31 Oct - 1 Nov - Home at last

The trip home was long but the reunion made it worth every second. I will not bore you with the details but in short we arrived 14 hours later than our original arrival time but fortunately we still had some connectivity with the families back home and we were able send news of our delay before families and friends headed to the base for our arrival. Unfortunately we did not arrive into California in time to trick-or-treat but each Marine received a little bag a candy from the USO during our fuel stop in Minnesota. At 0100 on Saturday morning I was able to give my bride a big hug and kiss after our 6 month hiatus. When I arrived home I woke my kids to let them know I made it home safely and would see them in a few hours for breakfast. Now that I have made it back to the creature comforts of living in a house let me recap some numbers of my trip to Iraq.
As a unit we worked over 180 days with only 8 days off and made 99.4% of our assigned mission. As an individual I flew over 260 hours, ran over 240 miles, earned two Air Medals, and lost about 10 lbs. Of the 10 lbs I lost I am pretty sure at least a few ounces were from the wind sandblasting dead cells from my skin. Overall this was a good tour largely inpart of the dedication and teamwork from the Marines within the squadron. The moral of the squadron never wavered even in the face of 140 degree heat. With the sand and wind now a memory there will be much to celebrate over the next few days and especially during Thanksgiving.
I hope this blog has been an interesting read as this chapter of my career comes to an end. So when will the next entry be? Good question. At this time future entries are unknown but if the our involvement overseas continues at its current pace you can guarantee I will be entering several more posts before I retire from active duty. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

22-28 Oct - After some

reminiscing and extensive review it has come to our attention that there are about 11 or 12 Marine Corps Officers who are apart of my graduating class from college that are still on active duty flying my same aircraft. And as luck would have it 5 of the 11 were all together on the same Iraq base for a short period of time. So as you can imagine we took the opportunity to get a few pictures for posterity sake. The man in the middle and myself are from the same squadron while the other 3 pilots are from different units across the US. We have all gone different directions over the years and accomplished amazing things but as classmates it is great to get together and share are experiences as we continue to support the mission and lead Marines. Enjoy the pic and I will see ya soon.

11-21 Oct - With the arrival of the

new squadron our spirits have been lifted to a new level. The new group is eager to get started just as eager as we are to be home. As with every incoming group there are several days set aside for an acclimation period before we can get kneecap to kneecap and begin the turnover period. As soon as they are ready to go we will hand-over the keys and be out of their way as we prepare to clear the final few hurtles toward home.

2-10 Oct - The end is in sight but

now is not the time to relax. The incoming squadron that is scheduled to replace us will be arriving in the near future so needless to say we are all excited to meet our new best friends. But despite the building of excitement as our time draws near we are constantly reminding each other to keep focus and continue to make the right choices so we can avoid any accident. As "short-times" this is the time that complacency sets in and corners-are-cut as the dream of having a home cooked meal seems like only a few days away. Keep us in your thoughts as we round the last corner with only a couple more hurtles ahead of us before we cross the finish line.

1 Oct - Today I walked

outside closed my eyes and thought I was in California. The temperature was 85, not a cloud in the sky and there was a light breeze out of the West. It was hard to imagine that just 2 weeks ago I needed a dust mask to walk across the street. Despite the good weather landing in the desert is still a challenge. Above are two pictures that show one of our aircraft in the landing profile. The downwind from our aircraft, the rotor wash, always kicks-up dust and debris on our approach to landing. The more refined or smaller the sand particles the dustier the landing. As we come into land both pilots and both aircrew in the back are making calls over the inner aircraft communication system as to whether or not they can see the ground. If at least one pilot and one aircrew in the back can not see the ground the pilots "pull power" to climb out of the dust and "go around" to try a second attempt to land - likely at different slightly spot. As you can imagine some landing zones are more challenging than other, if you think this looks bad in the day try it at night using the NVG's I spoke of in an earlier post. In case you were wondering this aircraft made a safe landing and I would call this a pretty dusty zone but not the worst I have ever experienced. Have a good day.

16-30 Sep - As mentioned in an

earlier post an old acquaintance arrive with his colleagues and toys. It took them several days to make the last leg of the trip as the entire country was just about shut down because the sand storms were unbelievably bad. It was not until this mother of all storms rolled into town now that I finally realize why there were so many "dust masks" in the back of the desk drawers throughout our offices. The wind and dust was so bad that if you needed to go outside - even to walk 25 yards - you pretty much had to wear a mask if you wanted to avoid inhaling sand particles. The visibility was so bad you could hardly see 40 feet. Of course the best way to protect your eyes while walking outside was to wear sun glasses. However, although your eyes were more comfortable, you could only see about 15 feet which made moving very hazardous. After a few days of non-flying the weather broke and my classmate from years gone by arrived with his crew. Their arrival allowed us to meet and greet new members of our community; as an added benefit their addition to our team will ensure complacency does not rear its ugly head as we start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Until my nest post...have a great day.

