Now if the title doesn't get you then I don't know what will. We lost our private internet here for a couple of days but we appear to be back in business.
Micca and I were getting use to chatting and talking quite often and these last couple of days I have been kinda of blahhh and I think it is because I haven't got to chat like usual. We have other ways to talk. I called one day and we both have the army instant messenger which allows me to chat with her on my work computer. Things like yahoo and aol aren't allowed on the work computers. So yesterday and today were both pretty dusty but later it started raining. Today it rained pretty hard and you would think the sand would soak it up. Well what we have her isn't the sand you think of like on a beach. It is more like a powder and when it rains it turns the powder into a muddy muddy mess. The end result is we have had some cooler nights. It has gotten into the 70s which is pretty cool for us.
Ok now for the eyebrow. Anyone that knows me very well knows I have some pretty thick eyebrows and if I don't pay attention I will end up with a monobrow. So bob and I and a couple others are sitting in the mess hall. Someone remarked I had a wild eyebrow hair pointing out like a horn. Well of course i tried to quickly smoosh it back into place but noooo it wasn't going to behave. So Bob the barber/groomer whips out his leatherman and quickly goes to the needlenose pliers. If he chose the knife I would have ran but I figured ahhh what the hell needle nose pliers can't do to much damage. So I stand very still fearful taht something bad will happen. Bob goes in for the first grab and pull and misses...... no keep in mind we are doing this in the middle of the mess hall and everyone at the table is just waiting for this to go wrong. Bob goes in for the 2nd grab much slower this time making sure he won't miss and it get a good grab and yanks. Of course it comes out root and all. So no blood spilt and nothing more than a big ole eyebrow hair to show for it. It's the little things that I find humor in and this one had us cracking up.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to shoot for a bit so I should be able to take out all of my fusturations on some water bottles and wood pallets.
Hopefully I won't have anymore internet issues
Later for now
Brent
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
It's Monday or is it?
Today's title is kind of how I feel sometimes. The only reason I pay attention to the days of the week is to try and stay in touch with what is going on at home.
So I was walking to work today and thought man a pool would be nice. The ironic thing is that we have one here but it's been turned into a water treatment plant. It's not a place to go swimming now lol.
For the most part today was like most days. It was suppose to be cooler and I suppose it was but it still got up to 108 and that was with the dust.
Tonight I took the front of my air conditioner off and it took a shower with me. I don't know who was dustier and dirtier but we both came out a lot cleaner. Micca is sending me a Flylady featherduster I don't even know if that will help me out but I'm willing to try anything.
I scheduled a range for Thursday so I plan on going and shooting some bullets. Things here are not so regimented which makes for a casual range. I can also work on some more advanced marksman ship skills which is tough to do with a large group of people. We don't get to shoot enough in the army so I plan on doing a lot of it throughout the year.
this got posted a late because my internet went down right before I hit publish
So I was walking to work today and thought man a pool would be nice. The ironic thing is that we have one here but it's been turned into a water treatment plant. It's not a place to go swimming now lol.
For the most part today was like most days. It was suppose to be cooler and I suppose it was but it still got up to 108 and that was with the dust.
Tonight I took the front of my air conditioner off and it took a shower with me. I don't know who was dustier and dirtier but we both came out a lot cleaner. Micca is sending me a Flylady featherduster I don't even know if that will help me out but I'm willing to try anything.
I scheduled a range for Thursday so I plan on going and shooting some bullets. Things here are not so regimented which makes for a casual range. I can also work on some more advanced marksman ship skills which is tough to do with a large group of people. We don't get to shoot enough in the army so I plan on doing a lot of it throughout the year.
this got posted a late because my internet went down right before I hit publish
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Dust is back :(
The dust is back with a vengeance, the side effect is it won't be quite so hot tomorrow. It is only suppose to be 98 tomorrow.
So today was suppose to be my morning off, but we found out yesterday that we would have to escort the Colonel to see the Governor of our providence. It was only a few miles outside of Echo but you always have to be prepared. I played the gunner today so that meant I was standing in the turret od the Hummer ready with SAW (machine gun). The meeting took about two hours but we had to stay outside and pull security. It ended up being about 115 today so standing the turret was a little warm, ok it was downright hot.
I felt bad yesterday when I was talking with Micca last night and she mentioned that I got to sleep in tomorrow and I told her I had to work. We then had to deal with the conversation of I can’t tell you what I’m doing, which is bad for us because we tell each other everything. Don’t get me wrong Micca is all to understanding of my situation and it’s not that I don’t trust her with the information, but we always have to assume someone is listening to unsecure communications. So for everyone’s safety we just don’t talk about some things until they are done with and there may be some things I can’t talk about at all.
I do have to say that as far as I am concerned, when it comes to doing convoys I am always concerned that something might happen but I am not scared. The bad guys more times than not get caught nowadays. They may bloody our nose every once in a while but I am confident that they won’t get away with it. The firepower that we project makes people think twice probably three or four times before doing something. I of course always temper my confidence with the knowledge that many soldiers had the same confidence as me and won’t be going home. But our job is not much more different than a police officer’s. They go out there every day confident they can handle most situations but there are some that don’t come home at night. Ok enough of the reality check, but I want everyone to understand the state of mind for most everyone here.
Later for now,
Brent
So today was suppose to be my morning off, but we found out yesterday that we would have to escort the Colonel to see the Governor of our providence. It was only a few miles outside of Echo but you always have to be prepared. I played the gunner today so that meant I was standing in the turret od the Hummer ready with SAW (machine gun). The meeting took about two hours but we had to stay outside and pull security. It ended up being about 115 today so standing the turret was a little warm, ok it was downright hot.
I felt bad yesterday when I was talking with Micca last night and she mentioned that I got to sleep in tomorrow and I told her I had to work. We then had to deal with the conversation of I can’t tell you what I’m doing, which is bad for us because we tell each other everything. Don’t get me wrong Micca is all to understanding of my situation and it’s not that I don’t trust her with the information, but we always have to assume someone is listening to unsecure communications. So for everyone’s safety we just don’t talk about some things until they are done with and there may be some things I can’t talk about at all.
I do have to say that as far as I am concerned, when it comes to doing convoys I am always concerned that something might happen but I am not scared. The bad guys more times than not get caught nowadays. They may bloody our nose every once in a while but I am confident that they won’t get away with it. The firepower that we project makes people think twice probably three or four times before doing something. I of course always temper my confidence with the knowledge that many soldiers had the same confidence as me and won’t be going home. But our job is not much more different than a police officer’s. They go out there every day confident they can handle most situations but there are some that don’t come home at night. Ok enough of the reality check, but I want everyone to understand the state of mind for most everyone here.
Later for now,
Brent
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Sooooo..... it's Saturday and......
Nothing much new to talk about. If you have been following the news things were a bit tense yesterday. I will explain a little more. Fridays are like Sundays in the states. On Fridays you can imagine the rhetoric that goes on with in the Mosques. Fridays are generally either really quiet or in this case everyone knew Sadar was going to make a statement. And most of us believed he was going to end the cease fire. Well he seemed to keep everything in place. It's interesting to say the least.
My area here is important because it has done so well. The Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army have all but put a stop to IEDs and IDF. Talk about discrimination!! the town has a curfew for all men 15-35. So when people talk about racial profiling in our country well... they are doing it here to the extreme but it is quite effective.
Today was 114.5 I think that is the hottest yet. We still think we prefer the this heat to the humid Illinois dog days. We will see when it hits 130or 135 if I have changed my tune. I am talking in the shade not in the sun. Ove rhte next few days it is suppose to cool off. On Wednesday we are suppose to have a high of only 98 but there is a trade off, the reason it is suppose to cool off is because the sun wont be getting through. If you have been following me you might have guessed it we are in for a sandstorm.
Tommorrow is of course Sunday and my cleaning day but I'm thinking about skipping it because of this storm lol.
Not much else to talk about for now. There are lots of things going on I would love to share but unless i read them in the news I can't say so much about them. If you want to know more and want my take on things in the news I can do that to a certian degree. This year there is so much happening it will be very interesting to watch.
Later for now,
Brent
My area here is important because it has done so well. The Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army have all but put a stop to IEDs and IDF. Talk about discrimination!! the town has a curfew for all men 15-35. So when people talk about racial profiling in our country well... they are doing it here to the extreme but it is quite effective.
Today was 114.5 I think that is the hottest yet. We still think we prefer the this heat to the humid Illinois dog days. We will see when it hits 130or 135 if I have changed my tune. I am talking in the shade not in the sun. Ove rhte next few days it is suppose to cool off. On Wednesday we are suppose to have a high of only 98 but there is a trade off, the reason it is suppose to cool off is because the sun wont be getting through. If you have been following me you might have guessed it we are in for a sandstorm.
Tommorrow is of course Sunday and my cleaning day but I'm thinking about skipping it because of this storm lol.
Not much else to talk about for now. There are lots of things going on I would love to share but unless i read them in the news I can't say so much about them. If you want to know more and want my take on things in the news I can do that to a certian degree. This year there is so much happening it will be very interesting to watch.
Later for now,
Brent
Friday, April 25, 2008
Small victories
Today was one of my first real successesconcerning the Army supply system. When Ifirst got here and realized that I would be responsible for ordering things I figured I better order something just to check out the process. Well low and behold I got some of the first items I ordered. Chalk up one for the chemical guy turned Log Dawg.
Technology is absolutley incredible. I remember the first time I deployed and how out of touch I became from things at home. Now with skype and messenger I am staying more and more in touch. I know Micca was having a really difficult time to begin with and it wasn't exactly easy for me but having been married less than a month it would be hard on anybody. We truely are inseperable. A perfect example is on both of our cruises we have been on. You might think that everybody needs a little alone time to do thier own things. Well I bet in total on both cruises we werent seperated for more than 3 or 4 hours total. Micca is truely my best friend. I think that was what was probably the hardest thing for us. We were never more than a text or phone call away... let me tell you we probably have the record for texts in a month. Anytime anything good or bad happens we always call or text to tell the other as soon as possible if it can't wait until we get home. I remember this one time.... yes this is story time again, it was pretty late or pretty early however you want to put it. Micca calls me... first off before I go any further I need to tell you that we don't call each other very often. We almost ALWAYS text. So when I get a call in the middle of the night I am at first worried. And then to hear Micca she was talking so fast I couldn't understand her. Once I get her calmed down I begin to understand every other word and I find out that she finally tazed someone. In case you don't know a tazer is a gun that shoots a couple of darts into a person who fails to verbally comply with an officers instructions those darts then transmit... I think it is 50,000 volts and will cause the subject to loose muscle control. Well Micca had been shot at the police academy for practice so they would know what it feels like. She had yet to return the favor to a noncompliant subject... until now. When she called me she was so excited I think all of her adreniline had dumped in and she didnt know how fast she was talking. I forgot where I was going with this.....lol. Well you get the point of how it might be tough for us to be seperated for a day much less.... well it's been a month now. I love talking about my wife, I know she is proud of me but I think I am even more proud of her. There are plenty of male role models bu what Micca has accomplished is much tougher than anything I have had to overcome.
