Day 76

Well, we got through the Transfer of Authority ceremony in fine form. The ceremony ended with the playing of the Army Song. When it played, everybody sang. Not the first verse, oh no, that'd be too easy. They sang the second verse. Which got me to thinking; I don't know either verse to the Army Song. I never had to learn it at Basic or AIT, and being in the Band we perform the song for others and never sing it. I had to get the words sent to me so I could learn them so I didn't look too much the fool in the formation. For those of you who don't know the words either, check it out;

First to fight for the right,
And to build the Nation’s might,
And The Army Goes Rolling Along.
Proud of all we have done,
Fighting till the battle’s won,
And the Army Goes Rolling Along.
Then it’s hi! hi! hey! The Army’s on its way.
Count off the cadence loud and strong;
For where’er we go, You will always know
That The Army Goes Rolling Along.

If I hadn't been giggling so much at the others in the crowd that were as clueless as I to the correct words, it may have been an actual touching moment.
I got my first packages from home yesterday, from Dad and my sister. It's amazing how objects, and some Christmas cookies, knowing they were last handled by a loved one, can have such a greater meaning, particularily when I'm this far from home.

Day 75

It gets dark here at about the same time as it does back home; sunset at about 5 pm and sunrise at about 7 am. We're outside when it is dark and I can see the sky, but it's not the same sky with which I grew up. Oh, we have the moon; that at least looks the same, but the stars are all wrong. I've been reading the blog of a buddy of mine, and recently he posted that he was longing for a plate of pancakes. I miss cooking for myself. Open a cupboard, check the freezer to see what you can put together, and make it yourself. The food here is good, and there is plenty of it, but I still miss being able to cook a meal for me. I think I need to buy a grill, some charcoal briquetes, and grill myself a meal. That should take the edge off.

Day 74

Ok, serusly, I nead sum healp hear. Mi blogg sight thincks I liive in Iraque. Sew, mi speell checque findds prublums wisth eavery whord I tipe, becus nun of the wurds ar in arabik. Kan sumboudy pleze tell mi howe two reset mi longuige bak to englioush? I already went to "tools", internet opotions, language, and made sure it was setto englioush. What othr opotiions doo I hav? PLEEZE HULP!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.