Happy Anniversary Carmen

Just wanted to give a nice big shout out to HQ6 AKA Carmen on our Anniversary, which was on the 27th but since I didn't get a chance to update the blog I figured better late than never! Wow hard to imagine it's been 23 years since we tied the knot and based on our calculations with us being apart this year it looks like we have been together on the 27th only 11 times out of the 23, mostly due to military maneuvers or Carmen spending the summers in Spain with the kids and her parents when the kids were a lot younger. And to think that when we married I told her that I was going to finish my three years active duty obligation and then do my time in the Reserves and get out, and that was a looong time ago when I was a butter bar. Look at the bright side I only have a couple more years left before I retire from the Army Reserves and then I guess no more excuses as to why we're not together for our anniversary! So Carmen just to remind you of what it's like to be with me here is a picture of us on our last weekend together before I shipped out to the box from Kansas!

Back to reality here in Iraq things are moving along regarding construction, with three buildings being worked on and us doing some design reviews on a couple more buildings. What is starting to get somewhat bothersome is the fact that there are now several parties trying to have their say into what is going on here and I feel like the poor native on one of the Tarzan movies that I vividly remember as a kid. Where they bend two palm trees and tie this guy up to both trees, and then they cut the rope and the trees swing back to their upright position and his body parts go flying in several different directions ouch!! A two star general back in the States wants a piece of the action, our construction guys in the IZ want a piece of the action, meanwhile I am trying to keep things lined up and moving forward. From the likes of it I will more than likely have to head down to the IZ soon to sit down with some the interested parties and sort out the designs and construction plans and get final buy in so I can move with a purpose and get these buildings renovated, built and equipped.

Training will be starting soon for the Iraqi's and the Aussies are doing a great job with constructing the classroom, developing the course instruction plans and training materials for the classes that they will be teaching. They have been a great help in getting things moving and doing lots of the leg work required to resolve issues and procure supplies and equipment.

One last item that makes me wonder why things in Iraq are so different than back home. Why is it that in our PX here (the largest one in Iraq) we can't buy a comb or some of the other needed items but the shelf next to the sundry items is loaded with condoms when General Order Number 1 prohibits us from having sex while we are stationed in this area of operations? Is something wrong with this picture? Or is it that since regulations prohibit me from running with my IPOD, the lack of background noise has forced me to begin pondering about some of the mysteries of life out here in the desert?

Things that make you go hmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Colonel

My Bad Hair Cut Day!

Well it was going to happen sooner or later and as usual it was sooner. I had to get my haircut and with the oppressive heat of late and the killer heat of August soon to arrive, I needed a little more than usual cut off the top. Off I went to the barber shop here on post and the guy who usually cuts my hair had the day off, so I had a new barber. Now I don’t speak the Queens English as my English is still laced with some Wisconsin accent. The barber I believe was either from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka and his English was not the Queens either. So somewhere between “cut the side with a size 2 and the top with the size 3”, he obviously understood something else. After the right side got cut I assumed that he would go to the left side, no not today….. as today was to be my bad haircut day! He decided to do the top and by then it was to late, the damage was done so I just held onto the arm rests and watched as the grey hair disappeared and so did most of my hair disappear and I soon felt like I was at boot camp 28 years ago! I got back to the office and the guys really laid into me on this one and needless to say I have been on the receiving end of some good ribbing! Luckily for me my hair should grow back soon and then I’ll make sure I get the usual barber to do the honors next time around. Looking at the good side at least I don’t have to use that much shampoo anymore and don’t need to gel or use a brush on my hair for the time being!

Things are picking up here at work, another one of the building refurb contracts was awarded yesterday which means soon there will be more construction on site and that is a good sign. They started on the Generator Repair building on Monday. Design reviews continue almost on a daily basis with the Corp of Engineers and they are really cranking these so we can move forward quickly. This week is our push to close the loop with contracting department on life support, security support, additional small builds, last minute buys etc. Once we close this up, we can then focus on all the work that lies ahead, and luckily we have picked up another NCO to assist us with all the work. I am still trying to get an officer assigned to help the PMO group because we can only do so much at a given time.

