13 Apr

Friday is here; my day of rest - at least one extra hour anyway. Not so fast! The "unluckiness" of Friday the 13th struck early in my day. At 7:10 AM I hear a knock at my door - my first thought was not now...my air conditioner is working just fine. About once a month the local maintenance crew makes the rounds checking everyone’s heating and cooling unit. Most people are up at 0700 so that is when they come by and check other wise it is a crap shoot to catch you with your door open during the day. So I was surprised to see the LtCol. and the Lt. standing there in their full gear - my heart skipped a beat and I looked at my watch. Oh crap what did I forget - a meeting - a VIP visit - 'cause I did not hear any loud bangs or gun fire so I know we are not under attack. Neither, at "0'dark thirty" a shipment of helmets, armor and other equipment arrived at our location and the LtCol. and Lt. have been awake since about 0345 dealing with the trucks and equipment. My first questions were, "Did I miss the call - why didn't you wake me?" They replied that there was no reason to wake the entire group for a few trucks that are here to deliver equipment to our quests. Alrighty then - back to bed...not quite! They were handing the ball off to me and it was now time for me to ensure all the delivery paperwork was signed and sent back to my higher headquarters; so much for that extra 60 minutes of free time. The next time I looked at my watch it was lunch time and half the day was gone; and although the rest of the day was uneventful but I was still very busy dealing with logistics issues. Its time for me to go and recoup that 60 minutes of sleep I lost this morning - have a good night.

12 Apr

Well it seems I have another fan group living in the great State of Pennsylvania. Yesterday afternoon I received 27 letters from a 3rd grade class located in Laureldale, PA. I am always excited to receive letters but I have never received 27 at once - it was a great surprise. As directed by the teacher - I would never ignore a teacher - I handed out the letters to my fellow Marines and Soldiers. Hopefully in the next few days or weeks we will be able to respond to all the letter by answering all the great questions. Thanks again kids! Also, thanks to all those who have sent letters and pictures via e-mail and snail-mail - it really makes me smile when I see an "unread" message in my mail box or a new package or letter sitting on my desk when I return from a frustrating day with the Iraqi's. Have a good day and keep your chin-up - I'll keep my head down - the weekend is almost here.

11 Apr

April 11th - the day the ice cream ran out. As if the war is not sacrifice enough, I chose to give up ice cream for Lent. I figured if I could give up ice cream for forty days while living in the middle of the desert that may make-up for my lack of attendance at Sunday services. On the second of April I asked the restaurant manager if he could set aside one tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream for future use; he said he would and hid the ice cream where no one would find it. On Holy Thursday the chow hall ran out of ice cream except for "my" hidden carton of mint chocolate chip. After the Easter Sunday feast the manager pulled me aside and asked if I was saving the ice cream for a special occasion. I told him he was "free" to bring-out the stashed tub-o-desert. Sure enough, today a nanosecond of silence was observed as the last chocolate chip slid its way out of the 3 gallon Baskin Robbins container - never to be seen again. It was a great run - from Jan 20th to April 11th. If you ever wanted to know how long 240 gallons of ice cream will last 40 guys living in the desert - now you have your answer, about 110 days - give or take a few days. Have a good night.

10 Apr

The Crap is starting to pile-up...seriously the poop is backed-up. At least that is what was relayed to me over the radio on Tuesday morning. The new neighbors that took-up resident south of our location were preventing our "black water trucks," the trucks that suck-out the toilets, from reaching the dump site. In addition to all the new guest that checked-in over the last few days, a new group of Coalition soldiers has also moved-in across the street to occupy the buildings and facilities that were built over the last 30 days.
It is this new group of US Soldiers that is holding up the crap. After a few phone calls and a visit from one of the US Soldiers the situation was on it's way to being resolved. The problem stems from the fact that all three black water trucks are local Iraqi's who are hired by the Life Support Contractor here at my base. So...when three these medium size "tanker" trucks show up at the front gate and ask for entrance to a new US check point it raises a red flag especially when guarded by new gate guards.
There is no other way to get to the dump point as of right now, so the trucks must enter the front gate and exit the back gate in order to deposit their loads at the designated site. We only have three trucks so I expect it will take a couple of days for the gate guards to feel comfortable about letting the crap in; but like they say it will pretty much be, "the same crap but different day." I know...I know but I could not resits. Anyway have a good day.