I'm very proud of my Wife!!
ok enough boasting for now, I didn't have much else to talk about but I start talking about her I can talk all day.
Later for now
Brent
Technology is absolutley incredible. I remember the first time I deployed and how out of touch I became from things at home. Now with skype and messenger I am staying more and more in touch. I know Micca was having a really difficult time to begin with and it wasn't exactly easy for me but having been married less than a month it would be hard on anybody. We truely are inseperable. A perfect example is on both of our cruises we have been on. You might think that everybody needs a little alone time to do thier own things. Well I bet in total on both cruises we werent seperated for more than 3 or 4 hours total. Micca is truely my best friend. I think that was what was probably the hardest thing for us. We were never more than a text or phone call away... let me tell you we probably have the record for texts in a month. Anytime anything good or bad happens we always call or text to tell the other as soon as possible if it can't wait until we get home. I remember this one time.... yes this is story time again, it was pretty late or pretty early however you want to put it. Micca calls me... first off before I go any further I need to tell you that we don't call each other very often. We almost ALWAYS text. So when I get a call in the middle of the night I am at first worried. And then to hear Micca she was talking so fast I couldn't understand her. Once I get her calmed down I begin to understand every other word and I find out that she finally tazed someone. In case you don't know a tazer is a gun that shoots a couple of darts into a person who fails to verbally comply with an officers instructions those darts then transmit... I think it is 50,000 volts and will cause the subject to loose muscle control. Well Micca had been shot at the police academy for practice so they would know what it feels like. She had yet to return the favor to a noncompliant subject... until now. When she called me she was so excited I think all of her adreniline had dumped in and she didnt know how fast she was talking. I forgot where I was going with this.....lol. Well you get the point of how it might be tough for us to be seperated for a day much less.... well it's been a month now. I love talking about my wife, I know she is proud of me but I think I am even more proud of her. There are plenty of male role models bu what Micca has accomplished is much tougher than anything I have had to overcome.
I'm very proud of my Wife!!
ok enough boasting for now, I didn't have much else to talk about but I start talking about her I can talk all day.
Later for now
Brent
Thursday, April 24, 2008
It's getting hot out here.. the plants don't look so good
Hey everyone!!! today hit about 112 in the shade. I know this because of the thermometer that Mom and Dad sent me. It shows me the maximum temp for the day and the max humidity. Most of the time during the day it is around 15% humidity and it goes up at night but it has never felt muggy. So I went running today at lunch.. Dang it was hot, something close to 111 when I got done. The plants aren't doing so well... I have moved them inside but they are not happy.
I think I've got skype figured out and yahoo IM. Micca and I have had some decent conversations although the last one she did all of the talking... just like usual... Just kidding honey. My Mic wasn't working right but I think I have it figured out now. So if anyone wants to chat you can find me on yahoo Im and skype just talk to Micca and she can tell you how.
Well not much else, maybe someone could send me a generator cause ours seem to wanna die when it gets hot. I hope they make it through the summer lol
I think I've got skype figured out and yahoo IM. Micca and I have had some decent conversations although the last one she did all of the talking... just like usual... Just kidding honey. My Mic wasn't working right but I think I have it figured out now. So if anyone wants to chat you can find me on yahoo Im and skype just talk to Micca and she can tell you how.
Well not much else, maybe someone could send me a generator cause ours seem to wanna die when it gets hot. I hope they make it through the summer lol
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
A funny story
Ok so like every good Army story I have to start out...
NO S@#! they we were
My buddy Bob and I sitting on the airfield in the little Polaris... you can refer to the pictures I have posted to reference both.
It is night time and I am waiting with Bob waiting for the helicopter to make sure he gets on so he doesnt have to walk back with all of his gear. We have to be an hour early even thought the helicopters are almost always late.
So we are bored... We are guys.... We have guns...NOO we didn't shoot anything, but we did get these cool laser grips that project the laser dot wherever we aim. So inquiring minds.. Bob and I wanted to know how far they would go. The short answer is pretty damn far. The long answer is much funnier, not necessarily in what happened but what could have happened and this is why the story is kind of funny.
So Bob and I are sitting on the Polaris, It's a very nice night and we are just enjoying the evening. We both remember that our pistols laser sights didn't go but 20 meters or so in the daylight so we try them out at night. We try the retaining wall that is close to us.... about 70 meters away, I think I said "wow that works really well" Then we both start aiming for the opposite wall all the way across the airfield which is probably 300 meters away, and damn you guessed it they worked. This is where we realized hey you know we are in a combat zone and this might not be such a good idea. We had a good laugh about how dumb we were and the we watched a truck driving around the perimeter where we had just been pointing our lasers. Now vehicles don't usually drive around this way so we are thing UH-OH we stirred up something, but then we realized that they were out changing the guards out of the towers. The truck stopped right where we had been shining our lasers and we came to another realization that those towers were manned with guards with live ammo. These guards are from the mongolian Contingent and they are know to fire firt and identify targets after the fact. So that led to more speculation on our part about how dumb we were and how we would have chewed our soldiers butts for doing something stupid like that.
Just the thought of what could have happened after the fact had us laughing for a a good 30 minutes after. Yeah I know it's not something we should be laughing about but you find humor in the wierdist places in comabt zones.
It's not as funny once I have written it down but it's my story for the day I hope you enjoyed it.
Oh I got mail too, The girl Scout troop from Avon sent me a care package with cookies and I got the Flags Mom and Dad sent with some other little goodies. I also got a card From Aunt Dawn. I really appreciate the mail I get. I think I am the only one who has got something in every delivery. Thank you so very much!!
Brent
NO S@#! they we were
My buddy Bob and I sitting on the airfield in the little Polaris... you can refer to the pictures I have posted to reference both.
It is night time and I am waiting with Bob waiting for the helicopter to make sure he gets on so he doesnt have to walk back with all of his gear. We have to be an hour early even thought the helicopters are almost always late.
So we are bored... We are guys.... We have guns...NOO we didn't shoot anything, but we did get these cool laser grips that project the laser dot wherever we aim. So inquiring minds.. Bob and I wanted to know how far they would go. The short answer is pretty damn far. The long answer is much funnier, not necessarily in what happened but what could have happened and this is why the story is kind of funny.
So Bob and I are sitting on the Polaris, It's a very nice night and we are just enjoying the evening. We both remember that our pistols laser sights didn't go but 20 meters or so in the daylight so we try them out at night. We try the retaining wall that is close to us.... about 70 meters away, I think I said "wow that works really well" Then we both start aiming for the opposite wall all the way across the airfield which is probably 300 meters away, and damn you guessed it they worked. This is where we realized hey you know we are in a combat zone and this might not be such a good idea. We had a good laugh about how dumb we were and the we watched a truck driving around the perimeter where we had just been pointing our lasers. Now vehicles don't usually drive around this way so we are thing UH-OH we stirred up something, but then we realized that they were out changing the guards out of the towers. The truck stopped right where we had been shining our lasers and we came to another realization that those towers were manned with guards with live ammo. These guards are from the mongolian Contingent and they are know to fire firt and identify targets after the fact. So that led to more speculation on our part about how dumb we were and how we would have chewed our soldiers butts for doing something stupid like that.
Just the thought of what could have happened after the fact had us laughing for a a good 30 minutes after. Yeah I know it's not something we should be laughing about but you find humor in the wierdist places in comabt zones.
It's not as funny once I have written it down but it's my story for the day I hope you enjoyed it.
Oh I got mail too, The girl Scout troop from Avon sent me a care package with cookies and I got the Flags Mom and Dad sent with some other little goodies. I also got a card From Aunt Dawn. I really appreciate the mail I get. I think I am the only one who has got something in every delivery. Thank you so very much!!
Brent
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Outside the Wire
Well today was the first time have been outside the wire since I have made it to Camp Echo. We were suppose to be part of a convoy that ws going to escort a british 3star general around to a nearby Iraqi Army camp to show the progress. Well word got out and everyone knew he was coming so they decided to do flyovers in helicopters instead. I should say that we were ther for our Colonel since he was going to be part of this. Well like I said they decided to fly but they still wanted us at the destination point in case something happened to the helicopter. The Convoy was composed of the Polish Special Forces (insert joke here) and some of the special security for the general.
The ride out and back was unremarkable. I drove and Bob was in the turret. I can see me having driving issues at home once I get back if I do this more often. We drive down the center of the road and drive at anyone who doesn't get over. We drive on what ever side of the interstate we want to. All Iraqis now that when a Colation Convoy is coming you had better get off the road and stop. If they don't they will get a couple rounds over the car then a couple in the car and then... well you can see how it goes.
SO basically if anyone has road rage issues I have a place for you. Aggressive driving doesn't begin to describe what we do. Anyways that was my day. This week is suppose to get hotter. The weather reports are saying 109. It was 102 while we were out today. It didn't feel to bad but I was tired when we got back. It took me a long time to cool down. People may think I am crazy but I still rather have the heat than the cold.
I posted some pictures bot big and small so be sure to scroll down.
Well that's it for now
Brent
The ride out and back was unremarkable. I drove and Bob was in the turret. I can see me having driving issues at home once I get back if I do this more often. We drive down the center of the road and drive at anyone who doesn't get over. We drive on what ever side of the interstate we want to. All Iraqis now that when a Colation Convoy is coming you had better get off the road and stop. If they don't they will get a couple rounds over the car then a couple in the car and then... well you can see how it goes.
SO basically if anyone has road rage issues I have a place for you. Aggressive driving doesn't begin to describe what we do. Anyways that was my day. This week is suppose to get hotter. The weather reports are saying 109. It was 102 while we were out today. It didn't feel to bad but I was tired when we got back. It took me a long time to cool down. People may think I am crazy but I still rather have the heat than the cold.
I posted some pictures bot big and small so be sure to scroll down.
Well that's it for now
Brent
Monday, April 21, 2008
Guns and stuff
Today Bob and I decided we would go out and test fire some of our weapons that we have. We ended up getting to shoot a couple of AK-47s too.
