Friday, December 12, 2008
Day 73
Today was an Army kind of day. There is a Transfer of Authority, TOA, ceremony soon and I was chosen to be one of the 20 soldiers from the 287th to stand in formation, representing the 309 soldiers of the brigade. We had a rehearsal for the ceremony. So far, we’ve had 6 rehearsals. Mainly we’re working on saluting, present arms, and ending the salute, order arms. Oh, we weren’t good enough for the active Army Sergeant Major, so in addition to the 6 full rehearsals, we got to have a unit specific rehearsal. Present arms; order arms. Repeat as necessary. My oh my, what a fun time. I haven’t had to do this since basic training, a little over 20 years ago, but what’s up with the people who went to basic in the last 5 years or so. It’s like trying to herd cats. The unit we’re replacing, the 7th STB, finally handed over the office to us yesterday afternoon. They inherited the job 15 months ago from the 82nd Airborne. When they moved in, they left everything as they found it. Today when I was cleaning up, I found a newspaper that was 15 months old. Remind me again why the active duty always gives the Guard grief? There is a 61 year old Warrant Officer with us who people say looks much like me, and that I look like him. (I’m not sure if I am being insulted) Yesterday one of the NCO’s saluted me, thinking I was the Chief. Two steps later he was close enough to me to see his mistake and apologized. One of these days I’ll get a picture of us together and you can decide for yourselves.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Day 73
Yesterday we finished all of the paperwork and officially began our duties here in sunny Iraq. Now I just need to figure out how to do my job and I'll be happy. When I installed Skype the other day I accidently put my location as Iraq, not the United States, and that information bled over into other programs, such as Blogger. So, now, whenever I start this program, the log-in screen is in Arabic, and whenever I run the spell check, it says all of the words are mispelled. Ah, war is hell. Things here really aren't all that bad. There are two dining facilities, and there is lots of food and it is better than average. They rotate through a 14 day menu, and we've had steak, and surf and turf, and turkey and stuffing, and there is a sandwich bar, and a potato bar, and a very extensive salad bar, and a pasta bar, and a dessert bar, but nowhere do I find a bar bar. They serve non-alcholic beer in the chow hall, and you can buy it at the PX, but I figure if I can't catch a buzz, what's the point. Down at the PX compound, there is a Burger King, a Pizza Hut, and a Taco Bell. There are several resturants on post, one Italian and one Mexican. I'm going to do supper tomorrow night at the Italian place. The PX is stocked with esentials, such as Doritos, and dip, and salsa, and pretzels, and microwave popcorn, and sodas, and movies, and shoes, and bedding, and TV's. And I do like the PX people. Rather than have any of that stuff at a reduced price, just to make it easier for us, they kept the prices the same in this PX as they have in the PX in North Dakota. Isn't that nice of them? This way I'm not confused while I'm shopping. I'm so glad they're here for us. I still don't have a TV in my room. We have a cable hookup, and I understand there are 15 channels to choose from, and they're all free, but I'm liking coming home and not having to watch TV just for something to do. I do so enjoy the peace and quiet.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Day 69
Today is the first day of the second week that I've been in Iraq, but who is counting? It's not my first time away from home, nor is it the furthest from home I've been. It is, however, the furthest I've been from home when I know I won't be home "in just a few weeks". Of course the biggest thing I miss is my family. And my second family. And my friends. It has come as a shock to me that there are so many small things I miss after only a week in Iraq.
I miss my recliner and being able to put my feet up after a long day at work. I miss being able to walk somewhere and not have to have a rifle slung from the shoulder. I miss being able to cook my own food. The things I know I won't miss at this point are; drinking all my water from water bottles. I won't miss taking 2 minute showers. I know more will come up in the next several months, but this is it for now.
