Merry Christmas From Taji

Merry Christmas from Taji Iraq

Greetings from Taji on this Christmas Day 2007. As you can see from the photo above we had our Christmas Dinner/BBQ after work today and after enjoying a nice steak and ham dinner we had a Christmas Gift Exchange and after that was over we all posed for a couple of group photos. Above is the gang from the Taji National Supply Depot, my crew from the Maintenance Depot and a couple of other 104th Soldiers from other parts of the post. Although we are far away from our families at this time of year as you can see we have made the best of it and enjoyed each others company today.

I was busy today trying to finish up on a couple of the reports and due out that I had to finish up and with it being rather quiet as the Iraqi's are still coming back after their Eid festivities. It was nice to sleep in then get to work around 1000 hrs. For lunch the DFAC served a huge Christmas day lunch with decorations and there even was a Santa with his female elves, us guys didn't want to sit on his lap instead we preferred to sit with the elves but Santa said they were off limits for obvious reasons! Larry the AMC PMO will be leaving us in a couple of day so I got a chance to give him a MNSTC-I coin and say a few words. He has been a great help these past 6 months and has been the steady factor on the project, especially when I get all riled up with some of the BS that gets thrown our way, he's level headed and was always able to get my head back in the game! I told him that if I ever get to Texarkana we're gonna hit a nice BBQ site and enjoy some nice Texas brisket and beer, something which is missing out here!

I was able to speak to the family early this morning while they were at Mom and Dads eating their Christmas Eve dinner, they sounded like they were having lots of fun. Late tonite I finally got hold of them and got the play by play as they opened up some of the presents. I later called my brother Roy and spoke to him and the kids.

We had Christmas eve mass on Saturday evening at Church with the Chaplain out visiting the other FOB's our Christmas day mass will be held tomorrow the 26th. And yes Javi and Ascension we sang all of my favorite Christmas songs during mass and yes I still sing off key!

Before I close for the night I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and for all of us over here next year we will be back home with our families and more importantly if the success of the surge and the counterinsurgency continues the number of Soldiers who are over here now will be reduced and not so many of them will have to spend Christmas away from their families.

I will leave you all with a poem that was written by a Marine in the 1990's and is appropriate this Christmas Day 2007.

The Colonel


A Soldier's Christmas

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE
MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

It Feels Like A Winter Wonderland!!

I would have posted earlier but been having problems getting onto blogger as of late, so that is the delay. The temperature has taken a turn south these past 2 days. Yesterday it was cloudy and not too hot about 54 when right around the time I got back home the wind picked up and it started to rain. Needless to say it cleared up and this morning it was a crisp 38 degrees and it felt a lot colder than that. Knowing that I am starting to catch the Taji Crud as they call it I did the next best thing this morning and turned off the alarm and slept in until 0645 instead of going out for a run. I worked out tonite in the gym for a change. The walk to and from the restrooms and showers is something I don't look forward to before the sun rises in the morning. Everyday feels like I am camping and have to walk down the road to go to the public showers and restroom. This evening when I got back SSG Gamboa was sitting around the fire ring and he had a nice fire going so that warmed things up.

Earlier today the AMC guys and I joined the Corps of Engineers and the contractor and we went to the DPW building and had them show us the punch list of discrepancies and quality issues that needed to be resolved. A couple of the issues they needed our input as to what solution we wante. Based on what we saw the building should be ready for beneficial occupancy probably the first week of January. I wish I could say the same about the Generator Repair building but that jib crane issue still remains and it more than likely won't be resolved and the crane foundations poured and cranes tested until late January or early February.

With the Eid once again taking place to celebrate the Hadj in Mecca there a but just a few Iraqi's on the Iraqi side of base, the workers all went home so construction has come to a grinding halt for 4-6 days. It makes it easier for us to take care of administrative tasks that need to be handled and allows us to have those planning meetings that we never seem to find the time to conduct because we are all over the place once our morning staff update meeting ends.

The civilian contractor that I hired as the Depot Training Adviser arrived on Monday. Pete is a retired LTC from the Army and has vast experience in the curriculum development, training programs and evaluations, which is why he will be my main point of contact when dealing with the Depot Integrator in the area of training the Iraqi Army. He's been busy just learning about hte project, the various timelines that we are tracking for facility, equipment and Soldier training so that he can work with the DI Head Trainer once that contract gets awarded and the winning vendor arrives boots on the ground.

Earlier in the morning I went with the RSU (Regional Support Unit) Advisor LTC M whose from the Air Force to go check out some warehouses on the coalition side that had Iraqi tank and track parts. I had been over there earlier but the gate to the remaining warehouses was locked and now was open. Some of the parts looked like they were serviceable but they definitely were old parts as the boxes were from the Royal Jordanian Army which had supplied the Iraqi's prior to and during Desert Storm. With no one to catalog them I sure don't want those sitting in the warehouses at the Depot gathering dust just in case one day the IA needs them. I told them that they should send over some of the Iraqi maintenance officers from the Armor Division on post and we were later told that they had been there earlier, grabbed what they needed and what we saw was garbage or in all actuality a prime candidate for scrap metal.

I finally got the green light to go ahead and submit the parts list for purchase of some repair parts for the weapons and generators that we will use for training the Jundi. So I have the AMC guys working on pulling me a list of all the parts that are used to rebuild US weapons and Non-Iraqi generators. Getting the weapons repair parts for Iraqi weapons is going to be the fun part.

Lots of folks are heading out or have already left for their R&R since many want to spend Christmas with their families. In the meantime many of us continue to receive packages from our families, friends and total strangers with items for us and plenty of snacks. I feel like a 7 year old who just came back from trick or treat and have the goodies spread out on the floor so I can pick and chose what I want ot snack on next. I got packages from Uncle John and Tia Carol, Brenda and Stephen, Terri and Dennis (those chocolate chip cookies are awesome). I got a couple of boxes from strangers for "Any Soldier". I have increased my workout time due to the increase in calories from all the goodies. I had been trying to watch what I was eating but I guess I can ease up for a couple of days so I can finish wolfing down the goodies! I am amazed at the generosity of the folks back home who without even knowing us are sending the men and women of the armed forces supplies, food, hygiene items, cards, etc. I know that politically many of us have our differences but the care and outpouring of support for the troops is what really makes me damn proud to be an American and makes this country the best on this planet!!

Well I better get off my soapbox and finish up its just past midnight and I have to hit the sack!

The Colonel

We Are The Champions!!!

Champions

Third time's the charm as my alma mater University of Wisconsin at Whitewater defeated Mt. Union 31-21 to claim the NCAA Division III Football Championship avenging two previous losses to Mt. Union in the past two finals and snapping their 36 game winning steak! I was fortunate to follow the game online thanks to ESPN and the match ended at 0330 hours our time here in Iraq.

