4th Message

Leah,

In my temp room last night I found a Time Life Magazine about America...pictures and text about the country at the start "Then" and "Now."  I was reminded of what a special and blessed land we live in and the great blessing it is to be born in America.  Yes, there were times of slavery and female suffrage but we have progressed in those matters.  In the US you can pretty much go where you want to go and do what you want to do and succeed or fail based on your effort and determination.  No so in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Much hatred, segregation, and discrimination that makes most similar subjects back home seem trivial - almost whining.

Iraq is hot, dusty, dirty, a heavily fractured country that is nearly broken.  The Iraqis that are trying to build a nation are at risk every day.  They are shot, families killed or targeted by car bombs.  It is a regular routine.  One of the gentlemen I work with was shot through the neck but was fortunate to survive w/o lasting impact due to being taken to our medical facility in the IZ.  He goes to his work place every day but the stress of the weekly, almost daily bombs show on his face.

I have been at Sather, Liberty, Victory based near the Baghdad Airport.  I have been several placed in the IZ.  I have now been to FOB Warrior at Kirkuk.  Tomorrow I'll be in Tikrit.  I see thousands and thousands of young Americans toting weapons everywhere they go, living in hot, dirty environments, missing family and friends, living simple lives with few possessions or free time, and doing jobs from simple administrative to country building to bomb disposal to road clearing to security details to medical support to front line fighting.  They are almost all the same...early 20s and relatively happy to be doing what they are doing...tolerating the hardships the are asked to endure very well.  Reminds me of the people of Alma that had burdens put on their backs that were made light in the Lord, except here the terminology is "embrace the suck."  Yes, it is not home and things are different, dirty, unpleasant at times, frustrating and strange.  But this is what your American military do.  They go to unpleasant places to do darn near impossible jobs to give others the opportunity for freedom and self-determination and sometimes do so at great peril.

I am proud to be a part of this mission.  I am meeting pleasant Iraqis who want a better life, a safer country but at the same time their planing is poor and execution worse.  Part of it is cultural and part of it is the complexities of fractured Middle Eastern life.  The best we can do is be the best Americans we can be - generous, long suffering, kind, and free.  While many may fight against us, their souls desire the same self-determination we take for granted.

I feel your prayers as the yoke here is easier and the burden lightened by them.

Give everyone my love,

Gary

Hello from Kirkuk...oil and Kurds.

Thursday, 1 June 2010
>
>This evening Lt Col Young and I took the Rhino convoy to VBC. We are
>flying to Kirkuk tomorrow. Kirkuk is a heavily Kurdish are but also
>where my fixed and rotary wing simulators, planes, helps, maintenace,
>and instructor pilots are. MSgt Velasco who I supervise and looks
>after day to day contractor operations is there also. The purpose of
>or trip is mostly orientation so we can better manage the various
>efforts there.
>
>We are spending the night in transient tents. The have beds, lockers,
>and good air. I stayed in a nearby tent when I first arrived on
>country and I rembered that one bed had a memory foam topper that was
>really nice, so I snuck into that tent and borrowed it for my use
>tonight. I wish I could figure out a way to get this back to the IZ
>where it would be appreciated every night instead of my the occasional
>traveler. Heck, some traveler left it behind and I an sure it has been
>lonely.
>
>We have to check in for our flight at 0700 so I better get to bed.

Friday, 2 July 2010

Wow...what a bad nights sleep! The AC is the tent blew like crazy all night and could not be turned down. I nearly froze with the thin blankets here. I had to put on socks, rotate my head to the foot of the bed to get out of the direct wind blast a little, and put my gaiter (for dust) on my head. I got up once in the middle of the night to stand outside to stay warm.

We got on the C-130 flight just fine. One take off was aborted but then we tried again and took off fine. It was hot and sweaty but made it safely. We spend the day meeting people, seeing our aircraft, going over issues and process and getting to know FOB Warrior, Kirkuk. Kirkuk is in the Kurdish areas of Iraq and as you may recall the Kurds and the Turks cross the boarder to harrass each other once in while, sometimes not to far from here. Also, Iran is only about 50 miles away.

Kirkuk is also the center of Iraq's oil industry. You can see oil refineries from here, especially the stacks where they burn off the excess gasses. You can see some hills in the distance. Supposedly on a clear day you can see mountains further off.

This seems to be the wild west out here. The base is rough, dirty, and of course everyone on base carrys a weapon. It is hot also. Supposedly it gets cold here in the winter...we are further north and closer to the mountains...although you can't see them today for the haze.

Tony and I are staying in some DV CHUs...seperate rooms in a connex with an adjoining bathroom we share. I have a TV *with* a signal (AFN) and a laptop that works OK. And most importantly, I can control the AC! Life is good.

Hope you are all well. Love,
Dad

The Dining Facility

27 June 2010

The Dining Facility (DFAC)

One of the key parts of our day and the yard stick by which we measure our battle rhythm is when we eat. The DFAC as we call it has certain hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and therefore becomes the great clock by which we measure time and break up the day. Breakfast from 6:30am to 8:30am. Lund from 11:00am to 1:30pm. Dinner from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. Midnight chow from 11:30pm to 00:30am.

Before we go to eat we often ask the other guys in the office if they want to go. We eat because it is time. We eat because it breaks up the day. We eat because it is a social event. We eat because it is there.

Our DFAC is a couple of trailers slapped together and some uneven floors...not too pretty but lots of choice and service. There are salads, fruits, nuts, cereals, breads meats, veggies, deserts and all kinds of drinks. Granted, sometimes it doesn't taste too good and the Mexican fare is really unfamiliar territory to the Middle Eastern and Indian cooks and workers but all it all there is always plenty of good food to eat. About a week and a half ago I noticed a guy in the corner cutting fruit so I checked it out. You just go up and ask for some fruit and whatever fresh fruit he has he cuts up...honey dew, cantaloupe, water melon, and pineapple usually. The watermelon and pineapple are always good. The other melons are not always ripe but good when they are. Pretty cool to have the ready service. I also just found out that there is another guy that operates a blender behind the dessert counter. He will blend whatever you give him or ice cream that he has behind the corner so you can make fruit smoothies, shakes, juices, etc. What a luxury!

The dessert counter looks great but I have not yet partaken of the baked goods. Typically there are several types of cookies, cobblers, cheese cakes, and regular cakes (carrot, chocolate, etc.). The guys tell me the cakes look much better than then taste and sometimes they are a bit dry.

Our base has a lot of internal folks on it. Not only we have lots of contractor personnel from around the Middle East and India, Nepal, etc. but the military folks we see at the DFAC every day are from England, Austria, Australia, Italy, and Netherlands. There are probably others but I cannot always identify where they are from. Folks of all nationalities tend to sit with their friends or the people they work with.

I have started to skip breakfast at the DFAC and have yogurt or oatmeal in my room just to cut back on the calories. It is hard to cut calories and have just a little bit of so many choices. Generally for lunch and dinner I have two types of salad, some fruit and some protein and water. I have splurged twice with banana smoothies, a few times with cheese tortellini, and once with lasagna. In general though I have tried to cut back the sweets, desserts, sugary juices, and breads.

Your Bahgdaddy

Saturday, 12 June



The organization I am in is called ISAM for Iraq Security Assistance Mission. This morning we had what apparently is part of a regular inter-organizational competition called the ISAM Olympics. This morning’s events were darts, pool, ping pong, and foosball. My office is ISAM-AF for Air Force. I represented my office by playing on our pool team. In pool we came in a very close second. Bummer, I sunk 4 balls in a row to nearly win the game but the last shot was too difficult. ISAM-AF came in second overall.



