Actions on contact

We received a briefing before we left on the convoy. It covered the routes, various radio frequencies and call signs, who was in charge of what, speed limits, and what to do if attacked.

We were told if an IED explodes in front of us, stop, back up, set up security and regroup. Shoot anyone overwatching the IED. Treat any wounded, call it in, and then move on. If it explodes by or behind us, same things except we roll past the area. If we receive sniper fire, we shoot back out of the windows and keep rolling. If it is a coordinated attack, RPG fire or an ambush, we pull over, attack into the threat, take it out, call it in, and move on with the mission. Sounds pretty simple. I'll bet it's more complicated than that if you actually have to do it.

War's hidden costs

I signed on to an internet computer the other day, and the previous user had left a message on the screen. Failed to close out his email, and just left the message up for all to see. I glanced at it at first, but it caught my eye and I ended up reading it.

I have posted this message, even though it is very personal, because I think it vividly portrays some of the not-so-visible sacrifices soldiers make when they go to war.

The message is from a soldier here. His Hawaii-based unit has been here a year, and was extended for a couple of months, to cover the upcoming elections. He was supposed to be home by the time he wrote this letter. I have changed all the names. The spelling, punctuation, grammer, and everything else is exactly as he wrote it.

According to this CNN article, the divorce rate among families where one soldier has been sent to war is as high as 21%. The Army is trying to deal with this. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/29/military.marriages.ap/index.html
***

to my beautiful wife,
hello baby, i just wanted to write you a letter to tell you how i truly feel about you. i dont know when you will read this, or if you ever will. but i have to tell you what it is that i cant hold inside of me any longer. this past 10 months has been a long ruff road for us, i cant even imagine what has been going on in your life for the past several months, simply for the reason we havent been that close as we were a yr ago. but in my life it has been horrible, this war has taken its toll on me, i am so exhausted-physically, mentally, and emotional. i am going to try to say somethings and i hope you dont take them the wrong way, i hope you try to understand me. Ruby Sue, when i first left back in Janurary, i had in my mind that we were inseperable, i knew with out a doubt that we could make it thru this year, and when i got back would be a time to celebrate our love together as one, that thought has been my strength to live thru day to day, i knew that the only way i could survive this place was to always think of you. and for the first 6 months or so. that was the case, but things have changed so much between us, your life has drifted so far off from where we were when i had to leave, i know you have had issues that you had alot of trouble dealing with, and i understand that your life has been hard, but i feel only because you let it. you let the stress of everday life burden you so bad that it effects everyone that loves you. and the part that hurts me so bad is that you have just pushed away, i dont know why, but i think it might be because you feel that you can fix all your problems on your own, or that i may be a part of your problems, but whatever it is, you have just left me alone, and it hurts so bad, and my dreams of seeing you when i return have been crushed because you wont be there, i am terrified of how i will feel when you are not going to be there. i am scared to death of being alone, after letting myself believe for the past year that you will be there waiting me, i'm sure i will get thru this, but i dont want to have to get thru it, i want my wife back, i want my kids back, and i want our family when i get back, i dont feel that you are being fair to your self, the kids, or me with your descision on not moving back to hawaii, i just hope that you can remember how it felt the last time i held you and how happy we were when we were together, and how happy the kids were. i feel gail needs a man in his life, but not just a man, he needs a dad, and he's not getting that there. you know that i can give him that, and chris will have plenty of friends to play with too. and our family was complete before i left and i know that if you just let it, then it can be again, ruby sue, you can not just let this love keep fading away, let me be good to you and your kids, let this family be together, give it a chance, what do you have to loose? the way things are right now couldnt possibly be any better than the way they would be if you were to come back to me. and if it is so bad that you just cant stand hawaii any more, even with me being there with you, then i wont ask you to stay, but i'm pleading with you to just come and see if it can work. i feel you owe me that as my wife, give us a chance again, you will see that i am everything i say i am as your husband, i will do all i can to support you and our kids, you will see that i love the kids, and you will defenitely feel the love i have for you, so if you have any feelings for me at all, please consider what i am asking, it might sound a bit much, but it will be OK when we are together, I have never wanted anything so much in my life, most men want less responsibility and more freedom to do what they want, but i want a family, i like the idea of having something else to live for other than myself, and i have prayed for you and the kids everyday since i have been here. and i prayed that we can be together as one family for always, i love you, gail, kim, and chris so very much, i would lay down and die for each of you to make sure that you could have all that you desire, i will be loyal to you and i will be faithful to you for now and forever, i will never want us to be apart, i will never ask you to stay somewhere alone that you dont want to be, and i will provide for you as long as i am able. and above all i will always always, love you with all of my heart, mind, body, and soul,
loving husband

View from the ground

Today I went with a convoy to visit a couple of other FOBs. We took several trucks and Hummers to deliver food, fuel, ammunition, water, lumber, and other stuff. We also transported some soldiers from the Finance section so the soldiers could work on pay problems, and could get some cash. One of the guys had a canvas briefcase full of cash, which he handed out to cash checks, for as cash advances.

Word from an old soldier; NEVER get a cash advance. You pay will be screwed up for months, or more. Guaranteed.

Anyway, crossing the Iraqi countryside by vehicle was different than from the air. First thing I noticed, the sheep herds are bigger than I thought. 50 to 1oo sheep was pretty common. Also, some of the sheep were actually goats. The area still smelled like oil. Take the lid of a can of motor oil and sniff it, and you will have a very good idea what it smells like in our area. Homes still appeared to be mud huts,but did see lots of nice flat-topped, large homes as well. Saw quite a few folks living in tents.

Although we drove for only 30-45 minutes, we went through 6 checkpoints. It would be tough to go very far with a bomb in your truck. Our military convoy just sailed through them, but all the civilian cars stopped. We bullied our way down the road. We drove down the middle, and the oncoming traffic had to pull over for us. (They drive on the right side of the road here, like in the US) We would not allow vehicles to trap us, or get caught up in our convoy. Once, we pulled to the left around a slow moving truck, and thus took up the other lane. An oncoming car had to screech to a halt and pull off the road.

We drive in the middle to avoid IEDs, as much as possible. However, that is kind of difficult. We are to watch out for carcasses, or heaps of trash, or boxes, or cars along the road, or piles of rubble, all of which can hide an IED. The problem is, this country is seriously in need of an adopt a highway program; it is amazingly trashy. Thus, every few yards something that could hide an IED. Can't stop for it all.

Also, our driver is busy driving. I'm sure he was watching for IEDs, but his first job is to drive, and he was constantly swerving around some slow driver, or to avoid a huge pothole, or to go through a check point, or something. The other guy in the front also looked for IEDs, I'm sure, but he was also talking on the radio, watching the vehicles behind us in the convoy to make sure they didn't get strung out, and watching the computer screen up by his face which contained the computerized map and GPS.

I tried to watch for IEDs, for a while. In the back seat, I could see the door post, and the window post, and the head and helmut of the guy in front of me, and the computer screen, and the snorkle (air tube for the engine), so I couldn't see anything ahead of us. I looked out my side window, but it is only about a foot square, and we drive 55 mph, so at best I'd just see something as it flashed by. We have to wear eye protection, and I had my ballistic sunglasses, which were great until the sun went down. After dark I just gave up and hoped for the best.

It was kind of cool as we pulled out. I felt a bit like Kid Shaleen in Cat Balou. Put on my gloves, strapped on the body armor, buckled the seatbelt, put in the combat earplugs (can hear normally, but if an IED goes off, they will stop your ears from rupturing), donned the eyewear, locked magazines into my M4 and M9, jacked rounds into the chambers, and pointed the rifle across my lap toward the window. (We leave the window up until we have to shoot; better IED protection). Ready for bear. The guy manning the .50 cal MG above also charged it, and was swiveling back and forth, looking for trouble. Lots of firepower in our convoy.

My driver got hit by an IED last week, driving a truck. Was not hurt, but was definitely impressed by the concussion. Said, "I didn't use to believe in earplugs, but now I think they're the most important part".

Couple of guys were joking about how the US is the world's peace keeper (soldiers). Said one, "Were an armed peace corps." Another replied, "We're the militant wing of the Salvation Army."