We have a SAW its not powertool or something usually used for cutting. It stands for squad automated weapon. If you think machine gun that's what it is. We each shot about 1000 rounds a piece with our personal rifles machine guns and pistols.
This is where I get on my soap box about saying I have a pretty good chance against the bad guys, in fact after shooting an AK-47 which is wha they have I feel a whole beeter knowing that they are basically just spraying rounds while we are aiming and shooting. So I will happily kick thier butts over here, so they don't come home and knock down any more buildings.
I put on my body armor again yesterday... I don't have to wear it everyday. I swear it weighs 50 lbs with all of the ammo and everything.
I will take some pictures of the stay puff marshmellow man I mean me tomorrow. I will try and post some of some pictures I took today of all of our weapons. I didn't look at them so I don't know if they turned out.
Well it's getting late so I'm going to sign off tonight and maybe post a picture or two
Later,
Brent
edit: check the bottom picture I posted a new one
We have a SAW its not powertool or something usually used for cutting. It stands for squad automated weapon. If you think machine gun that's what it is. We each shot about 1000 rounds a piece with our personal rifles machine guns and pistols.
This is where I get on my soap box about saying I have a pretty good chance against the bad guys, in fact after shooting an AK-47 which is wha they have I feel a whole beeter knowing that they are basically just spraying rounds while we are aiming and shooting. So I will happily kick thier butts over here, so they don't come home and knock down any more buildings.
I put on my body armor again yesterday... I don't have to wear it everyday. I swear it weighs 50 lbs with all of the ammo and everything.
I will take some pictures of the stay puff marshmellow man I mean me tomorrow. I will try and post some of some pictures I took today of all of our weapons. I didn't look at them so I don't know if they turned out.
Well it's getting late so I'm going to sign off tonight and maybe post a picture or two
Later,
Brent
edit: check the bottom picture I posted a new one
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday mail and plants
Today is Sunday and this is the closest thing I have to a day off. I'm not required to go in in the morning and really only have to go in to turn in my report. So i spent part of the day cleaning, I can only stem the tide of dust I can never say it's clean.
Unlike the states our post office is open everyday so we got mail today. There is even some speculation we may get some more tomorrow. I received two packages from the Bushnell Soldiers Support Group, or at least I think thats what it stood for. 2 of the 3 plants made it in pretty good shape. We are trying to revive the 3rd but it's not looking good. I took some pictures of the plants I will see if I get them posted tonight.
Micca and I have got our messenger and video working. I think as long as we don't use the voice it will work.
I also got both of my thermometers. It is 2000 or 8 P.M. and it is 80 degrees and 22% humidity Earlier today it was 98 degrees but wasnt to bad because the dust haze keeps the direct sun to a minumum.
thats it for now
Brent
Unlike the states our post office is open everyday so we got mail today. There is even some speculation we may get some more tomorrow. I received two packages from the Bushnell Soldiers Support Group, or at least I think thats what it stood for. 2 of the 3 plants made it in pretty good shape. We are trying to revive the 3rd but it's not looking good. I took some pictures of the plants I will see if I get them posted tonight.
Micca and I have got our messenger and video working. I think as long as we don't use the voice it will work.
I also got both of my thermometers. It is 2000 or 8 P.M. and it is 80 degrees and 22% humidity Earlier today it was 98 degrees but wasnt to bad because the dust haze keeps the direct sun to a minumum.
thats it for now
Brent
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I'm back... but with nothing new
I missed a day, I got sort of wrapped up watching the cubs and it got late so I didn't post anything.
The mail truck came in late today so you will have to stay tuned tomorrow to see what I got :)
I'm back on track with yahoo messenger so for those of yuo that would like to chat with me from about 11 PM until 2 or 3 PM add armyguy8675309 to your users or friends or whatever it is.
Today was the first day I was sort of disappointed in the Dining Facility. I wanted to have a salad and all the had was cabbage and we have been out of tomatoes for a couple of days as well. I imagine our food resupply came in with the mail.
Today was pretty slow, I did my lunch time run thing. I was still sore from playing basketball the other night so it wasn't the fastest run of my life but it wasn't really slow either. I have to be careful on parts of the run. On part of the route there is this roud that goes around the airfield and all that seperates the airfield from the road is about 6 strands of razor wire. I'm always worried i'm going to roll my ankle and fall in it. I usually run far enough away so if I did fall I wouldn;t fall into it.
Tomorrow is my cleaning day, although I do some sort of cleaning almost every day. Even with my trailer all closed up I got dust coating everything daily. The days we have dust storms make it worse.
Well Micca and I just got our webcams going so I am done for now
Later,
Brent
The mail truck came in late today so you will have to stay tuned tomorrow to see what I got :)
I'm back on track with yahoo messenger so for those of yuo that would like to chat with me from about 11 PM until 2 or 3 PM add armyguy8675309 to your users or friends or whatever it is.
Today was the first day I was sort of disappointed in the Dining Facility. I wanted to have a salad and all the had was cabbage and we have been out of tomatoes for a couple of days as well. I imagine our food resupply came in with the mail.
Today was pretty slow, I did my lunch time run thing. I was still sore from playing basketball the other night so it wasn't the fastest run of my life but it wasn't really slow either. I have to be careful on parts of the run. On part of the route there is this roud that goes around the airfield and all that seperates the airfield from the road is about 6 strands of razor wire. I'm always worried i'm going to roll my ankle and fall in it. I usually run far enough away so if I did fall I wouldn;t fall into it.
Tomorrow is my cleaning day, although I do some sort of cleaning almost every day. Even with my trailer all closed up I got dust coating everything daily. The days we have dust storms make it worse.
Well Micca and I just got our webcams going so I am done for now
Later,
Brent
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dusty Dusty day... Not very hot
Well today wasn't near as hot but that was because we a had or rather are having a pretty bad dust storm. Visability is about 200 feet and the air quality is horrid. You don't really feel the dust blowing against you as much as see it. With all of that dust in the air it tends to keep the temps down.
Today was the first day I got asked a lot of maintenance and maintenance related questions. At my level it's more about the accountability of stuff then it is me actually fixing it. I have people that do the fixing... they don't belong to me. I'm the conduit to all of the information and if I don't have it then I usually know where to go get it.
Even though I was busy today I wasn't to busy to give Micca a call this morning, this afternoon for me. I got my other phone put in my office that lets me call through the military network for nothing. It's very nice and convienient to just be able to call from office and not have to wait in lines. We got to talk about everything and nothig almost like we would do if we were together. Micca admitted she is still having a hard time and I only say that here because I'm pretty sure she would tell anyone else the same. I couldn't be prouder of her though. Every time i ask a question about stuff she's already got it done or is waiting on someone esle to do their part. I'm really a much better soldier because of her. I don't have to worry about anything she is so great.
I found out this week that my company I just left will most likely be headed to Afghanistan in October with the huge deployment from Illinois. I have mixed feelings about them going without me. The current Commander will not go since he just returned from Afghanistan. So that leaves them without a commander and I sort of wish it was me. Granted I would be one big stressed out mess when I got done, that's a lot of responsibility to take 130 soldiers... Moms dads sisters brothers sons and daughters into a combat zone. Afghanistan is the safer of the two for sure.
Well like usual I am going to post some pictures like usual and that takes awhile.
Thanks for the encouragement and support. I appreciate everyone looking out for my family.
Brent
Today was the first day I got asked a lot of maintenance and maintenance related questions. At my level it's more about the accountability of stuff then it is me actually fixing it. I have people that do the fixing... they don't belong to me. I'm the conduit to all of the information and if I don't have it then I usually know where to go get it.
Even though I was busy today I wasn't to busy to give Micca a call this morning, this afternoon for me. I got my other phone put in my office that lets me call through the military network for nothing. It's very nice and convienient to just be able to call from office and not have to wait in lines. We got to talk about everything and nothig almost like we would do if we were together. Micca admitted she is still having a hard time and I only say that here because I'm pretty sure she would tell anyone else the same. I couldn't be prouder of her though. Every time i ask a question about stuff she's already got it done or is waiting on someone esle to do their part. I'm really a much better soldier because of her. I don't have to worry about anything she is so great.
I found out this week that my company I just left will most likely be headed to Afghanistan in October with the huge deployment from Illinois. I have mixed feelings about them going without me. The current Commander will not go since he just returned from Afghanistan. So that leaves them without a commander and I sort of wish it was me. Granted I would be one big stressed out mess when I got done, that's a lot of responsibility to take 130 soldiers... Moms dads sisters brothers sons and daughters into a combat zone. Afghanistan is the safer of the two for sure.
Well like usual I am going to post some pictures like usual and that takes awhile.
Thanks for the encouragement and support. I appreciate everyone looking out for my family.
Brent
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hotter still
Well the heat is on, guess I should quit whining I can sit in the air condtioning most of the time.
I skipped my afternoon run today, I'm going to try and run in the morning. I played Basketball with the youngins tonight, I never thought I would be the old guy on the court. I held my own for the most part. The polish like to play as well, they are pretty physical which is fne by me but they don't like to be treated the same way so some of the younger kids were getting bent out of shape. I was just there to get off my arse for the evening. I put on my heart monitor that Micca had got for me to see my heart rate and count my calories burned. I burnt up almost 1000 in an hour I figure if I can do that everyday I should start seeing a few lbs drop off. The heat will help too lol.
For those of you that have my email I really enjoy getting mesages throughout the day. Whenever I start to get bored I go to my email and it's nice to read whatever you have to say.
Tonight for dinner we had steak and crab legs... well they claim it was steak, the crab legs were ok. I should have just had a salad the steaks were pretty sorry. I know they are trying but... well it just didn't cut it.
So I had a cookie and a shake lol
Later for now, Hopefully I will have something exciting to write about one of these days.
Brent
I skipped my afternoon run today, I'm going to try and run in the morning. I played Basketball with the youngins tonight, I never thought I would be the old guy on the court. I held my own for the most part. The polish like to play as well, they are pretty physical which is fne by me but they don't like to be treated the same way so some of the younger kids were getting bent out of shape. I was just there to get off my arse for the evening. I put on my heart monitor that Micca had got for me to see my heart rate and count my calories burned. I burnt up almost 1000 in an hour I figure if I can do that everyday I should start seeing a few lbs drop off. The heat will help too lol.
For those of you that have my email I really enjoy getting mesages throughout the day. Whenever I start to get bored I go to my email and it's nice to read whatever you have to say.
