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...

26 Feb

With an arrival time of 4 AM and a "late" factor of 5 hours I felt I would take the risk and set my alarm for 0400 and when I woke I would relocate the radio to my ear in the hopes of catching the "10 minutes out" call from our look-out. My calculated risk paid off. The convoy arrived at about 6:45...yes - two and a half hours of "extra" sleep - hey...it's the little victories that get me through the day. This second set of visitors was from the same Brigade so they followed the decisions that were made yesterday and by about 2 PM they were sitting down to have a late lunch. Overall a smoother transition for the second group of 1500 visitors; there are still areas that need improvement but it could have been a lot worst. Catch ya later...

25 Feb - Sunday

As with any new group comes new and exciting adventures. Our new visitors were to arrive at 2 AM; but they showed up on our doorstep at 7:30 AM. The entire reception team were up at 1:30 AM preparing for their arrival and since there was not sign of the convoy - we would have seen their lights about 5 miles prior to our front gate - and in order to take advantage of the time difference between the US and Iraqi I took this opportunity to touch base with my family. After a lengthy call I made the decision not to go back to bed because as luck always has it - as soon as I would have taken off my boots our guests would have arrived. Or worst yet, I would have fallen into a deep sleep and despite the radio being next to my ear I could have easily slept through the numerous calls for my presence as our guests waited at the front gate. With no sign of our guests by 6:20 I decided to get some breakfast and at 7:25 I was off to bed. As you can already tell I never made it bed, so with our guests approaching I grabbed some coffee and headed out to do my job. When I meet up with our new guest I encounter our first obstacle - they do not speak Arabic or English - they speak a Kurdish dialect. Therefore, I spoke in English, my translator spoke to their translator in Arabic and their translator spoke to the person I was really "talking-to" in Kurdish...man talk about the message getting "lost in translation" - this would be the perfect example. As you can guess all our conversations were three times as long compared to the "twice-as-long" conversations I have become come to accept. We had one big issue that took over 5 hours to resolve, but once we reached a solution soldiers and vehicles began to move. By 6 PM, yes eleven hours after their arrival the last vehicle was parked and all the soldiers were in their quarters. This left us just enough time to have some dinner and get to bed because the next group is schedule to arrive in 10 hours, 4 AM. However, we were up until about midnight having meetings and making final arrangements with our new guest to ensure tomorrows training was ready to go. Have a good night.

24 Feb - Saturday

As one battalion departs another battalion arrives. The fact that none of the soldiers from the first group were injured during their 10 day visit was a success in and of itself. As we prepared for the arrival of our new guest we took about two hours to review what we did correct, what we did wrong, and what we can do to improve our procedures for the arrival, training, and departure of the next group. Overall the meeting went well but next time we do a debrief from our "10-day" visitors I will expect the Iraqi's to lead the meeting not the Coalition. The last twelve days have been very challenging and very rewarding, at least two of the twelve days have been rewarding. Anyway, the next few days will be even more interesting as our new guests are slated to arrive in the whee hours of the morning.

23 Feb

Day two of our "mission" to the local school. Since Friday in Iraq is like a Saturday in the United States we knew there would be no kids in class today so our trip to the school was to conduct "Operation Band-aid." Okay...I just made that up but our purpose for today's trip was to provide medical treatment to the adults in the community. Although our purpose in the past has been to visit and help the kids in the school, our medical staff has always found a few extra minutes to treat those adults patiently waiting outside the school seeking medical attention. Therefore, in order to continue to foster a good relation between the Base and the local community we decided to have an "adult medical clinic" day. So, at 0700 we got back in our trucks and headed back to the school to help those who needed some medicine and/or medical advice. At 0600 we distributed fliers to the community informing them that a temporary medical facility would be established to help with their medical needs. We had male and female doctors on hand in by the end of lunch time we were packing-up and heading back to base. My best guess is that we provided some level of medical services to over 300 adults and an additional 80 children. It was another successful visit to the local school; our success is only a result of the generosity and support from the folks back in the States. Thank You for helping us touch the lives of people you will never meet - the parents and kids of the local community thank you. Have a great weekend.

22 Feb

It has been just under 2 months since we last visited the local grade school, so today we made a surprise visit and it turns out we had a bit of a surprise ourselves. Apparently on Wednesday evening the President of Iraq declared Thursday the 22nd as a National Holiday and therefore, school was cancelled. Since the schools here do not get "snow days" I suspect any last minute school cancellations are always celebrated by the children and of course, frowned upon by the parents - there are just somethings that are consistent across all cultures. So...how does one save the day on a rainy day off? You convince the kids to go back to school and you feed them; and that is exactly what we did. Not only did we bring smiles to the kids but I am sure we brought a few minutes of relief to some parents. Within a few minutes of our arrival we had over 300 kids in the school; the school only instructs 170 children. Every kid left with a pair of new shoes, and a full stomach; and the majority of the children also received a back-pack, a soccer ball and a few other small goodies. Over all it was a great success. I contributed all the items I received over the last 2 months and for those of you who are putting last minute touches on some more goodies for the kids, please know we will be making another trip in the not so distant future. I believe I will be around for only one more visit but I have no doubt regular trip to this school and some other outlining schools will become a event. Above is a pic of me helping keep the kids in line as they make there way to lunch. Maybe it was good that school was cancelled for the day - this way we were able to provide a nutritious meal and new shoes to 305 kids vice the 170 that normally attend. I guess you could say today we brought some sunshine to an otherwise rainy day for some local children.

21 Feb

There are some Iraqi soldiers who are squared away, honest, dedicated, and hard working individuals; and then there are others who are just the opposite. It is these "opposites" that I have cause to write about today. After one week in the new barracks the 1500 Iraqi soldiers have caused over $2300 in damage to the facilities. Most of the damage is to the showers and sinks but some of the damage was done to several of the fixtures within the living quarters. These rooms are probably some of the nicest rooms they have seen in a long time and will see for at least the next 90 days. And although they did not strip the rooms of all the amenities, there were numerous rooms in which we found items that were removed or changed for no apparent reason. But the highlight of the day was at night when each Iraqi was to get a new set of uniforms and boots before they departed our area tomorrow morning.

In short - it was a mob scene. The Iraqi Officers were nowhere to be found so the soldiers just pushed and shoved their way to the front door hoping get in so they may get some new stuff before it was all gone. The above picture is the front door where the issuing of new items began. If you look closely you can see the Iraqi soldiers pushed-up against the doors and window. I can sit back and chuckle at this situation because for once I was not involve in operations. With was a British Coalition operations and although there were some US personnel involved, me and my team were just observers for this activity. I was not about to get involved. So I took my picture and headed home for the evening. I found out the next day that the evolution ended about 3 o'clock in the morning.
Speaking of heading home...its time for some rest. Have a good night

20 Feb

Our 1500 guests have been here for about a week now and so far we have managed to keep everyone alive. There have been numerous high ranking officers who have visited our location. Above is a picture of me with a couple Iraqi Officers, one interpreter and one of the many Generals that has visited our area in the last four days. The visits can be summed up in a few words. "Wow, this place has a lot to offer Iraqi and US units - there is a lot of room out here - I think we should start using this space." And now we get the chance to excel...yet again - great. Have a good day.

