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IRR Call up: From Northern California to Baghdad
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As I head into my 11th (!) month here, I should mention that there have been constant improvements in the facilities and quality of life around here. Since I moved in, the dining facility was moved to a new building and they have used the old space in the Palace for a smaller Sandwich-Salad-Soup Lunch Line. They also added a fancy lounge area, Internet Café, and library. Most likely, all improvements will be complete just as we all leave and hand it back over!
The crown jewel is the addition of the “Green Bean Café” which has become the much sought after Starbuck’s-like chain of Cafés for remotely deployed U.S. Bases around the world. Sitting in a calm Café in the middle of Baghdad (complete w/ that coffee-shop Euro-jazz music) is rather surreal.
It is hard to explain the lines of caffeine-addicted people ready and willing to pay for an over-priced coffee even though free coffee is about 20 feet away! You might think coffee named “Green Bean” would turn people off..... the business plan for this thing needs to be studied in business schools. It serves as a monopoly for this service. Much of the facility & utility costs are absorbed by the U.S. Government. Employees are hired from just about anywhere in the world… with the result of employing some amazingly industrious guys who deserve to be paid a lot more than they are getting.
The law of supply and demand is completely out of whack. The customer base has very few things to spend cash on, making the act of spending it a luxury in itself. The next closest Starbucks is between 2000 and 10000 miles away. The next closest “Green Bean Café” is probably much closer, but it’s down the road, which may or may not have an IED on it!
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A surprisingly upbeat week! The fact that Prime Minister Maliki’s finally filled the key posts of Minister of Interior & Defense was probably the most important news. The PM is pushing to make quick & noticeable progress in security and he needed these key leaders to help move forward with his plan. He has shown himself to be much more proactive than what we've seen in the past leadership, but he'll need consistent results.
The removal of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from the equation has given many people around here a chance to exhale! To be sure, this is a welcome success given the slow visible progress coupled with the constant drumbeat of negative news. His removal won’t change the situation on the ground much, but he was a major an icon, recruiter, and fund raiser for some of the most extreme elements out there. This may be an opportunity now to coax some of more reasonable “resistance” elements to the political process.
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After 7 months of mild and downright beautiful weather, its heating up again. Its really not bad yet... temps are approaching about 100 degrees (F) by mid day. We probably have another 20 degrees before we get to the max temps for the year. Our mail is starting to come in melted again!
Life in Baghdad continues... the new Prime Minister designate (Nuri al Maliki) has shown signs of being a strong, pragmatic, and determined leader, but he's got a lot of work to do. He still needs to finish the formation of the government before he can really start taking action, but it does seem like he is trying to push the process with a greater urgency than we've seen previously.
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Much has happened since my last post. After the elections brought a short, relative calm, I was able to take my two weeks leave back home. We start by getting out of the city and travel to Baghdad International Airport. After waiting around there for a day, we get to Kuwait where we wait for another day or two. Once we get out of Kuwait we start the long flight home. The nice thing is that none of the travel counts toward leave (it starts from the time you arrive at your home city). Same thing on the way back.
All in all, my two weeks leave got me out of Baghdad for about 3 weeks... and what a nice few weeks they were! My family and I spent the time doing as little as possible, but I did get to fix some things around the house. The wife and kids did pretty well without me, but it wasn't fun getting back on that 20 hour flight back to Iraq! I also got the chance to see many of my coworkers back at the "Civilian" job. It was great seeing them and I really appreciate their continued support and friendship. I was surprised to learn just how many of them actually looked at this Blog from time to time. I guess I'll make a concerted effort to post more often!
Of course, while I was on leave, the Golden Mosque in Samarra was bombed, which did not make for a happy return. The Mosque in Samarra rates as one of the four most holy sites within Iraq and the bombing was done to inflame the fragile relationship between the Shia & Sunni. A lot of work is ahead for the Iraqi Govenment, as well as for us, to try and calm things down. The political process has been moving in babysteps, but it might be time to speed it up a bit!
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We had a bit of excitement last night which was both alarming and humorous. While working inside our building, we began to hear some pretty heavy gunfire outside our compound. I quickly assumed this must be one of our operations or from a weapon test. The firepower seemed much too heavy and persistent to be an insurgent attack. After I confirmed it was not coming from us, it became apparent that the gunfire was coming from every direction around the compound and it was getting more intense. If this was an attack, it was a biggie!
