Thanksgiving 07

Every Dining Facility in the Army goes all-out for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even the small outposts get some kind of I’m at small base in Iraq. Instead of serving two meals today, they served a Thanksgiving dinner from 1200-1700. I had to wait about 15 minutes because they opened the DFAC a little late. When I walked in, I saw how much work they had put into the meal. They had all the trimmings of your standard American turkey dinner, a giant 3 foot square cake and banners and decorations on all the walls. Every table had “Happy Thanksgiving” place mats, and a bottle of sparkling cider. It was a strange scene, because ¾ of the diners were Iraqi Army, and all of the cooks were Turkish or Fillipino. I doubt either of them recognize the American holiday.

Here, the days really have no meaning. November 22 simply means that I’m about 6 weeks away from taking leave. I had forgotten that it even was Thanksgiving until I was in line at the DFAC and they didn’t open at the usual time. When I got inside and sat down to eat, I wished that it had been another day. Everything there reminded me of home and my family. I didn’t want to be reminded of how much I miss them.

A Much Better Place to Live

Today I moved into my third tent in the week that I’ve been on this new camp. There’s been a lot of confusion about where my company is going to live, but I pray that it is all settled now. The tent that I’ve moved into is that nicest place I’ve lived in the total 18 months I’ve spent in this country. It’s not much, but it’s a mansion to me. I would estimate my new place to be about 6x10’, that’s a few feet in each direction larger than my last place. It’s so long that that I do not know what to do with all the space. I would have been quite content with 6x6. I put some extra mattresses between my bunk bed and the next one for soundproofing, and bought a small rug for the floor. Then I put some cardboard over my two plastic 3 drawer chests to make a desk for my computer and lamp. I have a stool for now, but when my folding chair gets here I will be able to watch Stargate quite comfortably. I put up a few pictures, but because there is no wood in my “room” (space in the large tent) I was unable to put up my frame. I have my foot locker in a convenient place to keep my stuff secure, and an ice chest if I ever take the time to fill it. Also on my desk is the stuffed rat that wards off the real ones. I haven’t seen any mice around my space since July, so the rat must be territorial. My room is the size of a large closet, but I think it’s quite home like. Now, if only they would fix the hot water heater.

I’ve discovered some new brands of ice cream in the dining facility. I can’t even tell what country they are from, but I would be them at home if they were sold in the states. This new brand has 3 different flavors of ice cream bar, and all of them are very good. One variety is vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, with a white chocolate shell with almond shavings. I think the brand is from Turkey or Eastern Europe. Yesterday I found a new color drumstick, and since I love drumsticks I had try it. I should have known that a green wrapper would mean the drumstick was made with pistachio ice cream. I do not like pistachios. If you do, come to the middle east and you can have pistachio ice cream in a drumstick.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to spend an evening with one of our Iraqi interpreters. I enjoyed talking to him and hearing about Iraq from an Iraqi. Our conversation gave me a better understanding of the suffering and hardship of the Iraqi people, something that I can’t describe here. His girlfriend was killed by a car bomb, and several family and friends killed in other violence. He can never go back home, because if he does, the militias will kill him. Anyone who cooperates with coalition forces here puts their life at risk. All of the interpreters accompany soldiers on missions and face the same dangers from IED’s and RPG’s that US soldiers face. Arabic is such a hard language to learn that coalition forces would have a hard time without interpreters. I hope that if this war ends in anything other than a peaceful Iraq that our interpreters would be granted residency or citizenship in the US. It would an appropriate thing that our country could do after they’ve risked their lives for our soldiers on a daily basis.

First Impressions of my new place to live

I am sure that bread must have been something that God taught the first humans long ago. How else could anyone 4,000 years ago have thought to grind up wheat, mix it with water and bake it? Except for the bag of delicious Iraqi bread that I bought on patrol in August, I have not had real bread since leaving home 7 months ago. At lunch today I went to eat lunch at the dining facility at my new home. I was standing in line for some baked ham when I happened to look to the end of the room and saw something I could not believe. Off to the side of the main line was a large bread counter, with over a dozen different types of fresh breads. Dessert, coffee cake, cheese, garlic, rolls, they were all there. I approached the counter slowly, in awe of what I was seeing and after being prompted by the server who must have thought I was nuts, I took two slices of garlic cheese loaf and walked away feeling like I’d just been given a thousand dollars. Then I found some butter, gave thanks and joyously ate my lunch.

