More Construction and Visitors

Briefing the Army G-4 and my Commanding General in the Small Arms Facility

At the LZ after dropping off the visitors

Away they go, now it's time to get caught up at the office

Since I wrote last, it's been very busy at the Depot. The contractors keep on working some long hours and it shows as most of the construction is either ahead of schedule or on schedule. Except for two buildings the Generator Repair which has issues regarding the design spec for the jib cranes and the blast facility which had design issues with the pre-fab building, everything is running smoothly. I signed for the second building the other day, the DPW (Department of Public Works) which was finally ready for beneficial occupancy after the second walk through inspection. This is perfect timing as the contractor installing the equipment for the first three buildings has already installed the 6 pieces of large machinery in the small arms facility and they were eagerly awaiting for the DPW so they can start with that building.

There were a few surprises on one of the sites, the junk yard outside the depot is in the process of being cleared so that a road can be built which will be primarily used to receive and ship vehicles here at the depot. When the contractor was clearing some of the debris they came upon not one or two but three bombs that were dropped during the combat phase of OIF. So we had to call the EOD team and have them do a sweep of the entire area that was to be worked on, defuse the bombs and give us the green light for construction to resume. Things are back to normal after we got the EOD OIC to sign a memo stating that no other ordnance is located along the route.

Late on Saturday I got the email to have me check my SIPR (Classified Email) for a headsup on a visit to the Depot. Word was that the Army G-4 who also happened to be the highest ranking female general officer (LTG-3 stars) was going to be up here for a visit and that my CG also a LTG was coming up here also with the usual entourage. That was all they said, now I have been around the block a few times and my pet peeve is an email announcing a visit and nothing else regarding coordinating instructions. But as the saying goes when in charge be in charge so it was easy to get the wheels in motion regarding security, vehicles etc. The funny part was no one else was notified about the visit even the reps of the other locations that were to be visited. Once we got things rolling came the emails from the staff guys in the IZ. You'll need vans for transportation, don't forget to do a dry run of the route, don't forget those name tags so the generals and staff know where they will be sitting in the van, say positive things, no whining etc etc etc. We're up here scratching our heads laughing all the while asking ourselves how in the hell did they think we (LTC M an Air Force guy and I) got promoted to Colonel and Lt Colonel. Do you think in our combined 51+ years in the military we never did a dog and pony show for VIPS? Yeah like when they ask me how things are going I am planning to go into some tirade about how this sucks!! We're professionals and were going to get the job done regardless of what it takes. Some of the guidance made me feel like I was a 7 year old going to visit a aunt for the first time being told not to make a fool out of myself and embarrass the family!

As usual besides the pre-visit anxiety, the visit went off without a glitch, pickup at the LZ, coffee and muffins for breakfast, the slide show, the vans with name tags, the drive to the various sites, the walk throughs of the key buildings our bosses wanted to show them. The visit was great in that the G-4 got a chance to see all we are doing here at the TNMD and at the IASSI (Iraqi Army Service Support Institute) as part of the transition of logistics to the Iraqi Army both in training and in facilities. It was the CG's first chance to visit the Depot since he was here last August, and he liked what he saw. That's good news for me since a less than stellar visit would have meant some adult supervision would have been coming my way from the IZ, and that is the last thing I would have wanted.

I finally found what my dad always referred to when he spoke of someone who was worthless as "worthless as a tit on a boar pig"! My Iraqi counterparts staff consists of approximately 10 officers most are competent, a couple so so and there is one, Major K who could ruin a wet dream without even trying. The guy's a weasel and Javier when he was ten had more common sense and drive than this guy has. Anything directive you give him will not be accomplished and on top of that he has an excuse for everything, and of course it's never his fault. The unit has 39 Soldiers who still do not have their winter jackets as they were not issued one when they went through boot camp almost 7 months ago. SSG Gamboa who is on his well deserved 15 day R&R has told this Major what to do until he's blue in the face and 3 months later the Soldiers still don't have jackets but you know damn well the Major has his jacket. It was cold, windy and raining this morning and if you don't have a jacket to keep you warm and dry well you get the drift. So at todays meeting I asked the General what the status was, he looks to Major K for an update and wouldn't you know it, still no jackets and this time it's the American NCO who runs the clothing issue point fault! Up until then I was chilling for most of the meeting, but when he said that the interpreters looked at me because they knew how badly I wanted to jump up and rip his lips off for lying like a dog! Long story short no jackets and I told the General that if I were him I would personally take clothing records show up at the Iraqi officer in charge of the clothing issue point and force the issue of his Soldiers not getting their jackets issued to them 6+ months after the Soldiers went through boot camp, and not to leave until he gets the 39 jackets and don't waste his time sending the Major because couldn't figure out how to get his head out of his ass if he tried and to take Major K's jacket and give it to the Soldiers pulling guard duty since these guys are the ones doing the dirty work. I had already told the General the other day that Major K sits on his fat ass watching TV and eating all day and it shows, and as far as we were concerned my guys will no longer have anything to do with him. Stay tuned next week to see if those 39 Soldiers are still without jackets.