Tonight for dinner we had steak and crab legs... well they claim it was steak, the crab legs were ok. I should have just had a salad the steaks were pretty sorry. I know they are trying but... well it just didn't cut it.
So I had a cookie and a shake lol
Later for now, Hopefully I will have something exciting to write about one of these days.
Brent
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wheww!!! It's getting warmer
Hello everyone,
Today was a little on the warm side. I don't know how hot it got but it was 104 by 1100 hrs in ths shade. My thermometer only went to 120 and it was maxed out in the sun. So to answer Dad's question yes we are headed into summer. They do have seasons here but it's more along the lines of what Florida would see for seasons. Baghdad saw snow this last winter for the first time in 60 years.
Not a whole lot... well I cant really say that but I will say not a whole happened here at Echo today. Today is the end of the 3 days of morning for Sadar's father brother?? whatever being killed last year. Soooo there has been a little more activity today then what we have seen for awhile.
I worked on getting another phone into my office. I only have the Secret type phone in my office and now I will the regular one which will allow me to call to the states for free then I can use a phone card to dial as if I was in the states, plus it will be very convienient to call from office.
Well most evenings thus far I sit in my little trailer with the door open and we will usually end up outside just talking. Tonight as I sit here with my door open I'm thinking it is pretty hot, it is still 84 at 2000.
I guess one thing to note is that I had the mongolian liason come see me to day to borrow a video projector. I'm truly the international supply guy, I also helped the Armenians find a place they could wash their trucks.
There are some other things that I do nothing to special but it's not something I should advertise on an open forum. We are constantly being reminded that we should be careful about what type of information we post on tthe internet. In fact I don't even throw envelopes in the garbage for fear that the return address will go to the bad guys. There have been cases where family members have recieved mail from the bad guys, propaganda and such.
Well now that I have scared everyone it's time for me to post some pictures.
Today was a little on the warm side. I don't know how hot it got but it was 104 by 1100 hrs in ths shade. My thermometer only went to 120 and it was maxed out in the sun. So to answer Dad's question yes we are headed into summer. They do have seasons here but it's more along the lines of what Florida would see for seasons. Baghdad saw snow this last winter for the first time in 60 years.
Not a whole lot... well I cant really say that but I will say not a whole happened here at Echo today. Today is the end of the 3 days of morning for Sadar's father brother?? whatever being killed last year. Soooo there has been a little more activity today then what we have seen for awhile.
I worked on getting another phone into my office. I only have the Secret type phone in my office and now I will the regular one which will allow me to call to the states for free then I can use a phone card to dial as if I was in the states, plus it will be very convienient to call from office.
Well most evenings thus far I sit in my little trailer with the door open and we will usually end up outside just talking. Tonight as I sit here with my door open I'm thinking it is pretty hot, it is still 84 at 2000.
I guess one thing to note is that I had the mongolian liason come see me to day to borrow a video projector. I'm truly the international supply guy, I also helped the Armenians find a place they could wash their trucks.
There are some other things that I do nothing to special but it's not something I should advertise on an open forum. We are constantly being reminded that we should be careful about what type of information we post on tthe internet. In fact I don't even throw envelopes in the garbage for fear that the return address will go to the bad guys. There have been cases where family members have recieved mail from the bad guys, propaganda and such.
Well now that I have scared everyone it's time for me to post some pictures.
Monday, April 14, 2008
102 degrees and a language barrier
Hello all,
Hopefully I haven't bored you to death by now. Today was 102 when I got done with my run at 1145. I caught another gecko, I think this one was pregnant, and when I let her go she tried to run up my shirt sleeve. I screamed like a girl that was good for a laugh.
As for my language barrier today.. I about had to beat a polish soldier to death. You see we have 3 computer systems that everyon eoperates off of. We have one that is for unclassified stuff one for secret stuff and one for secret stuff that is for our allies. We don't share all of all secret stuff. So anyways the Polish are in charge of the last one. The person I had replaced had dropped off a computer to them to get fixed, I went there and was trying to explain that. It took me about 30 minutes to get my point across only for them to tell me they don't have it. SO I am missing a computer. I might find it somewhere I am still inventorying stuff.
Short one tonight, I will see if I can post some new pictures
Hopefully I haven't bored you to death by now. Today was 102 when I got done with my run at 1145. I caught another gecko, I think this one was pregnant, and when I let her go she tried to run up my shirt sleeve. I screamed like a girl that was good for a laugh.
As for my language barrier today.. I about had to beat a polish soldier to death. You see we have 3 computer systems that everyon eoperates off of. We have one that is for unclassified stuff one for secret stuff and one for secret stuff that is for our allies. We don't share all of all secret stuff. So anyways the Polish are in charge of the last one. The person I had replaced had dropped off a computer to them to get fixed, I went there and was trying to explain that. It took me about 30 minutes to get my point across only for them to tell me they don't have it. SO I am missing a computer. I might find it somewhere I am still inventorying stuff.
Short one tonight, I will see if I can post some new pictures
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A little about me
Today was Sunday so I slept in or rather just stayed in my room trailer until 10 or so. The stupid birds here are loud in the mornings so it’s hard to sleep in. Wish I had a shotgun instead of a rifle.
Today was slow for the most part. I always have things I can do but I have learned to pace myself already. I’m still setting things up and think I should be set in the next couple of weeks.
Micca decided to write about herself .. well we decided we should write about ourselves since we have a larger audience than what we thought and I have been a little slow to do so. That’s so typical of us. She goes and gets it done and I am always lagging behind.
So for those of you who know me you can read on or fast forward.
I was born and raised in Bushnell, Dad came to Bushnell as the recreation Director and PE teacher and coach. Mom did some teaching, coaching and many other jobs as well. It’s kind of important to know what they did because it impacted me at a pretty early age. As I kid I was always around one sport or another and when I was old enough begin participating, and when I say participating that’s about all I did. Whatever athletic ability I had didn’t really show up until my freshman year in highschool. I had some limited success in Baseball before that but nothing to great. I did ok in school, if I had applied myself I probably would have gotten better grades but I had more important things to do lol.
I graduated high School with Honors…. Barely!! My senior year or rather even before my senior year I signed up into the Army’s delayed entry program. Things went well my senior year I did well in football baseball and basketball. And not even a month after I graduated I left for Ft McClellan, AL for basic training and my advanced individual training. After that I took off to Germany for my first duty station. Carrie and I got married a year later after she finished school and she came over with me. We had Drake there and then it was time for us to move and we ended up at Ft. Campbell, KY. Ashtyn was born there and It was around that time I decide I was going to get out of the Military. As I was preparing for my departure from the Army my mother told me about a job in the Illinois guard that was with a Weaponns of Mass Destruction Civil support team. This was in late 98 early 99 before the whole terrorism thing. For once the army had some foresight in what they were doing.
I applied and got a position there. The unit was located in Bartonville, IL so carrie and I picked up and moved back to IL. We ended up in Prairie City. T was so very nice to be back home and to have the kids attend a school that we both knew. After working In Bartonville I took a job in Macomb…. OOOO wait I forgot the fact that I became a military officer at some point in there. Ok back to Macomb lol, I took a full time job there and was asked to become a company commander in Rockford, IL. Carrie and I got divorced at some point in there.
Micca and I met via the internet and chatted for hours at a time before we ever met. When we finally did meet the conversations just kept going and going. She made mention of how I relate our relationship to my parents. I always remember mom and Dad staying up to the wee hours of the morning talking about whatever. I moved over to Deer Creek so we could live together, She has a residency requirement to live in Tazewell County so we picked my old Nemesis Dee-Mac to live in. During high school that was the school we played several times in the Playoffs. We won some we lost some.
We got engaged on our second cruise and got married shortly thereafter, partly because of this deployment.
Micca is such an awesome person, I truly got to marry my best friend. This deployment has been pretty difficult simply because we have always communicated almost every day all day. We both had blackberry’s which is a type of phone. We had to have them simply so we could text back and forth. One of the funniest things I remember that illustrates how we have to tell each other everything; Micca calls me at 3 A.M my first thought is uh oh what’s wrong.. normally we don’t call each other we just text a lot, I can barely understand her but the first thing she says is I am ok cause she knew I would be worried, then she proceeds to tell me how she got to taze someone, as in use her tazer.
Alright enough about me, if you wanna know more just ask.
Today was slow for the most part. I always have things I can do but I have learned to pace myself already. I’m still setting things up and think I should be set in the next couple of weeks.
Micca decided to write about herself .. well we decided we should write about ourselves since we have a larger audience than what we thought and I have been a little slow to do so. That’s so typical of us. She goes and gets it done and I am always lagging behind.
So for those of you who know me you can read on or fast forward.
I was born and raised in Bushnell, Dad came to Bushnell as the recreation Director and PE teacher and coach. Mom did some teaching, coaching and many other jobs as well. It’s kind of important to know what they did because it impacted me at a pretty early age. As I kid I was always around one sport or another and when I was old enough begin participating, and when I say participating that’s about all I did. Whatever athletic ability I had didn’t really show up until my freshman year in highschool. I had some limited success in Baseball before that but nothing to great. I did ok in school, if I had applied myself I probably would have gotten better grades but I had more important things to do lol.
I graduated high School with Honors…. Barely!! My senior year or rather even before my senior year I signed up into the Army’s delayed entry program. Things went well my senior year I did well in football baseball and basketball. And not even a month after I graduated I left for Ft McClellan, AL for basic training and my advanced individual training. After that I took off to Germany for my first duty station. Carrie and I got married a year later after she finished school and she came over with me. We had Drake there and then it was time for us to move and we ended up at Ft. Campbell, KY. Ashtyn was born there and It was around that time I decide I was going to get out of the Military. As I was preparing for my departure from the Army my mother told me about a job in the Illinois guard that was with a Weaponns of Mass Destruction Civil support team. This was in late 98 early 99 before the whole terrorism thing. For once the army had some foresight in what they were doing.
I applied and got a position there. The unit was located in Bartonville, IL so carrie and I picked up and moved back to IL. We ended up in Prairie City. T was so very nice to be back home and to have the kids attend a school that we both knew. After working In Bartonville I took a job in Macomb…. OOOO wait I forgot the fact that I became a military officer at some point in there. Ok back to Macomb lol, I took a full time job there and was asked to become a company commander in Rockford, IL. Carrie and I got divorced at some point in there.