19 Feb

You would think that a country that is struggling to get back on its feet would try their best to fix a garbage truck and not just throw it away...right? Well in all fairness the operator of the garbage truck did not mean to dump the truck into the burn pit, but as you can see that is exactly what happened. I will not bore you with the details but let me just say the truck driver did not listen to what he was told and sure enough the truck slid down the embankment and into the pit. As we were standing there trying to figure out how to get the truck out of the pit something exploded in the pit. Whatever exploded was muffled by the garbage that was plied on top of it, all we heard was a boom and a small cloud of dust and saw little debris. It only took 25 minutes to pull the truck out of the pit - it could have been a lot worst. Every day is an adventure that is for sure - until the next adventure...have a good night.

18 Feb -Sunday

The pic is of me and two of the Dining Facility Managers, the one on my left is the senior manager.

After a long meeting with the two LtCols last night it was obvious the Senior Dining Facilities Manager dropped the ball on getting enough food for the 1500 Iraqi Soldiers that arrived this week. My 9 o'clock meeting with the Senior Dining Facilities Manager started off calm but half way through I started "poking him in the eye" because of in ability to plan for the incoming soldiers. The forceful tone in my voice stemmed from the fact that I told them ten days prior to the Battalions arrival that he needed to ramp-up for the incoming soldier - had he chose to make an effort I would have been more understanding of the Battalions early arrival. But he chose not to listen to any of my input and it caused me and our guest many problems. As the day progressed I continued to trouble shoot more "small fires." However, later that evening I had the opportunity to increase my cell phone collection.

One of the security precautions we are taking is to eliminate the use of cell phones in and around our area by visiting personnel; this policy was established to ensure our security against potential enemy fire. At 8 PM I took a walk around the Battalion area and confiscated seven cell phones. If they turned-in their cell phone when they arrived - they get it back the morning they leave our area. If I confiscate it after they have the opportunity to turn it in, its mine. Anyone want a cell phone? All you need to do is pay for shipping and handling - just 10,000 Dinar.

17 Feb - Saturday

For those of you following my Blog I am sorry I am so far behind - 5 days to be exact. In the last few days I have been the mediator between two Iraqi LtCols and the Dining facility Manager, yelled at the the Senior Dining Facility Manager, I have observed and helped direct one evening meal, I "acquired" seven cell phones, yelled at two Iraqi LtCols, conduct a meeting with two Iraqi Cols, inspected 300+ rooms and facilities, moved 2 conexes (large metal containers), received four days of Iraqi VIPs (Generals) and two days of US VIPs (Generals), and all while preparing for an upcoming mission to visit the local grade school.
So...on Saturday the 17th I had the "distinct" pleasure of organizing an "on the spot" meeting between the two visiting Battalion Executive Officers (LtCols) and the Dining facility Manager. The short version is that the Battalions - about 750 each - were not getting served the correct menu. The soldiers knew it and they were angry that they were not getting enough food. The lack of food was not necessary the dining facility manager fault because he was hired at the last minute. After pointing out that the Battalions were sent here with only a few days notice - it was agreed that the Dining Facility and the Battalions would need to be flexible. The short notice of their arrival combined with the fact that they are the first set of soldiers through this training program is reason enough to give everyone a few days to work out all the bugs and issues. In addition to this topic of food service I had 3 other point to make. The one point that I made clear was there was to be not food in the living quarters - we are in the desert and mice and rats tend to appear out of nowhere when the weather gets warm. At 2310 I reiterated this point as we were getting up to leave the area. My closing statement went something like this. "Okay so we all agree no food in the rooms - because the mice will find any leftover food and long after you are gone the mice will arrive." With out skipping a beat one of the LtCol said, "that's okay the next Battalion will just have to bring cats." Great a funny LtCol - that's just what I need. Well at least I left the meeting with a laugh. See ya tomorrow -

16 Feb

Another week down, another week closer to going home. Another 40 friendly military soldiers arrived today with another 100+ new Iraqi Soldiers arriving a few hours later. Hopefully we will get some more logistic soldiers to help us coordinate and supervise all the additional requirements for these troops and/or visitors.

15 Feb

Well I have some good news from my life outside the military. As I mentioned in a previous post my passion in life is to fix, create and tinker with just about anything. Well...I teamed up with a good friend and after a couple of years of creating, designing, and paying close attention to the detail, it looks like our product will be heading to a shelf near you...well at least it's heading that way. My friend, who is also named Greg, and I have designed, presented to major toy companies, and now...helped to bring to market a board game. The game debuted this week in New York at the Javits Center for Toy Fair 2007. We received a fair amount of interest in the game, we got several small orders and...keep your fingers crossed...in a couple weeks we should hear some feedback from some well known Retailers as to whether or not they would like to place an order for the upcoming fall and/or holiday season. Wish us luck...

14 Feb

Happy Valentines Day to all the readers back in the States. I hope you get the chance to spend a few extra minutes with that special someone in your life. As for me and the guys...we all sent a little something home to let the family know we love and miss them. I had a chance to shop at the local mall - seen above. Despite the large selection of cigarettes, "advance copies" of upcoming DVD releases, some DVDs of current 1st run movies, and some genuine fake watches I was unable to find a suitable gift for my wife - thank goodness for the Internet. Have a great day.

13 Feb

The above picture was taken after a secret meeting between the officers at our facility and about 20 local Sheiks. Iraqi lesson #9. The Sheiks are both the Mafia Boss and Mayor of their area; and in case you were wondering there is a Head Sheik who gives guidance to all the other Skeiks. But here are a few bits of interesting information. Once you are a Sheik, you and your family retain that role until there is no one left in your family to fill your shoes. As the Sheik if you are failing to meet the needs of your people they will "replace you." Your son will get the message and make some changes to ensure his own survival. I am not sure if the Head Sheik is always the wisest of the Sheiks or he is born into the position. Stay tuned for more exciting Iraqi lessons.

12 Feb

So...half of the 1500 visitors arrive today, 24 hours early and as I feared they arrived at 8 PM, in the dark. It was pretty exciting for the first few moments - they wanted to do something - we said, "Absolutely not." They said, "Why not," we said, "Because that is not the safe way to do it." They said, "Fine...we are leaving," we said, "Good we did not want you here anyway... - Okay the last part is not true but I am sure you get the picture. After a few minutes of heated conversation everything calmed down and eighty-two vehicles and 750 Iraqi Soldiers later the inspection was complete and seven hours after they arrived at our front door the new buildings were occupied. Other than being hungry the soldiers were in pretty good spirits. We will see how things turn out in the morning when there is no water or food for them. However, the Life Support Contractor did arrive today with some workers...I am skeptical that they will be able to have breakfast ready for them in the morning. I guess we will see...

11 Feb - Sunday

I can see the train wreck approaching. The local Life Support Contractor providing: food, water, sewer, trash, cleaning and maintenance services, has yet to have the new workers, who will be servicing the 1500 Iraqi Soldiers, arrive to our area. That means in the next 36 hours over 50 people need to be hired and trained to accomplish all the support for the incoming soldiers. If past performance is any indication of future accomplishments - the Life Support Contractor will fail to meet his requirements. You can bet that I will be safely behind the cement walls of our compound when the bad news of no water or food is given to a mob of angry, hungry and smelly Iraqi Soldiers. I think I will let the Iraqi Logistics section handle this one.

