Its been a little over a week since my last post, but you haven't missed much. The Iraqi unit that we're helping has been conducting a mission and the rest of the Soldiers are on "Mujaas" or leave in English. That being said there really hasn't been that much for us to do. We are still working on getting them electricity, but the Iraqis don't can't pay for it and the Americans think they shouldn't pay for the repairs even though we are the one's who took away their electricity. So it's basically a political battle and the only ones that are losing are the Iraqis that have to suffer in the 115 degree heat all day and still be expected to do their mission.
I did get to go to a camp in Baghdad where I ran into a bunch of guys that I deployed with last time. It was great to see them again, hopefully I get to go again soon before the go home. I saw a couple of Palaces from the outside, next time I'll try to get a tour set up so I can go inside and take some pictures. I went for a run one morning around one of the palaces that was set in the middle of a small lake. It actually made for a picturesque run, and I saw a guy fishing so I have to check on what I need so I can go fishing next time, too. Unfortunately, the palace has signs around it saying no photography, I'm not sure why that is, but I'll try to at least find a post card or something. Plus I'm sure I could get a picture and get away with it. I don't think the Special Forces are guarding the perimeter of the palace, waiting for some idiot "tourist" to snap a picture. I'll have to test my theory next time...
One last thing; I did get to eat an authentic Iraqi meal, we had lamb, and rice, and chicken, served with pita bread. It made me think of a cross between Greek and Mexican cuisine. Every thing was very good; there was one big difference, the don't use silverware or serving utensils. Everything was done by hand, which is normal for them. Till next time "Fee Iman Allah" (may God protect you)!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Crossing the Cultural Divide
My first official week at work has been a busy one. I've met many people, both on the American side and the Iraqi side, most of which I'll have to meet one or two more times before I remember any names. Actually, it's not that bad. The Americans have their names on their uniform and most of the Iraqi's are either Abdulla or Abdel or Muhammad. They are very nice people and share what they have even though they don't have much. In their culture friends hold hands while walking and kiss each other on the cheek when greeting each other. I have been on the receiving end of both, it's not the norm for me so it will take some getting used to!
The living conditions that the Iraqi's have on their side of the Army base is terrible. They have no electricity (thanks to the Americans) so that means no AC (for the 110+ heat) no running water, no sewage pump, no lights at night, just to name a couple of things. They have 400+ people but rooms for maybe 100 if you squeeze them in. I don't know how they can do it, it's really amazing to me. Some haven't been paid for 8 months and their system to get supplies and parts is slow. They have to submit a request on paper that goes up the chain from company to battalion, to brigade, to division, to the supply depot, to the Ministry of Defense, and then all the way back down. The only way they will receive what they requested is if they bring the original paper with all the stamps from the different agencies to the depot along with a letter from the commander saying that they are allowed to pick up the listed items. If you are confused by any of this, don't worry, I'm starting a support group to help deal with the anxiety of working with the Iraqi supply system. I'll probably call it INAB (I Need A Beer).
We also went on a couple of convoys to see a couple of different areas. The first one I just rode in the back and went along for the ride. The second one I was the gunner on the 50 caliber machine gun. It was a good trip both times. Nothing too exciting happened, lots of traffic and lots of people out for the one we did yesterday because of a holiday that is going on today. If you want to send something that the Iraqis could use, maybe some small toys or candy. We were throwing some out to the kids that were along the route and they love it!
Eleven months to go! Not that I'm counting or anything...till next time
The living conditions that the Iraqi's have on their side of the Army base is terrible. They have no electricity (thanks to the Americans) so that means no AC (for the 110+ heat) no running water, no sewage pump, no lights at night, just to name a couple of things. They have 400+ people but rooms for maybe 100 if you squeeze them in. I don't know how they can do it, it's really amazing to me. Some haven't been paid for 8 months and their system to get supplies and parts is slow. They have to submit a request on paper that goes up the chain from company to battalion, to brigade, to division, to the supply depot, to the Ministry of Defense, and then all the way back down. The only way they will receive what they requested is if they bring the original paper with all the stamps from the different agencies to the depot along with a letter from the commander saying that they are allowed to pick up the listed items. If you are confused by any of this, don't worry, I'm starting a support group to help deal with the anxiety of working with the Iraqi supply system. I'll probably call it INAB (I Need A Beer).
We also went on a couple of convoys to see a couple of different areas. The first one I just rode in the back and went along for the ride. The second one I was the gunner on the 50 caliber machine gun. It was a good trip both times. Nothing too exciting happened, lots of traffic and lots of people out for the one we did yesterday because of a holiday that is going on today. If you want to send something that the Iraqis could use, maybe some small toys or candy. We were throwing some out to the kids that were along the route and they love it!