Micca and I met via the internet and chatted for hours at a time before we ever met. When we finally did meet the conversations just kept going and going. She made mention of how I relate our relationship to my parents. I always remember mom and Dad staying up to the wee hours of the morning talking about whatever. I moved over to Deer Creek so we could live together, She has a residency requirement to live in Tazewell County so we picked my old Nemesis Dee-Mac to live in. During high school that was the school we played several times in the Playoffs. We won some we lost some.
We got engaged on our second cruise and got married shortly thereafter, partly because of this deployment.
Micca is such an awesome person, I truly got to marry my best friend. This deployment has been pretty difficult simply because we have always communicated almost every day all day. We both had blackberry’s which is a type of phone. We had to have them simply so we could text back and forth. One of the funniest things I remember that illustrates how we have to tell each other everything; Micca calls me at 3 A.M my first thought is uh oh what’s wrong.. normally we don’t call each other we just text a lot, I can barely understand her but the first thing she says is I am ok cause she knew I would be worried, then she proceeds to tell me how she got to taze someone, as in use her tazer.
Alright enough about me, if you wanna know more just ask.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
A little perspective
Looks like my random thought might have been a bit to random.
Anyways,
I had to wash my little Polaris today it was looking very dirty. They have a washrack here on the camp maned by TCNs, Third Country Nationals. I was talking to the head guy and I am sure he makes probably 120k for managing this little facilty. It is really nothing more than 2 pressure washers and some manual laborers (the TCNs)I asked him how much the TCNs got paid and said they start out at about $0.80 and hour and some are up to $1.02. But you might say hell I bet the benefits are great... well nope they aren't. The last rocket attack here hit right by the washrack one of the TCNs took some shrapnel in the thigh and stomach he was out 2 weeks and hasn't gotten paid for that. He was back at work today. Talk about a trooper. I have a lot of respect for some of these kids. They really just want a normal life where they can go to work and provide for themselves and their families. It just reinforces what I think and makes me glad we are here.
My Commander has his own interpeter who fled Iraq in 1996 when he was 16. He was from northern Iraq. Every home had a bunker in the basement, makes you think about how lucky we are in the US.
Tomorrow is Sunday for me, so I will sleep in for a bit but that's about it for a day off. It's really not that bad. If I had a day off I would probably go do some work anyways. I might work out a little longer or something but there isn't much else to to but work.
So next time you think things are going bad, just be thankful you were born where you were and have the rights that you do. I think we can afford to give a little to those people that have pretty much nothing. The US has taken the high road while others have taken the highway home. Ok enough of the soapbox I don't want to start a debate just wanted to share that I am happy I am here supporting a higher cause.
Ok one random thought that kind of goes with the kids month thing for those that have parents serving in the Military. I often have people thanking me for my service to the country... the next time you see a spouse or child of a military member you might think about thanking them as well. Without them we can't function as a soldier they are our support network. For that I say Thank You!!
Brent
Anyways,
I had to wash my little Polaris today it was looking very dirty. They have a washrack here on the camp maned by TCNs, Third Country Nationals. I was talking to the head guy and I am sure he makes probably 120k for managing this little facilty. It is really nothing more than 2 pressure washers and some manual laborers (the TCNs)I asked him how much the TCNs got paid and said they start out at about $0.80 and hour and some are up to $1.02. But you might say hell I bet the benefits are great... well nope they aren't. The last rocket attack here hit right by the washrack one of the TCNs took some shrapnel in the thigh and stomach he was out 2 weeks and hasn't gotten paid for that. He was back at work today. Talk about a trooper. I have a lot of respect for some of these kids. They really just want a normal life where they can go to work and provide for themselves and their families. It just reinforces what I think and makes me glad we are here.
My Commander has his own interpeter who fled Iraq in 1996 when he was 16. He was from northern Iraq. Every home had a bunker in the basement, makes you think about how lucky we are in the US.
Tomorrow is Sunday for me, so I will sleep in for a bit but that's about it for a day off. It's really not that bad. If I had a day off I would probably go do some work anyways. I might work out a little longer or something but there isn't much else to to but work.
So next time you think things are going bad, just be thankful you were born where you were and have the rights that you do. I think we can afford to give a little to those people that have pretty much nothing. The US has taken the high road while others have taken the highway home. Ok enough of the soapbox I don't want to start a debate just wanted to share that I am happy I am here supporting a higher cause.
Ok one random thought that kind of goes with the kids month thing for those that have parents serving in the Military. I often have people thanking me for my service to the country... the next time you see a spouse or child of a military member you might think about thanking them as well. Without them we can't function as a soldier they are our support network. For that I say Thank You!!
Brent
Friday, April 11, 2008
MILITARY KIDS MONTH
Check out the links to the right
I've touched on this topic a couple of times and it's actually an act that has been passed in Congress.
It's of small consequence that they have a month but at least they are recognized.
If you see Ashtyn, Dade or Drake let them know that they are doing just as much as their Dad. They are just as important as the soldiers in Iraq or Where ever, they are one of the many reasons that bring us home safe.
Brent
I've touched on this topic a couple of times and it's actually an act that has been passed in Congress.
It's of small consequence that they have a month but at least they are recognized.
If you see Ashtyn, Dade or Drake let them know that they are doing just as much as their Dad. They are just as important as the soldiers in Iraq or Where ever, they are one of the many reasons that bring us home safe.
Brent
Random thoughts from Iraq *** warning very random***
I go through the day often times thinking and often making notes about what I should write at night. There are many things that seem of no consequence but I am sure … well not sure, but think you might like to hear about.
So… tonight I had walked over to one of the offices to make my Friday night phone calls… afternoon for most of you and as I walked out I thought Damn it’s dark. It’s not that much darker than any other night but it’s dark nonetheless. What little light we have on the FOB is stopped by the 12 foot T walls we have everywhere. So walking across the camp can be an adventure and even a little unsettling for a 6 foot 2 inch 185…. O ok 200lb guy. In one of my pictures I just posted you can see my little LED light attached to my US Army Nametape. This is everyone’s handy dandy flashlight.
Calling home is a planned event for me. It’s not as simple as picking up a phone and speed dialing your BFF; best friend forever for those of you not so internet savvy. First things I have to consider is what damn time is it back home? The best invention ever is my dual zone Timex that takes a lot of the guess work out of it. But of course this year Iraq decided not to play the daylight savings time game. Did you know that not all countries do the savings game at the same time….. It’s just crazy. Ok back on track the phone call here we go. Ok now that I have consulted my watch and done my algebraic equation (sarcasm) to make sure I’m not calling someone at 3 am well unless it’s Micca and she’s working then it’s ok. She works thirds. IT’s called random thoughts for a reason… lol Micca and I have often played this game of how did we get on this topic and would ,ap out each step for each other…. More randomness… are you still with me lol. The phone call right. Time is checked and then I walk across the camp to my buddies office. He has the good one that calls to other military phones at no cost. So I call camp Lincoln in Springfield…. This is why Friday’s are important, well any week day. So I call camp Lincoln and get somebody there. I ask them to connect me to another number. Then I pray for an answer. Now If I do get an answering machine I must leave a message and this is why. Almost everyone has caller ID these days and the number that rings in is out of camp Lincoln. So if you were a person that screened your calls and didn’t answer you might call the number that just called back. In this case Imagine my wife calling back to camp Lincoln not knowing that it was a camp Lincoln phone number. (Camp Lincoln is the State National Guard HQ) People could very easily jump to conclusions. I will leave it at that. Whew!!!
OK moms and dad’s this is where the kids stop reading
So no kidding there we were… I’m telling this joke cause it made me cry I laughed so hard and it was totally of fthe cuff. One of our group is a school teacher who teaches Biology and we got on the topic of birds and what kind we might see there. She said she would have to get a book so she would know. And one of the guys (not me) says maybe you will get to see the very elusive double breasted bed thrasher. Now reading this isn’t near as much fun as hearing it happen in conversation but thus far that has been my favorite line
If you can’t tell I’m in a writing mood tonight.
I had a great conversation with Micca and my parents tonight. It is always great to hear about home. I plan on trying to call the kids tomorrow. I feel so out of touch with their lives right now. I can’t tell Micca enough how much I appreciate her spending time with them. I know she does it because she wants to and cares for them but… well I don’t think a lot of kids are as lucky as my 2 that have such an involved stepmom. She is the best. Everyone should remember I am not the only in the family that is in the Army. My whole family is and I often think they have it tougher than I do. I have plenty of company in my misery but Micca and the kids have to go quite a ways to be able to talk with others that can relate.
My last random thought for the night… I may have mentioned this already. Did you know we have to take bottled water to the bathroom with us to brush our teeth. The water we bath in is not fit to Drink.
One last comment. I understand that a lot of people are reading what I am writing. I hope I didn’t lose you tonight.
came back to edit because I remembered something funny we were talking about in the mess hall. There are some words like Shiek i think I spelled that right that is commonly pronuced SHEEK here at home but the proper way to say it is SHAKE. We got to laughing tonight wondering if the most important people in Iraq know if they are associated with an ice cream like substance that tastes really good. ok I'm done I did lots of stuff tonight.
But please feel free to ask questions. As the year goes on I’m afraid I will bore you to death.
Thanks,
Brent
So… tonight I had walked over to one of the offices to make my Friday night phone calls… afternoon for most of you and as I walked out I thought Damn it’s dark. It’s not that much darker than any other night but it’s dark nonetheless. What little light we have on the FOB is stopped by the 12 foot T walls we have everywhere. So walking across the camp can be an adventure and even a little unsettling for a 6 foot 2 inch 185…. O ok 200lb guy. In one of my pictures I just posted you can see my little LED light attached to my US Army Nametape. This is everyone’s handy dandy flashlight.
Calling home is a planned event for me. It’s not as simple as picking up a phone and speed dialing your BFF; best friend forever for those of you not so internet savvy. First things I have to consider is what damn time is it back home? The best invention ever is my dual zone Timex that takes a lot of the guess work out of it. But of course this year Iraq decided not to play the daylight savings time game. Did you know that not all countries do the savings game at the same time….. It’s just crazy. Ok back on track the phone call here we go. Ok now that I have consulted my watch and done my algebraic equation (sarcasm) to make sure I’m not calling someone at 3 am well unless it’s Micca and she’s working then it’s ok. She works thirds. IT’s called random thoughts for a reason… lol Micca and I have often played this game of how did we get on this topic and would ,ap out each step for each other…. More randomness… are you still with me lol. The phone call right. Time is checked and then I walk across the camp to my buddies office. He has the good one that calls to other military phones at no cost. So I call camp Lincoln in Springfield…. This is why Friday’s are important, well any week day. So I call camp Lincoln and get somebody there. I ask them to connect me to another number. Then I pray for an answer. Now If I do get an answering machine I must leave a message and this is why. Almost everyone has caller ID these days and the number that rings in is out of camp Lincoln. So if you were a person that screened your calls and didn’t answer you might call the number that just called back. In this case Imagine my wife calling back to camp Lincoln not knowing that it was a camp Lincoln phone number. (Camp Lincoln is the State National Guard HQ) People could very easily jump to conclusions. I will leave it at that. Whew!!!
