The Homeless

During my morning shower, I was contemplating the plight of the homeless.  Why?   I have no idea, I just started thinking that we could use CHUs to house the homeless back in the US.  But, the real problem with homeless isn't the lack of housing, is it?   Nope.  It's not.  After some thinking I came to the conclusion that the real problem facing the homeless isn't actually being homeless – it's a lack of self-respect; not a lack of employment, or money, or any of that.   As a matter of fact, millions of dollars are pumped into the homeless plight every year by governments across the country.

 

            **At this point, I'd like to say that, no, I've never been homeless so I am not relating from personal experience.   However, I've also never jumped off of a bridge, but I know that it could be hazardous to my health.  While personal experience is handy, it is not by any means necessary to deal with or come up with a solution to a problem.   If it were, everyone would have to repeat the same mistakes that everyone else makes in order to deal with the situation properly in the future.  We must learn not only from our mistakes, but from the mistakes of others in order to get better.

 

            Now, back to the issue at hand:  homeless people (for lack of a better term) need assistance in regaining their self-respect.   In order to do that, governments (local and federal) should worry less about shelter and food – which are plenty, and more about getting the homeless off of drugs and alcohol and helping them to find jobs where they can once again become a part of society.

            I think one reason that homeless shelters are so ineffective is that they are a lot like jails – no personal space, no sense of being able to make your own decisions, everyone is cramped up in one or two rooms with a bunch of other people who may be bad influences.   If we could make little homeless communities with CHUs and give each homeless person their own mini-home, maybe they could regain some sense of independence.   Now, I'm not saying to give EVERY homeless person a CHU, because if you did that, you'd have people who didn't care to improve themselves living amongst people who do and that wouldn't work.   The CHU program should be part of a bigger program that assists the homeless in recovering from whatever brought them down and regaining a foothold in life.  They would have to earn a space in the CHU lot by working and maintaining certain higher functions of civilization.   Maybe later, I'll expound on the program. 

But, anyway, the CHU part would be something like this:  a series of CHUs in a controlled area by a city.   The residents would have security made up of the newly working homeless who lived there.  They would have communal showers and bathroom that were cleaned by more residents (part of their job).   It would be near a bus stop.  There would be certain rules to follow and a mini-government to ensure compliance with them.   Because it would only be comprised of people who earned the right to be there, each would have a sense of pride in being there and being around the people they were with.  Homelessness isn't a disease or affliction, its an attitude and outlook that can only be changed by the person experiencing the situation.  

I am 100% confident that if I were to lose EVERYTHING I had (down to the clothes I'm wearing), I could be put in ANY city or town in the USA and recover to a decent lifestyle. Why?  Not because of any skill I have, not because of any experience I have.  Only because I am confident that with the things I control (when I go where, what I do with my time, etc), I can convince someone to give me a job and then work my way up from there.   Anyone with free will can make something of themselves in the USA.  No question.

UAVs

            Back to those pesky UAVs (of which there are more than one type – actual UAVs and bigger than the other, smaller UAV called a Raven).  The thing that gets me about UAV pilots is that they are really little more than glorified RC plane or video game operators and they get treated like they are demi-gods.   They have to follow all the same rules as REAL pilots – which they aren't.  They can't pull guard, must get 8 hours sleep before they fly, and during our training, they couldn't be bothered with going to a bunker during an attack or defending the perimeter against the OPFOR.   UAV pilots are way to high on their own fake flying job.  They act the they are real pilots, which they aren't.   But, anyhow, enough of my ranting.  And, for the record, I know I haven't met them all, and I know they aren't ALL like that.  Just the ones I've dealt with.

DAY 54 / JAN 21

DAY 54 / JAN 21

 

            This morning was wonderful.  I sent a Soldier to my morning meeting and slept in.   Even then, I had a difficult time peeling my eyes open and dragging my ass out of bed.  The only thing that got me up and moving was knowing that people were waiting for me.   Eventually I slipped from beneath the mink blanket and groggily put my shower shoes on.  I grabbed my shower bag and slithered to the shower building, about thirty feet away.   The other nice thing about the morning was that the Big Voice (PA System) had just downgraded the uniform.

            The nice thing about sleeping in is that there is never a line for the shower and you get all the hot water you want.   When I have to get up early, its about 50/50 that there is enough hot water to get a good soaking.  So, once in the shower, I proceeded to do the usual things, soap, rinse, shave and brush my teeth.

            And wouldn't you know it, no sooner do I start to shave than I hear the high pitch warble of the big voice siren (that sounds like a police siren under water).   As the hot water rains down on me, I hear that there is direct fire (people shooting at the FOB), and indirect fire (people lobbing mortars or rockets at the FOB).   We've been here long enough that I know that the siren usually comes well after the actual incident, so if you're not already injured or killed, you probably won't be.  I finished my shower and went back to the CHU to get dressed.   So much for a uniform downgrade.

            After that, it was time for a quick chit chat with the wife and then I had to go to the memorial ceremony for the Soldier who died earlier this week.   The ceremony was sad, as they always are.  There were a massive amount of Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels and even a General or two here for the ceremony because it was the first casualty from our division.   There were approximately 10-15 Blackhawk helicopters on the flight pad – it would have made a wonderful target for the insurgents.

            In the afternoon, a sandstorm rolled in.  Not a bad one, but it did limit visibility to about 100 meters.