Office space

Our unit is replacing the unit that has been here a year. That unit was scheduled to leave by now, but got extended through the elections. Since they are still here, they are occupying the buildings and space we were to move into. We are kind of just wriggling in wherever we can. I don't have a predecessor, so I am blazing a trail. I have no office space or furnishings, no phone, nada.

It now looks like I am going to have a small building to myself, that is, my assistant and I. Large room (20x30) and 2 offices (10x10). Fairly new tin building, white vinyl walls and white patterned floor tile. I have been moved around a few times, but think this should be my permanent location. It is near troop housing, which is good because it is accessable to soldiers, and my job is to help soldiers.

I now have to get it wired for phones and internet access. It has heat and air conditioning (Yes!), and a TV satellite dish. Whether that works, I dunno.

Oops. Sorry.

We had some soldiers conducting a patrol recently. Four were riding in the back of a 2-seat Hummer, facing out. One of them (allegedly) saw an Iraqi head pop up behind a fence, then drop back down. The Iraqi then popped back up aiming an AK 47 at the Hummer.

Our hero was carrying an M16 with an M203 grenade launcher attached to it. The M203 is usually an indirect fire weapon. That is, the bullet (grenade) goes up in an arc and then back down. Good for shooting into a defile, or behind a fence, or something. However, at close range it can be used pretty much as a direct fire weapon.

So, our guy tries a preemptive strike. Unfortunately, instead of using his M16 to return accurate fire, he used his M203. He missed the AK 47 wielding Iraqi, and landed the grenade in some other Iraqi's living room, taking out the coffee table and wounding the homeowner. So, now we're paying about $1,000 for personal injury, and will replace the damaged household goods. Nobody is sure whether the soldier really saw a threat or not.

View from above

On Christmas day, I had the opportunity to fly in a Blackhawk helicopter to 3 different locations around Iraq. Some impressions:

We flew pretty low. The pilot would hop up and over power lines. I could see tree tops at my eye level. I estimate we were going about 100-120 MPH, but it's hard to tell. The pilot would bank and veer, turn right or left, and generally avoid flying in a straight line for very far. He seemed to be having fun. We kept the main side doors shut, but the gunners manned the machine guns and left their doors open.

The land is flat northwest of Baghdad, pretty much. We flew over an area of hundreds of springs. They just seeped out of the soil, and flowed downhill, joining other creeks, and eventually forming a river. I don't know if this is seasonal. Where the creeks flowed, the water eroded the soil, forming deep creekbeds, some as much as 10 or 20 feet deep. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon in the way multiple stream flows carved into the soil, though the soil was just brown and not very deep.

I saw lots of farmland. Most fields were plowed and prepared for winter. Some had stubble of corn, or grain. I saw no fences, and the fields are not square. Rather, they are just whatever shape seems to happen. I saw no rhyme or reason for the shape, other than following a stream or ditch. Not sure what they are growing, although we did fly over what had to be a date palm plantation. The fields were small, no more than 3-4 acres, and often smaller. Irrigation was mostly from gasoline powered pumps drawing water from a ditch, then flowing through the furrows. I saw one center pivot irrigation system.

Around Kirkuk I saw many tank and infantry fighting and survivability positions. For tanks, these are tank sized ramps down into the ground to the level that only the tank turret would be showing. Dirt berms were next to the ramps. (Pretty poor positions; very visible, and the dirt berms cannot stop a tank busting bullet.) These positions were out in the farmers' fields. Soft dirt, easily plowed back under, but completely left alone. Just plowed around and left. I guess the farmers are afraid to get rid of the positions. Shows the mindset of the farmers. The Kirkuk area smelled like sulpher, and the streams I saw all had oil slicks.

Flew over lots of villages, or hamlets. Homes are flat topped, and the same color as the soil, having been built out of mud. It looked like each family would had a compound surrounded by a mud fence. In the compound, attached to or part of the fence, were one-room structures. Some were bigger (perhaps multiple room), some were small. They just kind of lined up along the fence, leaving the center compound open. In many of them, the only 2oth century item I could identify was an automobile. Clearly, no electricity or plumbing.

We flew over many sheepherders. Each herd must have been pretty much a family affair. 20-30 sheep. Not white, but brown to black. We'd see a herd out in the open, and guy or two standing near it. The herder would usually give a friendly wave. If we flew right over the herd, the sheep would scatter. The pilot would usually try to bank and turn to avoid flying over the herds.

Army & Air Force, and rocket attacks

We are on an Air Force base, so the Air Force runs things. The AF just does things differently from the Army, and of course takes care of its pesonnel. Examples: We have a close drop off in CHUville for uniforms to be cleaned and pressed, and one on the other side of the base, requiring a buss ride. The close one; AF only.

We walk down a road to get to the chow hall. Across the street from the chow hall are the PX, laundry, Burger King, and recreation facility. Picture a "T". At the bottom of the T lives the Army. We walk along the road to the top of the T. On the right side, the show hall. On the left side, the PX, etc. Oh, and also the AF housing. Also, on the AF side, the road is paved and bordered by a sidewalk. The Army walks along the unpaved road to get to the facilities. When it's dry, we get dusted by every passing vehicle (2-3 times a minute). When it's not dry, we slog through the mud.

Our JAG officers with with the AF JAGs, and they all get along well. The AF JAGs invited our Army JAGS to their unit's Christmas party. The soldiers went, but were turned away at the door because it was AF only.

The other night in the rec facility, folks were just enjoying the evening. Rocketman lunched a rocket into the FOB, and the siren want off (telling us a rocket had landed). In the rec facility, the announcer said "All AF personnel report to bunkers." Didn't mention Army, which is just as well because usually on the AF and the civilians head for bunkers after a rocket attack. The soldiers usually just keep on doing what ever they were doing.

Which may sound stupid. However, the rockets come in only one at a time. Once you hear the "crump" of the explosion, and the alarm goes off, the attack is over. Kind of pointless to take shelter.

On that subject, we had had several rocket attacks. Usuallly they happen in the afternoon or early evening. To my knowledge, no one had been hurt by a rocket (definitely no one in my unit). A rocket did land on one of new up-armored HUMMVs and took it out, but it was parked in the motor pool at the time and no one was around it. I talked to a soldier who told me that his parking space was the point of impact, but a buddy of his had stolen it and parked his HUMMV there. My guy laughed about it and said that he told his buddy it would teach him not to steal parking spaces.

Office

I am finally making progess on getting my office set up. Soldiers have been finding me, in the chow hall or wherever, but having an office in CHUville will help. (CHU - Containerized Housing Units)

My office is in a building which will house a phone center and internet cafe. It is not open yet, but the phones and internet are hooked up, so I have connectivity for now. I hope this continues.

So far, I am seeing mostly pay issues. Now that we are here, the soldiers are entitled to hostile fire pay, hardship pay, and to tax free income. Some soldiers have not received this pay, and come to me for help. We also have various problems with soldiers who have been promoted, or married, who are not getting the correct pay.

There is currently a buzz about male-female proximity. A rule went out that males cannot be in a female CHU, and vice versa. Well, that's OK generally speaking, but what about the soldiers who are married to each other. They left kids and what not behind, and now they cannot even go to their spouse's CHU and watch a movie or talk about family issues. Also, we have leaders of one gender who have subordinates of another. They can't meet, either, except outside or in the mess hall (many don't have offices). So, we're working this.

Christmas In Iraq

Soldiers had a good Christmas day here in our FOB, as good as could be expected. On Christmas eve, 5 airmen followed a Santa around the chow hall and handed out candy. The male had on his helmut with antlers attached, body armor, some bells, and had his nose painted red. The 4 female airmen (I know, I know, but women in the Air Force are called female airmen) wore Santa hats, individual body armor, and elf hats, and various bows and red color splashes. Some sort of music was playing over loudspeakers set up for the occasion. Not Christmas music, though.

On Christmas day, I flew around Iraq in a Blackhawk helicopter, visiting soldiers with the General. We delivered mail and Christmas presents. Christmas dinner was pretty much the usual fare, but holiday oriented. Mashed potatos, gravy, stuffing, cranberry gel, etc. Did have a really nice selection of desserts. Army officers were serving the holiday meal, in accordance with a long-standing Army tradition. (Not sure if the AF has something similar). The Phillipino ladies who normally serve chow were dressed in holiday garb, and they walked around and giggled. A couple of them served dessert. They were all wearing short red dresses with spaghetti straps and white faux fur lining, high heels and bright red lipstick. I guess it might be interesting to some day spend Christmas in the Phillippines.