Eleven months to go! Not that I'm counting or anything...till next time
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thoughts on Government Spending
This week has been pretty easy. All of my training has been indoors watching power point slides by different instructors. I have been learning the Arabic alphabet and spelling a lot quicker than I thought I would. It's not that bad once you have the alphabet down, now I just need to figure out what all the words mean. A lot of our classes this week have been cancelled or delayed due to the weather. It hasn't been severe or anything, just kinda brown. Yep, brown. On a good day this week I could see for about a half a mile before everything faded into the dirt that's been hanging in the air. I have no idea how this happens, cause I always thought that dirt is heavier than air and therefore should fall, but not here. I wouldn't call it a sand storm either, because those usually involve some high winds, so what ever it was, the weather has been keeping flights grounded and some of our instructors were stuck on other camps waiting to come here.
Needless to say, I have had a little extra free time on my hands, so I have been thinking about a few things, mostly government spending. This didn't just pop up out of sheer boredom, but because all of the contractors that I have talked to are over here to teach or assist and are making between $100,000 and 300,000 a year. A YEAR! How many contractors are in theatre? About 150,000; 39,000 are American; 70,000 from the Philippines, Peru, Bangladesh, and other countries; 37,000 are from Iraq. Obviously the Americans are the ones making the big bucks and the ones coming from other countries are making considerably less, but still being paid well from what they are used to. Let's just say that the average is $100,000 a year, you're talking almost 4 billion dollars just to pay the Americans. This number is just a guess, but I don't think it's that far off. I will do some research. Lets talk about what we could be doing with this money... if you know a congressman you should let them know my idea.
The armed forces has been searching for ways to increase their numbers for a long time. They are offering bonuses and college money just to entice people to enlist for four years. Then they throw more money at you when its time to re-enlist. I personally got 30,000 for re-enlisting for six years. This doubled my income for 2008. But I do get benefits, I get a statement at the end of every year showing my base pay plus what the government says I receive in benefits. If I remember right it was about 60,000. At that rate the Government could pay for 65,000 Staff Sergeants with 4 billion dollars. Or you could have well over 100,000 Privates through Specialists, which is the level that most of the contractors are working at any way. Also most of the contractors are either retired military or got out because they could make more money as a contractor. Many of the contractors are mechanics, truck drivers, laborers, and cooks. You know when the last time I saw a cook doing their job for the Army? 2003 when we were driving from Kuwait to Iraq and they had to cook because we didn't have contractors yet. I'm sure the congressmen and women don't want to hear this because I'm sure many of them are getting rich off of owning stock in these contracting firms, but the money could be better used. There are approximately 475,000 active Army Soldiers, that's almost a $10,000 a year raise for EACH person. Tell me that you would still have trouble getting people to come in and stay in the military with better pay.
I'll have to think about this some more...I just think that there is a lot of waste going on and no one really seems to notice. There is always a better way. Thanks for listing to me rant for a while. I should be at my final destination in Iraq by the end of this week, weather permitting! I hope you all are enjoying your summer! Talk to you later...
Needless to say, I have had a little extra free time on my hands, so I have been thinking about a few things, mostly government spending. This didn't just pop up out of sheer boredom, but because all of the contractors that I have talked to are over here to teach or assist and are making between $100,000 and 300,000 a year. A YEAR! How many contractors are in theatre? About 150,000; 39,000 are American; 70,000 from the Philippines, Peru, Bangladesh, and other countries; 37,000 are from Iraq. Obviously the Americans are the ones making the big bucks and the ones coming from other countries are making considerably less, but still being paid well from what they are used to. Let's just say that the average is $100,000 a year, you're talking almost 4 billion dollars just to pay the Americans. This number is just a guess, but I don't think it's that far off. I will do some research. Lets talk about what we could be doing with this money... if you know a congressman you should let them know my idea.
The armed forces has been searching for ways to increase their numbers for a long time. They are offering bonuses and college money just to entice people to enlist for four years. Then they throw more money at you when its time to re-enlist. I personally got 30,000 for re-enlisting for six years. This doubled my income for 2008. But I do get benefits, I get a statement at the end of every year showing my base pay plus what the government says I receive in benefits. If I remember right it was about 60,000. At that rate the Government could pay for 65,000 Staff Sergeants with 4 billion dollars. Or you could have well over 100,000 Privates through Specialists, which is the level that most of the contractors are working at any way. Also most of the contractors are either retired military or got out because they could make more money as a contractor. Many of the contractors are mechanics, truck drivers, laborers, and cooks. You know when the last time I saw a cook doing their job for the Army? 2003 when we were driving from Kuwait to Iraq and they had to cook because we didn't have contractors yet. I'm sure the congressmen and women don't want to hear this because I'm sure many of them are getting rich off of owning stock in these contracting firms, but the money could be better used. There are approximately 475,000 active Army Soldiers, that's almost a $10,000 a year raise for EACH person. Tell me that you would still have trouble getting people to come in and stay in the military with better pay.