            Received another two boxes and a postcard from home today.  No one can ever know, until they've experienced it, how much a simple postcard, or box from home it.  It doesn't even really matter what's inside.   Just the fact that someone took the time and effort to send you something means everything.  And even though I know they are coming, and I'm not surprised, it always makes my day that much better when I receive stuff.

           

            To those who wondered about the low flying UAV:  Usually they fly quite high (so they don't get shot down), but when they take off and land, they of course come in quite low.   As it happens, my CHU seems to be directly underneath that flight path so they come in low and sound like they are going to create an unrequested skylight in my CHU sometimes.

DAY 53 / JAN 20

DAY 53 / JAN 20

            We upgraded the uniform again because the election results are supposed to come out today.   I guess we think that the locals might be unhappy enough to drop a mortar or two on us, or maybe we're just being overly cautious.

            The other day, outside of one of the LSA's, a guard post saw some people digging a hole while another guy watched from a nearby building.   The LSA sent out a patrol to check on the people, and then they checked on the hole and found a mortar tube, a bunch of rounds, RPGs, and AK-47s.  I think it's kind of stupid to be emplacing that stuff within sight of a guard tower.  But, they can't all be insurgent masterminds, I suppose.

            We have UAVs that fly over often and they fly so damned low I wonder sometimes what would happen if it crashed into my chu.   They really aren't THAT big, but still.

Our Battalion has no picked up another tradition that would better be left tonight.  Tonight we had an "O-call" where all of the officers and 1SGs get together for an hour of so off bullshit.  Lovely, can't wait.  So far, we lucked out and didn't have these, but now, apparently we are starting them up.

            So, now the O-call is over and was cut short by a couple of incoming rounds.   It never was a good idea to put all of the officers in the Brigade in the same spot at the same time.  Maybe next time we'll learn.

            Our counterbattery still amazes me with how it feels just like an incoming mortar explosion.  We fired off a volley or two and it just rocks the building.   Maybe someday I'll learn to distinguish it.

Google Earth meets Geocaching

Google Earth.  Google Earth is a web based program that enables you to view the earth from satellite images and aerial photos in a fluid, scrolling manner.   The resolutions vary and the images are not exactly up-to-date, but it's a great program for checking stuff out around the world and getting an idea what things are like.   Well, another fun thing to do is Geocaching – which is like a treasure hunt with GPS.  There is a web site you go to that tells you where (by lat and long, or utm or whatever setting you want) there are geocaches in your area.   Now, Geocaching and Google Earth have come together and so you can view where the geocaches are in your area simply by logging on to Google Earth and clicking the appropriate button.   It will make geocaching much less time consuming to get started.  Why does it matter now?  As it turns out there are approximately 8 geocaches that I should be able to find on various FOBs in Iraq.   Of course, I won't make a special trip over dangerous roads to get there, but once there, it'll be a bonus to look them up and find them. 

Truce with Terrorists?

Now, we hear of a truce deal offered by Bin Laden (and of course rejected by the US).  Well, at least we know he's still alive enough to be killed.   I was worried there for a minute that he might have just died in obscurity and we would never have the satisfaction of capturing of killing him.  In the end, he is the reason we are here.

            It is the policy of the United States that we do not negotiate with terrorists.  Clearly that is the only way to deal with them.   Once you begin to negotiate, you only encourage more terrorism.  However, if Bin Laden was the king or president of an actual country, then we could negotiate a cease-fire with him – assuming that he actually had a country to be at war with.   Sometimes it seems that the only difference between a terrorist like Bin Laden and a non-terrorist country, like Iran, is that the ruler of Iran has land and somehow that gives him credibility (and something take away, I suppose).   Bin Laden has nothing, so he's a terrorist.

Iraqi sunset

DAY 52 / JAN 19

DAY 50  52/ JAN19

            Is it really 50 days since I left home?  It only seems like last year!   Or maybe some year before that.  Anyway, its been too long and every day is one more day too long.  But, every day is better than the last, and we've been over that before.  

            Hmmm, but after a quick count, a reconciliation if you will, I think that we really have been here a total of 52 days, not 50.   Here's the math…. 2 days of November 2005, 31 days of December 2005 plus 19 days of January 2006 = 52 days.  Look at that, I just got two more days!

            Another quiet day on the FOB.  We have a detail practicing for the memorial coming up soon.   Back home, they would be using blanks for the 21 gun salute (really 7 guns x 3 volleys = 21), but there are no blanks in the Iraq theater – only live rounds.   So, now the issue is, do we fire live rounds for a 21 gun salute here?  If so, that's a lot of clearance that need to be made for where the rounds might land.   Also, we'd need to practice with live rounds too because it changes the way the rifle functions.  With blanks, its easy because they do not have enough powder to cycle the rifle completely without a blank adapter.   So, the Soldiers have to go through the whole charging handle issue when they fire the blanks.  With the live rounds, they will cycle just fine – that changes the whole system of the 21 gun salute.   Interesting.  I wonder how the other units have dealt with this – I've never heard of the issue before.