I miss my recliner and being able to put my feet up after a long day at work. I miss being able to walk somewhere and not have to have a rifle slung from the shoulder. I miss being able to cook my own food. The things I know I won't miss at this point are; drinking all my water from water bottles. I won't miss taking 2 minute showers. I know more will come up in the next several months, but this is it for now.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Day 66
As I sit in my new temporary home I have to think of the places I've recently lived. Here are some pictures of my old house in Devils Lake, all empty and stuff, my temporary house in Ft. Lewis, my temporary house in Kuwait and my temporary house in Iraq.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Day 66 - morning
I got up today and had a few extra minutes before I have to go to work, so I thought I'd post a picture for you all you all. I know it's one of my new favorites.
Day 65
We're slowly taking over our operations from the Active Army unit we're replacing. For me, it's been many inventories of equipment so we can get our people up and running and doing their job so the unit we're replacing can go home. Not much else right now, but enjoy the picture. I do!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Day 64
Hi,
Well, I've finally got an internet connection to my room so I can start keeping up with this on a regular basis. I took some time in Kuwait to make some blog entries without actually posting them. Feel free to catch up. Pictures will be forth coming, I promise.
Day 51 – Benchmark 1 met
Today I am writing my Camp Buehring, Kuwait. It’s flat, sandy, and there’s no beach bar anywhere in sight. We all got here ok, even on that DC10 built in 1970 in which we flew. If there’s one thing they did with great aplomb, it was food. I think we got fed every 3 hours. It was good food, but when you’re jammed into a seat built based on the average body sizes of Americans from the late 1960’s, and in a jet with no way of moving in order to work off some of that rich food, the flight gets a little tedious and, shall we say, a bit backed up? We’re here and living in tents. It’s kind of like living in a C-141, but at least it is air conditioned. I have roughly 15 inches of space on either side of my Army cot. What’s at the end of those 15 inches you ask? Why, it’s another bunk filled with a sleeping soldier. At least it’s not Ft. Lewis with it’s cold, rain and fog. Wasn’t it nice of the Army to send us, for six weeks, to a training area that was SO much like our area of operation?
If you notice, I have added a special marker to my day. I have some personal benchmarks for this deployment; things that will happen only by the passing of time and days marked on a calendar. Benchmark one; I got out of the United States and into theater. I am not yet in Iraq, but that wasn’t the benchmark. I figure that if anything happens to me from this point on, the Army will have to leave me on orders long enough for me to get to benchmark number two. I have no intention of spoiling the surprise of the other benchmarks; they’ll be announced as those dates are reached.
Day 58 – Thanksgiving Day
When you can’t spend this day with your family, or your second family, it’s best to spend it with friends. I don’t yet know if the 287th is my 3rd family, but they’re moving closer to that designation. My second family, for those in the dark, is the 188th Army Band. Yesterday was an interesting day. I had to go get some equipment that I couldn’t get here. It was at the next post over, Ali Al Salem. I got a tour of the Air Base; concrete bunkers built by the French that were not good for anything now except for catching water; the dining facility on the hill called “The Rock”, with a nice view; and a few local shops to get some stuff for our driver. There were Prada hand bags there for $50 and Air Jordan shoes for $75 and pirated DVD’s for $5 apiece or 6 for $20.
Day 60
It’s Saturday the 29th and I’m having an interesting day. Tomorrow I fly into Iraq to my duty station at Tallil. This morning as I was taking care of some personal bodily issues it dawned on me that tomorrow I’ll be in a combat zone. I may never hear gunfire or see the enemy, but I’ll be there just the same.
Day 62
Today is my first full day in Iraq. I’m stationed at Camp Adder, Tallil, Iraq. We’re living in trailers called CHU’s, pronounced “chew’s”. There are three each two-man rooms in each CHU, and there are two beds in each room. Each room is about the size of a college dorm room. My room has its’ own air conditioner/heater, 5 electrical outlets, a cable tv hookup, two beds, two wall lockers, and two night stands. My toilet is about 200 feet away and the shower is about 200 feet past that. Porta-potties have been replaced by flushing porcelain toilets. (Thank goodness). When I go 300 feet the other direction from the latrine, there is trailer with 10 washers and 10 dryers. I’ll get pictures out at a later date. I found my office and we worked all day doing inventories of the equipment we’re getting from the unit we’re replacing. My office is in a building that I think dates back to World War 1, I’m not kidding. But everything here is so dirty and beat up, it may be only 5 years old. I’ll look into seeing if I can find the age of the building. Pictures of my office and building will be coming at a later date, like when I get around to taking them.