15 Sep - Today we made

a donation of over 165 games to the recreation center here on base. When I say we, I am referring to myself, and my two other good friends Greg and Stefan. We are all working together to bring to life several games we have invented. Our first game ZIP! is on the shelves at select Barnes and Noble stores and on-line at www.BN.com. The game is also available through several other on-line sites like Amazon.com and AreYouGame.com. In the picture above are two of the employees from the MWR facility that graciously accepted our donation. Aside from the 48 Zip! games that were donated the company that licensed our game, Reveal Entertainment, also donated numerous other games that ranged from table-top football to trivia to strategy games; all in an effort to give the Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airman a change of pace during their time here in Iraq. After donating the games I held a Zip! Game Night to introduce the game and answer any questions about our company, GaZima Games, and the nuances of the gaming world. Overall it was a very good night and a win-win for all involved. If you would like more information about our game company and our new games that will be debuting in the upcoming months please long-on to www.GaZimaGames.com. Thanks for checking-in on me and have a great day.

1-14 Sep - Over the last

few weeks there have been several changes that have occurred at our location. After a short but productive visit our new friends have been ordered to depart the area. But their leaving has opened the door for some new faces to come and play in our backyard. Truth be told one of the incoming personnel is an old face from my college years. He brings with him a talented group to help us continue our mission in the dustbowl of Iraq. The influx of equipment and personnel definitely breaks-up the complacency we were concerned was going to plague our operations as we cross into the last 1/3 of the deployment. After conducting missions for several months - day in and day out - its hard to avoid a complacency groove as we enter the "groundhog effect." However, the movement of new and familiar faces through our spaces definitely keeps the deployment rolling along. Until next time - stay safe and enjoy life.

6-30 Aug - I kow...I know...

I have been delinquent in my blog duties - sorry for the poor performance but I have been busy sleeping and eating ice cream. No not really but everyone knows I am busy fighting/flying in a war zone so there is no need to point out the obvious - or did I just do that?
Let me give you a run down on what has happen over the last 24 days. In the beginning of Aug I flew for 7 nights straight. According to the regs, "flying 7 days/nights in-a-row is to be avoided if at all possible," because it definitely wears on the mind and body as I am sure you can imagine. So why is it that I needed to fly for a week straight. Well...we had to send a few people and toys away from our location and despite our reduced numbers we still had a mission to accomplish; therefore, we needed to 'make it happen' the best way possible. After a few more work nights I transitioned backed to the day crew which gave me a scheduled day off. However, a situation reared its ugly head and I ended up working 25 hours before I hit the rack. Needless to say I did not have any problem falling asleep that night. But as expected the next few days were pretty tough as my body began the transitions back to daylight hours.
So let's see that takes us to about the 18th of August. The next week or so were filled with more flights over the desert as we had some visitors milling about the squadron that we needed to show around the area. On top of the regular flights we are now starting to prepare for our trip home. As we are well past the half way and approaching the 2/3 point the 'going home line' is starting to come into focus. As a matter of fact we are beginning preparation for our advanced party departure back to CONUS - this is a great sign. I will try to make more of an effort to communicate via the blog. I am also researching the files for some more pics because one pic is always worth a thousand word. Until later - Greg

1-6 Aug - I have crossed

the half way point. As I crest the top of my 'deployment hill' I look back on the last 90+ days in amazement at what we have accomplished. From the squadron pack-up and movement to Iraq, to the down-time in Kuwait, to our brief stint in 'tent city', and hundreds of flight hours - we have accomplished a lot in the last 90 days mostly under three digit temperature and lots of blowing dust. But with that said there is still a long way to travel. The hottest part of the year is upon us - we hit 125 yesterday and I expect the temp to hit a few degrees hotter before the closeout of the month. There is some change in my near future - stay tuned. Until then - have a great day.

