Attitude Check

I've been on the ground here in Iraq for almost 2 months, and I've had some time to "take the temperature" of the people responsible for conducting "the greatest movement of man and material" since Vietnam.  Hmmm, I just put two phrases in quotes in the same sentence!  I forget if that is poor form or not.  Does anyone know if Mrs. Thompson is following this blog?

Consider that we have approximately 47,000 troops and 10,000 pieces of equipment to move off 60 bases in 7 months.  Put another way, there are close to 190 days until 31 December 2011, the last legal date for military forces to be in country, which means we have to close a base almost every 3 days for 7 months to get home.  Quite a daunting task, isn't it?

For the most part, people are fairly calm about the workload.  There are many plans in place that are being shaped, tweaked, and modified to account for new information.   The senior leaders have more important things on their minds right now than looking at passenger lists and packing schedules, confident that when the time to get going gets here, we're going to get going.  You ask what could be on their minds that is more important?  Well, for one thing this country is still in the fledgling stages of being able to take care of itself.  Not a single day goes by where there aren't double digits of civilians killed by insurgents, and there is no way to know how deep external influences from countries and organizations unfriendly to the USA and our efforts run here.  If leadership had the choice between an orderly, timely, and responsible drawdown with more Iraqi casualties and a lower chance of future success, and a chaotic, rushed departure leaving lots of materiel behind but a more secure environment, they'd take the second option.

Those who are not as comfortable with the process worry about the sheer volume of stuff that has to roll out of here, along with the mass of people and their stuff that goes with it.  One base that closed already kept its US Post Office open until a week before the closure, and on the last day they had a line going out the door around the building, and they did $12,000 worth of business in a single day.  That's how much crap the people who are deployed here have brought with them, had shipped here, or accumulated while here.  The obvious, if uncomfortable answer, is that hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars of equipment and material will just be left behind for the Iraqis to use.  Most of it would cost more to move back home than it is worth, and the rest just won't be high enough priority to get moved.

My refrain is that we're going to have a timely and responsible drawdown, even if we have to redefine the words timely and responsible.  It really bothers me to see the waste of taxpayer resources, but that's the way it is.  It will just be the last round of drinks on this 8+ year bar tab we've been running...

The USO

For today's post I want to talk a little bit about the United Service Organization, or USO.  On previous deployments I haven't really taken advantages of the services they offered.  The concerts weren't that appealing, no one very interesting seemed to come to visit the locations I was at, and I didn't really get what they did.  I thought the best thing about them was that they provided service members a place to sit and relax in airports while waiting on an airplane.  Their airport lounges are awesome, with free snacks and drinks, books, movies, telephones, the whole nine yards, all free to service members.  Some airports are better than others, but they all make you feel very welcome and at home.

Here in Iraq the USO has really stepped up its game in the past few years.  For example, about a week after I got here, Toby Keith came to town.  He gave a great show, even though the base was hit with rockets literally 5 minutes before he took the stage.  A lesser entertainer might have not come on stage, but he did, and basically called out the insurgents for shooting rockets when he was trying to put on a show.  Toby sang all my favorites (I know a lot of people don't like him, but I think most of his stuff is pretty good, especially his older songs).  He sang a couple that I'd never heard before that had a particular relevance.  Here are the links to YouTube if you want to listen:

The Ballad of Balad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdHLYn8b4PA

The Taliban Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BttTesmLglc

They were even better live, surrounded by people who have lived these songs for the past 10 years.

Aside from bringing guys like Toby Keith to the theater, the USO has areas set up in our passenger terminals where people getting ready to travel can jump on the internet, watch a movie, play video games, or even call home for free.  Before I left for Al Udeid I was able to call my mom and dad from the phones and it was nice not having to watch the clock like I do in the office during morale calls, and not having to use a phone card.  So, I'm glad I started taking advantage of the USO, and if you ever wondered what they did or what their purpose was when you saw the signs in the airport, now you know.

They're really some great Americans.  My next post will be about the mood I've observed regarding drawdown.  Until then...

Odds and Ends

Wow, can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post.  The time does fly when you're having fun...or when you're stuck in Groundhog Day.  I'm going to use this post to catch up on a few topics that people have asked about, then try to post again this weekend, and going forward shoot for two posts per week.  I would also like to know what does and doesn't interest you, or what topics you'd like me to explore.

