Hot Gift of 2007: The iRaq

Home Sweet Home!

2008-07-16T21:31:00.003-04:00

I'm HOME!!! All done and hopefully never to return there, ever.

On my way home

2008-06-30T09:40:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I left Baghdad for the last time (hopefully). Normally when I leave some place I've been for a long time, I usually feel a little nostalgic, even if being in that place was not all that enjoyable - Oklahoma is a prime example. This time, there was nothing but elation. No "it's been fun but it's time to leave" feelings, just a "THANK GOD!!!" I got the biggest smile on my face when we finally lifted off from Baghdad International Airport en route to Kuwait. My joy was nearly dashed when the flight crew started playing with the cargo door mid-flight but I remembered that a C-130 can fly all day with it open so joy returned. About an hour and a half later, we touched down on a sand and wind blown runway in Kuwait to begin the next phase of the re-deployment (means "returning from deployment - I know, it doesn't sound like it...) process - gear turn-in and reintegration training (not looking forward to it). Unfortunately, none of that has started yet...

Apparently, whoever made our flight arrangements sent us down here 2 days early. I know
you are all happy to hear that I'm out of Iraq but it was MUCH more comfortable up there and if I could've done all this there, I would've preferred it. Anyway, I have a couple of days at this little transient housing base before catching my bus to Camp Arifjan.

Today was a very uneventful day. I woke up, had coffee and just hung out. Now, I'm typing. I'm typing again. And again... (we could go on and on like this) You get the picture. I'll probably get some dinner later then sleep. Overall, it has the making of a very unproductive day.

I have 3 days and a wakeup (if I get the chance to go to sleep - flight home is EARLY EARLY morning on the 4th) left before I get on the long flight home. Hopefully, we'll get a good location to make our fuel stop. I'm anticipating arriving home early afternoon to early evening on the 4th, in time for a little bbq for 2.1.

In the mean time, you can start counting down from 4, right..... NOW.

See you when you get to 0!

Exit the Dragon

2008-06-24T12:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday began the first stage of my journey home: I left COP Dragon for Camp Striker in the Victory Base Complex (Baghdad). It felt so good to leave. Driving away and knowing I'd never see a place again evokes mixed feelings for me usually. This time, all I felt was relief and elation. There were people there that I will miss. Not all of them were as my previous posts have indicated. This manifested itself again the morning I left when a good group gathered to give me my end of tour award and say farewell. It was usually just one or two people doing specific things that made this experience worse than it could be. Regardless, it's all behind me now. No more walking 100ft to a porta-john in the middle of the night. No more worrying about whether some of the concrete was going to come crumbling down on top of me. AND no more worrying about my equipment. BUT, it also means no more nightly cigars with the boys and the occasional poker game. Those things I will miss. If I had to choose between staying and leaving, though, those two things wouldn't be enough to make me stay. In fact, it would take a lot more - probably more than what would be possible.

Anyway, I'm in Baghdad now getting some of my check-out knocked out so it's not a mad rush at the last minute. I'm also shipping a bunch of stuff. It's amazing what kinds of things get accumulated over 10 months. I've already sent home 2 good sized boxed and I still have more to go. One is just excess clothing so I don't have to drag it all with me through Kuwait but one is a rolling trunk of various "stuff". But, it's all good because I'm DONE!!! See ya! So long! Adios!!!

4/9 and a wakeup!

Welcome back, now move out.

2008-06-18T08:40:00.002-04:00

Obviously, I'm excited about leaving. Who wouldn't be? But when you go away for 2 days in order to pick up your relief and then return to be told you have to move out of your room by the end of the week, 7 days earlier than when I'm supposed to leave this base, the excitement of leaving gets increased. I have no idea when they figured out that they wanted me out of my room but if they told me beforehand that my relief was going to take my room and I was supposed to move out when he got here, I would've been ready to go and fine with it. Having it sprung on you shortly after returning is akin to return from vacation and then have your coworker kick you in the balls. Not a pleasant feeling... So, in the spirit of "F%^& You!", I am leaving my base 4 days early, Monday, 23 June.

No, that doesn't mean I get to come home early but it does mean I get to relax more in Baghdad before flying to Kuwait. It means I won't have to deal with the horse pucky of this place more than I need. The great thing about this whole debacle is that after telling my boss, he said "Nice welcome... No problem. See you on Monday." Gotta love a boss that takes your side, you know? So, yeah, I'm leaving early. Not 7 days from now, 5 days. And not just in 5 days I'm leaving but by this time 5 days from now, I'll be in Baghdad just chillin'.

I have no idea what I'm going to do during those extra days but I do know that sleeping late and playing video games are on the agenda.

On a brighter side, at least they are fairwelling me. I'm thinking, for my remarks, I'll be succinct and let the immortal words of Guillermo Diaz of Half Baked display my displeasure: "F%^& You, F%^& You, F%^& You, F%^& You, You're Cool, F%^& You. I'm out!"

5/11/16!

28 Days

2008-05-29T13:10:00.003-04:00

28 Days

That is how long I have left at my little base. Not long at all. Frankly, it couldn't come soon enough. I am thankful for all the support and everything everyone has sent me over the last 9 months or so but please do not send any more mail. I am so close that I will not have time to either use it or receive it.

Thank you all for everything!

See you in about 5 weeks!

8 Years, Hot Water, and the Australian Pool

2008-05-24T09:10:00.002-04:00

I realized something a few days ago. As of today, I have been in the Navy for 8 years. (In reality, the 8 year mark is on the 26th but my commissioning date says 24 May.) Some big things happen at this point in my career: I get a Time In Service raise, I'm starting to be looked at for promotion, AND, the BIG ONE, I'm almost out of my committment and will be eligible for separation. The first two aren't bad and it makes it harder to say "No" to the Navy (I think it was designed like that) but frankly, there's just too much about what would come next in my career that makes saying "No" so much easier and enjoyable.

If I said "yes", I would be able to get a fat bonus from the Navy for staying but I would probably have to go to another unit where I would deploy again, this time on a ship, which would require me to move to a location that I do not want to be. I would also have to go back to my old wing which, unfortunately, has only one location - Oklahoma. Again, not a place I want to live (again). Those 2 things are the deal-breakers. I have no desire to deploy again and I do not want to EVER live in Oklahoma again. Really, it's a simple decision. Saying "No" would give me the freedom to live where I want and pursue a career where I want. Starting a family surely makes this choice the more appealing one.

- - - - - - - -

Summer is here. Well, not officially, but it sure feels like it. I know what you're saying, "It's hot here too so stop complaining". Yeah... Hot where you are... When you can't drink enough water to cool off, let me know. In the mean time, grab a beer, watch tv, or do whatever it is I will be doing in 40 days.

Today was probably the hottest day I've experienced here in Iraq. It's probably close to 120degrees but it feels like my skin is melting off (it's really sweat). For the last few weeks, our high temp has been a relatively mild 100+ degrees. Not too hot (yes, "not too hot") but still warm (yes, "warm"). Today is different. Today is stay inside unless you absolutely have to go outside and for crying out loud, drink water day. I walked maybe a 1/2 mile to help out someone with a project and I found myself drenched at the end of it. I pounded a liter of water and still found my body could cool down fast enough, even inside where it's air conditioned. I spent the next hour looking for shade to stand in and to find new ways to count to or from 10 into a radio.

The walk back was even more painful. I had a bottle of water with me but I was so full from drinking 2 bottles that I couldn't fit anything more in my stomach. I spent the next 2 hours cooling and drying off. But, enough about that...

With this hot weather comes, well, heat. "Duh..." Yeah, I know, Captain Obvious strikes again... Anyway, where I live has no underground water system. Everything is transported by trucks and pumped into tanks above ground and exposed to the elements including, you guessed it, the sun. What that means is the showers now have 2 knobs, hot (which isn't always labeled correctly) and very hot (the knob previously known as just "hot"). Imagine my surprise when I turned on the original "cold" water to find hot water coming out. I thought they switched knobs.

One of the greatest things to do after a long hot day in the sun is to get in a cool shower. How can we do that if the water doesn't get cool? Once again, this place sucks all the enjoyment out of life. On a brighter side, there's ALWAYS hot water for the showers.

- - - - - - - -

This weekend, one of the EWOs in the brigade is getting farewelled so I'm up in Baghdad for the event. The day I came in, there was a party at the Australian Pool so I went. Yes, Australian and Yes, Pool - as in SWIMMING pool. I don't have any pictures of it but imagine a pool in an L shape on an island with people nearby... No, that's not what it looked like, try again... That either. YOU'RE NOT EVEN TRYING! Come on, one more time... ok, fine, close enough... It looked something like that. Anyway, there were also Autralians there since they did kind of "own" it.

Great story, right? I know. It took me a long time to edit out all the boring stuff.

Whatever... this is the part everyone wants to see anyway:

34 days until I leave Dragon for last time
36 days until I leave Iraq FOREVER
42 days until I'm home!