Finally hitting the road when it comes to running these days. I tend to run outside every other day since my leg doesn’t hurt when I alternate between pavement and the elliptical trainer. Last night I did 5 miles after work and at 2000 hrs it was 111 degrees out and by the time I got back it dropped down to 108. You wouldn’t catch me running in the mid 90’s back home, but obviously you have to change your mindset if you want to get out of the gym and clear your head while running outside. No IPOD’s allowed while running outside so I guess it’s back to the old school way for now. It’s interesting running along the gravel roads, especially when a couple of Strykers drive by kicking up enough dust and sand in the air that your covered in the stuff, but hey it could be worse, I remember we couldn’t run during Desert Shield/Storm from the time we moved out of port in December until late March.

Couple of key milestones, just went over my 6 month mobilization date yesterday and earlier this week hit the 25% completion with boots on the ground here in Iraq. Time flies when you’re busy, but still it doesn’t fly fast enough except when it’s free time, then free time seems to last a millisecond. Bottom line I really can’t complain, things are going relatively smooth, although like every project there are always hiccups and at a certain point you realize that there are factors which you can’t control and you just need make sure that it doesn’t get to you or you’ll go crazy!

Just got back from our weekly movie night out here where we live. They use a laptop connect it to a light box and with a portable screen pop in a DVD and we have our outdoor movies. We chip in with the non-alcoholic beer, popcorn, and other snacks and get a chance to enjoy an evening at the movies. Tonite it was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and most of us who watched it were the older crowd.

The Colonel

Dora and Col TS

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to my niece Mae Ellen who lives in Milwaukee and is a Dora freak and let her know that Tio Arturo ran into Dora out in the IZ the other day while in the J-4 shop. See even us old timers know who Dora is and can appreciate a Dora moment out in the middle of Iraq during a busy work day! By the way she told me to tell you to take good care of your mono "Pichi", make sure you listen to your mother and Viva Er Beti!!

Back to reality the weather here has been lousy as of late! Hot, dusty very low visibility and a hot wind that feels like it comes from hell. Today we hit 115, tomorrow 117 and by the beginning of next week 122. Got up early 0530 this morning to run and it was 91 when I started and actually dropped down to a cool 88 when I finished the run. It's amazing that a 25-30 degree drop is noticeable out here in the desert. Well gotta go and hit the sack since it's late and tomorrow is another day to excel!!

The Colonel

Dust and Sand Not Good For Flying

Another fun adventure down to the IZ and back and one begins to wonder does it make sense to fly during the summer season? I was supposed to have flown down on a Tuesday night, so around 1745 hours I swung by the Pax Terminal and asked if flights were still on, since it was hazy with plenty of dust in the air and a somewhat limited visibility. The PAX desk said yes that at that time all flights were a go. So I went ahead to the Generator Farm to check out some of the equipment, ate dinner, went to the hootch to pack, and came back to work and finish up on a few last minute items. By then the visibility was very limited and I knew that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sure enough when I got to the PAX terminal the dreaded "Weather Hold" was on the board and I knew that I was in for a long wait. So I grabbed a seat outside and tried to read as much as I could during the last few minutes of sunlight before it got dark. By the time it was dark the thermometer read 101 and I was sweating up a storm and sucking down water like it was going out of style. Lucky for me I ran into the head US Army Corp of Engineer here on post who happens to have some of his guys working the depot project. We shot the breeze and time went by quickly. After waiting over 1 1/2 hours they gave us the bad news that the flight was cancelled. I headed back inside and they were able to book me on a morning flight which was better than waiting another 23+ hours for a later one.