10 Feb - Saturday

Well I have some good news and some not so good news...
First, all the recent "visitors" have recognised the potential of our area. So much so, that we will soon see a boom in our population. The good news; we should get more Ice Cream and Lobster. The not so good news; I will be even more busier then before but hopefully that will pass the time faster. The influx of 1500 visitors is just the start of our busy schedule. I fear the arrival of these visitors will be a huge learning experience for all involved...I hope they do not arrive at night - that would only complicate matters. Today I had a three hour meeting with the local Contractor who overseas the food, water, sewer and trash sub-contractors. I am not sure I will have any patience to take home with me after this tour. It takes a lot of effort to speak slowly and in simple sentences so the translator can understand my information and accurately translate it in Arabic. As can be expected, using American slang or common American phrases often gets me the "deer in the headlights" look from the translator. So our three hour meeting is really a 70 to 90 minute meeting reworded and translated in order to conduct a conversation with an Iraqi citizen. Oh well...I guess it beats working on Power Point twelve hours a day.

9 Feb

As the pace begins to pick-up around this area my Friday morning wake-ups are getting earlier and earlier. Today we got word 1500 visitors are due in next week; we were not expecting these visitors for another week to ten days. On top of dealing with sneaky sub-contractors I now need to expedite my time line for receiving these soldiers. So now, not only can I not fire the existing sub-contractors I must find/approve a few more sub-contractors to fill the additional requirements. Finding workers in my area is not too tough but finding ones who have trucks suitable for our needs is a challenge. And although it is the main contractors responsibility to hire adequate help I have found it is worth our time to "keep our thumb" on the contractor to ensure the job gets done correctly. Additionally, we have a few more VIPs scheduled to visit tomorrow...great...another tour of our area.

8 Feb

Sometimes you do not realize how good you have IT until you spend a few days without IT; or in this case doing IT. When it comes down to IT there are four things necessary to keep us happy and healthy, S.W.E.T; a Sewer system, Water, Electricity, and a Trash plan. In the last few days I have been up to my knees in IT, well...two of IT to be exact...you guested it, Sewer and Trash. Okay...maybe up to my knees is a stretch but nonetheless I have been dealing with them. After a brief investigation is seems the trash truck has failed to sufficiently dump the trash into the "burn pit" but rather they leave the garbage neatly piled on the edge of the pit. The combination of the "trash guys" in ability to follow directions, and the recent 30 mph winds has spread garbage across our area. It looks like every rock, stick and dried shrub has a piece of trash clinging to it. And with the slightest breeze the trash appears to be hanging-on to its new friend in hopes that it will somehow be rescued from its inevitable burial. How long does it take plastic to bio-degrade?? Oh yea...never! To add excitement to my life I heard the Sewer water is being dumped only a few hundred yards from some of our buildings. Great...by the time this is over I should be able to add "Educated Environmentalist" to my resume. Tomorrow should bring a few interesting conversations with the local contractors.

7 Feb

Well February is 25% over...hey everyday matters when I am counting the days until I go home. I think this is the first day I have eaten three Iraqi meals in a row...my stomach and I agree that there is no reason to repeat this feat anytime in the future. Here is how I get "talked" into have an meal with the Iraqis. In the middle of a conversation, in-walks the junior soldier with a big silver platter of food, the conversation stops mid sentence as the senior Iraqi in the room stands-up and points to the food saying, "Please...lets finish after we eat." If you do not eat they think the food they prepared is not good enough for you, so to avoid offending them you partake in the meal. As I start eating they continue to put more and more food in front of me. Iraqi Lesson #8. When a guest sits down to dine with an Iraqi it is common practice to give half of the meal to the guest. For example, if one of the four people at the table is a guest, three of the four will share half of the main course, and the guest gets the other half. Only after it is clear that the guest is finished eating will the other three individuals at the table partake in what remains of the visitors portion. Needless to say this is very hospitable but it does go overboard, at least compared to what I have experienced in the America culture. So for those who are wondering...even though I had three Iraqi feast there was enough room for a small bowl of "Very Berry Strawberry Ice Cream," I guess I will just have to run an extra mile or two tomorrow. The weekend is halfway here...hang-in-there.

6 Feb

Today I would like to take a moment and welcome to my blog a group of young and enthusiastic students; a fourth grade class from New Jersey. Ms. B and her students send a Christmas package to me and the other Marines and Soldier here in Iraq. Over the last few weeks we have exchanged e-mails and recently I heard they were logging on the Internet to read my blog. So, here is my official welcome to Ms. B and her 4th Graders - I hope you guys and gals enjoy the blog and, as time permits, I will continue to do my best to answer your letters. As for life in Iraq today, the only note of interest is that our "farm" is growing. Cassy, a local female dog, is the newest addition to our family of animals. We now have, a Cassy, Roy - the turkey, and two cats. At this rate I expect a goat, two sheep and at least one camel to take up residence in our area prior to my departure in June. It seems are population is growing in more ways than one. Have a good day.

5 Feb

Based on the last few weeks I have come the realization that my days of "turning wrenches with the troops" are coming to a close; I guess my job as an Advisor officially places me in the "management" role. And I believe even after I return to the States I will remain in the "management" role except when I "strap-on" my helicopter and take to the sky's over San Diego. For those of you who know me, you know how much I love to tinker with and/or fix stuff. At least in a squadron I get the opportunity to "play" outside the office at a few times a week, but as an Advisor my days of "playing" have been limited to the few soccer games I have enjoyed with the Iraqis and the couple hours spent shooting rounds (bullets for your Air Force readers) on the firing ranges. The highlight of the day was dinner with the senior Iraqi officer again, notice the spread of food - all the food was prepared for the six of us in the picture. I think I will need to start fasting between our twice-a-week meals with the Colonel. Time for bed - see ya tomorrow.

4 Feb - Sunday

My latest adventure stem from the company who was hired to provide Life Support for my location. Life support is defined as providing food service, water service, maintenance/repair, and janitorial service for our area. I will not bore you with the details but in short, they are not providing enough personnel or assets to accomplish their mission. For example, in the new dining facility (see post 18 Jan) the workers are sleeping in one of the back rooms because the company will not provide them with transportation back and forth to the berthing area located about five miles away. Additionally, the company has failed to provide enough workers to maintain the bathrooms. So, at noon when I heard one of the senior managers of the Life Support company was in town I tracked him down, mentioned to him that there were some problems and I asked if he could help. Our fifteen minute "spur of the moment meeting" turned into a two and a half hour tour and discussion of the problems his company are causing me and my staff. The head manager seemed genuinely concerned and three hours later at our second meeting of the day he had a solution for all but one of the issues we addressed. In the next few days I will know if he was serious about his solutions or he was just paying lip-service to my concerns. Never a dull moment - until the next exciting adventure...

3 Feb - Saturday

Moving day number two. As the Iraqi Soldiers continue to relocate to the new buildings I continue to work with the logistic staff to ensure they are keeping a pulse on all the activities and services within our camp. As of today we now have two different locations up and running simultaneously; and I/we are responsible for keeping both of those areas operating smoothly. The problem we are facing is the hired contractor is not living up to his end of the contract. So...fire the contractor you say...I agree but this particular contractor is a part of a larger company that has ties to the top of the food chain in Iraq. Therefore, this company will not be fired no matter how many complaints the US or Iraqi's file; and we are not the only location experiencing problems with this company. I guess if you need job security in Iraq - getting your foot in the door with this company would be the way to go. Tomorrow I will discuss the current challenges with this company.