Better than cheese

2008-04-22T03:59:00.006-04:00

From the amount of emails saying "Post another blog entry!!!", you would think either what I'm saying is undeniably the greatest thing since the creation of cheese or it's been a long time since the last one. Let's start with the second one first. It has been a total of 23 days since the last post. If you compare this length of time from others, you would see that it's not that different. I get that since it's getting closer to my departure date, people want to know what's going on but nothing around here really changes all that much. Since it has been 23 days (just a tad over 3 weeks) since my last post, I'll fill you in on the goings on here in Happy-Fun Land. (Do not breathe the air in Happy-Fun Land. Happy-Fun Land will spontaneously combust at temperatures above -55 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Shortly after my last post, my dad turned 60 years old. He is officially an old man and twice my age. Congratulations Dad! You made it. See, I told you I wouldn't be the death of you and your hair isn't all gray so I KNOW it wasn't me who made it turn that color.

Then, my uncle had his birthday (not as old as my dad but getting closer). I KNOW THIS ISN'T HAPPENING HERE IN HAPPY-FUN LAND (The natural vegetation of Happy-Fun Land has been scientifically proven to cure cancer. Do not let Happy-Fun Land come in contact with skin.) BUT THESE ARE EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN MY LIFE SO BE PATIENT. Unlike my dad, his gray hair is a result of my cousins.

Next... well, not a lot happened after that. I sat at my desk and read emails while trying in vain to get the Masters to stream through to the computer. One attempt after another resulted in either seeing 4 seconds of video before the connection dropped off or finding out that I could not connect to it for various reasons like living in Happy-Fun Land. (Exposure to Happy-Fun Land slows down time. Swimming is prohibited in Happy-Fun Land.) During one attempt, I was able to watch it for a few seconds while on a video chat with my brother until, again, the connection slowed down and dropped the video. He was gracious enough to record the last two days of the tournament and send them to me on DVD. Hopefully, I'll be able to watch them before I leave here (hint, hint).

After that, more of the same. During the day, we occupy our time with episodes of The Office (all of the seasons including season 4 - pirated DVDs rock) and various other pastimes. At night, I'm back in my room on the computer watching more movies, playing video games, or getting online and chatting with various people.

Then, we had some dust storms. It was so thick that you couldn't see the castle from my room (about 100yds away). For about 2 days straight, I was breathing a combination of smoke, dust, and some air for color. (Some good pictures of the dust storms can be found on Gritty Kitty's Blog.) It cleared up one morning only to laugh at our hope for some decent weather then dust storm part 2. Probably 5 out of those 7 days had dust storms. Happy-Fun Land was introducing its newest attraction - bronchitis. (Happy-Fun Land did not introduce its newest attraction - bronchitis. Happy-Fun Land is afraid of kittens.)

Last Friday, I finally did something different. I hitched a ride with a convoy and went to Baghdad for a few days. The main reason was to go to the Passover Seder they were having up there but ultimately, it was to de-stress a little. I had been feeling overly burnt out and needed a respite from Happy-Fun Land. (Happy-Fun Land is not Happy, Fun nor Land. Happy-Fun Land is not kid friendly, an equal-opportunity employer, covered by FDIC, nor habla espanol.)

Passover was interesting. There were about 50 or so of us in this building next to the palace. I don't know what it was used for when it was under Saddam's control but now it's a visitor center. It was a lot more of a religious service than what I'm used to at home and I could tell that I wasn't alone in that regard. A lot of people were edging closer and closer to the matzo breaking off pieces to nibble on since it was 9:30pm and we still hadn't started dinner. FINALLY, at 10:30, we started dinner and by 11:00, more than half the people had eaten and decided that it wasn't worth staying after the meal for the rest of the service so they left like I did. I have to say that it was a good experience. It recharged my spiritual batteries a little and gave me a little more umph to get through the next remaining bit of this vacation in Happy-Fun Land. (Happy-Fun Land does not accept personal checks. The statements made here are not those of Happy-Fun Land, it's subsidiaries, nor it's board of directors.)

The next day, my boss tells me he got picked to go "sailing" for a few days and then asked me if I wanted to cover for him. I told him I would, partly to get away from Happy-Fun Land (Happy-Fun Land is down with OPP, too legit to quit, and rollin' B-I-G. Do not expose Happy-Fun Land to direct sunlight.) and partly to help break up my remaining time here into more manageable pieces. Now, I have 1 week back here in Happy-Fun Land (Happy-Fun Land is always referred to in the third-person. The first rule of Happy-Fun Land is you do not talk about Happy-Fun Land.), then I go up to cover for my boss for a week, then back down here for about 4 or 5 weeks before my replacement comes. After that, it's smooth sailing and just doing turnover to get him ready to be as confused as I was on my first day here at Happy-Fun Land. (Happy-Fun Land is not amused. Happy-Fun Land will not jump for your love, dance on the ceiling, or beat it.)

As you can see, not much going on. So that brings us back to the first possibility for requesting more posts: "what I'm saying is undeniably the greatest thing since the creation of cheese." Obviously, this one is true.

55 days until my replacement arrives
65 days until I leave Iraq
73 days until I'm home

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2008-03-30T13:24:00.000-04:00

It's been a little while since my last post but so many things have happened, most not solid enough to share the information until now which is why I've waited. These things can easily be lumped into 3 categories, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I like to share good information first so that's where we will start...

The Good

I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!!!
That's right, Shira is with child, a blessed wonder that is life. How can he or she not be a gift from God? I was home on leave for 2 weeks and BAM! Miracle. An unexpected miracle, no, but from all accounts, scientific and religious, a miracle.

SO, I'm here, in a hotter hell (see "The Ugly") without the benefit of seeing all the progress of my first child's growth from nothingness. It would have been more enjoyable watching the first sonogram than listening to a description of it over the phone from half a world away but that was all I was afforded. I will get to see the end of the pregnancy, birth and beyond so a little bit lost in the beginning isn't the end of the world. Which brings us to "The Bad"...

The Bad

So, there I was, minding my own business, sending emails to buddies scattered around theater when I got an email from my boss saying "Call me ASAP." Knowing my boss for only a month, this could mean absolutely anything. It turned out to be a warning of sorts. Due to the change in training cycle length back in the states, some people were going to be extended to fill the gap. This information did not bode well. My luck has not been the best in the military. BUT, he didn't say I was one of them...

Well, of course I had to tell my buddies about this development so when one responded saying how he was on the list with a bunch of others from my class, it got me a little worried. We all went through training together and if they're getting extended, then it was possible my name could be next on the list.

Two days later, I get "the list" from him and, lo and behold, who's name is plain as day right smack dab in the middle? MINE with a 14 day extension... Meanwhile, my boss contacts me about 30 min later to tell me he's coming down to Dragon to "chat". My response to him went something like "I saw the list. (rant expletive expletive rant expletive rant) See you tomorrow." It just didn't seem like it needed pleasantries. Sometimes, pithy is more unambiguous.

He shows up and tells me exactly what I already knew - I was extended and my new rotation date is 29 June. Yeah... I went from expecting to rotate early to rotating late in a span of one month. All because the people in Navy Personnel Command decided not to give word of deployments over the "holidays" and didn't want to notify anyone any earlier than 90 days from deployment. Whereas I was notified 3 July that I was leaving in 27 days. "Thanks for being a patriot, here's your present."

14 days is not a lot in the grand scheme of things but it sure solidifies your decision to depart the organization that caused it... especially when it takes you closer to the HOT part of the year.

The Ugly

It's hot here. (I know, "duh".) I know I've mentioned it before because it's something everyone always asks about. Is it hot here all the time, HELL no. It snowed here once and for about 3 months, it easily maintained a temperature in the 30's and 40's. But, it's hot here now and won't cool off again for another 8 months. From now until August, the daily highs steadily increase from around 90 degrees to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

120 degrees Fahrenheit. What happens at 120 degrees? Or better yet, what happens BY 120 degrees? Here's a few good ones:

59 degrees - Standard Day temperature used in aviation
98 degrees - The temperature the human body is regulated to
106 degrees - Brain cells start to die
108 degrees - Blood boils

Now think about this... This country and others in this region (*throat clearing with a subtle point to the east*) hit 120 degrees EVERY year. That's a lot of dead brain cells and boiling blood. If you've been here, you wouldn't be surprised.

So, believe it or not, HELL is getting hotter. A snowball's chance here has been greatly reduced here but pigs could possibly fly...

________________________________

90 days remaining... again

Fun in the Sun

2008-03-01T08:12:00.003-05:00

Today is the start of a new beginning. Today, the sun is shining brighter. TODAY... I was able to walk to the bathroom without a sweatshirt. That's right. It's warm again. We are seeing 70 degree weather forecasted for the next week. The dreary cloud covered skies are going to be a thing of the past. It's time to get out the sunblock and hit the beach. By sunblock, I really mean sunblock - you can get really burnt out here - and by beach, I mean the gravel covered dust that is my little base.

What were you expecting? Oh, that's right... You were expecting me to tell you about when my replacement is showing up. I know this because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, I talked/IMed/emailed with yesterday asked that question. It must be something in the air back home that's making people do that. Don't worry, I'm not upset. I know everyone just wants me to come home. I do too. We all just have to be patient. Odds are that I won't find out for AT LEAST another month (beginning of April) at the earliest. When I do find out, I will tell you at the earliest possible moment. I will not hold this info from you. So, now you know. Don't you feel better now? I know I do.

Anyway, we were talking about the nice warm weather. It was very refreshing to find the sun bright in the sky. Soon it will be so hot that it will be difficult to do anything outside except to sweat. Hopefully, I won't be here to experience that joy. Even though I say it feels nice now, 75 degrees is much different than 125 degrees. I can deal with 75 degrees. I can get used to 100 degrees. 125 degrees? At 125 degrees, "Hello, my name is Nos Feratu. I am a creature of the night. Care to invite me in?"