9 Apr

Another Monday down - that leave about 7 more Mondays if I have anything to say about it - who am I kidding - I have nothing to say about I am at the mercy of Uncle Sam. Anyway, we spend many hours trying to solve the training problem but it looks like our options are limited until some gear arrives at our doorstep. So now the question is - how do we get gear to our front porch? We were expecting some gear to show-up yesterday but that was put on hold until we established exactly what is needed to get all the Iraqi Soldiers fully equipped for duty. It looks like the new gear will not arrive until some time next week. Oh well I guess the Iraqi's will just have to practice with blanks until the helmets and body armor arrive. All the phone calls and office discussions on the gear/training issue and my "four meeting Monday" keep me pretty busy but like I said only seven more Mondays to go. Speaking of which - I must go. Have a great week.

8 Apr - Sunday

Happy Easter to all; I hope the Easter Bunny has was able to drop off a few treats for you and your families. As luck would have it an Easter package arrived today from my parents; it was full of Jelly Beans and other treats for some of the local school kids.
For those of you who are wondering I never did make it to the 6 AM service but there was one scheduled at 1000 at my location, and since I was up at 0800 conducting the daily logistics meeting I figured the 1000 would work just perfect. With all our new guests checked-in it was time to get them into training; but not so fast. So...here is a new one - the unit that has been here a couple of days - it seems they departed their home location, drove 8 hours along a dangerous route and arrived to our base with no helmets or body armor. Thank goodness they did not run into any problems on the way to our location - if they had encountered any skirmishes or IED's many of the soldiers would have been hurt or killed. The gross failure of leadership aside we started looking into "work-arounds" in order to get these soldiers at least some training during their stay at our facility. It looks like we may either lend them some of our equipment or try to get some delivered in the near future. But until then it looks like they will have a few more days off. Better safe than sorry - not ideal considering their next stop but definitely the right call - we do not want any injuries that could have been prevented had the soldiers had the correct equipment. Oh well...have a good night and Happy Easter.

7 Apr - Saturday

Well another week is coming to a close - but that does not mean I am without work. As a matter of fact a second group of visitors will be arriving sometime today, tonight, or early in the morning - it depends on traffic and IED's (Improvised Explosive Devise). Who knows, maybe I will make the 6 AM Easter Mass - not because I am going to get up early but because I will already be wake.
And sure enough our guest arrived at midnight but the size of the party was much smaller then usual so after a few hours of corralling the troops we headed to bed. It was another long day but we are making progress; I say this because each time a new group arrives the Iraq Soldiers here at my location continue to take on more and more of the responsibility of leading, inspecting, and organizing the arrival of the troops as I stand in the background ready to provide guidance if the need should arise. That's all the action for today...

6 Apr

Friday April 6th - our new guests are taking the day off - as is accustom to some units on the designated religious day of the week. Good for them, this might be one of their last chances to relax and pray before they get very busy. That is just fine with me because I have plenty of other issues I can focus my energy addressing. Thus far I have we have not had a large problem with our new guests using their cell phones - part of the success for such a low number of violators is due to the fact that this unit sent an advanced party to receive a pre-arrival brief. This allowed us to ensure the leadership of the arriving soldiers knew the rules and procedures prior to the wave of soldiers entered our camp. With one less headache for today I was able to refocus my attention on more pressing issues with our local food service contractor - but since the food service contractor issues are on going I will save those adventures until tomorrow. Until tomorrow - have a great weekend.

5 Apr

After a long morning of receiving Iraqi Soldiers we took a couple of hours in the afternoon to regenerate our batteries. Today is a recuperation day for our visitors after their long day on the road to our location. Other then a few meetings and some brief orientation of our procedures the new Soldiers spent the day relaxing. All seemed calm and quiet until about 8 PM. Just after 8 o'clock there was a report that some members from one of our schools were injured and on there way to the aid station. To be honest I did not think anything of it and continued my meeting with the Iraqi Logistics Civilian at my location. When we finished our conversation I headed to my desk to check my e-mail. I was side-tracked by the events that were taking place at the aid station - the aid station is co-located with my office. I will not get into the specifics of what happen but, in short - three local Iraqi Soldiers were injured by some bad guys and left on our back door step. We treated them for bruises and sprains, and sent them away via medivac to a hospital that could check for internal injuries and provide around the clock observation and attention for the next 24 hours; they soldier were rough-up but they will be fine. Sometime, amongst all the building projects and logistic issues, I forget I am in a war zone - this was a reality check. If this is the worst that I see in my 6 months in Iraq I will be very thankful. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff - I agree. Stay safe.