2 Feb

TGIF - at least I got to sleep in a little today; I was up at 7:30 because I had some e-mails to answer and some requests to send to my higher headquarters. Although Fridays are typically slow for the Iraqi Soldiers today was the exception; it was moving day. With the completion of two new buildings within our immediate area, the Iraq Soldiers began moving into their new buildings in order to allow us to re-occupy the older building. As we continue to grow - we are up to 23 personnel - we need to ensure our safety and security come first; and re-claiming their old logistics building was a key factor in achieving that goal. The Iraqi's spent all day moving and it looks like it will take the greater part of Saturday to finish the move. Unexpected to us, the US Coalition Team, the Iraqi Colonel decided to let some of the Iraqi Soldiers live in the new buildings. Instead of having all the rooms in the new buildings as offices and/or storage areas he has authorised some of the officers and enlisted soldiers to live in several of the rooms. Sounds good right - well there is a little known secret here in Iraq that I will share with you. I kid you not - there is a shortage of gas...well a shortage of refined gas and diesel to be specific, in Iraq. Yes - kind of ironic - one of the most "oil wealthy countries" on the planet has a shortage of fuel. Now, whether this shortage is due to an oversight, lack of refineries, or corruption is irrelevant; the bottom line is usable fuel is not flowing from the wells dug in every Iraqi's back yard and for the near future the Iraqi's are planning to ration their fuel. I bring this up because the generators for the new buildings require diesel fuel and in order to conserve fuel the generators will only be operating at certain times of the day. And right now it looks like between 3:00 and 9:00 AM and between 5:00 and 7:00 PM the generators will be off. This all sounds good until the temperature hits 145 degrees during the day and 120 degrees at night. The next few months should be interesting. I will keep you update on how this pans-out. In case you are wondering the US has enough fuel to keep our, the US Coalition Team, generators running 24/7. Have a good weekend.

1 February

Day number 60 of 180. I am 1/3 the way through my six month tour and one month closer to Christmas. Hey...when you miss a family Christmas you can bet I am eagerly looking forward to the next Holiday Season. Although February 1st marks a small milestone for my time in Iraqi it marks a huge milestone for my son - he is 5 today...well tonight - 11:28 PM, Pacific time, to be exact. I had the opportunity to have a 10 minute video call with him and the three most important women in my life - my wife, my daughter, and my mother who was in town for my son's birthday. I made the call early today about 7:40 AM, CA time, in the hopes of getting through to him before he went off to school. We have "dial-up" speed on our satellite Internet connection - or at least it seems that way sometimes - so it was a gamble as to whether I would be able to get through to him. Luckily I did, and I hope it made his day; because other than a bag of sand or a clump of mud there is not much I can send him from the middle of Iraq. Have a good day...the weekend is fast approaching.

31 Jan

Tonight I had the opportunity to dine with a few Iraqis from a town 30 miles away. They arrived and brought some lamb shish-kabobs, bread, and of course tomatoes and cucumbers. We began dinner at 7:30 PM and ate until about 9:00. The food was very good and a few of the guests spoke English so the conversation was quite nice. We had a little rain this morning but it cleared up by noon time and the sun was out by early afternoon. In the morning there is a chill in the air, about 45 degrees but when the sun breaks through the clouds the afternoon temperature gets up to about 65 degrees. I have no doubt that in about three months I will be praying for 65 degree weather even if it were at night. Speaking of night - have a good one.

30 Jan

We have consolidated our two-a-day meetings into one 0800 meeting...great now I can go out and party with the guys at night. I supplied breakfast and drinks for the staff as a good morning treat and to set the tone for these daily meetings but only for today - from now on they are on their own for morning chow. All in all Tuesday was a pretty productive day, each department head is slowly forming their teams. And now myself and a few others are working hand-in-hand with the department heads to ensure the sections are kept on track. Have a good day and I will see you later.

29 Jan

If all goes well today, this will be our last day of "two-a-day" logistics meetings - thank goodness. Today I had a total of 6 different meetings and none of them included any mouse sightings! Fortunately, all the meetings went well - the Iraqi Staff is taking a hands-on approach to the daily tasks and one-by-one they are checking items off the to-do list. As you can imagine I could never do this job with out the help from the Interpreters. Above is a picture of one of the interpreters, his name is Ali. He was in the Iraqi Army up until 2003 when the Iraqi Army was disbanded. He is one of the better interpreters we have here at my location; he speaks and understands English very good and he is always taking notes to learn more English. That's about all from Iraq today, until tomorrow...

28 Jan - Sunday

As the Iraqi week gets underway it is clear the last two weeks of "two-a-day" meetings are beginning to pay-off. The staff sections are getting into a routine and each new department head has taken steps to organize and integrate their sections into the daily tasks. Each day is filled with new and challenging tasks; it never gets boring around here. As a matter of fact, today I was in the Iraqi Chow hall speaking with the "3rd in charge" if you can call him that - the manager and assistant were out of the office for the day - and in the middle of the conversation, I had my head down because I was frustrated with the conversation, a mouse ran right through the middle of the room. I looked up and the three gentlemen had not blinked an eye. Was I the only one who saw the rodent..was it real...are the late nights starting to get to me? Did these guys put something in my drink...am I hallucinating?? I point to the ground and do a back-and-forth motion with my finger and they laugh. "Oh, the mouse," my interpreter says, "that's the chow hall pet...he watches over the place." At that point, speechless on so many levels, I stood-up chuckling in disbelief and thanked them for their time. There are more important things I can do with my time instead of waisting my breath with the assistant to the assistant manager of a rodent run dining facility. Like I said never a dull moment. Until the next exciting event...have a good day.

27 Jan - Saturday

Over the years I have acquired several different nick names, some worth repeating some not; and now I have the pleasure of adding a few more names to the list. I have received two Iraqi names in the last few days. The first is Ra-aed Samer, (pernounced Ra-od Sah-mer). Ra-aed is the Iraqi name for Major, so technically I could be introduced as Ra-aed Lane or Ra-aed Samer. Apparently the Iraqi Col chose to name me after a well known soccer player - Samer Mujbal - I guess I am officially accepted into the Iraqi brotherhood. Iraqi culture lesson #7. The other name I have is Abu Thomas, "the father of Thomas." In Iraq an Iraqi man can be referred to by his given name or a reference of his child's name using the "Abu" in front of the child's name. Usually a man will you go by the name of the first male born into the family but you can go by the name of the first child - boy or girl - if you want. So, how am I introduced to a group? If I walk up to a group I would introduce myself as Major Lane or Ra ad Lane. If I was with someone else and they were to introduce me into the group they could identify me as Ra ad Lane, Abu Thomas or Ra-aed Samer; and as such I answer to all those name. So now I have three more names to add to my list of names - at least these are good names.

26 Jan

Here is a pic of me and my Russian comrade - okay maybe he is not Russian but if there was snow in the background and we were wearing a couple of big furry coat he would be a dead ringer for Russian national with a tan. Not too much to talk about today - just more meetings and organization with the logistics staff. Tomorrow...Iraqi lesson #7.

25 Jan

Well here it is - the big day...a one star General arrived to inspect the newly built facility; prior to his arrival we had the inaugural lunch in the dining facility. We had another feast for dinner because the General was in town. It was quite the dinner - lamb and all the trimmings and of course some "special" desserts that I managed to avoid. Now that the dog-and-pony show for the General is over we can refocus our efforts on the next project. More about that in the future...until tomorrow...

24 Jan

As January winds down so does the second building project. As a matter of fact we planned on conducting the acceptance walk through today but there were some delays that prevented us from completing the entire process. However, overall the contractor for this facility has done a great job. And from what I have been told the builder has been contracted to build several more of these "tent" facilities across Iraq. I believe this will be a great money maker for the company while at the same time delivering a very useful and functional product to the growing Iraqi Army; not to mention the 100's of Iraqi citizens that they will continue to employ as they build these structures across the country. See ya...