It's raining again today and Murphy is alive and well here in Taji. I was about ready to head over to the DFAC tonite to grab some chow to go since I had to finish some reports when one of the AMC guys said the Durango I drive had a flat. You already saw what the parking lot looks like from the other day, there wasn't much standing water but a shite load of mud. Of course I had to crawl under the vehicle to get clear off the mud so I could get the jack set up properly, then when it comes time to pull the flat tire off it won't budge. The interpreters who were helping me were trying their hardest to pull off the tire also but to no avail. One of the AMC guys said that on Dodges the tires sort of rust on and the best way to loosen the tire was to slightly tighten the lug nuts and drive in circles until you feel the tire come loose and that's what I did. At the end I was pretty much covered with mud on my pants and rain jacket. I grabbed my chow and must have looked pretty bad because a bunch of the Soldiers were looking at me like what in the hell was this Colonel doing, don't they usually sit on their asses and give orders all day!!

Well that's it for now, tomorrow is another day and there's more project management dragons out there which are trying to delay the project that I and the team must slay to stay on course!

The Colonel

Gone a Year Miss A Lot!!!!

Outside my Hootch by the Cigar Pit

The road and walkway to the showers

Good Ole Taji Mud

My parking spot outside of the office

Norse Avenue by the DFAC

Wow, it’s my one year anniversary as a mobilized Soldier! Hard to believe that one year ago I walked out of my house back home vowing not to return until my mob was complete. No more select comfort bed, that leather recliner next to the fire place where I always read my newspapers, walking “Lady” the family dog, no more chores around the house (Yeah). Since then it’s been Ft. Riley, Kuwait and Iraq with some unique stories and adventures along the way. As one can imagine it’s been downhill in terms of time remaining with boots on the ground over here and the one year mob is the last serious hump along the way at least as we can foresee. The bad buys and the man upstairs can always say otherwise, so you have to remain alert, focused and keep you head in the game until you’re on that bird flying over the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border!

On Wednesday morning I awoke and when I opened the door to step outside and go take the morning shower it was raining or better said pouring and there was water and mud everywhere! I had gone to bed around 2245 and it was still cloudy but you could tell rain was in the air, and it looks like after midnight it started to drizzle, rain then pour. As you know Taji was a part of the Iraqi Marshland but was cleared over 35 years ago and the water table is not too deep and this land is flat, so with at least 2+ inches of rain the water really can’t go anywhere. You get the picture. That is why gravel is spread on top of the ground so that you can avoid stepping in the Taji Mud which comes from the same family as superglue and plaster. There was no way in hell I was going to wear my Merrell's and get them covered in mud so it was on with the hiking boots, go take a shower then on with the boots again all the while getting some cross level weight training accomplished while walking. It was great driving to work as the back roads were a mixture of mud, mud and more mud so in about a 1/8th of mile the Durango was coated in thick mud, the windows were all brown and I was having a ball 4 wheeling my way to the main road. That wasn't much better and with the crown a could of non 4WD pickups had slid off the roadway into the ditch and were buried to the axle.

Outside the building there are large brushes that you wipe your boots on and by the time your done you have mud on your face, jacket, uniform etc. The buildings all lay out cardboard and you navigate down hallways on cardboard. If your lucky just outside your building you'll have a 3-5 inch deep puddle of water that comes in handy to rinse your boots and attempt to get the mud off. Those gore-tex boots are worth their weight in gold as you get to keep dry while not having to avoid the puddles and holes full of muddy water. A couple of us old timers agreed that the closest you can come to this stuff is at Graf (Grafenwoehr) Germany around early spring when the tank trails are just one big mess, as you head off to the gunnery range or do some maneuvers. It will probably be one week before the post dries up most of the way, and then we'll be back to square one next time it rains.