Today besides sleeping in since it was my day off I got a chance to send off some letters, clean the room and work on the roof trying to get my satellite dish fixed since I have been without TV and radio for two weeks. After an hour or so we (one of the Iraqi Engineers and I) finally got it up and running and that's good news since I can now listen to soccer on the radio and my Betis plays today. Now all I need is the decoder card for La Liga so I can watch the soccer games instead of listening to them.

This week the new Training Advisor that I hired will arrive, he will be supporting our office on the training side ensuring that the various classes that the Depot Integrator sets up and conducts. Additionally he'll be the one who manages and reviews the curriculum that the DI develops for the Iraqi Army Depot training. The Iraqi have another Eid beginning on the 19th or is it the 20th this week which means that my counterparts will be off again for 4-5 days, so things will be slow and it will give us a chance to finalize prioritizing the task orders that we will have to drop once the DI contract is awarded.

That's about it for now.

The Colonel

Good to Go As of Late!!

Taking a Break After a General Officer Visit

Well it’s been a busy couple of days up here in Taji with construction and VIP visits. Monday I got a chance to visit the South Depot and take a look at the work that had been done the past couple of days and it was obvious that the contractors are working quickly to get as much of the outdoor work completed before the rainy season. The receiving yard is coming along well and it should be a couple of weeks before the new warehouses will be erected. The blast facility is basically on hold while the contractor procures the prefabricated facility, it was in the specs but somehow they thought they could fabricate it in Baghdad and when the USACE asked us if that was acceptable we said not only no but hell no. I am amazed at how a contractor won’t even blink an eye if they have to fabricate something instead of purchasing the same product but of higher quality. That is the problem we have with the jib cranes in the generator repair facility. The subcontractor instead of purchasing the cranes from a crane manufacturer decided to design and fabricate their own. For us Americans with all the litigation there is, if God forbid a crane malfunctioned due to design errors I don’t think any of us would even attempt in designing and creating 6 jib cranes. Well they did and the USACE told them that their design was flawed and did not meet the standards, so they submitted new designs were told no and have finally realized that they will have to go to a jib crane manufacturer and order the cranes. Meanwhile this has pushed the completion date to the right at least 30 days if not more! What’s the mantra again: “Nothing ever comes easy in this country”! True oh so true.

On Tuesday we had a visit from BG T the chief of the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) group based out of the US. He was here with 2 of his Colonels taking a look at some of the product that had been bought with FMS funds. These funds are from the Iraqi Oil revenue which is good for us US taxpayers. The more monies they spend on FMS the less we are paying and it makes sense as we transition functions for the Iraqi military to the Government of Iraq. The General who hadn’t been to Taji for just over a year got a chance to see all the changes that had taken place, both on the coalition side and more importantly on the Iraqi side. Besides showing him the plans and facilities for an upcoming project he got a chance to walk through a couple of the buildings being refurbished. He really liked what he saw and more importantly I was able to get some info from one of the Colonels regarding small arm repair part purchases and FMS funds.

On Wednesday we had our meeting with the Iraqi PMO staff and it went well and this time I did not leave in a PO mood. The General finally got a chance to brief the key MOD officials regarding the MTOE. It seems that when the SEC GEN of MOD had visited the depot last week all he did when he got back was talk about the depot and the changes that were taking place and that the MTOE needed to be approved since it was delaying getting Soldiers trained. From what rumor central and the Vegas bookies 2-1 odds have it, the MTOE has been approved and now we are just waiting for the actual docs to see how similar or different the doc is from what we discussed and submitted. I won't believe it until I see it with my own two eyes! Looks like more new recruits will be showing up and we pounced on the chance to ask them if they had ordered more mattresses, linen, blankets and pillows for these Soldiers as we had reminded them to do several months ago. They said they had requested it but that the items hadn’t arrived and SSG Gamboa reminded them that taking care of troops is key and there is no excuse for not having the items on hand when the new soldiers arrive.

That afternoon BG S my senior rater was visiting and let’s just say his visits are not up there on my top 10 fun things to do in Iraq list. The last time he was here I believe I lost about 2 of the 6 pounds I have gained over here in a 10 minute timeframe as he chewed out my ass for awhile (generator farm contract) , but then gave me a pound of it back and was happy at the end of the visit. I knew that he had just come back from his R&R since I had run into his aide down at the IZ. I had been in the small arms facility resolving an issue with the door frame and caging for the storage area. So I grabbed my notes, a short Vegas 5 Gold cigar and lit up and reviewed what I was going to brief him on. He showed up and was all smiles as I shook hands and led him into the small arms facility where they are already installing equipment and making some minor remodeling to add special doors, repair damaged floors etc. The bridge crane wasn’t complete the last time he was here and he loved seeing that. After a 10 minute walk through of the facility with changes we sat on the curb and talked about my evaluation, and I got a chance to let him know the status of the ancillary projects that are tied to the facility. He was a very happy camper and we hopped in the van and did a drive through of the north and south depots, and with all but 4 of the buildings being worked on he was impressed at all that had been worked on and the changes from his last visit. We took him to the helipad he was all smiles and shook our hands and told us to keep up the good work and away he went! It was almost 1645 and if we were back home it would have been a “hey guys lets go out and grab a drink to celebrate and the first round is on the Colonel” moment, but alas it was a "let's go back to work moment"! After the visit they dropped me off at the depot again where I had to discuss a few things with the engineers and finally take care of some paperwork back at the office.

That's about it for now.

I can't end this blog without mentioning my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks football team will be playing for the third year in a row in the NCAA Division III Championship Game AKA "The Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Virginia where they are facing the same team which has beaten them the previous two times Mt. Union. Let's see if third time is lucky and they bring home the Championship Trophy. Unlike Division I football this is the real deal where players pay their own tuition, actually graduate from college in four years with a degree that won't land them at a 7/11 pulling graveyard shift and the closest these guys ever get to jail is doing an internship at the State Prison in the summer as part of their Criminal Justice major!

Go Warhawks!!

The Colonel

Back from Baghdad and Thank You Kellie!!

As you can tell from the picture I finally got a chance to go to a USO show, and I got pretty lucky. I had flown down to the IZ on Friday morning with the group of officers and Iraqi dignitaries that visited both the Maintenance Depot and the Supply Depot. Besides my boss COL M, the Deputy Commanding General (DCG) a British BG was there as was the Secretary General (SECGEN) of the Ministry of Defense (MOD). I got the chance to brief the SECGEN about the Maintenance Depot and showed him the Small Arms Facility and he really enjoyed what he saw and was not aware of all that had been done so far on the project. So as a tasker I have to prepare a briefing with pics on the depot and brief him at a later date.