23 Jan

As the year gets into full swing we find our plate getting more and more full. But have no fear another Marine has showed up to help get the job done. In a recent meeting with a ranking General the question was asked how many more Soldiers we needed...three?..five? After a second of thought the Marine LtCol said, "just one Marine will do." And whala...a new 1stLt showed up to join the team; with a total of five Marines we can now take-on the Iraqis in a game of basketball - pics to follow in a few days. Until then...

22 Jan

Today we had our weekly staff briefing with the US and Iraqi Cols. The briefs went well but some changes will need to be made as we continue to train and improve the presentation for the brief next week. It has been one week since I started the "2-a-day" meetings with the Iraqi logistics staff. The meetings are getting better; the length of the meetings have decreased from about 75 minutes down to about 35 minutes each meeting. Hopefully by next Monday we can consolidate the meetings into one 45+/- morning meeting in order to get the day started-off on the right foot. Have a good week...

21 Jan - Sunday

Death by Satellite Dish. That is what my tombstone would have read had I walked a little slower earlier today. The winds were gusting from 30 to 40 mph all day today, no rain just wind; but just before lunch I had a near death experiences that I did not even see it coming. The pic above is of our satellite dish that is allowing me to update you on my adventure in Iraq. Anyway, I was walking behind the dish to go talk to some of the Army sergeants and about 3.5 seconds after I walked past the dish the top petal of the dish - the section with the black cord attached to it - blew off and land right where I had just walked. The flying metal shrapnel was about 4'x2.5' and it would have definitely left a mark had it hit me. And chances are I may have gotten an early ride back to the States - but you can rest assure that I would have made up some elaborate "tough-man" story to tell my friends and family 'cause if I had to come home early because I was wounded in a war zone - as far as you would know - it would not have been because of a loose "petal."
Other then the wind and a brush with death my only other events included 3 meetings that lasted a total of 5 hours. Have a good week.

20 Jan - Saturday

My financial advisor always told me to ensure I diversify my investments. Well here is yet another example of my diversification. I had the opportunity to acquire a few gallons of Ice Cream - Baskin Robbins to be exact - at a price I could not ignore. With a love of Ice Cream that runs several generations deep on my dad's side - this could only be a win-win situation. The Plan - hold the Ice Cream until May when the temperature hits three digits and sell each scoop for $1. I expect to net a few thousand dollars - all taxes free. I am renting freezer space from the US Govt for pennies a day so keeping the "goods" frozen should not be an issue.

Okay...here is the truth. When we received our food shipment the other day it was not until the truck was 7/8 unloaded that the driver discovered this particular load truck should have gone to another location. This reminds me of one of the "Chance" card from Monopoly - "Bank error in your favor, collect $100." Except in this case - Army Convoy Commanders' error in your favor, get 240 gallons of Ice Cream for only 40 guys; not to mention all the lobster and steak that was also delivered. Essentially, we received 80 - three gallon cartons of premium ice cream in a variety of flavors. I think my daily intake of calcium will be going up...never to early to start preventive maintenance on osteoporosis...especially at my age. Today flavors of the day were Mixed Berry and Vanilla, tomorrow...maybe Mint Chocolate Chip!!!

19 Jan

Another slow Friday - thank goodness. However, early this morning - really early - we received a shipment of supplies which took all night to unload. I suited-up and headed out to help receive the shipment but after 45 minutes it was clear that I would be standing around supervising the Marine Lieutenant who was directing and supervising the SNCO's and Sgt's. I saw no reason for me to stand there and supervise the supervisor - especially when a Marine Lieutenant was in charge. I let the Lieutenant know I would stay out of his way but that I was available if he needed me. He thanked me and I headed to my room to look for holes in my eyelids. The morning and the remainder of the day was relatively slow - most were recuperating form the early hours spent moving gear and equipment. However, there was one question that reared its head unexpectedly.

At 9 o'clock at night I got the one question every father hopes to hear from a confident and respectable young man - Can I marry your daughter? My first mental reaction was an immediate, "are you on drugs?" Followed by, "are you deranged - she is 3, and is still crapping in her pants! My external reaction was...ha..ha..(until what he asked sunk in) WHAT! Before I had a chance to raise my fist an interpreter quickly clarified the reason for this outrageous request. It seems that when an Iraqi man asks a girls father for her hand in marriage it means he really respects him and would like to welcome the future fiancee and the father, and of course mother, into his family. So why did he make this request; to make a long story short I was able to help him complete a task that has never been done before at our location and the Iraqi Col was thrilled at his accomplishment. Immediately after his meeting with the Col the Iraqi 1stLt offered to take my daughters hand in marriage - but in his second sentence he did mention only after she grows-up. I am not sure the legal age of marriage in Iraq but if I have anything to say about it - Iraq or USA the age is 28! Crap...this can not be a good sign - I know Anna is going to be trouble when she grows-up, cause she is pretty good now and has a mind of her own, but if this is the start of what is to come Jessica and I should start family counseling or drinking now! Until my next session....

18 Jan

Today was the Grand-Opening of the dining facility for the new buildings we finished signing over earlier this week. Above is a picture of our meal and the Iraqi officers at our table. I am not entirely sure what type of meat we had for lunch - I think it was lamb but I am not certain. Anyway, the rice was delicious and of course an Iraqi meal would not be complete with out some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Next came a delicious tray of desert. And here is where the day gets "exciting."
I have enjoyed several different after dinner treats during my weekly dinners with the head Iraqi officer here at my location. Therefore, it was no surprise when a similar tray of treats was placed on the table. As the junior officer at a table I waited until the Col's made the first move. I then reached for a treat that looked very similar to the kind I enjoyed when dining with the Iraqi Colonel except this one was about twice the size; however, even at twice the size it was only the size of a "bite" size candy bar. In two bites the treat was gone - very tasty as expected; so after a few minutes I reached for a second. While chewing the last part of my second treat the Iraqi LtCol at the table said as he pointed a piece identical to the one I was eating, "this is like vira...it give you energy" - as he makes a swirling motion on the lower part of his stomach with both hands. Oh, okay I thought - another Iraqi word that I do not understand but it sounds just like eating an energy bar except these were a glazed pastry with some type of dates and nuts in the middle. Well, the US LtCol next to me says, "what is vira?" The Iraqi LtCols answer stopped me mid-chew. The Iraqi LtCol replied, "you know..virga..for - with the women." And the conversation continues back and forth. "Your mean Viagra." "Yea..Yea...Vierga...gets the blood flooing for the wives." Oh crap...great...not have only been gone for over 45 days but now that I have taken "2" doses of "special energy" and I will surely need to see a doctor after "4" hours (listen to the warning at the end of the Viagra commercial) and I'll be damned if I am going to medic, who is a sergeant, with this problem in a war zone.
Well, I had a reaction to the "two treats" but not the type of reaction advertised on TV. At about 4:40 in the afternoon I went for a run, and at the 4.5 mile mark I felt like I had plenty of energy left for another 3 miles; it has been at least 8 months since the last time I ran more than 5 miles - maybe I need to get the recipe for those goodies. Anyway, I received an important call on the radio so my workout quickly ended but if I had the time for the extra miles I sure had the energy. Have a good day - the weekend is almost here.

