30 May

Today I began my trip home, and as you can imagine I can not just step on a plane and be home in one hop across the big pond. Because I work in an area outside the "Green Zone" I need to return to my immediate headquarters, located in the Green Zone and start the check-out process. I will spend several days signing paperwork and changing over property before I can move to my next point. In a nutshell I will need to hit four different locations before I can leave the desert enroute to the States. The hardest and most dangerous leg of this trip will be the first leg - making it into the Green Zone. I will have you know that I have safely arrived into the Green Zone and I am sitting in an air conditioned room, the basement of huge palace, writing this blog. And although there is still a level of danger when in a war zone I believe I well on my way to stepping foot on American soil in about a week. As I move to the next location I will keep you updated. Thanks to everyone who has kept me in their prayers - I hope to see many, if not all of you, in the near future. God Bless

29 May

We had a busy day today - but the new Captain and I were able to finish the turnover process; now I shift my time and energy to prepare for my journey home. For evening chow we had a "hail and farewell" feast. The Iraqi Soldiers said good-bye to myself and several other coalition personnel and at the same time said welcome to those who are filling our shoes us. The food was very good - lamb and all the trimmings with our closest 85 Iraqi friends. The above pic is of the three Iraqi Captains that I worked with and helped to trained over the last three months. They are a very good group of officers - not perfect but hard working and willing to do their best in any situation; I will miss them. With that...it is time to finish what I started a few days ago - packing - take care.

28 May

Another day closer to putting Iraq in my rear view mirror. I will not be leaving today as originally planned - I chose to extend a few extra days in order to ensure I dot all the i's and cross all the t's with respect to my turnover; however, this will not affect my return day/time to the US. It turns out this was a good move because the weather was pretty crappy and most of the flights were cancelled for today. I hope you have a good Holiday and a great week. Above is a pic with one of the interpreters - enjoy.

27 May - Sunday

My last Sunday at the desk, my last day playing soccer with the Iraqis, and my last evening meeting. As my time here is coming to a close I felt it best that I start packing - boy do I have a lot of stuff; most of which I have not used - but that is a good thing in a war zone. The turnover is going better then I expected - the new Captain is picking up the ball and running for the goal line - he will do great things for the development of this location. I have but a few days remaining in my location. Speaking of "days," as of today, I have been deployed for 6 months - not in Iraq but away from home none the less. Have a good day.

26 May - Saturday

The turnover process is going well - after our morning meetings we spent the day dealing with small problems that typically popped-up last night or after first light. The base commander, the Iraqi Colonel I have mentioned many times, returned today from an extended trip out of the area. The base has been run by a the senior Major who has done a great job in the Colonels' absence. I have noticed that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact not a train heading my way but the open door to my plane ride home. Have a good day.

25 May

Well TGIF - my last Friday at my job. I had an omelet for breakfast and introduced my replacement to the morning meetings. The Iraqi staff is disappointed that I am actually leaving but they are thrilled that a Marine Captain is here to replace me. Nothing against the Army but the track record of the Marines has been very good and, "if it ain't broken - don't fix it." Overall it was a good day but the "lack of fuel" problem showed its ugly head again as we, and the rest of the Iraqi Army, struggle to keep the generators running and the lights turned on. By days end we addressed the fuel problem and devised a rationing plan to help conserve even more fuel as we have seen the consumption rates start to climb because of the 3 digit heat which is causing the A/C's to work harder and put a higher strain on the generators. I am not sure how these guys will make it through the summer; since this is the first year in the new schools and facilities there will be many challenges - I guess the Captain will have his hands full. I will wish him good luck and you a good day.

24 May

Today was a great day - not because we had a high high ranking VIP visit but because my replacement arrived, and in addition - this is my last Thursday (knock-knock) here at my location. The visit went well but the turnover went better. The new guy is a fast learner, he has a Masters from the Naval Postgraduate School, and he has worked logistics in the past. We spent the first hour driving around the base as part of the VIPs tour; but once the VIP departed we were able to sit down and start the turnover process. Needless to say I am very happy to meet my new best friend - even if he is a Captain. That's it for today - have a good night.