 

            Arg, some things just don't come together sometimes.  I recently had to send a patrol up north of here to fix a satellite system.  When we got there, we found out that the part we took was not enough – more was broke.   So, we got that part together from somewhere (flown in here), and then drove it up (3 hours one way over dangerous roads).  Now it turns out that even more is wrong with the system and MORE parts are being flown in here to be driven up there (which brings me to wonder why they can't just FLY them up there in the first place).   So, here I am, all ready to send yet another convoy of signal Soldiers on the road in a hurry to fix a piece of equipment that isn't really even ours (although we are somehow expected to fix it).   And then I find out that my convoy that went out today, is stuck halfway between here and there because of a blown head gasket on one of our trucks.   Thankfully they are on a FOB and safe.  They will be towed back here as soon as possible.  But, now I can't send out a patrol any time soon because I'm out of vehicles to do it with.   Ahhh, does the fun never end?

            But, you know, still no attack and I don't worry about going outside and hearing the whistle.   Don't get me wrong, I still keep an eye out for where I can jump if shit starts to fall, but I don't get a nervous feeling walking around outside.

 

DAY 50 / JAN 18

DAY 50 / JAN 18

A banner day in Iraq, or at least on FOB Warhorse. I received a total of 4 boxes of mail – and all from different people! What a great day, can they get any better?! In fact, my wife sent a DVD of some tv from home and it has changed the way I play (er..work) on the computer. I used to have the internet open and some music in the background, but now, with music videos and tv shows on, I have them in the corner, the internet on the top and this little box in the other corner. Multitasking at its best.

Other than that, I has the usual meeting this morning, sent a patrol out to the north and put out small little fires here and there. A wonderful day.

And, because every day is closer to going home, its always better than yesterday and not quite as good as tomorrow. Every day my glass gets more full. I'm making up milestones to amuse myself. The next one is the big 50 days away from home and after that it's the "less than 300 days to go" milestone. I have to take it in pieces, a year just seems too long to worry about all at once.

I've also discovered that Google Earth will mark Geocaches on its map automatically – that would have made life easier back home looking for the damned things. But, now that I know, I've discovered that there are about four of them at one of the FOBs we frequent (but none on mine, yet).

I got an advertisement for a realtor and accidentally clicked on it. It showed a nice house in Manitou Springs, near where we are now, and I was curious as to the price. It was about $300,000k. Ouch, but when I saw the monthly mortgage price I was shocked to see that it was LESS than my BAH – good deal. But, Manitou Springs is not exactly close to where I work, and who knows how long we'll be there? Maybe for future reference.

My request for magnets was well received and I'm adorned my CHU with magnets and stuff held up by magnets. I plan to leave most of the magnets for the next sucker to get stuck here, but there are some very strong ones that will come with me. Heck, I might just take them all home and give the rest to my kids. We'll see how I feel in 10 months.

Well, the fun time is over, the internet blocking software came back up today and I can once again no longer get to my blogs to review or edit them, so you'll just have to deal with my numerous double posting and bass-akwards numerbing.

DAY 49 /JAN 17

DAY 49 / JAN 17

The first full day without our gear was successful. We had no attacks, and all was well. We downgraded yesterday, but today was the first day free of the 30 lbs of gear.
There was some outgoing fire from 3/29, but those were the only booms heard today.
Nothing further for today – ho hum, another day down. One day closer to home and that makes it better than yesterday.

DAY 48 / JAN 16

DAY 48 / JAN 16

            Still under blackout.  I think I explained blackout in a prior entry, but just in case I didn't – a blackout is when someone in our Brigade is killed or seriously injured and the family must be notified.   In order to ensure that the family is properly notified, the Brigade cuts off communication from the Brigade back to home so that Soldiers don't go tell their wives or friends who then go and tell someone and eventually it gets to the relative of the deceased before the Army gets their team together to take care of it "the right way."   It has its ups and downs, but the thought behind it is honorable.

            Other than no communication to home, its been a regular day: meeting in the morning (that I almost missed because I woke up late – 0800 for an 0830 meeting).   I ended up missing my morning shower and was unable to procure any coffee before the meeting so I was dragging myself around all morning.  Not a good start, but not a bad day all in all.

DAY 47 / JAN 15

DAY 47 / JAN 15

            I'd like to say it was another uneventful day, just a Sunday walk in the park so to speak, but I can't.   Tonight we had our first BLACKOUT for a 3 BCT Soldier.

            It was not from our company, but was from our battalion.  I don't have all the details, but apparently a Soldier from another company was killed and two others injured when their M1114 had an accident (details unknown) with an M1A2 Abrams tank.  I don't have names or other details and couldn't give them out if I did.  But, I'm sure it'll be in the news soon enough.

            I wish good luck and best wishes to the injured and to the family of the deceased.  I hope that no more are killed here.   Whoever it was that was killed was our first, and I hope, our last.

DAY 46 / JAN 14

DAY 46 / JAN 14

 

            Another day of nothing important.  Which is good.   Managed to avoid a meeting this morning by sending a patsy (he'll have to do me job someday, so he might as well get used to it).  And then, I found out I have no meeting tomorrow!   That's great!  I can sleep in again!

            Other than that exciting development, nothing new.  So goes the war.   We are hearing rumors that other sites are moving here for one reason or another, and that's good.  It means that the Iraqis are getting better and better and more able to secure their own sites.   Good for them.

            On the internet here, a lot of websites are blocked for one reason or another (porn or excessive bandwidth usage usually) and as I was wandering around the internet, just browsing the sites I noticed that some that should have been blocked, weren't.   Odd, I thought, and I mentioned it to someone who explained that every once in awhile (once a week or so), the blocking server goes down for a reboot and during that short time frame (maybe 2 hours), you can get on and access those sites until it comes back up.   Good to know, so now I can check my blog at those hours and hopefully stay updated that way.