Well, I've finally got an internet connection to my room so I can start keeping up with this on a regular basis. I took some time in Kuwait to make some blog entries without actually posting them. Feel free to catch up. Pictures will be forth coming, I promise.
Day 51 – Benchmark 1 met
Today I am writing my Camp Buehring, Kuwait. It’s flat, sandy, and there’s no beach bar anywhere in sight. We all got here ok, even on that DC10 built in 1970 in which we flew. If there’s one thing they did with great aplomb, it was food. I think we got fed every 3 hours. It was good food, but when you’re jammed into a seat built based on the average body sizes of Americans from the late 1960’s, and in a jet with no way of moving in order to work off some of that rich food, the flight gets a little tedious and, shall we say, a bit backed up? We’re here and living in tents. It’s kind of like living in a C-141, but at least it is air conditioned. I have roughly 15 inches of space on either side of my Army cot. What’s at the end of those 15 inches you ask? Why, it’s another bunk filled with a sleeping soldier. At least it’s not Ft. Lewis with it’s cold, rain and fog. Wasn’t it nice of the Army to send us, for six weeks, to a training area that was SO much like our area of operation?
If you notice, I have added a special marker to my day. I have some personal benchmarks for this deployment; things that will happen only by the passing of time and days marked on a calendar. Benchmark one; I got out of the United States and into theater. I am not yet in Iraq, but that wasn’t the benchmark. I figure that if anything happens to me from this point on, the Army will have to leave me on orders long enough for me to get to benchmark number two. I have no intention of spoiling the surprise of the other benchmarks; they’ll be announced as those dates are reached.
Day 58 – Thanksgiving Day
When you can’t spend this day with your family, or your second family, it’s best to spend it with friends. I don’t yet know if the 287th is my 3rd family, but they’re moving closer to that designation. My second family, for those in the dark, is the 188th Army Band. Yesterday was an interesting day. I had to go get some equipment that I couldn’t get here. It was at the next post over, Ali Al Salem. I got a tour of the Air Base; concrete bunkers built by the French that were not good for anything now except for catching water; the dining facility on the hill called “The Rock”, with a nice view; and a few local shops to get some stuff for our driver. There were Prada hand bags there for $50 and Air Jordan shoes for $75 and pirated DVD’s for $5 apiece or 6 for $20.
Day 60
It’s Saturday the 29th and I’m having an interesting day. Tomorrow I fly into Iraq to my duty station at Tallil. This morning as I was taking care of some personal bodily issues it dawned on me that tomorrow I’ll be in a combat zone. I may never hear gunfire or see the enemy, but I’ll be there just the same.
Day 62
Today is my first full day in Iraq. I’m stationed at Camp Adder, Tallil, Iraq. We’re living in trailers called CHU’s, pronounced “chew’s”. There are three each two-man rooms in each CHU, and there are two beds in each room. Each room is about the size of a college dorm room. My room has its’ own air conditioner/heater, 5 electrical outlets, a cable tv hookup, two beds, two wall lockers, and two night stands. My toilet is about 200 feet away and the shower is about 200 feet past that. Porta-potties have been replaced by flushing porcelain toilets. (Thank goodness). When I go 300 feet the other direction from the latrine, there is trailer with 10 washers and 10 dryers. I’ll get pictures out at a later date. I found my office and we worked all day doing inventories of the equipment we’re getting from the unit we’re replacing. My office is in a building that I think dates back to World War 1, I’m not kidding. But everything here is so dirty and beat up, it may be only 5 years old. I’ll look into seeing if I can find the age of the building. Pictures of my office and building will be coming at a later date, like when I get around to taking them.
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