Working my Way Back to the US of A

My last day in Iraq was really uneventful which is a good way to end my tour over here. I was able to sleep in until 0700 hrs, and a little after 0800 First Sergeant Anderson came by and said that we had a 1000 hrs show time at the Air Pax terminal. We hit the PX and the EOC to check email and at check in were told that our flight would be leaving at 1400 hrs and that baggage was to be turned in at 1100 hrs.

After turning in our baggage we hit the DFAC and it was rather ironic that on my last day in Iraq I happened to eat at what was for me the best DFAC so far. It was run by the Air Force (no surprises there) and the selection of food and other entrees was really impressive and it wasn’t too congested like DFAC 1 in Taji.

At 1300 hrs we were told to be at the gate and they bussed us to the aircraft and we climbed on board the C-130 and it wasn’t too full so we had empty seats between each of us. At 1355 we were wheels up and phase II had been accomplished, getting out of Iraq!! The flight was uneventful and I got a chance to peek outside the window right about when we crosses into Kuwait airspace and all I could see was sand. It was weird knowing that 17 years earlier I was on the ground directly below with the Soldiers of A Company 701^st MSB working our asses off supporting the Division in prior to, during and after combat operations. We arrived in Ali As Salem at 1515 hours and SGM Laos was waiting for us and we transferred to the bus which had the rest of the 104^th folks on this serial who had flown in earlier from the IZ (BIAP).

We then boarded the bus which would take us to Camp Virginia which is basically the same type of camp as Camp Buerhing was when we arrived, both are out in the middle of the sandy desert surrounded by camels. The big difference is those of us at Camp Virginia are going home versus those Soldiers in Buerhing who are just arriving. At Camp Virginia we were bedded down in the same white style tents that we had in Buerhing, where you can sleep at least 80 guys in there but we had about 30 which wasn’t too bad. We sort of have an idea of when we will be leaving this camp for Ali Al Salem and our flight home but they have not released the final date or time. While we are here except for a couple of mandatory briefs the rest of the time is our free time so I hit the gym and did my 6 mile gig on the elliptical trainer. I then hit the internet café to look at some of my email. Other than that the wait out mode continues and only time will tell when we get the green light for onward movement. Until then it’s chill out mode and the chance to relish the fact that we are no longer in Iraq and that life is good!

The Colonel

Get Ready, Get Set, Go

I have officially relinquished my role as the Taji National Maintenance Depot Program Manager to DJ as of the 22nd, since I was busy trying to get my things in order, cleaning up the room, packing, sending boxes home etc. I noticed that once I did relinquish that role, the bags under my eyes starting going away and the weight on my shoulders was lifted big time.

As much as I burned old uniforms, documents, books etc that I no longer needed nor wanted I realized that I still had accumulated lots of things that needed to go back to the US with me. Since I do not want to have to make two trips dragging my items I needed to hit the post office one last time to mail home a couple of more boxes plus my coveted humidor that is fully loaded with some great smokes. I also sold my electronic items that I had bought over the one year period such as TV, DVD player, microwave, fridge, satellite dish and receiver, computer table etc. Plus I gave away the storage units with the personal hygiene items I had not used.

So yesterday as I got up and ran one last time before heading out, it occurred to me that I may not get all the items I still had left on the bed into my duffle bags and sure enough it was one last run to the post office where everyone said "didn't you say you were done yesterday mailing things home"? I took care of that ran down to the dark side and said good bye to some of the guys from the MITT's and BSU's and finally headed back to my room and gathered my gear and went back to the office to finish up on some last minute paperwork.

The time finally arrived for me to head out the door to the helipad so it was saying goodbye to the AMC guys and the other guys in the office. Then it was saying goodbye to my favorite interpreter Filly who I consider as a brother, that was hard to do. This guy has lived a year of hell, surviving two bomb explosions, his wife getting shot, his soon was almost abducted by gun point, yet he cheerfully continued to work for us an interpreter. Since he is only a few years older then I we got along great and would take alot about our families, life in general, politics etc. They say the world is a small place and one can only hope that he is selected for one of the visas that the US government issues to interpreters so he and his family can immigrate to the US.

The temperature gauge in the shade at the helipad read 102 when we arrived to wait for our flight to Balad which is north of Taji. From there we would fly onto Kuwait and link up with the remainder of the fourth serial of our reserve unit. The choppers arrived and it was the longest 250 yards I have ever walked in my entire life. Full battle rattle on, my ruck which weighs a ton, and the two duffle bags which one of the guys jokingly said weighed as if I had stuck some Iraqi women in them. Step by step, you could feel the sweat rolling down your back, then your legs, throat parched as I tried to find that damn nozzle on my camelback but to no avail! Finally I got to the chopper and got the stuff loaded and away we went. Although it was hot the air that circulated through the aircraft felt like heaven. I had never flown north of Taji so the view was spectacular with lots of farms and orchards sprinkled throughout the Tigris basin.

