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.