Mosul Chow Hall Bombed?

I'm hearing now that the attack on the chow hall in Mosul may have been a suicide bomber. That is not so surprising. For one, see my previous post. For another, it is not easy to hit a specific target by indirect fire, and it is particularly difficult in daylight, with makeshift artillery, when Americans are actively looking to prevent such attacks. If several shots are fired and adjusted in, it's possible, but for one accurate shot to hit the target, unlikely. So, suicide bomber seems the likely cause.

Iraqi in the Woodpile?

We have lots of folks working on the FOB here, and one has to wonder about some of them. The Air Force is paving the road in front of our living area. The project was delayed for a while when the paving machinery that was being brought on the FOB was discovered to have explosives concealed in it.
We have, I think, Phillipino women serving our meals, and have guys working in the PX, on construction projects, cleaning the facilities, and generally all around. We are constantly admonished not to get friendly with these folks, and to watch what we are saying around them. Sometimes I look at the guys and wonder, are you going to be launching a rocket into our FOB tonight? Most are friendly and seem OK, but one never knows.
We get rockets lobbed into our FOB every so often. They are pretty inaccurate, but again, I wonder if some of the workers here aren't giving battle damage assessment to the bad guys. Nothing we can do about it, I suppose. We are going to get a certain number of bad guys slip through the screening process.

Oily

The winds shifted yesterday, and the oil smoke plume was coming over our FOB. It has been smelling like petroleum since the shift. Also, the preparing to pave a road near our housing, and in prep they spayed the dirt with oil. It will be nice to get the road paved, as it kicks up a ton of dust now from all the traffic.

It rained the first day I was here, but has dried out since. There are still pockets of mud, though.

News

Tough to update the blog these days. Just got to my home for the next year in N. Iraq, and internet time is scarce. Get 25 minutes of terminal time, after waiting in line. Took 3 minutes just to get this open.

Was raining when we got here; very sticky mud. Although it has quit, it's still kind of muddy. I'm housed in a 1 person containerized room; pretty nice, all in all. Bathrooms and showers leave quite a bit to be desired. Chow is pretty much the same, but greater selection of drinks.

Haven't set up my office yet, and won't for a while. The unit we relieve is still here for a while, and space is tight.

At night can count 6 fires on the horizon. Some are natural gas flaming off oil wells. A couple are oil well fires; kind of an eerie glow to the night sky. In the day, see plumes of smoke all around us, and can smell petroleum in the air.

Businessmen

Yes, men, because all the contract workers here are men. We see some female foreign workers eating in the chow hall, but I don't know where they work.

Anyway, I understand that these jobs, primarily with KBR, are good jobs for these foreign workers. (I'm really curious how much they pay.) I'm told that the jobs carry a certain amount of status, that the workers consider themselves businessmen. This is particularly noticable with the guys who take our laundry. They mark the laundry bag with our SSN (last 6), name, and camp name. They inventory the laundry and mark down how much you turn in, and later how much you pick up. They are serious about this paperwork, mark it very carefully, hand you a copy, check it over, and do it all deliberately, and kind of slowly. After all, they are businessmen and this is an important job. Never mind the line of about 30 soldiers waiting outside to turn in laundry.

Oh, and quitting time is 1900. Even if you waiting in line for a half hour, and finally made it inside, they stop at 1900. And soldiers are not to complain about this, according to the Sergeant Major.

Rumsfeld spun

It has been interesting watching coverage of Rumsfeld's visit here To begin with, it didn't seem like that big a deal when he came, but it sure seems to be getting media coverage. Even more interesting is the coverage itself.

The media has focused on the up-armored vehicle question, and to a lesser extent the stop loss question and the second class equipment question. The controversial ones. My question, about soldier pay, has been reported, but not very widely.

Anyway, turns out that the question about up-armored Hummers was fed to the soldier by a reporter. We are concerned here about armor, of course, but not that concerned. To begin with, no vehicle that is not armored, at least to some degree, will drive north. The soft skinned ones will be shipped by contractor. Thus, not a huge concern. There appear to be an adequate number of armored vehicles to do the mission once we get to Iraq. More would be better, of course.

The cheer after the question was reported, andit did occur. I think I said "Yeah!" Yes, there was a cheer, but it was cheering a gutsy question, and was not so much a cheer like "Yeah, goddammit, what about the armor." It wasn't that big a cheer, either.

John Marshall, Talking Points Memo, mentioned the point about, essentially, we can never have enough armor. Marshall taking it that Rumsfeld was downplaying the need for armor. Having sat there, however, and not being a particular Rumsfeld fan, I took it as just a realistic statement. We can't armor everything. We've got to have some mobility and flexibility, and war is risky. Nature of the beast. Rumsfeld was right; we can't armor everything. Insufficient time and resources, no real need.

I have not seen anyone report how Rumsfeld stayed and mingled with soldiers. It was a real scrum. He was having his picture taken with soldiers, he was grinning, talking to soldiers, having a great time, spending his valuable time to just be with soldiers, no agenda, just letting them touch him and talk to him, crowd around him. "The rest of the story", as Paul Harvey would say.

Finally, I must say this gives me pause. I have poo-poohed the claims that the media is not reorting accurately from Iraq, and that the media over emphasizes the negative. Well, I'd say the media got part of this story right, but didn't cover the whole story, and gave the overall wrong impression.

Haji

Haji is the nickname for arabs used by soldiers. In Somalia it was "skinnys", in Viet Nam it was various things, "gooks, etc. A muslim who has made a trip to Mecca to visit the Haj is a Haji. Also, Johnny Quest's Indian sidekick was named Haji. So far I don't hear Haji as especially prejorative. It's more of just a handy shorthand reference. It's hard for us to tell the nationalities apart, so Haji is a useful generic reference, even for non-arabs.

We have lots of folks working here from India and Pakistan. They are darker skinned than most arabs. Still, they get referred to as Haji. "Watch what you're saying the mess hall; Haji works there and is listening."

Desert weather

Starting yesterday, it has been very humid here in the desert. This morning the vehicles all have moisture and condensation on the outside and windows. It wasn't raining, but I could see on the ground where a truck had been parked overnight, because of the dry spot. Today the wind has really kicked up and we're in a dust storm. Visibility is only about 1,000 feet. Should blow over in a day or so.

IEDs and Jessica Lynch

I went to a class on IEDs today, taught by a Sgt who was on a UXO team in Iraq, and who recently left to come teach the class. Very good class. Saw several videos of IED exploding, and learned about various techniques to deal with them. One point; if we see an Arab camera team filming a convoy, prepare for an IED or other attack becaue the camera crew was probably tipped off to the attack. Also, arrest the crew. Saw a video taken by a soldier, just filming as drove along. Passed a car, and boom. The soldiers were in an armored HUMMV, so only minor injuries. Unfortunately, the 3 Iraqi children walking along the road by the car bomb weren't so lucky.

Since I've been deployed, 6 months now, I have heard many, dozens, of mentions of Jessica Lynch and the 507th Maint Co. Invariably, these mentions are negative. The "Fightin' 507th" has become a poster child of screw ups, to soldiers. They got lost, they didn't have commo, they got separated, and they didn't maintain their weapons. The usual reference is "You don't want to be like the 507th." The media story was that due to dust and sand the weapons jammed. Well, sure, but not because of just one road trip. Almost certainly those mechanics were not maintaining their weapons. The 507th came up again today as an example of how not to be. Ironic that most of the public has a favorable impression of them as "heroes." Soldiers think of them as dumb-asses.

Rumsfeld the rockstar

Dec of Def rumsfeld choppered into our camp to address soldiers, on his way back from the Afghan inauguration ceremoney. We formed up at about 0730, marched to a hanger, and hung around listening to "Creed" until 0900, when he arrived. The CFLCC SGM told us how to act, to take off our hats, sunglasses and gators, and asked folks with questions to indentify themselves to the soldiers with microphones. They made no attempt to screen the questions, or otherwise censor us. Just wanted to ensure we could be heard.