We finally got to Balad and then it was a shorter walk but still it felt like death valley out there. I had previously coordinated with the AMC guys for rooms and we were able to also get a Suburban to move around post in. After grabbing some chow and getting settled into our rooms, taking a nice cold shower I was able to watch some US TV and then took a rare 2 hour nap. What a relief, although I was still in Iraq it was finally starting to settle in my brain that I on that journey home. We the four of us who were the last 104th Division guys out of Taji had completed the first and most important leg of our journey, getting out of Taji. I didn't have to worry about the depot, nor status reports, nor updates nor meetings with the Depot Integrator. All of that I left behind when I got on that beautiful UH-60 in Taji!!

The Colonel

One Year Anniversay

The other day 18 April was special for two reasons, one it was my birthday and this is the third birthday I have celebrated in this part of the world and if all goes well should be the last birthday I celebrate over here. Two it was one year ago that we arrived in theater and it’s hard to believe that one year has already gone by! I am officially short and by short I mean not by stature, but that I do not have much more time here before I head back home to demobilize and sleep in my own bed once again with my better half HQ-6. My replacement DJ has things under control which enables me to finish up on the last few deliverables that I have and pack my things. I am finishing up on the MTOE (Modified Table of Organization and Equipment) comparison so that we can line up the job skills that need to be trained with the Iraqi Soldiers who will be assigned to the Depot. This Tuesday will be my last meeting with the Iraqi’s and after the meeting I am officially done here at Taji.

I have started packing up my things and have already shipped some items home and another box to Ft. Riley so I don’t have to do the duffle bag shuffle on my way out of Iraq. My goal which looks attainable is to have two duffle bags and my trusty camel back backpack and that is it. We are still coordinating our flights out of here to Kuwait, where we will link up with the remaining members of the Task Force and we will then travel together back to the USA. I still have to sell my remaining items which some of the interpreters and others want to buy from me, then it will be sweep mop and get the room inspected on the last day and then it’s hasta la vista baby!!

Work has been both long and satisfying these past several weeks, we have put in some long hours as part of our left seat right seat. Also we have signed for some additional buildings, such as the South Receiving, the upstairs offices to the South Paint Bldg which will be the HQ for the South Depot. Additionally DJ signed for the security upgrades work that has been completed. Today we had another meeting with AECOM to go over their equipment purchase, receipt, install and commissioning dates and what that means as to start dates for the OJT phase in the various buildings. DJ and his crew will have their hands full with the training that starts on the 13^th and getting the Iraqi Army to ensure they have new Soldiers who will be assigned to the Depot so we can ensure there are enough cheeks in the seats in the training and OJT training phases.

It’s weird knowing that some of the things that I am doing these past few days are the last time I will be doing those things here , but then again one year is a long time and I am itching to get back home. So it's time to get those medical tests and shots, fill out the various surveys, turn in items that I no longer need.

Major Young and her group hit Ft. Riley yesterday after being stranded at BIAP for 3+ days, due to two huge dust storms that reduced visibility to less than 50 feet and left a nice fine powdery layer of dust on everything. The dust storms were surreal as you could barely see the sun and everything was dark brown and the wind was doing a great job blowing the stuff all over the place. Just walking to the DFAC was a bear even with glasses on the powdery sand got in my eyes. They said this was one of the worst ones they have had in a long time, yeah I'm sure Al Gore would be blaming this on global warming!

BG Swan my senior rater having a good laugh pointing at my Tour Guide tab which I threw on at the last minute to get my picture taken with him during my last VIP visit that I was in charge of.

Well that's it for now I gotta run and grab some chow and hit the post office.

The Colonel

Back from the IZ

Just got back in tonite from a quick two day visit to the IZ with my replacement DJ. We should have left Taji early on Monday but someone screwed up on our Aviation Movement Request (AMR) so when we called up and asked what's going on, and they realized that there were two Colonels who were stuck in Taji because of someones mistake we were able to get another lift out of Taji on our CG's birds and headed over to BIAP where there was a crew change. It gave us a chance to grab a nice cold frapuccino from the coffee sh0op, shoot the breeze with the pilots and crew and then head to the IZ where we arrived in the early afternoon. After getting our rooms squared away off we went to Phoenix Base so that DJ could meet the folks who he will be dealing with going forward.