            Nothing else happened this evening.  All quiet.   Hoping for a uniform downgrade soon.

Weapon Upgrade

As mentioned ealier, I picked up a couple of new, heavier weapons. This is one of them. Sorry I can't publish more posts with pics, but the limited window to do it is roughly 2 hours per week (and I just found that out tonight).

DAY 45 / JAN 13

DAY 45 / JAN 13

            Friday the 13^th and no attack.  Good deal.   No black cats, no ladders, none of that good stuff.  Its been over a week since the last metal rain, but I still think its more due to the fact that movement in the mud is slow at best.

            We've picked up some more firepower in the form of 2x 7.62mm machine guns from another company.   We also picked up rounds for it.  Now, we just need to get people qualified on the systems and they'll be ready to roll.

            More meetings this morning followed by coordination with another unit to get people from here to there (wherever there might be).

            I also almost had one of my emergency leave folks also miss his movement to where he flies out due to some miscommunication within my battalion.   If I had listened to them, he'd still be here, waiting for the movement which already left.

            Once they said to wait, I went to the BN that was actually running the convoy and asked them when and where to be.   They told me that the convoy was already at the gate and was leaving in 10 minutes.  I grabbed a humvee and my Soldier and drove him to the gate where I made sure he got into a truck.   Some things just don't get done unless you do them yourself.  It's a sad truth.

            The day ended with a game or two of basketball, at which I am not very good.   But I try hard, and move fast, and I play a fair defensive game.  My offense consists of throwing the ball to someone else, or missing a shot.   My team ended up losing, but at least the game was close – next time they won't be so lucky.

            Getting in good PT around here is hard, especially when we're wearing our IBAS all the time we're outside.   Once we can downgrade a bit, we'll be able to get in some football or something during the day, and that will help a lot.

DAY 44 / JAN 12

DAY 44 / JAN 12

            Still no action on the FOB, and that's a good thing.  It's now been one week since the last mortars fell here, and I hope that its many more before they fall again.  My theory on the lack of action is that the insurgents don't like going out in the mud and rain any more than we do.   The sand is more like a thin dust and when it gets wet it turns to a very thick, very deep mud.  It gets on everything and makes moving rough.   If you're not careful where you walk, you sink it up to or past your ankle and even in boots, that's not good.  So, the bad guys are running around in tennis shoes or sandals and if they were to try and mortar us in the mud, they would most likely be killed by counter fire because of their inability to get out of the area in a hurry.   So, they don't attack when the mud is thick.  That's my theory.

            The day was uneventful, just handling the usual maintenance and supply issues.   I sent another troop to the meeting this morning (I figure if I go to more than half and to the ones where I have to say anything, I'm good).  Its good for him, someday, he'll take my place.  

            It gets harder and harder to keep a daily track of what's going on because it seems like I could almost cut and paste from the days prior and not miss anything.

            So, I started to keep a little log of what I could write about and I'll insert those into these as I go along.

            Like for instance – blogs.  Before we left the PAO (Public Affairs Office) came and did this big presentation on how blogs are bad for OPSEC and that, while its ok to have a blog, Soldiers and their superiors need to be sure that nothing OPSEC related is being put on the blog.   Now, we're here, supposed to be checking our Soldiers' blogs for OPSEC violations so we can take care of it at the company level first – before it gets too far out of hand.   But, what do they go and do – they block all the blog related pages.  How can I check a Soldier's blog if I can't go see it.  Maybe they think that by blocking the website, a Soldier can't blog and they eliminate the whole issue.   But its not that simple – as I'm clearly demonstrating.  While I cannot go SEE my blog, nothing prevents me posting to it via email (which I do, obviously).   So, it's a curious situation the Army puts on its leadership – how do we monitor something we can't see?  I guess I'll have to try and track down an answer to that.

           

            Everyday someone asks me if I'm going to stay in or get out.   Well, nearly everyday, and I tell them the same thing, every time – I'm taking it on a day-by-day basis.  On one hand, the Army pays decent, provides plenty of food, clothes, house, etc and takes care of my family relatively well.   On the other hand, I'm here, far from home, NOT taking care of my family and forcing the to fend for themselves.  So, it's a tough call as to whether or not I'll stay in, some days its this and others its that.   If I had a little scale, it would bounce between 40-60 on a regular basis (50 being completely undecided, 0 being "not a chance in hell").  I think, until that moment comes where I have to decide, I'll remain undecided – but I'll lean this way and that.

            If I could guarantee my family the same lifestyle they live now working somewhere else, I would take it.  But, saying that, I think that indicates a lean to not staying in.   Because it's not about money, but family, and if that's true, then the separation from family isn't worth the money. Hmmm… points to ponder.

DAY 41 / JAN 09

DAY 41 / JAN 09

 

Another day, another dollar.  Nothing to report as unusual or exciting.   I spent most of the day on the internet, searching for this or that, getting info and good stuff like that.  I was able to chat with my wife for awhile at night which was nice and then called her.

My FA buddy has been running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get all of his stuff done, which is no surprise.   I don't know that he's had a chance to run his line to the jack yet, but hopefully he'll stop by later and we can find out.