Until then, I'm going to sit outside, enjoy a good cigar and keep waiting for the day this all ends.

Ciao.

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or on-coming traffic?

2008-02-16T05:27:00.005-05:00

It has already been 2 weeks since returning to Iraq. It's amazing that it has been that long because it doesn't feel like it. For some reason, time has been going by rather quickly, especially now that I'm back to work and keeping busy but I'm not complaining. I'd rather have it go by fast and say "where did the time go?" than wish it would end already (even though I do both regularly). 9 months seemed like a LONG time when I started this little adventure but I'm over half-way done and can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Today is exactly 4 months from the scheduled end of my deployment. That means I should be either on my way home or already at home in 4 months. I say "scheduled end" because the trend lately is to send people home early. How early is not standardized and not known but I've seen about 3-4 weeks early on average. I've also seen as early as 3 months early and 7 weeks early so something like that is not out of the question.

I keep looking at sometime in May as a return date but I'm afraid of fooling myself into a false hope. I have been told, unofficially, that I will be returning a month early, though. It's the "unofficially" that gives me pause. The Navy has given me the unofficial word in the past before only to take it away. They've even done that with official, written orders so you can see my hesitation to believe this. The funny thing is that I have not met a single person who has stayed the whole 280 days without volunteering to do so. Every person in my job in my brigade that I have seen leave has left early, including the guy I replaced.

Assuming (I know what happens when you assume but hear me out)... Assuming that I do leave exactly a month early (15 May), I have less than 90 days remaining which is very very close to being home. As a defense for false hope, I have decided to keep saying I have 90 days left until I am 90 days from my scheduled end of tour or until I have notice of a replacement, whichever comes first.

There is one other thing that I try not to think about - it's a good thing, though, depending on how you look at it... My replacement gets here at least a couple of weeks before I am supposed to leave. That means, if I leave in May, my replacement could get here in April... BIG IF and COULD there... What's more, I would know about it before then. SO, it is possible that I only have a couple of months before my replacement gets here and less than that before I would find out. Like I said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, FINALLY. The only question remaining is whether it's really the end of the tunnel shining at me...

Return of the Dragon

2008-02-10T07:40:00.001-05:00

I'm back at Dragon. I got here Thursday morning. Yes, I returned to Iraq on Super Bowl Sunday but waited to return to Dragon. Honestly, can you blame me? I just spent 3 days traveling from the comfort of my own home to be back in Iraq for another few months. Who wouldn't want to delay leaving less spartan accomodations for a patrol base with very little in the way of luxuries? On top of that, I really wasn't in the right frame of mind to start working.

Before I left, I was the lead on a project to renovate a building for use as a government/emergency services coordination center - something WAY different from what I was sent here to do. In the beginning, I was ok with it - it gave me something to do since my job was slow. When I got back, I realized that what comes of the project is of little concern to me. I'm leaving soon so I won't see the end result and whether it works does nothing for my self-actualization. What does concern me is that I'm leaving soon and I don't want to jeopardize my safe return to the States. When I got back into the office, I told my army "boss" about my concerns. He wasn't too thrilled about it but he understood my motivation. Two days later, his boss's boss told him to pull me off the project. I don't know why or how that happened but I'm ok with it. Now I can focus on the job I was sent here to do.

I've come to an epiphany of sorts, partly spawned from my R&R leave and partly from just spending time here: I don't really care about anything else except getting home safely and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that happens. Everything else is just that, something else. Don't misunderstand me, I'm still going to make sure my job is performed adequately but I will not be taking part in other aspects of this "war", especially if it takes me off the base. That's part of the "I'm going to make sure that happens" half of my epiphany. The next time I leave this base will be the day I leave for good. No more Navy Guy, the Combat Tourist. No more patrols even to just walk across the bridge to the patrol base on the other side of the river. No more.

So, there it is. I know there are many of you thinking, "It's about time". I'm surprised I didn't think of it before either but sometimes all it takes is 2 weeks of relaxing bliss to free the mind enough to allow it to happen. If all goes according to "plan", I should be on my way out the gate for the last time in about 90 days. I'll tell you, it can't come soon enough...

Poetic Justice

2008-02-03T22:37:00.000-05:00

I believe Emily Dickenson said it best:

IN YOUR FACE TOM BRADY!!!

I have not been this excited here in Iraq since I left on R&R. I had so much adrenaline pumping through my system that by the end of the game, I was shaking so badly, I nearly spilled my drink all over my lap.

I have sat through season after season of failed playoff attempts by all of my teams watching as Boston/NE teams somehow pull it off. NOT THIS YEAR.

All is now right with the world.

What a tease

2008-02-02T03:14:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back - in Kuwait. My R&R leave was amazing and well worth it but it was such a tease. After about 24 hours of flying and 24 hours of waiting around, I made it home. I don't think I've ever walked so fast through a termal when I'm not trying to make a flight. Just knowing that Shira would be at the end had me moving faster than a tired, travel-weary Saildier should be able to. When I got out of the security area, lo and behold, she was there with just as big of a grin on as I had. We collected my bag from baggage claim and walked to the car not wanting to leave contact with each other.

The drive home was surreal at best. I was constantly looking at strange items on the side of the road for the possibility of IEDs and at the same time wondering why Shira was driving so fast - 5 mph below the speed limit of 45mph. In Iraq, our average speed is somewhere around 25mph so going 40 feels dangerous. My homecoming was just as exciting with my dog not wanting to leave my side for 30 minutes (then he forgot I was gone at all).

Over the next few days, we did nothing too stressful - went out to dinner, to the mall, and the movies - but each turned out to be stress inducing. Out in public, I would get very anxious and on one occasion I was on the verge of a panic attack. Luckily, we were only a mile from our house so I was able to calm down when I got home. I caught myself just staring at nothing a few times, not from stress but from disbelief. I couldn't believe that I had just spent the last 5 months away from home. I felt like it was all a dream and I had just woken up.

After a few days of just us at home, Shira and I went to Colorado for some skiing and to see my parents. It was amazing and really helped me relieve some pent up stress. The scenery was so gorgeous and the air was incredibly clean. We left CO 5 days later exhausted and hesitent to go home knowing that I would be leaving again a few days later. The last 4 days were pretty relaxing overall. Unfortunately, just when I got comfortable being at home and with my family, it was time to leave again.

That was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do. It was much harder this time than when I left before. I think part of the reason is that the anticipation and excitement of doing something new has worn off. I now know EXACTLY what I'm going to be doing, what it's like, and what I'll be missing - no surprises, nothing to look forward to (except coming home for good). Maybe when I'm around people I know, I'll feel better but as of now, my motivation is at an all-time low. My only care right now is coming home and that won't happen for another 4 months, give or take a few weeks.

Being in Kuwait, although more relaxing that Iraq, isn't much less of a tease. You could tell from the reaction of everyone when we landed in Kuwait. The silence in the cabin spoke louder than anything anyone could have said. The first night there, we were told to be back in 5 hours with our bags ready to fly. Since we were not in synch with the times and our bodies said "no" to sleep, we just hung out for the 5 hours. When we returned with our bags, we found out there wasn't enough room on the flight for everyone so some of us had to come back in 6 hours for the next flight. That happened 2 more times yesterday. Finally, I think I'm heading back to Baghdad. I'm first on the list but that doesn't really mean anything. Apparently, there were some cancelled flights earlier in the week and the delays have been snowballing every since. Hopefully, I'll be somewhere I can watch the Super Bowl with people I know. I don't think being here in Kuwait watching the game will have any positive impact with my outlook.

At least there is an end in sight... 134 days to my "scheduled" departure date - 280 days from arriving in Kuwait the first time. From trends in departures lately, it should be earlier than that.

See everyone again soon.

Home at last

2008-01-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

I'm on leave for the next 2 weeks. It will be a VERY nice break. See you all later.

War is Hell... without my latte

2008-01-07T06:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, so there I was, about a week ago, sitting at my desk surfing the internet and having my 2nd cup of coffee when my boss came looking for me and I thought, "war sucks..." No, really, being out here in the sticks, the bush, the sh!t, the battlespace, ... you get the picture ... is being in "the war." But that begs the question, "How bad can it really be if you can get online at your desk?" Well, we can do more than just get online. We have satellite television (I was able to see the Giants beat the Bucs last night, LIVE), a little base exchange where we can purchase snacks and other goods, and air conditioned and heated rooms which will soon be internet-ready. So, aside from being far from home and family in a foreign country with people around who want to kill you, it's not all that far from being at summer camp but with guns. Just like at camp, you have your daily activities, your occasional field trips to town, visiting day, and if you're on one lucky FOB, a swimming pool.

Since my base is out in the battlespace, it's a completely different experience than being at one of the super-FOBs like the Victory Base Complex. At the VBC, you have mess halls so big you could play football inside them with a great variety of food available. They also have post exchanges like you would find in the states, fast food restaurants, 24hr coffee shops (like Starbucks), movie theaters, pizza parlors, basically, all the comforts of home without being there. You might be thinking that the VBC doesn't sound so bad and it isn't but it's just like any other company. If you didn't work at the corporate headquarters, would you want to??? At my base, I'm the 4th highest ranking (combat) officer stationed there. At the VBC, I'm a nobody with huge oversight. Not only would I have my boss looking over my shoulder, I'd have his boss and his boss's boss, and so on all the way up the the HMFIC (the guy at the top) - not exactly what I would call "a productive work environment".

