I should have known better. My running mileage was increasing at a decent rate, my weekly long runs were increasing by 2 miles each Sunday and I was starting to feel much better physically and realized that the Shadow Shamrock Marathon that was going to be held in Baghdad next month was just a few weeks and that a 4 hour marathon was in reach. I finished my long run the previous Sunday and felt a little sore on my left hip. On Tuesday I ran and after the run the pain in my hip was more noticeable and on Wednesday besides my hip it felt like someone had literally kicked my ass. Advil rest and no running I figured would make the pain go away. No such luck and finally yesterday I threw in the towel and decided that even Colonels have to go on sick call once and a while, so in the middle of a beautiful Taji downpour where the water and mud was already 3 inches deep off I trudged to the medical clinic. Once they saw what I was there for they sent me to the Physical Therapy building to be treated and they were right. I walked into the treatment room and there were 4 Iraqi medical Soldiers who were observing the Physical Therapist as part of their training. After a few minutes of talking and explaining what I had, the Captain had me go through some movements, asked me where it hurt and shook her head and said those three syllables that make us runners cringe, the infamous ITB (Iliotibial Band) Syndrome. It was the inflammation along the band that is causing the pain and with special stretching, anti-inflammatory medicine and low impact training this should be less noticeable in 7-10 days. So I have been doing the exercises that I was given to do, taking my medicine and yesterday did 7 miles on the elliptical trainer and the pain is less noticeable today then yesterday.
It is still raining off and on today and with the new sidewalks at least we don't have to walk in the mud, but the footing is treacherous and it feels like your walking across a hockey rink with leather soles. The weather channel here in Iraq screwed up big time yesterday, on the 10 day extended they had said it would rain in the morning, but on the short range a few days ago they no longer predicted rain. It began raining in the late morning and by lunch time this place was caked in mud and 2-3 inch deep water, with winds of over 50 mph. It moved my satellite dish enough to where I lost my signal so I guess that when it's drier on the roof I'll get to use those telecommunication skills I have learned somewhere to see if I can redirect the dish to catch the signal once again. We had a special meeting with our counterpart and their departments general from the MOD. We got a chance to discuss replacement parts, what will be going on depot wise for the next 6 months out and our upcoming Depot Tour in the US for our Iraqi counterparts. For the first time since I have been working with the Iraqi's they actually prepared us a lunch and went all out, they invited all the generals on the post and the slew of Colonels. We had a rice and vegetable dish with sweet raisins cucumbers, lamb meat, other vegetables, pita bread and desserts. Then we had my favorite Chai tea and it was back to work on a full stomach and I now know why these guys take Iraqi siestas after lunch because I sure as hell wanted too while I was fighting off the Z-monster at my desk.
Tomorrow I will be signing for another building, the transmission building in the wheel depot, which will be the first facility in the south depot that will have been completed. This will enable the Depot Integrator the ability to begin installing equipment once it arrives and they have their installers on the ground. As mentioned in my previous post the Bridge Crane issue has hit critical mass and I am working with the DCMA (Defense Contracting Management Agency) who are supporting us on the contract side of the house and QA and compliance to get me a legal review as to what options we have on who has to install what, when and based on what engineering/structural evals.
The guys in the IZ told me today what I sort have known all along and that is there currently isn't a replacement designated for me at this time. It looks like there is for Major Young, SSG Gamboa and the new NCO position that we have created, but I am the odd man out on this one. As I told my boss from day one as long as I am home to see Ascension graduate from college in mid May they can keep me here as long as they want to. The replacements for the guys at the supply depot are already here in country but are attending some mandatory training for the next 10 days, then they'll start their left seat right seat training and when that's over the supply depot folks will redeploy back to Ft. Riley then home. Since Sardina is Murphy in Spanish I more than likely will be the last 104th rep leaving Taji for home.
I have begun sorting through my things and throwing out old magazines, donating books and DVD's to the MWR facility down the road from us. I will be sending some items home so I don't have to drag 4 duffle bags through the heat of Iraq and Kuwait when I head back to the US. For those of you who are still intent on sending care packages, this next week should be the limit on sending care packages because anything after that I doubt I will be able to use and will give those to the Chaplain for him to distribute to Soldiers who have a greater need for those items and goodies. Regarding care packages, Tia Carol I still haven't received the one that you told mom that you sent two weeks ago, and Terri and Dennis I did receive the box of chocolate chip cookies and they are long gone, having been devoured as breakfast and snacks last week by me and co-workers and my expanded waistline is proof that they were very delicious!!