The SecDef spoke for about 15 minutes, then took questions for a half hour. He talked about the afghan elections, first ever, and said that freedom and democracy are on the march. He talked of the important role of the American service members in bringing democracy, and he expressed his thanks, and the thanks of the American people. He extrapolated the effort to Iraq. All in all, a very good speech. Little spin or political justification, and heartfelt thanks and encouragement. Not long winded, but said some good things.

As he left, he was swamped by soldiers wanting a picture, which he obliged for about another half hour. He handled his questions with his usual intellect, no scarcasm, and some humor. I got to ask him a question about soldier travel pay. He didn't have an answer, but a Marine Captain scurried right over and got some info from me, and said that Rumsfeld assigned his top military aide, an admiral, to find an answer.

I don't much agree with the SecDef's politics, and I think he has made some large errors, such as disbanding the Iraqi army. Nevertheless, I can respect him and I appreciate him coming to visit us. We are not on a beaten path. As the CFLCC SGM said, if you come to Camp -----, you have to want to come here.

Up-armored HUMMVs

We seem to be getting a good quantity of the up-armored HUMMVs for our trip North. Some of them are brand new. They have bullet proof glass that is about 2 inches thick, and armor plates on doors, and surrounding the passenger compartment. The have air-conditioning and an internal communication system. They have panels that are supposed to identify it as a friendly vehicle to US aircraft. All this makes them much heavier than the un-modified ones. They also have larger engines and stronger suspensions.

They tend to be top heavy, and we have had several accidents with them so far. A flip and a couple of rollovers. No significant injuries to soldiers, thankfully. In each case, the soldiers were wearing seatbelts and helmets, whihc reduced injuries. In one case, the HUMMV had just pulled onto the highway and a speeding Kuwaiti rammed it from the rear, flipping it over. Soldiers were OK, but not so the Kuwaiti.

TP

We have no plumbing here, and so use only porta-pottis. TP tends to get scarce, so lots of folks just get a roll and take it with them when they need it. They sell TP in the PX, but it is pink and sold in rolls of 6. Probably useful for females, but too much for males.

On the other hand, TP is the only available paper product. We use it instead of a Kleenex. When we enter the chow hall, we wash up at sinks along the walls before entering the actual serving line area. There are water bottles with 3 holes in the lids, containing a pink handwashing liquid. You wash up, and then dry your hands with, yep, TP. Just doesn't feel right. Don't even think about using it to dry your face, especially if you have whiskers. It gets hung up on the whiskers and tears, and then you look like an idiot with TP shreds clinging to your face. I've seen it.

Camp Doha

Drove into Camp Doha in Kuwait City today. Saw a herd of camels on the way. The camelherder was just sitting on a lump of sand, watching the camels. No book, no earphones, no xhair, no vehicle or hootch in sight. Just out in the middle of the desert with the camels, black and white. They appeared to be grazing, but I couldn't see any vegetation. Looked like they were eating sand.

Saw a "Camping Area" on the way, and indeed saw lots of folks camping. Saw a bunch of tents pitched in the desert. Some big, like a small house, some smaller, but still and all large tents. Some had propane tanks and generators, and had lights on poles around the tents. I guess they use the lights to find the tents at night. Lots of tents had Mercedes' parked next to them. No vegetation, just tents on sand. I guess some are bedouins, some are city folks trying to get in touch with their roots.

Bought some Kentucky Fried Chicken in Camp Doha. It same with, coleslaw, unsalted french fries, and a hamburger bun instead of a biscuit.

Could see tall building s Kuwait city across the bay, but the air is polluted. 4 large smokestacks from the power plant were pumping dark smoke into the air.

A Kuwaiti passed us in an SUV. He was wearing the kifyiha ( the head scarf) and, sitting on his console, was a falcon.

As we left this camp, and left Doha, the gate guards checked to make sure we had weapons and ammo as we ventured out among the natives. Kind of startling, as usually you get checked to ensure no weapons when you enter a camp.

Kuwaiti Five O

I turn Fifty years old today. Never expected to be turning 50 in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert, just a few miles from the Iraqi border. War is more of a young person's game. It's often hard work and long hours, which is harder on older folks, although it's plenty hard on younger ones as well. We have any number of older soldiers. One of my roommates is 56.

To celebrate, another roommate said he'd buy me dinner in the chow hall. I'll probably have dessert. Caution to the winds, for a day.

Let there be light

When I was in Louisiana, a soldier in the know said it costs $500 per month per unit to rent those portable light sets. You've seen them on highway construction projects. They are a trailer with a generator, and four big lights on a pole that can be raised. I stood outside my hootch here and counted over fifty. I estimate that we must have at least 100 of those things scattered around the FOB. $500 times 100 is $50,000 per month in light set rentals. I'm getting a better idea of where $1 Billion a month is going.

Water, water everywhere

Although it is cool here and we don't have a great need for water consumption, we are certainly prepared for such an eventuality. Virtually every living space, tent, building, etc., has a pallet of cases of water sitting in front of it. 1.5 litre bottles of Rawdalain, Kuwait's Deep Ground Natural Mineral Water. There is large yard full of pallets of cases of bottled water. Since there is no plumbing here, and thus no running water other than what is trucked in and put in storage tanks, the bottled water is what we drink. Kind of wasteful, though, since it's hard to get through a quart and a half of water. Smaller bottles would get fully consumed. As it is, folks leave half full bottles lying all over. They proliferate like rabbits.

It never rains in...

Well, not in Kuwait. It rained for about 24 hours yesterday. Today was overcast, but cleared up a bit and we saw some sun. I was waiting for the water to stir up some insects, or frogs, or to cause some plant to spring up, but, nothing. The water just soaked in was was gone. I guess it gets so hot here that the soil is pretty much sterilized.

Talked to a soldier who had seen a baby camel out in the desert. I didn't see it, but I wonder, would a baby camel be cute?

Upside down

Well, we’ve had a couple of vehicle accidents lately. A brand new up-armored HUMMV got rolled. 5 soldiers in it, one poked out of the top hatch. Luckily, all were wearing helmets as they are supposed to, and the top guy ducked inside, so no injuries. Later the same day, had a rear end collision. Still waiting to hear an injury report, but not likely anyone was injured or would have heard about it.

Boy, it would really suck to come this far and get hurt in a stupid vehicle accident. Probably somewhat a result of having been on leave and stagnating at the ISB. Soldiers aren’t “keeping their head in the game”, as I hear stated ad nauseum.

BTW, it's tough to update this blog from here. I'm not whining or looking for sympathy, but just letting you know why sometimes I go days between updates. I plan to keep this up for the entire rotation. Hopefully daily.

And on another note, I drink decaf coffee and generally avoid caffeine. I'm not a fanatic or anyway thing, I just figure I don't need it. Also, when I do need a lift or to stay awake, I can drink a cup of joe and really feel it. However, not gonna happen here. No decaf in sight, at least until I get to FOB Warrior and unpack my coffee pot. Another sacrifice I'm making for the Global War on Terrorism, and to protect American democratic values.

Line, line, everywhere a line

We have thousands of soldiers in this camp, and a few amenities. Thus, lines. You wait in line to eat, often with hundreds of soldiers. Once in, you wait in line to wash up, wait in line to get served, small line to get a drink, small line at the salad bar, sometimes a small line to dump the plate and leave. A line to get into the PX, and a line to pay. A line to get coffee at “Green Beans Coffee”, and a line a Subway and at the internet café. A line to use the phones; a line at the showers. A line to drop off laundry, and a line to pick it up.

Got up at 4 AM today, and, no lines. The coffee shop, internet café, phones, and the Subway were all open at that hour. I have talked to many Desert Storm veterans who assert theat they'd promised themselves they would never wait in another line. I didn't get it; what is the big deal. I'm starting to understand.

Base Camp

Arrived in Kuwait after a very long day. Got up on Thanksgiving morning, and shortly after midnight formed up to begin the move to Kuwait. We weighed and loaded our gear, then bussed to the plane. After shoehorning us into the plane, we took off about 0500 Friday morning. No real sleep since the previous night. We flew to Bangor, Maine for refueling, arriving about 0930 local time, then flew to Frankfort Germany. By then it was about, I dunno, midnight local time, or about 1630 Louisiana (my body clock) time. From there we flew 5 hours to Kuwait, arriving about 0830 local. We hung around, caught a buss, and drive a couple of hours to our base Camp, arriving about noon local, or about 0200 LA time. Can't name the camp due to security concerns, but it is not to far from Kuwait City. Didn’t get to sleep until about 2200 local that night (Saturday) (Noon in LA). So we went without real rest from Thursday AM until Sat at noon, I guess about 50 hours. Got up at 0330 the next day (Sunday local) to watch the Boise State Broncos play the Reno Wolfpack.