For me it was a bittersweet visit as many of the faces that I knew were no longer there as they had been replaced by the new crew and more importantly they were already home with their families. So yesterday we hit I believe most of the key offices and groups so DJ could get points of contact and associate names with faces which is very important since we are out in the boonies and it's tough to get the folks in the IZ out to Taji to visit and discuss issues. We spent a good hour with the contract folks to go over our Depot Integrator project and the project from hell which is the new generator and fuel tank project for the generator farm. Most of you know about Seinfelds "Soup Nazi" episode, well we have a contractor Nazi who never heard about the customer is always right and instead just shoots us off some of the most bizarre emails I have ever seen in my life, blaming us for all his troubles etc. This guys can't get from A to B and that is why we want to end the contract before he screws up anymore and as my dad would say "he's a worthless as a tit on a boar pig"!!

We got to brief our boss about the project and he was happy with where we are at, although we have to make a few minor tweaks regarding equipment receipt and installation on the plan. At least we got final buy in to the class schedule and facility readiness date. With that DJ now has the road map that he needs to get from here to there during his tenure as PMO.

As you all have read lately the IZ has been getting rocked by rockets and it had been a long time since I had to get into my IBA and seek cover, and we got a chance to do that at various times during our two day visit. Awareness and the seriousness of these attacks and drills was obviously heightened since our MNSTC-I crew lost two officers several weeks ago (one from our Division back home) when the building they were in was hit by a rocket. It's as if they know there is a new crew coming in because the same thing happened last year when our Division Soldiers arrived in the IZ in late April and early May. We were getting hit all the time and it puts a whole new perspective of being stationed in Iraq.

The bus ride back to the temporary hootch before we headed to the helipad was full of 104th Soldiers who were heading to BIAP that night on their way home. The flight home was uneventful and it was nice seeing Baghdad at night and the cooler air felt good. that will more than likely be one of my last helo flights here in Iraq as I am what is called "getting short" and my time to leave here is approaching quickly. When DJ and I got back I told him that we would probably see our folks at the heavy lift pad waiting for their flight to BIAP and sure enough there were a lot of Soldiers either milling around or laying on their rucks playing the waiting game. I got a chance to see Major Young and some of the IASSI folks and we shoot the breeze while they were waiting. We finally said our final "see you laters" and headed back to our hootchs, since their flight was pushed out a few more hours.

Our left seat right seat is now reversed as DJ is now leading the meetings and making the decisions and I am advising and answering questions if he has any. Prior to the IZ visit we were burning some serious midnight oil and I reminded him that the sooner he found his battle rhythm the sooner things would see more natural and that the 0745-2400 hrs stuff will end up kicking his ass as this job is like a marathon with one step at a time and the need to pace oneself is key if you want to survive, stay fresh and get results. Two more buildings the Radiator Repair Facility on the North Depot and the Component Cleaning and Prime paint facility were signed over by us from the Corps of Engineers.

That's about it for now.

Back to the Grind!!

The morning of our flight I was wide awake at 0500 hrs so I got up, finished packing and headed down to the restaurant for a quick bite to eat before heading to the airport. George and I had agreed to meet at 0700 hrs so when it was 0705 I called his room and no one answered, I called again later with the same result. I finally knocked on his door and woke him up, I guess he had received a wakeup call and fell to sleep again. We were out the door at 0735 for what was to be a 60-75 minute ride to the civil airport, where we had a 0900 show time. What a rip off here in Jordan for us tourists, they get 10 Jordanian Dinars (JD) for transit visas and then when we left we had to pay a 20 JD departure tax.

The C-17 arrived late and once on board we were told that we’d be there for at least one hour until take off. I fell asleep and woke up when we were in the air. We got to BIAP and it was just strange thinking that only 75 minutes away I was swimming in the dead sea and the pool enjoying some downtime and here I am back to the real world of Iraq.

View from the 5th Floor at the Marriott

SSG G the AMC rep picked me up, I went to get my weapon and we arrived back at the AMC compound on FOB Liberty. I got the rest of my gear, changed ate chow and then I got shuttled to the Liberty Helipad. Fortunately for me my folks up in Taji got me booked on a evening flight so I wouldn’t have to spend a day in BIAP.

I think they and I both thought that this was going to be one stop flight but I guess they figured I needed to check out some FOB’s that I never have been too before I leave Iraq at the end of my tour. I was going to be getting off at the 6^th stop. So I had the chance to see the following FOB’s from the darkened sky; BIAP, Falcon, IZ-Washington, Rustimaya (which still stinks as bad as the last time I was there), Prosperity and finally Taji. We got a chance to fly over everyone’s favorite Baghdad neighborhood Sadr City, it seemed calm even though just days earlier all hell was breaking loose with the militias and the IA and Coalition Forces.