Another day down and its one more day closer to going home.

DAY 43 / JAN 11

You may have noticed a misplaced entry here or there… read below and you'll see why, I can't go to the blog site and check things out.

 

DAY 43 / JAN 11

 

            Today was the official TOA (Transfer of Authority) between the 4ID and 3ID on Warhorse.   With that said, nothing is different.  Not even the sign in the DFAC has changed from the 3ID patch to the 4ID patch – and that's surprising.   Usually when we take something over we graffiti everything with the Ivy Diamond. 

            Other than the TOA and some outgoing fire, the day was quiet.   Had the usual meetings and that's about it.  All in all, just one more day closer to going home.  I think the number left is right around 322.   It seems like a lot, like a very lot, but we're getting there, one day at a time.

            Tonight it rained heavily and flooded everything again.  Just when the mud was starting to dry, it rains again.  Dammit, I'll never get my boxes out of the milvan!  I don't want to take them out when the ground is soaked and I damn near have to wade through a lake to get to my CHU.   If I were carrying one of my boxes, I think I'd sink into the mud and be stuck until someone grabbed the wrecker and pulled me out.

            Maybe I'll try again another day.

DAY 41 / JAN 09

DAY 41 / JAN 09

 

Another day, another dollar.  Nothing to report as unusual or exciting.   I spent most of the day on the internet, searching for this or that, getting info and good stuff like that.  I was able to chat with my wife for awhile at night which was nice and then called her.

My FA buddy has been running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get all of his stuff done, which is no surprise.   I don't know that he's had a chance to run his line to the jack yet, but hopefully he'll stop by later and we can find out.

Another day down and its one more day closer to going home.

DAY 42 / JAN 10

DAY 42 / JAN 10

 

            Once again a slow day.  Although this morning I did manage to get to a meeting, pick up some big guns for the company and coordinate with the mayors cell to get another radio shot in.   The radio that these guys are using is huge and puts out enough RF energy to bake a hotdog just sitting in front of it and to make sterile anyone who stands in front of it long enough.   Good stuff.  And its not even a weapon!

            We sent a patrol out to some of the FOBs and they returned without incident.   We still need to get together a patrol team or two to make this easier, but its coming along.

            I also managed to put together a maintenance plan for the company showing where all of our equipment is and its maintenance stats.

            All in all, we're getting along.

 

            At dinner I sat down with a contractor who runs fuel around the FOB filling generators and the like.   We got to talking, just casual – where you from, married, kids, what do you do, and so on.  This contractor was from Louisiana, just north of Fort Polk and in the US he was a truck driver.   He sounded a little like Bubba from Forrest Gump, but just a little.  I asked him why he took a job working here, far from his kids and family, danger all around, and his answer wasn't surprising.   He said that he was a truck driver and that the gas price increases on diesel made it so he didn't make enough to survive back home.  So, he had to take a job here, running diesel to all of the numerous generators on post.   And then he mentioned something that is completely ironic and understandable at the same time.  Back home, he couldn't afford to keep his truck full of diesel because of the prices.   Here, at the end of the day, he says he sprays 2500 gallons of fuel on the burn pit – really a complete waste of fuel.  It seems to me that that's like a person coming from a place with no food, nearly starving – coming to a place where food it just throw out at the end of the day.   He would look at that and think, "how can I have not had enough back home, when here they waste it."  An interesting commentary on where and how the government spends money and what its priorities are.

 

            But, that's life and nothing we can do about it.  Another day down, and its bed time.  Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

DAY 40 /JAN 9

DAY 40 / JAN 8

 

Now that I have internet in my office, my time to write has become significantly cut into.  I no longer have to travel ½ mile to use a decent speed internet (ie dialup speeds).

 

But, anyhow, today was uneventful, but last night something went on.  As I was going to bed, I heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire and what I thought was a M2 .50 caliber machine gun firing from one of the towers.   I didn't think much of it, and went to sleep. 

 

Today I found out that some insurgents were killed last night from that 50 cal.  Good for them.   I suspect they were planting an IED or trying to fire mortars at us again.  Maybe that will teach them to stay the hell away.

 

The only other important thing that happened today was that I finally got my containers moved to an area by my company.   That means when the rain stops and it isn't so damned muddy, I can finally get my boxes out and finish unpacking.

 

Tomorrow is another meeting morning that I always look forward to!  I'm still using that coffee mug I mentioned before, so the plan is working!

 

I invested in a headset with earphones and mic, but for some reason I can't make it work with google talk.  I had the microphone on the computer working fine yesterday, but now, even though it works fine with the computer diagnostics, it doesn't work on the google talk.  After adjusting settings, I still don't know what the issue is.   I'll have to try again tomorrow.

 

 

Day 39 /JAN 7

DAY 39 / JAN 07

 

            One more day down, one day from the big 40!  It isn't much of a milestone, but I'll take what I can get.  

            Another meeting this morning got me out of bed early, but I didn't have any issues taking care of the issues in the meeting.   I was supposed to get some MILVANs moved from where they are to closer to where I am, but that fell through and is rescheduled to tomorrow.