That's all for now as I am off to the restroom to brush my teeth before I hit the sack and am looking forward to that 40 yard walk in the slop called Taji mud!
The Colonel
26 February, 2008
24 February, 2008
Was It Really 25 Years Ago??
I have had the chance to serve with some great Officers and Soldiers some who really went places. My first 1SG in
The Colonel
18 February, 2008
How to Spend $150M???
Yes you heard right, I am in the most enviable position I have ever been in, how do I spend a cool $150M of our taxpayer money on ASL (Authorized Stockage Listing) at the Taji National Maintenance Depot. A depot is not just bricks, mortar, equipment and Soldiers, if you don't have any parts in stock to install when rebuilding vehicles, engines, generator and small arms then you don;t have a depot. I knew this moment was quickly approaching, as I have lost some sleep and usually the first couple of miles on my runs the only thing I think about is the depot and what obstacle looms in the distance trying to slow me down. For the longest time it's been how do we go about ordering the necessary parts for the depot all the while ensuring they will be the right ones and will be used.
We started this process a couple of months ago when I gave the indictative list (list of vehicles and equipment that was in the Iraqi Army and MOI (Police) inventory to my Iraqi counterparts to highlight what MOD wanted to repair at the Depot. I got it back and they basically wanted to repair every damn thing they had in their inventory except the M35A2 US Army 2 & 1/2 Ton trucks (they hate those things). I told the General that no the Depot could not order enough parts to repair all those items, plus some of the density numbers were so low it didn't make sense to repair. Believe it or not they have 8 ambulances in their inventory and a couple I don't think you'd survive on a trip to the hospital if you were injured! He went ahead and reviewed it again, pared down the number I looked at it, added some of the American vehicles (the M35A2 and M Series 5 Tons). Added my comments and sent it to the J-4 maintenance folks who sat on it, were reminded to review it and finally reviewed it making some changes which made sense. I had one of our Marine Warrants check it out, since those guys are high speed and low drag. I gave it to the AMC rep Robert who looked at it prioritized which vehicles were to be repaired first based on our building and training schedule. We did the same for the weapons and generators.
Now came the fun part. Guys do you have part manuals for all the Russian, and other Warsaw pact equipment so we can order parts? I already knew what the Iraqi's were going to tell me it was nyet! We linked up with the guys who do third line maintenance and were able to get a decent portion of the part numbers but not all of them. You're probably asking how in the hell can you totally tear apart and rebuild a tank if you don't have all the necessary parts? That's a damn good question and one that my replacement have plenty of time to think about!! The American vehicles are not a problem since AMC has those part numbers and the number that are needed for every vehicle based on historical repair rate. But here in Iraq without a Support Command to manage this information they have no clue as to what the failure rate is on their parts and to top it off my Iraqi counterparts are no help at all.
With the AK47's, it's the same as with vehicles, unlike the M16 or M4 the AK has been built in 13 countries and not all the parts of a Romanian AK will work on a Chinese one. That's easy what is the breakdown of the AK's in the current system? Well we know there are XXXX in the system but no one has a clue as to the country of manufacture. We had end user certificate paperwork but that only means what country they came from, ie a Romanian contractor shipped up 10K AK's but maybe they were built in Montenegro! Okay how do I know what part number to order if I don't know which contractor we are going to order from? Sure a hand guard is a hand guard, but is it a Z1234-56-789 or a 987-09876-09, well that depends on the contractor! You get the drift.
Generators there must be at least 30 manufacturers out there and not even now the Iraqi Army does not have one or two suppliers for generators. Most of the small ones we're better off shit canning them than rebuilding them. The AMC guys have been able to ID a couple that we'll work on so we'll order those parts, but getting the generators into our shop is like getting a 10 year old to pickup his room in less than 5 minutes before heading off to school! It'll happen sometime after the Cubs win a world series!! Back home and every where else you turn in a piece of equipment to be repaired and you get a hand receipt which shows that I now have that piece of equipment and as long as you have that piece of paper you can account for where that piece is. Not so in Iraq, it is better to have 10 generators that are circa 1980's sitting in a corner of your barracks area totally trashed than to lose sight of them (though you have the hand receipt) for a couple of days so they can get fixed. I have always commented that the Iraqi Army has the largest collection of useless paperweights in the whole world!