17 Jan

Wednesday - the first day of logistics staff training. We are having two meetings a day - the first meeting at 0900 to set the days schedule and the second meeting at 1900 to review what was accomplished during the day. These two-a-days will go on for a couple of weeks a until we reduce each meeting to 15 to 20 minutes and then we will transition to one 30 to 40 minute meeting at 1900. The morning meeting was 70 minutes, the evening meeting was 50 minutes - this will be a long and painful two weeks of meetings. In addition to the two meetings mentioned above we also had one of the two weekly logistics meetings with all the civilian companies that work on base - that meeting was 75 minute in length. That is about all the news for today - if you can call it news. Until tomorrow...

16 Jan

Day 45 - Well I have been in country for 45 days now - only 135 days until I get on a plane headed home. What a busy day...in addition to "moving" all the vehicles yesterday I was able to sign away the last of the new buildings today. One by one I am crossing things off my list but as one item leaves the list a new one appears - kind of like working on a farm - there is always something needing attention.

I now have the responsibility of helping train the logistics section that is now a logistics department. With new officers and more personnel arriving, and the fact that our area is coming to life with more "customers" and equipment, the logistics department has grown to large for one person to run. So, the logistics department now has seven sections. That means seven new section heads need to be trained on how to run and organize their staff. All sections have an officer in charge and a senior staff NCO as his assistant. Let me take a moment and talk about the Iraqi senior enlisted corps.

Iraqi lesson #5. Because the Iraqi Army was disbanded in 2003, as you can imagine, there has been a big recruiting effort to fill the ranks. The rumor is that in order to quickly fill the gaps in the higher enlisted ranks - while at boot camp - they choose the older looking recruits to fill some of the senior enlisted ranks. Can you imagine a Marine Private and a Marine Staff Sergeant graduating boot camp at the same time...lets see how this plan works for them; not that I have a better plan - I guess they need to do something until the ranks grow. I do not know if that is true or not but it sure seems so with several of the staff NCO's that work in the logistic shop. Good thing I am not in the Iraqi Army - with my young looks I would never get promoted. Have a good night.

15 Jan

Look Mom - new toys! Here is a pic of some recent visitors. Although the Calvary's toys do not fly they are big and make a lot of noise...two out of three is not bad...even if it is the Army. It was great to see a few new American faces in our area - it is always good to get a new perspective from different units. Oh yea...for those of you who sent in deposits on those Silverado trucks - bad news; they are all gone...sorry (see post for 9 Jan). I got a local offer I could not refuse. For those of you who sent a deposit; I will be sending you a refund, in Dinar, in 8 to 10 weeks - with snail mail you should get it by May. Have a good week.

14 Jan - Sunday

Today started off pretty slow but it ended with a bang. We were up at 8 AM conducting a meeting in the logistics office and at 9 o'clock I had an egg sandwich with the warm 'pita' style bread the local bread factory is famous for - not the fancy meal you would find at a Sunday morning brunch back in the States but nonetheless it was warm and tasty. Through-in a small box of orange drink and I felt like I was back at McDonald's eating an egg McMuffin meal. Meetings, more mediation and e-mails filled the hours in the day. In the late afternoon I had a chance to take a look at what was found "lying around" in the desert. I can not say too much more but the pic above but it is the latest "find" in a recent search conducted by some coalition and Iraqi forces. As the evening drew to a close the items in the pic above and a second group of weapons (not shown) were destroyed; needless to say it was quiet the fireworks show. A good end to a tough week. Tomorrow I get to ride with the Calvary.

13 Jan - Saturday

Today was full of interesting events. First, I was the referee for an Iraqi meeting. The background for this event was as follows. Yesterday, Friday, members of the logistic staff that I advise spent eight hours walking through one of seven buildings as part of the building turnover process; a process that should have taken about two hours max. Instead of taking inventory of the furniture and equipment the receiving Iraqi Unit counted every item in the building. Every light, light switch, electrical outlet, sink, faucet, each handle on the sink...how many hot and cold, the steps...it was ridiculous. At the end of the day they opted not to sign for the building because they wanted to count all the stuff in all the building and sign for everything all at once. Sounds great but not if you are going to take you eight hours to inventory one building...and heavens for bid these receiving officers work when it is dark out. I knew about the detailed inventory yesterday but since I did not have an interest in knowing how many electrical outlets were in each room on each floor I left the "counting party" in order to better use the daylight. I was not informed of the fact that they did not sign for the buildings until this morning.

So before we all jumped into the vehicle and headed up to the new buildings I felt it best to have a quick meeting with "us" and "them" to discuss what we, collectively, hoped to accomplish today. The ten minute meeting turned into a forty-five minute debate on essentially, how there is no trust among Iraqi soldiers and the building turnover process will take at least a week to accomplish. They why did you arrive only two days ago with an assigned start date for training on Monday? In the end it was agreed to inventory, sign-over and receive the keys for each building one at a time and we will work until midnight to turnover all the buildings today; funny...that was the original idea presented in the first two minutes of the meeting. By the end of the day they had 4 of 7 keys in hand and quit working at 5 PM...must be something about the dark that frightens this group. However, the real excitement came at 4 PM.

At 3:30 I get a call over the radio..."there is a water leak in one of the buildings you need to go investigate." Great - off I go with a five man working party following in trail about 10 minutes behind me. I get to the problem building and thank goodness someone took the initiative to turn the water off. Remember the other day how I was "taken-back" by the fact that the Iraqis use buckets of water and squeegees to clean the floors - even the second floor. Well that was only the beginning. A few...heck even 10 buckets of water would have been easy to handle instead of the 1/2 inch deep water sitting on the entire second floor of the classroom building. It seems the water was inadvertently turned-on to the building, the water was not to be turned-on until tomorrow, and one of the valves in the bathroom was left open and about 4,000 liters - or about 1140 gallons, if my math is correct - of water poured onto the second story floor. Luckily the floor was all tile and after about 1 hour and twenty minutes most of the water was down the stairs and out of the building. The only place that leaked was around the edge of a drain pipe and considering the amount of water in the area I was very surprised the leak was so minimal. I will have quite a diverse resume after I leave this job - I am already qualified as a Combat Construction Coordinator...I think I can now add Foreign Forces Facilitator and Senior Squeegee Supervisor to the list. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

12 Jan

Rain..rain..go away come back another day. Well "another day" seems to be every third day or so. Thank goodness it is not as cold today as it has been lately. Today we started the walk-thru for the building turn-over process. This process seems to be a mind game between two Colonels; one wants this - the other wants that. Give me a break, come-on can't we all just get along and get this done?? At this rate it will take three and a half days to complete the transfer of the property from one Col to the other. Oh well...it is time for me to step aside and let the Colonels duke it out - I will move-on to the next project. The next build should be completed in a few weeks. In the next few days I will be walking the grounds - or swamps - of that project in preparation for the logistic build-up needed to prepare the complex for its guests. The company working the construction of the complex has done a great job throughout the build. I suspect they will receive more contacts because of their professionalism, and ability to meet the designated time lines set at the beginning of the project.
I have received some e-mails asking if I will relocate to the next project. I will remain at my current location for the duration of my tour here in Iraq. Although I can not disclose the size or location of the area in which I work over the blog I can tell you my area is quite large - miles x miles to give you a rough idea and there is plenty of work here to keep me busy for the next 5 months. Stay healthy and have a good weekend.