Which brings us back to why my boss was looking for me. He had decided that I would be the "perfect" guy to plan General Petraeus's visit to Thunderdome... er, Dragon. Since I had been at Dragon, we'd entertained GEN Petraeus twice, the Division Commander twice, General Odierno (the Corps commander) once, and a host of other VIPs who want to see a pacified area of Iraq that was once a stronghold for Al Qaeda. This time, I couldn't run and hide and avoid the circus, I was going to be part of it ("SEND IN THE CLOWNS!"). Not only was I going to make sure that everything was set at Dragon for his visit but I was also supposed to be his escort for the day. I would lead him through the tour of the battalion's most current achievement, a patrol base across the Euphrates River. It was a pretty cool experience, all in all. He gave me a coin and I gave him one in return (he seemed to get a kick out of that). How often do you get to stand shoulder to head - he's shorter than I am - with the main reason for all the success we've been having lately in Iraq? Probably at least once more since he commanded my battalion back in the day and likes to visit us. That night, when the circus left town, I got into bed and watched a DVD on my computer.

I told you, "war sucks..."

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T11:39:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! May this new year bring happiness and prosperity on us all... like sending me home.

In the mean time, support your local florist.

Post office hours

2007-12-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

Quick note for those interested in sending mail:

I will be on R&R leave during the second half of January. If you would like to send me mail, please wait until January 25th to ship it so I will be around to receive it. I would prefer not to have mail sit around while I'm gone. If you send mail up until Dec 26th, I should be around to receive it.

Happy holidays and happy new year.

Thank you all for your support.

Merry Humbug - sort of...

2007-12-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Christmas... The time of year where merchants lick their collective lips at the chance to go into the black for the entire year, people hang lights - some gaudy and over-the-top, some tasteful - around their houses and yards, little plastic statues standing in the middle of the lawn become acceptable decoration, and for some reason, a big fat guy in red gives presents to people who celebrate the birth of a guy supposedly born 2000+ years ago. Personally, I really do find the whole ritual disturbing. I can understand if you celebrate the religious aspects of it but the rest of it seems outlandish to me. How on earth do celebrating the birth of your lord and decorating a pine tree with glass balls relate? The history about it is, well, history and you can read about it if you want. I'm sure Wikipedia has a bunch of topics on it but what I really want to talk about is me. Me, myself, and I... and how the three of us feel about this "holiday" plus some other stuff.

I despise this "holiday". Yes, you read it correctly. I DESPISE this "holiday". My feelings are partially based on the fact that I am not a follower of any of the religions that celebrate this "holiday" but it also goes beyond that. I hate how something that is supposed to be a religious celebration has turned into a marketing frenzy without any means of avoiding it. It bothers me that advertisements and public decorations with Christmas themes show up before Halloween, and ESPECIALLY before Thanksgiving, a NATIONAL holiday. I know what you're going to say (at least those who know me best do): How can someone who is studying marketing hate this "holiday"? I'll tell you. I HAVE PRINCIPLES. One of which is to respect other people's religious beliefs. By using someone's religious beliefs to influence their purchasing is deplorable. If you don't think so, reexamine your logic. It's pandering at its best and blasphemy (if you are a believer of that religion) at its worst.

You'd think that out here in the heart of the Islamic world, I'd be free of it but you'd be wrong. It's everywhere. Well, everywhere ON base. Off base, with the local population, you don't see this at all which, surprisingly, makes me more comfortable these days. Stars and Stripes, the newspaper we get out here, prints advertisements from companies hoping to sell their wares during this "holiday" season.... Since when did a holiDAY become a season??? We'll leave that one for another rant... Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah... Not only does the newspaper print ads but the exchanges on post have decorations put up. It's enough to make me a little sick. If I didn't love the Red Bull Slushies so much, I'd be tempted not to frequent the exchange during this time of year.

I know it's supposed to make the soldiers feel more at home but it really just irks me. With every blink of those gaudy little lights, with every jingle of every little bell, with every movie about Christmas on television, my heart rate quickens and I search for a place to hide until December 26th when it's all over.

I don't know whether it's the forced exposure to it, especially as someone who doesn't follow those religious beliefs, or what but I actually dread December. I used to LOVE December because it meant snow, skiing, and time off from school. Now I relish the time after December more. For one, the days start to get longer and colder, more snow falls, and this year I come home for R&R after December, all the more reason to be excited for January. Also, the Dee-dee-deedle-ee's (as my grandfather calls them) are 12 months away, not even on the horizon. Another year of Christmas free days and reality before it happens all over again.

The people out here who I interact with regularly all seem to be keeping away from Christmas talk but as a collective, the military tends to treat this "holiday" as the most effective day for improving morale. In that regard, you can understand their reasoning. Something like 95% or more of the military (don't quote me, it's just a guess based off my experiences) is Christian and Christmas is traditionally, one of the two most sentimental holidays for American Christians - Thanksgiving being the other. It's a time when families tend to gather and spend some real quality time together. When you're out here away from your family, this time of year can be very tough emotionally. Suicide rates are highest around now and leaders are especially vigilant for signs from their troops. So what does the military do? They try to give everyone something from home to hold on to in order to boost spirits. This is where Christmas comes in. It's a valiant effort for sure. Sometimes, it's just what a soldier needs to keep going and sometimes it's too little too late.

What does it do for me? Bubkus. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Nothing... well, nothing positive. This isn't a traditionally sentimental time for me. Yes, I have a lot of fond memories from my childhood during this time of year but they didn't revolve much around this celebration. If these memories happened in February instead of December, I'm sure the differences would be transparent and nothing would be lost from my psyche.

For those of you who celebrate the holiday, I hope it is a joyous occasion. For the rest of us, have some scallion pancakes for me. I'm not going to make it this year. And for the most important person to me,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

See you in 3 weeks!

Long Time No See

2007-12-05T04:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since my last post. Around Thanksgiving if my memory serves. Being a big holiday for family gathering, you could imagine the lines for the phones here. It took me nearly 30 minutes just to get to a phone to call people. What's worse is there is limited bandwidth and both the phones and computers share it. So, when there are a lot of people on either, it slows down the computers and disrupts the phone connection which is what happened this Thanksgiving. I was glad to hear everyone's voice that came through the line before my call was so inconveniently disrupted and eventually dropped.

Thanksgiving out here was kind of a mixed event. They put on an amazing spread for dinner with many turkeys, stuffing, potatoes, etc. Despite all that, it wasn't the same. I'm not really "part" of the unit here. I am, in a sense, in that I work for/with them but I'm not a member of it. So, on that day, when I wanted to be with family, I couldn't - not even with my new "family". Also, I wished it was just another day, one that didn't have any sentimental meaning to me. I just wanted to be able to do my job without having to think about all the other stuff back home that I'm missing. On that day, it was next to impossible. Despite how much I wanted to talk to everyone, I was somewhat glad that the connection was not stable. Next year, this won't be a problem.

Since then, there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Operations start, end, and sometimes never end. I finally got to go on one and it turned out to be a half-success. Some bad guys were rounded up but we had to leave the area before we could start the humanitarian aid portion of the op for reasons I can't really go into. The goal of the op had not been achieved so it's going to be redone at some point in the future.

This past weekend, I traveled to Baghdad to pick up some supplies and to get away from the routine of spinning my wheels and getting nowhere (or that's how it feels sometimes). It turned out that Carlos Mencia was putting on a USO show then. I went to see the show and it was one of the best things I could've done. Even though 2 flights of 2 Apaches flew low overhead, I felt like I was away from here and all the stuff going on. Those performers and celebrities who come out here on USO tours really make a difference. I also got to see the Army/Navy game in the company of some Army folks and one my my Navy brethren. The Army guys were not surprised to see Army get trounced but that didn't soften the blow. 38-3 does not make a football game, it makes a beating.

That's pretty much all that has happened with me. Mostly living day by day doing the same things as the day before. But, I'm getting much closer to my R&R. I have under 40 days to go before I begin traveling home. YAY! Beer and sleep and being home, oh my!

To all who sent packages/letters/etc to me, THANK YOU!!! It's always good to get stuff in the mail, mainly because it's one of the FEW links we have to the world we left.

Until next time...

On the lighter side

2007-11-07T14:23:00.000-05:00

I had been looking for this video since I got to Iraq. Someone showed it to me and called it the 5 stages of Individual Augmentation. Very funny...

People here LIVE off of energy drinks - Monster, Red Bull, and a whole slew of local drinks, some even have a nicotine derivative in them. This is also a video that's been floating around here because of the popularity.

Also, I saw this written on the inside door of a porta-potty and thought it was pretty funny:

All employees must wash hands before returning to war.

......

Things are starting to get back to normal around here. The battalion is in full operational mode now and running at full speed toward their goals for their tour. Me, I'm still trying to un-F%^& what the last battalion left here. Almost all their records were in shambles and I've been dealing with admin work for the past few weeks with very little to show for it. It's a little demoralizing to come all the way out here, thinking you are going to some good and find out you have to spend your days tracking equipment and training. It is important equipment and necessary training so I keep going.

