31 Mar - Saturday

Four down and two to go. I have been in Iraq for 4 months as of the end of today and that means I only have two months of desert life to endure until I get back to the US.
Today was a very confusing day for me; let me explain. In the US, on 19 March the clocks jumped ahead one hour, in Europe the hour jumps ahead on 25 March - nothing out of the ordinary, right! The same process happens in Iraq, the time shift occurs on the 1st of April at 1 AM. However, somewhere in the US Chain of Command the decision was made to make the "leap ahead" at 1 AM on March 31st. So on Saturday morning the entire US military effort was on a different time line then the rest of Iraq. Not a big deal if you are surrounded by Americans and you work on Power Point all day. But if you are one of 23 Americans surrounded by 600 Iraqis who are on a different clock - your watch will only be right half the time. The confusion came as conference calls with US personnel were on one time line and meal times and Iraq meetings were on another time line. Definitely an interesting day - do not think I will ever see another day like today. Does the hop-scotch of repeating and skipping hours in the day qualify me as a Transient Time Traveler? There is another bullet for my resume - not sure where that will get me but it is defiantly a conversation piece if I make it to an interview. Until my next resume builder - have a great day....have a great day..hum!

30 Mar

TGIF, another Friday down and a few more to go - at least that is what I keep telling myself. Every Friday I try to sneak in an extra hour of sleep - I made the executive decision to have our daily morning meeting at 9 o'clock on Fridays vice at the normal 8 o'clock time. However, since there are now only three Marines at our location I was up at 7 o'clock with the other two Marines as we made our way to inspect a set of recently completed buildings. I let one of the Army Sergeant First Class Soldiers run the meeting and based on his report the event went well. As far as the buildings, they were the best I have scene in Iraq. This is not to say they are up to US standards but they were well constructed - or should I say well refurbished. That's about all from the land of the dust storms - have a good weekend.

29 Mar

Not too much happen today - I spent most of the day catching up on paperwork and preparing the Iraqi staff for our incoming visitors. All in all a busy but uneventful day - thank goodness. Lets hope the next few weeks are the same way - busy but not exciting - yea, how likely is that? Anyway, have a good day - the weekend is almost here.

28 Mar

We have another new captive; another happy camper has joined the growing list of convicts. This time from a member from the Equidae family has graced our presence. Apparently he was grazing on our base and for his own protection and in order to teach his owner a lesson he was relocated to our holding pen. I know the message to avoid our location is getting out because despite the increase in different species that have arrived at our "zoo" we are not seeing any repeat visitors. Thus far we have solved the sheep and goat problem but it seems like the animals are getting bigger. Maybe by the time I leave Iraq I will qualify to be a Zoo keeper - not what I had expected from my trip to Iraq but it could be worst. Have a good day.

27 Mar

Happy Birthday - we have a new addition to the "cow pen." A female calf was born in "captivity" today at our location. Unknown to us at the time of "arrest", one if the confiscated cows was pregnant and today at 1:43, Iraq time, we had a new prisoner. I just happen to be in the area talking with one of the Iraq Officers when one of the soldiers said, "Look the cow is giving birth." I looked over and sure enough the water had broke and nature was trying to take its course. As I observed the mother struggling to give birth I thought to myself - do I try to help? What could I do? Anything I could do would have been better then just standing there watching...right? I never had a pet - let alone helped an animal give birth. But then again nature is nature - right? So I went to the aid-station, grabbed some gloves and headed back to play Dr. Major Veterinarian. All the while I was thinking - there is no way I am going to do what Bill Crystal did in the movie City Slickers. When I returned to the scene an Iraqi Soldier was already helping the mother with so I stayed out of the way. Good thing he beat me to her aid because I was not prepared to render the assistance that he provided.

Oh - sure I could have helped deliver the new born but when the soldier gave the calf mouth-to-mouth I was speechless. If I was delivering the calf I probably would have tried to help him stand up a couple of times to get him to breath, even after he flopped to the ground once or twice - then I may have even tried to hit him on the butt to get him to breath; but mouth-to-mouth...not likely. Well I guess I learned something today - if I ever have a pet cow I will know what to expect if she ever gets pregnant. It took a 10,000 mile trip to Iraq for me to see the birth of a calf - I wonder what else I will see in my remaining two months...any guesses? Have a nice day.