11 Jan

In the US we have mops, buckets and vacuums to help get our houses ready for guests; in Iraq they are less fortunate. To make a long story short the logistic personnel and local workers are cleaning the newly constructed buildings because the contractor hired to do the job has yet to arrive and the new tenants are to showing up soon. So in order to do the right thing we are cleaning the buildings. Iraqi culture lesson #5. Apparently the Iraqi's use brooms to clean/brush the carpet and use squeegees and water to wash the floors - even when the floor is upstairs. Imagine my surprise when I entered the stairwell to go check on the progress of the cleaning on the 2nd floor, when all of a sudden down the stairs and over the edge of the stairs comes a rainfall of muddy water. Crap...I can't get away from the mud. Not only does it surround the entire building - it is coming down the stairs...I can't win. So, I yell up the stairs - what I yell does not matter, they do not understand English anyway - I just needs to be loud.

The water flow stops and as it comes to a drip I proceed up stairs to find five guys pushing four garbage cans full of water around the floor toward the door. When the water gets close to the door they give it a quick push to get it over the lip of the door and into the stairwell where the muddy water begins its journey to the bottom of the steps anyway it can. As you can imagine there is water and mud on the door, wall and overhang leading down the steps. So what are my choices - not much so I allowed them to finish the 2nd floor and stairwell before I cut-off the flow of water to the inside of the building. Once the remainder of the water was squeegeed out of the stairwell I refocused their effort to use the three brooms to finish sweeping the ground floor. When I came back to the building the entire floor had been swept and two of the three broom sticks were broken - at least they pushed hard when sweeping. I do not know if these workers have ever lived in a two story house or if they just push the dirty water over a balcony at home. Either way the bottom line - ensure the Iraqi's understand that in these buildings we will keep the squeegee use to the bottom floors and then only as a last resort. Sweet Dreams.

10 Jan

Another long day - as a matter of fact a long week. Up at 7 AM with the last meeting of the day ending at 11:30 PM for the last 8 days. But I guess when you are in a war zone a good night of sleep is not the norm. Wednesday night I was invited to have dinner with the Logistics Manager, pictured in the civilian clothes, and an Iraqi Major. I think this is Iraqi culture lesson # 4. This is how the meal works - you take a finger full of the main course - fish in this case - put it on the "pita" style bread and take a bite. Notice the lack of individual silver/plastic ware - this meal is all about sharing - it give "sharing a meal with a brother" a whole new meaning. For dinner the Iraqi's avoid rice and heavy starch products - they typically go for vegetables, specifically cucumbers and tomatoes. As you can see in the pic cucumbers and tomatoes are prepared three different ways - sliced, chopped, and diced - which do you prefer? Eating the fish is kind of tricky, it is not like the 'fish steak' you get at TGIF, with this fish you need to pull out all the bones prior to taking a bite - this does not always happen so your first few chews need to be soft and careful. Oh well...what I am going to do offend the host and not eat? The small round items on the table are a local delicacy, fried goat ba.. no just kidding they are fried Hummus balls - kind of like hush puppies but a little blander. And lets not forget the dipping sauce located in the white bowl. This particular sauce was tasty - not spice at all - sort of like a mustard sauce - pretty good actually. At the end of the meal we had some hot Chi and 30 minutes later we were in the warehouse counting inventory until 11 PM. Well I think that is enough for Wednesday - see ya tomorrow.

9 Jan

Here is a pic of my New Car lot...anyone what to buy a truck. THIS IS AN INTERNET ONLY SPECIAL. I can get you a great deal...these 4x4 Silverados only have 20 km on the odometer; each vehicle comes with a 5yr/175,000 km warranty*. Every truck has tan leather, AM/FM radio and two different hitches for all you camping and boating and tank pulling needs. The only two colors are tan and sand...okay they are the same but over the Internet who is going to know the difference. If you are interested let me know but I must warn you the delivery charge will be more then the $600 you will pay in the States. Now...on the other hand if you want to one-up the neighbors...be the first on your block to own a brand new red fire truck - just imagine how a chrome set of "spinners" will look on this ride. For those with families - this seats 6 and you will not find a safe mode or transportation; if you live in a busy city you will find that traffic will no longer be an issue with the bells and whistles on this machine. Hurry these babies won't last long and there are only 2 remaining. Each vehicle can be accessorized to give it its own distinct look**.
Disclaimer: *The warranty is only valid at a war zone dealerships. **Bullet holes are extra, "grouping" is more expensive then a "random pattern", unless acquired during shipping. No rain checks and all sales are final Good night!

8 Jan

Week two of the new year started off with more rain. The day was a repeat of Saturday - a dreary day with everyone trying to stay inside as much as possible. In addition to the rain the wind was blowing quite a bit and the temperature was down to the low 40's and hi 30's. I am glad I brought several sets of cammies, hopefully I will leave here with a few sets still in usable condition. For the most part I caught up on overdue paperwork and spend a few hours preparing the Iraqi logistics staff for the next day. The good thing about Iraqi's working for 20 days straight is that they are at work 24 hours a day. We often have staff meetings starting at 8:30 at night and ending by 10:30 or 11 PM. This is not my preferred method but if it works for them and we are getting the job done who am I to change the system. Have a good night.

7 Jan - Sunday

Now that the rain has stopped it is time to play in the mud. We had another shipment of stuff show-up today. Nothing too exciting but we had six items missing from the delivery. It took us way too many hours to unload the four trucks, I keep reminding myself I am an "adviser" and that my role here is not to do the work for the Iraqis but to help them do the work themselves. Thank goodness it was not raining today, otherwise I may have had to "help" get the job done a little faster. The building with all the cement "T" walls around it is the chow hall - the question ya got to ask youself is...how hungry am I? Until tomorrow...

6 Jan - Saturday

The first week of Jan was very busy and the weekend brought it's own surprises to the New Year. Saturday was the first day I put-on my gortex jacket - the day was cold and full of rain - at least the rain waited until the New Year. Saturday was one of those days you just wanted to head back to bed and wait for the sun to come out...and that seemed to be the mood across the board. The dreary day produced little progress across the range of activities at my location. Sure, we accomplished some things but Americans and Iraqis alike were a little slower in their step than normal. It is not that we in the military can not operate in the rain - as a matter of fact the saying goes, "if it ain't rain'in we ain't train'in." But when most of our projects are outside construction there is little we can do in the rain. On the other hand, when the sun comes out we all get to play in the mud...yea :( To some degree the mud here kind-of reminds me of dirty snow back on the East coast. Ya know, the snow that turns gray, black and brown because of the sand that has been mixed with the road grime by the tires of passing vehicles. Or the clumps of snow near the back of the car that turn a dirty brown or black from the muffler exhaust. Additionally, not only does the mud clump-up and sticks to your shoes when you walk but on the roads when several vehicles follow the same tread line the mud gathers in the middle of the road and it looks like dirty snow piled up just high enough to skim the underneath of your car as you drive over it. Hey...when you are driving 35 km/h (about 18 m/h) for 20 minutes slipping and sliding down the road in the middle of nowhere your mind starts to wonder and you start making analogies to some memories in order to help pass the time. That or turn-up the radio and listen to the local Arabic music...if you can call it music. Well enough about my thoughts on mud...have a good night.

5 Jan

After a long and exhausting week I chose to take it easy and try to recuperate. The goal today was to inventory all 32 vehicles that arrived over the last 2 weeks. After a brief look at 2 of the vehicles it was clear we had and will have several missing accessory parts. Each vehicle was to be equipped with tools, trailer hitches, first aid kits, etc. but it soon became clear not all the goodies were in the vehicles. So, my third observation over the last 30+ days would be that not all Iraqis can be trusted. Unlike the Japanese culture, if you leave something lying around chances are it may not be there when you go back to look for it. Let me make it clear, it is not like all Iraqis are thieves but it is more like a "finders-keepers" mentality. After inspecting 11 of the vehicles we only have 7 fully "accessorized" trucks. We plan to inspect the remaining vehicles tomorrow. That's all for now.