Fortunately, it was only about 10 minutes into this that we learned that Iraq had just won the “Third West Asian Games” edging out Syria and Iran. The Iraqi’s were offering us a full demonstration of National Celebratory Fire.
So… a happy ending all around: No attack, Iraq won a soccer match while demonstrating it still has a good dose of National pride & identity, and........ Iran lost.
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It’s been a while since I posted a Blog. I regret the long delay, but after taking in account the long work days, the changing BLOG web portals, and the more restrictive Army rules for Blogs, it’s not easy to get anything out!
Needless to say, a lot's been going on over here as we prep for the 15 December elections. This election is a BIG step.... the good news is that all the different groups in Iraq appear to want to participate this time. We can only hope they all achieve good representation in the next government.
Being over here for the Holiday Season has its good moments. The cooks put on a very impressive spread for Thanksgiving. Plenty of food and lots of artistic food displays. Many of the General Officers took their turn serving the meals to the soldiers. If you can't be back home, this is probably the next best thing. I've added some new photos from Thanksgiving Day. Now as Christmas approaches, the Care Packages are starting to swell. People send everything to Iraq... like full 6-foot Christmas Trees, pans of homemade Fudge (those that survive), Santa Outfits (?), and way too much junk food. Everyone benefits from these packages since we have a "community" table to share excess goodies. The Supply has overtaken the Demand!
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This is my Iraqi word of the day.
"Shaku Maku" is a colloquial term frequently used by Iraqis - it is not used anywhere else. It is roughly equivalent to the American "what's up?" Evidently, it is Babylonian in origin and about 3000 years old. I like it because its easy to remember... it sounds a lot like "Shaka Broder" which I use to hear in Hawaii back in the 70s! For the Iraqi's I meet, it’s an easy way to just say "Hi".
In other news... the referendum is almost here. It has been a difficult road getting here because now there is a political fight going on as well as the one in the streets. There has been a lot of talk of what outcome the US desires... I think it’s fair to say, that the most important thing is for as many Iraqis to VOTE and it does look like many of the Sunnis realize that they missed the boat last January. The political maneuvering however continues to the end!
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One month down, 11 to go! I guess time does fly when you’re having fun. Its not that time goes by fast here... it just goes by. The month started off pretty quiet, but unfortunately the country has had a terrible couple of days. I haven't been here long enough to really gauge the progress. It seems uneven, but generally positive (0.8 steps forward, 0.3 steps back).
So far, it’s been quite an education. With one of my jobs, I've got a chance to be part of the team which supports infrastructure development including Power facilities, Oil Pipelines, and water treatment plants, etc. The Iraqis are running the show while we try to keep our safety nets in place. Its quiet a scene to watch all the parts, players, and obstacles converge trying to get the cardiovascular system of a nation to function. That is not even taking into account the “special” challenges that Iraq faces. In fact, it’s possible that the same issues that New Orleans is now facing (maintenance, production, material, politics, etc) pose a larger challenge in Iraq than those awful attention-seeking car bombers.
Thanks to everyone who's commented on the blog and written e-mails. The notes are all great! I find it takes me three to five days to write ONE email sometimes.... as I'll start it, get pulled off on something... start again five hours later..... get pulled into a meeting, etc. So, sorry I don't write much, but I appreciate your thoughts.
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I've been working here over a week now and have found there is definetely a monotonous standard routine which gets interrupted on a consistent (almost hourly) basis. Part of my job is to keep informed on whats happening over the entire battlespace, so its akin to watching the news all day, but plenty of Biggie-Wigs like to change the mission on a moments notice. It makes for a lot of entertainment.
They were not kidding about long hours. Similar to getting acclimated to the heat, it takes a little while to get acclimated to the 7-day a week 14-16 hour days. Of course, with this type of schedule, you learn to incorporate life-issues (like laundry, exercise, buying Pringles, etc.) into your work day. After stopping off at the little (free) Coffee/Tea/Juice stand set up in one of the major hallways of the building at 11:00 pm, I realized that this place is not too unlike working at one of those quirky “Dot.Com” companies. Everybody works all the time, but everything you need is right there: Free drinks, free food, free laundry, free popcorn, etc. The Army had the idea years before Yahoo!