The base I live in now is significantly smaller than the one that I left, but it does have several advantages. Because it is so small, I no longer have to take a bus for 20 minutes to do anything. The Chapel, store, gym, library, Bazaar, food court, work and the cleaners are all within a reasonable walking distance. As I described above, the dining facility is much better than the one I left. There are also several new flavors of ice cream for me a try. I think that living conditions will be better here than they have been for the last 6 months. Of course, if I have more than two feet on one side of my bunk, it’s an improvement. One of the most welcome improvements would be to have consistently hot showers. I have not had one of those in a while. This new base even has a small national forest. Rest assured that I will send pictures and post a trip report as soon as I get the chance.

A Typical Day

Yesterday was a supposed to be a normal day. I’d wake up, go turn in the article that I finally finished after much procrastination, spend 30 minutes loading my truck and then go to a briefing and be done. It was not to be that way. At noon I went to the company HQ trying to find a ride to the chow hall, and found out the mission had changed. I had to find a way to get two full trucks completely loaded with cargo by the end of the day. The amount of material was so incredible that I spent most of the next two hours trying to find the person responsible to confirm that he really wanted us to carry that much. Then we spent the next three hours loading it on the trucks and making all the necessary preparations. It was more stressful than it sounds, and I expected it to go much worse than it did.

Early this morning my most of the company and I got up and went to the motorpool. It was even a little chilly as I walked to my truck just after dawn. Everyone made sure that the cooler were well stocked with ice and Gatorade, because we knew it would not stay so cool. After a few final preparations, we were on our way. We had a large group today, and so the movement was somewhat cumbersome, but we made it work. The civilians were all out early, walking around, talking and starting their day. All of the neighborhood kids would run out to wave at us when they heard the first truck pass. I had a bag of candy I didn’t want that I had been saving for the end of Ramadan to give away, so I threw it out the window whenever we passed a small group. The market at the traffic circle was typically busy, with fresh produce in some shops, and fresh meat on hooks on the porch of others. A few kids and adults waved as we passed, but many kept going as if we weren’t there. A few minutes later we turned on to the main highway picked up a little speed. There were plenty of cars on the road today, but they all pulled to the side to allow us to pass. Some of the cars were new Japanese and European models. Others are old and patched together. Still others were painted orange on the ends and white in the middle. I’ve heard this is a taxi pattern. Along the side of the road were some cows and at another point a donkey pulling a cart. At last we pulled into our first destination, a Joint Coalition outpost, or JCOP.

As soon as we got there I got out, went inside, and found an officer talking to a civilian. As I watched, they cancelled the mission that I had worked so hard yesterday to prepare for. With my own mission cancelled, I hitched a ride in another truck to go along for my favorite mission, that I would not have been able to take part in otherwise. For weeks I had been saving the candy for the kids at this location, and now Ramadan was over and I had already given it away, not knowing I would be able to come.

Our destination was a small cul-de sac near overlooking a river. It seemed that every kid in the area had come out to greet us, and a few adults as well. It took some time to unload our precious cargo, so I had some time to interact with the kids while we were waiting. I know enough Arabic and the know enough English so that we can sort of understand each other. Most of the kids just wanted to smile, shake hands and take pictures anyways. Today we exchanged names, but sadly I cannot remember theirs. I took several pictures, but every time they just asked for more, even though they could not see them. They will not be posted here. Many kids asked for things like water pencils, or my glasses and watch. Unfortunately, I had nothing that I wished to part with at the time. A few of them asked for a football, (soccer) even though it should have been obvious I had none in my pockets. They all spoke very good Arabic and some English for their age. They all remember us, and I remember many of them. A few weeks ago I had an extra pen, so I took it out of the pocket on my shoulder and gave it to the youngest child there at the time. Today I showed three of the kids the empty pen pockets on my sleeve to prove that I had no pens on me, and one of them pointed to my pocket, where he remembered I keep them. The only one I had today was my favorite. The most memorable part of the day was when a young boy, between three and five years old, came to me and held out his hand with a piece of hard candy in it. I don’t know how well these people live, but I’m pretty sure that such candy is worth much more to a child here than it is to me. I was touched, and accepted the candy and said Shukran (thank you) with my right hand over my heart, which is a gesture of sincerity in their culture. I thought for a second about what I had on me, and fortunately I had some gum in one of my pouches and gave it to the child as a gift in return. By this time we were done unloading the cargo, but a news media team was still there talking to the shop owner so we stayed just a bit longer before moving to our next destination.

