Here in Iraq, for the most part I would say things are not all that bad. Compared to my last year here this place is a cake walk. It is generally harder for me this year for many reasons starting off with my new family that I am no able to be with. But over all this is really not a bad rotation. We are not under daily attack. We live in so what comfort. We get up to 4 hot meals a day for free, if you can eat that much. We have Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and a few other smaller eateries. We have a PX and places to worship if you want. Other than the heat and the fact that we are far from home, it is just another day in the world.
But recently things did start to get a little dirty. And a lot smelly. Here at COB Adder there are two ways to get clean clothes. There are a few laundry turn in points around base where anyone can come and turn in up to 20 articles of clothing a day and 72 hours later go back and pick them up. Or in every LA (living area) there are multiple laundry shacks with washers and dryers. Most people around here like to do their own laundry. Sometimes it is hard to get a machine and you end up waiting around. But it is a little bit of home in a way. Plus most people are really not that into having someone else wash their underwear. If you do your laundry yourself you get to use whatever laundry detergent you have and get to do it at your own time and speed. If you turn your laundry in again it is a 72 hour turn around and they use a laundry detergent that leaves clothes smelling “a little like diesel fuel”. So again, most of us do our own laundry.
Well about 2 months ago the PX (Post Exchange) ran out of laundry detergent. And this is when the problem started. Slowly people started to run out of their store of detergent. Fights started breaking out over bottles of soap. Laundry stopped being done. People started to stink. And everything went to crap. Wash was being done with Axe body wash, with ground up bars of soap, and with nothing but water. And people continued to stink. I getting very tired of all of this sent an e-mail off to my father to see if his rotary club could give us some help, and he said he would work on it.
Two weeks later I received a shipment of 11 boxes from the Rotary Club. Each box containing 2 bottles of laundry soap, and 10-12 packets of travel tissues. And then two weeks later I received another shipment of 15 more boxes. This time in addition to the laundry soap there were books and magazines. And now, we have clean clothes. I watched the attitude of the soldiers skyrocket. And I am extremely thankful. So I would like to put out this thank you to the Orange Rotary club for their help with our problem. I know there are a lot of people out there that care a lot about the military, but not a lot that will go to such lengths (and money) to help us over here. The club has been sending out boxes to soldiers here in Iraq at least since my first deployment back in 2004. They have sent out a lot of boxes. The Program is called Operation a bit of home! If you want to go and check out the website. I don’t know what is on it. I can’t get our slow net service here to go to the page. They are at:
http://www.abitofhome.org/
Back To The Sand
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Shower
Don’t you just love the feeling of a good shower? You are in a shower that you can just stretch out in. 2 foot by 2.5 feet, I mean big! You take a relaxing long shower. The kind of shower that could just go one forever if not for the 10 guys yelling at you to hurry up 60 seconds after you turn the water on. A real nice “hot” ice cold shower. Who cares that the water heater went out a month ago. You step out and feel the nice cool 104 degree air against your skin. The kind where you are all alone. Just you and the other 11 guys getting in or out of their own shower, and the
10-20 other guys standing in line waiting for you to move. Oh yea baby. I love me a good shower.
It took me 7 trips to the shower to get a pic of the shower empty. There is always someone in there. Today the water is off, so no one in there.
Back To The Sand
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Life In Tan And Green Is…
The Life in Tan and Green is exciting.
You can be terrified, happy, sad, even giddy. And all at the same time. Seeing new things, meeting new people, going to new places. The ARMY has taken me to 9 countries, 11 states, over 4 continents. I have felt weightlessness, and extreme positive g’s in a C-130 performing a combat landing into Iraq. And the same in a not so controlled crash in a civilian 747 over Alaska’s ice bank. I have cowered as close to the ground as I could possible get and fired my rifle at the enemy all with a white knuckle grip. I have run to the point of exhaustion in the mountains, and relaxed in a pool at one of Saddam’s palaces. No matter what, even when bored out of my mind. It is exciting.
The Life in Tan and Green is scary.
Through Bombs going off in the distance, Rockets landing within feet, and bullets zipping by in the air and combat landings in a land of war, you are sure to be scared. But it is also things like going to a promotion board, your first time stepping into a new country or maybe being on a boat with a broken engine in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. There is rarely a day in this life where I find that I am not scared by something. The funny thing is that everything that makes it scary makes it exciting.
The Life in Tan and Green is painful.