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After three months of goofing off, we've finally made it to Baghdad. We took a packed military flight into Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) on a windy day... just enough wind to cover everything with a light haze of white powdered sand. It gave everything, including the various palm trees, a monotone, bleached & petrified appearance. Some were not impressed with their first sight of Iraq.
The picture did improve the next day. The wind was calm and it turns out that Baghdad is about 5-10 degrees cooler than Kuwait and it does have lots palm trees, canals & lakes (as well as the Tigris River). The first day was spent touring the various departments & units we'd be working with. As it happens, all of these offices were located in Saddam's various Palaces. The newest ones are quiet amazing with marble, gold, and grand-foyers with Condo-sized chandeliers.
After the day of tours, I got word that I'd to be stationed in another area of the city and was given 1/2 hour to pack my bags for an armored convoy through town. The convoy was tense but uneventful. I ended up in another Palace... This one is older, not quiet as spectacular, but the palace grounds are more spacious. The current occupants are especially proud of the several pools. They remind me of small versions of ones I've seen at the Bellagio, Las Vegas.
I'll post some pictures of all this later. They have an Internet Cafe, but do not allow access to import pictures. I'll figure that out after I've figured out my new job!
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What a trip... after about 24 hours on the plane, we've made it to Kuwait. We had a couple stops in America & Europe before making it here. The stop in Europe had a nice “waiting room” complete w/ a cantina, Duty Free Shop, arcade, TVs, and phone centers. I look forward stopping there on the way back.
We're now waiting in Kuwait for our next flight to our final destination and yes its HOT! While here, they provided us with ANOTHER duffle bag worth of gear. This time, its all of the newest gear, some of which is redundant to what we've already received. So the grand total is four Duffle bags, one carry-on, a computer bag, and an optional bag for body armor. We're staying in a warehouse floor filled with bunks waiting for our name to be called for a flight out. If you don't make a flight, you wait for your name on the next one.. they request you check for new flights between 0200 - 0500. This will probably go on for 1 to 3 days.
Its the same story we've heard from what others went through, with one added twist: They're closing down this site fast (consolidating at the new/improved base) and indicate that most of the support will be leaving soon. I've got a couple minutes use of the Laison Office Internet, but they may be gone soon too. I was sorry to see that they had once had a Starbucks, food court, and internet center... all which have closed. They do still have a great gym, nice PX, and a big mess hall. Not the best chow.... I hear the food here is the worst in theater... I hope so!
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One week into the Ft.Bliss CRC. We've received our full “Central Issue Facility” equipment Issue. They've provided three duffel bags worth of additional gear. The story is that when we get on the plane, we'll be allowed these three duffels, plus a carry-on and a computer bag. Unfortunately, we arrived with an approved TWO duffel bags of gear already. So, most of us will be Fedex'ing at least one bag of unwanted/unneeded gear back home. Once we get to Kuwait, the plan is to received another duffel bag of really useful gear (as apposed to what we have now). For those who have read ArmySteve's Blog, you'll see that the chain of events have not changed in over a year (including reporting to CRC with more bags than allowed on the plane). They'll work out the kinks in the system before the conflict is over, I hope.
Many before us have offered sympathy for the experience, and I'm starting to see why. To be fair, the cadre have a difficult mission pulling together a very diverse group of military and civilian personnel and preparing them from an overseas deployment. To make matters even more challenging, there are many many O-6s and O-5s (i.e. Army & Air Force Colonels & Navy Captains) who have a very little patience with wasted time. That being said, there is standard/expected “hurry-up-and-wait“ and then there is simply very, very bad planning & execution of training.
The pinnacle of the week was driving 45 minuted to a M9 qualification range and waiting there for about 3-4 hours only to turn back around because the field medic did not show up. Even more dumbfounding was that the personnel to qualify at the range that day comprised mostly of medical doctors, nurses, and plenty of combat life-savers. When asked why we just didn't utilize these highly skilled personnel, the answer was that they didn't have a stretcher. The inability to overcome and adapt was truly shocking. After a myriad of events such as this through the week, the Battalion Commander, First Sergeant and several of the Cadre offered a series of apologies. Maybe they really did just have a bad week... it does appear planning & execution are beginning to improve.