The short trip was uneventful, and our next destination was a secure spot so we could rest and relax for a while. A few minutes after we got there, the news media team asked to interview me, so I stood in front of a truck similar to mine and they video taped a five minute interview. After spending some time in the shade talking to the residents and the crews of some other vehicles, we mounted up and drove uneventfully back to our base.

On the way to the chow hall, I got the opportunity to reinforce to the rest of the company that my section is the best. They were skeptical, but they are just misinformed. The chow was great after a long day, if only they weren’t out of near beers. They go so well with BBQ’d beef. There was plenty of Baskin Robbins to go around, and I enjoyed a good portion of it.

Am I done yet?

Today I received a long awaited package in the mail, a brand new pair of boots. I was so excited I took them straight back to my room to put them on to break them in. They fit just right. My old pair is so worn I’d forgotten how well defined the sole of a pair of boots should be.

Last night as I was on my way back from brushing my teeth, I saw a group of soldier around a fire and walked over to investigate. Two of them were friends, and they invited me to stay and enjoy some tea with them. The third soldier, who I met that night, had some tea he had bought from an Iraqi merchant and a kettle on the fire. So we sat around the fire late at night drinking chai and talking about home.

I’m trying to write an article about my unit for the Brigade newspaper. I’ve never been very good at writing in the third person, so I’m constantly checking the word count.

“Am I there yet?”

No, 98 words. Hmm

“Am I there yet?”

No, 128 words.

“Am I there yet?”

147 words. This isn’t going as I planned,

And so it goes. Maybe by next week I’ll get it done.

The key to enjoying movies

So I bought myself a copy of Star Trek the Next Generation today. It was a boxed set and had every episode of all seven seasons on it. It was a great price, and I figured since I since liked Stargate SG-1, maybe I’d this it, or I could just send it to Ariele, and she’d enjoy it. So I took it back to my bed and popped in the first disc. It didn’t hold my attention for very long. I blamed the hard to follow plot and 1980’s sets and costumes. But maybe there was another reason. I realized that since this was a new Sci-Fi series I need something more than just my computer to enjoy it. I need company. I need a nerd, and not just any nerd will do. I need a special nerd. This person is loving, captivating, beautiful and can make any movie fun. So someday, my wife and I will sit down on our couch and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and have a great time together.

Another Post

For the past few days everyone that I have talked to has asked that I write something new. I never thought of myself to be much of a writer. I had some moments high school and college, but most of the time writing was accompanied by procrastination, tea, and late nights. Except for those rare occasions, I’m limited in my inspiration to things that I have seen or experienced directly. Most things I do I don’t think are very interesting myself, so I don’t expect anyone else to find them interesting. The demand for things I write has really surprised me, so I’ll try to think of something interesting.

One of the Pentagon’s benchmarks for progress in Iraq has been the establishment of large number of Joint Security Stations (JSS) in and around the Capital. These JSS’s are scattered and have US and Iraqi soldiers living and working together close to the civilian population. My unit’s job is to make sure that our JSS has all the supplies that it needs. In doing so, we’ve hard to carry some strange loads between here and there, but mostly just normal stuff. On Sunday’s mission there were two other stops in the local area. I love to get out and see what the country looks like, but I speak very little Arabic. At both stops we were giving out something very valuable, so many of the locals were glad to see us.