On the chopper back to the IZ I hopped into the first one since the second one looked full and after throwing my ruck into the chopper and climbing in and strapping myself in I look over and low and behold it's COL Alexander the Task Force Commander sitting there next to me with a big ass smile on his face. I shook his hand and asked him what the hell he was doing up in Taji and he told me who in the hell was in the second chopper because they were at BIAP and got diverted to Taji to pickup the dignitaries. Once I landed at the IZ I get out and while heading to the terminal run into COL Buechler one of the other guys on the task force who I hadn't seen in a long time. It's amazing that everytime I fly I run into my buddies either at the pax terminal or in the bird!! As usual I got a small 8X10 foot hootch over by the embassy, someone over at KBR housing must not like me or something to that effect. After downloading gear I headed over to the coffee shop and had my triple non-fat latte that I had been craving for a long time and off to work I went.

I briefed my boss on what was going on up at the Depot, sycnched up with CPT M the liaison officer in the J-4 section and we discussed all the things that tend to keep me up at night that pertain to the Depot. I then visited Wayne the bean counter and actually got a compliment from him (a rarity) that I was holding the line with the Depot budget and the few PR&C's that I was trying to get approved didn't look like fluff to him and were needed!! By the time I finished the rounds it was almost 1930 and every time someone opened up the door you could smell the cigar smoke from the guys outside. I ducked out for a quick smoke and was handed a Hoya de Monterrey Churchill from Habana which took me a long time to finish and it was definitely a nice cigar. By 2100 I had to head back to the office finish up the slides for the next day and off to the hootch.

That next morning at 0900 I attended the 3 hour meeting that pertains to the Contracting foks here in the IZ and the MG and the RADM who is replacing him were running the meeting. I got to brief the Depot Integrator Contract Status and more importantly what the status of the Depot was. There were a couple of O-6's from other commands that had questions on the project since they had add on projects that needed parts of the Depot to be completed before they could implement their project. After the meeting the General, a couple of the Contract Officers, his lawyer, Wayne and I met to go over the deadline, what he was expecting from his folks as to their time line to meet the deadline and what needed to happen between now and then.

After I got back I ran into MSG B who was an E-7 when I took over the Battalion back in April 2003 at Camp Parks and is now over here running the DFAC. She knows that I like country and asked me if I was interested in seeing Kellie Pickler in concert. I told her, :yeah right Kellie Pickler here in Iraq give me a break". Although up in Taji there have been concerts the artists are not national draws and it was ironic because the previous week Bill O'Reilly on the his "Radio Factor" show criticized the USO precisely for the lack of big name acts in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2007, and supposedly had the director of the USO on his TV show. When she told me it was for Sunday I was bummed since I was to fly out late that evening.

I got a chance to run with SSG Mike who hosted the CIM in Baghdad, and we did 6 miles in the IZ. It was nice to run on real roads and see real cars not just SUV's and dirt. The only thing I don't like from the IZ is that there are T-walls everywhere and you can't see anything to your side just cement T-walls. From what he was telling me looks like we may be hosting the Shamrock Marathon in the IZ in March, which means I have 6 months to increase the mileage and see if I can crack 3:50 so when I get back home I can qualify for Boston again and run there in 2009. After the run I had a couple of more meetings and was told the bad news that I was not confirmed on the flight that night and they had to rebook me on a Sunday evening flight. That was good for two reasons, now I could see the concert and smoke with the gang that night.

Sunday besides meetings and working with the Wayne on the budget, MSG B asked me if I was going to be at the show and I told her yes and she said that she would reserve me a seat. So at 1340 I headed over to the DFAC to lineup for the doors to open for the 1400 hrs show. I sat down with a couple of my buddies and MSG B saw me and told me that I had a seat reserved and when she point to the front row I was like you gotta be kidding me. I was sitting in the middle of the first row about 8 feet from where she was to be performing. At this time I was kicking my self in the ass for having forgotten my camera back in Taji, yes Carmen besides forgetting to buy what you tell me to by at Safeway I tend to forget other things if not written down. At 1355 hrs she came out and starting talking to us while the crew put the final touches to the speakers and other equipment. Since they fly in Blackhawks they travel light so she had two of the guitarists she travels with, a couple of speakers and that was it. She sang 5 songs from her current album Small Town Girl: Small Town Girl, My Angel and the three singles that were released from that album, Red High Heels, I Wonder and Things that Never Cross a Mans Mind and Independence Day from Martina McBride. She answered questions that the audience asked her, said that she really enjoyed coming over to Iraq with her band to sing with the troops and that her grandfather was a Marine and that got the Marines in the audience all riled up! We never got a chance for a meet and greet since they had a couple of other shows that day so off she went to another FOB. It was nice to listen to her sing and in person she's the same as she was on American Idol two years ago. She definitely has talent and I would believe like Carrie Underwood and Josh Gracin who sing C&W she'll be on the charts for a long while.

I finally got out later that evening and today am back at work. At least I will have tomorrow off, well sort of as my luck has it every time I take a day off an official visit is scheduled at the last minute to visit the depot, so I guess that for a couple of hours tomorrow I'll be a tour guide and get a chance to brief some visitors on the Depot.

That's it for now, it's almost 2100 hrs and I am heading off to the PX to see if there is anything new, I doubt it, but then again it's been awhile since I was at the PX last, at least I won't have to fight for a parking spot like some of you are having to do this time of the year outside of the malls or Walmart.

The Colonel

Lights Out

Just got back from the Air Field as I had to submit an AMR (Aviation Movement Request) for an upcoming flight from Taji to the IZ and back again. Found out late this afternoon that COL M the J-4 can't make a briefing where they want to discuss the Maintenance Depot so as the PMO I get the nod to tap dance my way through another briefing! Right now I don't have clue who the audience will be, but the fact that they want me to brief means there will be some stars sitting in the front row for this brief. I decided to get down there the morning before the brief so at least I can link up with COL M and review the slides. Plus it gives me a chance to discuss the project with the bean counters and the other staff members who I need to rely on for support at the IZ. Plus that gives me a chance to meet up with some of the other Colonels and fellow 104th Soldiers and get the latest news as to what's going on with our comrades who are spread out all over Iraq.