On the bright side, yesterday we had what might have been one of the most gee-whiz cool training events I've had in the Army. In order to prepare us for convoy traveling through the streets of Iraq, we trained on a “virtual reality” mock-up of a multi-vehicle convoy. Each individual drove/sat in a pseudo-vehicle with full equipment. Each individual either had goggles w/ sight into the “virtual world” or a full windshield view of the virtual world. The movements & actions of each vehicle as well as the actions of each individual within the vehicle was represented within the virtual world. The most important thing was that the streets & buildings are (supposedly) accurate to actual streets within Iraq. Some thought it was just too much of a video game. Maybe so, but I think this will be a great training aid to familiarize a group before actually taking a trip down an unfamiliar part of an Iraqi town.
If nothing else, its a great recruiting tool!
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Finally made it to Ft. Bliss, TX to move through the “CONUS Replacement Center“ (CRC). After we lost some of our group to assignements to Afghanistan & elsewhere, the rest of us “Iraq-bound“ are finally at our CRC and, so far, loving every minute of it (NOT). Its definitely Grand Central Station here... a large contingent of Navy, Airforce, Civilians, and Medical Corps Doctors intermingled with the typical array of Army folks. No one knows what the correct uniform is as we've seen just about every variation you can think of.
We got started off Sunday as people reported into the CRC in a steady stream all day. The cadre had a number of inprocessing steps that continued until about 2200. Unfortunately, the last thing they did was assign our quarters, so most of us finally got a bunk in the barracks just in time for lights out. The it was up at 0400 to be get ready for the first formation.
We had a full day of the “Soldier Readiness” in-processing today along with a civilian-contractor-run First Aid class (if you can believe it). They had a nice battlefield simulation practical exercise at the end, but I'm not sure its worth the cost of what looked like 10-15 "Contractor" instructors! This type of training used to be done while we waited for a bus or the chow hall to open up! We sure didn't need outside contractors...
We've got the typical Equipment Issue (a LOT of it), Weapons Qual, & Land Navigation through Sunday. Sounds like we'll be headed out in 12-14 days. I think the highlight tomorrow will be the stripped-down Body Scan to determine our DCU sizes! If they bought the technology, I guess they need to use it!
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We're in the final stretch here at Hauchuca. We got an unexpected additional several days as the CRCs are backlogged with individuals trying to get overseas. These CRCs are like a DOD zoo. All sorts of organization (Army, Navy, Air force, Contractors, Law-enforcement, etc.) are deploying from the CRCs to remote locations across the globe (as well as redeploying back to the U.S.). They're busy guys these days!
We're finishing our work with a weeklong simulated wargame. In comparison to the major wargames I've been part of in the past, this one has forced us to really take a hard look at our standard products and tools and drastically adjust or augmented them to effectively deal with a non-linear situations. It’s our own private “Kobayashi Maru”. It’s been a good exercise and is proving just how complex the new threats out there can be.
The seasonal monsoon rains are just starting, providing some relief from the 100-115 degree heat. It’s been a hot summer, but it has been a good place to start acclimated to real desert heat. A marquee as you enter Ft. Huachuca helps put it all in perspective, “No matter how hot it is, it’s not as hot as Iraq!”
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After a month of fun in the Arizona sun, it looks like our time here is coming to an end. We've finally received some actual “Request for Orders” which have given us the next clue in our assignments. The break down for our group is about what we expected: 50% Multi-National Force-Iraq Corps Assignments, 45% Division/Bde Iraq/Afghanistan Assignment, 5% Centcom - Florida. As it turns out, I'm going to Iraq with the first group, which has its Pros & Cons. All assignments are like a Box of Chocolates...
Within the next couple weeks we'll be moving on to a “CONUS Replacement Center “ (CRC) in Ft Bliss, TX to make final preparations, equipment issues, and briefings. We'll be there a little while before moving on into theater.
Our time here at Ft. Huachuca has been instructive. If nothing else, we are leaving with a stack of CDs filled with reference material. I figure all hostilities will probably be over by the time I read through all the material on them! To be sure, there are a lot of good lessons being learned and good work being done both in theater as well as back here in the States. I just hope its is all put to maximum effectiveness!
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