31 July - Night flying

starts with learning how to use NVG's. Above is a picture of the same aircraft from yesterday's picture but through the use of our NVG's (Night Vision Goggles). As you can see the FOV, Field Of View, is much smaller than the 210 degrees of view you normally have with both of your eyes. The best way to simulate the 20 degree FOV that we experience while using NVG's is to close one eye and take an empty toilet paper roll and look through it with your other eye. The FOV you see out of the tube is about a 20 degrees FOV. Although our NVG's look like binoculars the total FOV is 20 degrees for both eyes. With that said you can imagine how much twisting, turning, and nodding of your head one must do to see the same amount of information you would normally see with an unobstructed 210 degree FOV. Now throw on top of that - we see everything in shades of green. So not only are we busy moving our heads but mentally we need to quickly and clearly interpret and distinguish one green object from another so as to make an accurate picture of our surrounding. This becomes especially challenging during landings and even more difficult in a dusty area.
So next time when you are sitting on the toilet and you realize the last person did not set you up with a new roll of toilet paper - in stead of getting upset conduct a little experiment. Try to restock the toilet paper while looking through the empty toilet paper roll. This might take some of coordination as you try to hold the the toilet paper roll to your eye as you balance it between your eyebrow and cheek. As you fumble with the new roll be careful as you try to insert the new toilet paper into the holder without having the "toilet paper holder 'pin'" spring apart before you can properly reseat the roll. Good Luck!
I hope this bit of info was worth the read. See ya.

28-30 July - Here is a pic

of my aircraft just after 7 pm but before the sunset; in Iraq the sun sets at about 7:20 PM during the summer months. I mention this because as a member of the night crew I arrive to work at 1730 (5:30 PM) to begin my day. By the time the sun sets we have eaten chow and conducted our flight brief. We gather our gear and walk to the aircraft to conduct the evenings mission. For our squadron I have found that we tend to fly fewer hours at night compared to the amount of hours we fly during the day. I do not really mind that because flying at night is definitely more challenging then day flying. I will explain in more detail in my next post. After our mission we debrief and wait for the 0600 breakfast run. After morning chow I depart the squadron at about 0630 or 0700 for bed. I sleep until 4 PM and then my day starts all over again. Its kind of like Ground hog day - except at night - same routine night after night. Have a good night.

23-27 July - External lift

Above is a pic of the Super Stallion conducting external operations. As mentioned the other day this aircraft can lift a lot of weight. We have both 'single point' and 'dual point' hooks to accomplish a variety of missions. When we lift heavy loads we use the dual points - when we lift light loads, like above, we will utilize the single point system. In no situation will we use the all three hooks at the same time. The heaviest load I have ever lifted was 19,850 lbs but that was several years ago back in California. One of the biggest factors we need to consider when conducting internal or external lifts is the temperature. Essentially, the hotter the temperature the less we can lift. People much smarter than me calculated that increased air temperature correlated to less power available from our engines and therefore, our lift capability is diminished. I will not get into the exact numbers but just know that we must conduct detailed planning before every mission to ensure we can carry the assigned passengers or cargo. Have a good day.

17-22 July - A few more

days and I will be halfway home. Thus far I have flown more hours in the last 2+ months than I have flown in the previous 8 months combined. Above is a picture of the inside of the mighty CH-53E named the Super Stallion. The 'E' indicates this helicopter is the 5th version of the H-53 model. We can carry up to 55 passengers or up to 36,000 lbs either internally or externally. In a few days I will be shifting to the night schedule so I can enjoy the cooler temperatures. We are scheduled to conduct external operations in the next few days so I will try to send a pic of our mission. Have a good day.

12-16 July - Life in a 'can'

This is my 'street' during my stay in Iraq. As you can see we moved out of tents and into row-housing or 'the cans' as we call it. Many of my neighbors purchased bicycles to commute to and from work, I on the other hand have chosen to walk the 8 minutes to work vice investing in pedal transportation. My room is the last one on the right under the second canopy - not that I ever expect anyone who is reading this to visit me on 'G-street' or 'G-block' as we call it because the 'cans' are surrounded by cement block walls.

5-11 July - The temperatrue

is holding at 115 degrees in the shade and the wind is still blowing strong. The on-going dust storms are a bit unusual for this time of the year. The dust twisters and its larger brother - the dust storm - are typically non existent by the end of June, yet this year we have seen some major storms well into the early/middle of July. Hopefully the dust will soon clear so we can get back to winning the war.