In the past 13 years I have broken 12 different bones with a total of 19 breaks over those 12 bones. I have had 3rd degree burns 4 times. I have been indirectly struck by lightning 2 times, been shocked by 220 volts twice, and 110 volts so many times I can’t count. I have dislocated 6 joints, one of them 8 times. Sprained both of my ankles at least 5 times each. Had to have my skin stitched or stapled back together over 15 times. Been hit in the head by a round casing so hard that I could not walk straight for 3 hours. And been knocked unconscious 25 times before I stopped keeping track. I have been diagnosed with both PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and have such bad memory loss that most of my youth is not known to me, and if you tell me something now there is a good chance that I won’t remember it in 2 min. Oh and all of my friends. I am sorry I don’t know your name. I have fallen off of a 30 foot cliff. Been in 2 major vehicle crashes, and been shot in the face by a powder (or blank) round causing temporary blindness. This all in the line of duty. Painful? Maybe just a little.
The Life in Tan and Green is satisfying.
I have fed the homeless, fought fires in Colorado, helped to build a school, brought internet to people that recently had never seen a computer. I have had my hand in the freeing of the population, the bettering of a country, and the cleaning of a state. Years ago the men on the Iraq Olympic soccer team knew that going home without a medal meant the death of their families. Now, no matter how well they do they go home heroes of a nation. I helped do that. I was never the one doing it, but I was one of the thousands.
The Life in Tan and Green is lonely.
I have never felt so alone in my life. Standing on the deck of the USNS Bob Hope in transit to Iraq. Looking up at the sky at 0300 and feeling that I am the only person in the world. Driving down the MSR from Balad to Baghdad when a “stray” round hits the side plating. Walking a perimeter in Wyoming on guard duty without a building or another person in sight. Or the same thing on an empty airfield Christmas Eve watching water freeze. Or even sitting in a barracks room in the middle of a building full of people. Struggling through the hours of night, the day that a divorce is finalized. Or celebrating your 18th birthday stuck in a foxhole slowly filling with water for a South Carolina summer storm.
The Life in Tan and Green is almost over.
My goal was to make my 20 but it seems that this goal will not happen. All throughout my carrier I have had to fight to stay in. PT has always been a weak point, and I have always been right on the edge (and sometimes over) the weight limit. No, that is not true. It should read body fat limit. My max weight allowed is 195. I don’t remember when I last weighed that little. As of right now I am hovering in the 220’s. But the ARMY says that I can be over my max weight as long as I fall under a certain amount of body fat %. And that is where I fail. Three months ago I was 3% over my limit. Since then I have lost almost 30 pounds, but due to the way that they measure I am still at 3% over. And that is a no go. The AR (ARMY Regulation) says that due to my struggle with weight it is time for me to go home. So that is what they are going to do. So after 13 years of great service without ever once being in serious trouble I am out. I consider myself to be a great soldier and a tremendous leader. I take a lot of pride in what I do, and I really don’t want to have to stop. But after fighting all that I can it is out of my hands. There are two things that can be done. I can either be removed from service once we get home from deployment, or they can wait until my current contract runs out in two years. But after that the “Life” will be over. I have been barred from re-enlistment, so there is no continuing. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. So what comes next? That I have no clue. I have never had a “real” job. I have never gone to an interview. I have been doing this since I was 17. I truly for the first time in my life feel lost. I am in the dark. And my flashlight is fresh out of power.
The Life In Tan And Green. Thank god there are thin people that can carry the torch.
Back To The Sand
You can be terrified, happy, sad, even giddy. And all at the same time. Seeing new things, meeting new people, going to new places. The ARMY has taken me to 9 countries, 11 states, over 4 continents. I have felt weightlessness, and extreme positive g’s in a C-130 performing a combat landing into Iraq. And the same in a not so controlled crash in a civilian 747 over Alaska’s ice bank. I have cowered as close to the ground as I could possible get and fired my rifle at the enemy all with a white knuckle grip. I have run to the point of exhaustion in the mountains, and relaxed in a pool at one of Saddam’s palaces. No matter what, even when bored out of my mind. It is exciting.
The Life in Tan and Green is scary.
Through Bombs going off in the distance, Rockets landing within feet, and bullets zipping by in the air and combat landings in a land of war, you are sure to be scared. But it is also things like going to a promotion board, your first time stepping into a new country or maybe being on a boat with a broken engine in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. There is rarely a day in this life where I find that I am not scared by something. The funny thing is that everything that makes it scary makes it exciting.
The Life in Tan and Green is painful.