On Monday I decided to start of the month of October and the end of daylight savings time right. I spent the majority of my time awake cleaning everything I owned. I went through all the stuff I no longer needed, gave away things and reorganized my locker and space. I call it space because I don’t have my own room. My space measures about 5’x8’ and is dominated by my bunk bed. I have the bottom bunk and my rucksack has the top. I’ve made a nightstand out plywood and a plastic 3 drawer cart. On the night stand is my little lamp, the best 10 dollars I’ve spent in Iraq. Next my bed is another bunk, with only a poncho liner between us. Two feet from the other side of the bed is a poncho and the other edge of my space. So after working all day yesterday I was able to get everything clean, organized and in it’s place. So of course, I went to the CP this afternoon and found a large box from my wife. Now I have to find a place for all that stuff. Or eat it faster. She sent Reese’s, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

To most Americans who read this, it would seem very Spartan and harsh living conditions, but every time that I go out to see how the Iraqis are living, I am grateful for everything that I have. Whenever I go out near the Iraqis, they all ask for water. In the summer I thought it was because they were thirsty, but as I read the news and thought about it, I realized that they all want our bottled water because their tap water isn’t even fit to drink. I read in the news a few weeks ago that there is a Cholera epidemic in Baghdad because of it.

What's been happening of late

The last two weeks of August were among the busiest I have spent here. They were well spent though. I was tired, but enjoyed most of it. I learned to operate a crane and forklift and a few new words in Arabic. I love to learn new things. The past week or so has been fairly quiet. I have spent much of my time watching Stargate Atlantis or catching up on sleep. It’s amazing how fast the summer went by. I’ve already been gone for 5 months, and in just 4 more I’ll be home on leave.

Today I decided to torture myself by looking at trip reports from other people’s climbs on www.cascadeclimbers.com. I looked at places I’ve been and places I’d love to go. It was very sad, because there’s only one thing that I would want more than to spend a few days in the Cascades, and that is to spend that time with my family. There’s something awesome and indescribable for me in the mountains and the forests. When I’m out in the wilderness or high on a mountain I feel more alive than almost anywhere else. I feel as if that’s where I belong. When I go home to the city, I’m glad to be back to have the comforts there, but I miss the outdoors. When I come home I plan on recruiting people from somewhere and heading off to nearest glaciated peak, hopefully I’ll climb Mt. Rainier. It’ll be scary and amazing.

On my last mission our commander was given a plate of dates from a grateful civilian. They came from one of the date palms in his yard. I had never had one, so of course I had to have a picture of me with the date. It was about the size of a large grape, and very sweet, with a large seed. It delicious, but so sweet that even I only wanted two.

Lunch and Dinner

Today I went to have lunch at the home of a local Sheik. The Sheik was very wealthy, even by American standards and had a very large and nice home. Unfortunately I was only able to see the outside and one room of the inside. One of the first things that everyone in our group noticed was that he had a lawn with bright green grass. As I was waiting outside the house for all of the leaders to eat, I noticed two of the Iraqis walking in from the field, and one of them was dragging something long a black. My vehicle commander went over to investigate and learned that they had a black snake. It was either a Cobra or a Viper. The Iraqis showed no fear in handling it, and it was obviously dead, and I am glad there is one fewer snake in the world.

When it was my turn to eat, I walked inside the walled compound eagerly anticipating the Arab feast that I thought was coming. To my disappointment, it was not an Arab feast, but American food that had been made by American cooks. It was very good, but not what I had been expecting. The house and yard were amazing, and by far the nicest in the area. I took my plate and enjoyed a meal on the shaded grass. Nearby I watched a man face to the south and pray the noon prayers. The tables and food were on the patio, and around them were scores of American and Iraqi soldiers eating and talking. After I finished I went around and corner and found the restroom. It was outdoors, and to my surprise, had running water. It was an area in the side of the patio, and there were three stalls, and four sinks. Each stall had a bedpan shaped hole in the tile, and a hose and pitcher of water to ensure everything made it down the hole. I made sure to wash my hands when I was done. I spent about an hour in the patio and yard, and helped clean up as the lunch wound down. It was an enjoyable and memorable experience, but one that was disappointing as well. I had really been hoping that the food served at the lunch would be Iraqi, and I could have another variety of genuine Arab food. To add irony to the story, when I came back to the camp and went to the dining facility, it was Indian night. I got myself a delicious plate of curried beef, rice and Aloo Cabbage. The cabbage was the best. It was mixed with potatoes and spicy. One way or another I got to have my genuine ethnic food. I had genuine Indian food because most of the cooks are Indian. Of the two experiences, I found my walk through the villages to be more enjoyable.