4 July - Happy 4th of

July to all. I spent the entire workday flying around the sands of Iraq. I hope everyone back in the States enjoyed some down time with family and friends. There were two reminders that today was the 4th of July. The first is seen above - Lady Liberty taxiing us into the fuel pits at the end of our flight. We could not help but smile and remember the freedoms and liberties that we experience as Americans. The other reminder was a freshly decorated 4th of July cake in the chow hall. Despite a long day of flying I was fortunate enough NOT to see any fireworks and to be honest it was nice to see a reminder of the Stature of Liberty, enjoy a dinner of meat and potatoes and finish the evening with a piece of cake.

1-3 July - Nothing new to

report from the big sandbox. We had some bad weather days the first couple days of July but the 3rd brought some relief. The winds finally moved East and the sand and dirt have returned to the surface allowing us to take to the skies. It's back to work as I return to my office and climb into my 'flying sauna' to earn my pay. Have a good day.

30 June - Two down...

and four more months to go. I am 33% complete with my second tour in Iraq - at least that is what it looks like assuming we keep our tour to about six months plus or minus a few days. About every two days equals 1% closer to seeing family and friends back in the States. I have shown a few pictures of the cockpit so here is one of the guys in the back. As you can see there are plenty of vacant seats on this leg of the flight but that is not always the case. Normally we carry more than two people but we are limited to 24 passengers per aircraft. As far as cargo we can carry up to 18 tons of stuff either internally in the cabin, pictured above, of the aircraft or externally using one or two hooks that attach to the bottom of the aircraft. I will try to post a few pics of our external operations next time we lift some heavy stuff. Until then - have a good week.

22- 29 June - No power = no sleep...

which equals a long day at work. The other day - not sure which day because they are all starting to run together - the power went out in the office and in our living quarters. Thankfully I am on the day shift so when the main generators went out I was awake and able to get some work done and stay cool in the headquarters building when the back-up generator kicked-on. However, the night crew was not so lucky. When the generators broke the temperature in our living quarters - called the "cans" because they are make of aluminum - quickly rose to three digit temperatures. Outside the temperature was about 110 degrees and with no air conditioning cooling the cans the night crew began to cook as the temperature rose to about 104 degrees. There were several Marines that chose to sleep on the tile/carpet because they felt it was 5 degrees cooler on the floor vice in their bed that were two feet off the ground. By 8 PM the generators were fixed and the "cans" were cooling down as day crew rolled into bed. Do to the lack of sleep for the night crew the night schedule was canceled and during their shift night crew took naps anywhere they could find a cool dark place in order to regain some rest and sanity. One day with out air conditioning was tough enough I can not imagine going an entire summer with 100+ degree heat 24/7. Have a cool day.

15 - 21 June - Service with a smile

Filler-up...do you want water with that? Our motto, "you call we haul." Whether its beans, bullets, band-aids or fuel we deliver to your front door or in this case to your tank. We even hand-out free water to keep the guys hydrated and ready for the mission. In this picture we are an improvised gas station. What you do not see is aircraft #2 acting as a second gas pump just behind my aircraft. Just like back in the states the vehicles drive-up, and we top-em-off with fuel and water and send them on their way. In this case we had several vehicles lined up waiting for the next available pump. Too bad our credit card machine was broken - we could have made a lot of money on this stop...maybe next time. When the vehicles are topped-off we start back up and fly to the next stop. Not a bad days work if I say so myself. Have a good week.

8-14 June - Its Flag day so...

I figured it was a good day to fly the Red, White and Blue over Iraq. I took a flag aboard my aircraft and flew it during my flight on the 14th. Can't talk about the flight but here is a picture of where we hung the flag - enjoy.

1-7 June - Another day...

at the office. To some people a "flying" office may be a stretch but when I sit on my butt flying 7+ hours a day I think I deserve a little flexibility in describing my work area. Let me prove my case - I answer the radio (telephone) - as matter of fact I have two radios with multiple frequencies within each radio so I can have up to two different conversations going-on simultaneously. I take notes on my knee-board and make recommendations to the aircrew (my staff) about the current operation. I work with the on-board computer (much smaller but same concept as a desktop) to ensure we are making progress during our mission. It seems to me that I have met all the necessary requirements of a typical office - except the ability to get up and leave. As a matter of fact I am even missing some office amenities. For example I do not have air condition in my office unless you count the big rotor blades over my head located outside the window. Although an argument could be made that my corner office has scenery that is constantly changing. Although technically correct I would argue that in this environment the scenery is not full of change - the sand, dust, damage structures, and empty homes look the same mile after mile. And when the wind kicks-up the visibility is significantly reduced leaving myself and the co-pilot with nothing to look at except the six gages 18 inches from our nose as we make our way back to the landing zone. I guess it is all about perspective. Have a good day.