26 Mar

On Monday, as I was walking toward my weekly Command meeting I noticed we had a few extra visitors in our Camp or should I say pen. As mentioned before - our live stock is continuing to grow one species at a time. I could not resist getting a picture of our new pets while they were "pulling weeds" for us. I am not sure when or how they arrived - I assume they were escorted in to our area "on foot" vice "in the back" of a pick-up like the sheep - but either way they are just as loud, annoying and smelly as our previous pets. It seems getting a picture with a camel is not as easy as I thought. Getting a picture of a turkey, a cat, a dogs, some sheep, a couple goats, and now some cows has not been a problem. But the one animal I thought I was sure to see - a camel - I have been unable to successfully locate - but my 6 months are not up so I am keep faith that I will get at least one camel pic before I leave Iraq. The only other bit of excitement is I have been recruited to act as Crash - Fire - Rescue for the wave of incoming aircraft over the next few nights. As the only aviator with access to a fire truck I am uniquely qualified to add one more task to my growing list of duties here in Iraq. So far I there has been no need for me to exercise my new fire fighting skills - and I am just fine if that day never comes. Have a good week.

25 Mar - Sunday

A feast for all; that is the best way to describe our dining experience Sunday night. Our new neighbors invited us down for dinner at "their place" for an "end of the week" cook-out. On the menu was steak - cooked the American way, not over done - shrimp, green beans, baked beans, and french fries. And of course a "Cheese Cake Factory" size piece of cake - your choice of carrot or chocolate cake, or strawberry or chocolate cheese cake. It was a great meal - and it was so good there was "standing room only" at the dining hall.
Okay that's a little misleading - the chow hall is actually designed as "standing room only." The tables were built much higher then the normal family style table - they are "bar-like" height. I believe this design was chose for a few simple reasons. First, if individuals are standing and eating it is likely that they will eat their meal and move on vice hang-around for an extended period of time. Second, it is much easier to move around the tables when there are no chairs to "scoot-behind." And third, no chairs means more tables can be set-up in the confined location; since their is only one chow hall and the everyone must cycle through its doors if they want to get a hot meal table space was more important then comfortable seats. So next time you have a meal that is not exactly what you were expecting - consider how lucky you are to be sitting vice standing with a weapon slung over your back or shoulder. Until tomorrow...

24 Mar - Saturday

I am the last person to tell someone how to cook. My wife will agree, that if it were up to me to cook family meals, my family would be the experts on microwave dinners because I am not much of a cook. With that said, I do know a few things about cooking - for starters the flame that is cooking the meal should NOT be hitting the ceiling. But that is exactly what is happening in this picture. The cook - notice I said cook not chef - was carving or more accurately trimming the hunk of meat as it rotates around the fire; the pic was taken at about 12:10 as he was preparing the main course for the dinner menu - lamb. If I did not point out the fact that he was starting to burn a hole in the roof I am not sure when or if he or the manger would have ever noticed the hole in the roof until the next rain storm. However, on the bright side - if you can call it "bright" - the cook chose to prepare the meat in the section of the kitchen that had a metal ceiling/roof vice the part of the kitchen that has a wood ceiling. Sometimes I wonder if natural selection is actually a good thing. Anyway - have a good day and do not take for granted your next American made meal.

23 Mar

Despite all the work that needs to be done we opted to take Friday as a sloooow day - its about time. However, it is clear that this break is the "calm before the storm." We have multiple guest arriving soon, and if all goes well April will fly-by. Come the beginning of May I will start to plan and pack for my trip back to the States - May can not get here quick enough as far as I am concerned. But for now I will just enjoy the day and take a very much needed break. Have a good weekend.

22 Mar

Thursday was catch-up day. After a day in the desert and a day in meetings its time to get organized for our arrivals. Initially we had plenty of time before the next batch of guest were to arrive; however, as always nothing is written in stone. So in true military fashion - it looks like they will be arriving earlier then initially thought. Therefore, we need to re-adjust our work priorities in order to get some "odds and ends" finished now rather than later. In addition to all these little projects that need attention I guess the Army felt there was not enough work for four Marines. One of the LtCol is leaving in the next few days so that leaves one LtCol, myself and a 1stLt to run the show. It almost does not seem fair...I mean to the Iraqi's - 3 vs 500...maybe another 1000 Iraqi's will balance-out the ratio? That's about all from Iraq - have a good night.

