Hump Day and It’s All Down Hill From Here!!

If earlier the previous week I hit the 6 month mark, on the 23^rd I hit the equator or as we call it hump day on my tour here in Iraq. Since I arrived on the advance party I get to spend an extra 10 days here in Iraq. Two days later I hit the 9 month mark of my mobilization on active duty.



Flat Trevor and I at Phoenix Base in Baghdad.

On Monday my new boss and a few of his staff came up from the IZ to get a boots on the ground walk through of the logistics support and installations here on the base. I had a meeting and was putting out some contractor fires that morning so I caught up with them when they were in the National Maintenance Contract Vehicle Repair Site. They also visited the track repair and ILAV (Badger Site), before visiting the Depot. I gave the usual tour but spent some additional time on process flow and made sure that we got a chance to see the generator farm. I was able to make my pitch on additional funds without sniveling.

They left early in the afternoon and I in turn left late that evening. I was happy to be flying at night especially with the lower temperatures, it makes traveling more palatable. It was a straight shot to the IZ-Washington, and after checking in, getting my temporary hootch, I headed over to the MWR Internet Café to shoot Carmen a text page letting her know that I arrived safe and sound. I was bushed so I hit the sack early and as I laid down on the mattress, it became evident that it was in dire straits and I honestly believed that General George Washington slept on the same mattress during the Battle of Yorktown! I felt like the cork in a wine bottle and the springs were like the cork screw!

I ran around the embassy compound for a 6 miler that morning and off I went to Phoenix Base. I linked up with the AMC O-6 who is here as the adviser to the Iraqi Maintenance Depot and we met with the Brigadier General who is in charge of the Depot and his counterpart in the MOD. The meeting went well and we were able to discuss the MTOE, infeed of Soldiers and the officer fielding of the depot. That afternoon I met with the JCC-I group to go over several contracts that I have out there waiting to be awarded, trying to get a better understanding of the timeline that the Depot Integrator Contract will have once it is awarded. I paid a visit to my favorite bean counter in J4 and we discussed future spending and what PR&C’s are up in the air due to spending constraints. Before I knew it, it was cigar smoking time outside in the Pirates Cove and it was great to see the folks that I hadn’t seem in almost two months.

The next day I had to take care of some admin paperwork and on the way to see my task force Sergeant Major I ran into our groups General BG S. He asked me about the project and when I told him there were a few issues I was told, “grab a seat in my office and let’s talk when I get back in two minutes”. I told him the issues I had in reference to the Small Arms facility and that we would not be ready to open the facility during the date that we had announced earlier this year. While I explained the reasons why and some assistance that I needed from his group, he called one of the Majors who handles some of the logistics and for about 10 minutes let us know that he was not a happy camper at the slip in the start date and based on deliveries and in-feed of Soldiers we now have a new date. I now have a new date and will definitely be massaging and managing all the upcoming tasks and events to ensure that we meet the deadline! When the Major and I left the generals office we grabbed a latte and discussed what needs to happen going forward and what each of us needs from each other in order to pull this event off!

I had to chase down in the afternoon some vehicle density lists, weapon repair parts, discuss a couple of maintenance related projects that will impact the depot and some of the footprint that I manage. In between all this work I was able to meet some of the folks from our Division and get the latest scoop on whose doing what and what we’re doing up in Taji. That evening the J-4 and I ate dinner together at the DFAC and had a nice discussion on our roles and what his vision is pertaining to the Depot and what support I can get from the J4 shop going forward. Once again the gang was outside smoking cigars and a couple of us stayed late talking about politics and the future of Iraq.

On Thursday morning I ran and once I got to work I finished up the brief that I was planning to give to the J4 about the depot. I got called into a reorg meeting so I could assist in defining the PMO sections headcount and role going forward in the project. If approved I don’t think that I will benefit from the increase in headcount but the guy/gal that will follow me will. The brief went well and he’s going to be assisting me in getting the funding that I need for the additional items that are required for the depot. I did the usual rounds in the late afternoon picking up items to take back to Soldier here in Taji and left the base around 1930 hours. Packed, grabbed some chow, turned in my linen and headed over to the Pax terminal. I was booked for one of the late flights and with a full moon I opted to stay outside to wait for my flight. It was awesome seeing the choppers come in with the moon in the background. My flight left about 30 minutes late and Taji was the first stop so I got lucky. After getting back to the hootch and unpacking, shooting Carmen a text page letting her know that I arrived safe and sound it was time to hit the sack around 0030 hrs. It was nice to sleep in my bed!!

The Colonel