24-30 May - Working hard...

..at taking a nap. I never thought I could fall asleep in 100+ degree heat but the picture shows otherwise. Several times a week we conduct 0500 briefs for the flights scheduled that day – that equates to a 0430 show time at work which means I am awake at 0400ish. In the last few days I have had the distinct pleasure of attending two or three of those briefs back to back. So, as you can imagine falling asleep in the shade when the temp was 100+ degrees was not all that unexpected.

21-23 May - My morning walk

When not on the flight schedule I join the Maintenance Department for a morning walk across the flight line known as a FOD walk. FOD stands for Foreign Object Damage - essentially FOD is anything that could be sucked-in the intakes of the engines and cause damage or thrown around the flight line from the 100+ MPH wind created by the helicopters rotor wash. Therefore, every morning after the sun rises the squadron conducts a FOD walk to ensure all loose items - small and medium - are removed from the flight line. Enjoy your weekend.

19-20 May - Two for one...

that is what it looks like my blog is coming too. As the third in command of the squadron my days are being consumed by flying and overseeing the daily operations of my unit. Therefore, I am going to reduce my blog load by half. Essentially, I will likely be combining two or more days together so I do not fall far behind in my entrees. I will make all efforts to keep the blog interesting but bear with me - when the wind and sand start blowing there is not much to write about cause we are just sitting around watching pirated DVDs of in-theater movies like Iron Man but with out the wife or good popcorn. Have a great week and stay safe.

17-18 May - Weekend duty

For those who are wondering what we do on the weekend in Iraq - we work. Unlike my last tour in Iraq I do not have 2 half days off. We work 24/7, from when we take over the mission to when we hand-off the mission to the next guys. However, I was able to sneak away and attend church on Sunday morning. There is something strange about attending church with a weapon on my shoulder and having armed guards standing outside keeping watch. Despite the armed attendees it was good to have a change of scenery and get lost in the priest message; if for nothing else to have a few moments to reflect on the days readings with out the phone ringing. I did not get the opportunity to attend weekly services last time I was in Iraq because of my austere location - luckily I have that opportunity this time around. Have a great week.

15-16 May - We got a break...

in the weather so we took off. We have been able to conduct a few flights in the last couple of days - we are starting to get back on track. Above is a pic of me flying in the left seat of aircraft on a mission over the desert. The temperature has been holding in the 80's and 90's - really nice for this time of the year but I suspect by the beginning of June those 90's will be long gone as the weather experts are predicting 105 to 115. Have a good weekend.

12-14 May - Weathered out

Over the last several day our flights have been delayed or cancelled because of the ongoing sand storms. We conduct many hours of planning and maintenance in order to get the aircrew and aircraft ready but when the weather rolls in we just sit and wait for better conditions to launch the mission. When the visibility is too bad to fly but I can still see 300 feet in front of me I try to run a few miles to stay in shape and break-up the day. Thus far I have run 15 miles - not too bad for guy in his late 30's....wow that sounds old. No soccer teams to join so it's either running or getting fat - so I run. That's it for now.

11 May - Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all the mothers back in the US. I am not sure the Iraq's celebrate Mothers Day and since I am located in an area that is void of Iraq personnel I can not confirm their acceptance of a day dedicated to mothers. As you can imagine the phones were very busy and the line to use the phones were much longer than normal. However, I was able to get a quick call to the two mothers in my life and all seems well on the East and West coast. To all the Mom's out there - enjoy your day.

10 May - Game face

Here I am with my 'game face' on and hard at work flying over the sands of Iraq. The weather here has been very nice - mid 80's. But we all know that will not last much longer. Stay safe and enjoy your weekend.

9 May - Quick! run for cover we are...

under a sand storm 'attack.' Okay maybe I should not joke about being 'under attack' but as you look at the incoming wall of sand the result is the same. Everyone is darting for the nearest cover just like cockroaches when the basement light flicks on. These storms happen several times a month - some with a clear defined 'front' as pictured, with others the heavy winds kick-up the sand and bring the visibility down to a 100 yards or even a 100 feet. Anyone want to come see for themselves?

Here is a pic of our area before the winds:

And here is a pic during the wind storm:

Any questions?

8 May - Mission #2

For the second time in two days I flew a mission in our Area of Operations (AO). This mission like the last was successful and uneventful. Despite the fact that I can "get-out" of the office for a while there is still work piling up waiting for my return. By the end of the day I am physically and mentally exhausted. However, the time seems to be moving rather quickly as we are already one week into the deployment - so far so good.