The weather has definitely changed here. The days barely get above 80 and the nights dip down into the 50's or lower. Since I've already gotten used to 100 degree plus weather, the 80's feels cool and the 50's downright freezing. I am SO glad I have a sweatshirt so I don't freeze my nether-region off when I have to walk to the porta-potty in the middle of the night.

The Army-Navy game is coming up soon too. I've already started the trash talking but I have yet to get anyone on my side. What can I expect anyway. I'm one Navy guy in an Army battalion. I'm outnumbered by a lot. Either way, it's all in good fun and we all know who's going to win...

NAVY!

56 days until my R&R. It's really good to have something close by to look forward to.

Post-blast Analysis

2007-11-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've last posted but in these last 11 days, a lot has been going on.

My new unit, 3-187 INF, officially took over on 30 October and they have been very active. They've been improving living conditions, facilities, the equipment left over from the previous battalion, and even my involvement in day-to-day activities (which is nice). It's been a very different base since they took over, in a good way. Overall, the attitude on the base was very positive. Things would change that...

On 2 November, I awoke to find a bright blue sky and mild temperatures. All-in-all, it forecasted what should have been a nice day. After my morning routine, I walked out of my room to find noone. Not a soul in sight. I thought, "This is odd" but didn't dwell on it much. I knew an operation was going on and that maybe people were just still out on it.

On my way to work, not even half way there, I ran into the civilian maintenance guy. He comes up to me and tells me that something went wrong the night before. While driving down a road, a HMMWV was hit by an IED. Of the 3 people in the vehicle, one was killed (a 2LT on her first deployment) and one was so severely burned that it was questionable whether he would survive. (He's currently back in the US undergoing treatment.) Other people dismounted in the area were also injured by the blast.

It hadn't been 3 days of working the area and this battalion had its first causualties. The attitude in the battalion changed suddenly. The wind was taken out of their sails. Soldiers who were normally jovial and loud were sullen and distant. Those closest to the blast and not injured physically were clearly hit psychologically. I was back here and after seeing the aftermath, even I have been affected by it.

I keep calling the incident/blast/attack/etc by "it" like it's something mythical. Like saying what it was will cause any more harm and injuries. The real reason is that everyone here has been so affected by it that to call it anything specific tends to bring up memories that most people have been trying to deal with. The same thing happens when we refer to her HMMWV. It's always "the vehicle that was destroyed" or we call it by the bumper number. To call it "her HMMWV" just stirs emotions and inhibits our ability to do our job.

The next couple of days were accomplished purely on force of will. Even though I did not know her, I felt like there was something I could've done to keep it from happening. I know that nothing I did had any impact on what happened. In fact, my equipment was on and working 5x5 in her HMMWV. I have since come to terms with my feelings over the incident and her death but to have someone in your unit die in combat is a permanent scar on your psyche.

My self-realization led to an awakening of sorts. Over the past 3 days, I have devised a plan. This plan is designed to make me obsolete and allow me to feel confident that I have accomplished something over here. Even if I do not get to return home early, hopefully, noone will have to take my place. This will keep one less sailor from spending 9 months in Iraq. A worthy goal, if you ask me. So far, my plan has been well received (in theory) by the battalion leadership and once our op-tempo dies down a little, I hope to implement it.

Today was the memorial ceremony for 2LT Tracy Alger. It was a very emotional experience for everyone. Even in this most macho of units, I saw some very tough guys step away in order to compose themselves. Some of the people were obviously in tears but refused to step back. Regardless, everyone grieved in their own way. Me, I'm heading back to my iTherapist and some sleep.

From Darkness comes Light

2007-10-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been interesting. I've been learning a lot about my new unit and the people in it. From the dealings I've had with them so far, I'm impressed. They all tend to know what they're doing and care about how it gets done. I'm not sure how much is attributed to the fact that they're just arriving and how much to the unit itself but I hope they don't change in the 232 days I have left with them.

The other part that really surprised me was the brightness of the moon. I know in a previous post I commented on how dark it is here. WELL, it's only dark when the moon isn't out. We're in a full moon now and it's so bright, I haven't needed a flashlight in days. I can see everything nearly as clear as during the day but with more of a grayish hue. No more stumbling over small rocks in the dust, walking into concrete columns, and tripping on steps... until the next new moon. It's really amazing to see clearly at night without streetlights. Another first for me on my 9 month vacation from reality.

For those of you who have been emailing me, thank you. It has been a nice excursion from the daily grind reading what has been going on at home... you too Becca. (Now you're mentioned.)

Until next time.

I'm Somebody Now!

2007-10-22T15:01:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a little while but, honestly, there isn't much going on. It's a good thing, though. On wednesday, I flew up to Baghdad for a conference. It was my first time in a helicopter and it was pretty fun. It was only a 10 minute flight and it was straight and level the whole time but it was still a lot of fun. Like conferences are wont to do, it bored the crap out of me. It was all stuff I'd seen or known about already. On the plus side, it was 3 days of flushing toilets and picking up some supplies.

The day I arrived, one of the other EWO's in my brigade told me about a pizza joint on Camp Liberty (all part of the Victory Base Complex). I was a little sceptical about the quality except for the fact that it's been at least 8 weeks since eating any good pizza so anything better than microwave is pretty good in my book. It was a worm-hole moment that night. There I was, sitting at a wooden table on a patio listening to 80's and 90's music with a bunch of friends eating the best pizza I've had in about 2 months. I felt like I was back in college again, almost. Beer was missing and in its place were guns - many, many guns.

The strangest thing about the whole trip was that while I was enjoying the change of scenery, I kept counting down the hours until my flight back to Dragon. Compared to Dragon, the VBC (Victory Base Complex) is like a big city with traffic, crowds, and long lines. I was telling everyone how I missed the quiet of Dragon and all that was here. We have everything you could need out here and nothing you don't minus a few luxuries. I have my own room. There are plenty of showers and hot water (not always the case at the VBC). The mess hall is open 24hrs so you can grab a drink or snack whenever the moods strikes and you don't have to pay for it. So, we don't have a Burger King or Green Beans Coffee or an Exchange. We have internet available and plenty of movies and games to go around. It's about as good as I can imagine it getting.

One good thing I took away (or rather sent away) from my little excursion is a gift for my dog. The exchanges in the VBC have stuffed camels with camoflaged hats on them. So, in keeping with our tradition of getting Lucky a new friend from everywhere we've lived, I sent him one of the camels. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm sure I'll find out when it does.

The big news is that I'm somebody now. I feel like Steve Martin in "The Jerk" when he finds himself in the phonebook. I have an address... FINALLY... This is all because my new unit has taken over. They say they will be making some changes/additions to the base pretty soon. Who knows, in a few months, I may be saying how I miss the quiet of the VBC but I doubt it.

I know a lot of you have been asking for my address and if I need anything. Well, my address can be found with any of the people holding the following positions in my life: Self, Wife, Brother, Mother, or Father. They will be able to give it to you.

I don't necessarily "need" anything but if you are itching to send anything, please keep these things in mind when you pack up the box:

Alcohol and "adult videos and literature" are prohibited in Iraq. There are no exceptions... unfortunately.

Things that can melt, will, ie chocolate, butter, freezer pops, the polar ice caps, etc. This also goes for things that spoil like milk based products.

Dust is in the air and can move through walls. If you are planning to send anything homemade, extra wrapping is a must.

Also, these things will ALWAYS be well received:

Snyder's Sourdough pretzels (I don't know how I've lived so long without them.)

Clif Bars - Carrot Cake, Cherry Almond, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, any chocolate flavor

Myoplex powdered drink mix (chocolate) and shakers.

Cigars. They don't have to be fancy. The bundled "seconds" will burn just fine.

Anything from my Amazon wish list (can be found here).

Recorded episodes from the second season of Heroes. I was somehow able to see the first 2 episodes and now I'm going through withdrawal. (Josh and Jon, I know you two know how to do this so get to work, chop chop.)

DVDs and PSP games. The things that keep us going.

Anything. Get creative... well, don't go overboard. Shira's class sent me letters and pictures. Probably one of the best packages I've ever received.

That's all I can think of at the moment. In the mean time, check me out:

That's one of Saddam's "thrones". And this is the infamous "neck burn":

On Reflection

2007-10-11T14:38:00.000-04:00

After talking with a lot of the troops here, I've realized that I'm, on average, about 10 years older than they are. To think that when I was graduating college and commissioned, they weren't in high school yet. When I was graduating high school, they were 7. Some of these kids don't know what the 80's were like mainly because some hadn't been born yet. And yet, here they are.

They are the ones with the rifles, driving the tanks, on the true tip of the spear. What's more, they don't seem to mind... at the very least, they're not telling me and they really do. Either way, it's an amazing thing. One thing they do mention is how they can't wait to go home (and neither can I...) They have much less time than I do (242 days to go for me) but you can see how, even at 18, 19, or 20, they have aged more in the year or so they've spent here than any year in the US. Every once in a while, you can catch them staring off into the distance, reliving a moment they want to forget, then snap back to the present and laugh at the joke just told.

These are the troops that had 3 of their own kidnapped by terrorists in the middle of the night, only to find the body of one of them later. Two of their comrades are still missing but they will never be forgotten. They have been through a lot and they still have some more time to go, however brief it may be. I know those who read this are in some way connected to me but I am not the one you for which you should be praying. These "kids" are.