23 May

In addition to the VIP walk-thru yesterday the second set of visitors about 5 hours earlier then expected - they did not get any food until dinner time but when they did sit down to eat the food was hot. Speaking of food - we had lasagna tonight for dinner, and this was not the MRE type lasagna but freshly cooked; it was pretty good - especially for an Iraqi cook. In addition to the good chow I was informed that my replacement is inbound - another sign my departure is near. That is enough good news for today - have a great Wednesday.

22 May

Surprise...surprise...surprise - that is the effect I wanted to achieve when a VIP made a visit today at our base. The goal was to have the VIP get an accurate assessment of the quality of service our Life Support Contractor is providing the Iraqi Soldiers. As I expected he was very disappointed with the level of service the Contractor is providing. We spent the entire day identifying shortfalls and establishing procedures to fix the problems. The company has one week to make corrections or face monetary penalties - it looks to me like they will be shorted money this month. Oh well - maybe that is what it will take for them to get on track. Above is the VIP and our group at our working lunch, I hope you enjoy the picture.

21 May

Well I expect this to be my second to last "4 meeting Monday." On top of the regular Monday schedule we were expecting another new group of visitors. Over the last 45 hours we were able to finish the repairs to the damages facilities about 5 hours before the scheduled arrival of our new guests. However, despite keeping the food warm in anticipation of their arrival, our visitors arrived 12 hours later then expected. Needless to say they were a little disappointed when the food was not as hot as it could have been - but hey they are lucky to have received any food at all if you ask me. After a good night sleep the entire group was in better spirits, of course a hot breakfast always helps. Even though our guests were not on time we were still very busy fixing the other facilities that we cannibalized in order to get the first set of facilities ready for today's incoming group - we have a second group looking to arrive very soon. That's about all for today - have a great week

20 May - Sunday

My liv-in alarm clock woke me up today at o'dark thirty. Well I did not know he was a liv-in alarm clock until he was crawling on my blanket. At 0535 I felt this strange sensation on my leg - I thought what could that be - but before I could finish my thought I flinched and the rodent made a mad dash toward my head. I lifted the blanket to protect my face but the rodent was able to skip off my head as it dashed to safety. Okay...I am UP; time to start the day. I searched and searched but no luck in finding the critter - let's go find a mouse trap. I had breakfast and started the day; after dealing with numerous crisis and pop-up problems I returned to my room after dark without a mouse trap. I did a quick search but found no roommate. I laid down to sleep but I started to hear things or at least I thought I heard things. Three seconds later I was up making a second sweep of my room to ensure I would be sleeping alone tonight. After making enough noise to wake-up my neighbors I caught a glimpse of my freeloading roommate. I chased him around corners and behind furniture as he headed counter-clockwise around the room toward the door. My goal was to evict the pest not send it to the after world. After moving a few more boxes and a small refrigerator the critter made a dash to the door and slipped under the door jam to freedom. I quickly butted a few boxes up against the door in order to close the portal and resumed my position in bed. As I lay there trying to fall asleep I could hear the mouse trying to push or nibble against the box - not tonight little guy...come back tomorrow and try again. With that I went to sleep and had a good night of rest. Have a good night.

19 May - Saturday

In a mad dash to repair the vandalized facilities from the last group of visitors I spent many hours negotiating with local vendors. About twelve of us sat around drinking chi tea and discussing how to fix over $7000 of damage within 46 hours. After much hemming and hawing we settled on a plan and the race against the clock was on. Only time will tell if we or should I say they can make the repairs in time for the next set of visitors in 45 hours and 56 minutes. Wish me luck.

18 May

Friday the 18th - my days of sleeping in are on hold for the time being. Apparently the new Marine LtCol likes to run in the morning - so...since the Marine Lt is out of the area for the day I have been "voluntold" to run in the morning. Actually that is not true - he asked me if I want to run and since it is too hot to run in the afternoon I figured - why not..this will be a change to my routine and I get someone to talk during the run. And since he is a little older hopefully he will not run me into the ground - and that turned out to be the case. It was a beautiful morning and the pace was perfect - the rising sun and still air reminded me of my morning runs in Phoenix with my previous boss. Speaking of Phoenix - I think it's time to start packing - have a good day

17 May

Not much to write about today - just more meetings and trying to fix all the damage that was caused to the showers and buildings from our previous guests. The two new officers are inundated with turnover issues as they try to get the lay of the land and answer questions from higher about where to build the new buildings. My replacement - or at least the guy that will act as my replacement until my replacement actually get here - has arrived. Wahoo - another good sign that my time in Iraqi is not indefinite. After he gets settled we will begin the "fire hose effect" turnover so I can make sure all the bases are covered when I step foot on the helicopter out of my location. Only 11 more days until I begin my movement to US soil - enjoy your day.

