A lot of people play volleyball, others go running, I always head to the gym for my work out. And I prefer to keep doing it that way. In fact we all do. But the Commander calls the shots. So we’ll just have to roll with it and see how it will impact my routine.

Today is my day off. “Church” doesn’t start for a few more hours though. I say it like that cause currently there is no service. The one that I found on an old schedule is out of business. So it’s just me going out there for now. I’ve been trying to seek out the right chaplain to see about getting the ball rolling. See the main hurdles are finding out if there is a group of any size of SDAs to warrant starting a service. Then secondly, finding someone to lead out in a worship service. See not just anyone can do it. It has to be either a chaplain or someone with an official written Ecclesiastical Endorsement from the SDA church. So if a chaplain can’t be found, I’m going to try to get in touch with the local SDA Iraqi mission.

The Wall Shook

2004-09-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

This has been quite a week; just when I think I have a routine down something changes. Before I recap on the week I wanted to talk about an event that happened today. Some of us went over to the main vehicle maintenance shop to get some A/C units and other parts. When we arrived in the area we noticed that everyone was walking around with all their body armor and helmets on. We asked the maintenance soldiers about it and they said that earlier in the morning they had gotten some mortar attacks, so the camp was at a heightened state of alert. Mortar attacks are pretty common, them actually hitting anything is pretty rare in fact, and so we kind of shrugged it off. Well not too long after that there was a tremendous explosion. The walls shook and we all hit the deck and rolled under the vehicles. Everyone one of us thought the building had been hit with a mortar. After a few minutes we got up off the ground and headed for the bomb shelter outside till be got the all clear. It turns out we weren’t hit with a mortar. There is an article in Yahoo News with what I believe is a mention of our incident. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20040930/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_11. Not the topic of the main article, but the incident but the “Hour earlier” article at the end of the first paragraph. Now that’s just my opinion, I don’t know if it is or not definitely. But what is said there is consistent with what I’ve heard from others around here. That just underscores that it’s dangerous over here and not to be taken for granted. A few minutes after we went to the bomb shelter I, and several others, ventured out to take a look. We saw not too far away a large plume of smoke. We got up on some boxes and were able to see helicopters swooping around the area, some tanks racing around, locals on their roof tops looking off in the direction of the smoke, and even a ground ambulance racing off somewhere. Later on at dinner I sat next to a guy who knew the soldier that died in that incident. I bring up this incident, both cause it looms large on my mind today and also it adds to the headlines I’ve been reading lately. Some of the headlines I’ve read recently have been very pessimistic. In the articles it’s not just liberal loonies who are spouting off lunacy. But military analysts who say that American leadership is ignoring the evidence for how pervasive and deeply seeded the insurgency is. I read recently in an interview with George Bush that Bill O’Reily made the point that S. Vietnam is not free today because they didn’t fight for it. I sincerely hope that the citizen’s of this country will soon grasp the blessing that is on their doorstep. Their historical opportunity is on the doorstep. I hope that they take a que from history and see that America did for post-war Germany & post-war Japan. American played and integral roll in the post WWII development of these nations, both are doing today. Even if they just keep us around along enough to rebuild, set them on the right path and then ask us to leave like the Philippines did for example. We didn’t stick around and throw our weight around there. We packed up and honored the wishes of the people of the Philippines.

On Sunday night I had some extra duty called, “Mayor Cell Duty.” See our camp has a mayor. And so a group of about 20 of us had duties related to public works item. Staffing the phone center, supporting the sanitation crews and things of that nature. I was one of the lucky ones that got to support the sanitation crews. Basically I rode around with a civilian as he emptied the sanitation containment tanks and took them and dumped the load (pardon the pun). There was quite a language barrier. He knew only three words in English: “Food”, “Good”, and “Not Good”. And through those three words we accomplished incredible feats of cross-lingual communication. I learned that the dining facility served two meals through out the night. A fact I didn’t know previously. An apparently my driver wasn’t allowed to go in and get any food. So you know whom the job fell to. As a soldier the food is there for me so, so I walked in and got a plate and got one to go. The fun lasted until about 3am then we were done. So I went back to the office and waited for another task. My time should have ended at 6am. And I almost made it, however I was selected for road guard duty. So for two additional hours I had to stand at an intersection an keep traffic from heading down a certain route so that runners could make use of the path. After that late Monday morning my day ended as I went to bed.