When I get off the computer tonight, I'm going to take a shower then listen to my iPod before I go to sleep. It tends to be the one thing that centers me when I get in somber mood (like now). I just put in my earphones and listen to a playlist I made to help me relax/calm/etc. Each song on the list has a meaning for me - like a song I HAD to listen to regardless of what I was doing at the time or the first song Shira and I listened to when we moved into our first house.

Here it is (Artist - Song):

Idlewild - El Capitan
Plain White T's - It's So Easy
Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
The Exit - Don't Push
Midtown - Give it Up
Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat
Muse - Starlight
311 - Amber
Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea
Frank Sinatra - Fly Me to the Moon

Sometimes I'll listen to it in order, sometimes on shuffle but every time, it works. When I finish it, I'm always in a good frame of mind. Usually, like tonight, it'll be right before I go to sleep. Half an hour with my "therapist" and I'm right as rain. Feel free to listen with me.

In case you were curious, it's still as dull as ever here at Thunderdome, thankfully, but at least the food is good.

still here... not doing much...

2007-10-09T01:33:00.000-04:00

Not much new to report here. It's been pretty uneventful lately - which is a good thing, I guess. I have been keeping busy installing equipment into HMMWVs and other vehicles. If you thought you got dirty working on a car in the US, try working on one that has been caked in dirt and mud. Even though I'm wearing some sort of brown/tan clothing, I come out from under the vehicle completely covered in dirt. On a plus side, the more I breathe in, the less is here... During the day, it may seem like a clear day but at night, when you have your flashlight on, it looks like you're in the middle of a dust storm. It's one of those things you don't want to think about or you'd want to stop breathing. The dust just gets everywhere... Even inside things. I don't know how but you can open up a sealed package and find it in there.

Being right by the Euphrates, you'd think that we would have a lot of water available to us. One thing I learned here is that the Euphrates is not a river of water but a river of a water- based substance. Someone told me that if you go swimming in there, you'll need to get 6 shots into your stomach. Even without hearing that, I had no plans to use it for anything other than a picture background.

In all the other bases I had been so far, there were enough lights that you didn't need a flashlight, no matter where you went. Here, there are very few lights and most are inside. A few nights ago it was so dark, I couldn't see my hand when it was 2 inches from my face, literally. It gives new meaning to the word "dark" here. Despite this, it affords me the opportunity to see a night sky like I have never seen before. Without all the background light like in a lot of populated areas, all the little dim stars shine bright. Occasionally, I'll just sit outside looking at the sky before I go to sleep. In this war zone, in which my area is not very active, it's nice to have something a little different to distract you.

Enter the Dragon

2007-10-02T00:52:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, I know, but I haven't had the opportunity until now to update you all on what has been happening. The training I went through in Baghdad was alright. A lot of repetition of stuff I learned earlier but a lot of hands-on experience with the boxes which was a plus. Apparently, some of the classes before me did not get to see some of the same stuff I did. A lot of it was also death by PowerPoint too so there was a trade off.

Training was only 3 days long and on the last day, I found out my assignment was swapped with another guy's. He was supposed to go to a place called Patrol Base Dragon. Initially, he did not know anything about it except that it was in what used to be called the "Triangle of Death". At hearing that, I'm not sure which assignment would be better, being in the "Triangle of Death" or within sight of Iran (where I was supposed to be). It turns out that the "Triangle of Death" is no longer one of the hot spots in the area. It's calmed down a ton and is now one of the safest areas in the country.

Anyway, on the last day, I met my Division rep who told me he was going to pick me up outside my tent at 1000 to go meet everyone in the division and just get acquainted with what's going on. At 0900, while I was getting ready, someone comes into the tent and says to me, "LT Roth, are you ready to go?" Apparently, there was some miscommunication and my brigade EWO was expecting me and other guy to move out that morning. I thought I had at least another day to get ready but it was not to be. So, I threw everything I had into all my duffel bags in record time and ran out to the HMMWV waiting to take me to Camp Stryker and the brigade EWO office.

The brigade EWO was able to set me up with a room for however long I was going to be there (it ended up being 3 days). I dropped my 4 bags off and went out with the petty officer to the office to meet everyone. After being on Liberty for a while and then occasionally on Victory, Stryker was not anything special. It had all the same amenities as all the other big bases, just in a different location. It did have the biggest mess hall in theater (food wasn't any different though.)

Despite all the mess halls having essentially the same food, each one was known for having something different. Liberty's has the best desert bar and always had Indian food available. Victory's has a sports theme and rooms where you can eat and watch football or basketball on big screen televisions. Stryker's claim to fame was pretty much just being the biggest. Food here on average is pretty good. As long as you aren't expecting the best food you ever had, you will not be disappointed.

When I arrived at the brigade office... I'm not sure I explained the hierarchy I'm in. At the top (not really but close enough for my purposes) is the Division. Right below that are Regiments but they aren't headquartered here and I'm not really sure they have a headquarters at all, anywhere, but it's just a guess. Below Regiments are Brigades and then Battalions. In Battalions, there are Companies and then Platoons and then Squads. I am staffed at the Battalion level. Our Brigade is from the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum in Watertown, NY. Pretty soon, I'm not sure when, they will rotate home and a Brigade from the 101st Airborn Division will move in.

Alright, when I arrived at the brigade office on Wednesday, they told me I wasn't leaving until Saturday morning on a convoy out to my FOB (Forward Operating Base). Basically, I had 2 full days to just sit around and do nothing. The other EWO's in the shop made sure I didn't get bored and showed me around to all the different places on the base, took me to planning meetings, and helped me get up to speed on the job. Even with all the help, there was plenty I still had to learn.

They also told me what I was going to expect out at Dragon. Dragon is an unfinished Russian power plant. Before the war, Russia or a company based there was building Saddam a power plant right on the bank of the Euphrates. When we invaded, the Russians just dropped everything and left.

On Saturday morning, I was driven over to the motor pool to get on the convoy to my FOB. After all the stories you hear back home about convoys getting ambushed or hitting IED's, you would think I would be terrified to go out of the wire. What you don't hear is that there are a lot of convoys going out every day and the majority do not get hit by anything. It truth, I was a little nervous but the troops in my HMMWV (there was a gunner, driver, and truck commander - who happened to be the convoy commander, all at least 5 years younger than I am) said that they loved going on this route because it was short and very safe.

We all briefed the route and other procedures for the convoy and then mounted up for my 40 minute drive down to Dragon. It's a very strange sensation riding around the countryside. People were out and about, mostly just farming. Kids were playing until we rolled by then they ran up to the road to wave with big smiles on their faces. I guess kids are the same everywhere. Before I knew it, we had arrived at PB Dragon.

I was greeted by the outgoing EWO and taken over to see our shop. We have a shipping container for an office and a large tent for a garage to work in. Then, he took me around Thunderdome. After the Russians fled the country, what remained was a skeleton of a building and fields of metal. Imagine Mad Max (that's why Thunderdome) and you'll be able to picture what it's like here. I've been calling it The Magic Kingdom because we have the castle and some neat rides but Thunderdome fits better. I wish I could upload some pictures and show it to you because it is very strange. He was telling me that they just got a mess hall built and showers put in so I came at a decent time.

Following the grand tour, I moved my stuff into my room. It's one third of a trailer but it's comfortable. FINALLY, after 3 weeks of living in a sleeping bag and out of duffel bags, I can unpack and get to work.

23 days down and counting...

LIVE FROM BAGHDAD, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!!!

2007-09-22T12:39:00.000-04:00

Just to recap:

Finished my training in Kuwait with a neck burn
Took 2 tries to get to Baghdad
Got here safe and sound

Alright, so, we went off to the palace (not the big one but big enough) to get our security badges. When we got there, we found out that there was a mortar attack the night we arrived. Some people woke from the explosion but I didn't. WELCOME TO BAGHDAD!!!

That night while in our beds, we heard over the loud speaker "ALL CLEAR. ALL CLEAR." Apparently, right before then, we weren't "all clear". Noone I was with heard a single thing so whatever was making us "un-clear" was nowhere near us.

That was yesterday. This morning, we began our admin day at JCCS-1 (Joint CREW Composite Squadron One). The day was spent all on Camp Victory at the palace again but we were able to take some pictures. Saddam must have had a thing for marble because it was EVERYWHERE - floors, walls, bathrooms, you name it. Yes, I used one of Saddam's toilets and it was nice... (Again, ptcl) I also got a picture of me sitting on Saddam's throne. It's a kind of tourist attraction there. We also found out to which units we are going to be assigned. I'd tell you but I can't. It's classified. When I get there, I'll let you all know.

Which brings you all up to date. Phew... It's saturday night and I have to begin my real training tomorrow. I think I'm going to watch some football.

SSDD pt 2

2007-09-21T12:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, so where were we.... Oh, right - we're up to the part where my flesh is melting off my neck.

So, I'm standing there in a line of 32 people standing shoulder to shoulder shooting live ammunition at targets no more than 15 feet away and I get a piece of brass down my neck. I'm not sure exactly what happened next but I know I didn't shoot anyone or anything except my target and I got the brass out from under my collar. It was a very surreal experience in the surreality I'm in now. All in all, the whole shooting phase of this training was borderline scary. A lot of the movements required extreme precision or you could point your weapon at the person next to you. Throughout the entire exercise, I could hear bullets whizzing by not knowing where they came from or where they were going. Yes, I was wearing my body armor and no, noone got hit by the dangerous end of the bullet. (I was the only "casualty".)