Tonite leaving work around 2030 hrs the lights here at Taji went out, don't know what the cause was but it was the perfect excuse to start a bonfire in the fire pit and smoke some cigars and shoot the breeze with the gang, since we had no electricity and what fun is it to sit in your room with a flashlight on? Now that it gets dark quickly (sunset is at 1654 hrs) and it is cold most everyone when they get back from work go directly into their rooms and shut the door. Got to hear some good R&R stories from the folks who just came back, looks like you get home quickly but once you get to Kuwait and are making your way back to Taji, you sit around and wait for choppers and that wait can be anywhere from 1-3 days, depending on the weather, available aircraft and missions at hand. While we were standing around the fire, Lt Barker our resident contractor who manages construction projects back home was putting the finishing touches to the jacuzzi, yes jacuzzi here outside our hootches. Since all of us have different civilian backgrounds a fair amount are construction workers or weekend builders, so they put their minds together and utilizing connections here on base were able to procure enough odds and ends to build a jacuzzi. Old pumps, water heater coils, stave tanks, wood to build the deck, no California Redwood but who cares. Piping from contractors who have pieces left over from project, you name it all of us were able to scrounge and come up with the necessary items to make it happen. Everyday for lunch and after work the LT and his sidekick SSG C could be seen hammering away and tinkering around. From what we've been told it should be ready to go this weekend. Tonite a pickup with a water storage tank pulled up and downloaded water into the jacuzzi.

Meanwhile at the depot we got our second load of equipment for the small arms, generator repair and DPW facilities. The contractor who is to setup and install the equipment signed for the keys to the small arms and starting tomorrow will begin the minor infrastructure changes necessary to install some of the larger pieces of equipment. They say nothing ever comes easy in this country and the other day was a perfect example. As they were removing the bridge crane from the Transmission Building at the Wheel Depot, the contractor did not secure the crane correctly so when it was being lowered it swung and hit the wall and pushed out about 4 inches the wall to the building. Now they have to do some obvious structural work to fix the problem they caused. USACE so far has not approved of their repair plans because the plans they recommended were not up to US standards, so they are still trying to figure out how they will fix the damaged wall.

Finally we are letting our counterparts know that they have to begin to solve their own issues since the three of us at the PMO office are swamped with the actual depot project itself and all the behind the scenes work that needs to take place. Last week we had given them a headsup that previous life support and logistics issues that we were handling and resolving was now up to them to resolve via the Iraqi Army military channels. So today in the meeting they asked me if we were going to provide them with fuel for their vehicles, and I just had to smile and say no, but last time I looked you did have 15 jerry cans (5 gal each) in one of your storage areas with fuel and that should keep you going for a week or so. After that I guess you'll either get fuel from one of the other Iraqi units here on base or will have to walk. At least the chow hall for the IA is adjacent to the depot and is within 100 meters. We have briefed them about the Jundi infeed that MOD has said they are working towards fielding, with the object being that with new Soldiers comes billeting requirements, beds, mattresses, pillows, blankets, sheets, wall lockers etc that they will have to order through MOD channels so the new Soldiers upon arrival will have a place sleep and put their belongings into. As the US Army is no longer into providing the Iraqi's life support funds, the IA has pulled their contractors once the contract has expired and is shifting towards an IA self reliance, which is somewhat interesting to watch as an American. As previously mentioned when it comes to long range planning our military is years ahead of most countries in the world, whereas the IA is not used to making long range plans, and the long range for them is only a couple of weeks to a couple of months out. So when you no longer have a contractor running your DFAC, maintaining your generators, providing water, pumping out the shitters, etc and the expectation is that the Army will now do that but you haven't equipped them with the proper equipment and manning structure to do that, the shit literally hits the fan in minutes!

Although they are going through growing pains much like when we give our kids some freedom or more responsibility and they make mistakes and learn from them so are the Iraqi's. The good part for us taxpayers is that Iraq is now forced to use their oil revenue monies to purchase equipment and other entities that previously were supplied by us and other coalition countries. They still have a long ways to go, but as the saying goes in order to run you first have to learn how to crawl and walk! I am sure that in the next few weeks there will be many days of frustration for my counterparts but that is the price one has to pay in order to become self suffient and rely on internal assets to get the job done instead of having someone resolve the problem or issue for you. I guess that only time will tell.

That's about all for tonite, just wanted to give my son Javi a big shoutout for yesterday since it was his Saints Day--Saint Francisco de Javier.

The Colonel

Race Day Part Two

Guess I'm as ready as I will ever be!

The First Few Strides

That was easy, where's the beer?

Happiness is getting nice and muddy on a Sunday morning instead of laying in bed!!

Well as you can tell by the pictures the weather improved somewhat so I could get out there and hit the pavement and mud as I attempted to run the CIM. Right about 0745 there was a slight break in the weather so I figured it was the perfect chance to start. I was lucky to run into one of the guys who had no problem taking the first two photos. I no sooner got out the gate by our barracks and it started to rain but there was no lightening, the road for a little over one mile was nothing but mud and with the crown on the road I felt like Paul Simon's song "Slip Sliding Away" as I tried to maintain my running posture all the while my shoes were just one solid piece of mud which weighed about 2 extra pounds. As I tried my luck on the gravel I then started kicking up the gravel and a rocks and that wasn't an option either. I finally got on some harder packed road which was not covered in that much mud and that made my life a lot easier. At about 2 miles it stopped raining but the wind picked up and gusting about 20 mph from the southeast. I was lucky because to the south where the rest of the gang was running at in Baghdad had lots of black clouds and looked rather menacing.

As I headed towards the 3 mile mark I was surprised to see a jet airliner at about 2-3K feet in the air heading to BIAP. We never see airplanes so that was an interesting site. I hit the turnaround point for the course and headed back to the start. I was not looking forward to the muddy road that I had run on earlier and sure enough it was back to sliding all over the place. I finished the first lap 6.55 miles in 57:52 and my knee which up to that point had not bothered me started to let me know that it sore and that the 4 days rest although it helped had not cured the bruise. I kept on plugging away on lap two knowing that it was my last lap and trying to not think about the knee that much. A couple of advis seemed to work and it was on this lap that I was running and heard from behind me on a loudspeaker; "Sir, don't forget that the speed limit is 10 miles an hour"! It was one of the Soldiers from our Division who handles security and he was riding in his patrol pickup and using his PA system. After doing the last turnaround I started the final portion of the lap and except for the left knee felt rather strong, so I picked up the pace and a couple of other Soldiers I knew drove by and honked! As is the norm I popped a jolly rancher into my mouth with about 2+ miles to go and that sugar rush felt good as I headed for home. With the wind the road started to dry out a little bit but the mud was still there but not as slippery as before.

I finished up the final loop in our area and completed the run in 1:55:00 on the money, which gave me a negative split on the second leg of 57:08, hell I'll take that any day of the week. I did my cool down set up the camera to take a couple of photos and it was time to head back inside as it started getting cold. The temperature at the start was 61 with a 15 Mph wind, but at the finish it had droiped to 58 with 20 Mph. winds. As you could see I was caked in mud and that nice long hot shower hit the spot for me. I am disappointed in that I could not run the full marathon distance but based on the circumstances I am happy with what I accomplished and tomorrow is another day and I will have another opportunity to hit the roads and at least my knee is not screwed up too bad.