I worked out really hard at the gym today. My running coach would be proud of how hard I pedaled the exercise cycle today. My goal is to flatten my belly, put on 10 lbs, and substantially increase my aerobic capacity.



Normally when we going to the dining facility, if we have been wearing our body armor we take it off and store it in bins just outside the facility. The Marine and I just got back from visiting one of the Iraqi defense agencies in town and still had our armor on…my stuff weighs at least 50 lbs. Anyway, the Marine didn’t want to take his off because he didn’t trust leaving it in the bins outside. So, not to be a wimp, I wore mine in to the dining facility also. We were the only two in the joint that had our gear on. Got several funny looks but he was oblivious to them.



I have internet in my CHU (Container Housing Unit…house in a connex box) for $77/mo for slow internet. It is a lot for a little. We will have to see if I continue it. I am there mostly between 8 am and 10 pm…sometimes later. Yes, we are at work a lot. A little too much I think. I get a ½ day off on Friday mornings and then am supposed to get another ½ day off on another day. Right now I am scheduled on Mondays mornings but I went back to VBC (Victory Base Complex) on Monday. One of my co-workers needed a battle buddy. We never go off the FOB alone, even when in an armored convoy as we did to and from VBC (which in around the Baghdad airport about 11 miles from here.). I met some of my counterpart and established relationships and opened up dialog with them. They are Air Force guys that work the requirements that I help execute. You see, I am sort of an arms dealer for the Gov’t. My friends at VBC work with the Iraqis to find out what they need and to advise them on what they need to build a stable and functioning military. They then give those requirements to me and I work with stateside agencies to deliver the goods and services. I wish I could get a cut off all that money. Mostly the Iraqis pay for their stuff but sometimes we help them out too. The deal is we (and they) need to build up sufficient capability in Iraq that they become self-sufficient in their own security. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can minimize our presence. The Iraqis though are struggling with many different factions and opinions that wish for success and failure. Sometimes that don’t just wish but they sabotage the success of our projects administratively or actually kill people and blow things up…mostly against each other lately. I think the bad guys know the more trouble they cause with us the more likely it is we stay longer.



Due to the Rhino schedule we had extra time at VBC today. I toured the Al Faw Palace and sat in Sadam's throne. We also climbed through the Flintstone/Bedrock village Sadam made for his kids/grandkids. Poverty and opulence side by side in this country is amazing…as it is in many 3rd world countries.



Sweat my brains out on the Rhino back to the FOB. It got up to at least 120. This will be a familiar theme as I complain about the heat as it gets hotter and hotter for the next few months. It truly is amazing to carry on as if everything is normal when you are getting blasted by a 115 to 120 F wind. No joke...it really feels like you are walking into a massive hair dryer at times.



My boots are killing my feet. I was getting blisters on my heels. I have been using moleskin and double socks and that has helped until I find a better pair...which it turns out is not that easy to do here.



On Tuesday of this week I went over to DGA&S (Director General for Armament and Supply) for the Iraqis. I will work with this organization a lot as they help us get our work though the Ministry of Defense. They are in the IZ with us but a few miles from here so we go armored up and in an armored vehicle. The IZ is tightly controlled but that job has mostly been given over to the Iraqis so you always have to be cautious. Anyway, when I was at some training in Ohio prior to coming over here I met some very high level Iraqi Generals in the Ministry of Defense. One of the very high ranking ones is running DGA&S. I had heard from another Iraqi that I met in Ohio and had since met again at DGA&S that Staff Major General Kareem wanted me to see him. I tried on two other occasions but he was out. I hear the best time to catch him is before 10 am. So, today I was able to get to his building by 10 am so I went straight in to see him while wearing my body armor and I still had a magazine in my gun. I get permission to go in his office and the translator also seems to double as a body guard. It is understandable given my warlike apparel. Anyway we had a short and cordial re-acquaintance meeting and then we did some work that I did not expect him to request of me. Normally my General is the one who discusses work with him…not my boss and full Colonel and certainly not a Lt Colonel. Ooops. Can’t help it if the Big Dog wanted to talk with me. I do not suspect the General and I will do much business in the future. It was cool to get a private audience with him and share some “Honey” brand water. You could tell by the aides scrambling around that this was a big deal.



I went to the shooting range on FOB Prosperity today (Saturday 19 June 10). I got to shoot my 9mm that was brand new and never had rounds down the barrel before. I also shot a 9mm submachine gun that was very cool and a lot of fun. Who hasn’t wanted to put a machine gun on full auto at least once? I also shot a lot of ammo through and M-4…a shorter M-16. I actually shot two different ones. Once with a really cool holographic site. It was easy to shoot well with that site. I did some combat skills shooting where I had targets down range on my right and left and the instructor would call out threat right or left and I had to quickly put two bullets through the right target. We call that double tapping. I did this as I was walking toward, away, standing, and keeling and changing out magazines as the instructor called out directions to go forward, back, stand, kneel, etc. It was fun though really hot and sweaty with all the body armor, helmet and side arm on and shooting the M-4. I had to put gloves on because the M-4 was so hot from the sun and my shooting 150 rounds though it.



I am safe. Hazards do abound around us but we have a pretty secure protective bubble and we do all we can to travel as safe as we can also. I feel the prayers and am grateful for them. Give everyone my love and thanks.



Love and miss you all. I stayed up to 1230 am to write this so don’t be afraid to expend a little energy and write back,



Gary/Dad

Hello again from Bagdad.

Monday, 7 June:

It became clear I was never going to get a helo flight out so I kept asking around until I found a bus driver that knew where the Rhino stop was on Victory. So I called the bus company again that supposedly could get me to the right destination and gave them a more clear picture of where I was and where I was going and this time they said they could accommodate me. About ½ hr later I met a small van where I loaded up all my gear…a good 200 lbs if you count the body armor, helmet and back pack also. Why do I keep bringing up the weight? It is hard to strap all that weight to your body and they drag heavy awkward bags over poor terrain for any distance. The van met me about a football field away from where I was all morning so it was no small task dragging it out to the van where the driver was not on contract to help me load up – thanks buddy.

So, we drove from one side of the Victory Base Complex on and near the Baghdad Airport to the other side of the Complex to the actual Victory Base proper. The place where I was to meet the Rhino was a dirt patch between a road and a parking lot hear the Al Faw (sp?) Palace. It is the fancy palace with Sadam’s throne that is on a small man-made lake. Anyway, I arrived 3hr before the Rhinos were to arrive so I sat with my luggage out in the heat and the dust drinking a bottle of water that had been left out in the sun all day (they have water bottle stacked up everywhere here). After about an hour another guy arrived and helped me lug my gear to a nearby building that he had access to. With my gear secured (I couldn’t just leave it on the side of the road to seek shelter) we took a 10 min. walk to The Green Bean which is a Starbucks-like coffee shop. We had mango smoothies and cooled off in their AC. Whew, was that a blessing. About 1.5 hrs later we dragged my gear back to the curb and met the Rhinos which are technically called MRAPS. I do not know what that stands for but they are a sort of wheeled armored personnel carrier that can hold about 8 people to include a driver, navigator, and gunner that stands up in a turret of sorts. There was also an armored baggage truck. After a roll call, mission and emergency procedures briefing, we loaded up several Rhinos and took the 11 mile/30 minute ride from the VBC (Victory Base Complex) or BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) to the IZ (International Zone) and FOB (Forward Operating Base) Union III. The ride was uneventful and the seats were very uncomfortable, especially has you had to strap yourself down very tight with a 5-point harness and lightly padded seats. Baghdad looked rough…3rd world mud huts with satellite dishes to 2-3 story concrete flats like you might find in Okinawa or Ecuador. Lots of dirt fields, little vegetation except palm trees, concrete rubble and debris everywhere and Iraqi police and military check points at every major intersection or bridge. It looked pretty bleak.

