90 Days To Go

Well, we are starting to wind down now, in days, not work. We have a new Team Chief, she's pretty cool, but Powerpoint intensive. And she likes meetings. We have two a day and we are now having to update slides daily to be briefed to our Battalion commander, who by the way refuses to accept the answers that we give him, there's got to be something better in his mind. I have been working hard to gather information on the Iraqi maintenance and supply system for him. We are working with the 9th division, but the information that he wants is much higher than that. I am working to find specific problems, kinks, if you will, starting from the Division and working all the way up to the Ministry of Defense. I really don't know what the Battalion commander expects to change, the MOD has Generals advising them and these people have been working with them for years. We have less than 90 days do somehow overhaul the system. At least the days will go quickly!

Frustrated...

We have about four months left of the deployment, yet I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our team leader went home this week for "medical" reasons, so he won't be coming back. Now our team has some extra stress, but we'll work through it. We found out that we will not be replaced by anyone when we leave, so I informed the Iraqi guys I'm working with about what will happen. I want to give them some training that will enable them to be a better unit, but still it seems that all they want is whatever free parts and equipment they can get. I try to tell them that when we leave that's it - they may never work with Americans again. There is one person, Lieutenant Ali, that has his head on right. He wants his Soldiers to learn how to fix the air conditioning on their Hummers because summer is coming. Something simple like this will leave a lasting impression and better his maintenance facility. He didn't ask for tools, parts, or anything else. All he wants for his unit is knowledge - I love it! Everyone else though, seems like all they can say is gimme gimme. I can't blame them though. Their supply system is full of corrupt leaders that demand payment before they release any parts or supplies that they have on hand. Maybe some day they will figure it out.

I'm also fed up with being away from my family. I miss them so much! I miss being home, I miss life itself. I had a dream last night where I was in my Hummer with LT Ali and I took a wrong turn on my way to his shop. We were driving down a dirt road surrounded by green fields (should have known it was a dream at this point) dotted with sunflowers and other patches of flowers that were red and purple and white. We turned a corner and came down a hill and saw a lake that was the deepest blue I'd ever seen, there were trees all around it that were had a light coating of frost like it had already been spring but there was a last effort of winter to leave its mark, and I said to myself I'll have to go back to my room and get my camera because it was the most beautiful scene ever. I can't put into words how pure this place seemed. Then a knock on my door brought me back to reality and I realized that I was still in Iraq. I'm still disappointed. Maybe I'll get back there tonight...

Back To The Suck

Iraq had a nice welcome back for me, this being my first week back since R&R (which was awesome!). We had to move buildings to make room for another team that was going to live where we were previously living. It was kind of a good thing though, because it allowed me to get rid of a lot of clutter. Anyway, while we were moving to our new building we found out that there was a car bomb somewhere on the Iraqi side of the camp! There was also a bomb found on a car belonging to one of the Iraqi officers. Luckily it was found by the guards at the gate before it could be detonated. Everyone ended up being safe, so it wasn't a big deal, it just was a quick reminder that I am back.

I went to visit some of the guys that I had been working with, we talked for a while, they told me that I must stay for dinner, so while we waited we went and played some ping pong. I haven't played since I was young, so I was a little rusty. I needed to shake it off quick because these guys were pretty serious about the game! It was fun though, and it helped to work up our appetite.

This week we'll be getting busy trying to make their automated parts requests work and I'll be putting a transmission class together, plus unpacking the rest of my stuff in the new room.

Go Vikes!

So I got to watch the game last night while I was waiting for my flight to Baghdad so I can get to Kuwait and start leave. It was nice to see the Vikings win, especially over the Cowboys, although I would like to have seen them beat the Packers a third time this year...oh well.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to give a class to about 20 Iraqi mechanics on the Hummer's electrical system. I took two hours on two consecutive days, the first being class room and the second a hands on portion of the troubleshooting steps we covered the first day. I think I made some bonus points because I was able to acquire the technical manuals they need in Arabic, although it looked like about half of them couldn't read once we opened the books up. The class was specifically on the alternator and charging system on the Hummer with some basic battery maintenance thrown in there. We didn't have electricity for the first part of the class so I couldn't show them the illustrations that I wanted. It finally came on about half an hour after I started so I quickly reviewed with pictures this time and it seemed to help them understand what I was talking about (actually what the interpreter was talking about on my behalf). The second day, only about a third of the people from the first day showed up, but they all seemed very interested in learning so I didn't mind. All in all it was a good experience, I learned a few things that I'll do differently in the next class (more pictures!) and hopefully they learned a couple of things that can help them. The next class that the Iraqis requested was on the Hummer transmission. I'm already excited about it, although I'll have to wait a few weeks while I'm on leave. Hopefully I see most of you soon!

