DAY 20, ROADTRIP

Today marked my first time "outside the wire." I rode in a convoy from Camp Victory (on the outskirts of Baghdad) to the "International Zone" (IZ) in the heart of Baghdad. We had to wear full battle gear and load our weapons. We normally bee-bop around base with the clips out of our weapons. So, it immediately became stressful when we loaded, climbed aboard the armored vehicles, and drove out.

The streets were full of normal auto traffic, people walking, bikes, kids playing, etc. Some of the suburban neighborhoods were somewhat nice, but there were definitely slums, too. It was very strange to be driving around city streets in a military convoy.

Once inside the IZ, we unloaded from the armored vehicles, met up with our coworkers based there, and dropped off our battle gear. The IZ is probably 10-20 square miles. We drove around in a suburban amongst the populace. That was weird. We stopped for pictures of the "crossing sabres" near some Iraqi soldiers. They all wanted pictures with us, so we obliged. I was on edge though, as I could see some of them looking at us sideways.


Anyway, we saw the old and new embassies, another of Saddam's palaces, the current Iraqi gov't HQ, and a few other highlights. The IZ is continually getting mortared from across the river. Usually it's just one or two, but enough to get attention. We made it through the day unscathed.

Seeing the young boys playing in the streets on the way back was surreal. It's just like what I had seen on TV. They waved, we waved. If it were only that simple . . .

159 days to go.

DAY 16, LONG RUN

Today is X-mas. Our cool boss made us show up on time for work this morning. We sat around looking at each other. I had enough of that and left for PT (physical training). I went for a long run (11 miles) around the base. Here's a sample of what I saw . . .

This is an MRAP. The army is trying to use these instead of HumVees when driving "outside the wire." They do much better against mines, roadside bombs, etc. This particular vehicle parks right outside my hooch (room).


An AAV (armored assault vehicle).

All the guards here are from Uganda. They guard the perimeter and all the buildings on base. They're very friendly - much more so than the Iraqis we meet. The Ugandans always smile and greet me with "AIR POWER" even when I'm running.

This guard was on break and more than willing to show his skills.

This is Lost Lake -- one of the many lakes on base. This one is unique because it's stuck off in a quiet corner of the base. It's about 2 miles around and I rarely see any traffic when I run here -- VERY unusual for this base. I can see myself wearing out the dirt path along the water in the upcoming months.

Perimeter Road -- dirty, desolate, but usually quieter than the center of the base.

Here's what I have to dodge when running the roads. These guys driving were born in the late 80's and would just love to run over a clueless Air Force Major out jogging.

Here's a fleet of new vehicles just waiting to be used and abused by any number of organizations over here -- DoD, State Dept, defense contractors, you name it. YOUR tax dollars at work.

163 days to go.

DAY 15, 2 MORE PICTURES

3 of us at the former Ba'ath Party headquarters. There were private docks, a swimming pool, palacial rooms. Now it's just a bombed out shell of a building.



Santa Claus travels to Baghdad. Who knew?



164 days to go.

DAY 13, PICTURES

A bunch of grunts waiting to go from Kuwait to Iraq.

My room at Camp Liberty.

A "fancy" Thanksgiving feast at the chow hall.

The outside of my room behind concrete protective walls. When the mortars come in, the walls limit the damage to a confined area.

166 days to go.

DAY 12, TOURISTS

Today was Sunday, so we didn't have to come in until 11 AM. There's another new Major in the office. She got here the day after me. The boss let us go down to Camp Slayer for the Sunday tour. Slayer was the location of many of Saddam's palaces and included the Ba'ath Party headquarters.

We got to tour all the bombed out buildings that were struck the first night of the second war (2003). The palaces are unbelievable - so much opulence. It's easy to see how Saddam kept the loyalty of his confidants. They lived like kings. All the palaces are surrounded by man made lakes and segregated on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Water is power in the middle east, so Saddam had water diverted from the Tigris River to this area we're in to create all the lakes. The general population of Baghdad never knew of these lakes (the whole compound is walled off). All they knew is that the city would go without fresh water for long periods of time. People were dying of thirst and Saddam was using 8 of the 9 city main water pumps to keep his lakes filled.

Anyway, it was a very interesting tour. Kinda' sad in a way. I got to see first hand one of the ways Saddam abused his power.

167 days to go.

DAY 10, CAMP LIBERTY

I've been at work for two days. Standard hours are 7 AM - 9 PM everyday except Sunday (11 AM - 9 PM). Civilians get paid for 80 hours per week. Military get a pat on the back.

I work at Camp Victory in a trailer and live at Camp Liberty in a trailer. It's about a 4-5 mile drive to work (I carpool with three civilians). I don't have to share a room, but I have to walk about 100 yds to the bathroom/showers. Having a "dry" room sucks. Lt Colonels and above have "wet" rooms (sinks and showers).

The food is pretty bad -- mass produced, high calorie, and low quality. The air quality is terrible. Things just suck all around. It will take some getting used to, but I need to adapt quickly or I'm going to flip out.

169 days to go.

DAY 8, BAGHDAD BOUND

3:30 C-17 flight to Baghdad. Gotta' go.

171 days to go.

DAY 5, YEP - KUWAIT STILL

This is getting ridiculous. I sit around all day with nothing to do waiting until 5:30 PM to see if the schedulers reserved a spot for me the next day. If nothing happens tonight, I'm going to collect my gear, get a ride to the airfield, and just sit there watching each flight load up and verifying there are no open seats (the military version of "stand-by"). I would be willing to bet there have been some open seats at some point in the last 5 days.