16 May

Rain...rain...where have you been? It finally rained today - after about 35 days of no rain we had about 35 minutes of on and off down pours to cool the area and help get rid of the powder sand that is everywhere. In areas that have no rocks or gravel but lots of vehicle traffic the ground has become like tan talcum powder or powdered snow. If you stomp your foot on a mound of this powdered sand your foot disappears in a puff of tan smoke as your foot searches for solid ground. Periodically when I think no one is watching and I come across a large pile of this fine tan powder I will take a quick glance and stomp my foot in the powder just to see the puff of sand engulf my foot - okay maybe a little childish or maybe it's just the heat getting to me! Anyway, I believe this outdoor shower is probably one of the last that I will see before I leave Iraq. From what I hear Iraqi's would pay lots of Dinar to get some rain come the middle of the summer to help cool off the 130 degree temps - I suspect it does rain in August but at 130 degrees I sure the water is evaporated before it nears the ground. For me I consider this another check in the box "last rain shower" as I get ready to head home. That is about it for today - have a good day.

15 May

Our quiet little base is no longer quiet or little. We have an exploding population that has brought much attention and equipment to the desert landscape. Too bad I am getting ready to leave - there is much opportunity to learn more about the contracting phase and bidding phase of construction unfortunately I will have to save that for my next visit to Iraq. I am slated to leave my location in about 2 weeks then another 10 - 12 days of out processing, bus rides, and plane trip so I can touch foot on American soil. I have a replacement who has started his trek to the desert - he will be my new best friend - at least until I step foot on the helicopter. Well I gots some more work to - have a good day.

14 May

With the first group of soldiers gone the goal was to move the second group out as soon as possible in order to conduct maintenance on the facilities before the next group arrives. As always this in never as easy at it seems. Due to some road construction it took the first group a long time to get from our location to their final destination. I mention this because the first group was escorted by a specific unit who was also slated to escort the second group to the same destination. Because the first group was delayed in arriving at their destination the second group subsequently delayed in leaving our base. Today the troops were packed, in their trucks ready to go, and waiting by the front door but their ride never showed - at least not today. So back they went into their rooms for another night. Needless to say food and water became an issue again but we managed to get through it. I wonder if this experience qualifies me as a Middle East Motel Manager? Just another bullet to add to my Iraq resume. Have a great week.

13 May - Sunday

In order to keep the enemy guessing - or should I say the soldiers themselves - the departure of the soldiers was again changed. However, this was not due to the inability to make a decision but rather the instantaneous disassembling of two bridges. That's correct - two bridge were destroyed within minutes and miles of each other. Needless to say I was scrambling to ensure there was enough food and water for our guest. Luckily the life support contractor had some extra food on hand to feed the soldiers and I supplied the water to the less then excited soldier who were staying an extra night. Everyday its a different challenge - thank goodness I still have some patience left in me - but by the time get home I may be all out. Speaking of all out - I am all out of energy - have a good night.

12 May - Saturday

The left hand is not talking to the right hand - comes to mind as I think about the event of today. There was much confusion as to the departure date and time of our current guests. First the guest were scheduled to leave today - now its tomorrow - no wait...today is good but late in the night - well actually, tomorrow is better for everyone - lets make it tomorrow. Good grief - make a decision and hold to it. Who is leading this train anyway! The poor soldiers did not know if they were coming or going - literally. The biggest problem for me is not if they spend an extra night in the rooms but rather trying to feed a large group when the cook has not been to the market for a few days. I guess its MRE's (meals ready to eat) for everyone. That's it for today; catch ya later.