We have until the 20th to finish up on the ASL and the guys at AMC are burning the midnight oil completing the listing so I can review and send up the package in bits and pieces tomorrow and the 20th. Bottom line is more than likley I will not be spending all of that money and it will be gobbled up by another more urgent project, which suits me fine, since all of us have decided that it is better to buy what we actually need than to spend taxpayer money for stuff that more than likely will sit on a shelf and never be used. At least the parts we haven't been able to identify we can still work on getting the part numbers and if there is more funding than they can be ordered then, if there is no more funding I guess the Iraqi Government will be picking up the tab which suits me just fine!
Other than that all is well, yesterday I did a nice long 16 mile run with one of the guys here. We did 13.1 together and he had to split so I ran into the gym and did the last 2.9 on the elliptical trainer since my quads and hips were killing me. Running on these roads which are really crowned and are made of a sub base material is like running on cobble stones and you do that for any amount of time and the body says no mas!! Tonite nothing's flying since it got dusty and windy this afternoon and if I was back home would bet that it was gonna rain, because it smells like rain but that doesn't work over here.
Before I go here's a shout out to my brother in law Pepe and his two sons who are die hard Real Madrid fans, seems they got their asses kicked by my Real Betis Balompie team 2-1 on Saturday night! So this ones for you guys: " Asi Asi Asi Pierde El Madrid" y "Viva Er Beti Manque Pierda"!!!!!!!
The Colonel
We started this process a couple of months ago when I gave the indictative list (list of vehicles and equipment that was in the Iraqi Army and MOI (Police) inventory to my Iraqi counterparts to highlight what MOD wanted to repair at the Depot. I got it back and they basically wanted to repair every damn thing they had in their inventory except the M35A2 US Army 2 & 1/2 Ton trucks (they hate those things). I told the General that no the Depot could not order enough parts to repair all those items, plus some of the density numbers were so low it didn't make sense to repair. Believe it or not they have 8 ambulances in their inventory and a couple I don't think you'd survive on a trip to the hospital if you were injured! He went ahead and reviewed it again, pared down the number I looked at it, added some of the American vehicles (the M35A2 and M Series 5 Tons). Added my comments and sent it to the J-4 maintenance folks who sat on it, were reminded to review it and finally reviewed it making some changes which made sense. I had one of our Marine Warrants check it out, since those guys are high speed and low drag. I gave it to the AMC rep Robert who looked at it prioritized which vehicles were to be repaired first based on our building and training schedule. We did the same for the weapons and generators.
Now came the fun part. Guys do you have part manuals for all the Russian, and other Warsaw pact equipment so we can order parts? I already knew what the Iraqi's were going to tell me it was nyet! We linked up with the guys who do third line maintenance and were able to get a decent portion of the part numbers but not all of them. You're probably asking how in the hell can you totally tear apart and rebuild a tank if you don't have all the necessary parts? That's a damn good question and one that my replacement have plenty of time to think about!! The American vehicles are not a problem since AMC has those part numbers and the number that are needed for every vehicle based on historical repair rate. But here in Iraq without a Support Command to manage this information they have no clue as to what the failure rate is on their parts and to top it off my Iraqi counterparts are no help at all.
With the AK47's, it's the same as with vehicles, unlike the M16 or M4 the AK has been built in 13 countries and not all the parts of a Romanian AK will work on a Chinese one. That's easy what is the breakdown of the AK's in the current system? Well we know there are XXXX in the system but no one has a clue as to the country of manufacture. We had end user certificate paperwork but that only means what country they came from, ie a Romanian contractor shipped up 10K AK's but maybe they were built in Montenegro! Okay how do I know what part number to order if I don't know which contractor we are going to order from? Sure a hand guard is a hand guard, but is it a Z1234-56-789 or a 987-09876-09, well that depends on the contractor! You get the drift.