My replacement COL DJ Dunn who I had met when he was over here in October as part of their recon and Major Young were at the Helipad to pick me up. After shooting the breeze and getting a quick update on what had occurred while I was out, I was finally dropped off at my hootch. Inside although warm the hootch was covered with a light layer of dust everywhere. I had left the AC on but set high and while I was out it reached 97 outside so with the AC on and the constant dust storms they had caused all the dust.

It was nice to be back at my home away from my real home, though the same familiar faces were gone since the TND crew deployed back home last month and are already back with their loved ones. Since the new crew that replaced them didn’t want to pay for internet service the guys dismantled the router and switch so the few of us who are still here from the original group no longer have internet access in our hootches which sucks big time. SSG Gamboa our NCOIC left with that group and he’s at Fort Riley going to some NCOES classes. Major Young’s replacement is also here and she’ll be out of here soon and I know that she’s looking forward to seeing her three children and husband back in Arizona. I too am getting short but am too busy at work to even think about getting out of here yet!

I have already started the left seat right seat with DJ and all is going well. I signed for the Generator Repair Facility at the Track Depot and the remaining 3 warehouses on the Wheel Depot. The Receiving Facility will be signed for on Tuesday, so things are finishing up on most of our buildings. Now we are in the training phase here at the Depot. The first 20 students completed initial Level I Depot training class and start the level II class tomorrow. On top of that the 60 day OJT at AECOM for the M1114 project kicks off on Tuesday. We originally were supposed to receive most of the students graduating from the OJT but as usual plans change and now were will receive a paltry 16 Junood.

It’s starting to get hotter out here and my goal is to finish up my tour without it reaching triple digits, somehow I got a feeling that I will not meet that goal. Well that’s it for now, I will update the blog in a few days.

Before I forget here are some pics from when I was in Jordan that one of the guys took.

This is about as close to Hell as I plan to get!!

Petra

Up on the side of the mountain with Petra in the valley

The Colonel

Thank You State Department

I am finally back in beautiful sunny and dusty Taji after completing the last leg of the TDY trip to the US. It is bittersweet, I was really enjoying my down time in Jordan (more later) but it is nice to finally sleep in my bed again.

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 0’dark hundred and by 0700 hrs we were on the road to the Birmingham International Airport. I was not looking forward to travel back to the middle east. We got to the airport and said goodbye to the Security Team and the Depot folks who accompanied us since our arrival in Dallas the previous Sunday. WE made our way to the check in counter and we got there so early that we were the first ones in line. I waited for the Iraqi’s to check in and that’s when the fun started. I should mention that WalMart stock took a sharp rise in prices last week thanks to the Iraqi’s who loved the place and did there fair share of stimulating the economy. I think the Demos stimulation plan is all wrong, we should have chartered several hundred airliners and brought Iraqi’s over to the US on a 48-72 hour shopping spree. The amount of money that they would have spent would have jumpstarted the economy in a heartbeat. Besides hitting the Walmarts, they also enjoyed the smaller mall in Anniston and the Best Buy store.

As you can imagine when you buy a lot of stuff you need more suitcases or bags because if not either your suitcase will run out of space or will weigh a ton, Sure enough most were over the weight limit on the one bag so here are 4 out of the 7 officers opening their suitcases and shifting around their clothes, purchases, etc. They would then get the suitcase reweighed only to be told your only 7 pounds over and once again the shuffle started over again. After 30 minutes of this they finally got checked in and several were now carrying plastic Walmart bags as carry ons. I would have taken pictures of this but my digital camera went on the fritz at Talladega Superspeedway, the gears on the lens are not working correctly so the lens is not shutting all the way.

We got to Charlotte and literally walked what seemed like a mile going from the commuter plane terminal to the other end of the airport. We had a few minutes to grab a sandwich knowing all too well peanuts for lunch wasn’t going to cut it for us. Onto to New York (JFK) and after the train ride to the international terminal we found out that the check in counter wasn’t going to open for another 3 hours. Yes the State Department was responsible for the airline connections and we now had a 7 ½ hour layover at JFK. So we grabbed a couple of tables put them together and went to the Iraqi’s favorite fast food restaurant that would have made Colonel Sanders proud KFC. After we got them settled in and fed a couple of us did what any normal GI would do when faced with a long layover and the NCAA on TV. We hit the Sam Adams bar and got a few cold ones, some killer nachos and wings and enjoyed some basketball. We checked in did some last minute shopping and then got to our gate, hit the bar for one last cold one and it was on our way to Amman Jordan.