Kuwait was windy with much sand in the air. Couldn’t see more than a couple of football field’s distance. Pretty cold as well.

Our camp is large, and has some amenities, but is still pretty primitive. We have a post office, Subway, Burger King, coffee shop, PX, laundry facility, internet café, phone center, and various MWR facilities (gym, pool tables, TV for movies, stage where the Washington Redskins cheerleaders recently entertained, etc.) The soldiers stay in tents, about 60-80 per. No plumbing, only porta-potties. The showers are prone to running out of either hot water, or just water. The nearest porta-potty to my bed is about a football field away. The shower is about 2 football fields away. Sucks to have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. The camp is very noisy with the sound of generators. Oddly, even though Americans built (in the sense of bought) the facilities in the camp, it is built with Kuwaiti electrical standards. Everything is 220 volt, and with Kuwaiti style outlets. We have to buy plug and voltage converters to run our stuff.

Today we got up at 0400 to form up at 0500 to go to the rifle range. Some soldiers got to ride in busses, others in the back of trucks. The latter had a very cold ride. We just launched a few rounds downrange, and satisfied ourselves that our weapons still work, and the they are pretty well sighted in. Heard rumors that a herd of camels frequent the range, but didn’t see any. One of the range officers said be sure not to shoot a camel because a white one is worth $30,000.

This is a very desolate place. I used to think I had been in the middle of nowhere, but I was wrong, because I am there now. Nothing but flat, featureless desert as far as the eye can see. No hills, no grass, no vegetation, nothing but sand and rocks. A moonscape. The rocks are all rounded, like you might found along a riverbank. Here, of course, it’s not water but wind and sand that smoothes the rocks.

Kuwait upate

Well, I've arrived in Kuwait. I have written a long post about things here, but I'm having a tough time posting it. We have internet access in our TOC, but it is kind of slow, and I'm not real comfortable blogging from there. I wrote up the post on my laptop. and trnasferred it to my memory stick, thinking I could just upload it. Well, the TOC internet seems to get hung up trying to post a message, so no luck. I then singed up for a pay internet cafe' ($5.00 per hour) but it doesn't have a usb port, so I have to figure out something else. I'm going to try again a little later.

We get Stars and Stripes for free here, and it is about the only source of news. I can read CCN.com, at $5.00/hour. We get english radio stations, but just music, no news that I've heard. I'll break out my radio later and try to see what's availalbe. Rumor has it that there is an NPR feed available. We have Armed Froces Network TV, which carries ESPN and news, but it's in a noisy room, minimal seating, and cold, so not real accessable. Interestingly, the TV has not commercials, at least, no commercial commercials. We get armed forces commercials; you know, OPSEC, hotlines, propoganda, etc.

Whatta guy

Idaho's Governor Kirk Kempthorne is here seeing the BCT off as we leave. In addition to arranging the concert, and pledging to shake every soldier's hand, he has spent the day serving mashed potatos to the soldiers. He started at 1300, and is still there, at 1700. He plans to stick it out until about 1830 or so when everyonen has been served. Paul Revere has been right there next to him, serving turkey, the entire time. Five and a half hours.

I don't much agree with the Governor's politics, but I am tremendously impressed with his support of the soldiers. Serving meals is kind of fun, as least for a while, but you're standing and it's hard on your back, and after a while it's not as fun as it was. I lasted only 1 1/2 hours. For him to stand there and, literally, serve soldiers is a real gesture of support. It is not a hollow photo op, like holding a fake turkey to get a few pictures taken. It may not seem like such a big deal, serving mashed potatos, but I know I really apreciate it. So, my kudos to both Governor Kempthorne and Paul Revere for such a selfless act.

Turkey day

It is Thanksgiving day today. Last night the entire BCT went to a free concert by Paul Revere and the Raiders. Some pretty good songs, oldies, and lost of laughs. It is a funny show, and we all enjoyed it, although the guys from Pennsylvania booed our governor when he got up to speak. Gov. Kempthorne personlly arranged for the free concert, so it was pretty classless for them to boo him. I was disappointed in the leadership for not stopping it. I think I'll say something to them about it.

We are having a feast today. 1,000 pounds turkey breast, 1,000 lbs of sirloin, and all the usual trimmings. 1/2 lb of meat for each soldier. Lots of donations from Alexandria of pies and pastries. Paul Revere, Gov Kempthorne, and others are serving the dinner. First group through; Pennsylvania. So, the guy they booed last night is serving them today.

I had to say a final goodbye to my loved ones to day. I will not be able to call them, except infrequently, once I leave. It has been my most emotional day yet. I am not worried about what I am getting into, just am going to miss my loved ones I have to leave behind. Sad, not excited.

Outta here

It is Thanksgiving day, and we are preparing to leave. We will stage after midnight to weigh bags, final briefings, etc, then board a plane early tomorrow for the 20 hour flight to Kuwait. It took me an hour or so of concerted work to pack by 2 duffle bags, but it is now done and I am pretty much ready to go. Just a matter of hanging around.

I'm taking several books for the flight, and have my computer and iPod fully charged, as well as the electric shaver and the Sonic toothbrush. An all day process getting everything charged up. Hopefully will be able to sleep on the plane.

Next stop, Ireland, to refuel, than directly into Kuwait. Here we go.

Boise, ID vs Alexandria, LA

Some thoughts on the differences between the two places.

Dry vs. humid; desert vs. swamp/tropical rainforest.

In LA, inmates are allowed to do private labor. I left Tunk’s Cypress Inn the other night, and saw 3 young men sitting on the entrance steps. A van from the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Dept pulled up and picked them up. The work there as dishwashers and assistants.

I walked into the Rite Aid, and the first product near the door, taking up two long aisles, was liquor. Idaho has a state monopoly. When you buy a bottle of beer in Alexandria, the store clerk will let you use a bottle opener. I saw a place that sells Margaritas, via a drive through window.

Boise has very visible dry cleaners. You see them all over as you drive the main streets. It took me a week to find a dry cleaner in Alexandria, by driving around.

God Bless America

Life here in the Intermediate Staging Area has been pretty good, considering. The conditions are a bit primitive, but we are allowed to leave pretty much at will and have been able to go to movies, go out to dinner, etc.

A local matriarch has sort of adopted us, and she has been very generous. Yesterday she hosted a buffet for 147 soldiers at the Bistro on the Bayou, a very nice, white3 tablecloth restaurant. A typical dinner there runs about $30, so the buffet could not have been cheap. I didn’t get to go.

I did get to go to St. Rita’s Catholic school for a gumbo lunch yesterday. Gumbo, head cheese (tasted pretty good until I found out what it was), salad, sweet tea; a nice lunch. Afterward, a group of 1st and 2nd graders sang patriotic songs, like God Bless America. Many soldiers, including me, were moved to tears. It was memorable lunch. Alexandria, LA has shown us outstanding hospitality. Great people live here.

What is he thinking?

I can’t believe President Bush is appointing Condi Rice as Sec of State. She is widely considered to have been a poor National Security Adviser. 9/11 happened on her watch, after she had ignored warnings. The intelligence agencies were not providing good intel, and the bad intel was used to go to war. State Dept and Defense were working at cross purposes. We now involved in a war that is draining our treasury but providing almost no benefit to the country, other than funneling money to corporations and activated reservists. Al Qaeda is still very much functioning, and we haven’t caught Osama. And Bush wants to promote her. Good grief.

Granted, most of that litany isn’t directly her fault, but, she’s the National Security Adviser, and our national security right now is not in good shape. After all, Americans are dying daily. I don’t feel all that secure. Before being the NSA, she was provost at Stanford Univ. A fine university, but not a credential that inspires confidence in the NSA. Of course, no military experience.

Foreign policy will be even more subordinate to the Defense Dept. Rice just doesn’t have the gravitas to offset Rumsfeld and Cheney.