Things are picking up here at the Depot now that the Depot Integrator is ramping up their staff. We have already given them the green light to develop the curriculum, purchase all the equipment for all the Depot facilities and the technical/vocational building where the classroom training will take place. With some of our buildings scheduled for completion in late February and March getting the equipment here on time and installed is key. Unlike the other contractor who is well over 8 weeks behind their delivery schedule. The equipment installer is waiting for the remainder of the Small Arms equipment to arrive so that they can finish up that building, and move over to install the equipment for the DPW building. I am waiting for the call from USACE that we can do the final walk through of the DPW tomorrow and then if it's good to go I can sign beneficial occupancy of the building and turn it over to USACE who will then give it to the contractor so they can install the equipment.

We had two BG's visit on Monday and the visit went well and believe that we will be receiving more visitors both military and civilian who want to see what our taxpayer money is funding and how the transition is coming along for the Iraqi Army. Today a couple of us had lunch over at the Iraqi Army Maintenance Bn Commanders office. COL M is without a doubt one of the best IA officers I have seen since I have been here, he takes care of his Soldiers, works them hard and hold them accountable for their actions and gets the mission done. His lunches and dinners are very tasty and several of his Soldiers are cooks, they set up a bakery in the AO from scratch and his Soldiers and us eat like kings! Today it was beef and chicken kabobs, rice with raisons, salads, rice and meet wrapped in leaves, pita bread, some kind of tangy soup and plenty of chai tea and turkish coffee to keep us awake after eating like kings! I would eat there every day but when you're in a hurry you don't have time to wait and socialize 30-45 minutes before eating then do the same after. You lose about 2.5 hours for lunch and I just don't have that much time to lose, now if he only had a take out window that would be great!!

Well that's all for now, tomorrow more work, plenty of reports to do and we;ll be saying goodbye to a couple of our AMC reps who will be leaving us after since their 6 months are up.

The Colonel

Back in the Saddle

Well they say you miss a day and you miss a lot, my R&R kept me out of Taji for 3 weeks to be exact by the time you add in the travel times between the FOB and the airports of debarkation and embarkation. I finally arrived back late Wednesday evening the 15th from BIAP. I for a while didn't think I'd be leaving BIAP when the choppers arrived, besides the confusion that was evident there was some cargo that needed to be thrown on the UH-60's which had not been manifested. So I just waited outside along the flight line and tried to listen in on the pax rep and the crew chief as they began to discuss the situation. Besides being hard of hearing having your earplugs on with the roar of the choppers in the background and if I caught every 3-4 words I was lucky. After 15 minutes we were good to go and we made our way to the choppers. Except for assisting the guy next to me who had never flown on one of these birds before get his harness and seatbelt on it was an uneventful flight and Major Young much to my surprise was waiting at the helipad and took me back to the hootch and gave the keys back to my Durango and it was gassed up and had been washed.

The next day was information overload between reading my email inbox that luckily maxed out on 9 January which made it easier to review the 400+ new emails. The status updates from the PMO staff regarding everything that had gone on while I was out, and the cold that I had made it for a looooong day. By 1830 I was whipped and called it a day.

The good news while I was out, the 4 star general and undersecretary of the US Army visit went very well. Construction continued on the depot structures with only one building substantially behind on it's timeline. The best part was that as was given to me via oral comms the Depot Integrator contract for the Depot was officially awarded and the new Depot Integrator, the JCC-I folks, the PMO and AMC staff had their first face to face meeting the previous week.

I had missed the snow from the 11th but the mud was evident and at least with the cold weather and night kept most of us from tracking the stuff all over the place. It has been colder than a witches +#$ the past few mornings, lows 26-29 and that 40 yard walk to the latrines every morning or late at night is more of an adventure and brings back those cold memories of when I was here in 90-91.

Looks like they are finally trying to build a sidewalk outside of DFAC 2 because there is none and with no street lights the term roadkill takes on a new meaning. Our laundry drop no longer has a one day turn around, but it is now two days which is a bummer especially for us athletes who could get a quick turnaround on our PT gear. The artillery guns up until last night had been quiet for more than 3+ weeks. Late last night around 2300 hours a couple of salvos were launched and once again it was quiet on the western front. Father John the 1st CAV priest is no longer here so we once again have the previous priest who rotates through on Saturdays. Don't know what order he is from but since we do about 10 Hail Mary's during mass I would bet my money that he's a Marianist.

I have had many meetings since I have been back, especially with the new Depot Integrator. Dropping the CLIN's (Contract Lines) for the various services that they are contracted to cover. I had a meeting yesterday with some of the folks from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) who will be assisting us managing this 2 year contract which is worth millions.