Once we arrived at the FOB I was met by one of the guys from my office. He helped me drag my gear to the billeting office where I was assigned a room in the building until I get assigned my permanent living quarters. The room has three beds, three lockers, three little metal cabinets as pseudo night stands. A micro fridge for a few bottles of water and hard tile floors. Very plain but best accommodations to date. Unfortunately the bathroom and showers are located in a trailer in the gravel parking lot out back. I am the only one in the room so I moved the beds and lockers all around to make a semi-private space in the back of the room…just in case I am here for a while and I get roommates.

I went to dinner at the DFAC which is OK. Not as good as at Sather by any means but good enough. Plenty of variety really but they say that it is much the same thing every day so it will get boring. The process to eat at the DFAC is: 1) clear your weapon, 2) show the guard your ID, 3) go into the building and wash your hands, 4) scan your ID to log in, 5) grab plastic plates, bowls, and utensils, 6) get whatever food and drink you want, 7) go into the very busy dining room and eat, 8) carry your tray outside and dump the trash into garbage cans, 9) stack your tray with all the trays of the same color, 10) leave and repeat for the next meal.

I met my boss, Col Vanderwerf or Col “VW” and a few of the guys from the office at dinner. After dinner I went to the office to see my work area and look for the container Leah shipped and the one I shipped. Neither have arrived. Bummer. I can get a long for a while with what I have though.

Tuesday, 8 June

I fell asleep hard and quick around 10 PM and since my new boss said to not come in the first ½ of the day tomorrow, I slept in until 8:30 AM. That is the most sleep I have had since this trip began. It felt good but I think the major time zone shift as well as the heat, dirt, travel, stress, etc. caught up with me. I felt a little out of it for ½ the day. Anyway, I got up, showered, and went to breakfast only to find that breakfast was already over and I would have to wait until 11 AM for the lunch service. I had plenty of water to waiting was not a big deal. I took the time to walk around the FOB a little and explore. It is not a very big place. It has a small Green Bean just in the main entrance to the biggest building (the former Baath Party HQ). At the opposite end of the FOB there is a tiny BX about 1/3rd the size of a basketball court. There are also “Haji shops” where the local vendors sell their wares…movies, shoes, luggage, crystal, rugs, knickknacks, perfume, jewelry, etc. The Haji shops are in the building that was to be the mausoleum for Michael Affleck, a Syrian that was one of the founders of the Baath Party. I understand he was never buried there.

On the FOB we have two ways of doing laundry: 1) two self-service trailers where you can do your own or 2) a drop off facility with a 48 hrs turn around where laborers run your laundry through scalding hot water washers and dryers. #2 is free so guess which one I’ll be using? Apparently they throw your laundry together so in an attempt to keep my whites white I’ll drop them off on the day I pick up my colors and vice versa.

I made the mistake of going by work. Col VW is all excited about me hitting the ground running and doing lots of urgent work so he pontificated about work and why we are so busy and why we need to be there 15 hrs per day. It is not as bad as it may seem since that include lunch and dinner and gym time but still, the philosophy of all you have to do in Iraq is work, eat, poop, and exercise is a little aggressive given that we are no longer in a combat role as much as we are in a security assistance one.

Anyway, the good Col, who actually does seem like a nice guy, gave me a tour of the roof of the building we work in. As I mentioned, it was the former Baath Party HQ but we put a big bomb down the center during the war. Although the center was destroyed, there was a lot of renovation to make office out of the salvageable parts that remained. From the roof top I could see key landmarks in Baghdad that are very close to us like the big Crossed Swords, the Military Parade Grounds, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I could also see the new US Embassy complex, various Mosques, the 14th of July Bridge, the Tigris River and many of the key Iraqi building you would recognize from the pictures from CNN.

After the tour I started working some of my in processing and getting to know the office and my co-workers. When fully staffed there are 8 of us Majors and Lt Cols working for a Colonel who works for a Brigadier General. Our mission is security assistance and that means helping the Iraqi’s procure equipment, skills, and training to build competent capabilities. While we are the Air Force team, we do have some projects that touch some of the other services areas of responsibility. It looks like I’ll be working on arranging pilot training, some fixed and rotary wing maintenance, some fixed and rotary wing simulator operations and maintenance, and the relocation of some of those assets from Kirkuk to Tikrit.

Wednesday, 9 June

I went to the gym last night. It is a pretty well stocked gym. Maybe 10 stationary bikes, 10 elliptical machines, 20 treadmills, 5 rowing machines, 5 stair climbers, free weights, nautilaus-type machines, and cable machines. I understand this is all relatively new. Supposedly the stuff was to go elsewhere but with the pending drawdown of other places they decided to put it all right here. It looks like there will be very little waiting for any machine you might want to use.

Today was my first full regular day at the office. We wear our full battle rattle into work and then only have to keep out primary weapon with us the remainder of the day. My weapon is the 9mm Berretta. At the end of the day you wear your body armor back to your quarters. If the threats increase then we will keep our gear closer or wear it more often. The temperature got hot today. I don’t know for sure but I think it was as least 115 degrees F. Supposedly in a month or two it will peak as high as 140. That is going to be a bit uncomfortable. Already if feels like you are walking into a very large hair dryer when you go outside. Put the body armor on top of that and it gets quite toasty.

To my surprise I was assigned my very own “CHU” today. A CHU is a containerized housing unit. Basically they take those sea-land connex boxes and build living quarters in them. Normally they are divided in half and each side has two people and they are “dry” in that there is no water or plumbing. However, there are some that have a toilet and show in each side and only enough living space for one person. These are “wet” CHUs. I was lucky enough get a wet CHU so no more communal shower or long walks to stinky community bathrooms in the middle of the night. My CHU even has a mini fridge, mini microwave and a TV/DVD. No cable, satellite, or internet so I’ll have to continue to hunt for internet service. The CHUs are somewhat insulated and have a window shaker style AC unit. Also, every few CHUs there are large concrete walls called T-Walls that separate and protect the CHUs and “duck and cover” bunkers every so often for blast protection. Let’s hope we will not need them for this next year.

I hit the gym again late tonight. I am not liking this business of getting to the gym around 10pm.

Thursday, 10 June

Learning my job and all my projects is really difficult since the guy I replaced when home the same day I arrived. The projects are complex and sifting through the piles of papers, notes, files on the computer, databases, etc. is like building a puzzle only you don’t know what the puzzle is supposed to look like. This is the part of the job I hate…not being competent yet being responsible. Tonight I had to update the status on every project and subproject for the General’s notes. What a pain that was because I frankly don’t know what I don’t know. I hope I don’t get hammer tomorrow night when we meet with the General. I got back so late…about 10pm…that I did not go to the gym. Plus I got my boxes today and needed to stow all my gear and that took a while. It is surprising how little stuff I was getting by on since I left San Antonio. Now I feel like I got too much crap. A lot of it is military gear that I really don’t have a need for but was supposed to bring. I also have a very large and heavy chem gear bag that I have to have but hope like heck I never need.

We got a new Marine Lt Col into the office today. He and I tackled the boxes, goodies, and care packages that were strewn around the office and on the conference table. He is a little OCD and he needed something to do because he did not have computer access yet. Anyway, there were goodies, mainly candy and cookies, along with some toiletries and health care items. Some of this stuff has been there for almost a year. There was a ton of Easter candy also. I know the good people who sent these packages with their love and well wishes meant well but the Bunny ears, coloring books and blow up Easter animals probably didn’t understand that a bunch of gun toting guys in a “country in transition” would probably not play with such items. It would be nice to give some of this to kids but I don’t the Muslims would appreciate Easter the same way we do. In general though we are separate from the local populations with concrete walls, checkpoints, and guns so there will not be a lot of interacting with the locals.

