My trip to the (sand) box

Hmm...

2008-12-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Working on something new...

Ugh

2008-12-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

Frustration and boredom have set it...I guess I've hit that wall that everyone that has been to Iraq talks about...

First it is exciting, then fun, then typical...now...not so much. Sort of like the stages of dying just not with the same outcome. lol

Get these cookies

2008-12-01T06:07:00.001-08:00

OMFG...think the love child of an Oreo and a Thin Mint...Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's. This could be the best cookie ever.

Stupid Steelers

2008-12-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

Ugh...what a disaster of a game last night. If that weren't bad enough my AFN is all jacked up so this is what my view of that travesty of a game looked like:

Actual in-game view. >:(

On the plus side...this arrived today. Planet Earth and three other BBC nature documentaries all on Blu-Ray. I'm in love with Amazon Prime. Free two day shipping even makes the creaky APO system somewhat speedy as my stuff arrived in 5 days.

Amazon Prime is seriously the best $75 that I've ever spent...possibly in the history of purchases.

Heard around the office

2008-12-01T05:30:00.001-08:00

To a colleague while setting up his Menorah: that's what Jews use to count down the days to Christmas, right?

Good times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T01:16:00.000-08:00

Nice weather

2008-11-25T07:15:00.001-08:00

Seems that the weather back in the States is getting crappy. It is still gorgeous here. Even though everything is dusty brown during the day there are still some nice sunsets - these are from today.

Sadler arrives in Baghdad

2008-11-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

A buddy & former colleague of mine from the Pentagon has started his own adventure in Baghdad just down the road at MND-B. I managed to stop by for a few minutes after a run to the PX.

Why China isn't a threat

2008-11-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

They have nothing better to do than comment on GnR's long-awaited Chinese Democracy. I don't know why they bothered...the album is meh.

On the other hand I was surprised to discover that myspace still exists.

Nice Day and moving news

2008-11-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

While DC was suffering through 30 degree weather is was a nice, balmy 75 degrees here in The Dad. Not too shabby for late November. I suppose I should enjoy the relatively nice weather as I learned today that we will be moving to Basra in the March time frame...right when it starts to get hot...like 130 degrees hot. Anyway, a picture taken about an hour ago:

It must be qualification day

2008-11-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

Dunno if people are getting ready for weapons re-qualificaiton or what...but the range has been in use the entire day. Given all the racket thousands of rounds must have been used today.

The Phantom Crapper

2008-11-18T09:07:00.001-08:00

The plumbing in Iraq - and in the Media Operations Center in particular - sucks. There was a sign on the door the bathroom in the MOC which read: "#1 only. #2 will back up the plumbing"

Apparently that did not send a strong enough message as there is (hopefully was) a mystery person leaving dookie in the toilet at random times. Today a sign with slightly stronger wording was put on the door to the bathroom...

Thinking of buying a Mac

2008-11-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me the other day why I don't write more...I guess there isn't that much that is terribly interesting to say most of the time. Work in Iraq is just like work in DC - save for the fact that I'm in Iraq. That basically sums it up.

At any rate, with that out of the way I'm wondering if any of the two people that read this foolish thing have an opinion on the following:

I'm thinking of buying a MacBook Pro. Given the fact that I have some time on my hands I decided to poke around the Internet to see if I could get find any opinions on the new laptops. After girding myself to venture into the creepy Mac fanboy underground I discovered what I would characterize as the Red Sox vs Yankees debate...glossy vs. matte screens. The MBPs only come in glossy (unless you want the giant 17"). While the Mac community is fairly vocal (particularly the graphics / image / coding types) there is apparently a great fault line which bisects the Internet on this issue. Sadly, the standard advice doesn't (compare glossy vs. matte in store) really apply to me.

So...has anyone used one of the "newer" laptops that have the glossy screens? I hear that they are better for color rendition etc but I'm concerned about reflections coming off the glossy finish. I'd love some opinions on the matter. I love my Thinkpad but am interesting in something that isn't so slow and clunky. Plus I can write off the purchase price of the Mac on my taxes.

Presidential transition

2008-11-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

It is rather interesting watching all of this election / handover stuff from afar. I can only imagine that there is wall-to-wall coverage in DC and that the senior staff guessing game is in full swing during happy hour.

It does seem that Bush is treating Obama with a hell of a lot more class than Clinton treated Bush.

Iraq must be making me stupid

2008-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

While it seems comparatively minor...I'm guessing that I'm losing some gray matter or something. For the life of me I simply cannot remember to bring my soap and shampoo back from the shower. If it had happened once or twice I wouldn't think anything of it...however it routinely happens a few times a week (seriously). Of course I never realize this until I get up in the morning to take a shower. It really is rather annoying. Bar soap is beyond difficult to deal with here so the PX is stocked with lots of body wash. Oddly, it is almost all AXE...I've been using it as there is nothing else. I must say, however, I'm a little let down at the lack of truth in advertising. Not that I've been counting but I have yet to experience any of the panty-throwing or the other benefits of which the ads speak. On the plus side I've purchased enough of the stupid bottles of soap to know which ones I like and which ones I don't like.

AAFES has probably taken a good $100 of my hard earned cash just on shampoo and soap. Good grief.

And now...what is good about Iraq

2008-11-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

The day after

2008-11-05T03:23:00.000-08:00

I'll leave the analysis of last night's election to the professionals. Merely by way of observation I'd describe the mood here as "subdued." The office is quiet, the outside is quiet, and one could hear a pin drop in the chow hall today. This, of course, is not terribly surprising as I could probably pick out about two of three people in total over here that voted for Obama.

The election experience, however, reinforced some of the less than happy things about living in Iraq - namely loneliness. Had I been in DC I would most likely have been out at a bar with a bunch of people, watching the returns, and drinking far too much beer for a Tuesday night. At the very least I would have sat around with my dog and watched the television.

By way of contrast (and reality) I was on my bed in my hooch, with the lights out, and headphones attached to the TV via a long cord - as to not to wake the (disliked) roommate. I finally went to sleep after 0530 after Ohio was called for Obama. All in all it was rather depressing. Speaking with a colleague this morning (also from the DC area) he shared many of the same sentiments - probably a bit moreso as his dude won.