Today being Sunday I got a chance to sleep in and try to rid myself of this damn cold. It also gave me a chance to do some major late winter cleaning in the room. It sure needed it and is finally clean and uncluttered.

Tomorrow I am back to running and will have some fun burning off those couple of pounds I gained while enjoying that great Bavarian and Italian cuisine. Rumor has it that I would have been asked to leave Garmisch had we not left when we did since the quantity on hand of hefeweizen beer was dwindling at a rapid rate and rumor has it that I was the main culprit for large spike in consumption! It had been over 20 years since I last had hefeweizen on tap and to be honest with you I could drink that stuff while eating sausage and cheese for breakfast! Hey as the saying goes "it's five o'clock somewhere'!

Well that's it for now, this coming week looks like we will be having some visitors up to depot and I believe that with the Depot Integrator ramping up we will be having many VIPs coming through to see what's going on in the depot.

Time seems to be going by so quickly and this is the last big push for construction and the Depot Integrator mobilization, and with all that still needs to take place the remaining time I have here should go by quickly.

The Colonel

In Iraq Waiting for Transportation

I am now here at BIAP, and am amazed that here at BIAP they finally started investing in setting up a decent air and helo terminal. Before it was just 3-4 tents where operations and waiting areas were and now they have a couple of new buildings which are high speed, with ample waiting area room and accessible LNO and flight counters so those of us who are travelling can get the info we need in a quick manner. To top that off they actually have a MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) sponsored internet cafe which is where I am at while I wait for the last leg of my return flight up north. At least now some of us can check up on our emails or update our blogs instead of sitting in the shade on a picnic table with our fingers stuck up our fourth point of contact waiting for our flights showtime.

It is hard to fathom that less than 48 hours ago I was sitting the Frankfurt airport eating my a nice schnitzel sandwich washing it down with a nice Hefeweizen on tap and then 5 hours later I was in Kuwait and after an hours drive at the Air Base in Ali As Saleem, where with the cold and wind felt much colder than Garmisch. I had forgotten after all these years how cold it really is out in the middle of the desert where the wind pierces through most jackets or fleece. All night long in the sleep tent you could hear the tents outer panels flapping with the winds. As I sat earlier today at the air terminal in Kuwait you could see in the eyes of some of the Soldiers that coming back from their R&R was hard on them. I got a chance to speak with a couple of Soldiers and they said that it was hard for them to leave home again especially with young kids. I now understand why when we return from R&R there is a Chaplains briefing since for some coming back to Iraq or Afghanistan is not pleasant nor something they can digest easily.

I was glad that we linked up in Europe, as I had told Carmen from when I got mobilization orders that I had no intentions of coming back home until my mob was over with. I did not want to sleep in my own bed or get used to all the comforts of home, to then have to leave and go back to what we currently have. At Fort Riley the family came out to spend the four day pass with me and the same here in Europe. I do have to admit it was nice not having to use flip flops to take a shower, that there was always hot water, that toilets only needed to be flushed once and you could throw the toilet paper in the toilet instead of the waste basket. That there were at least 5-7 channels in English to watch on the TV. That there was always wine or beer in the fridge when you opened it up. That the bed was actually larger than the dorm size twin we sleep on over here, and the best part was when I rolled over Carmen was actually in the same bed and it wasn't a dream! Ascension got to give me the standard rendition of the good night kiss 3-4 times in a row before as usual I told her to go to her hotel room and leave me alone. I can also confirm that Javi is officially related to me based on the similarities of some of the pranks and antics he was doing during the trip, I somehow remember doing some of the same things. Plus it gave us a chance for the four of us to be together for a fair amount of time, back home the only time we are together is on the weekends that Ascension comes home from College and I hopefully don't have Reserves that weekend.

I did not think about work at all while I was out and except for the one doc that I had asked the folks at the Depot to send me for final review while I was on R&R, the was the furthest thing from my mind. That being said I am looking forward to going back to the Depot and finish up what we are working on. The Depot Integrator Contract was finally awarded on 25 December and I know that the folks back at the Depot already had their first face to face meeting last week. The AMC Commanding General was there last week also and it gave Major Young the Deputy a chance to do the honors and give him and his entourage the tour of the Depot so that he could see for himself all that has been worked on since his last visit in August. I am curious to see if the last 4 buildings or sites have started construction, what the status of the equipment installation is for the first three buildings, etc. Now that the Depot Integrator is beginning to mobilize things will be very busy at the Depot and the sooner they can begin to train the Jundi in the Depot related skills and purchase and install the equipment then the sooner the Iraqi's can begin to conduct initial depot related repairs. I still do not know will be replacing our group later this year when our tour is up here in Iraq. I obviously want to know so that I can get in touch with that Colonel to let him/her know what's going on and provide them with the info they need to read up on so that our transition can be smooth one. From the discussions that I have had with my boss we expect the transition to last about 30 days due to the complexity of the project. Most transitions here take 10-14 days in a sort of left seat right seat format. They arrive watch and shadow you, you explain then you let them start to do the work and assist them, answer questions and then one morning you wake up and run like hell to that chopper that is taking you to BIAP and don't look back!