I'll have to think about this some more...I just think that there is a lot of waste going on and no one really seems to notice. There is always a better way. Thanks for listing to me rant for a while. I should be at my final destination in Iraq by the end of this week, weather permitting! I hope you all are enjoying your summer! Talk to you later...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Finally In Iraq
Well, I'm here, finally. I had a great time trying to get into this country, I was thinking that if they didn't want me here, I could have just stayed home. So here's what happened...
We finished our training in Kuwait, which consisted of MRAP egress training and Close Quarters Marksmanship. The egress training was pretty cool. They rolled us over in a mock up vehicle, then we had to unbuckle ourselves while upside-down and exit the vehicle. Same stuff we did in Fort Riley, just a different vehicle. The Close quarters marksmanship training was again a repeat of Fort Riley, but this time they added an assault course where we made our way toward an objective shooting pop up targets along the way. After we had finished our training, we went to the airfield to get a flight to Baghdad International Airport. We took off at 8 am for a "one hour flight," about 50 minutes into the flight the pilot came on the intercom and said that there was a severe sand storm and we couldn't land so we went back to Kuwait. Then we had to wait for another flight to become available, which wouldn't happen till 11 pm. So, while I waited I helped myself to some McDonald's, to include a McFlurry- nothing hits the spot on a 110+ degree day like a McFlurry! This flight was a bit worse than the first. The original flight was in a C-17, a huge military aircraft used for transporting supplies and personnel. The second flight was on a C-130, the airplane that gets used for airborne training. The seats are no more than canvas stretched over some aluminum poles. There are 4 rows of people, two going down the side of the plane and two back to back in the middle. There really isn't a whole lot of room, especially when you have all your combat gear on and you are sitting next to a guy that takes up a seat and a half. So we fly for a while then stop and drop off some Marines at one camp then get set to make our last hop to Baghdad, but now we can't go because the starter went out on one of the engines. So we wait. And wait. And wait some more. All said and done, we waited for six hours before we could get back on the plane. So a "one hour flight" turned into a 24 hour ordeal. The flight from Baghdad to Taji (north of Baghdad) was a first for me as we rode on a Chinook (the helicopter with two rotors). What was especially interesting was the fact that the rear door was down so that the gunner could provide security while in flight. He just sat there behind the weapon and dangled his feet over the edge. Now we are sitting in Taji taking some more classes (most of which we've already done, but I'm sure the repetition will help us retain some of the information) for about another week. I hope everyone is doing well. I will write again soon.
We finished our training in Kuwait, which consisted of MRAP egress training and Close Quarters Marksmanship. The egress training was pretty cool. They rolled us over in a mock up vehicle, then we had to unbuckle ourselves while upside-down and exit the vehicle. Same stuff we did in Fort Riley, just a different vehicle. The Close quarters marksmanship training was again a repeat of Fort Riley, but this time they added an assault course where we made our way toward an objective shooting pop up targets along the way. After we had finished our training, we went to the airfield to get a flight to Baghdad International Airport. We took off at 8 am for a "one hour flight," about 50 minutes into the flight the pilot came on the intercom and said that there was a severe sand storm and we couldn't land so we went back to Kuwait. Then we had to wait for another flight to become available, which wouldn't happen till 11 pm. So, while I waited I helped myself to some McDonald's, to include a McFlurry- nothing hits the spot on a 110+ degree day like a McFlurry! This flight was a bit worse than the first. The original flight was in a C-17, a huge military aircraft used for transporting supplies and personnel. The second flight was on a C-130, the airplane that gets used for airborne training. The seats are no more than canvas stretched over some aluminum poles. There are 4 rows of people, two going down the side of the plane and two back to back in the middle. There really isn't a whole lot of room, especially when you have all your combat gear on and you are sitting next to a guy that takes up a seat and a half. So we fly for a while then stop and drop off some Marines at one camp then get set to make our last hop to Baghdad, but now we can't go because the starter went out on one of the engines. So we wait. And wait. And wait some more. All said and done, we waited for six hours before we could get back on the plane. So a "one hour flight" turned into a 24 hour ordeal. The flight from Baghdad to Taji (north of Baghdad) was a first for me as we rode on a Chinook (the helicopter with two rotors). What was especially interesting was the fact that the rear door was down so that the gunner could provide security while in flight. He just sat there behind the weapon and dangled his feet over the edge. Now we are sitting in Taji taking some more classes (most of which we've already done, but I'm sure the repetition will help us retain some of the information) for about another week. I hope everyone is doing well. I will write again soon.
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