Update: though I will say that unlike 2000 and 2004 when the though of either Gore or Kerry was enough to keep me awake at night I don't feel the angst (or disgust) about Obama. He wasn't my choice but I'm sure that he'll be marginally effective so long as he doesn't 1) embrace the kooky far-left or 2) immediately demonstrate anti-business and anti-competitive tendencies. Besides, the Republicans are going to be doing the whole circular firing squad bit for the foreseeable future and will, hence, likely be pretty useless.

Vote

2008-10-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

I simply couldn't pull the trigger for Obama. In the end it came down to the fact that I could not support the amusingly-named "Employee Free Choice Act" - ie: "card checks" for union organization. This is one of the worst ideas that I've ever heard of in my brief 29 years. It is worth all that the baggage that McCain comes with merely to ensure that "card check" does not pass. Not that I really think that McCain is going to win but here's to hoping...

Rain

2008-10-25T01:56:00.000-07:00

I'll try and get a picture of the mud later on...it truly defies description.

This is the water pouring off of the roof...or should I say this is the mud pouring off of the roof...

Full moon must be early

2008-10-24T04:33:00.000-07:00

The natives have been restless today...

1) Woke up to a fair amount of SAM (small arms fire) today. I hear quite a bit of gunfire as my CHU is right near one of the training ranges. I suppose the upside is that I can now distinguish range fires with shit going on outside the wire. Likewise, it is pretty easy to tell who is shooting at the larger caliber AKs etc that hajji uses make a much different sound than the M16/M4. Definitely not range fires this AM. I guess I can say I actually learning something during my trip here. lol.

2) Something big went off somewhere later this morning. I was outside taking a break and was not only able to hear it go off but I felt the pressure wave. Good times.

3) Three hours later the "incoming" alarm goes off...which normally is cause for a big yawn. Today, of course, I was taking a shower after chow and was walking back to my CHU in a towel and flip flops. Extra annoying.

My people need to talk to Brother Hajji's people to see if we can schedule a time for them to fire off all of their shit that is more convienient for me. Walking around in a towel and flip flops is a red line.

Christmas in October

2008-10-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my television, ipod dock and assorted other things arrived in the mail (thanks mom and dad!). It's amazing what some simple things in the mail do to boost morale...and the Dunkin Donuts coffee certainly didn't hurt.

I had to scrounge some parts from various "vendors" on the economy (various shops that aren't outside the wire but certainly not inside the wire...sort of a DMZ, I guess) to get everything working. Was up until about ~~0300~~ 0100 getting everything setup. 'Tis nice to not have to watch my CHU-mate's television - particularly since he's always watching the local arabic channels.

Likewise, when I woke up this morning someone had left a beach umbrella (I guess you'd call it) outside my CHU. I have a chair outside to sit in so I guess some anonymous benefactor decided to off-load some gear prior to shipping out. Requires a picture when it is light out.

Good times.

[Update] all of this allowed me to watch the Pats last night. I did wonder, while watching Monday Night Countdown, if folks back home were out and about watching the same thing around 1900 Eastern.

Absentee ballot...how to vote?

2008-10-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

I have a few days before I drop the thing in the mail (the one thing that the military ensures will 1) actually get to the US and 2) get there on time) and I'm actually somewhat conflicted.

Clearly I'm going to vote Mark Warner for the Senate. Who in Virginia is not? Seriously...if Warner pulled 70%+ of the vote I would not bat an eye. It would not surprise me if he received more than half of the Republican vote (given the alternative of that idiot Gilmore).

However, when it comes to voting for the bubba that gets all the marbles...I'm finding myself conflicted.

I really dislike Obama. I find him to lack substance and I really get annoyed when people start running for President the minute that their ass hits the seat in the Capitol. Joe Biden is enough to queer me from the entire thing...Biden puts Obama's narcissism in a box. The fact that the rest of the world is so in the tank for The One is almost reason enough to pull the lever for McCain just to tell everyone else to go pound sand, thank you very much.

I've got a McCain sticker on my car (unless my parents have removed it) though it probably is pretty lonely up there in the People's Republic of Massachusetts. If I vote for McCain I'm really going to have to hold my nose. The McCain of 2000 is gone and has been replaced by someone that I really don't recognize...the solution to everything is not to lower taxes. McCain has been correct on his assessment of what needs to be done here in Iraq - and was correct when it was unpopular and when Obama was flat wrong. While it clearly was a principled decision - and even somewhat maverick (bottoms up, people) - I'm not sure that McCain should be given the benefit of the doubt on every decision (*koff* Palin *koff*) simply because he made a good one in the past. Granted, it was the biggest decision on one of the biggest issues of our day. Plus, the crazy Christian right scares the bejeezus out of me.

I can't believe I'm going wobbly. I wish Guliani were still around.

Decisions, decisions...

10 minutes ago

2008-10-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Point - Counterpoint

2008-10-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

The stuff you get via email...

The sad tale of a bike

2008-10-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

I've been desperate to get a bike since I've been here...even though we have two vehicles at the office which anyone can use (though one is likely going away in Nov) it is rather hard to "get away." Right now I'm basically confined to Camp Victory and I know that it is going to start gnawing at me in a while. On my day off I'd like to be able to ride to Liberty or Slayer to look around, take pictures etc. I suppose I could use the bus system but I hate waiting around. Besides, I'm tired of humping my ass 15+ minutes each way to work every day.

So, to make a long story short...I got a bike the other day. After repeatedly striking out at the PX (and not willing to purchase the gay bikes they had) I finally asked one of the guys in the office to procure a bicycle for me...the bubba is like James Garner's charater in The Great Escape (Lt. Hendley - "The Scrounger"). Within 20 minutes (and $50) of asking him if he knew of a bike that was available it appeared...complete with helmet. I suppose the saying "you get what you pay for" really is true...I have no idea where the bike came, how it was "procured" or whatever. Suffice to say I took it without a test-ride which was mistake number one...The cables that shift the gears were jammed / rusted / or something...suffice to say when I got on the bike at about 2330 that evening to ride home (in the pitch dark) I discovered the hard way that the only gear that worked on the bike was 1st gear. Seriously.