4 Jan

Well we did it...we are 99.7% complete with the logistics part of the construction site. We completed a walk through with the "hand-off" rep and they "accepted" everything with the exception of three small items; all of which should be finished in the next day or two. The last 30+ days in Iraq has taught me a few lessons about the Iraqis and their culture. First, after you walk-in to their office and are greeted with a hug you are always given a drink. Not an alcoholic drink - although it would make the meeting much more enjoyable - but a cup of hot sweet tea called "chi." I dare not decline so as to not offend my host.
Second, the military work schedule is different but similar to the US work schedule. It is different in that in the military you work 20 days and get 10 days off. Not a bad deal right...well before you run to your local Iraqi recruiter there are some things you should know. The 20 days of duty are just that 20 straight days of work for 24 hours. Sure there is some time on Fridays for prayer but for the most part you are at work 6.5 days out of 7. Additionally, there is no "base housing" so your family probably does not live within 20 minutes of your assigned duty station. Therefore, when one is at work you live in a "squad-bay" type hut with fellow soldiers of equal rank for the 20 days you are working. At the end of the 20 days you get paid and head home for 10 days. If you think about it the US is on a similar but different program. For the most part we get 8 days off a month, the weekends, and take/bank 2.5 days of vacation a month. So in reality we get the same days of vacation - not counting our Holidays and Federal days - as the Iraqis; and we get to live with our families on a daily basis. I have found that I/we need to train two guys to accomplish the same task so that when one is on a 10 day vacation the other soldier can complete the assignment. Just one of the many differences I have seen over the last few weeks. More similarities / differences to come in the future. Until then...

3 Jan

The day that kept going and going and going. Every once in awhile we get visitors to my location; this particular group was to arrive last night, 2 Jan, but "road" obstacles delayed their arrival. As the senior logistics officer one of my duties it is to ensure visiting units get what they need when they arrive. Therefore, I wanted to ensure the arriving customers were not left out in the cold - literally - upon their arrival. Late last night, well after their designated arrival time I called to check on their status - they were still 2 hours away. Since I have a radio and I am only a call away I chose to go to bed for a couple hours. I knew that once they arrived it would be a long night- parking, accommodations, and supplies. To ensure a "warm" welcome we turned-on all the heaters in order to make their rooms more comfortable, I figured it was the least I could do after they sat in chilly vehicles for the better part of the night. It seemed like every hour I woke up in a panic because I thought I missed their "arrival" radio call - that's all I need is vehicles driving lost in my area. Well at 0428 I got the call that our visitors have arrived. A trip that should have taken three hour took over fourteen hours. The convoy had to deal with multiple IED's, improvised explosive devices, along their route. Each IED that was identified need to be destroyed prior to the convoy proceeding. One vehicle was damaged and the crew was shaken up but no one was seriously hurt. By 0600 all vehicles were parked and the crews headed for the rack; I headed for breakfast. At 0700 I was coordinating the second day of moving and cleaning for the construction site. We spent all day at the site and by 1820 we departed to head back to base. When I arrived at the base their were some issues with our new guest that needed attention. After we resolved our guests concerns and implemented the solutions I headed for some chow. After getting a late dinner I had a three hour meeting with the logistics manager to review the days events and set tomorrows agenda. As I walked out of the meeting I hear on the radio that a delivery or cargo is inbound. Oh man...I forgot about the cargo arriving tonight...crap. The temperature was 36 degrees, the wind was blowing and as the night went on the temperature hit 24 degrees. The convoy had it's own vehicle problems but after several hours the convoy mission was complete and they left 4o minutes early. By 0320 I was in bed but at 0700 I was up again getting ready to spend my last few hours at the construction site...I am not much of a coffee drinker but Thursday was the exception. See ya...

2 Jan

Today was the first of many days dedicated to finishing the construction site. As the majority of the Iraqi populace continued to celebrate Eid, myself, the Logistics Manager and some of his staff began closing-out the logistics aspect of the new buildings. Essentially, our task over the next few days is to ensure the furniture is set-up, the rooms are somewhat clean - cleaners have been hired to conduct a detailed cleaning - and all but a few high value electronic items are in place. By the end of the week we should be done with the logistics aspect of the Phase One site. Let me take a moment and introduce a couple of Iraqis that I work with on a daily basis. Pictured above, on the left is the senior Logistics Officer, to the right is the Logistics Manager. The Logistics Manager has been working logistics for the last five years, and logistics with the US Military for the last three years. He is the driving force behind getting things done in my location. The officer in the picture will soon be promoted to Major, he has been working with the Logistic Manager for about 3 months and will be taking on more responsibility as our area gets bigger and more populated. That's it for now. Tomorrow - the nineteen hour day, longest day of the year...so far.

1 January

I hope everyone had a relaxing first day of January...mine was rather hectic. I had all intentions of sleeping in today - to about 0830, until a received a call over the radio at 0728 that an inbound convoy was 10 minutes from our front gate; I am sure this will not be the only hour of sleep I lose this year. We were expecting a convoy to deliver 16 new vehicles to our location.

Within minutes of my wake-up call I was in the receiving area standing on top of a fire truck watching the convoy appear and disappear behind buildings and structures as they move through the compound to my location. From my vantage point I could see the vehicles in the convoy and the cargo they were transporting. It was early, compared to the late night of poker playing, and I have come to terms that my eyesight is not improving with my age. I mention this because I counted the approaching cargo 5 times but still came up short by 2 vehicles. Is there a trail vehicle that is still being inspected by the guards? Or, is my eyesight getting that bad - don't tell my flight surgeon.

Well come to find out the convoy started with the correct number of vehicles to be delivered but 2 got "taken-out" prior to showing up at our location. The whole incident happened many miles from my location and thankfully no one in the convoy was injured. I hear we will get replacements for those 2 vehicles but their delivery date is TBD. Since I was one of six Americans awake I gathered up some Iraqi Army soldiers and we off loaded all the vehicles.

The trailers were to be backed-up into a load/unload area. Essentially, the trucks backed down a ramp dug into the ground so that the flatbed was about level to the ground, allowing us to drive the cargo off the flatbed; a small ramp is used to close the gap between the flatbed and the ground. So here is the kicker - I do not speak Arabic, the Iraqi soldiers do not speak English and the Truck drivers are from India and speak neither Arabic or English. And just for laughs the private contractors that escorted the convoy to us are from England and the only words I could understand from their fast talking mouths were good-day, bloody and mate. To add to the confusion several of the vehicles had to be jump-started in order to get them off the flatbeds and one of them puttered-out of gas before we could back it up ten feet...if its not one thing its another. Try pushing a 4x4 truck off a truck and through the sand - not easy when you do not speak the language.

Through loud voices, hand gestures and multiple "back-up" attempts we accomplished the mission. Within two hours we had all the vehicles off-loaded and the convoy was departing from our position. By this time signs of life began to show around all parts of the base; by eleven thirty everyone was up and lunch was served. I grabbed some food and headed back to my room to open a few more presents. To my surprise I received a second shipment of letters and packages on New Years Eve, around 21:00, by helicopter - got to love those helo pilots. I'm going to bed early - good night.