In the past 13 years I have broken 12 different bones with a total of 19 breaks over those 12 bones. I have had 3rd degree burns 4 times. I have been indirectly struck by lightning 2 times, been shocked by 220 volts twice, and 110 volts so many times I can’t count. I have dislocated 6 joints, one of them 8 times. Sprained both of my ankles at least 5 times each. Had to have my skin stitched or stapled back together over 15 times. Been hit in the head by a round casing so hard that I could not walk straight for 3 hours. And been knocked unconscious 25 times before I stopped keeping track. I have been diagnosed with both PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and have such bad memory loss that most of my youth is not known to me, and if you tell me something now there is a good chance that I won’t remember it in 2 min. Oh and all of my friends. I am sorry I don’t know your name. I have fallen off of a 30 foot cliff. Been in 2 major vehicle crashes, and been shot in the face by a powder (or blank) round causing temporary blindness. This all in the line of duty. Painful? Maybe just a little.
The Life in Tan and Green is satisfying.
I have fed the homeless, fought fires in Colorado, helped to build a school, brought internet to people that recently had never seen a computer. I have had my hand in the freeing of the population, the bettering of a country, and the cleaning of a state. Years ago the men on the Iraq Olympic soccer team knew that going home without a medal meant the death of their families. Now, no matter how well they do they go home heroes of a nation. I helped do that. I was never the one doing it, but I was one of the thousands.
The Life in Tan and Green is lonely.
I have never felt so alone in my life. Standing on the deck of the USNS Bob Hope in transit to Iraq. Looking up at the sky at 0300 and feeling that I am the only person in the world. Driving down the MSR from Balad to Baghdad when a “stray” round hits the side plating. Walking a perimeter in Wyoming on guard duty without a building or another person in sight. Or the same thing on an empty airfield Christmas Eve watching water freeze. Or even sitting in a barracks room in the middle of a building full of people. Struggling through the hours of night, the day that a divorce is finalized. Or celebrating your 18th birthday stuck in a foxhole slowly filling with water for a South Carolina summer storm.
The Life in Tan and Green is almost over.
My goal was to make my 20 but it seems that this goal will not happen. All throughout my carrier I have had to fight to stay in. PT has always been a weak point, and I have always been right on the edge (and sometimes over) the weight limit. No, that is not true. It should read body fat limit. My max weight allowed is 195. I don’t remember when I last weighed that little. As of right now I am hovering in the 220’s. But the ARMY says that I can be over my max weight as long as I fall under a certain amount of body fat %. And that is where I fail. Three months ago I was 3% over my limit. Since then I have lost almost 30 pounds, but due to the way that they measure I am still at 3% over. And that is a no go. The AR (ARMY Regulation) says that due to my struggle with weight it is time for me to go home. So that is what they are going to do. So after 13 years of great service without ever once being in serious trouble I am out. I consider myself to be a great soldier and a tremendous leader. I take a lot of pride in what I do, and I really don’t want to have to stop. But after fighting all that I can it is out of my hands. There are two things that can be done. I can either be removed from service once we get home from deployment, or they can wait until my current contract runs out in two years. But after that the “Life” will be over. I have been barred from re-enlistment, so there is no continuing. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. So what comes next? That I have no clue. I have never had a “real” job. I have never gone to an interview. I have been doing this since I was 17. I truly for the first time in my life feel lost. I am in the dark. And my flashlight is fresh out of power.
The Life In Tan And Green. Thank god there are thin people that can carry the torch.
Back To The Sand
Friday, March 12, 2010
Update 2010 03 15
“Oh the weather outside is frightful….”
And snow is in no way the reason. Mother nature has changed her color and her son B.O.B. is being brutal to us here. We had a few weeks of Iraqi Spring, but that seems to be over and we are moving into what is soon to be hot. For the past few weeks, heck almost a month, we have been having a fun up down up down with the weather. Some days were just downright cold, while others were chilly nights and nice sunny days. And then the wind has been here today gone tomorrow. We are fine without the heavy wind since that brings the dust storms, but the light breezy days are nice. But “nice” will soon be a word that is not in the vocabulary of a lot of us. Yesterday I really started to notice. At 0800 when I was waiting for a bus I noticed that there was a nice bit of sweat dripping down my back. Then at 1400 when my bladder woke me up it was 101 outside. Yep, that’s right. It’s our first day in the triple digits out here in the sand. And the sky is the limit on this one, or that would be the lack of limit. Soon we will be thinking how nice it is at night when it is only 110 outside, just because it was 140 during midday. It’s time for us to really start chugging the water throughout the day.