Leaving on a jet plane

We have over 100 soldiers leaving for Kuwait today, as an advance party. They are drawing weapons and weighing in. We are supposed to be limited to a max of 400 pounds, including self and all gear. We'll see if that limit is enforced. The soldiers received shots yesterday; flu and Hep B. I dunno, are soldiers an at-risk group that needs flu shots.

They are flying out this afternoon some time from Alexandria, LA International Airport, and commercial planes. I'll be following in about a week. Into the abyss.

Back in the saddle, barely

I have just returned from 20 days of leave. Very nice, except for the disappointing election results. My computer conked out, so I am using a loaner. Connectivity should be ok for the next few days, until we depart for Kuwait.

Life here in Alexandria, LA at the ISB is interesting. Jack the Shitter is still with us, dispelling the rumor that it was an Iraqi interpreter.

Of more note are all the activities available to the soldies to pass time. Two trips to New Orleans to see Saints games have been set up. We get many invites to community events. I am going to a fund raiser at the Kent House in Alexandria. A couple of tables were bought for soldiers, so 12 of us go for free to a pig roast dinner. On Tuesday 35 of us are going to a gumbo lunch, free.

While I was gone, the local schools got together and made lunch for us. The school kids (moms) made sandwiches and cookies and etc., and brought them out to the ISB. The kids served the soldiers. I understand that the soldiers really felt good about that.

I am still getting settled back in, so will know more later I I figure out what is going on.

Brief absence

We are shutting down today, and heading off for the Intermediate Staging
Base. That won't be much fun, because we will be staying on cots, 200 to a large chicken coop, with about one shower head per 25 soldiers, and very little to do.

Anyway, my connectivity is going to wink out today some time, and probably won't be back until we are safely in Iraq. There may be some time in the interim that I have access; possibly while we're in Kuwait.

So, I won't be posting much until probably mid to late December, 2004. When I resume, I should have plenty to talk about. For example, we are going to road march the brigade from Kuwait, through Bagdahd, to our area in northern Iraq. Should be quite the road trip. No beer or women, but lots of guns.

Talk about stress

While in the Iraqi (simulated) town of Suliyah, trying to pay claims, one of the Captains needed to use the latrine. I went with him to provide cover. We’re not supposed to go anywhere alone. So, we moved tactically to the portapottis. I took cover behind a tree, and covered his advance on the john.

Both johns were occupied, so he took cover and waited. Two soldiers exited at the same time, and sauntered off, apparently unconcerned about security. When they passed my tree, one looked at me, smiled, and said “I’ve been waiting for that for two days. Have you ever had to poop (yes, he said poop) so bad that when you’re done you have a different pants size?”

It's a hard life

While I was hanging around while the JAG folks were paying claims, I talked to several soldiers from one of the task forces. Formerly tankers, they are now pretty much infantry.

Things were going OK for them. Plenty of food and bottled water. (Enough that they use it to shower with, since they have no showers.) No enough sleep; never.

They were waiting around to see if they had to take building 25 again. They took it yesterday, and building 10, and had good field of fire down all streets. People could move around, and bad guys couldn't get off a decent shot. However, townsfok didn't like them occuping the building, so the slept in the street to make a point. To mollify them, HQ pulled the soldiers out of Bldgs 10 and 25, and bad guys moved back in. Since they now had the field of fire, no traffic could move in town.

The soldiers were ordered to retake Bldg 25. They did, but were under constant fire from Bldg 10. They then retook Bldg 10. Lost 3 soldiers retaking the bldgs. Traffic flowed again. However, townsfolk again pissed about occupying the bldgs, so soldiers pulled out again. Hence, the sniper when we got there. The soldiers were waiting for word whether they had to re-take the bldgs. Again. Still, spirits up. Looking forward to being done.

Much confidence in each other. No confidence in leadership. Couldn't understand why kept taking and giving up the same ground. Reminds me of Vietnam.

Paid claims

The claim paying excursion was a limited success. About 4-5 claims were paid; about 200,000 dinars, or about $200 dollars, mostly to venders whose shops were damaged and inventory lost.

Left at 1400; arrived about 1430. A sniper had the main street pinned down when we go there, so couldn't move around. The "killers" finally ran him off, but then the iman met with the battalion commander about getting electricity. That negotiation took a while. We ended up starting paying claims about 1600-1630; quit around 1730.

Had to search each applicant for weapons before they entered the claims area. That was a corner room on the bottom floor of a 3 story building. Wooden shutters, no glass in the windows. Quite dark.

Two cameras were mounted in each room, and microphones, and motion detectors, to observe the action. Outside, lots more cameras. All part of the training experience. The evaluators record the action, and play it back during the reviews.

Paying the claims should help a bit. According to our intel folks, all towns but one have turned red, and the NGOs have all left because of the dangerous situation. Not going so good for us, but today should help a bit.

Paying claims

One of the reasons we've been unseccessful in turning towns in our favor has been our inability to pay claims. The claims team has been going with a larger group, which they have decided hampered their ability to pay claims. So, this afternoon they will sneak out on their own. I am going to go along, to observe. Every time the claims group has gone out, they've been attacked. However, the bad guys knew they were coming.

Not knowing that we are coming may reduce the number of folks who show up, but I think the word will spread. We will coordiante with the mayor or iman when we get there, so the folks should know what's up.

Battle update

We continue to struggle. We lost one of our civil-military affairs guys to day, but that may have been natural selection at work. He left with a large group to go out and pay claims. The group stopped at a FOB, and the CA guy took off with a small group of soldiers, leaving the claims paying staff behind. He went to a small town, where he was warmly greeted. This should have been suspicious because previous reception had been cool. Anyway, they showed him a buiding he could use for his operations. He and his soldiers entered the buiding, and a bomb exploded.

He and his soldiers will be dead for at least 24 hours. They will be on a sandbag filling detail until they are reborn. (Do born again Christians have two belly buttons?) I suspect that the next time he wants to do something stupid, the soldiers the went through sandbag detail will not be too shy to voice concerns.

So, still a lot of amber and red. I think we turned a green town amber, so we're going backward. My sense of things is that they are starting to turn around, and we should start seeing some successes. We'll see.

3rd Bush-Kerry debate

It appears that most pundits and polls credit Kerry with winning the last debate, and some credit him with a big win. The right wing "media echo chamber" is trying to spin it as a Bush win, or at least a tie, but reality is not cooperating.

I thought that the debate was essentially a tie. I wanted Kerry to attack Bush more, and since he didn’t I was disappointed. However, it appears that Kerry was appealing to certain micro-constituencies, and that the plan worked, given the poll results. He was appealing to women, primarily, and didn’t want to alienate them by being too aggressive.

To me, Bush again came off as unnatural. He seemed to be just trying to act a part, instead of being himself. His attempts at humor seemed forced and lame.

I watched the last two debates with a few 20-something soldiers. I was kind of surprised that they would watch the debates, and surprised that they would hang in there until the end. But they did. They also liked the rougher moments, commenting when a candidate said something pointed. Of the 4 male soldiers, 2 favored Bush, 1 Kerry, and 1 I wasn’t sure about.

Jack the Shitter

We have been experiencing a series of attacks on our shower facilities. Not the showers in the old WWII barracks, but in the rental shower trailers. The trailers are leased and placed near the large modular sleeping tents, for soldiers showers. Well, sombody has been crapping in the showers. Every few days a soldier will discover an unpleasant surprise when going to take a shower. Jack the Shitter has struck. He's also known as the Phantom Shitter. (I'm just assuming it's a male; given the 3700 to 200 ratio of men to women, the odds are in favor of that assumption.)

Some suspect the aviators, because they are known for outrageous behavior. However, we had a similar problem before the aviators arrived, although the MO was different. The earlier problem may have been the act of somebody really drunk; it was in a stall, and the walls had been smeared. The recent events were just a deposit in a shower.

Others suspect our Iraqi interpreters, believing that even though they are working for the US, they still harbor animosity, which they work out in the shower. I dunno. I suggested they take a DNA sample. No leads yet.

Vegetarian meal

Today I'm having a vegetarian MRE for lunch. It has Cheese and Vegetable Manicotti in Tomato Sauce, Dry Roasted Salted Peanuts, Pound Cake, Saltine-type crackers, Pears, and Peanut Butter. I won't eat the peanuts, pears or pound cake. Guess I don't like food that starts with P.

I will chew the two chiclets and will use the handi-wipe. The rest is garbage.