11 May

With the recent rotation of the old and new blood I was left in charge as the two new senior officers departed the area for a couple days of required training at the head quarters. The day was uneventful as myself and the Iraqi staff began preparing for the departure of some of the visiting soldiers. Ah...it's good to be king - even if it is only for 40 hours. Time for a nap - yea right. The phone was ringing off the hook all day - that will teach me to stay in the office. I hope your day was not as frantic as mine - have a good day.

10 May

Every few days - or at least it seems that way - we have visitors come to our base. Usually we get some high ranking officers who say how wonderful this base is and how we are contributing to the war...etc..etc. However, today we had the individuals who are the link between the visionaries (Generals) and the worker bees (that's us) visit our base. We spent the entire day walking the ground and visiting proposed expansion sites. There were many discussion and "brilliant" ideas that may lead to future growth but only time will tell. All the new ideas sounded great but many different things need to happen before this place will get any bigger. Fortunately I will be long gone before the first mound of dirt is touched by the golden shovel. That's it for today - have a good day.

9 May

I can never pass up a good deal...so when I was able to "acquire" six big white buses at a huge discount I jumped at the opportunity. I always strive to provide the customer what they want, so after reading all the e-mails from my last vehicle offer I decided to give you what you asked for; the best mile to passenger ration I could find. Oh do not get me wrong I had lots of interest in the "Big Red Trucks" (see post 9 Jan) but the safety and traffic disappearance features were not enough to overcome the high step, poor gas mileage and manual transmission associated with these eye-catching vehicles. Maybe if I could have ordered the Big Red Trucks in pink and baby blue like requested I would have consider restocking them but with only a few weeks left in-country I did not want any left over vehicle to delay my return to the States. So...I ordered these new state-of-the-art party rides. Plain white - to blend in with the traffic, fully automatic - and I mean FULLY. The front and side doors open and close with the turn of a switch - air pressure - no pushing required, the brake sets and releases with the push of the button and of course the transmission is automatic. But what really sells this family fun machine apart is the push button gear selector. Yes - that is right - if you can read and reach the petals you can move this party mobile. NO shifting to distract you from missing the big play on the overhead flat screen (optional) - just think of the possibilities as you drive the family around town or car pool with the office mates to and from work. As you can see, only 5 of the 6 are remaining on the lot, one has already been snatched-up right off the back of the truck by an eager customer as the bus - I mean party mobile - was on the way to the lot. If you are interested in obtaining one of these wild white rides please let me know. Have a good day.

8 May

Here it is...the game you have all been waiting for...okay maybe not all-of-you but I have received several e-mails asking about my game and when it will be available. Here are a couple of pics but I blocked my names for security purposes. In a nutshell, the game is a fasted paced dice game that the whole family can play. About 80% of the time everyone is competing against each other compared to Yahtzee and other games where one person is playing/moving or making a decision and the other players are waiting for their turn. There were 4000 games shipped to the Barnes & Noble distribution center from the Texas warehouse on May 4th and I suspect the game should be in stores in the next few weeks. If you get a chance to pick one up and play it I would love to get some feedback. That is about it for the 8th - have a great day.

7 May

Okay...okay...I am a week behind my daily entries - what are you going to do about it; shave my head and send me to Iraq...to late. The pace here has really picked-up, I have been extremely busy - I think they are trying to get every ounce of work out of me before I leave. I guess I would be doing the same thing if I were in charge and nobody was slated to fill my shoes - at least not yet. So let me see, Monday the 7th of May - oh yeah - we had another soccer game on the 7th. As with the last game, I played on the Iraqi team and although I did not contribute as much this time around, the victory still went to the home team by a landslide. Regardless of the score everyone had a good time and this time nobody got hurt - well maybe the Army's ego - but nothing tangible. That was about it for the news - nothing else to report at this time - have a good week.