Update! Here are a couple of pictures from the range where I got to shoot an AK-47

For The New Year

Happy New Year everyone! This one has gone by surprisingly (and thankfully) fast. To celebrate the event we had a bonfire, which was constructed of pallets stacked to make a 15' tower. We also threw some smoke grenades and grilled steaks and burgers. Not bad for the middle of nowhere in Iraq. Earlier that day I was a bit disappointed. I had invited some of the Iraqi guys over for pizza because they had never had it before. I went and picked up 5 pizzas from Pizza Hut (yes there is one here) and brought them back anticipating a great lunch and hoping to build a stronger relationship with the Iraqi guys. Sadly though, something must have been lost in translation because nobody showed up and I was stuck with a ton of pizza by myself. The Iraqis are busy prepping a bunch of their vehicle for a parade in Baghdad later this week. The only bad part is that the tanks they are driving are from the 1970s and there aren't many parts to repair them. Hopefully they at least make it the length of the parade route without breaking down!

I will be coming home later this month, so I am very excited for that. I can't wait to see Melissa and Isaac and Luke! I'll even get to see Lola so that's cool too. One thing I want to do while I'm home (besides not freezing to death) is go ice fishing. I haven't done that in such a long time, and I think the boys would enjoy it, so if anyone knows a good spot to go please let me know!

SORRY!!!!!

Sorry that it has been almost four months since my last post, so if you are still following, here is what is happening in my world...

Our team moved to Camp Taji earlier this month in order to advise and assist a new group of people. We are now responsible for the 9th Division EME (Electrical, Maintenance, and Engineering). Specifically I am working with four maintenance shops, each one supporting a different Brigade. Everyone that I have worked with, so far, has been great. They are eager to learn, and are extremely eager to share their culture with me. For instance, last week I was invited to lunch with one of the Colonels where we got to have a special meal called "Pacha". Pacha is considered a delicacy in Iraq and is made of sheep's head. I ate it, though I don't know if I'd do it again. The soup tasted like dirty water and the "meat's" consistency was a little unsettling. I took it like a champ though and earned some cool points from the Colonel. I am currently working on some maintenance classes for the shops that I am working with. Right now I am focusing on the electrical system and troubleshooting, areas that I feel they need the most help in.

Again, sorry for the gap between posts, I'll do a better job from here on out, we'll call it an early New Year's resolution!

Close Call...

So we're taking a ride down the Iraqi highway, I'm the gunner in the rear truck, watching the traffic steadily piling up behind us. As we get close to one of the checkpoints along the way, a pickup decides to jump out of line about five rows back and comes flying up behind us. I don't know if he just wanted to get through the checkpoint faster or if he was testing me or what, but he was about 1/10th of a second from getting his truck shredded by my weapon. I tried to wave him off, I guess he didn't think I was serious until the machine gun was pointing through his windshield. For those that have hunted before, you know that moment before you squeeze the trigger where you kind of lean into the weapon to help brace against the recoil? That's where I was at before he backed off. Lucky day for both of us I guess.

In other news, the Iraqi's are making the best of their new living space. They have electricity running to some of the buildings from a generator and are working on getting permanent power set up. One bad thing is their morale, it's still hot, still Ramadan, and the General that made them move into the garbage dump comes and yells at them for it looking like a garbage dump. Hopefully their conditions start looking up soon. It's hard for me to keep going there and not be able to do anything for them. I feel pretty useless right now, hopefully that changes soon too. I have to run, I just wanted to get some thoughts down before they slip away... I'll post more soon.