Back at the hootch I was dead tired so after a nice shower to clean off the grime and sweat I hit the sack in a heartbeat and was out like a rock. The next morning I went to work read some emails and back to the PAX Terminal to try my luck. Visibility was better than the previous evening but it still wasn't a clear and pristine sky. I checked in and was told "weather hold" but wasn't too concerned because you could see that the sun was making it's way through the sand and fine dust. While sitting outside in the shade I got a chance to speak with a couple of Army medics who were on their way to the IZ to take numerous biopsy and tissue samples for the Combat Support Hospital (CSH) down there to analyze and they in turn would bring back the results to our location. The one medic from Texas was on his third tour in the box and all he talked about was his upcoming 15 day R&R and how he couldn't wait to get back home to see his wife and two kids. The one good thing about flying with the military is that there are no TSA Nazis to give you a hassle regarding taking off your boots, inspecting your laptop, and Xraying your items. Hell all of us are loaded to the gills with our weapons and ammo, you see the M-4's, M-16's, M-9's, SAW's, knives, hand grenades. There is no fighting over bin space and many flights you end up with someone'g ruck or dufflebag at your feet or on your lap. It's no big deal since at times when we travelled heavy someone else held onto our stuff. Being a Colonel usually gets me the front row of the seating area of the Blackhawk which means I get a good view of the sky and some wind to boot. Since it was an early flight the air was cool and after one stop and a hot refuel where we have to get off just in case their is a fueling accident the flight was uneventful.

After landing, checking into lodging and getting the usual 8X9 foot hootch I took a shower, changed, ate lunch and grabbed the shuttle bus to go to Phoenix Base where my boss was. I did the usual stopping off at the various sections and saying hi and either turning in or picking up items that I had to take back up north with me. I enjoy the J-4 shop since I have a desk and computer to work with and the folks on the first floor by the Support Ops and LNO section are fun to hang around and make work go by quicker with their sense of humor and constant banter! Late that evening I spoke with COL A to see what part of the Depot Plan he wanted me to brief the following day, and what he was going to brief the Chief of Staff. As usual our discussion was done under the camouflage of cigar smoke outside. That evening I worked late and all I had to do the next day was update my slides, rehearse and finish up with some items that I needed to turn in. The briefing with the Chief of Staff went well and I think that the time we spent going over our project and getting his support will come in handy when it comes time for getting some funding approved for any unforecasted purchases.

While I was down there I was able to snatch about 70K liters of diesel for the Generator Farm which will come in handy, now we just have to figure out how to get it delivered to the right place. Fuel is gold and God forbid if the fuel truck happens to deliver to the wrong area like they did earlier. We had 65K that was supposed to be delivered to our depot, instead they delivered it to the supply depot and the Depot Commander refused to give it to us because "fuel is gold" and he has since then used it all up. I can't wait for the day when they run out of fuel and believe me they will run out of fuel, and come begging for some, I will get the opportunity to tell that Iraqi Colonel that he can kiss my fourth point of contact in both English, Spanish and using my usual hand and arm signals!

COL A gave me a hard time about leaving so early for the PAX terminal and started handing me a huge salami and some pistachios and cookies while joking that I would need it since I would get hungry waiting all that time for my flight! It was then time to go and pack, turn in the key and linen and head off and grab a ice latte on the way to the terminal. When I got there I was surprised at the number of passengers that were milling around waiting for a flight. I ran into a couple of 104th guys who were in the Task Force Battalion that I commanded during our Iraq Trainup in California and Ft Riley. They were heading to Diyala province where they work at supporting the Iraqi Police. Even though there were plenty of choppers landing and taking off, my flight again was put on weather hold because of the weather where I was going to land at. I expected another 1-2 hour flight delay, but a few minutes before our flight was originally scheduled to arrive, they said that the birds were on their way and before you knew it we were on our way up north. It was a non-stop flight but there was no beverage service (except for the water in my camelback in my ruck) or enternainment during the flight! :>(

Before I close a quick shout out to my fellow co-workers at Sun who shipped me two care packages with music, food, personal hygiene items, a cigar, more food, gum, etc. I really appreciated receiving the items and everything will be used. Thanks for goodies and I'll be sending some pictures soon!

That's all for now!

The Colonel

Finally Got Internet

After almost 3 months here in country I finally got internet in the room! Wooohoooh!!!!!! The internet company had to send us a new router and that did the magic. Once they got it up and running all we had to do was lay the line and since I was working late they laid the line for me so I was hooked up ready to go. It's nice to finally be able to listen to some streamed country and western from KRTY back home and Energy 92.7. Plus I get to listen to the A's and podcast the talk shows so life is good!!