OK moms and dad’s this is where the kids stop reading
So no kidding there we were… I’m telling this joke cause it made me cry I laughed so hard and it was totally of fthe cuff. One of our group is a school teacher who teaches Biology and we got on the topic of birds and what kind we might see there. She said she would have to get a book so she would know. And one of the guys (not me) says maybe you will get to see the very elusive double breasted bed thrasher. Now reading this isn’t near as much fun as hearing it happen in conversation but thus far that has been my favorite line
If you can’t tell I’m in a writing mood tonight.
I had a great conversation with Micca and my parents tonight. It is always great to hear about home. I plan on trying to call the kids tomorrow. I feel so out of touch with their lives right now. I can’t tell Micca enough how much I appreciate her spending time with them. I know she does it because she wants to and cares for them but… well I don’t think a lot of kids are as lucky as my 2 that have such an involved stepmom. She is the best. Everyone should remember I am not the only in the family that is in the Army. My whole family is and I often think they have it tougher than I do. I have plenty of company in my misery but Micca and the kids have to go quite a ways to be able to talk with others that can relate.
My last random thought for the night… I may have mentioned this already. Did you know we have to take bottled water to the bathroom with us to brush our teeth. The water we bath in is not fit to Drink.
One last comment. I understand that a lot of people are reading what I am writing. I hope I didn’t lose you tonight.
came back to edit because I remembered something funny we were talking about in the mess hall. There are some words like Shiek i think I spelled that right that is commonly pronuced SHEEK here at home but the proper way to say it is SHAKE. We got to laughing tonight wondering if the most important people in Iraq know if they are associated with an ice cream like substance that tastes really good. ok I'm done I did lots of stuff tonight.
But please feel free to ask questions. As the year goes on I’m afraid I will bore you to death.
Thanks,
Brent
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Things that will be wierd when I get home
I was on the airfield the other day and a bunch of contractors were talking about what they would have to get use to when they got back home.
Going to a resturaunt and paying for a meal... we eat for free all of the time
Going to a convienience store and paying for a soda or gatorade... kind of like the one before this we have all of the gatorade and soda we could drink
YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY PAY FOR BOTTLED WATER ROFL
Getting up in the middle of the night to go pee and not having to walk around the block to find the bathroom... well we don't usually do that we recycle our water bottles in a different way.
You mean I cant drive down the middle of the road or even on the wrongside and those stop light things are for everyone else
Hearing the noon fire alarm and trying not to find the nearest bunker
Driving off from the gas station without paying
Dusting every damn day
I can wear something besides ACUs and PTs??
CLearing my weapon before I enter a building... every time we enter a building we have to clear our weapon... lots of ammo=accidents and this prevents that.
So I posted a couple new pictures... those of you that know me well, know it wouldn't take long before I caught a gecko. Mom and dad can tell all kinds of stories about me and whatever insect or animal or worm I could find when I was a kid.
SO what did I do today? Well not to much more than the usual it was pretty slow. I think I'm going to be ready for my helicopter if it ever comes. I'm getting caught up and even getting ahead to some degree. It's a good thing I replaced 2 people otherwise I would be very bored and boredom is something I need to stay away from.
Thats it for now
Going to a resturaunt and paying for a meal... we eat for free all of the time
Going to a convienience store and paying for a soda or gatorade... kind of like the one before this we have all of the gatorade and soda we could drink
YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY PAY FOR BOTTLED WATER ROFL
Getting up in the middle of the night to go pee and not having to walk around the block to find the bathroom... well we don't usually do that we recycle our water bottles in a different way.
You mean I cant drive down the middle of the road or even on the wrongside and those stop light things are for everyone else
Hearing the noon fire alarm and trying not to find the nearest bunker
Driving off from the gas station without paying
Dusting every damn day
I can wear something besides ACUs and PTs??
CLearing my weapon before I enter a building... every time we enter a building we have to clear our weapon... lots of ammo=accidents and this prevents that.
So I posted a couple new pictures... those of you that know me well, know it wouldn't take long before I caught a gecko. Mom and dad can tell all kinds of stories about me and whatever insect or animal or worm I could find when I was a kid.
SO what did I do today? Well not to much more than the usual it was pretty slow. I think I'm going to be ready for my helicopter if it ever comes. I'm getting caught up and even getting ahead to some degree. It's a good thing I replaced 2 people otherwise I would be very bored and boredom is something I need to stay away from.
Thats it for now
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
You've Got Mail!!
Today was the first day we recieved mail since we have been here. I received 2 boxes from Micca and 2 cards one from Don and Dawn and the other from Cheri. I really do appreciate the cards and support. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to get mail but I have to say I was quite excited. Ashtyn even sent me her latest and greatest artwork. It now has a place on my wall. My walls are steel so it's like a big magnetic bulliten board. I think the boxes Micca shipped were sent around the 20th of March. Unless you are going to use those special boxes it doesnt make much sense to send it priority. They get here roughly the same time. Our mail comes by truck every couple of days... well it has been a week since the last one.
I took a minute to take some pictures today... one of the card sent since it was of grandma and the other is of my building that I work in. The one side isn't that heavily fortified whereas the other side is T walled and bunkered up... taht is my side :).
I've continued my daily routines and found my motivation today to get quite a few things done. I am reveling in the fact that I am not directly supervised and I don't have anyone working for me which is even better. I know that may sound wierd since the Army has trained me for years to be a leader but it is kind of nice to have that break. I really enjoy just doing my own thing and not having to coach people along to get things done. That means I have to actually get up from behind my desk and do stuff rather than tasking others to do it. I was even given the opportunity to have someone work for me and I quickly declined.
Today was a little warm, in the mid 90s and it felt good to do PT with the sun beating down. The last couple days have been cloudy and dusty.
Well if anyone has been watching the news things are portrayed as being somewhat fragile.... that I wont dispute but I can tell you things here at echo are 180 degrees from what they were last year.
Well now I am going to try and post pictures, that generally ttakes awhile so I best get to it.
I took a minute to take some pictures today... one of the card sent since it was of grandma and the other is of my building that I work in. The one side isn't that heavily fortified whereas the other side is T walled and bunkered up... taht is my side :).
I've continued my daily routines and found my motivation today to get quite a few things done. I am reveling in the fact that I am not directly supervised and I don't have anyone working for me which is even better. I know that may sound wierd since the Army has trained me for years to be a leader but it is kind of nice to have that break. I really enjoy just doing my own thing and not having to coach people along to get things done. That means I have to actually get up from behind my desk and do stuff rather than tasking others to do it. I was even given the opportunity to have someone work for me and I quickly declined.
Today was a little warm, in the mid 90s and it felt good to do PT with the sun beating down. The last couple days have been cloudy and dusty.
Well if anyone has been watching the news things are portrayed as being somewhat fragile.... that I wont dispute but I can tell you things here at echo are 180 degrees from what they were last year.
Well now I am going to try and post pictures, that generally ttakes awhile so I best get to it.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The flight=NO GO
Well today I waited on the airfield for my flight that was suppose to arrive at 1135, we have to be there an hour early just in case the helicopter shows up early. Well I cold draw this story out but the short of it is that the weather was crappy and the helicopters couldn't fly or if they did it would be to late for me.
We have problems with dust storms here and that limits the ability for the helicopters to fly.
As I am writing this I am writing a DVD to send to Micca. It should be there sometime next month. It will have everything from Easter up until today.
Also as I am writing this I am listening to President Bush giving a Medal of Honor, its kind of sobering. It probably has something to do with tomorrow being the 5th anniversary of this war. I don't think that came out right. Make no mistake about it I truely believe in what we are doing here. Those of you who know me know that to be true. I always have said what chance do people have walking around in a skyscraper? Well I know what I am getting into to. I wear 45 lbs of armor, have a pistol and a rifle, and if I am in a vehicle it will take nothing short of a tank round to blow it up. I'm prepared, those at home are not. Let me hop off my soap box lol.
Today after I got off the airfield I really didn't feel like doing anything. It's the first time I have felt that way. Eventually I got in the groove. I'm really missing the kids and Micca and I think that was hitting more than usual today. I will continue to immerse myself in my work and try to stay busy.
Forgot about something I so I had to come back and edit this post. I was going through my pictures and realized that there are some significant things going on. We gave some Hummers to the Iraqi Police through the Polish. It was a fairly big event. We decided to get the Iraqi's the Hummers sonner than what we had planned because of the anniversray tomorrow and the suspected cessation of the cease fire. So we may see some fireworks tonight or tomorrow or not. Things around here are going well and are quite stable. Ok enough editing
Well, I'm tired so that will be it for tonight.
Brent
We have problems with dust storms here and that limits the ability for the helicopters to fly.
As I am writing this I am writing a DVD to send to Micca. It should be there sometime next month. It will have everything from Easter up until today.
Also as I am writing this I am listening to President Bush giving a Medal of Honor, its kind of sobering. It probably has something to do with tomorrow being the 5th anniversary of this war. I don't think that came out right. Make no mistake about it I truely believe in what we are doing here. Those of you who know me know that to be true. I always have said what chance do people have walking around in a skyscraper? Well I know what I am getting into to. I wear 45 lbs of armor, have a pistol and a rifle, and if I am in a vehicle it will take nothing short of a tank round to blow it up. I'm prepared, those at home are not. Let me hop off my soap box lol.
Today after I got off the airfield I really didn't feel like doing anything. It's the first time I have felt that way. Eventually I got in the groove. I'm really missing the kids and Micca and I think that was hitting more than usual today. I will continue to immerse myself in my work and try to stay busy.
Forgot about something I so I had to come back and edit this post. I was going through my pictures and realized that there are some significant things going on. We gave some Hummers to the Iraqi Police through the Polish. It was a fairly big event. We decided to get the Iraqi's the Hummers sonner than what we had planned because of the anniversray tomorrow and the suspected cessation of the cease fire. So we may see some fireworks tonight or tomorrow or not. Things around here are going well and are quite stable. Ok enough editing
Well, I'm tired so that will be it for tonight.