I also got my laundry back from the free drop off location today. My green boot socks lost ½ their color. My PT gear looked like it aged a bit too. I dropped my whites off when I picked up my colored laundry. I wonder if all that “lost” color is going to find its way to my whites?

In the office we have a pile of DVDs. Some are from home and some from the Haji shops. I decided to put in the new Russell Crow Robin Hood movie but it would not play in the DVD player in the room so I played it on my laptop. The Haji shop movies are apparently cheap pirated movies. This movie looked and sounded like someone was filming the screen in a movie theater in Russia. All the movie text and sub-titles were in Russian so I did not understand all the historical background. For the first ½ of the movie it looked like someone’s head was blocking the lower right corner of the screen. The quality and audio was so poor that I couldn’t get into the movie and shut it off and when to bed.

Friday, 11 June

Friday is our ½ day off. Apparently the Iraqi’s don’t work on Fridays. We don’t have to come into work until after lunch around 12 or 1 pm. Of course if you stay until 11pm it is not really a ½ day off but maybe a 1/3 or ¼ day off. Anyway, I was able to sleep in until 8:30am and then went to the gym. I came back to my CHU, cleaned up and geared up and went to lunch and then into the office. The body armor did not feel as heavy today. Maybe my body is starting to normalize a little.

At lunch I grabbed a soy milk box. Geez was that nasty! One sip and my throat clenched. I read the side panel and it contained water, soy beans, wheat and barely extract (is this soy beer?), carbonation, seaweed and sea salt. Yuck. It tasted like a thick pesticide shake that was brewed in old stinky shoes. I hate to waste food but that went in the trash.

Friday’s is also when our church meetings are. Me and three others met at the FOB and walk over to the massive new US Embassy compound. It took about 20 minutes to get everyone in through their security and they took my iTouch so I didn’t have my scriptures, hymn books and manuals. I got the iTouch back when I left the compound but it would have been nice for the meeting. About 14 (10 men, 4 women) of us met in a small conference room. It was a strange gathering. We mostly sat around a table with our water bottles. There was no designated head of the room or pulpit. Someone conducted and the Branch Pres. was in a corner of the room and ran a computer that played the music for the hymns we sung w/o books…except the four people with their iTouches!!! Apparently if you have a badge you can take stuff like that in. If you do not, you are out of luck. I need to get me a badge for the Embassy. Anyway the meeting was very simple – hymns, sacrament and a 10 min or less talk. I bet we were done in ½ hour. We then took a short break and had a Sunday School lesson for about 30 minutes where there was little discussion. I ended up participating as much or more than anyone. I found it all a little steril and weird. For example, I only met the people I walked from the FOB to the Embassy with. No one else came up and said hello and no welcomes or introductions were made either. Because I had a meeting with the General and our Air Force Team I got one of the people who came over with me to go back. When you cross between the FOB and the Embassy you always have to have a battle buddy. The road is controlled by the Iraqi’s but it is a little a little war zone’ish, with heavily armored SUVs zipping up and down the street and you are outside the big protective concrete walls. I definitely kept my head on a swivel. I would have felt better if I had a magazine in my gun and a round chambered but the road is supposedly safe…as long as you have a battle buddy that is. Speaking of guns, it was weird wearing a gun in an exposed shoulder holster during church. Maybe next time I’ll take if off during the meeting but the other military guy was wearing his and at least two others hand theirs concealed.

The meeting with the General was OK. A little long and he did call me out with some questions on about four of my projects. I really didn’t have any good answers because I frankly just haven’t unraveled the puzzle on this stuff yet. Did I mention I hate being responsible yet not competent? After the meeting a couple of the guys came up to me and told me not to sweat it. That was nice but I still don’t like this part of the job. I finally left work about 11pm. There were 5 of 9 people still in the office when I left. Crazy.

More later...

Love,
Dad/Gary

Qatar to Iraq

Yesterday morning I got up about 5:30am. IT was already quite bright. I think the time zone is off by almost two hours from what we are used to. I headed to the pool and swam some laps for exercise and to stay cool. After that I got some breakfast, killed some time, mailed my work BlackBerry back to the office, killed some more time, then packed up, turned in my bed linens and started forward movement processing at 1:30 pm. We loaded up on a C-130 and head to Iraq at 6pm. It was crazy hot and the wearing the body armor and helmet and dragging about 125 lbs of luggage had me sweating profusely. Water was coming out of me as fast as I could put it in. It would have saved time to just dump the water over my head instead of bothering to drink it and have it dump out my pore and into my eyes and everywhere else. My core temperature was getting very high. Once airborne I ripped open my body armor to ventilate – whew! I thought I was going to meltdown.



So a few hours later, flying w/o lights we landed at Balad, north of Baghdad. We were on the ground about an hour there and then headed to Baghdad. We arrived at BIAP/Victory Base/Sather Air Base a little before midnight. I eventually got a bed in transient tent, where I was the only occupant, for the evening. I then got up around 5 am, got a shower in the show trailer down the road, turned in my linens, found the chow hall, and checked in at helo operations for a ride to the IZ in downtown Baghdad. However, due to the dust storms, the helos are not flying right now. The air is thick with a talcum-like dust. My eyes are getting caked with it and my lungs can feel it down deep. Lovely, eh? At least the temperature is not brutally hot yet. So, here I sit at helo ops with little likelihood of getting a flight until late tonight. So, I finally got a hold of someone in the office I’ll be working in and they put in a request for me to travel by Rhino (an armored bus). It doesn’t leave until about 8pm but that is not the real problem. The problem is the Rhino departure point is about ½ hr from here, I have a ton of gear to wear and drag (dog tags are now on and sidearm strapped to my leg) and I have yet to figure out how to get from here to there. The third party national that I spoke with on a phone that apparently schedules a bus that could get me from here to there did not seem toknow where I was nor where I was going. Other than helo ops and the Rhino yard, I do not know either as a newbie here stuck in a dusty haze. Fun, fun. While I ponder the possibilities and look for a way forward I realize why they say the hardest part is just getting to your final destination (and then getting back out to go home). By being persistent and tenacious and I will find a way to get to the IZ by tonight. I could easily see how I could get lost for a day or two really easy before anyone started to look for me. Weird huh?



It is 10 am now. I have ½ a day to figure out how to get to the other side of the Victory Base Complex and past all the Ugandan manned checkpoints. In the mean time the chow hall (or DFAC for Dining Facility) is not far away and they have all the food I could possibly eat. I had some banana milk and white cantaloupe with my breakfast. They were both good. The scrambled eggs may not have been powdered and the turkey bacon was also good. Jealous?



More later….if I don’t run out of battery power which is always a problem.



Love,

Gary/Dad

Trip to the sandbox.

I got a shower and was sweating the second I got out. Made shaving
with the electric razor a little less effective! The shower/bathroom
units are called "cadillacs." I guess it is because the are an upgrade
to the old shower/shave tent. Essentially they are trailers with
showers, sinks, and toilets but have little to no air conditioning and
smell like porta potties that have been in the sun too long. Lovely eh?

I got a 3 hr nap so i am ferling a bit better. The tent like thing I
sleeping in has 22 bunk beds for 44 people. Right now my tent is 1/3
full. Of course when I got in there was only one person in the entire
place and he was sleeping in my bunk so I just took another one.
Hopefully I will not cause the same issue for someone else. I have all
my "3-day gear" stowed in a footlocker. The other 200 lbs of gear is
in a bin being palletized for shipping to Baghdad so I cannot get at
that. I mostly have what I need for my anticipated short stay.