At the motor pool they’ve found that I have a certain eptness to learning how to do things. So today they set me to the task to retreading humvee tires. And these things don’t use your average Goodyear tire. It’s a design all it’s own. It includes taking the tire apart, and putting it back together with a new tread. It sounds easy but wrestling with those things can be very frustrating. There is an opening for a supply clerk for the mech shop. So I’m going to toss my name in that hat and see if I can land that job. Not that I don’t enjoy what I’m doing now. It’s just that it’d be nice to have my own responsibilities rather than just being an appendage on the mechanic’s crew.

They’ve given me Saturday’s off for now to avoid conflicts with my religion. That is such a relief to me cause it’s hard for me to focus down there at the motorpool on Saturdays. Now I look forward to connecting with other SDA believers and fellowshipping with them.

Changing The Rear Axel....me?

2004-09-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today I got to roll up my sleeves and get involved in a line of work that’s outside my norm. They are starting to train me to replace various parts on the vehicles. Today they trained me to change the rear axel. Including taking it off, stripping it down, putting it back together while replacing various components with new ones then putting it back together and putting if back on. It is a very greasy job. Even after several scrubbings my fingernails still betray the dirty job they were involved in.

Additionally the Captain, our company commander, walked through the storage/office tent that I’ve put so much attention into this week. And later on he and our other company leadership remarked and how good it look and complimented me on a job well done.
We did another convoy today. We had to go over to the infamous, Abu Graib Prison. We have some of our company personal over there. Anyway, we dropped off the First Sgt. So he could spend the evening over there taking care of some business. We were kind of on edge cause a lot of soldiers have died on the road between here and there. Including passing out of the gates were there have been some recent attacks with improvised exposive devices (IEDs), small arms fire and rocket propelled missiles (rpgs). But we have a good team that’s on its toes. Everyone is locked and loaded with clean weapons and plenty of ammo. Additionally, we are continually being schooled on what to look for and how to respond. Also Abram tanks and infantry crews lie along the path at some of the most troublesome spots policing the area. Then not to be left out God’s definitely got our back protecting us and getting us from point to point safely.

It's Already Thursday?

2004-09-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

It’s already Thursday, this week is passing quicker than I realized. These last few days have more of the same basically. The area that I’ve been working on improving is looking tremendously better. Before no one wanted to step foot inside the place cause it was so hot, dusty and miserable. Now that I’ve got a lot of the dirt and dust out of there and I’ve got the various piles of junk picked up and organized and got some fans going. It’s not such a bad place. People are hanging out in there more. The tent was originally supposed to be an office area for the supply Sgts. But they didn’t want the place. I don’t blame them. But now it’s a halfway pleasant in there.

Foreigners it seems do all of our support services. Not that I’m complaining cause they do everything from our laundry, to preparing and serving meals to driving busses and staffing the Stores and recreation areas. It just makes it kind of difficult when you want to ask a store employee where to find an item. Or when you want to ask the bus driver about other bus routes and times. Or when you want the volume or channel adjusted on the televisions in the dining facility. It’s just a small aspect of some mild frustrations of the life here. But we really are well taken care of. The first soldiers in this country lived in tents. Their supplies were spotty many times not having adequate essentials such as food, water and even toilet paper. They didn’t have much of any options as far as recreation and life was hard for them. By now enough time has gone by that the Army has some good infrastructure in place to help keep the quality of life good so soldiers can focus on their mission as opposed to being distressed over a lack of food or extreme heat. Despite what you might here in the media, our forces are doing well over here. Raids are conducted often and the bad guys are being taken down and decommissioned.

They tell me that the rainy season is just around the corner. You know what that means. That’s right, all that billows of dust and dirt out there are about to be mixed with a lot of water. And basically as the First Sgt. put it we’ll be walking around in soup. Isn’t that something to look forward to? I wonder how effective snowshoes might be?

I did get that Simm Card, finally. Service coverage is pretty good too. Except I do get disconnect every now and then. If anyone would like the number to call me just send me and email and let me know.

I just got my second vaccination for Anthrax. And boy did it sting. The first one didn’t really sting or bother me much. (True I was distracted by the much more serious small pox vaccination too.) But today I walked over to the medical center and presented myself for the second of three shots. And when he stuck me it wasn’t so bad. It was when we said, “Ok that’s it.” That’s when I really felt it. It was like a really nasty bee sting. My whole arm smarted for about an hour afterward.