21 Mar

I guess since I was "out of the office" all day yesterday scouring the desert for cement blocks - it only seems right that my butt was planted in a chair for five different meetings today. My first meeting started at 8 AM and my last meeting ended around 11 PM. Nothing exciting about the meetings just the normal Iraqi Army training but with a few extra logistics meeting and issues thrown into the mix. Nevertheless it still makes for a long day. Good thing I do not need to deal with Southern California traffic 'cuz that would make for a long day. Speaking of day - have a good one.

20 Mar

Today was "moving day," we had to move about 150 blocks of cement - essentially numerous sections of broken curb. The previous large group of Iraqi visitors drove their vehicles in areas that were reserved for foot traffic only. So in order to ensure the walking area regains its "foot traffic" status we are placing these sections of broken curb around the perimeter to keep vehicle traffic from further damaging the area. As the senior man on this savaging expedition across our training area, I designated specific locations and suitable blocks of curbs that met our requirements. Once I had identified enough "curb" the working party of 25 Iraqi Soldiers relocated the blocks to pallets which were placed on the road. Later in the afternoon we had a fork-lift load the 13 pallets on trucks and relocate them to the their new home. By 5 PM the hard part was done; however, in the next few days we will need to spread-out the curbs in order to ensure the landscape of the new visiting quarters does not receive anymore "scars" from vehicle traffic. I believe I now meet the minimum requirements to be qualified as a "Property Protection Professional." Until my next resume bullet - have a good night

19 Mar

Another Monday down and about 11 more to go. Eleven does not sound so bad lets hope they go by quickly. Speaking of quickly, last night went by rather quickly. Just when I thought we would not have anymore midnight runs..WHAM...every one was up and helping unload stuff at 12:01 in the morning. We were up until about 2 AM but the good news is I got lots-o-mail; this weeks winners are the cousins from NJ. I got school supplies, lolly-pops, and more school supplies...did I mention lolly-pops? I also received a large supply of coloring books from a dear friend who lives in Japan - thanks to everyone, young and "not-so-young" who sent all the goodies for the Marines, Soldiers, and the local school kids. Although I have only about 70 days left in Iraq there are many Marines and Soldiers who would be more then willing to hand-out any and all supplies that arrive for the local kids. I calculate that I have at least one but maybe two more trips to the local school remaining before I depart Iraq, so any items that are sent my way will make it to the kids sooner or later. Again, thanks for all the goodies and have no doubt, that you have helped make a difference for the children of Iraq. The above picture is just a small sample of all the goodies that you provided - again, Thanks; and have a great day.

18 Mar - Sunday

The above picture is from the trip to the school last month - I have not taken too many pics in the last few days so I thought I would throw this one in to buy me a few more days.

In the last few days I have had the opportunity to get out and play a little soccer with some of the Iraqi Soldiers. The games are always friendly and it never really matters who wins or loses - and why should it if half the team is playing with no shoes and the other half is playing in combat boots. And I suspect that playing with a different ethnic group is just about the same anywhere in the world - everybody knows the new guy or in this case the "white" guy but to me they all look the same. Additionally, I never was very good at remembering peoples names right-off-the-bat but like any new player I politely introduce myself when I walk onto the field. But have no doubt that as soon as I get done shaking their hand - almost before our hands separate I have forgotten how to pronounce their name. It took me three days to correctly pronounce "good morning" in Arabic, how can I be expected to remember Aliwan Asriah Monahana in three seconds especially as I turn to meet the next player. So I politely smile, and with a friendly nod I secretly hope they do not ask me to repeat their name. And since everyday there seems to be a different group of players it makes remembering the names even harder. Well enough about my Iraqi greeting techniques - have a good night.