Anyway, I decided to do what I normally do for stress relief - I went on a long run. I had had enough of the rat machine, errr treadmill. So, I grabbed a couple bottled waters, my music, and left the secure compound for a jog around the runway service road. The route I chose was approved by the wing commander, but I could tell by the look on the SP's (gate cop) face that not many people go out there running. Exactly the type of run I like.

The weather was pleasant - about 60 degrees, no wind, and a low sun. The service road was new, so the running surface was fine. There were spray painted mile markers and a few "5K turnaround" markers, so there have been at least a couple other crazies like me through this place. It turned out to be about 9 miles by the time I did a loop around the secure compound on the way back in.

IT FELT GREAT. It reminded me of all the running I did in Las Vegas, well except for the bombed out aircraft shelters and the shot-up lookout towers surrounding the base (the Iraqis stormed through this base in 1990 during the invasion of Kuwait). It was kinda' weird being passed by small pick-up trucks full of Kuwaitis staring at me. I did cross paths with some Japanese Air Force dudes out running. That reminded me of running in Hawaii.

Speaking of the Japanese, after my run I hit the weight room. There were Japanese in there lifting weights with US airman. They were laughing, high-5'ing, and generally having a good time. It was sort of surreal to me. ~70 years ago we were mortal enemies (Bataan Death March, kamikazes, Pearl Harbor, etc). Now, it's as if nothing happened. I actually think that is cool, but I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that this was occurring in Kuwait, where we are here in part because some cultures just can't get along and hold grudges for thousands of years. Anyway, it was strange.

174 days to go.

DAY 4, STILL IN KUWAIT

Remember my reference to Catch-22? So, I'm all set to leave Kuwait yesterday. I call my new unit and tell the Sergeant my military flight number. 2 hours later, I get a frantic message from the local base ops that says "get to the airfield ASAP." I get a ride and find out along the way that they had me on the wrong flight. The sergeant at my new unit caught the mistake.

So, I get to the airfield and all the flights to Baghdad are full. I collect all my gear and head back to my crappy tent for another night. As of today, I still don't have a seat. It takes a while to get me loaded. Hopefully they'll get the proper location this time.

On the bright side, the sergeant at my new location was sharp enough to look up the flight number and verify the destination, rather than except the info as correct. Too bad the folks here in Kuwait aren't as sharp.

175 days to go.

DAY 3, KUWAIT/IRAQ

Headed to Baghdad in a couple hours - guess they finally found a seat for me. Kinda' excited, kinda' nervous. I'm ready to get settled in a location, for sure.

I'm going to DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency) Headquarters for Iraq/Afghanistan at Camp Victory. I'll be the Operations Officer for the region, reporting directly to the commander, an Army O-6 (Colonel). Sounds like I'll be busy.

I did see a flyer today for a marathon they're going to have at Ali Al Salem on Jan 3rd. Obviously I won't be here for it, but I was encouraged to see it and hope they have something like that at Camp Victory.

176 days to go.

DAY 2, KUWAIT

2 days, 2 blogs. You can tell I'm pretty bored. I keep calling the scheduling folks about my flight to Baghdad and they keep saying "no update." My deployment clock started when I got to Kuwait, so I shouldn't be so anxious to move on. I can stay here and be safe.

Problem is, I'm stuck in an 8-man tent and the power was out all day today. So, the living conditions suck enough that I'm willing to go to Baghdad and start working my 13-14 hour shifts now.

I did manage a 7-mile run today (5 on the treadmill). It was crazy windy today with dust/sand everywhere, so I was forced inside. I even tried a nap, but the tent kept banging on the side of my bunk bed and waking me up.

I've had 3 web cam sessions with the family. I don't know who invented web cam, but I owe the dude a beer, or 12. Greatest invention ever for people separated from their family.

As bad as this deal is, I'll probably learn an incredible amount. I'll definitely learn what's truly important to me and what's worthless. I'll also learn what it's like to be in the military. Over here, I'm around enlisted troops all day, eating crappy food, and living in tough conditions. Throughout my career to date, I was always surrounded by officers, eating great food, and living a pampered life. By the time I leave here, it will have taken 15 years, but I'll finally have spent 6 months in the military.

177 days to go.

DAY 1, KUWAIT

Well, it took 45 hours, but I made it to Kuwait. I took some pictures, but can't download to the gov't computer I'm stuck with right now. Check back later for pics. For now, here's one from the internet:

Anyway, the 45 hours was divided between 5 airports and 4 different flights. It included a bus convoy and more waiting then you can imagine. It did NOT include a shower or a change of socks. Lesson #1: feet sweating in combat boots for more than a day is nasty. The cool Converse boots I was issued now have a perma-smell to them. Damn.

Right now, I'm at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait - about 30-40 miles from the Iraq border. I'm waiting for a military flight to Baghdad.

So for now I get to chill out a little. I actually got a run in today. Only three miles (1 of which was on the treadmill). I ran to the gym to check it out, hit the treadmill, then ran back to my tent which I share with other officers coming and going.

The dining hall is okay -- typical large scale cafeteria. Everyone is pounding the free soft drinks and Gatorade. I'm going to try to lay off the caloric drinks and get my calories from food. That will probably last only a day or two. But, day 1 is over and I was successful. The dining hall is on my walk back tonight, so I'm going to check out the midnight meal.

178 days to go.

LATER

I'm headed to Iraq on Dec 7th (the irony of the date is not lost on me). I'm not sure if the blog will be firewalled or not where I'm going. If it isn't, I'll update my situation via the blog. Otherwise, hasta mi amigos.