I tell ya the thing that’s really when a nuisance around here is all this rock and gravel. My feet are so sore. And I walk almost everywhere, which makes it worse. If I go to the medical center and they prescribe that I need to sit tight more. Than my off time is going to be really dull cause I won’t be happy just sitting in my room staring at my four walls. There are buses that do loops around here but those are only useful about half the time.

Sunday/Day OFF (Not): Duty Day

2004-09-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday is normally a day I can spend going shopping, resting whatever. However on Saturday evening the commander came to my trailer and announced that I would have an assignment on Sunday which would last all day. After I learned that I would then have Monday off to make up for it, I didn't mind as much.

I didn't really know what this duty would entail. I just followed through with my instructions to report to the Pad Office at 9:30 am. Let me explain what a Pad is. We live in trailers that are organized into mini-neighborhoods called Pads. So I had some sort of duty at the neighborhood headquarters so to speak.

Well at 9:3o I showed up in full uniform and learned that I would be the perimeter guard for the next 12 hrs. I had to make perimeter checkes every two hours and radio those in. In addition I couldn't leave the Pad except for meals and had to be ready and alert in case a need arose. Except for being so long it turned out to not be so bad. I and my buddy finished the day's duty with no enemy infiltration on our watch.

Our Battalion guests arrived and I, as the new guy in the unit, got introduced to the Battalion Commander by our Unit Commander.

I have had no luck trying to get a Simm Card for my cell phone. About a week and a half ago I was in a convoy that went to a camp where the locals sold Simm Cards in their market. But I didn't have any money with me at the time. But I wasn't worried because I had also heard that the locals also sold them at the little market, or Bazzar, in our camp. But they closed at 5pm and I could never get over their before they closed. Last friday I had rushed over there after duty and was there at about 4:45. With the open doors with in eye sight I saw the doors close and lock soundly. When I finally reached the market I was told that today they had to close early due to security concerns. I could of really used an aspirin right then. Well late in evening the next day I went over to a mobile phone trailer that I had seen once. It's not an easy place to reach. It's quite a distance from my Pad and off the beaten path. So I made my way over there, apparently they had just sold their last one and were out and they told me to come back Sunday and they would have more. On sunday when I took lunch from my duty I stopped at the Bazaar. Where I learned, to my chagrin, that no one sells Simm Cards there. So during my dinner break from duty I made my way back to the mobile phone trailer. And for no apparent reason they were closed. Well I went back today (monday), at about 11am and she told me to come back after 3pm. So at 3pm I'll make my way back there and we'll see if I can finally get my hands on a Simm Card.

The locals also sell movies at the local markets. When you see "coming soon to theaters" in the US. You can go and buy it at the local market already, in a lot of cases. And for $5 (or 5 for $20) the DVD a lot of times, comes complete with people standing up and making their way to the isle or moving up the isle with some popcorn or something. Also occasionally you get the idea that you missed something. That there was a scene that was skipped. It's quite a bargain. I haven't bought any yet. There isn't any need to. Cause everyone has big heaping albums with loads of them.

Some of the magic of being the new guy is starting to fade. You know how when you're new and just getting acquainted everyone seems like your friend. Well some of that magic is starting to wane and I'm starting to notice friends and less-than-friends emerge. Don't get me wrong there's no out-right hostilities going on-just a dimished level of good will shall we say with a few individuals. Which is going to happen naturally, everyone's not going to be your friend.

Well wish me luck on getting that Simm Card.

Church?

2004-09-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well my first full week of operating with this unit has gone past. They're a great unit. My roommate also got back from some classes he was taking elsewhere. It was kind of nice having the whole room to myself. But everyone gets a roommate. It's just part of the deal. And it's an improvement over sleeping in a bay with 60 t0 70 other guys (and girls like in Kuwait). I'll be getting some pictures developed and put here on my blog so you can have an idea of what things are like. Overall the army takes good care of us. At the same time that doesn't mitigate the danger that is present around us. With in the last hour two mortars struck the area. The plumes of black smoke streaming in the sky are still climbing skyward. Also a vehicle born explosive has just exploded at the gates within the last hour. I was watching CNN recently listening to the reporter describe some of the lasted attacks by the enemies of Iraqi progress and I was a little unsettled when I recognized the area he was broadcasting from. However, we don't live in constant fear of our lives it's a rather big base and if my luck with the lottery is any indication one of those mortars won't strike in my vicinity.