The other part of my training there was convoy operations. They split us up into 3 groups and gave us a mission to complete. We had 9 HMMWV's and everyone had to occupy one of the crew positions on board. I pulled the lucky straw and got to be the gunner. By "gunner", I mean I stood up in the roof hatch (gunner's turret) and got a nice breeze while we were bounding through the desert. It also meant I got a great view of a herd of camels. (AGAIN, pics to come later - ptcl)

One of the strangest sights in the whole thing was watching all the gunners (and other crew) load up. We looked like we were in arctic conditions. I had my full body armor, helmet, goggles, gloves, long sleeves down, and a neck gaiter to keep the sand out of my mouth. Surprisingly, I wasn't too hot. The whole training took about 2 days to complete with the actual convoy as the culmination of it all. When that was all done, we went back to our camp to take a nice refreshing shower and get briefed on our travel arrangements to Baghdad or wherever you were going. (We had people going to Afghanistan in our group too.) The first group had to leave that evening for the airfield. My group was to leave second - the next morning.

The next morning, we all show up for our busses only to find out that the Army, in their infinite irrationality, cancelled all our busses. SO, we went to lunch while they turned them back on. ** The ride to the airfield was pretty short and uneventful.

When we got to Ali Al Salem Air Base, we loaded our bags onto a pallet and took refuge in a nice comfortable tent to await our flight. While waiting, we found out that our flight was delayed. So, like any good sailor would do, we went to eat. When we came back, we learned that the flight was delayed again and we should just sit tight... so we did. FINALLY, we're told that they are ready for us and we need to get on the busses for the ride to the plane. **

Upon arrival at the plane, we find out that they were actually waiting for us. Obviously, there was a communications breakdown in there somewhere. Either way, they weren't mad and my Give-A-Sh!t Meter was pegged on empty (it's located on my right shoulder under my flag).

The taxi and take off was uneventful and slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed... yada yada yada, you get the point, we're flying. We're now all thinking "Alright, we're finally going there to do our thing." What's that? We need to TURN AROUND?! WHAT THE F!@# FOR??? Oh, ok, I guess we need that...

So, we're back in Kuwait and it's VERY late and we can't get another flight that day. We unload our pallets and head back to our camp very disgruntled. The next morning, we find out that they have a flight scheduled for us late that night into the following morning and we have to leave immediately after dinner.

After dinner, we manage to break the world record for loading a truck and got on our busses for the airfield. At this point, please read the lines between the "**" above again. Yes, our flight was delayed again, but instead of being able to go back to our camp for a decent night's sleep, we had to settle for a few hours catnap in chairs. I'm not going to beat this dead horse any more. Basically, it took us 3 days to fly to Baghdad, about as long as it would've taken to drive in a convoy.

When we arrive in Baghdad, we find out that the "security measures" in Kuwait that we thought were heavy duty were minor compared to up here. Our tents here are in mini fortress mazes of concrete nearly 20ft high, buildings have mortar shields on them and EVERY vehicle here looks like it has more armor than a tank. Every time I think my present location is surreal, I go to my next location taking me farther down the rabbit hole.

Unlike where I was in Kuwait, Baghdad's sand is more like dust. Here they call it "moon dust" because it's so fine and it coats everything.

On the ride from the plane to our tents, we got all the information we could from the officer meeting us at the airport about what, when, where, and how everything is going to go while in Baghdad. He told us that schedule changes and mortar attacks happen fairly regularly here. Once we got our bags unloaded and into our tents, we grabbed something to eat from the food court and see what the exchange has to offer. After that, I was able to make a couple calls before I was too exhausted to do anything except go to bed.

This morning, I got up and met the bus for our ride to the palace to do some stuff I can't tell you about. (PTCL)

I can't believe I'm getting booted and I'm ALMOST done... Anyway, I'll finish this off later. TTFNA

SSDD pt 1

2007-09-19T16:18:00.000-04:00

It's been a week since the last post and what a week...

We had a bunch of briefs on our training and then did exactly what we had been doing earlier - eating and sleeping. Thank god our tent has really good air conditioning. I've been sleeping like a baby. Some of the other guys have complained about the cold but I guess they haven't spent time in upstate NY (or Minot, ND). I haven't slept this well in weeks. They gave us a sleeping bag system that is super comfortable and keeps me just warm enough.

This past weekend, we went off to the range to do some more shooting and convoy training. The first day we got up at 3am and went to the firing range. We had 32 people lined up almost shoulder to shoulder shooting at targets at various distances and in various positions. We were so close, I thought someone was going to get shot. Thankfully noone got shot, but there were other injuries.

In one of the briefs earlier in the week, we were told to wear a neck gaiter to keep the flying shell casings from going down our collars and burning us. Since we were SO close, all the spend shell casings were sent flying into the person to your right. All morning I was getting pelted with M16 bullet casings. One of them happened to get under my gaiter and found a nice comfortable spot between the collar on my body armor and my neck. To top it all off, I flinched when I felt it and pushed it further into my neck causing me to flinch again and have it roll down my neck farther leaving me with 2 2nd degree burns. (pics to come.) BTW, it hurt and I'm fine.

Unfortunately, my time on the computer is up so I'll finish this later. TTFN

Rocking the Cradle of Civilization

2007-09-12T03:12:00.000-04:00

It's been a total of approximately 45 hours that I've spent on the ground here in Kuwait and I feel like I've seen it all. I'm not saying that this country does not have anything to offer. I just can't go and see those places. What I can see and where I can go is getting old fast. So far the time here has been very low-stress. We've either slept, ate, or went to the exchange. Pretty soon, we'll start our training and then go on to our next location, Baghdad.

Walking around the base, you generally see the same expression on everyone's faces. The best way to describe it is neutral. Not a lot of smiling, frowning, or any other visible emotion. It's like everyone is on autopilot. The dining hall seems to be the only place where emotion comes out. It's like our teleport to the real world. You see people joking around and generally enjoying themselves (assuming they are eating something that tastes good). The simple things, the things that remind you of home, are treasured commodities - like taking a hot shower. Nothing feels better after a long hot day of sand in your face than a hot shower to wash it all away.

I've turned on my cell phone once to see if I could get a signal and surprisingly got full bars. I tried sending a test text message but I don't know if it worked or not. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

This is supposed to be part of the cradle of civilization. Normally when a person matures, they outgrow the cradle and dispose of it. I guess people here are sentimental and can't move on. The cradle is still here but the paint is faded and flaking off, the wood is all splintery and rotting, and all the nuts and bolts holding it together have rusted away. We'll see if Iraq is any different.

The Eagle Has Landed

2007-09-11T02:28:00.000-04:00

I arrived safely into Kuwait yesterday, I think, after a few brief stopovers in Colorado Springs, Bangor, Maine, and Shannon, Ireland. All total, I spent about 28 hours traveling.

Arriving in Kuwait was an experience. Getting off the plane, I felt like I was stepping onto the surface of the moon - "This was one small step for man, one giant leap backwards for mankind." There is nothing to see for MILES around and it's flatter than Oklahoma. If it weren't for oil, I think this place wouldn't be habited by any humans. After being on the air conditioned airplane for all that time, Kuwait was very different. They said it was 113 degrees when we landed and with the wind blowing, it felt like a hair dryer pointed in my face.

We spent the next 7 hours checking in and getting to our tents (pics to come soon). The sand here is so fine and the wind never stops blowing so you get sand in everything. I've been drinking so much water in the time I've been here that I could've died from overdose except it's dryer here than anywhere else I've been. If you stop drinking water, you are toast.

The base were are on has a huge mix of nationalities stationed here. It makes the dining experience different to say the least. It's a good thing I'm here with a group of people I know. I don't think I could've handled coming alone.

Leavin' on a jet plane

2007-09-07T18:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was probably the most fun I've had here in SC. We shot all the heavy weapons - .50 caliber machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and squad machine guns. VERY VERY fun. We also found out about our travel to theater. I'm leaving for Kuwait tomorrow night VERY late. Wish me luck...

In the Narmy now!

2007-09-03T20:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay... I've been very busy here in beautiful, sunny, metropolitan Camp McGrady, SC. I've been telling everyone I was going to Fort Jackson but it turned out I was only half right. Camp McGrady is on the southeast corner of Fort Jackson (which is ginormous) as you can see from the map below. It takes 30 minutes for us to get to the main part of the base and we're usually going around 60 mph on the road over.
View Larger Map

So, I land in Columbia, SC and was pleasantly surprised to see many people I knew get off the plane with me. The hard part was picking out one big green duffle bag from the rest when we got to baggage claim. We all then moved our way to the taxi stand and piled in 3 or 4 at a time for the 45 minute, $50 drive to Camp McGrady. As we're driving, the cab driver is telling us how in a few minutes, we'll leave civilization and come upon the camp. He was so right...

We passed a small strip mall only to find trailer park (or just trailer) after trailer park. For another 15 minutes it went on like that, all the while skirting the edge of Fort Jackson - this place is HUGE! We finally arrived at our home for the next 2 weeks.