I must have looked like a complete idiot with my feet flying around as fast as possible yet going nowhere. Likewise, I was drenched by the time that I got back to my hooch. The bike was returned the next day.

The search continues.

The blog is back (sort of)

2008-10-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Haven't written much lately...I even received an email about it...so I guess one or two people do read the foolish thing. lol.

Truthfully I've been both 1) busy and 2) very fatigued lately. I sort of missed the jet lag effect when I came over here but for some reason it has hit me pretty hard the last week or so. Maybe it is because I haven't been to the gym in a week or so but I've found myself many nights staring at the ceiling until 3, 4, 5 in the morning. Not good.

Dow Jones

2008-10-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Holy shit.

No power

2008-10-08T02:23:00.000-07:00

Good thing that I have a travel alarm clock as a backup...I woke up today about an hour late due to the fact that I had no power in my hooch (nor did the whole LSA). The most annoying part is the fact that no showers were available either.

Given the fact that it was about 90 degrees at 0930 it will be a fun experiement to see if Old Spice: High Endurance really lives up to the marketing.

Trip canx...

2008-10-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

...damned near as fast as it was scheduled. Contractors don't rate terribly high on the Space-A lists...

Bummer.

Heading to the IZ (maybe)

2008-10-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Looks like I *may* be heading to the Green Zone later in the week. 1,000,001 things could come up to canx the trip but I'm hopeful...would be nice to see something besides Camp Victory.

Are we making a difference?

2008-10-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

We, as in "I", and the rest of the public affairs staff...

Tough question and one I hear bandied about a bit every now and again. For better or worse we're not being judged on metrics per se as any old idiot could blast out press releases and be down with it...nor do we particularly care what the big-time media have to say about Iraq (crickets...).

Right now we're focused primarily on hometown outreach. A lot of the bubbas and bubbettes in the Army come from the smallest places imaginable (trust me). Whatever their individual reasons were for joining the Army (escape, travel, warfighting etc) in many cases some of these folks are among the first to ever really break away from their local communities. In many respects I suppose it is tough on them and it is probably somewhat tough on the small towns as well...particularly as many of them are on their second, third, or fourth trip to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

It is somewhat interesting, however, pitching stories to hometown news outlets particularly when the press release is just the hook to get the local media to do an interview with Private Tommy who is out in the field. Be it small town papers, local radio programs etc it is often funny to listen to assignment editors, anchors, broadcasters etc say "I've never had anyone call me from halfway across the world." Many of the folks are more than happy to do an interview with a local soldier that is deployed over in this broken country. No public affairs talking points, no story to push, no redlines...it is an interesting approach to the issue, I think. The soldiers seem to like it and the local media and townies seem to be pretty thrilled about it as well.

Oddly, getting local network (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) affiliates to agree to do an interview. Bizarre...I figured that they'd be the difficult ones to snag.

My office

2008-10-07T06:14:00.001-07:00

My little corner of the Media Operations Center

Birthday in Iraq?

2008-10-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

No booze, no bars, no women, chow hall food...what to do...?

Water balloons were the order of the day. It is the little things that make you feel normal.

Never thought I'd read this

2008-10-07T01:04:00.000-07:00

Clicky

Associated Press
BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox brushed aside the 100-win Angels in four games, dismissing their best-in-baseball regular season as last month's news.

When it turns to October, no one dominates like Boston.

WTF? I remember back in Oct 04 heading to the Rhino Bar in DC getting all drunked up with people while watching something that my father and my grandfather had never seen (though had been oft-considered).

While trophy after trophy is nice, I suppose, the Sox have come unmoored from history by all of this winning (frankly I enjoy it more when the Pats win it all). The sad thing is that all of the bandwagon mooks from 2004 now have hats that are just as faded and grungy as mine.

The only saving grace has been knocking the (Anaheim) Angels out in the first round in 2004, 2007 and now 2008...I'm never going to get tired of looking at the confused face of Mike Scioscia...that dude's team falls apart during the playoffs quicker than a drunk sorority girl.

Losing freedom to maneuver

2008-10-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

Politically, that is...the end result of The Surge.

It is pretty clear that the surge worked as intended. Hell, it was clear months ago (the dirty secret, of course, was that the surge started way before it was announced). Violence? Way, way down. Political reconciliation? Going in fits and starts. Well, that is not 100% true as politicial reconciliation is going much better between Iraqis (as is Iraqi provincal control) out in the hinterlands. Much like the politicans in DC that believe that they are the axis upon which the world revolves, policy makers and analysts back in the States seem to use "reconciliation" to only speak of movement at the Iraqi national level.

In many ways the Surge has been too successful. I'm not sure that FM 3-24 covers the following situation:

Violence in Iraq is ticking back up in certain areas of the country - particularly where there is local Iraqi control. In these areas of the country there remains a healthy number of bad dudes and other assorted psychos. In the past Coalition Forces had the freedom to manuever, politically, to do what needed to be done to take care of the problem. Detain, kill, snatch, grab, whatever. In many of these provinces and other areas where we have "known knowns" (in the words of Rummy) the security operations now have to be pushed through the Iraqi political wickets. Suffice to say that the Iraqis are not always the best partners...CF coordinate in good faith on the one hand and on the other the Iraqis make sure that the dude(s) that we're after bug out in plenty of time to avoid capture, death etc. There are certainly ways to mitigate this (and they are being employed, of course) but trying to pacify restive areas where the local political class is disinterested at best and wholly complicit at worst is sort of like using a shovel to throw water back at the incoming tide.

Death of a soldier

2008-10-03T00:25:00.000-07:00

Since I've been in Iraq a soldier has died almost every day in the MND-C AO. Sometimes just one soldier, sometimes two, and the blessed days where no one is killed or injured. I'm not really sure what to make of it, to be honest.