Pay problems

I am working on travel pay problems. We have in the vicinity of 200 travel pay claims, some of which have been pending since July. When a soldier goes to a school, or some exercise, away from the usual duty station, the soldier gets reimbursed for lodging, meals, etc. We have had hundreds of such claims, but not very many have been paid. Some soldiers are owed thousands of dollars. Some are getting threatened by collection agencies.

The office that should take care of this has not been able to do it, so it has become my duty to do it. This is way out of my lane, but what the hell; the general wants me to do it, so I will.

Very complicated due to the number of claims, the number and variety of documents needed to support the claims, and the agencies involved. We are struggling to put together a comprehensive list to work off of. This will take some time, but I just have to plug away on it.

Exercise update

We a bit more than halfway through our exercise, and things are going just OK. We evaluate towns, areas and roads as Green (favorable), Amber (neutral) and Red (hostile). So far we have upgraded any amber to green, or red to amber. We're only 6 days into it, so there is still time.

We have been trying to get some wells tested and get potable water to various towns, and we just got testing done yesterday, so that should help.

We have not been able to pay any claims yet. The first time we sent a claims team out it got mobbed, there was pushing and shoving, and the team withdrew without paying a claim. The second time, the team drove into an ambush and ended up getting several soldiers killed. Of course, it's tough to pay a claim when people are shooting at you.

Our commanders still think in terms of lethal influences on the battlefield, and the operations reflect that. We have many non-lethal means to affect the battlefield, but as yet these are not being effectively brought to bear. For example, our Public Affairs Office can publish the good news of us getting wells tested and water to the Iraqis, which will help turn towns green.

Typically an engagement must have a mix on lethal and non-lethal. So, for the bridge opening ceremony, we would want to publicize it and invite locals, get articles in the local paper and on radio, meet with local leaders, and try to build relationships and good will for our efforts in building and opening the bridge. We also need to sweep the bridge for explosives, patrol the area to prevent getting mortared, set up checkpoints to screen people and vehicles for weapons and explosives, and arrange perimeter security to prevent direct small arms fire.

It is not easy to synchronize the lethal and non-lethal so that everything comes to bear at the right place at the right time.

Indiginous people's country

I went on a four vehicle convoy yesterday. Our planned route was blocked by an IED, so we took an alternate. The alternate road was very poor and muddy, but we had some of the best mud 4-wheeling I've ever experienced.

The alt route took us through the most hostile town in the area. They just looked at us as we drove through, and one fella even waived at me. I thing we surprised them by coming out of the woods on such a poor road.

Visited two FOBs. Now that the rain has stopped, the mud is drying out and conditions are much better. Soldiers are happy; food is good, training is good, but sleep is scarce.

Bags mystery redux

The missing bags showed up yesterday, at the very place they disappeared from. Best guess is that they were loaded on a plane to Kuwait. The got there, somebody realized that the bags didn't belong to anyone in Kuwait, and sent them back. We're doing a by-name inventory of the 158 duffle bags.

Dead man walking

As part of the MILES play, we all carry a little envelope that has an injury card in it. If our MILES goes off, we pull out the card and what ever the injury is, is what should be treated. For example, the card might say stepped on mine, foot blown off. The medics or Combat Life Savers would have to treat the injury correctly, withing time specified. Apparently, most deaths are from bleeding to death.

Anyway, under the right light, you can see through the envelope and see what your injury is going to be. Turns out that my card says KIA. If my MILES goes off, I'm toast.

I would have to be evacuated, and the unit has to request a replacement. After a day or so, the replacement comes forward (me) and I'm back in action. Until then, I'm cooling my heels in a holding facility, laying around reading, sleeping, or otherwise doing nothing.

Bridge opening

Part of our play today involves a bridge opening ceremony. We all know that some event is planned for us to react to, but not sure what. Mortar attack, VBIED, sniper, protest, etc. It kicked off today at 1000. It is now 1050 and nothing yet (that we know of in the TOC). What will it be?....

Outside the wire

The exercise has kicked off. One of our battalion operations was attacked, and we had 2 WIA and 1 KIA. Simulated, of course. They were delivering water to an Iraqi village and the convoy was attacked.

I went to one of the outlying FOBs, and then to the HQ of the Iraqi National Guard. As we left the ING FOB, one of the guards was hollering at us "You no good! Go home." I guess he was angry because he needed boots, and we didn't have any for him.

My convoy took off and left me at the first FOB. My lunch and rain gear was in one of the HUMMVs that took off, so I was feeling pretty stranded. However, got a ride back to our FOB without much problem.

Saw some anti-American graffiti. "Die American" and the like. There are lots of real Iraqis here as roleplayers. We have 4 sitting outside the door to my office listening to ZVOT radio play Iraqi music. It doesn't have a good beat and you can't dance to it, so it doesn't do much for me.

Each time our convoy stopped, I contemplated my actions if we got attacked. I was really hoping that we would not be attacked, because that would involve me having to flop down in the mud. Each time I rode with someone new - twice - we worked out our drill if we were attacked. Who gets out of the vehicle first, who lays down suppressive fire, which side of the vehicle we go to, etc. Luckily, no attack. Even so I'm muddy up to my knees just from walking around.

The soldiers in the outlying FOBS, most of the brigade, will be in large tents for the next 10 days. There are no showers on the FOBs. They will to prop up a watercan on a vehicle and barely open the cap to serve as a shower. The tricky part will be for the females, assuming that they don't want to shower in the open. 10 days of mud and no showers. That's living. They did say the food is better in the FOBs.

MILES

Multiple Integrated Laser E(something) System gear. We have to wear it until the exercise is over. A transmitter attaches to whatever weapon we have, and we wear a harness of receivers on our helmets and torsos. The laser is activated when the weapon shoots a blank round. (Or when you bang on the transmitter) If you shoot somebody, a speaker squeals in the soldier's ear until a key is removed from the weapon transmitter and inserted into the receiver harness, thereby stopping the squeal and rendering the weapon useless.

It's pretty cumbersome and inconvenient to wear, and generally a pain in the ass. Works pretty well though. 1970s technology.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK

Bush does indeed have an ownership interest in a timber company. According to Factcheck.org. He has some unspecified interest in The Lone Star Trust, which owns 50% of LSTF LLC, a company organized for the purpose of production of trees for commercial sale. It's not clear whether he owns the entire Lone Star Trust, or just some interest.

In any event, even though he mocked Kerry for mentioning the lumber company, Bush was wrong when he said (paraphrasing) "Don't you think I'd know it if I owned a lumber company?" I guess not.

Snack food platter

When we go through the breakfast chow line, we sign for breakfast, and also sign for a lunch meal. We have a choice of an MRE, or a "Jimmy Dean". The JDs aren't really made by JD anymore, although they used to be, and thus the name.

I call them the Snack Food Platter. The one on my desk for today's lunch (I usually get the MRE) has 7 items. Most are snack food items you can buy in the PX. It contains: one 3 oz can Beef in BBQ Sauce, one hamburger bun to put it on, one 4 oz Motts Apple Sauce, one 1 3/4 can Pringles Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, 6 Oreo cookies, one 7 oz can of Chef Boyardee Beefaroni, and one 11.5 oz can of Welch's Orange-Pineapple juice.

Without counting the apple sauce, which has no data label, this meal has 1275 calories, 48 grams of fat, 150 grams of carbs, 67 grams of sugar, and 1480 grams of sodium. It has more of all these than in MRE, except the sodium. A Chicken Salsa MRE has 1040 calories, 45 g fat, 119 g carbs, 38 g sugar, and 2750 g sodium.

Senators

We are expecting a visit today from 2 senators, and 1 representative. I expect they will get an eyeful. Conditions suck right now. It has been raining for a couple of days, and it is very muddy here. The battalions moved out to the field yesterday, and are finding various problems. Some areas don't have portable shitters yet. Another FOB has no cots, so last night the soldiers slept on the ground. I do think they had a big tent to sleep in, so hopefully they didn't have to sleep in mud.

I expect the soldiers won't be real happy when the senators come by for a visit.

Escorting senators tends to distract the leadership from the task at hand, especially when such a large contingent arrives. I don't know what the senator to strap-hanger ratio is, but I'm sure it's large. My usual plan is to fly under the radar while they're here.