17 Mar - Saturday

As a result of the Army pilots inability to trust a Marine, I was up until three in the morning, Saturday morning, helping the incoming Army Soldiers to reach their final destination. You would think the Army would want to help-out their "own"... I guess that is what makes the Marine Corps, The Marine Corps. Because the pilots were unable to land at "their" LZ they needed to divert to the LZ about 2 miles away, essentially the LZ where I live. That meant the Army unit on the ground would need to shuttle people and equipment back and forth in order to get everyone over to the new area. The Army unit on the ground, the unit that was receiving the incoming Soldiers, consisted of about 5 people and 40 trucks - all the drivers were arriving on the inbound aircraft. So in order to do the right thing and help out some "brothers" in-arms, I used some of my assets to augment two of their trucks in order to expedite the movement of the troops and their gear from the LZ to the new area. The personnel arrival just before 2 AM and by 3 AM all the troops were moved and I was headed for bed. All this could have been avoided had the Army landed in the LZ I surveyed; oh well. After my "early" 8 AM meeting and making a few phone calls I took a little nap and by the afternoon I was good to go. It has been a while since I took a nap on a Saturday - I will have to try again after I get home. Have a good day.

16 Mar

As a helicopter pilot I know a thing or two about LZ's (landing zones), and as a Aviation Safety Officer I am qualified to evaluate and certify an LZ for helicopter operations. Even though I have operated a helicopter in both extremes, from densely forested areas in Asia to many hours of training in the deserts of Eastern California the Army chose not to listen to my advice and learned the hard way. Here is what happen. With the build of of personnel and supplies in our area, at the request of the senior man in-charge, an Air Force LtCol (the same LtCol we had dinner with last night), I took three hours out of my day to help map-out and certify an LZ adjacent to our new neighbors location. The Army chose a different area but it was also in the vicinity of our new neighbors. I disagreed with their choice because of the proximity to some recently built structures and the amount of dust that is created by vehicle traffic. Despite my recommendation they tried to use "their" LZ and sure enough when I spoke with the air crew after their attempted landing they said the LZ was no good for night operations - it is just too dusty. Well...how about that!!! News flash - dust in the desert at night...who would have thought that was possible. Oh well...maybe next time they will listen. Enough complaining for today - have a good weekend.

15 Mar

Today's activity involved using a 60 ton crane to move four big trailer type refrigerators. The entire event, which took about three hours, went off without a problem...for once. The only other point of interest was the arrival of an Air Force LtCol who joined us for dinner at one of our two weekly dinners with the Iraqi Colonel. It was good to "meet and greet" and share a meal with another American military member. Hopefully we will be able to have a few more American visitors come our way as the build-up of Coalition forces continues in our area. That's all for today - have a good night.

14 Mar

Today we had a two more "fire fights." Well actually it was just one fire to fight but at two different times. In summary, at about 11:30 AM a pile of "potato sack" type sand bags were set on fire; the culprit was caught and dealt with harshly. The fire trucks responded and the only damage was to the pile of bags. Although the fire was extinguished some hot embers continued to smolder deep within the pile and at about 7 PM some flames reappeared from the pile. The fire trucks and a "front loader" vehicle was brought to the scene. The pile was spread out and doused with water and dirt; the fire was finally extinguished. We are learning as we go - hopefully we can get some real firefighting equipment here once our new neighbors are all moved in. The fire was the only real excitement for today; until tomorrows adventure...have a good day.

13 Mar

There is more good news with the arrival of our new neighbors. No more mid-night deliveries for me and my crew. Our neighbors will now be acting as the receiving agent for all the deliveries to our area. Therefore, they will receive and park all the delivery trucks and we will off-load our items the morning after they arrive. Other than a slew of meetings today was pretty dull. I think I am getting burned out with all the meetings and constant baby-sitting of the Life Support Contract workers. I am very frustrated with the manager of the service workers; when an individual tells me they are going to do something I expect them to do it. And since there is nothing I can do about it, I become very frustrated. Although I have raised my voice in a few conversation I ensure that I keep my cool and finish the conversation on a positive note. However, there was an incident the other day that I did not get the chance to observe because I was in a different location.
The senior Iraqi Officer became extremely frustrated with the manager of the service workers and hit him twice; first with an open front hand and than with an immediately back hand. The manager fell to the ground and the entire room became empty instantaneously. This conduct is atypical behavior for the Iraqi Colonel but I am starting to understand his level of frustration. Had I witness this event, I could confidently state, "I have seen all types of leadership techniques." We joke in the military that, "the beatings will continue until moral improves" I think the Iraqi's are taking this too literally. Although I would never strike an individual out of frustration I can now see that physical harm is one type of "motivation technique" - one I will not employ but it is a technique. Had I seen this event first hand, it may have made my trip to Iraq worth it. That's all for today.