Generators there must be at least 30 manufacturers out there and not even now the Iraqi Army does not have one or two suppliers for generators. Most of the small ones we're better off shit canning them than rebuilding them. The AMC guys have been able to ID a couple that we'll work on so we'll order those parts, but getting the generators into our shop is like getting a 10 year old to pickup his room in less than 5 minutes before heading off to school! It'll happen sometime after the Cubs win a world series!! Back home and every where else you turn in a piece of equipment to be repaired and you get a hand receipt which shows that I now have that piece of equipment and as long as you have that piece of paper you can account for where that piece is. Not so in Iraq, it is better to have 10 generators that are circa 1980's sitting in a corner of your barracks area totally trashed than to lose sight of them (though you have the hand receipt) for a couple of days so they can get fixed. I have always commented that the Iraqi Army has the largest collection of useless paperweights in the whole world!
We have until the 20th to finish up on the ASL and the guys at AMC are burning the midnight oil completing the listing so I can review and send up the package in bits and pieces tomorrow and the 20th. Bottom line is more than likley I will not be spending all of that money and it will be gobbled up by another more urgent project, which suits me fine, since all of us have decided that it is better to buy what we actually need than to spend taxpayer money for stuff that more than likely will sit on a shelf and never be used. At least the parts we haven't been able to identify we can still work on getting the part numbers and if there is more funding than they can be ordered then, if there is no more funding I guess the Iraqi Government will be picking up the tab which suits me just fine!
Other than that all is well, yesterday I did a nice long 16 mile run with one of the guys here. We did 13.1 together and he had to split so I ran into the gym and did the last 2.9 on the elliptical trainer since my quads and hips were killing me. Running on these roads which are really crowned and are made of a sub base material is like running on cobble stones and you do that for any amount of time and the body says no mas!! Tonite nothing's flying since it got dusty and windy this afternoon and if I was back home would bet that it was gonna rain, because it smells like rain but that doesn't work over here.
Before I go here's a shout out to my brother in law Pepe and his two sons who are die hard Real Madrid fans, seems they got their asses kicked by my Real Betis Balompie team 2-1 on Saturday night! So this ones for you guys: " Asi Asi Asi Pierde El Madrid" y "Viva Er Beti Manque Pierda"!!!!!!!
The Colonel
14 February, 2008
Springtime in Iraq
Although we still have a little over a month until the official start of spring, it sure has felt like it these past 4-5 days. Highs in the low 70's or upper 60's with Sun except when the oil refinery smoke blows over the base. The best part of the rise in the temperature is when you get up in the morning and it's no longer 36 or 38 degrees and you have to bundle up just to go to the rest room or showers. It's been short pants and a light jacket. According to the interpreters March will be even better before it starts getting too hot in April and onward.
I have been delinquent in posting because I have been burning the midnight oil as of late and by the time I get back to the hootch, go to the gym and workout and shower it's almost 2300 hrs or later like tonite. It's a quick dinner then a few pages of the book that my sister in law gave me for Christmas/Reyes and lights out until the next day. It's hard to believe that it's been just over a month since I said goodbye to Carmen and the kids as they headed back to California and I to Iraq. Time flies when you're having fun or are busy, I'll let you try to figure out which one it is.
Everyday there seems to be a little surprise on the job site. Lately one of the buildings has been giving the contractor, USACE, AMC and I a headache. The South Depot Paint Facility seems to have voids under the building which we nor anyone else knew about, so in the past 7 days the contractor has found 3 decent sized voids which if not filled in or supported properly could be trouble down the road. Obviously if the contractor can resolve the issue without charging us additional funds then it's a "Big Red One" day, but if not then I have to get the old knee pads out of my duffle bag and beg the folks in the IZ to "show me the money" so we can fund the additional cost. Murphy I have discovered is also alive and well here in Iraq, his name is Fagur and he's been all over the place. We had to empty out one of the warehouses and move that material into a completed warehouse so the contractor could refurb the warehouse. They had already done cement and asphalt work around the warehouse, so the Iraqi's brought over a 5T truck to load up and make a couple of trips. Unbeknown to any of us the cement work had not yet cured the required number of days so the truck did some damage to the driveway. I was livid not at the Iraqi's because they did what we told them to do, but the contractor who didn't put up the required barriers and engineering tape to ensure no one entered into the area which still had not cured. I told USACE that it was the contractors fault and that they need to make sure that he repairs the damage and this time better mark off the work area.