When I was working at the Pentagon the death of an airman seemed to be more of an academic exercise, for lack of a better description. Due to the AF's role in the GWOT the likelihood of dying is pretty small. This is not a criticism of the AF, of course, just a recognition of the fact that their role in the Joint Fight is somewhat different. The tip of the spear would cease functioning without the AF. That being said the death of an airman was always somewhat remote. We did talk about it, read about the deaths in the daily Ops Brief etc but it was just a number on a chart. In the Big House I'd describe the reaction as a kind of institutional existential angst.

Things are a bit different out here in the sandbox. The lens through which I view the situation is one primarily of a Public Affairs staffer. For better or worse that generally means that I'm one of the first people at higher headquarters to know when things have gone to shit. It is an odd thing to be in the office at 2330 (after a 14 hour day) and see a death notice being staffed through the coordination process.

Even though the soldier likely died somewhere out in BFE Iraq there is a real sense of weariness and sadness I see from the soldiers around here every time one of their own is sent off to meet his or her maker. It is an odd thing and rather hard to describe without witnessing it...moments of quiet and then two minutes later it is time to drive on and continue with the day's work. I suppose things might be a bit easier if a soldier was out on patrol and simply was shot. For better or worse that fits in a neat and tidy intellectual box...sometimes that stuff just sort of happens to men at war. However, when you hear stories that Iraqi Police were detained under the suspicion of being party of the death is makes you wonder...particularly when the same guy that was killed was training the police and breaking bread with the same individuals the day before. Likewise, when the locals that soldiers have spent months getting to know turn out to be the IED makers...it can be somewhat difficult to rationalize this sort of behavior.

At the end of the day the fact of the matter is that, for me, the death of a soldier is just a number of a chart as I have no real frame of reference. I think that I expected things to be similar to reading the daily death updates in the Washington Post...there is nothing that the media enjoy more than a steadily rising bodycount. The reality is that the numbers are the same to me...whether I read them in the Post, hear about it at the BUB or happen to be on the Ops floor when the report comes across the wire. The difference, I guess, is that I'm seeing the reactions of all those that have to put next-of-kin notification procedures into motion and I see them drafting up the release that will be add to the Post's count the next day.

Even though this must be old hat for many of the people here by now it is somewhat unsettling (in a good way) to know that the process kicks into high gear to get a death notification released. The death of a soldier is still something that is cause to wake up commanders and senior leadership in the middle of the night to keep them informed and have them make decisions. In an age where many soldiers have access to email and cell phones out in the field the staff at headquarters still uses words like "solemn obligation" and "final tribute" when it comes to ensuring that a family hears about the death of their loved one from a commander first instead of from one of the soldier's buddies in the field. One often hears about the loneliness of command or the weight of command...which is something that I really don't know the first thing about. However, I can imagine that times such as the above certainly contribute to the experience. In a world where half-measures are often the rule rather than the exception I suppose it is good to know that these professional men take this awful duty very, very seriously.

I can sit here and post this on a blog that no one reads, drink my coffee and consider the state of the world. One question I have been asked from the folks back at home is: what is war like? Life at Camp Victory is really a poor substitute for life at war as nothing really happens here. War, for me, didn't have a "face" until recently. I guess if I had to describe the "face of war" now to anyone that asked I'd describe the look on the face of the soldier that has to announce "we've had another one killed..."

Something to think about, anyway.

Cat on a hot tin roof

2008-10-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

This dude has been hanging around the MOC lately. His favorite thing to do is jump from the roof of the building on to the roof of the break area...bizarre.

The natives are getting restless...

2008-10-02T03:09:00.000-07:00

Ramadan is basically over so the small arms fire is back...

Top 10 at 10...

2008-10-02T00:35:00.000-07:00

Not bad to work into work and have BFBS Radio playing a block of old school Metallica and GnR.

Blowing Dust...

2008-10-01T03:46:00.000-07:00

Dodge City South

2008-10-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

My hooch is in an area of Camp Victory called Dodge City South. All of these pictures were taken the other day as I was walking back from chow.

On the map this area is referred to as "Central Park." At night it is used as a parking lot but during the day sometimes you'll see soccer or rugby played...it is basically one giant dust bowl.

Lookin at DCS from Central Park

This box is one of the many bunkers / shelters that they have around VBC. When "incoming" is sounded one is advised to find one most riki tik...

Looking down the "road" that I walk back to my hooch; I'm at the far end on the left

My hooch. My bed is on the right. I'm not sure if I'm going to stay here or put in for a transfer...hence my lack of unpacking. The guy that I live with is some old dude that has been here on his own for a while...he's taken up all the plugs, the cable drop etc. Plus he is always sleeping and gets up everyday around 0400. I'll see what happens, I guess.

Where is Matt?

2008-10-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone wants to know....

The blue box is Baghdad International Airport, the Yellow Box is Camp Victory and the Green Box is the Green / International Zone (click on the picture to see a larger size)

The Yellow Box is Dodge City South...where my hooch is

My home away from home

Google Earth has quite a few pictures of the area in and around BIAP, VBC etc

Eid at-Fitr food

2008-09-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight, the end of Ramadan, begins Eid al-Fitr. The long and short of it is that Muslims break the fast of Ramadan.

To celebrate, and to ensure that we understand the appropriate cultural bits, they had an Eid celebration tonight at the MWR. It was basically a small presentation about Eid plus a bunch of food (I love Middle Eastern food). The double-bonus was the fact that it meant that I could avoid the DFAC tonite...even though it was chicken cordon bleu night (not to be missed from what I hear).

Briefly, my review of the food...

Chickpea samaosa: awesome
Meat samosa: awesome
Lamb kabab: awesome
Chicken kabob: awesome
Stuffed grape leaves: awesome
Salad-type dish with spicy dressing: awesome
Dates: awesome
Various Middle Eastern sweets: awesome

Very good end to the day.

First IDF attack

2008-09-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

Had the first confirmed incoming IDF (indirect fire...artillery, mortar, rocket etc) today. All in all it was rather lame. The "All Clear" came pretty quickly.

I think that in my head I had planned to some sort of profound post but the fact of the matter is that I was more entertained hearing the C-RAM light up...these things just jumped up near the top of my "most awesome" list.