The tent AC is currently keeping the temp at about 80 degrees so it is
livable.

So, the temp is about 97 degrees and somewhat humid. Baghdad is 117
and more dry. I hope the dry heat does not feel 20 degrees hotter than
this does!

If you cannot tell, I am doing everything on my iTouch right now
because it is easier than lugging around my laptop. I have my iTouch
in an armband so I can carry it with me from wifi zone to wifi zone.
Everyone appears to have laptops and are constantly searching out
power outlets and wifi. We are slaves to how we communicate. This is
so much better than sending letters home that take weeks to get there.

The uniform from now on is the ABU ( new camo uniform that is very
hot) or PT gear, no civilian cothes at all. PT gear is the Air Force
t-shirt and shorts that have no pockets except for an ID card slot. No
place for a wallet or keys so I keep my wallet locked up, my ID card
in the slot and my foot locker key on my dog tags around my neck.

I got some dinner at the dining facility which is not too bad. Later
my group met up to discuss our flight plans. We leave for Baghdad
tomorrow afternoon after a couple hrs of out processing, starting with
linen turn in at 1:30pm. That is the same time as the LDS church
service so I will miss that.

It is 9:00pm here so I will stay up a bit longer before trying to get
some sleep. I want to acclimate to this timezone soonest. By the way
it started to get dark by 6:30pm which seemed odd for this time of year.

Still have not seen a single plant on this portion of the base.

Love to all,
Gary

I am tired...

I arrived at Baltimore International Airport at 2:30pm on Thursday the
3rd of June. After many hours waiting in lines and sitting in a very
crowded USO we departed at 2:00am on Friday morning. While killing
time in Baltimore I joined a community group that was welcoming home
returning troops for about 2hrs. It was great to see the community
doing that.

The flight to Ramstein, Germany took a little under 7hrs. I believe I
recognized flying over England, the english channel, and France before
getting to Germany. We spent about 2.5hrs on the ground in Germany
waiting in line and sitting in the USO or other holding areas. Next
stop: Aviano, Italy.

I am tired but I think I will look out my window for the next leg of
the flight. The interesting thing while looking out the windows is I
do not see boarders, politics, religion, enemies. I mostly see a
beautiful earth we have been given.

It was about 3 hr flight or less to Italy. I think we flew over the
Swiss Alps. I dozed quite a bit so I missed a lot of the scenary. What
I saw of the Italian countryside was beautiful.

We are sitting in the terminal and there is another line! It takes
about 1/2 hr to get throuh but you get free hot dogs and sandwiches.
If they just changed the food layout it would go twice as fast. I had
an energy bar in my pocket so that might be my dinner unless the line
gets shorter.

The water fountain here is sensor activated like the automatic sink
fixtures, except ths sinks in the bathtoom are manual.

I ended up getting couple of hot dogs. Should keep me satisfied for
the 5.5hr flight to Qatar.

I sum up my Italian vacation this way, "I came, I ate, I left."

It is a little after 9pm. I hope to sleep The rest of the way in.

We got into Qatar about 4am. Hot and humid...like home. It is now 8am
and we have been getting, inprocessing, and clearing customs that
whole time. Funny thing is I an sitting here in a paved lot awaiting
the next task and I am getting wifi...I love my iTouch when it works.
Pretty soon we should be done and be bussed to our temp sleeping
quarters and await our flight to Baghdad which could be a few days.

I'll send this now and add to the saga later.

Love you all,
Gary/Dad





S

Best wishes and God Speed

24 May 10

Today we got less than 2 hrs instruction on urban operations and then we went to a town mock-up and practiced tactics and skills. After that we had lunch and each squad was then given the assignment of crossing through town but if you made hostile contact you returned fire and obtained a defensive fighting position by entering the first building possible and securing the room. Each squad got to run the gauntlet twice. We did not have enough time to do it three times each as was our goal. Our squad was fast and efficient so we didn’t get to more than a handful of rounds each. Other squads either had bad luck, encountered blocked doors, made poor decisions, were too slow or left folks behind and had much larger firefights. Probably more fun but in reality they got chewed up. Here is the key: Move together, cover all your sectors, don’t forget the guy watching your six, move quickly and decisively and don’t get in a firefight. Protect yourselves with covering fire as your bust in a door and clear the room and get to safety. The goal is to break contact and stay alive. CAST training is not about attack maneuvers but breaking contact safely. Ten days is not enough time, nor is it the AF mission to attack on foot and mounted patrols. While that is cool and all, it is not our job otherwise the time devoted to such training would be different. However, the skills you are acquiring will significantly help you in that regard if you should fall in with an operation when you need to help out. Unlikely but you will at least have some familiarity with how such engagements work.

All in all today was fun. Don’t stress over such engagements. It is very unlikely that anyone is going to get hurt or called out in a very negative way. The feedback is tame, even if you screw-up so just go for it.

OK, so we are planned to re-locate the camp tonight, set out observations points, hid some spotlights to “highlight” the aggressors if needed, etc. My guess is we are attempting to pull this off too early and will end up being more tired tomorrow than necessary. All in all the camp is OK with the plan. And to be honest the overall morale of the entire camp for the entire week has been very good. Folks have been positive and we have been addressing the negative stuff right away as the senior leaders at the camp.

25 May 10

OK, so we laid in wait for the Cadre and they never showed. Apparently they normally get us up at 0300 on the first day of the FTX or “field training exercise” with some sort of camp attack but it did not come. Call this a self-inflicted wound – we were a little tired today for no good reason. My advice is to not try and outsmart. Air Force News was supposed to meet up with us in the morning and spend the day with us but they never showed. That is the supposed reason we didn’t the 0300 attack. My guess is that if you do get attacked it would be a mortar attack.

Anyway, we started at 0800. We needed some LMT (the new 5-ton truck) so I volunteered to get contingency trained. I like operating vehicles so it was cool and relatively easy. It is an automatic so much easier than the old Duce or 5-Ton to drive. The added benefit today was it rained at times fairly heavily and I was in the cab instead of in the back of the truck getting rained on. Consider volunteering of you like to operate vehicles. Also, in the beginning of the class they are looking for HUMVEE drivers so if you have that on your Gov’t license bring it or be quick to volunteer if more drivers are needed and you like that stuff.

We split the class into two vehicle convoys and headed out in two different directions to accomplish some unspecified mission. Basically, we were to use all the skills we had learned to date to get the job done. So, we drove along spotting IED and then eventually getting both vehicles blow up and taking casualties on the “Rescue Randy” dummies that traveled along in the back of our trucks. Sure enough, the Randy in each truck took major injuries and we had to do first aid on them while providing a secure perimeter. We then called in the IEDs and for a medivac. The Cadre took our blown up vehicles away and gave us coordinates about 1/2 mile or more away. We had to go by foot and navigating with the DAGR GPS systems. Each Randy was on a litter and carried by four guys. Randy is one heavy son of a gun. I was one of the four and it was a bit physically tiring and challenging with the unsure footing off-road. Once we got to the medivac location we encountered a disconcerting local that we held at bay while we loaded the Randys into our trucks which were so graciously returned. We the loaded up and got on our way again. After about 15 mins. of driving and spotting IEDs we got both vehicles blown up again. This time we took no casualties but had to call in the IED. I guess we took no casualties because the IED went off between the trucks and we had good separation. We did our perimeter security, formed up when ready and started out on foot patrol. We safely traversed a small village/danger crossing. Apparently we used good technique because if we didn’t the Cadre hiding in the village was going to nail us with paint balls. We then hiked up the road about a mile and lightning started to the trucks came and gathered us up and brought us back to camp. Due to the weather we never got to go back out the rest of the day. Too bad as we didn’t get to put some of our newly acquired skills to much use. It was a bummer sitting around waiting for the weather to clear. In the mean time we put a movie on in the class room so it was not all that bad.