Today I got the opportunity for the first time to attend a Seventh-day Adventist worship service on the other side of the post. Since I arrived, a short time ago, I’ve been keeping my eyes open looking for any SDA worship postings on the various bulletin boards. I finally found a worship schedule posted in one of the restrooms. I had seen other ones around the post but this one included an SDA service at 11:30 Saturday morning. I let my unit’s leadership know that I had found one. They knew that I had been looking for such and opportunity. So my platoon Sgt. drove me over at about 11am. Good thing too because the chapel we has thought was the one we needed turned out to not be. So we had to drive around a bit. This was no Saturday morning driving joyride. These former palace roads are narrow. And there were a few times when a truck rounded the corner and we found ourselves dangling on a curb that lined the road. I thought for sure we’d get stuck. But those humvees are made for tough situation. I have many times commented to myself that these things are more machines than they are vehicle. Anyway we found the chapel by 11:45. The Sgt. dropped me off and said he’d be back in an hour. I walked up to the chapel and it didn’t seem to be occupied. The door was open, which was good since it was air conditioned inside. But it was empty. I walked through looking in various attached rooms but no one was home. I went out the back door and ran into a chaplain’s assistant. He said the schedule I had seen was an old one and he sent me into the office to talk to the NCO to answer any of my questions. I learned that there were no SDA chaplains and so they had discontinued the services. Well I had an hour on my hands so I went back into the chapel and lead out in my own service. Complete with song service and an inspirational thought. I went back to the NCO’s office and asked if it was ok if I kept coming. He said that would be fine. And then I asked if it was ok if I brought other SDA’s if I happened to come across them. He said that would be fine too. So I’ll have to see what I can do about rounding up some of my fellow SDAs cause I can’t be the only SDA in the city.

Motor Pool

2004-09-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

I bet your wondering what kind of work I do here. Our unit is a ground ambulance unit. However, for all medical emergencies they use the Medevac helicopters. So our medics work at medical centers in the area and the rest of us maintain vehicles and facilities. And we do convoys about twice a week to transport patients from one medical facility to another. And there's a blogger talking about one of those. Besides that our team is down at the motor pool maintaining the vehicles and keeping the premises presentable. Take today for example we have some visitors coming next week from higher on our chain of command. Well here in the motor pool we've been working to get this place presentable. For starters you know how most people have junk drawers. Everyone is familiar with this concept. Well here in the motor pool we have junk tents and junk conex's. A conex are those things you see being dragged by trains and on the back of trucks. Anyway it won’t do for a Cornel to swagger and stumble through one of those. So we’ve spent some hot days in the sun this week hauling things out getting rid of the junk and organizing the more useful items. Today I spent an unhealthy amount of time cleaning out a dusty tent. Let me say a word about the dust. Now before I got here I was told that the sand in Iraq is finer than sand on the beach in Illinois. So I thought ok I’ve handled fine sand it won’t be so back. But this stuff is not the fine white stuff of sandbox fame. No No, it’s dirt, literally. It never rains so vegetation is scarce to none existent. And with no moister or plant life to hold the sold in place it just blows around. And it gets in everything. I can taste it in my mouth right now (yum yum). Anyway I was given the mission of cleaning up with long dusty tent. There was junk everywhere, old training manuals, binders, cleaning supplies, various cables and cords all just all kinds of stuff. And of coarse it was overlaid (and underlaid and saturated with, and wallowing in) plenty of dust. But by the time I was done the place looked brighter and the place was ten times better. So that’s one project I’ve worked on I work with the Supply Sgt. quite often and basically pitch in where help is needed. I’m not much of any use to the mechanics so as their ripping vehicles apart I stay out of their way.