Good weekend

2008-09-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been pretty good...no doubt due to the fact that we get Sunday off. As I was rehasing with my friend Amanda (who spent some time here herself) I'm counting the weeks in steaks.

I generally have no idea what day it is since we're in the office all the time. Every Friday the chow hall serves steak...the only way that we know it is Friday is the fact that there is steak. I have one steak down...43 steaks to go until I get out of here.

Went for a run yesterday...probably about 3 miles. To be technical, I went hashing...though with NA beer (Lowenbrau is not too bad, Coors tastes like water that someone put their cigarette out in...). All in all it was good times and nice to meet folks that I didn't know in order to get a little mental space from the office.

Probably about 85 degrees this AM. Not too bad. I have several pictures of the area where I live ("Dodge City South"). Of course I forgot to bring my camera to the office today...ugh.

Ran into some folks yesterday that I was at CRC with...good to seem them here. Their orders were all jacked up so they had to spend a week in Kuwait...not fun. They're a mix of Human Terrain, PSYOPS and other "non-lethal effects" folks. Interesting crew. Saw one of the girls, Leslie, last night while I was reading a book and having coffee at Green Beans. Cute girl, ex-OGA type...one of the guys that I work with has declared her "his project" for this deployment. We'll see how that goes.

Walked in Al Faw palace yesterday (forgot my camera, of course). It was built by Saddam to celebrate the "victory over Iran." Talk about a waste of money - though it is very pretty inside. Out near BIAP there is also the "Victory over America" palace (from the Gulf War)...in a twist of fate it is unfinished. Apparently the MWR folks give tours on Sunday. Will have to check that out at some point. Since all things come in threes...apparently Saddam also had money printed to celebrate the "Victory over the Jews" (1968 war) which can be purchased at the Hajji market. Seems to me that brother is batting about 0.000...

Missed all of the football yesterday...grumble. Luckily the Pats can't lose if they don't play...

I keep forgetting how to log into this thing...

2008-09-28T22:52:00.001-07:00

Our satellite for commercial internet runs through Austria...even though I've managed to force Google to show an English page all the rest of the stuff (blogger, gmail etc) comes up in German. Very annoying.

Philosophy and Cigar Friday

2008-09-27T03:10:00.000-07:00

Friday night is apparently Cigar Night here in The 'Dad (if you can call Swisher Sweets cigars...). It was nice as we basically took time off of work (2200-2330) to sit around and bullshit.

The question on the table:

We've spent a trillion dollars in Iraq, have killed about 95% of the bad dudes and psychos, and are rebuilding the country from the ground up. Iraq, as a country, has been given an opportunity that no other country in the region has had since the League of Nations Mandates expired (and the Europeans left and simply drew borders on a map...they're good like that).

Is there any real hope that Iraq simply won't turn into a mess like the rest of the countries in the region (Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria etc...)?

Dunno. Food for thought, I guess.

About all the pictures...

2008-09-27T03:06:00.000-07:00

I was going to put all of them in earlier posts but I'm stuck on stupid when it comes to blogger (read: too lazy to go edit the old posts).

Plus most of the earlier parts of this blog were written in Word and copied over since I was bingo Internet for many days...

Proof that I'm actually here

2008-09-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

Mocked by Irish trash bins...

2008-09-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

Stuck in Shannon

GENERAL ORDER #1

[A primer for the personal conduct of U.S. Troops, including restrictions of Islamic Law and Arabic customs]

Relevant bit:

2. Prohibited Activities:

c. Introduction, possession, use, sale, transfer, manufacture, or consumption of any alcoholic beverage.

Good Times in Columbus, GA

2008-09-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

Random pictures from CRC

2008-09-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

Related Posts:

Thoughts on CRC

Further thoughts on CRC

Looking towards my hooch

Looking towards the DFAC

My building

Bed...

Redneck Cooler

Fire at the office

2008-09-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

Despite all of the warnings around VBC to only use power strips with CE or UL embedded in the plastic my office has numerous strips that were purchased "on the economy" (the Hajji shops).

This morning one of the O-3s was looking for a strip to plug in his personal computer to update his ipod software. Queue the smell of smoke and an electrical fire. The Division safety folks were called in to take a look at things and delivered the sage advice that "we shouldn't do that again."

Noted.

Annoyance of the day

2008-09-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

Good: real bacon bits for salad

Bad: Using a slotted spoon to serve said bacon bits

The only decent radio station in Iraq

2008-09-27T02:23:00.000-07:00

BFBS Radio 1 broadcasting out of Basra. 106.9 on the dial...

The most boring blog in the world

2008-09-26T00:43:00.000-07:00

That is probably what this will end up being as right now it is pretty much a diary instead of witty and wise commentary on the situation in Iraq and in the world.

Oh well, hopefully at least my mom will read...

Sad news...

2008-09-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Talked to my buddy James back in DC this AM.

For the last few years that he and I were in DC we'd go to Continental in Rosslyn every Wednesday night for half-price burgers and beers (he'd been going much longer than I).

Our bartender was a dude named Emeile...young guy about our age, funny dude...turns out that he died on Wednesday night. James said that he looked not-so-good on Wednesday and he got the news this morning (if I have my timezones correct).

The last Wednesday that I talked to him he was talking about his upcoming interview for a job over here...it is a shame that he never got to see this part of the world.

PAO Lounge

2008-09-25T10:03:00.005-07:00

First dust storm

2008-09-25T10:03:00.003-07:00

During
After

I was informed that this was a "lame" dust storm given the fact that 1) you could see and 2) the sky wasn't orange.

Annoyance of the day

2008-09-25T10:03:00.001-07:00

I purchased a local cell phone at the Big PX over on Liberty yesterday. On the plus side Asia Cell seems to have better reception than Iraqna…double bonus: calls to the states are only $.25 a minute. Not too bad. However, the battery lasted for all of two phone calls. TWO! Same thing happened yesterday too. I’ll be heading back to the PX to raise some hell over my piece of shit phone.