I hit the gym pretty hard for about 1.5 hrs and then had dinner and called home. Someone up Blackhawk Down on in the classroom but I am writing you and trying to get my iTouch to sync with this new computer. Apple – it is a love/hate relationship. My apps are not working and my music will only play one song before the music program kicks you out. Grumble, grumble. Perhaps with the 7 days I had to wait for my flight I’ll find an Apple “Genius” somewhere. The internet sources have not been helpful in fixing this problem.

Additional thoughts:

- Pre-treat your suede boots with water proofer. Helps keep your feet a little more dry and makes the boots last longer

- If you trash your ABUs, and you will get them dirty but probably not trash them, you can have your UDM replace them. I think we have had two uniforms damaged permanently in the whole camp. However, if you do want to bring BDUs that is still a good way to go. We have had two people out of 55 do that. Summer weight BDUs would be nice because the ABUs are so hot. Remember, we will have ABUs on in Iraq so you choice on if you delay the ABU hot weather acclimatizing.

- Bring liquid laundry soap and dryer sheets. Lots of people are doing small loads ever couple of days. I have done laundry twice and threw my ABUs in with a tent mate’s wash once.

- Bring many sets of PT gear. I have seven but brought four. I wish I brought all seven because you wear PT gear when you are not in uniform and if you go to the gym or otherwise get them dirty you’ll need to wash. I have been going through a set a day…OK I stretched one day but if you go to the gym they will get sweat soaked and you’ll need to wash unless you want to smell like a Yeti.

- Cell phones generally work well here thus your mobile broadband might also…check with your provider because they often are different networks. Some folks have been able to plug in a network cable to their laptop in the classroom. The connection is somewhat limited to don’t expect much. For some reason I never could get my email POP server too work.

- Did I mention a pillow yet? Bring one! I am really getting tired of the rolled-up towel pillow.

- I haven’t used much bug spray or sunscreen but your weather will vary. We have had a lot of cloud cover so it has been humid but no blazing hot. Mosquitoes love to attack in the laundry area so be careful there. Guess how I learned that lesson. They just love my sweet blood.

26 May 10, The Box of Death

Today we turned in our M-4s “white glove clean.” The next order of business was “The Box of Death.” The BOD is where the paint ball gun battle happens. Depending on weather and range availability your individual scenarios will vary. So, here is the deal: First you get goggles, a neoprene mask (the kind used for robbing banks), and an M-4 look alike paintball gun. Paint rounds are loaded into a magazine and inserted into the weapon and then you charge the charging handle. We had a ton of malfunctions on the weapons today. Here are the two most important keys: 1. Pull your charging handle back very hard…be aggressive with it. Look up the mag well and ensure there are no paint ball pieces or other debris in the way. Load a mg and make sure it seats. Most of the hang ups were because folks were not ensuring they really pulled that charging handle back. 2: Ensure your clip and the paintball feed head is clean. Balls will start getting hung up if there dirt or water which swells the paint balls. Occasionally you get a bad feed and a paint ball will get jammed in the bolt area. Pull that charging handle back hard, clear out the crap…maybe fire just air though one time then reload and get back to business!

For us, the BOD was 4’wide x 8’ long x 4’ tall plywood box with shooting windows cut out. Your whole squad of 10-12 or so folks go in the box. On one side of the box about 15 meters out was a HUMVEE. On the other side about there was an LMT 30 meters out. Once the “game on” sign was given an opposing squad that was to sneak up behind the each of the vehicles, do some combat under fire casualty care on a victim in each vehicle and drag the heavy person to safety and do the next level of first aid to include calling in a medevac. The entire time the squad in the box is trying to pummel the rescue forces and the rescue forces are trying to lay down suppressive fire while extracting the victims. The BOD looks like a battle ship with guns pointing out every hole and blazing away. It is like a shooting gallery picking off the rescuers…fun on one side, potentially painful on the other.

It was much more fun to be in the box than being on the rescue teams. The paint balls may or may not hurt. I think I only have one minor bruise. My buddy has a huge fat lip from catching round in the mouth. By the way, the paint balls are not highly accurate. You don’t aim as much as you do point and shoot as if they were tracer rounds.

The single most difficult/physically challenging task you will have is to drag or carry and victim to safety…and do it in the hot sun, wearing a ton of gear and moving a person that is fully geared up at 250 to 300 lbs and over a substantial distance w/o a litter. Never mind the fact you are trying to breathe through a very restrictive neoprene mask. Me and one other Bubba extracted the approx. 300 lb vic from the HUMVEE and drug her 20-25 meters. At the end we were both nearly hyperventilating. Same thing happened on the LMT scenario. The rescue carriers couldn’t make it the 40 meters to safety with the vic. We had to pull two more shooters and put them on the haul crew. This is physically demanding. Be ready for this. Make sure you have enough people to carry and then have others do the deeper first aid when you get to safety as the others will be too winded to do the job well. On the last ½ of the last scenario we got “black flagged” which means the heat and humidity were too high for us to continue with all our gear on so we called it quits.

Note that later in the summer the temps will be even hotter so you might get the black flag on the range more than we did. However, the response is to ditch your body armor and proceed with web belt and load bearing gear or tactical vest for the few people that have those. In addition to lighter gear there will be more frequent rest and water breaks…but the training will go on. In reality, you want the training to continue. While it may seem hard, uncomfortable and strenuous at times you need to experience that now an not when the biomass hits the rotating airfoil. While our training was on a limited scale and the exercises to prove out skills were likewise limited, under the heat of enemy contact the training did come back. I can now clear my weapon (tap, rack, fire) w/o flinching in the least. Likewise I am prepared to deeper level remediation actions like dropping a mag and clearing stuck shells with my fingers. Heck, today with the paint ball rifle I had a malfunction I did my two levels of immediate actions to no avail and then got out my knife and began working on the ruptured paintball that was stuck in the chamber so I could get back in the fight. It didn’t fluster me other than to know I was not covering my sector. Likewise when I came upon the victim in the HUMVEE I immediately assessed what wounds I could see and only addressed the truly life threatening one that required immediate action to save the life (arterial bleed) before doing the extraction and hauling the vic to safety. It was hot, we were under fire, I was sucking wind trying to breathe through the mask, and the instructor was yelling and trying to fluster me but with training I responded correctly. You want training to challenge you physically and mentally so you’ll be more ready when the time comes.

After the BOD fund, next came a catered BBQ lunch provided by me and the other O-5s and the one O-6 at about $100 each. It was delicious and very well received. While you are here you are the leadership so doing something extra for the troops when appropriate is our responsibility. Rudy’s makes great BBQ and they deliver to a place the camp support staff can pick up just in case it makes sense for you.

After that we started cleaning up and turning in gear, did laundry, showered, etc. The move for the night was the Outlaw Josey Wales. I tried but couldn’t make it through the entire move.

I think I will sleep well tonight!

27 May 10, Capture, Death, Escape, and Forward Movement

All we had today in addition to turning in our sleeping bags and leaving was a four hour High Risk of Isolation briefing (how, not to get capture, what do if you do get captured, and escape). I doubt that you will learn much more than you did on the Medium Risk of Isolation CBT that you had to do but this is another one of those fun requirements. You survived the last 10 days. You can survive this and be ready to roll from camp by 1300 hrs.

Now it is time to head out to our various departure and employment locations for 6 mos. to 1 yr. of overseas service where we are not necessarily popular.

Best wishes and God Speed,

Lt Col Gary Lund

From the beginning...