            I talked to my wife this morning and it always is the highlight of my day.   My signal connection was lost about halfway through the conversation, necessitating me to use the internet to communicate with her.  My hotmail wouldn't come up because the connection was slow (due to quality and packet loss), but my Gmail (Google Mail) came up quick because it doesn't have all the frills of MSN Messenger – but it gets the IM chat done nicely.   Even on a super slow connection, Gmail is usable, whereas AKO mail and Hotmail are not.  Once I got her hooked up to it, I saw a cute little phone icon on the screen and clicked it and it started ringing.   Soon, I guess she pushed her little phone icon and I was able to talk to her through the microphones in my computer.  Wow, that was cool.   All I need now is to get a headset mic and headphone, and for her to do the same and we'll be talking without using the phone at all.  She said it sounded clear on her end.   Now, I can't wait for google to come out with video chat – but then, maybe they'll block the google chat port and we'll be SOL.  I can deal with voice for awhile, I'll just put a pic of her on my screen and pretend its live.

            I finally moved my computer to the office and get sporadic Internet.   Once the new equipment gets installed in the next week or so, our Internet capability in the office should increase dramatically.  I gave up using the left behind computer for stuff because its slow as hell.    Now, at least my computer feel comfortable, even if my internet doesn't.  I even managed to bring the printer that didn't work for the last guys up and now its my personal printer.

            No action on the FOB today.  Just the same ole same ole.   Spent most of the time in the office, doing convoy planning and waiting for the internet to come back in.

            It started to rain today so its all muddy once again.  The floor in the office is trashed, dirt and mud everywhere.  Someone stepped on my IBAS and somehow managed to get mud on the barrel of my M4.

DAY 38 / JAN 6

DAY 38 / JAN 06

            A mostly quiet day, starting with a quiet walk to the meeting my convoy meeting this morning.   I had hoped to not have to go tomorrow, but based on a mission going out Monday, I get to go tomorrow as well.  Luckily, I have Sunday off of that meeting because I am sending a stand-in.  

            I grabbed a cup of coffee from the Green Beans Coffee Shop as I had planned and am still in control of the cup so that I can use it for my coffee throughout the upcoming days until I receive a coffee mug.

            The only thing of interest that happened today was a MEVA (Mission Essential Vulnerable Area) exercise that, according to the Big Voice (PA System), was "not a drill."   Typically a MEVA exercise is called when an insurgent or enemy has gotten within the perimeter.  So, we all started manning our posts and preparing for the next word when they called back and told us that the MEVA was for FPOC (Force Protection something-er-others) personnel only and we could stand down.   We finished our 100% accountability and stopped there.  Apparently, the thing that started the MEVA was that an Iraqi worker was caught with a cell-phone and camera.   They aren't supposed to have those things here because they could be taking pictures of stuff they shouldn't be and giving or selling it to be that shouldn't have it.

            I was finally forced to take an electronic leash so that I could be contacted at any time.   Now, I have to carry a mobile radio with me everywhere I go.  Great.

            The internet in my office was down all day, making for a very dull stay in the office.   I didn't go out because going out meant wearing all of my gear and that just sucks even worse.

            I did manage to link up with my FA buddy again and hooked him up with the guys who he can hook his phone into.   All he needs now is wire and the phone itself and he's on his way!

 

            I had a moment this morning to look around and see just how prevalent the idea of death is all around us.   Not to be morbid, but everything that has a name, Cash Gym, Sallie Gym, Faulkenberg Theater, Wood DFAC, and so on, is named for someone who died around here.   Every day, someone outside the chain link and concertina fence thinks about how he's going to try and kill us.  And we're the ones trying to make this place better!   We go out and help them build great buildings, houses, manufacturing facilities and we have to do it under armed guard – not guarding against us, but for us.  If the people would only see that once the violence stops we can increase our production of their infrastructure by one-hundred times.   Until then, the pace of progress will be slowed by IEDs, snipers, and mortars.  The good news is that unless they put out a real big bomb, their attacks are more or less fruitless.   One convoy was hit with RPGs, IEDs and small arms fire and still managed to get through and get to where it was going with no injuries.  Our equipment protects US from them, but there is nothing, really, to protect the good people in Iraq from them.

           

            Last night at the DFAC, there were some troops sitting down from me, being very obnoxious.   They were loud and vulgar, but clearly enjoying themselves.  Although their actions and volume level were somewhat annoying, the fact that some people here are able to experience moments of happiness in a place that really doesn't get much is heartening.

           

DAY 37 / JAN 05

DAY 37 / JAN 05

     

      It was a very non-exciting morning.   No dawn attack, and even better, no meetings!  But, this afternoon is another issue.  I have to attend the Commander's meetings (yes, plural) this evening because he is gone to the supply depot.

      I spent the morning prepping the Commanders run to the supply depot and then found out that I could run a phone to my FA buddy (when I see him again).   That's good news.

Around 1500 we received another barrage of mortar fire.   There were about six rounds that landed in one area, and another four or so somewhere else.  I have to say that these rounds felt like they were pretty close.   I think they are trying to give the outgoing guys a going away present because they were manifesting (all gathering in a single spot) when the rounds came in.  We fired counterfire and hopefully those folks won't be shooting again.   Well, after the action it was "put on your gear" and then back to work.

I recovered some shrapnel from the blast site as a souvenir and as a reminder for when I go home that its not all peaches and cream everywhere else.   After examining the piece of shrapnel that I recovered, I've determined that it is a piece of the outer casing of the mortar and based on the fact that it has rust on it, it is old and not well cared for.   This is good news as it means that they don't have fresh rounds to fire and they are still working from old rounds.  Eventually, they have to run out.   Without a fresh supply, every one they blow up or we find is one less we have to worry about.  Sure, Saddam had tons of these things, but eventually they have to run out.