Things are starting to pickup at the Depot. The Jundi came back from their 10 day vacation which really isn't a vacation. Instead since they don't have direct deposit and western union is not an option, they have to go home and show "momma the money" after getting paid. Today they began the beautification of the Depot, ie cleaning around the building that they will be training in, to include removing weeds, sweeping and burning bushes. Tomorrow they will be inside the building sweeping and mopping up. Though we still don't have our combined Iraqi-US PMO office up and running at the Depot due to no fuel to run the generators. We are working that issue and am trying to get this issue resolved without having to spend our taxpayer money. Meanwhile the Aussies are still working setting up the temporary classrooms inside the large empty manufacturing plant. We have completed some additional building design reviews and are now awaiting for those to be signed off by the J-7 (Engineers) who have the purse strings for construction.

Last Wednesday COL A from the J-4 was up here since there was a delegation of retired generals and State Dept folks visiting to see where we are at with transition and what additional monies may be needed for the various projects that are taking place and will need funding in FY08. That was a quick meeting for us because the other Colonel took up most of the time that had been allotted to BG S (my Iraqi counterpart) and I to answer any questions they maybe had. After COL A and I left he was not a happy camper at the prospect that we really didn't get a chance to pitch our project to the delegation especially in light of all the talk on capitol hill about getting out of here soon! I took him to see the depot, and to speak with the engineers regarding building design and other construction issues. We finally got to sit down and relax late in the afternoon sitting on some sandbags in the shade smoking a cigar while waiting for the choppers to arrive to take them back to the IZ.

I get to go south next week to brief the project to some of the key leadership and get some decision made on a couple of issues that need resolution at the higher level. I don't know it that it is a good time to head down there. As you have read the IZ has been getting hit rather hard as of late and the other day 3 persons were killed. The press coverage on these attacks is greater since the journalists hang out in the IZ, so the bad guys know that if they keep taking pot shots with mortars and rockets in this area it will be splashed all over the wire and internet.

I finally got the window on my Chevy pickup fixed today thanks to the Aussies. It had been 2+ weeks riding without the side driver window and the dust out here is incredible. Even though the water trucks wet the rock and gravel roads every couple of hours you literally have to stay 40-50 meters behind the vehicle in front of you if you want to see anything. The inside of the cab is coated thick with fine dust and sand which makes the coffee in my cup taste a little richer and somewhat gritty but that saves me on the dental floss.

That's about it for now, I am rather tired and will call it a night, the choppers can be heard over the radio in the room, it must be 90 out right about now and it seems cool compared to todays high.

The Colonel

Sleeping in and loving every minute of it!

Today being Sunday was a really great day. I looked forward to the opportunity of sleeping in and took advantage of it. Yesterday I was out and about all day long with prospective contractors who are bidding on our large contract. We had an open house/walk through for them. This was their chance to visit the facilities to get a boots on the ground, eye the facilities and ask questions. So it was an early start, plus walking through most of the buildings that will be part of the National Maintenance Depot. Now one thing is 114 degrees outside in the Sun but if you get some wind it’s not all that bad. But going inside huge warehouses that must be 125-135 degrees inside without a wisp of wind is brutal and that’s what we did for 6+ hours. By the time they left and we picked up all the supplies, chairs, tables, ice chests and drawings it was almost 1700 hrs. I got back to the office and was soaked from top to bottom, cooled off and then went to mass. Later I had to complete the visit report and finally got out of the office at 2145 hrs after speaking with Carmen and getting caught up on the latest news from the home front!

I got back to the hootch and after a nice shower I decided to do some reading, after reading about some of those great wines out there and drooling big time about those nice pinot noirs and cabs with my name on it that will go untouched for another 10+ months it was lights out. As luck would have it I forgot to turn off my alarm clock so at 0600 hrs off it went, after getting up and shutting it off, I was sound asleep once more and I finally got up thinking it must be around 0800 hrs. To my surprise it was 1040 hrs. Some nice coffee, biscotti and mellow music finally got me in the groove to work on putting together my computer desk from Fry’s, take a quick shower and shave and get to work around 1300 hrs.