16 May 10

I arrived in San Antonio International about 1720 hrs. Luggage always seems slow here…took about 30 minutes and then I took the 7 min. walk outside to Terminal 2 to the USO. There are plenty of signs but the walk can get tiring if you are dragging a lot of luggage. Some guys rented carts to haul their stuff to the USO and await the bus. It was probably worth the few bucks. The USO is small with very light snacks but functional. Check in with the USO desk personnel and tell them you are going to Bullis and they will give you the latest scoop as they know it.

Apparently the 1700 bus was late and the 1900 that I hoped to get on did not arrive until 2030 hrs. It was more than an hour before our bus, with its leaky A/C system, blaring loud 60s-70s made it to the camp. It was almost funny as we listened to Barry Manilow, Sonny and Cher, and “The Candy Man.” It felt like we were on our way to summer camp.

Upon arrival we were not met by a commander or anyone who spoke with authority. Eventually someone said to unload your bags and go inside the K-Span where we would in process. Although the personnel folks were not very clear and spoke as if we knew the layout of the camp, it was not too difficult to give them whatever paperwork you hand not already faxed to them, “skim” the camp rules and procedures book (would take ½ hour of you actually read it), and get your tent and squad assignments. You’ll have a squad leader assigned that is an SNCO and an assistant squad leader that is a CGO…although they don’t know that until they arrive. Next you go to the TOC (a trailer about 20 paces from the entrance to the K-Span) where you will get M-16 mags, pouch, a protractor, a compass and perhaps a few other minor items if necessary. The you go to a trailer back towards the camp entrance about 200 paces away. There you will pick up a helmet, body armor, and a sleeping bag. After than you are on your own until class at 7 am. Advice, directions, and a camp tour were lacking but someone who arrived earlier will help you out.

While waiting for the bus I grabbed a salad from the Cinnabon that was near the entrance of Terminal 2. I am glad I got some dinner because the best the camp had to offer was an MRE if you asked for one and you will get plenty of those 3x per day for the next 10 days. If you arrive late I recommend you eat a good dinner first.

It appears there are about 6-8 per tent and when you get there folks will be putting their stuff up and trying to get organized. The tents are temper tents with A/C and a hard rubber floor. We also have a small locker with 5 cubbies so bring a lock if you want to store your valuables…my 15.6” laptop fit just fine. The only other amenities you will have is a cot and power outlet.

Things I wish I had brought: A couple of hangars to help organize. A pillow and a bed sheet. The sleeping bag is hot yet it is nice to have at least some covering as the A/C kicks on and off. Maybe one of those thin fuzzy sleeping sacks would be an excellent solution. It is a matter of personal comfort.



17 May 10

I got up at 0545 to shower, eat my first of many MREs, and show up at my class in “full battle rattle” by 0700. Perhaps I can be quicker tomorrow. Apparently each day starts at 0700. Did not get a good night sleep with no pillow, hot/cold tent, late roommate arrivals, non-Temperpedic cot.

Today was easy with orientation, rules, gear ware, comm/radio procedures, weapons refresher. Tomorrow we have ½ day of aggressive course of fire.

We finished by 1600. I went to the gym tent for about an hour. The gym is decent but it was a bit hot…the A/C couldn’t keep up. Hopefully that get’s fixed. Then again doubling as a sauna is an efficient way to lose weight. After that, cooling off, shower, talking with other “campers” and dinner. I then went to the tent to read a little and start writing my notes when the wind kicked up something fierce…the tent was flapping hard. There was lighting in the area so we evacuated to the K-Span which is also the classroom. I was hoping to get a good night’s sleep…with some luck the storm will pass and I will not be sitting in my PT gear in a chair all night. The good news is we got the AV system working and have Master and Commander playing.

There are some “morale computers” in the classroom but they did not pay the internet bill so they are down right now. They are trying to get it re-activated but apparently the service is intermittent. I don’t believe you will be able to pirate WiFi while here. My Verizon Blackberry works just fine. Other folks seem to have service too…anywhere but the classroom. This K-Span seems to be blocking all signals.

Things I wish I had brought: A small back pack or pouch that clips to my gear for bug spray or sun screen, or small note pad, or pen, or various and sundry items that you can’t get at when you have your body armor on and an M-4 in your hands. The M-4 is always in your hands and the first couple of days w/o a sling. They took the slings away so we would get used to carrying it correctly. I think a Camelback that has some storage is an ideal solution…but you don’t necessarily want a huge one. Also a small pocket knife with a clip in addition to your Leatherman …handy for opening MREs and easier to get at. Some D-Rings or carabineers (2-3) to clip gear to your body armor or even your Camelback to your body armor. A water bottle. The Camelback is awesome but sometimes you don’t want to lug it around or it is attached to the body armor and not handy. Besides, you can mix Gatorade and dozens of MRE drink mixes in a bottle but not a good idea in the Camelback.

I brought some cheap fake Crocs from Walmart. I like these a lot more than flip flops for showers. The roads are too rocky for the 3 minute walk from the tents to the showers…and I think it is a camp policy not to walk around in “shower shoes.” However the “Crocs” handle the roads and shows with equal aplomb. Ugly as sin but effective. I give them two thumbs up.



18 May 10

Thunderstorm and lightening last night chased us out of our tents and into the classroom for several hours last night but when we finally got back to the tents we slept like rocks. The Col in our tent had the temps down to the mid-60’s so I wrapped up in my mummy bag and slept well until 0511 when the Col got the warning again for lightening w/in 5 mi so I just got up and got ready because I could not sleep while waiting to be rousted out. Turns out the lightening didn’t get any closer.

Today we spent the first ½ of the day shooting at pop-up targets all the way out to 300m. It was pretty cool. We each shot about 170 rounds. We were in full armor with helmet and it was hot so I was sweating profusely while shooting. It fogged my eye protection and then the sweat was just running down the lenses. Recommendation: fog treat lenses and then pull them away from your eyes a little to allow some air flow. Also, I learned afterwards that you don’t actually have to wear eye pro while shooting so I would have ditched them after they got bad. I seriously could not see the far targets ½ the time. Also, with the body armor it is hard to get a good solid position with the butt stock and your shoulder. If you don’t get that solved your stock will move and the gun might hit you in the nose. We had about 3 bloody noses today. The solution is to square your shoulders when facing down range instead of being at an angle. You might have to collapse your butt stock a notch but this works and may save you a bloody nose.

Sure wish I had a small bag or pouch that could handle a few snacks, sunscreen, and knee and elbow pads. I had to use a “combat Walmart bag” today. It worked but was not sexy.

The second ½ of the day we talked about IEDs in the classroom and then did an IED petting zoo, then walked a trail identifying IEDs and then drove up and down a road in the back of a truck identifying IEDs. It was mostly interesting because this is one of our real threats and you got to get out, and walk around with guns like you were on an Army patrol!

We got done today about 1730. I hit the gym, did a FOD walk of the camp, cleaned my weapon, had some dinner, got a shower and chased a mouse around our tent. He got out but I found his nest and got rid of it. They are serious about no food of any kind in the tent areas. We have a vermin problem w/o food in the area…only worse if you have snacks.

The shower tonight was cold. The heater never kicked on even after the “run two sinks” procedure. Then at the end of the cool and refreshing shower the power went out. It was the GFCI outlet outside the shower tent by the heater…the kind you probably have in your bathroom. Just push the reset button and at least the lights and fans are back on.

Watch your MRE consumption…lots of calories. The new MREs have shakes, pudding, cookies, candy in addition to the main dish and packet side. You can get fat even though you may be sweating like a pig. The shake packets have 460 calories alone! For dinner I just grabbed a few things out of the left over boxes and that was more than enough. They did bring in some pears and oranges today. It was good to add some fresh fruit to the diet. You need to stay healthy here. I recommend you take a 500mg of Vitamin C with each meal anyway. You can’t OK on C and there are 100 reasons why it is very good for you.