This unit has been here for about 7 months. I’m just getting here and they’re already starting to make preparations to head home. Apparently entities way up the chain of command sent me in to replace a soldier who had gotten pregnant. But they didn’t check with the unit to see if that was necessary. Cause in theater here my MOS isn’t even used. But the superiors simply saw a slot open and they filled the slot. It looks like it will work out great for me. For two reasons one I got here just as the really hot weather is dissipating. And secondly, my tour won’t be as long as most others have had to endure.
I just wanted to say about the propaganda in the media. I catch the news from time to time and many times the picture that the reporters and analyst are painting is far from what the reality is here. I was watching one CNN reporter broadcasting from the area and from the way he was talking you’d think that the enemy was just overrunning us here. Let me assure you the enemy isn’t even close to overrunning anything. The most they can do is pester a military facility, overrun it? Not happening. Also the Iraqis love us. I meet and talk with them all the time. Their happy we’re here and grateful for our help and sacrifice to make their lives better. Syrians and Iranians perpetrate the violence you see in the media; that’s what the Iraqis that I talk to have told me. What your military is doing here is a good thing, be proud.

Convoy

2004-09-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

Today started out pretty normal. I was up at 4:30 spent some time doing my devotionals. I Went off on foot to breakfast at about 5:45. It's about a 15 min walk to the Dinning facility. It takes even longer when were wearing all of our body armour and helmet and all. I got back from breakfast at about 7am then walked over to the motor pool in time for the 8am formation. It was at breakfast that I learned that we were doing a convoy mission today. Apparently some individuals need to be tranported to the main hospital some distance away. It was our mission to take them there in our ambulances. Let me back up and tell you about Sunday. Sunday I woke up and went to work out at about 5:30. It was still dark out. Our unit was planning to head out to another base and swim in the pool and spend the day there. In the morning I was debating whether I should go or not. And God spoke to me and laid it on my heart that I shouldn't go. I wondered if the warning was really from the Lord or if I was just worried about leaving the protection of the camp. The Lord again laid it on my heart that I would get opportunities in the future to visit the other base and swim and enjoy myself but today wasn't that day.And on this particular morning I became somewhat aware that Iraq's enemies were at work mortoring US positions throughout the area. It's not uncommon to hear a mortor go off occasionally in the distance. But they seemed to be coming frequently and pretty close at that. A staff member over at the workout facility said here camp, not too far away, had been hit by a mortor that morning. And the loud booms were noticeable. So were the sounds of the attack helicoptors at work chasing down the purpetrators. You may have heard about the escalated violance on CNN or such. So I was still trying to decide whether to go or not. So I decided at about 9 am that I would lay down and take a nap. If I woke up in time to go I would go. And if I slept through it than I would just go watch a movie. So I ended sleeping through the departure time. I learned the next day that it had been cancelled, good thing too. Another group had left around the time we were planning to leave. And a vehicle with explosives had pulled up along side and blown up. Two people were killed in that incident and three had been injured. Later on throughout the day as I watched CNN at meal times and so on that I learned more and more about what was taking place around me. I learned later that over 40 incidents had taken place that day. I saw a map that was peppered with x's where Iraq's enemies had struck in the vicinity. I'm so thankful that the Lord had given me a heads up and our leadership also the information they needed so that none of our team was involved in any such incidents. Well today we were going to be heading out on the road to fulfil our mission of transporting some soldiers to the hospital. And we suited up, full battled rattle. Our weapons were loaded, our vehicles manned with gunners on top and each vehicle in close radio contact. We also conducted a briefing to talk about the what ifs and we were off. Racing down the highway is a little frightening when you consider that at any time a vehicle can race up along side and detonate. We especially grow weary when we approach a traffic jam of any sorts. We came across a few but the traffic always made way for us to ride past. The Lord once again watched over us and protected us and we completed our mission with no incidents.

First Semi-Regular Day

2004-09-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today was really my first day to experience a business as usual day. Last week I was the new guy and the routine was kind of flexible in relation to me. However, that time has past now. Today I stood at morning formation (figuratively) as a member of the team. For the most part I'm familar with everyone on the team. There are several members of the unit that work at other locations that I don't know. But as far as the crew for this camp, I've at least been introducted.

Yesturday was a very busy day for Iraqi Terrorists. Over 40 incidents involving explosives were purpitrated by these enemies of the Iraqi people. And that meant a lot of vehicles that were in need of work. So today we looked over the vehicles we had and accessed them. Including basic checks of fluids and oil and even cleaning the windows. Afterward our center's water supply need to be replenished so a few of us soldiers did a water run. It's kind of neat what the main water supply is held in. It's held in these big water bags called, "bladders." They look like really long hot water bottles and are as wide as buses. Once we were done it was about time for lunch. We normally eat lunch at a smaller dining facility. For some reason that one is the favorite of rest of the crew. I prefer the other one, it's more spacious and never has long lines. After lunch I had still had some inproccessing items to take care of such as getting a counceling session with members of the leadership team.