12 Mar

At some point in the future the Shepards will learn that we are serious about keeping them and their sheep off the base. Above is a pic of our recent "detainees" when they were let-out to have breakfast. I was informed that each sheep cost about $150 each. I do not know how long these "pets" will be with us but there is plenty of grass to keep them corralled for a few weeks if needed. We finally tracked down a reputable repairman to fix all the damage caused by our recent 1500 guests. We expect the repairs to only take a few days, the parts were the expensive part the labor with the labor only being two days with a crew of two. Anyone looking for some extra tax free work please let me know. Have a good week.

11 Mar - Sunday

Today I received some good news. With our new neighbors setting up shop, it looks like I will be able to attend church services at least twice a month. And with other denominations conducting services on the other Sundays of the month I may find myself "covering all my bases" just to be on the safe side. Today I had my usual four meetings and for dinner I ate with the manager of the Iraqi Chow hall in order to keep-up good relations with him and his staff. Not a lot else to report, but the Iraqi Officers that I work with seem to be absorbing and implementing what I am "advising" them to do. Have a great day.

10 Mar - Saturday

Its a STAMPEDE...of sheep - if there is such a thing. I finally got the chance to meet and speak to a Shepard who had "wandered" into our area. This particular heard belong to a female Shepard who was not young or thin but she was doing a fair job of keeping up with the heard until they started to run. Through an interpreter we explained to her that this was land belonged to the Iraqi Army and she needs to keep her heard on the other side of the fence line. She politely agreed, and then she asked us where were the two Shepards that were detained yesterday. I told her I do not know the status of the two Shepards but the truth is they are still in our jail undergoing questioning. We realize the weather is very nice and the sheep need to get out and stretch their legs but unfortunately the Shepards will need to find a new location because with the build-up of Coalition troops also comes a build-up of security and force protection measures. Have a good night.

9 Mar

Because of our large area, a new group of Coalition units has begun construction on a new facility; and as a result of this build-up it seems that others are taking notice. We have seen, what appears to be, several different Shepards and flocks of sheep walking through our area. Is the increase of these four legged trespassers a result of the increase of activity in our location? Or, have these flocks always walked the area but now that we have regular patrols scouting our surroundings are we finally seeing their daily presence? I think a combination of both. Although our new neighbors have several security units we must ensure we all keep a sharp eye on the horizon as more and more attention is drawn to our area with the influx of troops and equipment.

8 Mar

Above is a pic of me with a few of the children from our trip to the school a few weeks ago. I do not have any exciting pic so I thought I would throw this one up for everyone to see.

Today I spend a large part of my time coordinating some of the repairs for the recent damage to our facility; and I thought owning a home was a lot of work! My role here is not to do the work but help teach the Iraqi Officers how to motivate and manage the workers that do the work. Every day we get closer and closer to being organized to handle all the logistic issues at my location, but this was not always the case. In the past few weeks we have been more reactive then proactive and I hate playing catch-up. In addition to being busy there were 135 new Iraqi Soldiers that arrive and required training. These lucky soldiers are straight from the streets. They enlisted and were sent to our location to get their initial training - yup...no boot camp for them. I am sure the US did the same thing back in the late 1700's so really this "street to soldier" concept is not new. I have met a few of the new soldiers and them seem to be eager to work and support their country...we will see how they feel when they are moving boxes in the middle of the night when it is raining. That's all for now....

7 Mar

A day late but I was finally able to get through to the family for a few minutes of video conferencing; mind you I said video not voice. I thought I would surprise my daughter with a few minutes of video conferencing as a special Birthday present but she only got half of the present. Although I was unable to speak to or hear her we did spend a few minutes making faces at each other. It was actually quiet comical - at least she seemed to think so; and I laughed a little as well. After a few minutes she was out of view of the camera - and my wife's sudden disappearance and reappearance from my view lead me to believe that these next 82 days can not go quick enough. With the kids "out of the picture" I was able to spend a few moments typing with my wife until it was time to get them ready for school. It is amazing that from half way around the world a family can communicate in picture and sound - well at least when its all working correctly. And considering I was sending the signal via a satellite I would say it worked out pretty good. See ya later...