Our QRF went out and found someone who was involved and arrested him.

The commander managed to make it back for one of his two meetings tonight, so I was spared the suffering of both of them, but, in the morning, I have more meetings to go to.   Such is my life, one meeting after another, the days tracked by which meeting is next.

Now, I have to go all the way across the FOB to drop off a piece of paper.   And, its dark and I have to wear all of my gear.  It'll be fun, but I'll make it better by grabbing a cup of coffee on the way (that way I have something to drink from in the morning too! – not the same coffee, just the same cup).

DAY 36 / JAN 4

 

DAY 36 / JAN 04

            Another day of meetings, followed by actual work, and then more meetings.   My favorite. 

            I went to bed late last night, trying to make the most out of what little time I actually get to research stuff online.   So, I had a rough time getting up this morning and finally (after hitting the snooze three times on my 'puter) managed to struggle to the shower and start the day.

            After the first meeting, I took my new truck to the motorpool for them to work on.   Then I had to run down some generator issues and eventually, after two or three changes, managed to sign for some more generators from a unit that is leaving.  After that I managed to run a personal errand to the PX and search for something to buy so I could get cash back.   I originally went looking for a travel coffee mug, which I failed to bring with, but because they didn't have any of those and the ceramic mugs are too fragile and have stupid stuff on them I couldn't bring myself to buy one.   After much searching for something small to buy so I could get some cash back (because I refuse to go to the finance office and have them screw with my pay), I settled on a Mach 3 razor (like I have at home) and some shaving gel.   My electric razor is great for the field, but doesn't get as close a shave as a manual. 

            The PX is decent for a FOB PX, but it really doesn't have anything that interests me.   They have the usual drinks and uniform items, and even some souvenir coffee mugs with stupid ass sayings like, "Happiness is Baquba in my rearview mirror," with a picture of a rearview mirror and desert in it.   One great one was an imitation "Hard Rock Café" mug and where they usually list the city (ie. Las Vegas, New York), it said "Camp Warehouse."  I can only imagine the conversation with the Iraqi manufacturer that led up to that one.   Other than that, they have no other coffee mugs – no travel mugs specifically.  Well, being the crafty (and cheap) fellow that I am, I purchased my razor and took $20 cash back (the most you can here).   Now my devious plan to have a coffee drinking device will consist of going to the Green Beans Coffee House on the FOB and buying a White Chocolate Mocha tomorrow morning and then reusing the cup!   Ingenious, and cheap.  If you, dear reader, wish to contribute a coffee mug, I would have no objections.  Just find someone who knows the address and viola!

            During the nightly meeting the LTC mentioned the whole mail issue that I covered earlier.   I think I mentioned in a previous entry that I put a box in my room so I could manually shred the paper into that and then, when it got full, find a burn barrel and put it in there.   Well, as it turns out, that's what the LTC suggested too.

            REAL TIME NOTE:

            The worst thing that could possibly happen did.  No, no one got killed or injured, nothing exciting like that.   My 2GIG thumb drive died.  All of the work I had, all the files I saved.  Toast, no more workie.   Crap.  Well, the good news is that I backed it up about three days ago.  Thank God for that.  So, I only lost a couple hours of work.   If you have a thumb drive you work out of, you know how I feel and can empathize.  If you don't have one, you should get one so it can die and you can empathize too.

            END OF NOTE.

            I just got some info from my buddy in the FA.  It looks like we managed to blow up one of the little bastards who was firing mortars at us.   Whoo-hoo!  One down, and who knows how many to go.  But, I'm glad that at least that's one less insurgent to try and kill us.

            Damn that outgoing fire.  It always makes my heart beat so much faster.   At least now, I know by the second round that its outgoing.  If the sound is the same the second time, I know that its us firing.   If its different, I know its them.  Our guns make big big booms.  

DAY 36 / JAN 3

DAY 36 / JAN 03, 2006

Another day with no meetings! I treasure them greatly. This morning, I dodged a work bullet consisting of inventorying all of the sensitive items and am grateful for it because it would have consumed my next two days entirely. Remarkably, I didn't even have to pawn this task off on someone else because another someone else volunteered. You have to love the volunteer Army.

So, that being taken care of I was able to submit the request through Brigade for a building for my JNN and was also able to recover a vehicle from the "sterile yard." The sterile yard is where vehicles go when you are giving them to the Iraqis or they are damaged and cannot be repaired – its like a scrap yard. The vehicle I recovered was not scrap and was on our books, so I was instructed to get it back – which I did. Now, I plan on using it as my Fob Hopper until someone takes it away.

There really isn't anything different today than there was yesterday. At night we walk around in FRB just is case something should fall out of the sky and blow up.

Once the people we are replacing finally leave, we can really begin to take over and put our own special mark on our areas. Until then, it just feels like we're in their space, in their way, and we can't really change anything until they go. The sooner the better, and once our replacements come, I will be the first to say, "Here ya go, have a nice time." But, that day is still far in the offing.

Tomorrow is another meeting day and after that we have more patrols to go on in the upcoming weeks to recover some equipment and personnel from other sites. Once we get settled, our patrol rate should drop considerably.