It all started off pretty calmly. We had a briefing in the gym with all 200+ of us then went back to our racks to go to sleep since we had to be up very early the next day. Monday morning, we met the drill sargents that will be helping us learn the ways of the Army and teaching us how not to be useless in combat. Immediately following that introduction was a combination of "Death By PowerPoint" and gear issue, or as I like to call it, "The Line Ride".

We were given everything we could possibly need - weapons (M16 and 9mm pistol), canteens, a Camelbak, magazines (the thing that holds bullets in a weapon, not the kind you read), fleece jacket and pants, long underwear, body armor, gas mask, helmet, goggles, glasses, gloves, boots, more socks, insect repellent, sun screen, hand sanitizer, mosquito netting, and we still haven't received all of it. Tomorrow, we get our sleeping bags and NBC suits (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical not National Broadcasting Company).

The Army says "Hooah" a lot and it has many meanings but we have come to spell it "HUAWA" for Hurry Up And Wait Again since in a given day, we'll do maybe 2 hours of real training and wait around for the other 8. You'll see a lot of pictures of us doing just that in various situations, in various types of battle gear. On Tuesday, we began to learn BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) and all the techniques involved in that. It was pretty much another of the "Death By PowerPoint" days but we started off with an intro to Army Physcal Training at 5:45am. Can I get a big Hooah? No? Ok then...

Wednesday was again a PT day with a 5:45am start. For some reason, my platoon seems to be the last to finish PT in the mornings and is therefore the last to get breakfast. It is becoming a real pain in the ass to try to finish breakfast in time to take a shower and get ready to go play soldier. The rest of the day was spent practicing BRM on the giant Wii. It's not really a Wii (but that's what they call it) and it is fun to play. They have 10 M16s hooked up to a computer and it allows you to practice your shooting in an non-threatening, completely sterile enviornment. All in all, a pretty fun time. Then, the rest of the day was spent with more PowerPoint... These drill sargents really know their jobs but if another one reads right from the slides, I'm going to go crazy. At least this time they had us playing with our gas masks.

Thursday was a big fun day. We started off zeroing our M16s so we would hit what we aimed at then went to a range with computerized hit/miss sensors. When you shot, it would tell you where the shot hit or missed the target. Instant gratification and we got to shoot 40 rounds. Good times... The day ended with our 9mm pistol qualification. We were given 50 rounds - 10 familiarization that didn't count toward our scores and 40 for score. I was able to put 37 out of 40 in the man-shaped target.

The only downside to this week was the heat and humidity. I don't think I drank water as much as I have this week. I'll go through 2 or 3 Camelbaks per day (3 liters per fillup) and still feel thirsty when the day's over.

Friday was M16 qualification day. We qualified on a range with multiple targets at different distances that would pop up for only a few seconds at a time. You only got one shot per target too so it was a good challenge. It was also the day when we had to wear every piece of body armor we had - the 10 pound helmet, 50+ pound vest, knee and elbow pads. Basically, you look like some futuristic samurai warrior. Thankfully, we didn't have to qualify with the M16 with all the armor on. Oh, and we got to wait a lot Friday also...

The body armor is not only heavy but VERY hot. They say that it raises the temperature about 10 degrees when you're wearing it. If you're not used to wearing it, it can be difficult to get up once you've laid down. AND we waited around some more.

After a surprisingly poor showing in the first round of my M16 qual, I managed to eek out a modest 34/40 by hitting every target from the kneeling position. From there, we went to what's called "Reflexive Fire". It's when you're walking along and a bad-guy jumps out in front of you. You don't have time to sit and aim a shot so you have to fire by reflex. We started off with the M16 at 25 meters, double-tapped (2 quick shots in succession) each target to come up then went to 15 meters and repeated the exercise. After 15 meters, we went to 7 meters and switched to the M9 9mm pistol. So far, the most fun shooting we've done.

Below was going to be a video that one of my classmates took of me shooting the 9mm pistol in reflexive fire. Unfortunately, it takes WAY too long to upload but you can imagine how awesome I look.

Saturday was pretty tame. PT in the morning followed by liberty until sunday night. Needless to say, we painted the town red and did everything we could to stay away for the few days of freedom like going to the movies - Superbad was hilarious. Go see it.

Today was back to the grind again. "Death By PowerPoint" took on a whole new level of pain. 8 hours of briefings, mostly on stuff I knew already.

The next few days will be composed of convoy training, heavy weapons training (heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, etc), and course conclusion. On Wednesday, we should know when we are leaving for Kuwait. There are many rumors floating around but I'll believe it when I hear it from the horse's mouth.

I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Until next time...

T-13 hours and counting.

2007-08-25T16:19:00.000-04:00

My flight to Charlotte departs at 7am tomorrow morning. That is what I'm considering the start of this "little" vacation from the stresses of office work. From there, I will be flying to Columbia, SC for my two weeks of Army training. As of writing this, I am now fully packed and, more or less, ready to go. At first, I thought all the stuff I wanted to bring wasn't going to fit in just 2 bags but I actually have more room than I thought. Shira will be shipping me some things when I get to my unit but I should have everything I would need until then.

Preparing for this deployment has had a much different feel from preparing for my other deployments. For one, I'm not going for 3 weeks this time, I'm going for 9 months. Also, I'm not deploying to a location within the United States or a friendly country. Lastly, I'm not going to be flying. All these add up to a measure of apprehension I haven't felt since I first packed for college - except multiplied 100 fold.

Before I started my training this week, I certainly didn't feel like this was really happening. It had that day-to-day, ho-hum, nothing new feel. As the week progressed, it started to hit me that this was my last week of sleeping in my own bed with only the sounds of Shira and Lucky (from now on referred to as "the dog") sleeping keeping me company. Soon, I'll be in a barracks with who knows how many people, all in the same predicament as me. Maybe earplugs would be a worthwhile investment...

While in South Carolina, I may not be able to get to a computer to update this blog but my cell phone will work.

Well, that's it for today. Not a whole lot to talk about really.

Incidentally, Apple is releasing their version called the iRack. You can see it here:

Happy Birthday to me...

2007-08-21T18:54:00.000-04:00

Today's my birthday. I'm now 30 and the most fun thing I did today was buy a new pair of combat boots - ones that didn't feel like they were trying to crush my ankles. How did something like buying a pair of boots turn into my birthday fun? Well, it all started July 3, 2007...

I was sitting in my comfortable office at the Naval Academy reading my 100 emails that I received since I left the previous day when my boss's boss called me to her office for a meeting to discuss "my detailing". Now, as clear as that might sound, it meant something completely different to me at the time. My position at the Naval Academy was the Summer Training Officer. As such, I was responsible for assigning all 3300 midshipmen their summer training schedules. So, her wanting to discuss detailing meant the midshipmen schedules to me.

When I went to her office, she told me that Navy Personnel Command sent a message to the academy requesting me, by name, for an individual augmentation in Iraq for 280 days (9 months). An "Individual Augmentation" (IA) is when a single service member is used to augment a unit already deployed. In my case, I will be the Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) for a ground unit in Iraq working Counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) operations. Usually, they ask a command to supply a name for a position. In my case, since the request was not to fill a job but for me specifically, USNA could do almost nothing to get me out of it. They must have heard about my amazing ability to make tequila disappear from a bottle and thought that it was a skill they needed on the battlefield. Cset la vie...

On 30 July, I went to Norfolk, VA to begin my medical and administrative in-processing to begin my IA. This lasted for a week and consisted of many line rides (standing in line and getting very little at the end of it), many needles (giving blood, getting inoculations, and my foot fell asleep once resulting in pins and needles), and getting my Army style pajama-flage (camouflage so comfortable, it feels like pajamas).

Fortunately, I had two weeks in between my in-processing in Norfolk and the first stage of my training this week. That enabled Shira (my wife) and I to go on an unbelievable vacation to the Mediterranean. We spent 8 days on a cruise going from Barcelona to Nice, Rome, Naples, Malta, Majorca, and returning to Barcelona. For those of you lucky enough to receive the pictures from our trip, you can see why we enjoyed it so much.

Yesterday began my first real day of training for my tour in Iraq. This training is designed to expose EWO's to the various equipment that we might come across in country and the basics of their capabilities. The day was spent watching PowerPoint presentations of equipment capabilities and watching various videos of insurgents blowing things up. It was a strange mix of shear boredom, abject horror, and furious anger. At the end of the day, you leave the room exhausted, only to remember that you have to drive home. For me that meant a 1.5 hour drive back to my house and Shira - and I consider myself lucky. Many of my classmates are staying in hotels without their spouses. Some of them haven't seen their wives for two weeks and here I am going home every night to my own bed and my family.

Which brings us back to today. I woke up at 0440 (4:40 am for you non-military types), drove for 1 hour and 35 minutes in a torrential downpour to be in a video teleconference with Iraq (and learned that two O-6's can't give a straight answer even over a secure line), proceeded to sit through 4 briefs (all of which said about the same thing), then drove the 1 hour and 25 minutes home. I would've thought a milestone like turning 30 would've been more celebratory and exciting. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam has sucked all the fun out of it with the present he gave me. Thanks, Uncle Sam... Um, is there any way for me to exchange this gift for one that fits??? I guess not...

Like I said before, I consider myself lucky. I was able to spend my birthday with my wife at home and was able to talk to ALL my family today. (Thank's for calling everyone.) It's amazing how the little things become so big when they won't happen for nine months.

If you're looking to buy an iRaq this season, wait a little while, they might get recalled for defects hazardous to your health...