6 Mar

Well a big Happy Birthday goes out to the littlest woman in my life - today she is 3. I think I am getting just as many or even more gray hairs from my job overseas then if I were to have stayed at home to help with the kids. However, today was not too bad. The second half of our guests departed with no major incidents but they left behind about $500 in miscellaneous damage. Nothing much to speak of but when 750 Iraqi soldier depart from 90+ buildings you can expect at least some damage. We had several broken "flexible tubed" shower heads - but that is not a surprise the shower heads were cheap anyway. Despite the damage this set of visitors was 100 times better than the previous occupants; I can only hope all our temporary residence are this good. Well I must go - have a good day and see ya tomorrow.

5 Mar

Business as usual today - our new occupants are getting ready to leave. One group will be leaving today and the second group is leaving tomorrow. We walked through all the rooms and calculated the damage to be about $350 for the group leaving today. It is a good thing we do not supply towels because I believe they would have all "disappeared" by now. Nothing exciting to report, our guests - or at least half of them - departed with out incident. Only tomorrow will tell if the second group can exit as quickly and quietly as the first group. Speaking of tomorrow - until then...

4 Mar - Sunday

The excitement made for a long night last night and even after I went to bed my mind was still racing through the events of the evening. People could have been injured and we could have lost over 80,000 liters of fuel, our entire fuel pit, and even four fuel trucks - there were three US fuel trucks parked next to the fuel tanks plus the one that was on fire. Even if we lost all those assets it would have been okay as long as no one was injured. By noon today the burnt fuel truck driver came back to get his truck and by 4 PM new fuel tanks had replaced the ones destroyed by the fire. We learned a lot last night - about how to fight a fire and how to react or not react next time there is an emergency. So I am sorry to disappoint you but there was not much excitement today just some finishing touches on last nights investigation of the fire and repair work to the fuel pit in order to allow to get back business as usual. Have a good day.

3 Mar - Saturday

Today was a beautiful day but it got really "hot" at night. I was involved in my first fire fight today. Here is what happen; it was about 6:45 PM, the sun had already set and I was on my way to the chow hall. When I walked around the corner I saw the senior enlisted soldier of our camp running toward me - the look in his eyes was focused yet his mind seemed to be moving a mile a minute. The fact that the Master Sergeant was sprinting was my first indication that something was wrong. He is definitely in good shape but I would say he is more of a power lifter then a sprinter so for him to be sprinting down the sidewalk was a bad sign. Immediately I turned up my radio to hear the issue at hand. While trying to understand all the noise on the radio, and with my weapon at my side I headed to the front gate of our inner compound. As I came around the corner of the building my fast walk turned into a dead sprint as the it became very clear we were on fire.

A fuel truck caught fire as it was transferring fuel from one of the eight storage tank into the fuel truck. The driver moved the truck away from the burning fuel tanks but not until after the truck itself was on fire. As I was approaching the front gate I was able to trace the black smoke down to the source - and sure enough the fuel pit and the rear of the truck were both on fire. As with any "exciting" event, several Iraqi Soldiers felt it necessary to gather and observe the hub of activity. The threat of flying shrapnel did not seem to concern the Iraqi Soldiers as they stood only meters way watching the fuel truck burn. However, there were some soldiers who were attempting to move near-by vehicles away from the burning truck - good idea but not worth the risk in my opinion, and I voiced that opinion immediately.

After yelling at the Iraqi Major to move all the soldiers to a safe distance I was able to relocate to a safe observation point and it became clear that only one of the eight diesel fuel tanks was on fire. There was about three feet of lateral separation and two feet of vertical separation between tank that was on fire, tank number eight was on the ground, and the seven other tanks that were sitting side-by-side on the adjacent cement pad. Mother Nature was on our side this evening because the wind was pushing the flames and smoke away from the other seven tanks. Because of the above factors the call was made to use the pressure from the hose to combine the water and dirt/mud to push, what remained of the burning tank and fuel, away from tank number seven which was connected to the other six fuel tanks. Within six minutes of the call both fire trucks were on the scene and the fuel tank fire was being worked. Forty seconds after the arrival of the fire truck, the fuel tank fire was out but the back of the fuel truck was still burning.