That's it for now I grabbed some lunch at the DFAC and am super tired so I think I will take a short power nap and that will make the rest of the day that much more relaxing.

A tired but happy Colonel!!

Race Day (Part 1)

Well it's 0630 and I should be out pounding the pavement and dirt this morning doing the Shadow California Interational Marathon (CIM) here in Taji with 2 other guys but for now I am holed up in my room listening to the crack of thunder amid the flashes of lightening! Last night there was some lightening but no thunder more like the electrical storms back in Kansas so I figured that by 0 dark hundred this morning those would be well over, but at 0520 this morning just a few minutes before my alarm clock was set to awaken me there was a huge thud that shook the building and it was obvious that it was thunder and not an incoming round. The two females next door let out a nice scream of fright which I could hear from inside my hootch. I reset the alarm clock to 0600 and fell back to sleep hoping that in 40 minutes I would be good to go. That was not to be the case.

For it had rained last night and is doing so now and just to do the 40 yard walk to the latrine my Merrells are caked in what is known as Taji mud, even though I was walking on the sub base road and sidewalk. I am now enjoying a nice cup of coffee while waiting for the lightening to move onto the east and let me get out there and run. The wind has picked up and this is somewhat ironic that 6-7 years ago one at CIM I remember Mimi telling us that the morning she was to run the race it was raining sideways and there was a 25-30 miles an hour wind. Her ex-husband was to run with her and told her to go without him since there was no way in hell he was to do 26.2 miles in a downpour and windy day.

I still have my hopes that I will be able to do the 26.2 but more than likely will with a half marathon. On Tuesday while working out at the gym I got off the elliptical trainer to tell the attendant to turn on the ceiling fans and when I did I banged up my left knee against some gym equipment and have a nice bruise just above the knee cap which has been bothering me since. I have taken advil and been icing it but it is still bothering me and as much as I want to complete the marathon, I know from past experience better to go for less and run another day then to be sidelined for weeks with a more serious injury. I was to have run with two other guys, but last night MSG D called me at 2200 hrs and told me that he was heading home on emergency leave as his brother just died. MSG D has just come back from his 15 dayrs R&R and this was sudden. The other guy is injured so I guess it will be a solo run just like my Monday morning long runs. 0648 and now it is coming down in buckets and still lightening so the waiting game continues.

I am wondering if the guys in Baghdad have the same issue as we do here? Difference down there is that they are running on pavement and in an urban area versus me out here in what I call the Wild West! Last count they had 20+ runners and were being escorted by a HMMWV gun truck and had am ambulance to bring up the rear. They also had a four lap course laid out and most of the runners were doing the marathon relay but 5 were doing the marathon and I know that one was trying to qualify for Boston she's fast and should probably win the race down there.

Well I am heading over to shave, wash up and get my running gear on so when there is a break in the weather than I will be on my way.

(To Be Continued)

Another Day Another Dollar

Wow hard to believe I have been mobilized 10 months as of 25 November, as the saying goes "time goes by quickly when you're having fun"! Things are really starting to pick up at the Depot. We now have some sort of construction going on in every building but 5 so that means I am getting out of the office a lot more to walk the sites, check up on issues that have arisen and talk to the USACE Quality Assurance Reps on their findings and resolution of those deficiencies. Today was a typical day, there was an issue with the component cleaning building regarding the doors which swing inside as they open and the available clearance between the doors and the blast booths that will be located inside the building. The USACE rep stopped by last night and told us about the issue, so this morning we went out and had the contractor measure the layout and we could see where the doors would hit the booths. So after reviewing the equipment layout we realized that we could move the 40 ft long blast booths 4 feet deeper into the building and still be able to have clearance for forklift traffic in the building.

I got a chance to confirm my suspicion that on the DPW building the water troughs that collect the runoff around the building did not actually drain into the sewer but instead the water would remain stagnant at the end of the trough! I had asked about it the other day when I saw them rinsing off the driveway and noticed water gathering instead of disappearing, but since it was under the grate I couldn't tell if they had plugged the drain for now with plastic and would remove it later. So today I removed the grate and kept searching for the plastic cover but there was none. The contractor never put the drain in, duh!! So it's on their dime to have to cut away the cement and insert a drain from the trough to the sewer. Right now for us the long lead item for all these buildings tends to be the crance whether jib or bridge cranes. The bridge section and motors tend to take a long time to be manufactured and shipped up to Taji.

I later stopped over at the Iraqi PMO Headquarters to sign for computers, printers and scanners that had arrived for the Generator Repair Building. So I inspected the items, signed for them and subsequently hand receipted them to my Iraqi counterparts who were waiting with baited breath the receipt of these laptops since they have no computers and are not allowed due to force protection to bring in their personal laptops onto the Iraqi side of base. I know that our interpreters will be happy campers now that they don't have to type documents for the Iraqis. They still owe me the SOP's for the handling of the weapons that will be repaired at the Depot. I can not sign over to them the keys to the secured storage until I approve their SOP and am satisfied that they have the proper internal security procedures, inspections and paper trail for maintaining custody of the weapons. Lt Shaw AKA "junior" is working with an Iraqi officer assisting him on what is required and providing guidance.

A couple of quick shoutouts for Brenda and Stephen thanks for the package of goodies that you sent me, the running socks and drink powders will come in handy this Sunday when I and a couple of running buddies of mine will be running our California International Marathon (CIM) here in Taji. I and SSGT Mike one of the guys I ran with at Ft Riley down in the IZ got another 18 Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors to run down there so the CIM has graciously supported us in running their Marathon and have sent us t-shirts and finisher medals. Pictures to follow! Mom and Dad thanks for the pates and the smoked salmon. The only thing I will be missing on my Friday night tapas nights is the company of my family and a nice glass of wine. I guess that grape juice will have to do for now!

That's all for now I am heading over to grab some chow to go as the Aussies invited me over to their base camp to smoke some cigars, drink some non-alcoholic beer and shoot the breeze around their evening bonfire.

The Colonel

Some Pics from the Past Few Days

The DFAC's Thanksgiving Decoration Spread!!

I Did Not Inhale!! SFC Fowler AKA "The Soccer Mom" and Others Doing the Hookah

The Poker Gang!!

Part of Our Thanksgiving Spread

Cutting the Turkey!!

Major Gamble and I Wearing My New Aussie Slouch Hat at Aussie BBQ

Here are just a few of the photos that were taken during our two BBQ's that we had earlier this week. It was great to have two consecutive BBQ's and just have relax and enjoy the festivities for a change. Tonite is Sunday night and I took today off so that SSG Gamboa who is an avid NFL fan can stay up late watching the games tonite and sleep in tomorrow. This week will be a busy one as we have lot's to do with the small arms facility in terms of repair parts and weapon inventories, and the generator farm construction of the new generator and fuel tanks.