Eleven hours later we arrived in Amman at 1700 hrs, and having left at 2300 hrs EST, most of us got some decent sleep on the flight. It took forever to get the Iraqi’s though Jordanian immigration and then the missing luggage monster popped it’s ugly head. After almost one hour they finally located the last of the missing luggage and we got the Iraqi’s on their bus to the hotel no thanks to the State Department who failed to show up. The last thing we needed was an international incident, but thanks to the US Army we took care of business that the State Department dropped the ball on. One of the guys called our hotel and were kindly told that our reservations were cancelled because there was the SOFEX convention and they needed the rooms. We called our POC at the US Embassy in Jordan and no one picks up, no surprise here since they never showed at the airport they sure as hell weren’t in their office. We started calling the major hotels but only got the no vacancy response. At that point with a couple of us being Marriott members we called the Amman Marriott were told sorry but there are rooms available at the Marriott in the Jordan Valley (Dead Sea). Let’s see 45-60 minutes away from the center of Amman wasn’t what we wanted but then again, swimming pools, sun, the dead sea, plenty of pool action, great food and drinks you get the picture, they didn’t have to twist our arms any more.

The Marriott was awesome, from my window and balcony I had a view of the dead sea, the swimming pools, unfortunately the only thing that was missing was my better half! Major Sanders and I grabbed some dinner at the sports bar in the hotel and watched some Champions League Soccer. We called it a night around 2300 hrs since we were going to Petra the next day. It was nice to sleep with the balcony doors open listening to the water of the fountains by the pool and smelling the fresh air of the Dead Sea.

The next day we played tourist and headed down to Petra, which was about 3 ½ to 4 hours from the hotel according to everyone we asked. Doug drove, I was navigator and shotgun and George slept in the back seat most of the way. We went through about 4-5 towns and small cities and saw it all, goats hanging outside the butcher shops, street venders all over the place, people walking down the middle of streets as if they were on a Sunday stroll oblivious to the fact that they were impeding vehicular traffic, old men sitting drinking coffee staring at us and probably saying to the others, “what in the hell are those 3 Americans doing in this one horse town’? The scenery was awesome on the drive and it really gave us a better view and take on Jordan, the people, the land and what it has to offer. It also reminded us that on the way back we were going to take the 4 lane highway and save ourselves some driving time. Needless to say the directions and signs here in Jordan leave a lot to be desired and they never had the business district only posted so we ended up taking the main road through the entire village or town since we had no clue of the bypass road. We finally get to Petra and no where is there a sign which tells you where the ruins are. We stopped and George asked this guys sitting outside a camper how to get there, the guy he finds out is Italian and speaks no English so once again my Spanish comes in handy and the with a mix the Italian I know and Spanish we start talking and he gives me directions on how to get there.

Petra is awesome and you can spend an entire week to visit the entire site, obviously we took the short two hour guided tour and got a chance to see several of the key buildings plus learn about how Petra was settled, why they built the various tombs, buildings, the meaning of certain symbols, etc. The rock formations coupled with the construction that took place from 0100-0700 AD was mind boggling.

Petra Architecture

More Petra Buildings

There were tourists from everywhere and from what the guide said last year over 1M persons visited Petra and this year they are expecting it to increase to 1.2M I left convinced that this is definitely a place that I want to come back and see with Carmen. We headed back to the hotel and got back in time to see the sun set on the Dead Sea and it was beautiful.

Sunset at the Dead Sea

After dinner as we headed back to our rooms we heard some Arab music coming from one of the many lounges at the hotel and when we stuck our heads in we could see a belly dancer doing here thing and busting a move! So we grabbed a seat had a drink and watched the last 25 minutes of the show. I was laughing because since I have been here in Iraq I always ask my Iraqi counterparts when they planned on taking me to a belly dance joint and here I was in Jordan watching one! She danced pretty good I guess but I prefer watching Shakira doing her moves on some of her videos any day of the week!

I was beat that night having only slept 3+ hours the night before since I was wide awake at 0430 hours and went to the gym that morning. This time I slept almost 11 hours. Got up did breakfast at their buffet and hit the Dead Sea and swimming pool and just chilled under the sun and got caught up on some of my reading. I then headed to Amman and linked up with George, Saad and his better half Tala. We went out for some drinks had dinner and then I took a taxi back to the hotel since we were heading back to Iraq the next day. But that’s a different story!