Brent
Monday, April 7, 2008
Another day in paradise...... well not really
Well lets see,
The weather here has been very pleasant. Today was in the low 90s with almost no humidity so it was quite comfortable. It was overcast as well and even sprinkled for a minute, it did the same thing yesterday.
I head to Ballad tomorrow for a quick class. Honestly I'm in it for the helicopter ride and tour I could have probably got out of the class but I figured what the hell I have to take the opportunities when they come along. I'm not suppose to get back until late but I hope to post some new pictures in the next couple days. I've got quite a bit of video that I am going to put together here pretty soon and send out some DVDs.
We talked about taking leave tonight and it got me to thinking about when I dhould put in for mine. I'm thinking about shooting for New Years and missing the big rush home. Micca and I talked about taking it later rather than earlier. We will have to see how she still feels about that.
I've been taking a lot of video but it just occured to me I should take more pictures and post them more often.
Well thats all for now, not much to say tonight.
Brent
The weather here has been very pleasant. Today was in the low 90s with almost no humidity so it was quite comfortable. It was overcast as well and even sprinkled for a minute, it did the same thing yesterday.
I head to Ballad tomorrow for a quick class. Honestly I'm in it for the helicopter ride and tour I could have probably got out of the class but I figured what the hell I have to take the opportunities when they come along. I'm not suppose to get back until late but I hope to post some new pictures in the next couple days. I've got quite a bit of video that I am going to put together here pretty soon and send out some DVDs.
We talked about taking leave tonight and it got me to thinking about when I dhould put in for mine. I'm thinking about shooting for New Years and missing the big rush home. Micca and I talked about taking it later rather than earlier. We will have to see how she still feels about that.
I've been taking a lot of video but it just occured to me I should take more pictures and post them more often.
Well thats all for now, not much to say tonight.
Brent
Sunday, April 6, 2008
So how are things different..
So today I was thinking at how different we operate here in Iraq than at home. I will give you some examples. The biggest and most apparent one to me is how we handle weapons and ammunition. At home an individaul is never allowed to keep ammo on his person and is issued in a very controlled manner. Here I have over 1000 rounds of 5.56 (rifle ammo) and about 80 rounds of 9mm (pistol Ammo). Weapons control is way different too. For one we are always taught to never point a weapon at a person, well back home people tend not to pay attention and sometimes when you are unslinging or turning you sometimes inadvertenly point it at them. We call this flagging someone. Imagine that there is a laser coming out of your barrel all of the time and try not to ever make it hit someone. Because are weapons are loaded a lot of the time we have to be much more careful.
Another thing about weapons at home is that if we arent using them they are locked in big elaborate vaults... no vaults here lol.
Bottom line is if Hagi ever makes it inside the wall and starts something I don't think it will last very long. My pistol is on my nightstand and my rifle and ammo are in my locker about 3 feet away. Some may say we are paranoid I just call it being prepared. This is pretty standard so thats why they stand off 15 miles and launch rockets and mortars at us.
Speaking of rockets and mortars. I had to laugh at myself tonight. I had just finished locking a door to our little playroom, I will post pictures of it in a couple of days. Well I heard this whistle I paused and listened some more.... now you have to understand the FOB (forward operating base) has lots of continuous backround noise. Well the whistle go louder.. I started to run for the bunker and quickly relaized it was a atv of sorts that must have had a turbo that was whistling and the motor was masked by the generators until it go closer. I had to look around to make sure no one saw me. LOL. We are all very vigilant knowing its only a matter of time before things start to heat up again here.
Someone posted and asked who our littel friends are. If you look at the closeup of the christmas tree light you can see him hiding behind it. We have a gecko infestation lol. There are 3 or 4 in our little bunker.
If you have any more questions let em fly it makes writing about stuff that much easier.
If for some reason I don't post the next couple of days I have to take a little helicopter ride for some training. The flights here are even less reliable than those in the states. Believe it or not we fly standby too lol. We have been having issues with the weather specifically the dust makes it so we cant fly.
Anyways what is suppose to be a 1 day trip might turn into 3 or more.
Another thing about weapons at home is that if we arent using them they are locked in big elaborate vaults... no vaults here lol.
Bottom line is if Hagi ever makes it inside the wall and starts something I don't think it will last very long. My pistol is on my nightstand and my rifle and ammo are in my locker about 3 feet away. Some may say we are paranoid I just call it being prepared. This is pretty standard so thats why they stand off 15 miles and launch rockets and mortars at us.
Speaking of rockets and mortars. I had to laugh at myself tonight. I had just finished locking a door to our little playroom, I will post pictures of it in a couple of days. Well I heard this whistle I paused and listened some more.... now you have to understand the FOB (forward operating base) has lots of continuous backround noise. Well the whistle go louder.. I started to run for the bunker and quickly relaized it was a atv of sorts that must have had a turbo that was whistling and the motor was masked by the generators until it go closer. I had to look around to make sure no one saw me. LOL. We are all very vigilant knowing its only a matter of time before things start to heat up again here.
Someone posted and asked who our littel friends are. If you look at the closeup of the christmas tree light you can see him hiding behind it. We have a gecko infestation lol. There are 3 or 4 in our little bunker.
If you have any more questions let em fly it makes writing about stuff that much easier.
If for some reason I don't post the next couple of days I have to take a little helicopter ride for some training. The flights here are even less reliable than those in the states. Believe it or not we fly standby too lol. We have been having issues with the weather specifically the dust makes it so we cant fly.
Anyways what is suppose to be a 1 day trip might turn into 3 or more.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Settling in... some more
Hello everyone and special hello to Micca, Drake, Ashtyn, and Dade. Ive been thinking about calling but whenever I do I'm sure Ashtyn and Drake are in School. So as I sit here now I'm thinking I need to go find a phone... but firat I will finish this.
Today was a pleasent day. It was a little on the warm side but hey it's Iraq. Oh yea and there was a dust storm too. But really t was pretty nice. I wore my heart monitor that Micca had got for me. That's an interesting story that I will let her tell. It was pretty cool. I will use it everytime I run which should be daily and I hope sometimes more than that.
I did my usual stuff today and still fell like I'm not getting caught up. I have several projects that I want to fiish and once I have those done then things should run more smoothly. I keep getting interuppted while trying to get this stuff done but one of todays interupttions was rather rewarding. My Polish counterpart had a dilemma. Now first you must understand that the polish are using Hummers that we have provided for them and we are responsible for thier maintenance. They have lots of other vehicles here as well. One of them happens to be this big fuel tanker used to fuel the helicopters. The tires on it are going bad and they have no way to change them. Well I think shoot this is no problem I will ask the guys who do the maintenance on the hummers to take care of the tires. Nope wrong answer they don't put tires on rims here they have the whole thing shipped in. AHHHH but the maint team leader had an idea. There is a company who contracts the convoys in and out of here with lots of semis. SO we toodle over there and talk to the head guy for the contractor and get them to agree to take care of the tires.
Now I really didnt do any work but I got to facilitate the resolution. I felt pretty good. Don't tell anyone but My job is beginning to remind of Klinger off of MASH LOL. No dresses for me though lol.
I'm really gertting to know the people here and the ones that can get stuff done. I think it helps a little that I have the 2nd highest ranking officer on the base at my disposal if anyone gives me to hard of a time. The contractors have to keep us happy or we will find a new one.
Well thats it for now.
Today was a pleasent day. It was a little on the warm side but hey it's Iraq. Oh yea and there was a dust storm too. But really t was pretty nice. I wore my heart monitor that Micca had got for me. That's an interesting story that I will let her tell. It was pretty cool. I will use it everytime I run which should be daily and I hope sometimes more than that.
I did my usual stuff today and still fell like I'm not getting caught up. I have several projects that I want to fiish and once I have those done then things should run more smoothly. I keep getting interuppted while trying to get this stuff done but one of todays interupttions was rather rewarding. My Polish counterpart had a dilemma. Now first you must understand that the polish are using Hummers that we have provided for them and we are responsible for thier maintenance. They have lots of other vehicles here as well. One of them happens to be this big fuel tanker used to fuel the helicopters. The tires on it are going bad and they have no way to change them. Well I think shoot this is no problem I will ask the guys who do the maintenance on the hummers to take care of the tires. Nope wrong answer they don't put tires on rims here they have the whole thing shipped in. AHHHH but the maint team leader had an idea. There is a company who contracts the convoys in and out of here with lots of semis. SO we toodle over there and talk to the head guy for the contractor and get them to agree to take care of the tires.
Now I really didnt do any work but I got to facilitate the resolution. I felt pretty good. Don't tell anyone but My job is beginning to remind of Klinger off of MASH LOL. No dresses for me though lol.
I'm really gertting to know the people here and the ones that can get stuff done. I think it helps a little that I have the 2nd highest ranking officer on the base at my disposal if anyone gives me to hard of a time. The contractors have to keep us happy or we will find a new one.
Well thats it for now.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Game on!!
Well today is the first day without my counterpart to coach me along. Things seem to have gone ok. The day just speeds right by. I have been taking time out to do my Physical fitness. The Dining facility here lets us have as much as we want which is a problem for me. The last 3 nights they have had cheesecake and Micca can attest to what it's like when I have free access to cheese cake. They also have the best cookies and they have baskin robbins icecream. Sometimes I wonder if I should just skip the main course and go for the desserts. The main line is ok. There is enough of a variety. There is also a taco bar as well as a pretty good salad bar. Bottom line is if I am going to stay somewhat fit I will have to have a physical fitness program. Today I ran 3 miles on the little track they have set up. The hours here are rather odd so I ran around noon. I don't know how much longer I will keep that up. Today was about 90 but didnt feel to bad. I just drink lots and lots of water.
Lets see what other things of note happeneed today. Well this is a multinational camp of which the polish are in charge. The Polish General had a dinner last night for the americans that were leaving and to welcome us. It was a private affair which was kind of nice but it was nothing special to speak of.
Today I wanted to find the range so we could shoot next week. When I got out there I found the polish special forces shooting away (you can insert joke here) We had a one sided conversation where I talked and they acted like they understood what I was saying lol.
Back to last night. I stayed on the airfield until about 0030 local time to see off the guys we were replacing. I also took a pair of night vision googles and tried to video tape the Chinooks (BIG BIG helicopters with 2 rotors) I havent viewed the tape as of yet but I think you will get the idea of what it looks like when looking through NVGs.