Talk to you all later!

The Colonel

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tom the Turkey Pays Us a Visit
(SFC Dempsey the "BBQ King" and I with Tom the Turkey)

Greetings from Taji Iraq on this Thanksgiving 2007. For all of you out there I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!! Today being Thanksgiving I told my crew at the office that we were shutting down at 1400 hrs today to enjoy and partake in the various Thanksgiving activities. I had volunteered to do some of the food prep and cooking today. Just after 1415 I headed out of the office and came back to the hootch. I changed and I joined SFC Dempsey the Taji National Depot Supply First Sergeant in getting the Thanksgiving Meal ready. He was able to purchase some steaks and his father sent from the US two frozen smoked turkeys that believe it or not were still frozen upon arrival here in Iraq. By the time I got there he was finishing up preparing the marinade for the steaks. We opened the steaks and placed them into the baggies full of marinade and let those babies soak for a while. In the meantime, we got the BBQ ready and enjoyed a nice cigar and some non-alcoholic beer while soaking up some rays. Although it had been cloudy of late, today it was sunny, breezy and a temp of about 74, not bad for Thanksgiving.

At 1600 hrs we lit the charcoal and waited until those briquettes were nice and hot, and the steaks were the first thing on the grill. Some of the other Soldiers at 1630 went to the DFACs to pickup the various condiments, vegetables and other items for the feast. Others had made mash potatoes, dips, desserts and had banana breads and other food items sent from home just for today. After removing some of the steaks from the grill it was time to throw the smoked turkeys (2 each) onto the grill wrapped in foil. By 1730 hours it was time to start eating, I got the honors to carve the turkeys. The Soldiers really enjoyed the steaks and turkey, plus all the food. Right after the first wave had eaten the Aussies arrived and we had to make some more steaks. Soon after Cigars and a bonfire were in store as we all congregated around some of tables and the fire to enjoy everyones company.

Through out the evening you could hear everyone talking about how they celebrate Thanksgiving and wouldn't it be nice to have a nice glass of _____________ (insert your favorite alcoholic beverage) to enjoy with the dinner! I know that for some of the interpreters this was their first Thanksgiving spent with American troops and they were still stuffed from the official Thanksgiving lunch at the DFAC that had the usual Thanksgiving spread just like back home! I passed since one large meal was enough, plus I still had memories of last years Thanksgiving when I ate too much too quickly and thought I was going to burst at the seams! Beside missing the family the only thing missing was the cranberries and pumpkin pie at our feast, plus a nice scoop of breyers ice cream on top of the pie. We all agreed that even though we were far away from our families and friends we had a lot to be grateful for on this day, and the chance to enjoy Thanksgiving with each other was definitely something that would not be forgotten for many years.

This was our second BBQ in two days. Last night the Aussies had a BBQ at their area which is adjacent to ours and we all had a great time over at their place. They are getting close to their departure date so for them it was a nice way to have a nice shindig with us and enjoy each others company. The Aussies have been great help for us here at the Maintenance Depot and the Supply Depot. For most of the Soldiers it has been their first time working with Soldiers from other countries that are part of the Coalition. I have gone full circle, having worked with Canadians, Brits and now Aussies, only the Kiwi's remain.

That is all for today, I have copied below the official proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln which created Thanksgiving Day in 1863 and now 144 years later we are once again a country at war and the parallels are very similar.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless America

The Colonel

One Down More to Follow!!

Well Rich and Brett some good news that you all can appreciate from North Carolina and Australia!!

Finally the first building of the new Depot was completed and turned over to the US Government Rep--me! Last Wednesday late in the afternoon the US Corp of Engineer Rep. George C, Larry F. the senior AMC rep here on the ground, the PM for the company that refurbished the facility and I had our final walk through of the 4 buildings that comprise of the Small Arms Facility. The work on this started in late May and here we were almost 6 months later finally getting to move into the facilities. This was the first facility to be worked on and we all learned plenty of lessons, from difficulties getting supplies delivered due to curfews, holidays, damaged bridges, etc. Vendors not coming through on their contractual agreements, sub-contractors not having a sense of urgency in getting things done on time, sub-standard equipment being sent back, etc.

I was not able to get a good picture of the facility so I will go up the water tower tomorrow to take some nice pics which will give you all a better idea of what these facilities look like. Now we are waiting for the company that is supposed to have delivered all but the long lead items to ship the remaining items to us, so that the USACE can have a contractor install and set up the equipment that has been purchased for the site. At the same time we are ordering the electroplating equipment and the target optics and accoustic equipment for the firing tunnels. Since this equipment is very technical it made sense for AMC to have their small arms subject matter experts on the ground to measure and order this equipment. The contract guys in the IZ are working with the supplier for the equipment to light a fire under their asses so we can get this equipment now, they are only 1 1/2 months late and I finally got fed up with the "we are loading the truck this week" only to ask them the following week where in the hell is the truck and find out the damn thing hasn't even been loaded yet. I have asked that these guys get negative reports so that when they bid again for another project that info is available and this lousy performance will cost them points in the past performance category.

I have a one star general that is keeping the heat on my fourth point of contact to have this up and running by mid January and right now with the equipment delay, the fact that the Depot Integrtor Contract that was supposed to have been awarded in late September, then late October, then 10 November and now 30 November has not yet been awarded. With the Aussies leaving soon and no DI contractor yet there will be no left/right seat battle handoff so I will get the training package ad will have to hand it off to the Training Advisor that I just hired when he gets here in mid December.

At the PMO office we are working in getting the weapon repair parts that were left over from the Saddam days inventoried and brought over to our facility so that we can use them to begin repair of the Iraqi weapons thus saving us taxpayers money by not having to purchase these repair parts. On top of that the Aussies have used the Iraqi Small Arm Techs in training to triage the captured weapons on hand and conduct a quick inspection and segregate repairable weapons that we will work on later, and those that will be destroyed by the MOD. Once we get them sorted out and annotate the serial numbers then we can process these get them ready for repair work. I have the Iraqi's working on the internal process of moving weapons from one depot to another, maintaining inventory and serial number accountability, storage and security requirements, daily handling/storage and the return process of weapons back to the Supply Depot. This is the point where they need to step up to the plate since the depot is theirs, I am here to make sure it gets built and that they do the necessary work and develop the required SOP's to ensure the depot can operate. I am no expert in the Arabic language but have come to the conclusion that the phrase Ascension and Javier remember all to well from their childhood "move with a purpose" and "sense of urgency" is not found in Arabic and this has caused me to age what feels like 5 years and what non-gray hair I had on my head to become gray! But those stories will be told when I am back home with my family and friends enjoying a nice cold one or a glass of wine!