The funny thing about this project is that several other projects are tied to either the maintenance portion of the depot or are using our footprint to set up their operations because we have the facilities or will soon have the facilities. The US Army as it rolls out the MRAP's (Mine Resistant Armor Protection) vehicle has a shitload of HMMWV's that have taken a beating for the past 4+ years. So as the Iraqi Army and police force continue to modernize it makes sense to repair these vehicles and sell them to the Iraqi Government. Those repairs are taking place here at Taji and they are using part of our footprint and once we have several of the facilities completed will have IA Mechanics working on those repairs at the Depot. Besides the vehicles there is an on the job training (OJT) program set up and after 90 days working on HMMWV's some of those mechanics will be reassigned to the Depot so that the Depot Integrator can then train them on more advanced mechanical skills and assign them for that training in the facilities which require automotive maintenance skills.
Because of the joint training plan and facilities we are getting a decent flow of visitors and press to our location, and that keeps us busy. Last week we had the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (GEN Cody) pay us and the HMMWV Repair Site a visit, the visit went well as I got a chance to show him the track and wheel depot and walk him through the Small Arms facility. I don't mind the visits since we get a chance to show the senior ranking officers all that we have done here at Taji, but it's the getting ready that we could all deal without. We usually laugh and call it Operation Gumby since we have to stay flexible and be able to change directions while in mid-stride. Seating charts, routes, schedules, etc. , the guys over at the RSU most who tend to be Air Force are really great in supporting us with these visits and are so used to the changes that they roll with the flow! It's sort of funny when you're discussing the logistics of a visit and you realize that while you are talking about version 7 some of the guys still have version 5 or 6 which only came out a couple of hours earlier.
Well I just stuck my head out the door and they said it might drizzle tonite and they were right, it's raining very lightly and it's supposed to be on and off the remainder of the evening.
Well it's time to hit the send button and call it a night!
The Colonel
I have been delinquent in posting because I have been burning the midnight oil as of late and by the time I get back to the hootch, go to the gym and workout and shower it's almost 2300 hrs or later like tonite. It's a quick dinner then a few pages of the book that my sister in law gave me for Christmas/Reyes and lights out until the next day. It's hard to believe that it's been just over a month since I said goodbye to Carmen and the kids as they headed back to California and I to Iraq. Time flies when you're having fun or are busy, I'll let you try to figure out which one it is.
Everyday there seems to be a little surprise on the job site. Lately one of the buildings has been giving the contractor, USACE, AMC and I a headache. The South Depot Paint Facility seems to have voids under the building which we nor anyone else knew about, so in the past 7 days the contractor has found 3 decent sized voids which if not filled in or supported properly could be trouble down the road. Obviously if the contractor can resolve the issue without charging us additional funds then it's a "Big Red One" day, but if not then I have to get the old knee pads out of my duffle bag and beg the folks in the IZ to "show me the money" so we can fund the additional cost. Murphy I have discovered is also alive and well here in Iraq, his name is Fagur and he's been all over the place. We had to empty out one of the warehouses and move that material into a completed warehouse so the contractor could refurb the warehouse. They had already done cement and asphalt work around the warehouse, so the Iraqi's brought over a 5T truck to load up and make a couple of trips. Unbeknown to any of us the cement work had not yet cured the required number of days so the truck did some damage to the driveway. I was livid not at the Iraqi's because they did what we told them to do, but the contractor who didn't put up the required barriers and engineering tape to ensure no one entered into the area which still had not cured. I told USACE that it was the contractors fault and that they need to make sure that he repairs the damage and this time better mark off the work area.
The funny thing about this project is that several other projects are tied to either the maintenance portion of the depot or are using our footprint to set up their operations because we have the facilities or will soon have the facilities. The US Army as it rolls out the MRAP's (Mine Resistant Armor Protection) vehicle has a shitload of HMMWV's that have taken a beating for the past 4+ years. So as the Iraqi Army and police force continue to modernize it makes sense to repair these vehicles and sell them to the Iraqi Government. Those repairs are taking place here at Taji and they are using part of our footprint and once we have several of the facilities completed will have IA Mechanics working on those repairs at the Depot. Besides the vehicles there is an on the job training (OJT) program set up and after 90 days working on HMMWV's some of those mechanics will be reassigned to the Depot so that the Depot Integrator can then train them on more advanced mechanical skills and assign them for that training in the facilities which require automotive maintenance skills.