Remember to bring some liquid laundry detergent. They don’t allow powers in the high efficiency front loading washers. The good news is there are plenty of washers so and so far we have time in the evenings so you can launder often. Probably don’t need to bring a gazillion pairs of everything. I am guessing you can get by with two ABUs if you wash every few days. Hey, everyone is a sweaty so you might be able to stretch the uniform a day or two.

Plenty of showers also. Haven’t had to wait. However, out class of about 60 folks are the only ones here. Apparently there might be other classes on going at times so you might have assigned shower times and more competition for laundry if there are more groups on sight when you are here.

Getting to bed tonight by 10pm!

19 May 10

Slept good last night. The Colonel is keeping the tent at about 63 degrees. I am getting used to my rolled up towel pillow.

Today was a classroom day. We spend the first half of the day reviewing self-aide buddy care, and then learning care under fire and tactical combat care. Lots of real and disgusting photos and videos of faces blown off and the person still alive, sucking chest wounds, arterial bleeding on pigs that have been wounded, etc. Hope you don’t mind the bloody stuff. In addition to the IED stuff, this is probably the next most important info. Apparently later in the week we will, perhaps even tomorrow we will be tested in the field with moulaged personnel from Lackland.

The second half of the day we did the classroom portion of learning about small unit tactics. This will be interesting to practice and put into play in the field. Apparently that will be a good portion of the day tomorrow.

Hit the gym again today. Need to work off those MREs. I am getting better at food discipline but it doesn’t help to sit in the class all day with all the MRE snack items and dessert like drink mixes.

Got a hot shower and did laundry. Remember to bring liquid detergent only. The HE or High Efficiency type is best for these front loaders.

You can check out a canteen here so that can be your bottle if you want. In addition the canteen cup comes in handy for mixing stuff or for getting coffee for you coffee drinkers.

Again, having a handful of D-rings or similar is very hand for hooking stuff to your body armor or even for attaching your Camelback to your gear. Also, having some way to clip your Camelback drink tube to a strap or something on your front is nice so it is not always flopping around.

Your bathrooms are portapotties but they have been kept fairly clean and the smell as not been bad…This is surprising because typically these things reek and are disgusting.



20 May 10

Hands on, out of class from the get go today. The first ½ of the day we did foot patrols in V and file formations, laid down covering fire when under attack and egressing positions, low crawled on our faces, etc. It was kind of fun even though the gear is a bit heavy but we did get out slings back. Recommendation: Don’t but bulky items like your first aid kit on the front of your body armor. Low crawling and getting in the prone position to shoot are hampered if you have a bunch of gear attached to your front. Plus, whatever is on your front might get scraped off as you crawl or go from running to a prone position in one quick “smooth” move. With knee pads and elbow pads no clothing items got torn up although we did get dirty. You could probably sneak an extra box of blanks if you wanted to have a little more fun shooting today. Also, if you have the M-4s, make sure you have the yellow blank firing adaptor and not the red one. The red is for M-16s. They look the same but apparently there is a difference. I got a red one and had problems with my gun jamming today. The “tap, rack, fire” or even the “pull the mag and jamb your fingers in the well to poke out the stuck rounds” while under fire was probably and useful exercise. Reminds you to take care of your weapon.

The second ½ of the day we did four combat casualty exercises: mortars with death, personnel extraction and sucking chest wound, UXO with blown off limb, accident with compound fracture, and a bullet wound while under threat of enemy fire. Some folks got their uniforms stained with the fake blood but supposedly it washes off. This was kind of fun also. It is a training environment and you don’t get yelled at if you don’t do it perfectly. Just have at it, do you best and it will be fine. Again, the gear gets a little heavy and you will definitely be soaking wet but it felt good to do some hands on type work.

Due to all the time in the gear and the marches today I decided I had enough of a workout and skipped the gym but to be honest I could have gone. We finished up around 1630 today.

Good news, they are pulling out the cots and putting in beds. We might get some tomorrow or the next day. Should be more comfortable than the cots. So, you will likely have a twin bed when you get here so you might want to bring bedding or just throw your sleeping bag on top of the mattress since they will check out a sleeping bag. Who knows, maybe they will have sheets in the future?

21 May 10

Today started off with a few hours of navigation in the classroom with maps, compass, and GPS then a few hours with full gear traipsing around the hillsides navigating. Fun but hot and sweaty. Suprisingly a few folks had some trouble keeping a heading. Recommendation: Don’t just use your compass. Look at the map, the features along your path, and the contours especially. The compass should help but as you near your target you should be able to dead reckon.

In the afternoon went to the vehicle roll over trainer. Basically you are seat belted in a Hummer body on device so they can spin it around in a roll over simulation. They turn you sideways and on your head and you have to get out with all your gear on, grab you weapons and set a defensive perimeter. It is kind of fun but a little challenging when you and dumped on your head and have to pop the seat belts and crawl out a different door or hatch because yours is jammed. Here is the key: Know where your door handle is, open the door first, if it will open, and then pop your seat belt. If you pop your seat belts first you will be more disoriented and have lost some of your leverage for getting the door open.

We got the beds tonight and did and self-install. We will sleep more comfortably tonight!

Also, we took up a collection and the SRO, a Colonel, worked out a deal to get pizza picked up. It was a nice change but in reality the MREs are not that bad and we are in a rhythm of eating the bits and pieces. Also, the leftover boxes broken down into about 6 different boxes has been a big hit as people often just eat out of those and don’t even open up new MREs.

One of the guys brought movies on his hard drive and has been showing movies each night. He did not bring Stripes but it was voted the unofficial favorite to watch if we had it. Given what we are doing here Stripes and Full Metal Jacket quotes seem to fit at varying times. If you are so inclined, you might want to bring those.

22 May 10

Today started off with a little classroom time on convoys and then we broke up into three five vehicle convoys and did some IED and hostile encounters. We got hit about 4 times taking casualties and loosing vehicles each time but after an event was over, the dead or injured tended to, relocated and the med evac and EOD calls made, we were all restored and proceeded down the dirt road again. This took all morning. In the afternoon we did the same thing except on paved roads and at higher speeds. The bottom line is IEDs are hard as heck to see. You have to do your best looking out for them but what is more important is what to do after you get hit.

I was blown up once and had to be drug out of the right front seat through the driver’s door and stuffed in the back of another vehicle. Later I ended up having to do the same thing for someone else. He weighed at least 50 lbs more than me but with the adrenalin rush I was able to yank him by his body armor out of the front passenger seat and out through the door behind the driver’s seat. After than I needed help dragging him down the road and putting him into the back of another vehicle. We burned a hole in his uniform by dragging him down the street which he complained about later. I guess I could have left him in a burning vehicle?

Although we were in full gear and hot and sweaty today, I still hand the energy to hit the gym pretty hard. It felt good, besides, what else is there to do in the evenings but make phone calls, do laundry, take a shower, and eat more MRE deliciousness?

The beds take up a lot more space in the tents but they are far more comfortable than the cots. We have been getting wind in the evenings and tent rattling and slapping has been a bit noisy as well as the AC kicking on and off but the sleep is adequate.

23 May 10

We were able to store the weapons at the camp and go to Lackland by bus today at 0830. I am sitting in the Starbucks or equivalent getting internet as I type. The bus will come back at 1500. In the mean tiem one can wander around the BX, Commissary, Chapel, etc. for the day. Although you are not supposed to leave the base, if you had friends in the local area, I would plan on having them meet you. Just don’t be late for the bus!!!