There was a problem with the pump on the second water truck so the 1st truck backed up and fought the fire on the burning truck. The spare tire, back left tires, and external pump were burning on the truck but the tank itself was holding its integrity. With the fuel truck empty the call was made to extinguish the fire using the remaining water from the first truck - mission accomplished.

Most important point, no one was hurt. The damage was minimal, the fuel pit only lost two tanks, the one that burned/melted to the ground - tank number eight, and tank number seven which was melted/deformed beyond the point of repair. Additionally, we lost about 20,000 liters of fuel, 10,000 liters from each tank, but as stated earlier nobody was injured. So how did these fires start?

The investigation determined the driver/pump operator failed to correctly operate the transfer pump; his actions caused his own pump to ignite and a chain reaction which led to the white tank and his own tires catching on fire.

The amazing part of this whole evolution was that the fire truck was driven by and the fire was fought by a bunch of rookies. We do not have a fire house, fire fighting gear or formally trained fire fighters but through the use of commons sense, knowledge of diesel fuel, and some leadership, a bunch of Marines and Soldiers were able to successfully fight a fire. As a result of tonight's light show I think I can add Freelance Fire Fighter to my resume. Until the next great adventure...

2 Mar

TGIF. Today we had our first base-wide physical training session and awards ceremony. We had a small turn-out, only about 150 of the 500 soldiers here at the base but it was a giant step in the right direction. In order to avoid embarrassing any of the soldiers or officers we spent only fifteen minutes doing stretching and exercises before we presented the awards. We awarded three "soldiers" of the month for the month of February, one from each of the major departments, Force Protection, Operations, and Logistics. The base commander presented each recipient with an award and some cash, and spent about an hour with them having chi and sweets. Overall the new awards program was a great first step in motivating the troops; the Iraqi's love public praise and what better way to motivate soldiers than to give them recognition in front of their friends and give them some extra dough to boot. Have a great weekend.

1 March

Today is "hump" day, as of today I am over the "hump" and I am on the down side of my tour in Iraq. I have been in country for 90 days with only 90 days to go. I have learned a lot about Iraq, the Iraqi people and myself. However, I am sure there are more adventures waiting for me as I start my count-down to my plane ride home. Hopefully the next 90 days will pass even quicker than the last three months. Have a great day.

28 Feb

I guess my brother had it right when he said I was collecting animals for Noah's Ark. First the cats, then the turkeys, recently the dogs, and now sheep. So where did the sheep come from - from a couple of local Shepards of course. Over the last few weeks we have had a problem of Shepards and their flock walking right onto our facility; after numerous warnings it was time to take action. The decision was made to confiscate some of the next intruders and confiscate we did. We put the Shepard in our jail - if you can call a wood shack a jail - and we put the sheep inside the fence that surrounds a couple of our generators. So now we have a petting zoo to add to our growing farm. What's next - a heard of camel? Have a good night.

27 Feb

After a couple of long days I finally had a chance to catch my breath today. In addition to having 1500 Iraqi Soldiers living in our area we have been receiving several hundred US troops from five or six different units all at different time and by way of different modes of transportation. Some arrive in the middle of the night by vehicle convoy and other arrive at 7 AM by helicopter; and most of the new arrivals show-up a day early and thus creates another problem to solve. The issue stems from the "reservation" of rooms. We only have so many rooms and so many beds per room; and when thirteen US soldiers arrive early I end up turning a classroom in to a makeshift squad bay with thirteen cots squeezed-in around tables and chairs. If we know they were arriving a day early I could make adequate accommodations - but at 11 PM at night it is tough to disturb those guest already sleeping in order to make room for the early arrivals. My resume keeps growing - Multinational Motel Manager with an emphasis in "Desert-like Accommodations." Does anyone want to make a reservation - I can get you a great deal on a room closest to the International Restaurant (Iraqi chow hall) with a great view of the natural desert landscape. If you are interested - the best rates are in the summer. See ya...