Bin Laden
Some in my family have asked what I think of the fact that we finally got Osama Bin Laden.  I will definitely never forget where I was when I heard the news.  I had been here for about 4 days and was supposed to meet the guy I replaced for breakfast.  As I was getting ready to leave my CHU I had the TV on, and while flipping the channels I came across the live broadcast of some cable news show.  It was past 11 pm in the States, and the footage was of a crowd of people standing outside the White House chanting U-S-A and singing the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America.  It almost gave me goosebumps and made me feel triumphant.  9/11 happened just two months after I came on active duty, so nearly my entire career has happened with the global war on terror as a backdrop.  Finding out that we had finally taken down the man who was behind numerous attacks and American deaths finally brings that opening chapter to a close.  However, when I look back at how we spent the 10 years since the attacks, it makes me sad that we as a country didn't use the opportunity to unite more than we did.  Sure, the months after 9/11 were some of the most patriotic of my lifetime, and the way we quickly dealt with the Taliban and Al Qaeda was inspiring to say the least, but I think we lost our way a little bit after that and have been working to get back on track ever since.  Here's hoping that during the next ten years we're able to focus our time and money within our borders, so that my kids, and their kids, will continue to know what it means to improve on the standard of living passed down from their parents.

Travel
So far while I've been in Baghdad I've taken three trips.  I've been to Balad and Al Asad Air Bases in Iraq, and I'm sitting at a desk in Al Udeid, Qatar writing this piece.  You can look these bases up on Google and learn lots, so I won't go into much detail, but being able to see the amount of time and effort spent to secure this country and give it a chance to foster a democratic society has been eye opening.  I'm not sure that the Iraqis can handle it yet, I think too many of their powerful men are seeking power for their own good, to hold onto as long as possible, instead of with a goal of making life better for their people.  Unfortunately I don't know if I think we should continue to be here spending billions of borrowed money to ensure their success.  It's a very tough problem, one that would be hard enough to solve without the additional outside forces trying to force the country to come unglued from within.  One thing I can say is that a tiny percentage of America's youth is coming of age on these bases, and it makes me proud to serve beside them.  I wish more people in America knew what it meant to serve.  If there were more veterans and engineers in government than lawyers (sorry Ashley!) and businessmen, I think our country would be in much better hands.

Diet and Exercise
By far the biggest benefit of being deployed is being able to save lots of money, as well as earn money free of federal income tax.  But the second biggest benefit is the ample availability of gym time and top notch nutrition.  Each day I eat an egg white omelet with mixed peppers and onions, 3 hard boiled eggs, and some fruit for breakfast.  Lunch and dinner are either chicken or turkey with broccoli and other vegetables, or chicken, mixed peppers, onions, and broccoli stir fried together with a bit of soy sauce.  The fruits and veggies are very fresh, and everything is delicious.  It's costing the taxpayer about $30 a plate, so I always try to get my money's worth.  Also, I'm sure most of you know that there's no drinking allowed.  These two factors allow me to get the best out of the 2+ hours I spend every day in the gym, and I'm already starting to notice some big changes in my body.  I really can't wait to see what the next 6 months brings!

No CHUsing Roommates

I'm sure most of you are wondering what the living conditions are like over here.  They are actually surprisingly good, although you might expect that after being here eight years.  We've certainly sunk enough money into this country to at least have decent lodging!  The vast majority of people live in a CHU (Containerized Housing Unit), which is a 25 foot long, 10 foot wide, 8 foot tall box with one door, one air conditioner, and one ceiling light, two beds, and at least two wall lockers for storing stuff in.  Most people use their lockers as the dividing line between their spaces, and over the years they have accumulated TVs, fridges, desks, lamps, etc.  Some of the Army soldiers here on one year tours really spruce up their areas, adding flat screen TVs, carpets, and even barbeque grills outside (you can buy all this stuff at the Base Exchange, even meat for the grill).  My roommate is Chris, an Army Captain who volunteered to come back on active duty after he separated a year or two ago.  He's an Engineer officer as well, although that means something different over here.  When he was here last, two or three years ago, his job was to do route clearance.  Pretty much the most dangerous job in Iraq.  These guys drive in armored vehicles ahead of convoys looking out for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and even trying to get themselves blown up so that their buddies behind don't have to.  He's been blown up six times, and I think he actually enjoyed it.  He likes to fly hang gliders, climb mountains, and ride motorcycles, so his lifestyle is pretty extreme.  I tried explaining that I think it's perfectly fine to climb down a mountain after taking the trouble to climb up, but he would prefer to jump off and fly down.
Although he's a really nice guy, we don't see a lot of each other because he works nights.  Since I'm at work all day we don't even overlap except for briefly in the morning sometimes when he's coming home from work and I'm leaving.  I love it, because I'm a light sleeper and in the past I've had roommates who made it a nightmare to get to bed and stay asleep.  I don't envy him working nights, but I think it works out for both of us.  Here's my bed.  A huge upgrade over the one in Qatar, wouldn't you agree?