Living in Iraq

2008-09-25T10:02:00.003-07:00

I got pretty lucky…I only had to live in tent city for a day before getting my CHU (Containerized Housing Unit…basically a CONEX box divided up into living quarters). The tents definitely left something to be desired…and I can’t believe that I’m going to admit that I preferred the tent in Kuwait. The a/c in my tent was kaput and there were about 12 smelly dudes sharing the place. The only bit of humor was that KBR’s temporary billeting saw fit to issue me leopard print sheets. I wish I’d taken a picture.

My original CHU was supposed to be right near the office in the “Omaha Beach” section of Camp Victory. Not too bad, I suppose. The units are all brand new. Each CHU, for those of us that have no rank, sleeps two people. Bathrooms and showers are down the road a piece. There are also many “POJ” around…took me a bit to figure out that POJ stand for “Port O John.” Not to belabor the point but the interior of those plastic hell-holes can top 140 degrees…

Due to circumstances beyond my control there person that was supposed to vacate the CHU so I could move in was still in the room…with no ETD. My options were: stay in the tent for a minimum of another seven days or move to a CHU in the “Dodge City South” section of Victory Base. My CHU at DCS is about as far from the office as it is possible to get on the base…which I guess isn’t really a bad thing. Outside of the long walk some physical and mental separation from the office is probably good for the ol’ mental health. The plus side, however, is my hooch is right near all the “stuff” on the VBC. I’m right near the small PX, Green Beans, the gym, close to one of the MRW sites etc. Far from work, close to the things that make you feel human over here. Good times.

Not really much more to say on that point due to the fact that last night was the first night in about two weeks that I was not living out of a duffel bag. Even though I’m not the tidiest person in the world it did feel normal to fold clothes and take the dirty stuff to KBR. I suppose it is a sign of the times that I was told to come back tomorrow for my clothes instead of the normal three-day wait…sort of weird that things are winding down here just as I’m winding up.

This is a war zone?

2008-09-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting of Iraq but whatever that expectation may be the reality is completely different. Other than occasional helicopter noises the loudest sound around here is all of the generators that power the Victory Base Complex. No mortars going off (yet), the heat is bearable (the highest I’ve seen in 110) the chow in the DFAC is not too bad (though I’m sure I’ll tire of it quickly) and there are so many services that I might as well be in Chelmsford. Actually, there is probably more shit to do here than there is in C-ford.

I haven’t had much time to get out and about other than walking between my hooch and the office. Along the way I pass a Pizza Hut, a Subway, Green Beans Coffee (better than Starbucks, no where near Dunks) the gym, about three chapels, a few lakes, KBR’s laundry facilities, many hard stand bunkers for indirect fire protection etc. The head cheese at the office noted that Camp Victory is as close as one is going to get to having a “deployment in garrison.” Luckily it looks like I’ll be able (from time to time) to hop on a circulation around the AO to see what Iraq is really like. Multi-National Division – Center’s AO is basically from south Baghdad to Basra. Maybe I’ll get to seek Mookie.

Very first impression of Iraq

2008-09-25T10:01:00.002-07:00

As the C-17 putted along the taxiway the top part of the cargo door opened and I had my first view of Iraq. The very first impression that I had was that there are tons of trees in Iraq vice Kuwait. I suppose it is a rather odd first impression but seeing all of the scrubby Date Palms after the vast wasteland of Kuwait is stuck in my mind.

Anyway, here is a picture of BIAP from the flightline:

On to Iraq

2008-09-25T10:01:00.001-07:00

There really isn’t much use going into great detail about the flight from Kuwait to Iraq…the entire thing was over in about 45 minutes and I slept for a large portion of the flight. The anticipated “combat landing” at BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) was a bit of a non-event…or at least didn’t live up to the billing in my mind. The sharp turns, crazy angles, and steep descent were entertaining in their own way, I suppose. Based on the sounds made by the plane it was pretty apparent that we were not on a commercial jetliner. Of course the only thing that I could think of was that I should have some of the C-17 drivers that I know get in touch with my brother to give him some tips on how to really land a plane. I’m guessing that he’d enjoy scaring the shit out of the “self-loading cargo,” er, “paying passengers.”

Getting tired of "hurry up and wait..."

Waiting to take off

In Iraq

Kuwait: the land of sand…and sand

2008-09-25T10:00:00.002-07:00

The only think that I really have to say about Kuwait is that I’m glad that I was only there for a day. After landing at oh-dark-thirty we stood around the airport for about three hours waiting for the convoy to leave. Due to the fact that it is still Ramadan we had to wait until the locals finished whatever it was that they were doing that night so that we could get a police escort to Ali Al Salem Air Base. I saw Kuwait City from the plane and it reminded me of Hong Kong. Other than that the entire country seems to be nothing but sand and highways that lead off to nowhere.

After more paper processing at Ali Al Salem we had to cool our heels for six hours to wait to for billeting. The plus side is that there was a McDonald’s on post. The minus side is that the burgers tasted vaguely like fish. I did nothing but sleep and go to the gym. Kuwait is hot…no getting around the fact. It was probably 125 the day that we were there. Dry heat is all well and good but 125 degrees worth of dry heat is still 125 degrees.

I was going to go to chow with one of the guys that I was traveling with but we missed the dinner hour. I’d vowed to stay away from the Golden Arches so I ended up going to the KFC across the “street” (read: sand strip). My dinner choice lead to one of the more surreal moments of the trip so far…I was eating my spicy chicken, my colleague was digging into a Big Mac and the MWR folks had a soldier’s jazz band playing on a stage nearby. They were playing Hotel California. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

Rumor had it that the people slept in rather than getting up for the early morning calls for the flights. We contractor scum are at the bottom of the space-available priority list. The 0330 call resulted in a full flight but we managed to get on the manifest at 0430. We blessedly left Ali Al Salem about 0830 the same day.

I’m sure that the Kuwaitis are very nice people but their country rather sucks.

The joys of Army charter travel

2008-09-25T10:00:00.001-07:00

What a nightmare. I’m fully convinced that the Army spends a significant amount of time inventing ways to waste time. Travel from Ft. Benning to Iraq is a good case in point.