The Family is doing well. Our little Samantha is two and a half months old and growing like crazy. All of the books tell us to expect a one week growing spurt per month. Well she seems to be going through a one week growth spurt 4 times a month. She is over 8 pounds and over 20 inches tall. I know it is considered long and not tall at this age, but I prefer tall. I have been getting new pics and videos a few times a week from Maria. Every new pic is a great thrill. Really it is what I live for right now.
Maria will be taking Sam on a trip down to see the grandparents at the end of this month. Maria’s Birthday is the 4th of next month and both mothers said they would
come up, but with her not working it is a lot better for Maria to just hop a flight down there. I just hope that Sam does well on the flight. I have made Maria promise that she will not take Sam to Disneyland without me. But I did say that she could go to Downtown Disney and buy her some stuff. But no pictures of her there and no characters.
I have not really had a lot of time to talk to Maria all that much. The time I have available to be on skype in my mornings is a time where there is a lot of internet traffic because most of the people around here are just getting off of work so everything slows to a crawl. And really it all just fails. So for the next 3 months I will not get much face time with the family.
I have a PT test tomorrow. I am not very happy. I don’t feel ready for it and I really don’t think that I am going to pass. And if I fail it might be the end of my military carrier. Yep no more life in Tan and Green. And well if that happens…
Well I have no clue. I have been doing this for 13 years and really have no clue what I am going to do for a pay check. And Maria is still not working because of the baby, so things might end up getting really tight around here. But we will see. Wish me luck and maybe I will be able to stay in for a few more years. I was really hopping to make 20 years, but every day it seems to get further and further out of my reach. We will see.
Back To The Sand
And snow is in no way the reason. Mother nature has changed her color and her son B.O.B. is being brutal to us here. We had a few weeks of Iraqi Spring, but that seems to be over and we are moving into what is soon to be hot. For the past few weeks, heck almost a month, we have been having a fun up down up down with the weather. Some days were just downright cold, while others were chilly nights and nice sunny days. And then the wind has been here today gone tomorrow. We are fine without the heavy wind since that brings the dust storms, but the light breezy days are nice. But “nice” will soon be a word that is not in the vocabulary of a lot of us. Yesterday I really started to notice. At 0800 when I was waiting for a bus I noticed that there was a nice bit of sweat dripping down my back. Then at 1400 when my bladder woke me up it was 101 outside. Yep, that’s right. It’s our first day in the triple digits out here in the sand. And the sky is the limit on this one, or that would be the lack of limit. Soon we will be thinking how nice it is at night when it is only 110 outside, just because it was 140 during midday. It’s time for us to really start chugging the water throughout the day.
The Family is doing well. Our little Samantha is two and a half months old and growing like crazy. All of the books tell us to expect a one week growing spurt per month. Well she seems to be going through a one week growth spurt 4 times a month. She is over 8 pounds and over 20 inches tall. I know it is considered long and not tall at this age, but I prefer tall. I have been getting new pics and videos a few times a week from Maria. Every new pic is a great thrill. Really it is what I live for right now.Maria will be taking Sam on a trip down to see the grandparents at the end of this month. Maria’s Birthday is the 4th of next month and both mothers said they would
come up, but with her not working it is a lot better for Maria to just hop a flight down there. I just hope that Sam does well on the flight. I have made Maria promise that she will not take Sam to Disneyland without me. But I did say that she could go to Downtown Disney and buy her some stuff. But no pictures of her there and no characters.
I have not really had a lot of time to talk to Maria all that much. The time I have available to be on skype in my mornings is a time where there is a lot of internet traffic because most of the people around here are just getting off of work so everything slows to a crawl. And really it all just fails. So for the next 3 months I will not get much face time with the family.
I have a PT test tomorrow. I am not very happy. I don’t feel ready for it and I really don’t think that I am going to pass. And if I fail it might be the end of my military carrier. Yep no more life in Tan and Green. And well if that happens…
Well I have no clue. I have been doing this for 13 years and really have no clue what I am going to do for a pay check. And Maria is still not working because of the baby, so things might end up getting really tight around here. But we will see. Wish me luck and maybe I will be able to stay in for a few more years. I was really hopping to make 20 years, but every day it seems to get further and further out of my reach. We will see.
Back To The Sand
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Things I have learned…
Just about every woman standing nude and viewed from the side is always sexy.
This does not work the same when I do it.
This does not work the same when I do it.
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