And this is where I sit to compose these missives:

Eventually I will have to move out as we continue our efforts to close down our bases.  Hopefully I will be promoted before then so I can possibly have a room to myself.  One of the perks of rank is that you sometimes get to live alone.  Well see what happens...until next time.

6 Years Ago Today

I married the love of my life, my amazing wife Ashley:

It has been a wonderful ten years since we met at Cannon Air Force Base in 2001.  We've lived in the same town but dated different people, lived 10 hours away from each other and only dated each other, been separated for months when I was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, and when she was travelling for work, lived in England and Korea, and visited places like Russia:

 China:

 and New Zealand together:

We've seen at least 125 cities in more than 25 countries across six continents.  It's amazing how lucky we've been to have such wonderful experiences, but what's even more amazing is how lucky I am to have had her by my side throughout.  She's the most amazing woman I've ever met.  There literally is NOTHING wrong with her.  She's gorgeous, brilliant (the only engineer I know who's passed the bar, has her private pilot's license (even if it's expired), and has a degree in international relations), shares the same taste as me in movies, music, books, and vacation destinations, has an amazing sense of humor that keeps us laughing together all the same (Ask me if I'm a tree...), and is the most giving, caring, thoughtful person I know.

When we travel, the first thing she thinks of is souvenirs to buy for others...I'm usually looking for the local brand of alcohol.  When I want to plan another trip or put money in savings, she suggests giving to charity.  She makes me stay home to watch football and basketball games, and has more passion for sports that most guys I know.

I love her more than anything in the world, and I'm the luckiest person I know to be able to claim her as my wife, and I want everyone to know it.  So baby, here's to you, the best thing to ever happen to me.  I love you dearly, miss you terribly, and cannot wait to hold you in my arms again...

Handover

Ok, so I know I promised two blog entries last week, but life intervened, and I only got around to doing one.  Today I wanted to do two, in honor of everyone still being here and the world not ending on 21 May 2011, but I had the pleasure of talking to my wife for almost 45 minutes, so only one post.  

If you're lucky, when you deploy somewhere, you'll have a few days of overlap with your predecessor so that he or she can bring you up to speed on the priorities of your job, what the hot issues are, and what your job entails.  As luck would have it, I knew Brandon Sokora from our time in England, and had already been in touch with him during the months leading up to the deployment.  Since I arrived a few days earlier than expected, it gave us a full ten days to transfer responsibilities and allow me to feel comfortable in the job.  Brandon did an awesome job of explaining the organizational structure here, how things are accomplished, the current priorities, and his best guess on the future priorities.

 

In the 8 years the United States has been in Iraq, there have been several names for the organization that ran things in the country.  The first was Combined Joint Task Force 7, which changed to Multi-national Force Iraq (MNF-I), and now United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I).  USF-I is led by a 4-star Army General who works here on VBC with a significant staff.  The staff is called a Joint Staff because it has Air Force, Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard members serving along with the Army.  The staff is organized in standard fashion, several directorates numbered from 1 to 9.  The J1 handles Personnel issues, J2 Intelligence, J3 Operations, J4 Logistics, J5 Plans, J6 Communications, J7 Engineering, J8 Finance, and J9 Public Affairs.  In additional to the staff there several Major Subordinate Commands, which all provide support in different areas.  I'm part of the Air Component Coordination Element - Iraq or ACCE-I.  There is a similar organization in Afghanistan.  My boss is a 1-star general who was just selected to receive a second star, which kind of says that the Air Force is sending its A Team to Iraq for crunch time.  As the A7 (just like in the Army and Joint world, 7 means Engineering), I'm responsible for reviewing and validating the drawdown planning for the Air Force bases in Iraq.  I obviously coordinate with the other members of the ACCE-I staff, as they handle their functional areas (similar to the structure shown above), and I specificly work closely with the Air Force Civil Engineers in Iraq. 