I really wish I had internet in my room, I have so many things I'd like to look up, to research, but I always forget them when I'm actually at a computer I do it at. Also, my time is so limited on those connections that I have to do the important stuff first – check email, reply to email, check news - and by the time that's done, I've forgotten what I wanted to research in the first place.

We are supposed to be bringing in another piece of equipment soon that could help out the snail slow (worse than dial-up) internet in our offices. That won't come online until later in the month, though.

DAY 35 / JAN 02

DAY 35 / JAN 02, 2006

            I had to wake up early this morning because of a meeting at 0830.   I did make the most of it, however.  I woke up at 0700, took a shower, and was out the door by 0745.  I walked down to our NETOPs with my computer and hopped on the internet.   I was finally able to chat with my wife on-line.  The network hasn't closed that port yet, so I'm use it as long as possible, but I suspect it will be closed very soon.

            While I was on the phone with my wife, there was a big explosion that sounded like it was near the gate.   I waited and waited for the "incoming" announcement, but it never came.  As it turns out, there was a SVBIED (Suicide Vehicle Borne IED), at a traffic circle in the town.   It hit a bus of Iraqi Police and killed some of them and injured others.  Note:  You may think I'm violating some OPSEC rules by posting this already, but I didn't get any of my information from within the FOB, everything here was taken from a CNN story I watched in the DFAC.

            If you look at the ongoing insurgent activity throughout Iraq, you will see that the trend is for IEDs and attacks to be targeted against Iraqi Police and Iraqi Soldiers.   The enemy has seen that we (American Forces) are heavily armed and armored and that for the amount of explosives it takes to destroy one of our up-armored trucks they could blow up four or five of the less armored Iraqi Police or Army vehicles.   This is both good news and bad news.  The good news is that we are safer, the bad news is that we need the Iraqi Police and Army to grow so that we can leave sooner.   As soon as the Iraqi government determines that their forces are sufficient to put down the remaining insurgency, they will ask us to leave, and I am confident that we will.

            The rest of the day was the usual networking, getting things here or there, updating this or that, etc.   I also had to go to a meeting for someone else, but they were busy, so I guess I can do that once in a while – luckily, it wasn't a long meeting and I really didn't have to say much.

            I did have one incident though.  For this story, I have to go back to our last NTC rotation.

            After the NTC exercise was over, we had to move everything back home – of course.   In order to do that, we had to get it on trains at Yermo.  We drove all the vehicles down there and then waited to put them on.  When we got there, NOTHING had been done to prepare for getting anything on the trains.   After waiting for HOURS with zero progress we took matters into our own hands and started to get the ball rolling.  We found the fork lift to move the spanners, we set them up on the trains – all the prep work that should have been done the day before, we did.   Finally, we came to an impass and I went to the guy in charge, a Major, to get it fixed.  When I went to him and explained the day to him, he didn't seem to really care, and was actually defensive, thinking that I blamed him (which I did – but didn't tell him) for the fiasco.   When I countered his excuses, he just cut me off with a snide remark and walked out of the room.  We finished the loading up of the vehicles without his help – even though it was his job.

            Cut back to present day.  I need to get a structure built.   First I go to the Mayor's Cell who tells me to go see the engineers.  I go to the engineers who tell me I need to go through my battalion.   I go through the battalion that tells me I need to go through Brigade.  Once I get to Brigade, guess who's in charge of what I need?  That same dumbass Major who I pissed off at NTC.  Great.  Now, I have to jump through umpteen million hoops just to get a simple wooden structure built.   I have to get a diagram, an ariel picture, a justification for why I need something so big and on and on and on.  I hate that guy.   The real question is, is he just naturally an asshole, or is he just pissed off at me still?  Does he even remember me from NTC?  I know I remembered him.

            I don't know, but I think we might have just been mortared again.   Or else there was some outgoing fire.  Either way, I put my Kevlar on.  Well, after a few minutes, no call has come saying we were mortared, so maybe we weren't, maybe it was outgoing after all – I just never can tell.

DAY 34 / JAN 01 2006

DAY 34 / JAN 01, 2006

            Just another day at FOB Warhorse.  Slept in til 0900, got some work done, called home, used the internet, the usual.  Our equipment is finally coming on-line and we are just waiting for the other units to come up to speed before we have control of the system.

            I guess we received incoming fire again.  It was nowhere near where I was and that�s good.  All I heard was the outgoing message.  It�s always good to see that we can respond to their attacks.  I�d hate to be on the other end of those rounds.

            Currently I�m planning a convoy to pick up some equipment and drop some other stuff off.  Today, I also set up a decent maintenance schedule that I hope the CO will sign off on.

            I have internet in my office and also a DSN phone to call home, but the connections are pretty crappy.

            That brings my mind back around to this morning.  I knew that at 1000, if I called home, I would be able to ring in the New Year with my wife.  Well, the operator at our base was a bit too slow and I missed the ball dropping by 30 seconds.  Damn.  Actually, I went in early so that I wouldn�t miss it, but all of the damned phones were occupied!  I first checked my NETOPs, then the ATT center, both were packed.  Then I checked my last resort, a back room that I just found out about yesterday.  No sooner did I get on then someone else tried to snatch it too.  Too bad for them, I got there first.  I wished my wife a Happy New Year almost on time.  If I hadn�t been on hold for 5 minutes, I would have been right on time!