Time is starting to fly quickly as evidenced by the fact that lots of people are now on their 15 day R&R and you begin to sense that we are on downward slope. For those of us who still haven't gone on our 15 Day R&R you can see what it has done to those who have already returned. As the day they leave approaches nothing but nothing will ruin their parade, they are upbeat and on the day they are leaving they are all smiles and laughing, knowing that even though it is a big hassle getting from Taji to BIAP to Kuwait and finally on the freedom bird, they will be home with their loved ones in 4-5 days time. When they get back they seem to walk taller, their bags under their eyes are all but gone and they have huge smiles on their faces. I still have a ways to go for mine but Carmen and I are both counting down the days until my R&R and the chance to see each other again! Besides I haven't gotten a good night kiss from Cheenie since April nor have I seen Javi doing his best rendition of some of the stupid antics that I am accused of having taught him when he was younger live and in prime time, it just doesn't have the same effect on the web cam!

This Thursday I am shutting down shop early for Thanksgiving. SFC D are expert cook ordered 3 turkeys and we will be having our own Thanksgiving BBQ. I told him that I would help with the cooking and as the saying goes fun will be had by all!! It's been a long while since the last time I worked on Thanksgiving. I think it was in 1990 when we were rail loading our equipment for deployment from Ft Riley to the desert. I remember eating at the DFAC with my parents, Carmen and Ascension, then changing into BDU's and working until 0 dark hundred at the rail head! I guess that we all have a lot to be thankful for, as we all now it could be worse than it is.

Things over here in regards to the Iraqi military is starting to change as the transition is ramping up and soon will be in full force. Our leadership in the IZ has put the IA on notice that most of the services that the US Army has provided will be transitioned over to the IA once the current contracts expire. This is good news for us taxpayers and I believe is necessary in order to the get the IA and Government to take ownership and financial responsibility for services that are critical to the success of Iraq going forward. This affects two areas that are near and dear to my heart, the generator farm and the fuel for the generator farm. Currently we are funding the operation and maintenance of the generator farm to include repairs of poles and high voltage wires. The new 6 month contract that is being solicited has a training program funded to train the IA or MOD representatives so that in six months when the contract is over, they will have been trained and the battle handoff will have taken place. The generator mechanics will be trained by the DI, so that all aspects of operating and maintaining the facility will become an Iraqi responsibility. As for fuel I have a blanket purchase agreement for lets just say a lot of fuel which is earmarked for the depot. We have some units that are on the grid who are consuming more fuel then they are providing based on the paltry fuel allocation amounts that MOD approved. Our HQ has already notified MOD of the requirement to allocate fuel to the generator farm and that failure to do so will cause units to be removed from the grid. This next week unless we receive fuel from one of the key units I will have the honor of having our contractor shut off power to that units electrical grid. Maybe when MOD gets some calls from some PO'd IA generals about having their power turned off , they may do something about it. I guess we'll see in about a week!

Looks like the weather will start cooling off more later this week, highs will drop to low 70's and lows will actually be around 45. So far no rain but the humidity is starting to rear its' ugly head and the mud factor has increased and it seems everywhere one goes we are tracking mud around.

That about it for now, thanks to all of you who have dropped me a quick email note, it's good to receive some email from all of you and I really appreciate it!

A couple of quick shoutouts, to Ray L thanks for the box of tea and Halloween goodies, to my sister in law Mari Censi gracias por las revistas de vino que me mandastes el otro dia. No sabes las ganas que tengo de beber un buen vinito tomando unas tapitas!

Mom make sure when dad gets back home you work him hard so that he gets that new knee rehabilitated as soon as possible so he can chase you around the house just like the good ole days!

Carmen un dia menos!!

The Colonel

That's My Girl !!

Taking a Well Deserved Study Break!!

One big shout out to my favorite daughter (she happens to be my only daughter) Ascension AKA Cheenie who was inducted into the USF Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau which is the International Honor Society of Nursing last Sunday. She is finishing up her second to last semester at the University of San Francisco and has done extremely well academically and as the photo above shows she's been hitting the books really hard which makes both Carmen and I happy. Although I missed the ceremony and still haven't received the pics which is why I had to use this one above, at least I will be home when she finally graduates in late May 2008. Congrats Censi, keep hitting the books and remember stay away from the boys until you at least graduate!

Happy Veterans Day

First off Happy Veterans Day to all those veterans out there who have at one time or another served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America to ensure that this country remains free and is the beacon of hope to millions on this earth! A quick shout out to some veterans that I know be it family, friends or co-workers: My dad, Uncle Ken, Uncle John, my cousin Mark, Ray, Rich, Don AKA "Sarge", Flora, Sluggo, and of course all of us 104th and IRR Soldiers who deployed to Iraq as members of Task Force Desert Wolf. Today was a normal workday for us, the DFAC had made a couple of large cakes with Veterans Day Messages on the cakes. I don't know which tasted better the cake or the three scoops of ice cream that I had on top of the cake!!

As to rumor control, based on the picture from my last blog, that is not a shadow above my lip created by my big nose but a quasi-mustache that I am working on. I won't tell you what my better half said, but already a warning order has been issued by her regarding having a mustache and my 15 day R&R which is coming sometime later this year. I'll see what the next couple of weeks adds to the mustache and then will decide what to do with it!

Thank God it is the end of the week and tomorrow I have my off day, as between last Sunday and today we had 4 visits of General Officers and I think that I got to brief a total of 12 stars this week, so I am closing in on the 50 star mark! I enjoy the visits because I get a chance to talk up the Depot and what we are doing and what the end state will be, but with the email traffic regarding visits which seem have the schedules changing by the hour, the rehearsals on some of the visits because there are various hand offs required during the visit, and just the time that is lost and the work that piles up makes these visits a hassle at times. We are working on a parallel project that ties into the Depot and has some high visibility and the timeline from my project impact this other project. Everyone wants updates, projected completion dates, occupancy dates, etc. Good news is that this coming week I will finally be able to sign for the first refurbished facility the Small Arms Facility. It still needs to have the large power equipment installed and other equipment and ancillary items moved into that facility.

The construction and refurb continues and all day long trucks are coming and going and that makes for a nice sight as you can see the daily progress and the transformation of the old depot into something larger and more user friendly. The project that I had my eyes on and which finally started today is the Site Refurbishment, which will enable us to get the old buildings torn down and the north depot cleaned up so that it looks like a depot should.