4 Apr

Our guest finally arrived but five hours earlier than scheduled. Just as everyone was settled down for the night - in preparation for the EARLY arrival of our visitors we received a call that they were about 1 hour away. So, about 55 minutes later we passed the word that our visitors would be arriving in the next 30 minutes -figured they would be late so I let the troops sleep as much as possible before we woke them. Needless to say we were jumping through hoops to get the reception party in-place prior to the Soldiers entering the front gate and sure enough they arrived about 40 minutes after the troops were given the reveille call. The reception, inspection, and movement of visitors to their rooms only took 3 hours - much better then the 6 hours from the previous group. All in all it was not too bad - we all got to bed around 3 AM so at least we had some rest before the gobble of our local turkeys woke us up. Another long day but much smoother then our previous "check-in" experiences. Have a good day

3 Apr

We continue to make preparations for the arrival of our guests - maybe they are coming today...maybe tomorrow...maybe not at all. While we are awaiting their arrival let me share Iraqi Lesson #11 - at least I think it is #11. With all the constructions that has taken place in the is area we had the opportunity to build a few new toilet facilities. Two 10 person facilities were built back to back and they both run off the same 10,000 liter water tank. The facility has been in place for about a month and today I was told the units are "no good." No good - what do you mean - are they broken? No...they are in perfectly good working order but - and I am not kidding - they are facing the wrong way. WHAT! What do you mean the WRONG WAY? Well it turns out that it is forbidden to use the toilets that are facing the same direction in which one would pray or to use a toilet that places your back to the direction you would pray. Holy Crap - no pun intended - are you kidding me - is this a joke to play on the American Major? My western" mind would never have thought "the man upstairs" would care which way you were facing when you let nature take its course. As far as the toilets - I am not sure what we are going to do about them - it will not be easy or cheap to turn or modify the facilities. Oh well they should have told us this was an issue when the toilets were being built - at least we know for next time. Speaking of next time - until the next time I write have a good day.

2 Apr

This week started off with the normal "four meetings Monday." We are knee deep into the planning and preparing phase for our incoming guests; however, it would be nice to know when they are expected to arrive so we can ensure we have a proper welcome in place when they pull-up to the front gate. The arrival time of our new visitors continues to change but since we are about 80% ready I do not expect any significant problems if they arrive tonight. That's about all from the land of the desert - have a good week.

1 April - Sunday

Above is a picture of me and one of the hard working Iraqi Army Soldiers that works in the Base Logistics Section. Today was a somewhat busy day; I spent about two hours helping coordinate the movement of several tons of cement, and had a total of five meetings scattered throughout the day. Our new guest will be arriving in the future and in addition to their arrival it looks like another new facility will need to be built at our location. And the time line for these new buildings is very compressed - the project needs to be completed within 2 months and the plans have yet to hit the drawing board. Oh well - its just one great idea after another. I am sure I will be heavily involved in this project but at least I will not get bored. Maybe I should go and get some rest while I have the chance - I think I will do that. Have a good day.

31 Mar - Saturday

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

30 Mar

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

29 Mar

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

28 Mar

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

27 Mar

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

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

26 Mar

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

25 Mar - Sunday

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

24 Mar - Saturday

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

23 Mar

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

22 Mar

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

21 Mar

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

20 Mar

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

19 Mar

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

18 Mar - Sunday

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

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

17 Mar - Saturday

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

16 Mar

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

15 Mar

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

14 Mar

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

13 Mar

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

12 Mar

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

11 Mar - Sunday

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

10 Mar - Saturday

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

9 Mar

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

8 Mar

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

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

7 Mar

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

6 Mar

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

5 Mar

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

4 Mar - Sunday

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

3 Mar - Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Mar

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

1 March

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

28 Feb

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

27 Feb

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

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.