Bush-Kerry Friday Debates

Well, I guess Bush did better this time around, although I think that Kerry did a better job. Bush was way agitated. You could tell by his tense body posture, and especially by the way he blinked like a madman while listening to Kerry.

I'm really curious about the "anyone want some wood" comment. Either Kerry screwed up his reference about Bush owning a lumber business, or Bush doesn't know what he does own. I saw a reference on another blog that Bush has an ownership interest in a lumber company, which is what I figured Bush was talking about. I think this could be one of those sound bites that comes to haunt the incorrect candidate. I think Bush's reaction was strange. It struck me that he was trying to taunt Kerry, sort of high-schoolish.

Kerry seemed relaxed and human. However, I was a bit put off by his assertion "I have a plan." The first few times were OK, but it got old, and ended up sounding hollow.

All in all, Bush did better than before, Kerry did well. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Iraq reconstruction

http://www.slate.com/id/2107914/

This link is to a Slate article describing how little of the appropriated reconstruction money for Iraq has actually been spent, about 7%. An excerpt:

More damning are the report's figures on Iraqi reconstruction. Yes, the U.S. Congress has appropriated $18.4 billion for this effort; but, according to the report, the authorities on the ground in Iraq have spent just $1.3 billion—about 7 percent of the money set aside.

Ya know, you'd think that the young out of work men that have nothing better to do than shoot at Americans would benefit from getting a job. They'd be at work instead of shooting RPGs, and, they'd have an interest in continuing to get a paycheck so they'd probably be less interested in screwing up the reconstruction. Must be really difficult to find a subcontractor to hire Iraqis and get them to work. Must be. Otherwise, we'd do it, wouldn't we?

Mystery of the bags

Well, I have tracked the bags to the airfield. They were last seen by the people I talk to about 1 hour after the plane lifted off. They were in a locked truck. Now all I have to do is find the guy that unloaded the truck. He is 5'10", 200 lbs, hispanic, and has a ponytail that drops to the middle his back. Thank God for the pony tail; that should narrow it down from 56 to just 3 or 4. Either the bags are here somewhere, or in Kuwait. You'd think that if they are in Kuwait, someone would call and let us know. But, not so far.

Spinning up

At 0001 hrs today we started to wear our "battle rattle", or as it's more affectionately known, our crap. We'll get to wear this until the end of the exercise, or "endex". When I was first in the Army, I thought this was "index", and had no idea what it meant. Now, it has become one of the sweetest words in the military lexicon. Basically it means, there will be an end to the horror.

All of our building are "hardened," so we can take off our crap while we're inside, which is nice. Just have to wear it while outside. It also means that we don't have to go outside and get into a simulated bunker during mortar attacks. We can just roll over and go back to sleep, for night attacks. The killers, who live in tents, will have to wear it much more than we REMFs.

We haven't really had Startex yet. We seem to be easing into it, starting wearing our gear, etc. before the actual play begins. Was supposed to be a 10 day exercise, but since we're starting early, either it will be longer than 10 days, or it will end earlier. Hopefully the latter, so we can move to our next station earlier. The next stop is the Intermediate Staging Base (ISB), which will be no fun. More on that later. I just want to get moved so I can get my shit set up so I can go on leave, which I will do right after endex.

Lost luggage

I have been tasked to fing missing duffle bags. Our soldiers loaded their duffle bags onto trucks on October 2, and have never seem then again. The loading was disorganized. The original plan was to put bags for a specific flight on a truck, then load the bags on the aircraft with the corresponding soldiers. However, soldiers being soldiers, they loaded the trucks with as many bags as they could, mixing up the loads. So, bags were shipped without soldiers, and vice versa. We now have about 60 soldiers with missing bags.

We are scrambling here to issue them gear, and to put in claims for lost items, but Plan A is still to find the missing stuff. The guys on the shipping end insist that everything has been checked, and no bags are there. Haven't had a chance yet to talk to the folks on the receiving end. It's a mystery.

Test

Well, I can't tell if my email test worked. Damn. Have to use a commercial site, I guess.

Test

Well, I can't tell if my email test worked. Damn. Have to use a commercial site, I guess.

Still alive

So far, still able to update. Hopefully I can run under the radar.

Last night we continued to brief our order for the upcoming exercise. We are kicking things off soon. I have seen our Observer/Controllers(OCs) all over the place, starting to show us how to do our mission, and what they expect.

You can always tell an OC. To begin with, they are in green uniforms, we are in desert tan. They never take their hats off in a building. Not sure how they get away with this, given the Army Reg requiring hats off in a building. Also, many of them have chairs strapped to their bodies, rather, hanging off their web gear. Small X shaped chairs with canvas tops, that fold flat. What does it say about a guy that he always wants to have a chair around. I like to always have a book around, but not to sit on.

The staff has been busily working up our order. However, they departed from the Boss's guidance, and got their butts chewed, so they had to go back and redo the work. This caused the subordinate units to scramble and adjust what they had prepared.

test blog

This is just a test to see if my blog is updated via email.

Doomed?

I just tried to check my blog. The Fort Polk tech folks block many websites, and have now blocked my blog. Whether I can keep posting is uncertain. I had been able to see my blog, but big brother has sniffed it out and now it's off limits to me. Hopefully my ability to post will stay under the radar. I feel so subversive and clandestine now.

Fort Polk

Well, we've moved into Fort Polk, LA. We're for additional training before heading over to Iraq. First impression is that we are in a real hole. However, I guess that is relative. It seems likes our barracks and working spaces are really run down, and they are. However, I just talked to a captain who moved into the barracks from the field, and his soldiers are pretty happy. A shower, beds, roof, etc.

Our buildings have asbestos tiles, and warning signs that say, don't disturb the tiles, though normal houskeeping is OK. Many people, including me, are sneezing. Probably just from all the damn dirt, but I keep thinking about asbestos dust.

It has been raining every couple of days, which means we track in mud. When we sweep up, it kicks up a bunch of dust; that is probably what is making folks sneeze.

Our exercise kicks off in a few days, and we will then have to start wearing our gear, and carrying our weapons.

My barracks room is OK. It has an air conditioner, which is nice. Pretty rough walls, lumpy and stained mattress, perpetually dirty floor. Last night I returned to my room and saw ants crawling all over the top bunk. They came down from a crack in the ceiling, and had found a pillow case I'd placed on the top bunk. It used to have goodies sent to me by my co-workers back home, and I guess it attracted the ants. Brushed them off, and got rid of the pillow case, but I felt buggy all night. Did find one crawling on me, but just one.

BUsh-Kerry debates

I didn't get to see the debates last night, but I did get to briefly listen to them on the radio while driving to dinner. Bush sounded peeved, and like he was having difficulty getting his words out. The pundits seem to be saying the same thing.

We're packing and moving today, and most folks are preoccupied with that task, so I haven't had a chance to talk about the debates with anyone. The one person I did talk to, who watched the debates in the chow hall, couldn't hear very well. Also, he is one of the few democrats here, so he was predisposed to think poorly of Bush.

We're getting on a bus about 2330 tonight, and will board a plane not too long thereafter. Won't get much sleep tonight, I guess. Also, will be on the plane with body armor and weapons, so I don't expect to comfortable a flight.

Instapundit gone nuts?

I've looked over Instapundit, and used to like his posts. I considered him a reasonable spokesman for the Right, and liked to check his website to see the rights view of things, with the polemics left out. However, I see that lately he has really picked up the "If Kerry criticizes Bush then Kerry is a traitor" line of thought. Good grief. I'd have thought a law professor would have more tolerance for differing thought.

I mean, using a reduction ad absurdum argument, would it be traitorous to criticize Hitler? At what point does it become legitimate criticism. How bad does the despot have to be to be criticized?

Preparing to move

Today we're wrapping up operations. I'll be moving from my room to the huge modular tent for a night, then the next day will get on a chartered plane and fly to the next adventure. Things are slow today.

I'm thinking about the Bush-Kerry debates tonight. The only TV available is in the big chow hall tent. I expect that most of the soldiers are going to be Bush supporters. I also kind of expect a raucous atmosphere, with the soldiers cheering Bush and jeering Kerry, sort of like a football game, only much more subdued. I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut and watch.

I have found 4 other Democrats in our company, out of aver 200. Admittedly, I haven't talked to all of them about politics. Idaho soldiers just tend to be pro-Republican.