I am on day 4 of holding down the fort by myself and all is well to date. The Aussies have been taking care of the interpreters which frees me up to attend the various meetings with the RSU regarding the Generator Farm, Fuel and the DFAC that is located on the Depot footprint. I have finally been able to convince our BG that it did not make sense for me to have ownership of the Generator Farm since no longer was I the only customer and besides the RSU is basically the unit which runs/controls the activities on the Iraqi side. I had mentioned this to the RSU Advisor LTC M whose from the Air Force and he agreed so when BG S arrived for his visit earlier this week we ran it by him and he said, agreed what's next?

We are trying to get some funding to operate and maintain the generator facility for an additional six months. But before we can get it approved we have to provide a transition plan for the Iraqi Army to take over and maintain this facility after the six months. That sounds easier than it really is, you can plan all you want but unless you get buy in and more importantly the financial support of the MOD all your plans will go for naught. The atmosphere back in the IZ is one that basically is stating that the wallet/checkbook of the US taxpayers has been closed and is no longer available, which I am totally in favor of. Now that the security aspect of Iraq has improved now it is time for Iraq to grab the bull by the horns and take charge of their country, so that we can focus on transition and advisory roles with the Iraqi military. The paradigm shift in the financial backing by the US still hasn't sunk in yet for the Iraqi's and many of us still believe that the Iraqi's are hedging their bets on the US military bailing them out of precarious scenarios with our taxpayer money instead of the them picking up the tab. I guess that only time will tell.

My boss is up here this weekend on a fact finding mission regarding the logistics supply chain services here in Iraq from the various touch points from the port of entry to the various distribution points. It gave us a chance to discuss the depot and the parallel project and the issues that I currently am working on trying to get resolution. He is a senior Colonel and has a maintenance background which is a plus when we discuss the depot. He has lots of good ideas and more importantly is a good listener and the dialogue between us gets results!

Before I sign off a couple of shout outs: For my running group which last Sunday ran the Silicon Valley Marathon in San Jose and as usual the females kicked some serious butt! Mimi "Every marathon I run qualifies me for Boston" R finished 8th in the Women's Race, Judy "Every marathon is a PR" S finished 10th and won her age group, and Berta "I may bring up the rear on our Saturday Runs but come race day I will kick your ass" R finished 12th. The guys didn't do too bad either, Jun "I have nothing to prove since I already finished in the top 10" C finished in 97th, and Patrick 'if there isn't 7000 ft vertical climb somethings wrong with this course" N finished 127th. I have three more weeks until my "shadow" California International Marathon which I am running here at Taji with a couple of guys, meanwhile a group will be running in the IZ the same day. It's been a good week for running and next week will be my last long run before the race, I will have to squeeze in a 15-16 miler and see what I feel like the next day.

The weather has been cooling off and this week and next week the highs will be in the upper 70's and the lows in the mid to low 50's. Right now at 2330 hours it's 68 degrees and will get down to 60 degrees. Now that it is cooler I no longer have to run the AC at work which means I finally began using my hearing aids again, because with the AC I had a hard time with the sound of the trim vane and the air whooshing by. Now that I am wearing them I can really tell my hearing loss and now can hear everything.

That's it for now, hope you all have a nice week this coming week!

The Colonel

Unsung Heroes

Jeremy our Corps of Engineer Project Engineer and I

I know from what is published back home in the newspapers and online the press really doesn't make to many references to all the infrastructure work that is being done here in Iraq, instead they dwell upon the death and destruction by the idiots who think they're gonna get some nookie nookie on the other side by blowing themselves up and killing infidels.

As I have tried to make the similarity of what we are doing in post Saddam Iraq and what happened in post WWII Europe under the Marshall Plan, there are many infrastructure projects and improvements that are being made to make Iraq a better place for its citizens. Jeremy is one of those guys whose job it is to rebuild schools, hospitals, and other facilities that affect the average joe. He completed his third year here in Iraq and the picture above was his going away ceremony. I have known Jeremy since the second day I hit the ground in the IZ and was told that he was the Project engineer. Since that time we have had good times together seeing the work being accomplished, have gotten into our fair share of arguments regarding time lines, construction delays, changes in design, holdups at construction services etc. But at the end what made the two of us work closely together and respect each others opinions and ideas was that fact that we have a large mission at hand and one can not operate or function without support from the other. Jeremy for 2+ years worked daily in everyones favorite Baghdad neighborhood "Sadr City" building and refurbishing over 7 schools and 2 hospitals. He once showed me pictures of before and after and seeing the girls and boys faces all lit up sitting in their new school really made you think why we must see this through for the youth of Iraq to have a future and be able to live in a free and democratic country. Jeremy has seen it all, his vehicle has been shot at, partially destroyed by an IED, one of his female engineers was shot and killed by terrorists on her way home from one of the projects. Her crime working with coalition forces trying to rebuild schools for children.

If one year here seems like eternity, imagine three years in Iraq going outside the wire daily to oversee construction and design of buildings that he was managing. Jeremy should be on the freedom bird heading home right about now and is heading back to his home state of Oregon and will finally get to drive his 2005 F150 Pickup which has less than 2000 miles on it since it's been in his parents garage for the past three years. Jeremy thanks for everything you have done on the TNMD Project and more importantly for your work reconstructing the schools and hospitals to make this country a better place for it's citizens.

Sunday as I mentioned we had some Iraqi and coalition senior officers come and visit the Depot. I counted a total of 9 stars which should be 28 stars so far as I work my way up to that coveted 50 star mark. It was the first time since I have been here at the Depot that Iraqi Senior Military leadership visited the depot. It gave my Iraqi counterpart BG S a chance to speak with some of the decision makers about the depot, what issues we have here, where we need their assistance in making things happen at the MOD so that approvals on manning, parts, Soldier in-feed can occur. They liked what they say and seemed appreciative of what we the US taxpayers have purchased for them. While the Iraqi's went ahead and were discussing the depot I got a chance to speak with the coalition one star about the same issues and the expectation is that most of our message was received and now it's wait out mode for us.

You can tell we're getting closer to Thanksgiving as a bunch of the folks here just headed out on their 15 day R&R or will be heading out in the next few days so that they will be home for Thanksgiving. I will be somewhat challenged later this week as Major Young is headed out on Tuesday for her R&R and SSG Gamboa heads out this Thursday for his 4 day pass in Qatar. For planning purposes the 15 day pass usually means you'll be out of the loop for approx 21-24 days and the 4 day pass 6-8 days with travel. I would never had let both of them go at the same time but Major Young put her R&R in while she was at her other unit and I wasn't going to make her change it since she like most of us have made reservations at destinations away from our home of records. That being said I will get my chance to do some busy and dirty work for the period that SSG Gamboa is out, getting a chance to once again deal with vendor deliveries, shuttling the translators to chow or to the front gate as they go or comeback from their 5 days of monthly vacation, and with what ever else pops up.

That's it for now as I am heading off to the gym to work out for a while and burn off some of that DFAC food!

The Colonel