 

It is amazing how much has to leave this country after being here for 8 years.  I remember being in Kuwait in 2003 as we shipped pretty much everything that would fit on a flatbed north to aid in setting up bases in the southern part of Iraq.  We did that on the fly, never thinking more than a few months ahead.  Well, as time has passed, we have instituitionalized many things here, such as dining facilities, morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) areas, Base and Post Exchanges (little shopping malls).  Most of those things have to leave, and there needs to be an organized plan to do it.  On the engineer side, we have a multitude of people, equipment, and materiel that needs to be packed up and shipped either home or to other places in the world that need it.  It should be an interesting ride.

 

So, in addition to explaining a lot of that to me, Brandon had the pleasure of me following him around everywhere he went for about 8 days.  I called him my security blanket.  He walked me around the Al Faw Palace (pic below):

 

Al Faw Palace

He showed me the main Dining Facility (DFAC), as well as a few others around base that I'd never been to.  I deployed to the Air Base on Victory Base Complex (Sather AB) back in 2007, so I had been here before, but it's amazing how much things change in such a short time, and it was great having my own tour guide.  During his 6 months here (lucky dog, I'm here for 8) he was able to meet just about everyone who worked in an area of interest to engineers.  So he spent a lot of time shaking hands and introducing "his new best friend" around the base.  This has been of great benefit to me in the last couple weeks, and I'm sure the relationships he helped me start will pay dividends down the road.  

It's hard to believe that he's been gone two weeks today.  He and his wife are getting ready to welcome a baby girl into the world, and I'm sure he's settling back into life in Texas.  Thanks for the great handoff Brandon, and I'll see if I can take it from here... 

Doing the Deid

Ok, I know lots of you were wondering when I was going to continue this blog.  It's been a very busy 17 days so far, and I just haven't had the time to do an update.  I'm in the swing of things now though, and although I'll still be very busy, I should be able to write once a week or so.  This weekend I'm giving you a special treat of a double update, to attempt to close the gap since my last entry.  Also, you'll notice in the future that I write about things that happened in the past.  I'll rarely talk about what's coming up just to stay safe.  You never know when Johnny Jihad is surfing the web.

So, when an Air Force member deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan, they usually go through one of two central locations:  Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, for Iraq, and Manas Air Base, Krygyzstan for Afghanistan.  These are rearward bases that are easily accessible by the contracted rotator flights from the US, Europe, and Pacific.  The nice thing about the contracted flights is that they load them by rank, so I was able to snag a seat in the first class section, which had all the space of a normal first class seat, with none of the perks.  For those reading this that think the enlisted folks get a raw deal by not being able to board first, there's a saying that I didn't coin and rarely use, but seemed to apply in this situation:  "RHIP - Rank Has Its Privileges".  Once a person arrives at one of these bases they go on standby to await onward transportation.  They can be stuck there anywhere from a day or two to a week or more.  Here's what the billeting arrangements are for "transient" personnel:

Bed Number 10, Tent Number 49

And here's what the rest of my "bedroom" looked like:

At least they aren't cots!

Thankfully it was pretty empty.  I've been there when it was full and it's pretty tough to get a good night's sleep.  Plus, someone always seems to take the mint off your pillow.

I was lucky in that I only had to spend one night in that bed, since I arrived at dawn on Monday and departed past midnight on Tuesday.  The two days there are a bit of a blur, because I was tired, jet lagged, and trying to adjust to the 95 degree heat with 80% humidity.  I was able to stop by the AFCENT (Air Forces Central) Headquarters to meet with some of the Civil Engineers who provide "reachback" support to Airmen in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  It would be interesting to see how their perspectives differed from the guy I was going to replace...

Next time:  Victory Base Complex