6 May - Sunday

The crap was really flowing today...well - overflowing would be more accurate. Apparently higher math is not a requirement to be a manager in this part of Iraq. Here is the problem - can you figure it out?
Word problem: If Ali dumped 120 liters of water (3.74 liters = 1 gallon) into a very very large tub and the tub is draining the water at 10 liters per hour, How much water would have drained out of the tub in 24 hours.
Take your time...no pressure...if you guessed anything less then 120 liters you too have qualified to become an Iraqi life support manager. The correct answer is....all of it - 120 liters. That's right I had to explain that if you put a total of 120,000 liters of water into a bladder you can expect to have at least 120,000 liters of "dirty water" in the exit tank. Therefore, stay with me now - this is where it get complicated, if you put 120,000 liters into a bladder everyday you need to extract 120,000 liters from the exit tanks everyday OR...yes you got it...the exit tanks will overflow. Thanks to an excellent math teacher, Mrs. G-T, I was able to quickly solve this real world problem. However, the Iraqi life support contract manager had a little difficulty getting the answer correct. And I thought math was a universal language...maybe its science...maybe I am just in a different universe. Anyway enough teaching for today - have a good week.

5 May - Saturday

Today was an interesting day - "no soup for you" comes to mind. We had some issues with our life support contractor today. Quick synopsis - their was not enough chicken in the rice dish, the bottled water was hot because it went from the back of the truck - which was on the road for 4 hours - to the serving table, the salad was missing and the bread had not yet made it to the serving line. Needless to say the soldiers were less then thrilled and refused the food. One loud mouth soldier was all that was needed to get the rest of the near-by soldiers up in arms. Within minutes all the hired help ran from the building leaving the food and water unprotected. When I arrived 20 minutes after the "there is a problem at the mess hall" call there were no employees in sight and the place was still standing. But outside I could see the chanting and arm pumping of some pretty excited soldiers. The officers from one group got together and began putting together "take-away" meals for their troops while the senior officers from the other unit hid in their rooms - yes they were hiding. After things calmed down a Iraqi Major from the "chanting" group asked what we could do to get his soldiers fed. Oh- NOW you are hungry - well guess what the other group ate all your food - oh sooo sorry. But we have snacks, cold bread and hot water...will that do. Alright...then get in a line. By 3 PM the last of them were scurrying back to their rooms with bread and water in hand. Dinner went-off without any problem - probably because we had Coalition personnel in the area to squash any problem before it escalated into a riot. That was enough excitement for one day. I hope you day was less eventful. Have a good night.

4 May

This job must be getting easy cause I was able to sleep in for an extra 10 minutes this morning. This is the second week in a row I have managed to catch a few extra winks on Friday morning. We are expecting another Marine to join our happy family of 3 tomorrow. Actually our four-some will be short lived as one of the Marines will be departing in a few days...the Iraqi's do not like it when the US masses such a strong force in one location for any length of time. The new guy is an aviator so now I can finally talk pilot stuff with out getting the deer in the headlights look from my audience. Other than little things here and there today was pretty calm. I hope this week was good to you - have a great weekend.

3 May

The above pic is a collection of "smoking lamps" that are for use in our local cafe'. I am pretty sure one can easily be arrested for having this type of "paraphernalia" in their car if they were pulled over and searched. But here in Iraq this pipe is a common household item that allows the Iraqi's to "smoke and joke" with a variety of flavored tobaccos. Whatever...I only have a few more weeks to go in Iraq and I am not about to rock the boat or change Iraqi customs. Well that is about it for today - have a good Friday and a great weekend.

2 May

As the Logistics Advisor to the Iraqi's there are many opportunities for me to provide guidance to the Iraqi staff throughout the course of the day. However, I was at a lost for words when today I learned at 6 PM we had 750 unexpected guests only 2 hours from our front gate. The problem was that we had no "room at the Inn." All of our bed spaces were full and there was no way we could handle 50 let alone 750 more Iraqis who I am sure would be expecting food, water, and a place to sleep upon their arrival. Are plan - whatever we do - do not let them in! After scrounging and pillaging for food and water, and a few frantic phone calls, we decided we would meet the travelers at the front gate, give then a handshake and a hug, a package of food, a liter of water, map to their new destination, and a wave good bye. We had the food and water staged by the front gate and the senior Iraqi Soldiers were standing by to wave hello and good bye as the visitors pulled-up. Fortunate for everyone involved, the convoy was re-routed before they got to our front gate; crisis avoided. I hate to think of what would have happened had the convoy stopped and the soldiers got out and stretch their legs only to learn that they need to turn around and head back to where they came from. Oh well...just another day in Iraq. Have a good day.