Because of the joint training plan and facilities we are getting a decent flow of visitors and press to our location, and that keeps us busy. Last week we had the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (GEN Cody) pay us and the HMMWV Repair Site a visit, the visit went well as I got a chance to show him the track and wheel depot and walk him through the Small Arms facility. I don't mind the visits since we get a chance to show the senior ranking officers all that we have done here at Taji, but it's the getting ready that we could all deal without. We usually laugh and call it Operation Gumby since we have to stay flexible and be able to change directions while in mid-stride. Seating charts, routes, schedules, etc. , the guys over at the RSU most who tend to be Air Force are really great in supporting us with these visits and are so used to the changes that they roll with the flow! It's sort of funny when you're discussing the logistics of a visit and you realize that while you are talking about version 7 some of the guys still have version 5 or 6 which only came out a couple of hours earlier.
Well I just stuck my head out the door and they said it might drizzle tonite and they were right, it's raining very lightly and it's supposed to be on and off the remainder of the evening.
Well it's time to hit the send button and call it a night!
The Colonel
06 February, 2008
Depot Construction
Concrete and other debris from the disassembly and reassembly buildings
Removing old Concrete Reassembly Building
Small Arms Facility
Staging Yard
The New USACE Engineer Mr. Potato Head at the job site
Here are some pictures from the North Depot that I took the other day while I was signing for beneficial occupancy a couple of warehouses. This gives you an idea of what is going on at the Depot. As you can see although work is serious and we do some long hours there's always time for some fun! The good news is that every building is either completed or being worked on at this time, with all but 4 on schedule to be completed on time. In a couple of the buildings we have contractors installing equipment that will be used by the Iraqi Army. I will try to post some more pictures of the South Depot in one of the later posts.
Time is flying quickly as it seems that I am either tied up in giving tours at the Depot or reviewing reports and working with the Iraqis on getting some issues resolved. Earlier this week the Deputy Commanding General came to Taji. Since it was his first visit he got the long tour and we had a good time showing him and some of his staff around the depot. He's British and with a great sense of humor and is well versed in logistics. Today we had some Ph'D's from various think tanks visit and although they are not high ranking officers, they actually carry more weight around, since they tend to write articles regarding policy, testify at congressional sub-committees and some of the lucky ones pop up every once in awhile on CNN or Fox News to discuss Iraq. So we get hit with questions that most military generals aren't going to ask. How many Iraqi's are employed by the contractors who do work here, will there be civilians working at the depot, etc. I am getting close to my 50th star (total number of stars that the generals I have escorted have). I learned a new word last week in Arabic-fagur which means "Murphy" . Last week I had the flat tire in the mud, today another flat coming back from the LZ and when I got back at the office I let out a loud Fagur and the interpreters were rolling when I told them why! They volunteered to fix the flat so this time I let em fix it. I believe that is flat number 6 for me since I have been here, incredible but when you see the roads and all the garbage and debris we have to drive over it makes you wonder why only 6 flats!
Talking about driving and roads, today when we were doing the test drive of the route for the visitors a convoy of lowboys pulling T-55 tanks was in front of us so I was able to get around them, and on my way back here they are going down the wrong side of the road hauling ass, so I flick my lights telling the guy that hey this isn't London get on your side of the road, he in turn flashes his and the chicken contest is on. Now granted the Dodge Durango is a decent sized SUV, but it's no match for a tractor trailer that is hauling a tank. So both of us keep going rambling down the road, the guy next to me starts to wonder if I have any plans to get out of the way. I yield at the last second and give the guy the one finger victory salute as he drives by! No sooner then this and we are pulling into a round about and this other buffoon is going the wrong way and decides to cut the corner by about 30 feet and just misses me by a couple of inches! I didn't have time to give him the salute but did call his mother a few names!
I had fun explaining to the interpreters about Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday and with yesterday being Ash Wednesday we had services at 1800 hours and I came back to work. I had to laugh because most if not all the AMC guys are from either east Texas or Alabama which is not the Catholic hot spot in the US. I would imagine that most of these guys are baptists or other fundamental Christian denomination. So I kid you not 8 or 9 of them stopped me and said sir do you know that you have some grease or something on your forehead. I stop tell them yes and that those are the ashes from the our Ash Wednesday service, they sort of looked at me funny and I had to chuckle and tell them that it's Catholic thing!
