4 - 6 June

Well I've made it - I am back in the Ole US of A. After many hours of hop scotching from place to place, country to country, in helicopters, buses, vans, military and civilian aircraft I have finally arrived on US soil. It was a long few days but I am now safely sitting at a computer with the sounds of birds chirping in the background as I type my last blog entry - at least for a while. For those of you who are wondering what lie ahead, I will be assigned to a squadron shortly after I check-in to the base in California. I will likely deploy overseas again sometime in 2008 but the destination for that future deployment is unknown at this time but yes, Iraq is a possible location for my next overseas trip.

I would like to end this chapter of my life by saying thank you to all the family and friends that have followed me and my adventures over the last 189 days. Your e-mails, letters, and packages brought smiles, chuckles, and a sense of home even though I was 13,000 miles from my family. Sure, I would have made it through without your words, pictures, and goodies from the States but your daily "pick-me-ups" definitely keep me going during the Holidays and missed special occasions. The above pic is just a small sample of the cards and gifts that I received during my stay in Iraq. In addition to this collage I received over 324 e-mails that kept me in-touch with life back in America. It was my pleasure to serve our country in a time of need but your support made it much more bearable. Please give your loved ones an extra hug as you can bet I will do the same with my family and friends. If I do not have the opportunity to visit with you in the next few months have a great summer and THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. For those that enjoyed this blog, keep an eye-out for the next chapter; I expect to begin Chapter Two sometime in April of 2008.

3 Jun

Continued...
Zero dark thirty, I boarded the "Rhino" for the 2nd leg of my trip. Arrived at my destination at 0300; by-passed the sleep option and took the next ride out at 0400 for the 3rd leg of my trip. Manifested for a flight to Kuwait and here I sit safe in Kuwait getting the evil eye from the owner of this computer as I type my blog. I will be here a few days before I head to the US. I will add more details when I get more computer time...got to go.

2 Jun

I do not have much time on the computer so I will make this short and sweet. Woke at 0930 today because it will be a long day. Spent most of the day repacking and getting ready for the mid-night run. Checked-in with the transportation coordinator for my next leg...to be continued tomorrow.

1 June

This morning I went into the office to continue my check-out process only to find that work does not begin until 1 PM on Fridays. I did not have the luxury of Friday mornings off in my work area - must be nice, and I hear it is the same for Sunday mornings as well. Anyway, my check-out is complete and I have the correct paperwork to get me to the next location; in the future I will take the second leg of my six leg trip to the US; wish me luck. Take care

31 May

Even in time of war, we Americans can maintain a sense of humor. When I first arrived into the Palace area back in December I saw this sign and chuckled - now six months later there is still no change in the landscape - kind of funny if you ask me. As far as today I, I started the check out process in the morning and spent the afternoon and evening at a contractors house having food and great conversation. This particular contractor constructed one of the large facilities that I managed this past six months. The food was very good and the company was even better, it was a relaxed day compared to my usual daily routine. Tomorrow I will continue to work on my check-out sheet and prepare for the next leg of my trip. Take care

30 May

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

29 May

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

28 May

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

27 May - Sunday

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

26 May - Saturday

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

25 May

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

24 May

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

23 May

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

22 May

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

21 May

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

20 May - Sunday

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

19 May - Saturday

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

18 May

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

17 May

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

16 May

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