Friday (19 Sep) started at the god-awful hour of 0500. Someone in their right-thinking mind decided that all 250+ folks at CRC should turn in their linens between 0500-0600. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and we had about 2 hours. Baggage call was at 0715 which involved everyone humping all of their gear to the pavilion and dropping it on the floor. A good thirty minutes later after we sat around with our thumbs up our asses we had to break the big pile up into smaller piles based on our number on the flight manifest (mine was 106, not that it really matters). Small piles created. Success! More waiting around. In blocks of 50 we then moved our gear into lines to be checked by the military working dogs. We, likewise, had to ensure that our carry on baggage would fit in the size measuring device. This was a box created to “FAA carry on size standards” which our bags had to fit into otherwise much pain was promised. I dunno what left-nut airline has overhead bins as small as this little box but it was amusing to see the voodoo that people would employ to cram their bag into this small little box. At the end of CRC that, sadly, is what passed for humor.

At noon we boarded the dreaded buses for Freedom Hall – the air terminal at Ft. Benning. I’ll spare you the details but suffice to say we arrived around 1230 and departed at 2000. During the time I used the internet, slept, and read a book. Almost the entire book… After all of the pre-departure lectures etc we crossed the tarmac to the plane. As we were leaving the pre-boarding area they had the entire CRC cadre plus the Ft. Benning vice garrison commander (O-6) lined up to shake each of our hands and wish us good luck and safety. I was rather surprised by that but it was a good end to CRC.

Our charter airline, Omni Air International, had a DC-10 for us. I figured… “hey, nice big plane there will be plenty of room.” Wrong. It was all single class (coach) and I was stuck in the middle seat in a middle row in the back of the plane. Not only were the seats the smallest seats I’d every sat in (seriously…I’m not a big dude but my legs were touching both seat arms) but the outside rows (3-4-3 configuration) did not have anyone sitting in the middle seat…on the entire plane. *grumble*

First leg was 7-8 hours from Ft. Benning to Shannon, Ireland. I think that it was about 8 hours but I’m not sure as I slept for about 5.5 of them. We were greeted with the news that we’d have a 5 hour layover in Shannon but that General Order #1 applied…in other words no booze. Not surprisingly, in the terminal (at 830-0900) there were tons of tourists drinking beer. All of the Americans were drinking Guinness and all of the Irish were drinking Budweiser. I wish I’d taken a picture…it was rather bizarre. Atypically, it was sunny and gorgeous that morning. Most folks rotated between sleeping on the floor and visiting the smoking area which was outside in the sun. The Irish, clearly not concerned about terrorists, even stamped my passport when I asked even though I was just a transit passenger. Visa too.

Back on the sardine can to Kuwait City. About 7 hours I think…dunno. I slept for about 5.5 again.

Heading off Post

2008-09-25T09:59:00.001-07:00

Managed to sneak off post twice at CRC in order to enjoy the local Columbus, GA culture…and it really wasn’t much of a sneak as all it took was a cab ride…which cost a minimum of $30.

First time off went out with my colleagues Greg and Josey as well as Mike, one of the guys that we met at CRC. He’s from Charleston and will be turning wrenches on Humvees. CRC was his first time back in the States in about three years. He’d previously been in Iraq for two years and then spent a year in the Philippines building a house, drinking, gambling, and shacking up with a Pilipino. That seems to be pretty much standard fare for many that come to Iraq. The number of folks that had been to Iraq and then moved to either Thailand or the Philippines was fairly surprising…as was the number of folks going over for the first time that stated they were planning on heading to Southeast Asia after their deployment was done.

At any rate, I digress. The first night out we were all desperate to watch football and we figured that the local Hooters would have the game on…which, of course, it did (not that we really watched much of it). We spend most of the time drinking and enjoying the company of the wait staff.

The second time off post Greg, Mike and I asked to go to downtown Columbus figuring that there would be a few bars that were open. As it turns out all of the bars were open but they were empty…save one. We found some hole in the wall with a few pool tables and a live band (they were actually halfway decent). Several drinks in we decided that it was time to play pool and given that there were three of us we decided to play Cut Throat. Which is all well and good (even though I’m terrible) however the bar had lost the 3 ball so we were forced to play with two 2s. Didn’t exactly make life easy after a few rounds…

We also managed to go to some local place called “The Shanty Shack” where the focus of the entertainment was this girl:

And that’s all I’m going to say about that…

Luckily we didn’t have to be up until 1000 the next day which was a good thing given the fact that we didn’t get home until after 0330…

Further thoughts on CRC

2008-09-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

It is a given that CRC is a total suck-fest (just ask anyone that went) but the experience was not all bad nor was it without some moments of humor. Beyond hurry-up-and-wait and Death by PowerPoint it seems that everyone at CRC becomes and expert in complaining loudly and openly and telling tall tales which generally become more outrageous depending on how many times they are told…sort of the CRC version of the “fish story” but with all the bubbas around they were actually deer and boar hunting stories. One particular dude enjoyed telling tall tales about the number of prostitutes he has purchased with the number rising with geometric progression related to the number of beers that he’d consumed.

Most of the social life at CRC (outside of class, chow and the DFAC) takes place in the gazebos which are the only authorized smoking areas on post. As mentioned before we were treated as quasi-adults and did have access to beer…I guess it was really the last time that we’d be legally able to drink for a year.

The bubbas, being the inventors that they are, found a way to keep the beers cold during the warm nights in Georgia…the only type of luggage that we’re authorized is soft-sided duffel bags…no hard-sided or wheeled suitcases. Given that rule (which the CRC cadre enforce with ruthless efficiency) there was luggage piled up near the trash bins. Being green-minded, of course, we engaged in a bit of recycling…behold the Redneck Cooler:

Other than some personal time in the evening (which was welcome) I was quite ready to leave CRC in the rearview mirror. As someone noted… “only the Army could devise a way to make you desperate to get to Iraq as quick as humanly possible.”

Stuck in Shannon

2008-09-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

Stuck in Shannon, Ireland. General Order Number One prohibits any booze so I can't even sample the local Guinness.

Bummer.

Thoughts on CRC

2008-09-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sitting in Freedom Hall at Ft. Benning waiting on my flight...which departs in six hours. More hurry up and wait...I'll post pictures later as most of my crap is packed away.