With tomorrow being Friday and their day off lots of Soldiers were in civvies making their way to the gate so they could go home for a couple of days. I love to see how a truck with a 10 foot bed will stop, about 8 guys will get on, it will stop in another 200 yards for more guys to pile on, etc etc. By the time the truck makes it to the gate there must be half of San Jose on the back to the truck hanging on for dear life and it doesn't even phase them at all. They walk on all sides of the road, cross whenever they feel like it and at night you have to be extra careful as they have no reflective vests, or gear on and you can't even see them. I would imagine that out here that it's not the animals that end up as road kill but the Soldiers!
Well that's all for today, it's late and all I can hear are the Chinooks at the heavy lift pad dropping supplies off and picking up Soldiers to take them where ever.
The Colonel
Time is flying quickly as it seems that I am either tied up in giving tours at the Depot or reviewing reports and working with the Iraqis on getting some issues resolved. Earlier this week the Deputy Commanding General came to Taji. Since it was his first visit he got the long tour and we had a good time showing him and some of his staff around the depot. He's British and with a great sense of humor and is well versed in logistics. Today we had some Ph'D's from various think tanks visit and although they are not high ranking officers, they actually carry more weight around, since they tend to write articles regarding policy, testify at congressional sub-committees and some of the lucky ones pop up every once in awhile on CNN or Fox News to discuss Iraq. So we get hit with questions that most military generals aren't going to ask. How many Iraqi's are employed by the contractors who do work here, will there be civilians working at the depot, etc. I am getting close to my 50th star (total number of stars that the generals I have escorted have). I learned a new word last week in Arabic-fagur which means "Murphy" . Last week I had the flat tire in the mud, today another flat coming back from the LZ and when I got back at the office I let out a loud Fagur and the interpreters were rolling when I told them why! They volunteered to fix the flat so this time I let em fix it. I believe that is flat number 6 for me since I have been here, incredible but when you see the roads and all the garbage and debris we have to drive over it makes you wonder why only 6 flats!
Talking about driving and roads, today when we were doing the test drive of the route for the visitors a convoy of lowboys pulling T-55 tanks was in front of us so I was able to get around them, and on my way back here they are going down the wrong side of the road hauling ass, so I flick my lights telling the guy that hey this isn't London get on your side of the road, he in turn flashes his and the chicken contest is on. Now granted the Dodge Durango is a decent sized SUV, but it's no match for a tractor trailer that is hauling a tank. So both of us keep going rambling down the road, the guy next to me starts to wonder if I have any plans to get out of the way. I yield at the last second and give the guy the one finger victory salute as he drives by! No sooner then this and we are pulling into a round about and this other buffoon is going the wrong way and decides to cut the corner by about 30 feet and just misses me by a couple of inches! I didn't have time to give him the salute but did call his mother a few names!
I had fun explaining to the interpreters about Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday and with yesterday being Ash Wednesday we had services at 1800 hours and I came back to work. I had to laugh because most if not all the AMC guys are from either east Texas or Alabama which is not the Catholic hot spot in the US. I would imagine that most of these guys are baptists or other fundamental Christian denomination. So I kid you not 8 or 9 of them stopped me and said sir do you know that you have some grease or something on your forehead. I stop tell them yes and that those are the ashes from the our Ash Wednesday service, they sort of looked at me funny and I had to chuckle and tell them that it's Catholic thing!
With tomorrow being Friday and their day off lots of Soldiers were in civvies making their way to the gate so they could go home for a couple of days. I love to see how a truck with a 10 foot bed will stop, about 8 guys will get on, it will stop in another 200 yards for more guys to pile on, etc etc. By the time the truck makes it to the gate there must be half of San Jose on the back to the truck hanging on for dear life and it doesn't even phase them at all. They walk on all sides of the road, cross whenever they feel like it and at night you have to be extra careful as they have no reflective vests, or gear on and you can't even see them. I would imagine that out here that it's not the animals that end up as road kill but the Soldiers!
Well that's all for today, it's late and all I can hear are the Chinooks at the heavy lift pad dropping supplies off and picking up Soldiers to take them where ever.
The Colonel
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