A walk down the street

Today I went on a patrol with a small unit from another battalion. They escorted my soldier and me on a mission, and when they dropped us off at the outpost, they allowed me to come with them on their mission. I knew them all from when they had escorted us on previous missions, so we already had a relationship established and worked well together. The mission today was to do a dismounted patrol through several villages and pass out leaflets and interact with the civilian population.

At the first village we went to, all the soldiers were followed by children like swarms of mosquitoes. I was handing out flyers, but since we did not have a lot, I could only give them to the adults. Since we had them, all the children wanted them, and anything else we had. They were very persistent. I felt like the only word I said in that town was la (no). Everyone was friendly, and talked openly with us as much as we could with the language barrier. I was always alert, but did no feel threatened in any way. I truly enjoyed the chance to walk through the streets and see what this country is really like. I only know how to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and yes/no in the language, but it was enough to pass out flyers and communicate goodwill. After a time the children got annoying. Many of them would follow us for as long as they could, begging for the flyers that we had and soccer balls. We gave out balls at each town, but we only had enough for one per town. Telling them no and to go away would only get a few seconds reprieve. At one point, another NCO got out a pair of flex cuffs and started walking towards the kids with them, and that got him a minute or two of peace. In spite of the harassment, both the adults and children were very friendly to us. Many Iraqis just came up to shake our hands. This was the largest of the four villages, and we spent the most time walking here.

At one point, as we were moving a short distance in the truck, the driver asked me if I had a dollar on me. I asked why and he pointed to a bakery on the right side of the road and said they had excellent bread. I got out of the truck and another NCO, the XO and an interpreter came in with me. I was the first to enter, but didn’t know what to say so I stepped to the side to allow the others to pass through the doorway. The Iraqis inside looked a little nervous at first, but when they saw we just wanted bread they quickly warmed up to us. The interpreter helped me, and placed an order for me. I paid one dollar for 10 pieces of hot from the oven flatbread. It was delicious, the best I’ve ever had. I had plenty and shared with the driver and gunner of my truck.

The next village we walked through did not have nearly as many children out. It was not as big, and it was later in the day and warmer. There we many groups of men sitting in the shade as we walked along. I would walk up to them and say Salaam aleikum ( Peace be upon you), hand out a few flyers and then say ma Salaama and be on my way to the next one. I was never alone, and always had at least one other soldier with me. Often the one I was with was passing out a different flyer. After giving some to a group of men sitting on the steps of a Mosque, I looked and saw two other soldiers at a storefront across the street. I walked over and passed out a few flyers then kept a lookout while they talked to the people. It turned out they were bartering for sodas. This particular shop has a brand of citrus RC Cola that they liked. The deal they agreed on was four for a dollar, and so all the soldiers in the area got a soda. It was cold and very good and came from a glass bottle that Iraqis wanted back when we finished. I walked into the store to give the bottle back. It was dimly lit, and had cases of food and drinks stacked everywhere on display. There was an old woman in a tradition black dress inside, and all the men and older boys were outside talking with us. Once we had all finished our drinks we got in the trucks and moved on to the next stop.

I cannot remember the names of the places I visited today, but even if I could I could not pronounce them. The third village that we went to had no shortage of both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. I continued to pass out flyers, and was followed by a fair number of children. One 7-8 year old boy came to me and gave me a piece of hard candy. I said shukran (thank you) and pocketed the candy. Another Iraqi came up to me to shake hands. To my surprise he read my name from my uniform, and then showed me his ID card so I could read his. After walking a little further I saw a roadside butcher shop. I knew it was a butcher shop because there was a sheep tied up on the ground and two men were busy cutting its throat. I tried not watch. When I walked back later there was a puddle of blood running out into the street.

The last village that we visited was more rural than the rest of them. By now it was noon, so most of the people stayed where they were in the shade and let us come to them. We walked by a house with a fenced in barn, and another soldier told me to look over the fence to see their baby donkey. It was light grey, only two feet tall and really cute. I saw another bakery, and gave flyers to the bakers, but I had no more need for bread. Across the street was a produce stand, and I watched as another soldier bought some plums from them. Once we reached the end of the road, we got back in our vehicles and drove back to the camp.

Though it was hot and tiring, and I drank 2 gallons of water to keep cool I enjoyed the day immensely. I learned more about the culture and people than I have on any other day I’ve spent here.