CRC sucked. It wasn't hard in the least it was just a lot of sitting around with your dick in your hand...CRC brought "hurry up and wait" to an entirely new level. The sad thing is that we really didn't "do" anything all week. CRC turned out to be nothing more than standing in line waiting for folks to quickly look at a few papers and sign off on a form which indicated your status was still "go" (vice "no go"). The upside I suppose is that I've had so many shots during the last week or so that I'm pretty much incapable of getting sick. I was, thankfully, able to escape both the anthrax and the smallpox vaccinations.

There were an odd mix of folks at CRC...many of which were on their third or fourth (or more) rotation through the AOR. The majority of folks are going to spend time in Iraq, a small percentage are going to Afghanistan, and a handful are heading to points more exotic such as Djibouti.

I'd say, conservatively, that about 65% of the folks here (minus the Army) are mechanics that are deploying to Iraq to fix Hummers, Bradleys and MRAPs when the get "blowed up," as they say. An odd mix of folks which includes a lot of former enlisted types, a bunch of civilian wrench-turners, and more than a few folks that are recently released from prison (no joke).

There are a few of the Human Terrain analysts (all of whom fancy themselves to be operators given all the 5.11 gear) and a few PA pogues like me. The chow was edible but certainly nothing to write home about...at least it was free. On more than one occasion we had to eat MREs which are specifically designed to back up your system. The laxitive gum is a joke. The beef ravioli is fair decent, the meatloaf sucks ass, and the jalepeno cheese spread was worth about as much as heroin.

I was able to get off post two nights during which we consumed a substantial percentage of the beer in Columbus, GA (if anyone ever gets offered a trip to Columbus...fake the plague or something as it sucks). The first night was the local Hooters...which had no problem keeping the beer flowing but had some lame policy that a single person could not have more than two shots...like that is really a barrier to getting shitty.

The second night off post we managed to go "downtown" which consisted of about 7 bars that did not even have local barflies. We found the one bar that had live music and a pool table. I learned, quickly, that much beer does not mix with pool...particularly when the three ball was missing so there were two two balls. We ended the night at a local dive called "The Shanty Shack" which is about as exciting as it sounds. Short of having doors marked "white" and "colored" you would have thought that Jim Crow was still in effect. Black people on one side...white people on the other...there were even separate bathrooms. I had to use the latrine to make room for more beer and wandered into the "black bathroom." You could have heard a pin drop...very strange. We somehow managed to make it back to post about 0330...

A note to any DC cabbies hurting now that the city is metered...come to Columbus. Every damned ride cost a minimum of $30. Seriously.

That is really pretty much about it...nothing but lines, waiting and a substantial amount of boredom. Luckily the PX sold beer as there is nothing to do at CRC besides sitting around smoking and drinking. Given the oppressive heat a few of the bubbas from Texarkana built a "redneck cooler" for us to chill our beers. Hard-sided suitcases and / or "rollies" are not allowed so there were several sitting around the trash. Rip off the top, fill with ice...toss in beer...of course there was still some clothing in the case but that certainly didn't seem to bother anyone...one last day to feel human, I guess.

He knows something is up...

2008-09-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

This is how my dog looked all Friday morning / afternoon. I think that he definitely knew that something was up...

Life in 2.5 bags

2008-09-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

I was asked last Tuesday to go to Iraq until Jul 09 to support the 10th Mountain Division's public affairs efforts and told that if I said yes I'd be leaving on Friday. I discovered, rather quickly, that attempting to turn your life off in about 70 hours.

I'm thankful that I have (had) two good roommates that were willing to work with me to sell / donate most of my stuff and let me leave a bunch of clutter in the house. My buddy Tyler is doing a hero's job by offering to watch my dog while I'm away...which was completely unexpected. I'd basically resigned myself to giving him up to Westie Rescue...a rather tough decision given the fact that he'd been my companion for four years.

As my former boss said: when you have a quick-turn deployment you discover very quickly what matters in your life and to what degree you're willing to part with lots of accumulated junk. After cramming all the junk that I thought that I'd like to keep in a Public Storage locker (and having a friend agree to ship some stuff to Iraq) my life filled up two and a half bags...actually one and a half as the green bag on the right is filled with many pounds of body armor.

Why a blog?

2008-09-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm generally pretty bad at emailing folks and otherwise keeping in touch. I figure that if I'm going to be in Iraq for 10 months I might as well have a central dumping point for all of my thoughts.

My trip to the (sand) box

Hmm...

Ugh

Get these cookies

Stupid Steelers

Heard around the office

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nice weather

Sadler arrives in Baghdad

Why China isn't a threat

Nice Day and moving news

It must be qualification day

The Phantom Crapper

Thinking of buying a Mac

Presidential transition

Iraq must be making me stupid

And now...what is good about Iraq

The day after

Vote

Rain

Full moon must be early

Christmas in October

Absentee ballot...how to vote?

10 minutes ago

Point - Counterpoint

The sad tale of a bike

The blog is back (sort of)

Dow Jones

No power

Trip canx...

Heading to the IZ (maybe)

Are we making a difference?

My office

Birthday in Iraq?

Never thought I'd read *this*

Losing freedom to maneuver

Death of a soldier

Cat on a hot tin roof

The natives are getting restless...

Top 10 at 10...

Blowing Dust...

Dodge City South

Where is Matt?

Eid at-Fitr food

First IDF attack

Good weekend

I keep forgetting how to log into this thing...

Philosophy and Cigar Friday

About all the pictures...

Proof that I'm actually here

Mocked by Irish trash bins...

Good Times in Columbus, GA

Random pictures from CRC

Fire at the office

Annoyance of the day

The only decent radio station in Iraq

The most boring blog in the world

Sad news...

PAO Lounge

First dust storm

Annoyance of the day

Living in Iraq

This is a war zone?

Very first impression of Iraq

On to Iraq

Kuwait: the land of sand…and sand

The joys of Army charter travel

Heading off Post

Further thoughts on CRC

Stuck in Shannon

Thoughts on CRC

He knows something is up...

Life in 2.5 bags

Why a blog?

Never thought I'd read this