We have been in constant discussion with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Rep Jeremy who is handling the project. They are doing the design review for the buildings that need to be refurbished/upgraded and new construction. Right now we have two very large buildings the disassembly and reassembly buildings for the Track Depot. These were used by the Iraqi’s to build their T-55 and T-72 tanks. The Depot will be rebuilding those types of tanks, but the buildings need to accommodate larger tanks that more than likely will be issued to the Iraqi’s in the future, such as M-1’s and Leopards or some other type. Problem with those is that they are wider than the current Iraqi tanks, hence doors need to be widened which will affect structure beams, etc etc. So we have to see what that impact is to the design, upgrade timeline and cost. On top of that there are huge bridge cranes that need to replaced and trying to figure out which ones need to only be refurbished versus removed and replaced has provided us with some long and rather heated conversations as to what makes sense in terms of cost, construction time, suppliers, etc.

Getting something contracted out here takes so damn long that with all the legal regulations, restrictions, etc that I swear it would have taken Marlon Brando 3 months to knock off his rivals and get the lawyers to buy off on his proposal and have the inspectors make sure that he really did knock off his rivals in the manner stipulated in the contract! You have to write up a statement of work (SOW), submit it with a letter of justification so that the Chief of Staff will approve it. You also have to fill out the authorization doc so everyone can approve of the request to include the janitor who cleans the latrines down the road. Fill out the purchase requisition form and get it sent to the contracting office who will review the docs and SOW to make sure they understand what you are asking for. Then they right up the RFP and send it out for bids. Most RFP’s are for 30 days, then the bids come in and they need to be reviewed in various areas before legal buys off on that process that was used for the bids. A contract is finally awarded and if there are no protests by losing companies then a quick round of negotiations with the winning contractor and then the contract is signed. Most then have a 30 day window for the contractor to mobilize (get their folks on the ground to begin work). So from the day you write up your scope of work and submit it to the time the contractor has mobilized you’re talking anywhere from a bare minimum of 60 days up to 90 days and even longer if there is a protest on a awarded contract. As a project manager you can see the project slipping to the right and there is not a damn thing you can do about it, especially since many of these contracts for services are handled by other organizations supporting you and you can’t throw money to make it go any faster!

Funny thing is that as I have had the folks from the IZ coming out here to see what we’re doing they are amazed at all the various tasks that 5 of us are handling from ordering fuel to furniture, supplies for construction, making sure the Iraqi’s complete the docs and tasks required of them, to working on contracts for guards, security fences, cleanup of the depot, DFAC equipment, installation, briefs, recognition of the Depot by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense etc. Once they are here the usually go back to the IZ and give my folks nothing but excellent support and service because they know what we are up against and anything they can do to grease the skids and let us remain focused on what we have to take care of here and they’ll handle the stuff back in the rear!

Well it’s late and that alarm clock will be given me a hoot and a holler in about 6 hours so I will close for today.

The Colonel

Independence Day 2007

Just a quick note. 231 years ago today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 true patriots. Today here in Iraq we are here working with the military and general population so that they too can share those same ideals the Declaration of Independence lists in the second paragraph: "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". Just like the American Revolution which lasted from 19 April 1775 to September 1783 , the fight here in Iraq is not a short one and we must persevere in order to be victorious and allow a Democratic and free Iraq to prosper so that their citizens can live without fear of Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

Our Chaplain LTC T sent this prayer to all the Soldiers in our unit here in Iraq.

"Lord God, on this 4th of July we give You thanks for the freedom andliberty enjoyed by the nations of our Coalition. May we always recognize that freedom is Your gift to us, even as it must be protectedby our vigilance. Give us the courage to continue that vigilance for the sake of our families and our posterity. We thank You for the sacrifices of those who have gone before us, sacrifices made to preserve liberty. May their deeds never have been done in vain. Grant all those in the armed forces of our coalition the strength to continue their difficult mission, and to see it through to success.

Grant the Iraqi armed forces and the people of Iraq the perseverance and courage to carry on with our critical task. Grant our families this day a joyful and respectful celebration of the heritage of liberty that is our birth right from You.

Speed the day when the people of our world will all live in harmony, in peace, and in freedom.