7 May - One down...many more to go

Today I flew my first combat mission in Iraq. Obviously I can not discuss the mission or any of the details but the mission was successful. I have included a picture of our aircraft conducting some refueling operations with a US military truck. In the near future I will post more pics of our aircraft.

6 May - Too many pilots in the cockpit

Hopefully in the near future these guys will pack their bags and vacate the area so we can start getting down to business. Do not get me wrong, the outgoing unit has done an incredible job over the last 7 months but our unit is well trained and since 70% of the squadron has not deployed to Iraq we are eager to settle in and start running the show.

5 May - Monday...ugh!

Mondays are always rough – but they are rougher when you wake-up with sand in you bed. I can not wait to move out of these tents…only a few more days. We are continuing to learn the area and the early mornings and long days at work will eat-up most of my time here in Iraq but it will also make the time go by faster.

4 May - day one

With several hours of restful sleep under our belt we jumped in with both feet today. Several members of the squadron went outside the wire today as we prepare to assume our duty here in Iraq. Everything went well and the missions were successful, its always good to start-out on the right foot. The one thing I did notice is the sun rises at 0502 and as you can see from yesterdays picture the walls are not very think so once your eyes get a glimpse of the bright walls and your ears start hearing the movement of your 31 roommates’ there is no going back to sleep.

3 May - living it up!

Here we are in Iraq getting settled into our living spaces. And I though growing up with my brother as a roommate was tough – it would be nice to have only one roommate now. As you can see we are living like kings! That’s right 32 kings and all our stuff under one piece of cloth to protect us from the Sands of Iraq. It would not be too bad except for the fact that about half of these guys snore. To be honest this squad bay is temporary housing for us until the unit we are replacing moves out of their living area so we move into their spaces. None the less we will spend 5 or 6 days in this canvas palace until our “cans” ready for our arrival.

2 May - We are in country

We arrive into Iraq just after the break of dawn on Friday morning. Forgive me for taking a day to get this info on the blog but it was a long day of traveling. We had been up for 31+ hours trying to get into Iraq so needless to say I was in no shape to sit at a computer and recount the hurry-up and wait games that we played over the last few days. In addition to our long trip we had 4 brief to attend prior to getting the opportunity to hit the rack. Today we will finish adjusting our body clocks and start getting acquainted with our work spaces. Tomorrow we will begin flying. I will try to post some pictures in the next few blogs so keep checking in on my progress as the days go by. The weather here today is beautiful, a cool 70 degrees and a light breeze out of the west - its only going to get hotter from here on out. Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.

30 Apr - Ah...the smell of Kuwait

I have arrived in Kuwait as scheduled - well as scheduled according to the revised plan. We departed Monday morning from my my work spaces but did not depart CA until late Monday afternoon. We flew to the East Coast then on to Ireland and finally arrived into Kuwait about 19hrs after departing CA. Overall the flight went well but unfortunately there was no time to "sight see" in Ireland like I did in Amsterdam on my last trip to Iraq - see post dated late Nov 2006. For those that do not know and for those that do not remember I will remain in Kuwait a day or two until we can get transportation to my final destination. I expect to be at my "desert oasis" by the end of the week. Take care and I will keep you posted on my progress.

24 April - still here!

Okay so it has been a while since I have 'eaten' my own words - well as far as I can remember...my wife would probably say different. Anyway, I sit here updating my blog because I will in fact be able to watch the new episode of Lost from the comfort of flannel PJ's and my soft couch with an alcoholic beverage in hand. Needless to say my delay in departing SOCAL is not a bad but it reminds me of my school days when the teacher walks into class and cancels the test at the last minute. Overall a great feeling - but you know the test is hanging over your head and at some point - assuming you prepared - you just want to get it over. Do not get me wrong, I feel blessed to have the extra days with my family but this delay in our departure will only delay our return closer toward the end of the year. But everything happens for a reason, so here I sit with my sea bags packed waiting for next week to arrive so I can begin my trip to Iraq. Have a great Friday and I will write soon.

18 April - Departure Day is approaching

Well...living the good life in CA is coming to a brief close as I prepare for my second trip Iraq. My actual departure day/hour is unknown as of today but I can tell you I will not be sitting on my comfy couch watching the new episode of Lost scheduled for next Thursday night. Enjoy your weekend and I will post when I am safe-on-deck in Iraq.