I needed a set of dog tags and the facility that makes those are on the other side of the camp. So my sponoring nco took me for a drive over there. It was my first time in that side of the camp. Apparently it's the sight of one of Saddam's palaces. There's a nice lake and tall grass and trees line the road. It's much nicer than the desert conditions we live in. The buildings are big and are of artful architecture. Recently I learned of Seventh-Day Adventist services in that part of the camp on Sabbath (Saturday) mornings so it was good that I was able to get acquainted with that side of the post.

I went over to the PX after dinner to look for a strap. This place has a lot of stuff except, it's like a walmart in there. But it seems it's missing the things I go looking for. This time I went looking for an extra strap for my rifle. I'd like to lenghten the strap by combining two, but they didn't carry it or ran out or something.

Today has been a great day weather wise. I guess the climate is starting to cool off. I came at a great time of the year. This morning when I woke up it was like 65 f. That's really cool around here. Don't get me wrong the noon sun got a bit warm but not as bad as it did in the past.

Tommorrow is a new day.

Kuwait

2004-09-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Today is September 12th. I have been in Iraq for four days. I'll try to bring you up to speed on what' s happened so far.

August 29th-September 5th
I reported to my mobilization station in El Paso, TX. I spent the next week going through briefings, recieving vaccinations & getting paperwork in order (among other things.) The mood among our group of mobilized soldiers and civilians was upbeat. We all knew we were headed into a dangerous situation. However, we all believed in the merit of what we had stepped up for and were prepared for what was ahead.

September 5th-September 8th
On September 5th we hopped on a 22 hr flight to the middle east. The plane was comfortable and the flight crew provided excellant service. However, resting comfortably in a semi-upright position was diffucult. We stopped in Germany for a few ours so the plan could refuel an so on.

Our journey came to an end in Kuwait. When we unloaded the first thing to hit me was in intense heat and humidity. And mind you it was around the middle of the night. I cringed to think what the daylight sun might bring. We assembled in an airplane hanger and waited for the buses to arrive and to get some information on what would happen next.

After several hours we departed in several buses under police escort with each bus staffed with armed gunners. Besides the gunners each of us soldiers had our personal weapon too with instructions to defend ourselves as needed.

When we arrived at the camp we were unloaded and were greeted by staff who helped us with our bags and spirited us away to our suites. We were provided a hot meal, showers and a comfortable bed. We slept in till noon the next day......NOT! (I wish) Ok let me back up. When we arrived our bags were dumped on the ground and after a few hour we were herded into a theater (the time was around 1am) were we watch some welcome videos from the General and some that reinforced safety concepts. After awhile we were divided based on were we were going and sponsors lead us away. Well that's the way it worked for everyone except me. See I didn't know my units precise location or was group they fell under. So I went to find the Medical Command Liason to see if they could shed some light. I explained my problem to her and she drove me over to an equipment supply warehouse where I picked up about 100 lbs more of stuff to haul around with me. Once I cleared there it was well past sunrise. I hopped back in the vehicle and was shuttled over to flight manifest and billing to recieve temporary houseing. I reexplained that I didn't know where I was going so how could I schedule a flight. All this finally registered with the liason who called her assistant to have them start making phone calls. So I drove around with her as she ran some errands. I couldn't get any temporary housing either cause that was assigned based on where you were going and that was unknown at this point. We went to breakfast in a nice dining facility. The food was great and I got to watch fox's Bill O'Reilly as I chowed down. Once I was done I drove around some more with the liason. Her assistant eventually got some info and simply told me I was going to Baghdad. So for now that was great that meant I could get cot to sleep in and put my name on a list for a flight. And I did just that.

I dragged my bags into a large coed bay that had dozens of cots sprawled across the floor. I unpacked and finally laid down for some rest. I woke up around 5pm and ventured out to explore the PX building. It was a nice place. I was big and housed two libraries a food court, a movie theater, an education office, a Red Cross Office, an internet cafe and a variety of vendors in addition to the regular PX which is like a small Walmart. I used the computers in the library to send out some emails then I strolled around the place to see what it had to offer. After getting some dinner in the dinning facilty I headed back to my room to relax a bit.