In Your Holy Name, Amen."


I would also like to wish my parents a happy anniversary today, number 49! I guess if it wasn't for them I for sure wouldn't be around now writing this blog. Mom and Dad may the both of you enjoy many more years of marriage and happiness together!

God Bless America!

The Colonel

A Beautiful Evening

Well it’s Monday night 2230 hours and I am sitting outside with my laptop wearing my PT shorts, t-shirt and my A’s cap on under a clear starry sky watching the less than full moon coming up from the east! It’s nice and breezy and it feels rather nice out, although I imagine we must be in the lower 90’s about now. I got a nice La Carolina cigar that I just lit up and a cold bottle of good ole H2O to enjoy with the cigar, am listening to the Wreckers new CD “Stand Still Look Pretty” which is a great CD. The artillery is pounding out a few rounds and the Blackhawks and Chinooks are coming and going from the airstrip nearby. I’d probably be doing this from inside the hootch but we still don’t have internet up and running as there were problems with the hardware, and they are sending us new hardware. I know that Carmen can’t wait to see my mug shot on the webcam once we have the internet up and running. It’s been a busy day to start off the week, officially as of today I have 300 days left here in theater but hey who’s counting! This past weekend was the first decent one I had here since I arrived up north. I actually slept late on Saturday before showing up for work at 1000 hrs and yesterday slept in and cleaned every inch of the room trying to get rid of the fine dust/sand that seems to make it’s way everywhere. I swept, dusted and mopped the entire hootch, rearranged the room and threw out some empty boxes while listening to some nice jazz and drinking my Peete’s Coffee, just like back home! Dad I think that I would have passed the white glove test had you inspected the room, and don't worry mom all my clothes are folded nice and neat just like when I was 10 years old! It was nice being able to get that done before having to go to work at 1300 hrs.

These days leading up to the weekend went by like a blur. There is so much going on between working with the Aussies who are developing the training and are getting the necessary equipment for the Depot training that will begin in late August. I really like working with the Aussies, they are the Radar O’Reillys, their accent and charm works wonders in getting required items from all over the place. Their “can do” attitude is contagious and these guys get things done quickly! Meetings with the Army Corps of Engineers who will be the guys managing the contracts for the refurbishment, building upgrades and new construction at the depot. The site visit with the contractors who are bidding for some of the contracts for depot integration which took place last Thursday, and was one hot (temperature wise) affair. I also got to work with JCC-I (Joint Contract Command-Iraq) reps who are the ones handling the depot integrator contract and some of our life support contracts. CPT Greg S (Air Force) and Liz A. a contractor working for JCC-I have been doing a great job and supporting us big time. It’s great working with the two of them, they are both from the Midwest, flatlanders and are big Cubs fans so we pretty much hit if off from the start and worked some late hours getting things taken care of. On top of that we have life support issues to resolve like setting up DFAC’s, Dept of Public Works support for the depot and other key things that we need to get in place for the Iraqi’s before we can kick off the Depot training. It’s tough with only five of us here, all must chip in and we work well together as a team.

Today after breakfast and a quick chat with HQ 6, it was non-stop meetings. First on the agenda was the PMO meeting with the Iraqi’s. The meetings obviously take a little longer when you have translators, and some of the discussion gets lost, but they do understand some Yankee humor and that makes our meetings go by quicker and lightens things up a little bit. Today was the first time that BG S actually came up here for a meeting which means I saved my self a trip to the IZ. After the meeting I took him to see what has been going on at the Depot in terms of construction, and the drive gave us a chance to talk about our families, he has 4 girls and a boy, and to get to know each other a little bit better. Later in the afternoon I had to attend a meeting where all the tenants on the Iraqi side to include US advisors met to discuss ongoing issues and construction projects that will affect others. The way things have been going in the past sort of reminds me of Sun, where the business groups are off doing great things that in the end impact other groups. My project for example requires that some units have to move because they have encroached the depot footprint so we need to find them other billet space for their Soldiers. I was still mad that some Iraqi buffoon while driving a tank rammed into and destroyed about 12 feet of the exterior wall. The Iraqi General who commands the unit whose tank caused the damage had the audacity to say that it was caused by a new tank driver who was learning to drive. My comment to him was that’s what tank trails are for and what the hell was he using the main road to learn how to drive for? Some other tank also took out one of the poles for our high voltage lines, so I have SSG G the admin NCO ordering jersey barriers which we will have to get installed by each of these poles to prevent this from happening in the future. Stuff like that costs money and since there are few trees out here, there is no money to grow on the trees and you and I are the ones who are paying for these repairs. I know that the money to repair the fence would buy a few good cases of some nice Mahoney Vineyard “Las Brisas” Pinot Noir!