They say the Army is a small world and indeed it is, while I was in Frankfurt when I finally got to the departure gate I heard someone saying "TS over here". It was COL E who is the Red River Army Depot Commander and who has been over to Iraq twice working with our crew regarding the Depot and AMC's support of the depot. We got a chance to talk about Christmas, our vacations and then some shop. When it come time to board the aircraft Doug is sitting in the same row and I was. Then at Kuwait I ran into the Senior Lawyer for MNSTC-I who was heading home on his R&R and got some updates on a couple of our projects from the legal standpoint. Based on these discussions as usual it looks like some things keep moving to the right on the timeline.

Well that is all for now my next blog will be from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field ooops I mean my hootch.

The Colonel

Back in the Box

Well as you probably figured out I haven't posted for over two weeks and the reason was I was on my 15 day R&R. I left out of Taji on the 26th and got to Kuwait on the 27th and thanks to CSM L I was on a Frankfurt bound airliner on the 28th. Carmen and the kids arrived on the 29th in the morning and we were off to enjoy our 2 weeks together.

We had a great time travelling through parts of Germany and Italy plus a side trip to Austria. Day one we travelled to Nurnberg where Carmen and I lived while I was stationed there in the 80's. We got to show the kids the old city and Ascension saw where she lived in Schwabach prior to us redeploying back to the US. The O'Brien Kaserne is now used as a business park and our old housing units now house Germans.

We then headed on the 30 down to Munich and spent three days there, getting to see all the sights. On New Years day since everything was closed in Munich we headed to Salzburg the birthplace of Mozart and the "Sound of Music". Although it was cold and snowy we had a good time and the kids got to appreciate some of the scenery and sights.

On the second of January we flew from Munich to Rome and spent 3+ days in the eternal city. We could have stayed there for a couple of more days, since with so much to see, there just wasn't enough time to see everything. On day one we say all the key sights, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and other key monuments and piazza's and palazzo's. On day two it was the Vatican Museum, St Peters Basilica and other sights at the Vatican. Day three was the Roman Colosseum, the various other ancient Roman sites around the Colosseum and then we headed back to see the last few sights at the Vatican.

On the 6th we headed towards Florence via Assissi. What a beautiful walled town, Carmen had wanted to see the town and the church where San Francisco of Assissi was buried. We then attempted to visit Gubbio but it was foggy and getting dark and visibility was nil so we decided that it made sense to continue onto Florence.

We spent a day + in Florence and saw the key sights, no museums as I was kindly reminded by Ascension that everyone but me should know that museums are closed on Mondays! Obviously you can see that my liberal arts training in college went to waste as I had no clue about that. So we saw the Duomo, climbed all 414 steps of the Campanario next to the Doumo and got our stair master workout taken care for the day.

The next day was a quick jaunt to Pisa to see and climb the leaning tower of Pisa, see the duomo and watch Carmen drive 100+ mph on the autostrada in order to make it back to Rome to catch our flight to Munich. I let her do the driving in Italy since it's like Spain and I hate driving in Spain where no one follows the rule of the road and she copes with it like its just another drive in the countryside.

We spent the last 3 days at Garmisch at the AFRC Edelweiss Lodge and the weather and scenery was beautiful, we hadn't been to Garmisch since 86 and the new lodge was awesome. We took the kids to see the Neuschwanstein castle, the next day they went snowboarding in the Alps while Carmen and I got to go shopping in Garmisch and enjoy the time together. Then it was a long drive up to Frankfurt where the next day they departed back to the US. I got to spend one last day there before heading back to the box.

Time went by quickly but the trip was very satisfying and it gave us a chance to be together and show the kids a part of Europe they had never seen before. It was great to see the family once again and at least this time saying goodbye at the Frankfurt Airport wasn't that bad knowing that it's all downhill from here.

I am now in Kuwait awaiting transportation that will get me to my final destination in Iraq.

I will try to post some photos once Ascension the "official photographer" downloads them for me to view.

The Colonel