HMMMM i a little more time before my meeting.... so you ask what is my normal day like. Well I get up about 6 and shower and shave, I have to walk about 100 meters to the shower and bathroom. Head over to breakfeast about 7 and I get to work about 8. Work until 11 then do PT and eat lunch the back to work about 2 until 4 or 5 then eat then back to work from 6 to 8 or 9 or so. These are the hours my polish counterparts work so I kind of mirror what they do.
Well thats all for now now new pictures but I will take some of my living spaces and post them tomorrow I hope.
Brent
Lets see what other things of note happeneed today. Well this is a multinational camp of which the polish are in charge. The Polish General had a dinner last night for the americans that were leaving and to welcome us. It was a private affair which was kind of nice but it was nothing special to speak of.
Today I wanted to find the range so we could shoot next week. When I got out there I found the polish special forces shooting away (you can insert joke here) We had a one sided conversation where I talked and they acted like they understood what I was saying lol.
Back to last night. I stayed on the airfield until about 0030 local time to see off the guys we were replacing. I also took a pair of night vision googles and tried to video tape the Chinooks (BIG BIG helicopters with 2 rotors) I havent viewed the tape as of yet but I think you will get the idea of what it looks like when looking through NVGs.
HMMMM i a little more time before my meeting.... so you ask what is my normal day like. Well I get up about 6 and shower and shave, I have to walk about 100 meters to the shower and bathroom. Head over to breakfeast about 7 and I get to work about 8. Work until 11 then do PT and eat lunch the back to work about 2 until 4 or 5 then eat then back to work from 6 to 8 or 9 or so. These are the hours my polish counterparts work so I kind of mirror what they do.
Well thats all for now now new pictures but I will take some of my living spaces and post them tomorrow I hope.
Brent
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
My night time routine
Thought I would share this, I kind of have mixed feeling about writing about this because I don't want to scare everyone.
My routine begins before dark. I plug our christms tree lights in. You may ask why Christmas tree lights? Well there is a small walkway between our 2 rows of our trailers and it gets very dark at night. These lights light the way to our bunker. Then I go to dinner and work out then have a meeting about 2100 about general army stuff. I usually go to shower next which is a little ordeal. The shower point is about 100 meters away not to mention the latrine is also there. What a pain in the but in the middle of the night to have t get up and walk to go pee. Well us innovative male soldiers have found a use for our empty water bottles. They get reused and then disposed of in the morning. With all of the water that we drink it is not uncommon to have to get up to go to the bathroom 3 or more time in the night.
Alright, now that I have showered I can settle in for the evening so I usually do some email and a little blog or what not. After I am done with my computer I close my laptop and turn everything off. I cover everything with towels so the dust is caught on something bedies my computer and monitor. THe dust is absolutley incredible. Then I set my sandals by the door somewhat staggered and ensure my door is unlocked. Then I crack my window just a little so I can hear the Indirect fire (IDF) warning alarm all the better. We now have an early warning system that tells us when thier are rockets and mortars heading our way. Then I crack my chemlight and hang it by the door. When I turn the lights off it is very dark and I need to see a bit so I can make it to the door and slip my sandals on.
Ok now that everything is in place I can go to sleep. So far I haven't had to utilize any of my preperations. But its always best to be prepared :)
My routine begins before dark. I plug our christms tree lights in. You may ask why Christmas tree lights? Well there is a small walkway between our 2 rows of our trailers and it gets very dark at night. These lights light the way to our bunker. Then I go to dinner and work out then have a meeting about 2100 about general army stuff. I usually go to shower next which is a little ordeal. The shower point is about 100 meters away not to mention the latrine is also there. What a pain in the but in the middle of the night to have t get up and walk to go pee. Well us innovative male soldiers have found a use for our empty water bottles. They get reused and then disposed of in the morning. With all of the water that we drink it is not uncommon to have to get up to go to the bathroom 3 or more time in the night.
Alright, now that I have showered I can settle in for the evening so I usually do some email and a little blog or what not. After I am done with my computer I close my laptop and turn everything off. I cover everything with towels so the dust is caught on something bedies my computer and monitor. THe dust is absolutley incredible. Then I set my sandals by the door somewhat staggered and ensure my door is unlocked. Then I crack my window just a little so I can hear the Indirect fire (IDF) warning alarm all the better. We now have an early warning system that tells us when thier are rockets and mortars heading our way. Then I crack my chemlight and hang it by the door. When I turn the lights off it is very dark and I need to see a bit so I can make it to the door and slip my sandals on.
Ok now that everything is in place I can go to sleep. So far I haven't had to utilize any of my preperations. But its always best to be prepared :)
April Fool's a little late
Many technical difficulties
Ok so I wrote an entry for today but it timed out.... lesson learned, I will copy before I sumbit just in case lol
Today was a pretty good day. I'm slowly learning my duties and all of the people I will have to talk to on a daily basis. I am replacing 2 soldiers so my job will keep me a little busier... well a lot busier than i thought. I will be worling with the polixh making sure thier Hummers get fixed by the american forces that are here. Sounds simple but well it's more complicated. I will have to give you an example later. My other job is to account for much of the property on the camp.... that job is going to be overwhelming at first but I think after a couple of weeks I will get the hang of it.
I have posted some pictures of todays activities that took me out to the airfield to send off some of the guys that my group is replacing. I also took some pictures that I had taken previously. Our internet is running horridly slow so it takes about 5 min to upload one picture.
Well its getting late again although I dont fell like sleeping I probbably should. Damn the jet lag lol
Ok so I wrote an entry for today but it timed out.... lesson learned, I will copy before I sumbit just in case lol
Today was a pretty good day. I'm slowly learning my duties and all of the people I will have to talk to on a daily basis. I am replacing 2 soldiers so my job will keep me a little busier... well a lot busier than i thought. I will be worling with the polixh making sure thier Hummers get fixed by the american forces that are here. Sounds simple but well it's more complicated. I will have to give you an example later. My other job is to account for much of the property on the camp.... that job is going to be overwhelming at first but I think after a couple of weeks I will get the hang of it.
I have posted some pictures of todays activities that took me out to the airfield to send off some of the guys that my group is replacing. I also took some pictures that I had taken previously. Our internet is running horridly slow so it takes about 5 min to upload one picture.
Well its getting late again although I dont fell like sleeping I probbably should. Damn the jet lag lol
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
30 March
The last couple days have run together. We arrived in Kuwait at about 2130 local time which is 9:30 PM it took us 17 hours from the time we left Atlanta to the time we landed I Kuwait. From there we inprocessed and headed out to meet with our convoy at about 0430. We didn’t get any sleep that night and have only had a few cat naps as I type this. It is currently 2130 local time 0n the 31st of March. We didn’t make it to Camp Echo tonight because we got a late start. Even though we arrived on time to pick up our convoy they were on crew rest until 1100 hours since they didn’t arrive until 0300 that morning. The trucks that we rode in were very well equipped. They had as much armor on them as the Hummers do which was quite comforting as we crossed into Iraq at about 1230. There were several camels walking around the fence and the polish troops jumped out and took the opportunity for a photo op with the camel. It was quite humorous. As we drove along Kathy (the truck driver) took the time to point out many of the features about Iraq. Mainly she pointed out some of the IED craters left by IEDs… duhhh lol.
We arrived at Tallil (Camp Adder) about 1630. They put us up in a nice trailer with some AC and I got a chance to take a shower for the first time in 3 days. The Dining facility was absolutely amazing. They say Camp Echo is even better. If that is the case I am going to have some difficulty losing the weight I want to. Well maybe not today was 101 degrees and it was pretty overcast for the most part. I am told that Camp Echo regularly sees temperatures in excess of 120 and often 130. It was Kind of funny today during the convoy one of the trucks blew a tire and the entire convoy pulled over to wait for it to be changed. Loren and I were standing between trucks pulling security as we waited and we commented that we should get out of the truck exhaust. We moved but the exhaust seemed to follow us. We quickly came to the conclusion that it was just damn hot. Don’t forget we are wearing our Bullet proof vests and helmets. The new vests with all of the protection easily weigh 45 lbs but I am guessing that the bigger ones are pushing close to 55 or 60. I do feel really safe but It is very difficult to move.
Forgive me if I ramble, but I’m a tad tired and just typed todays events as I remembered them.
We arrived at Tallil (Camp Adder) about 1630. They put us up in a nice trailer with some AC and I got a chance to take a shower for the first time in 3 days. The Dining facility was absolutely amazing. They say Camp Echo is even better. If that is the case I am going to have some difficulty losing the weight I want to. Well maybe not today was 101 degrees and it was pretty overcast for the most part. I am told that Camp Echo regularly sees temperatures in excess of 120 and often 130. It was Kind of funny today during the convoy one of the trucks blew a tire and the entire convoy pulled over to wait for it to be changed. Loren and I were standing between trucks pulling security as we waited and we commented that we should get out of the truck exhaust. We moved but the exhaust seemed to follow us. We quickly came to the conclusion that it was just damn hot. Don’t forget we are wearing our Bullet proof vests and helmets. The new vests with all of the protection easily weigh 45 lbs but I am guessing that the bigger ones are pushing close to 55 or 60. I do feel really safe but It is very difficult to move.
Forgive me if I ramble, but I’m a tad tired and just typed todays events as I remembered them.
THis is actually 29 Mar
Hello everyone. I’m writing this today the 29th of March. It is about 10:00 AM local time and I’m currently in Leipzig Germany. I’m writing this knowing I won’t be able to actually post it until later. We are waiting for the aircraft to refuel. I’ve been stuck on that plane for just over 8 hours. I will soon reboard and head out for another 5 hour flight to Kuwait. I certainly don’t envy people who travel internationally all the time.
This flight is rather odd in that it is not all military. We have about half contractor and half military. Another thing that I find funny is how we can just carry our weapons right onto the aircraft. They did make us remove our bolts from our M4 rifles but we didn’t have to do anything to our pistols. I guess I should quit trying to apply common sense to some things.
The man that is in the seat next to me is an Iraqi national that left Iraq when Saddam invaded the first time in 90. He left his current job to go back to be an interpreter. He said he had been at the same job for 16 years but this was to lucrative of an opportunity to pass up.
This flight is rather odd in that it is not all military. We have about half contractor and half military. Another thing that I find funny is how we can just carry our weapons right onto the aircraft. They did make us remove our bolts from our M4 rifles but we didn’t have to do anything to our pistols. I guess I should quit trying to apply common sense to some things.
The man that is in the seat next to me is an Iraqi national that left Iraq when Saddam invaded the first time in 90. He left his current job to go back to be an interpreter. He said he had been at the same job for 16 years but this was to lucrative of an opportunity to pass up.
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