The Iraqi’s still have to set up an accountability system (one is in the works) in their Army which would allow them to hold Soldiers financially accountable for damage to government property like the fence or pole. The Iraqi solution for now is to throw the Soldier in jail for a week or two, where taking some pay away from them would probably do the trick in terms of getting them to understand that these incidents have consequences. Believe me if they lose some pay mama back home will not be a happy camper and we all know don't we guys what happens when our better halves are impacted financially by us doing something stupid!

I didn’t get out of the office until 2130 since I had to finish up some reports to higher and get things ready for tomorrow. The good part of staying busy is that you really don’t have time to think about home and time flies rather quickly.

Well that’s about it for now, the cigar is almost burned to the stub, its getting late and I have to get up early so I can hit the gym before I go to work. Thanks for all the emails, I am trying to get to each one little by little. Hope all is well with all of you back home and I know that many of you are hitting the road for the 4th of July, stay safe and don’t worry we got your 6!!

The Colonel

Back to the IZ

As has been the case of late, I needed to go down to the IZ to take care of some business relating to the project that I am managing. Although you need to have boots on the ground up here where the project is taking place, sometimes boots on the ground is not enough and that’s what this trip was all about.

I actually got an afternoon flight which was unusual but at least it gave me a chance to finish up on some work here at Taji, before heading south. The trip was a shorter one with only a couple of stops. I finally got to see what I usually fly over at night when I fly. There is a lot of agriculture along the Tigris which gives away to the sprawling outskirts of Baghdad, and finally the urban area where from my vantage point in the chopper you could see the everyday activities that most large cities have.

After checking into housing, this time I got the smaller (8x9) hootch, I headed off to the J-4 area to get some updates from the staff. I then had some serious discussions with the finance rep Wayne on getting the funding for the buildings that need to be refurbished, upgraded or built for this project. Additionally we worked on future purchase requirements for subsequent phases of the project. Later that day I finally got to speak with the contact folks here in the IZ. These are the guys who write up, publish the proposals, review the bids and make the contract decision. They are working on the large contract for the depot and we needed to iron out several details on the RFP.

As usual around 1900 hrs the cigars came out and I finally got a chance to speak with my boss while enjoying a nice Perdomo Reserve cigar that Col A gave me. We got a chance to discuss the latest happenings at the Depot plus do the usual small talk. He had just come back from his 15 day R&R and as with most folks who have returned was in a very good mood.

The next day I met with my Iraqi counterpart BG S and we headed off to the MOD (Ministry of Defense). My main purpose of the trip was to brief MG J on the status update of the Depot. More importantly I was there to focus on two issues which needed resolution in order to move forward with the project. I was there for at least one hour and after that visit I then briefed BG R on the project and left soon after. My counterpart remained there and I realized that was probably good news since the two BG’s were more than likely discussing the issues at hand.

I finished up a couple of more meetings and then it was time to head back to the hootch turn in my linen and catch the bird back north. The flight back was an enjoyable one and I can truly say it was nice to be back home, or better yet my home away from home!

My room is finally taking shape, I bought a new DVD player, a book shelf and my order from Fry’s with the computer desk finally came in. I was telling Carmen the three stores I miss the most are Fry’s, Home Depot and OSH. Here if you need something and the PX doesn’t have it your screwed, but thanks to the internet in 7-9 days whatever you order will arrive. I am still waiting on my fridge that I ordered from Linen and Things, once I get that I will be good to go. I will then be able to no longer use the ice chest to store my water, non-alcoholic beer and the various goodies that Carmen sent me.