Weeks 1 - 2, OIF6

Fri. 21 March 2008 “Good Friday”

I have been in the Middle East for two weeks. I departed Fort Hood, Texas on a DC-10 March 7. We made two fuel stops enroute to Kuwait. The first one was Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and the second was Leipzig, Germany (former East Germany). Gander had about a foot of snow on the ground and it had just rained in Germany.

For your information, we had about 16 flights spaced over two weeks to get our troops from Texas to Kuwait. Each flight took different routes, so they make different fuel stops partly because many of the flights have different carriers. Some might be United Airlines, Delta Airlines, World Airlines or a myriad of companies, whomever the USAF contracted for our travel. Plane loads varied in size depending on the nomenclatures of the aircraft. My flight this time happened to be ATA and carried about 300 personnel. There are many variables that go into flight planning. We had a lot of weight due to additional cargo, which means we burned more fuel on take-off and the aircrew was very mindful of the fuel consumption.

During fuel stops, everyone must get off the plane for safety reasons. In Newfoundland, we visited the shops and I bought post cards for $1 each. The Canadians were friendly. (I was escorting Zack & Jim, two radio personalities from Waco 100. They do the “Morning Show with Zack & Jim” from 6 – 10 a.m. every weekday. They play two kinds of music as disc jockeys between their jokes…country and western. Their show is rated number one in two radio markets: Waco and Temple/Killeen. They were bound for Camp Liberty to do live radio broadcasts from Baghdad. That’s another story.) One of Zack & Jim’s sponsors was a telephone company, so the radio guys were issued a Blackberry cellular phone with international calling capability. Plus the company gave them a bunch of international calling cards to issue to Soldiers. Needless to say, Jim let me use their phone to call Lois, because mine did not have a signal.

In Germany, it felt like we were being pushed off into a back corner of the airport and isolated/contained to be out of sight, out of mind. It seemed that part of Germany is still in the Cold War, because the East Germans were suspicious of us. There were two airport shops and the shop keepers were friendly, but the merchandise was expensive. Post cards were $6-7 each, so I didn’t buy any. We did play many games of fusbol during the layover. (On a flight behind me, a crewmember died on the airplane. Therefore, our troops spent about 36 hours in that same airport waiting for the investigation to be completed. A source told me they had massive fusbol tournaments, because they had nothing else to do. The airline carrier fed them during the adventure.)

After getting off the plane, we boarded buses and rode to Camp Buehring. I was the senior man on the flight, so I was invited to ride in the lead vehicle (a SUV) and issued ammunition to be a gunner. Each vehicle had a gunner, SUV or bus. My charges, Zack & Jim, were invited to ride in the trail vehicle (also a SUV). We arrived at camp just after midnight Sunday morning (local time); however, my biological clock was still set for Central Time, which was eight hours later. We inprocessed Kuwait that night by getting our identification cards swiped. Our ID cards have a microchip with lots of personal data on it, so inprocessing didn’t take long. We also had a welcome briefing telling us where the dining facility, post exchange and other services were located with their operating hours (plus a video with the CFLCC commander), finance briefing detailing all of our financial entitlements plus the various savings plans in a combat zone, and an administrative briefing. We were issued Rules of Engagement cards for Kuwait and Iraq.

My first day (Sunday) in Kuwait was spent sitting in a large building in the receive mode listening to one speaker after another give briefings. The briefings consisted of many topics: improvised explosive devices, electronic countermeasures, fratricide taught by the British and so on. Other than the British guy with his corning jokes my biggest battle was the Z-monster. (Jet lag is a funny thing especially going against the time zones.) I also walked around camp trying to get body armor and flights north for my media friends. By now, I knew them very well. Both of them can snore real loud...they slept next to me. (In a circus tent sleeping on cots with 100 other guys with various schedules and snoring… I did not sleep well in Kuwait. It didn’t help that I was right beside the door and heard it open every time someone entered or departed.)

On Day 2 (Monday), I secured transportation (another SUV) and drove to an airbase and secured body armor and flights for my radio personalities. (On the Kuwaiti highway, we saw the old “Basra Road of Death” from Desert Storm plus many herds of camels and flocks of sheep & goats. I also took two staff buddies with me who had brothers in the USAF at this airbase. (I also issued ammunition to my buddies and me.) So, after putting Zack & Jim on an aircraft bound for Baghdad, I socialized with two sets of brothers for the rest of the day until it was time to head back to my Kuwait home. We also played a few games of billiards. One of my new USAF brothers was a pilot on a C-130. The other is a shop foreman at a wheeled maintenance facility. In the evening, I attended a MySpace live concert shown around the world sponsored by Morale Welfare Recreation. Jessica Simpson was the last performer. She wasn’t feeling well but sang three songs anyway. She had trouble hitting the high notes, but to me she was the highlight of the event. The other bands and “talent” were vulgar and offensive.

On Day 3 (Tuesday) we headed to the range for most of the day and I fired both of my weapons: M4 Colt 5.56mm carbine and M9 Beretta 9mm pistol. We saw camels up close and personal again. The rest of the day, I raided the post exchange for an alarm clock, sun screen, towels and more postcards. Then I wrote on the postcards and mailed them.

On Day 4 (Wednesday), I reconfigured my A, B & D duffle bags, because I could only fly north with one. I gave my B & D bags to my men to load in our container that they would retrieve from the port in a few days. (My C bag departed months ago on the container, which sailed around the world on one of the Army’s contracted cargo ships.) Then, I boarded a bus and rode to the same airbase that I visited on Day 2. We boarded a USAF C-17 cargo plane and flew north to Baghdad. In Baghdad, I switched to a U.S. Army CH-47D cargo helicopter and flew to Camp Taji under cover of darkness. I checked into the Counter Insurgency Academy and the logistics sergeant issued me the key to my own “bedroom.” It was really half of a shipping container with my own sink, toilet and shower, which leaked all over the floor (but I’m not complaining) stacked inside of a warehouse. It was furnished with a bed, mattress, wall locker (wardrobe), desk, refrigerator and TV with five AFN stations. I was able to watch some March Madness. That was nice, since I haven’t watched college basketball all season. (The last few months I’ve been working from 6 a.m. to 8 – 10 p.m. every workday, so this was a nice break.) When I arrived at Camp Taji, it seemed like “wow, I’m back from a long R&R trip.” It was like I had never left 15-months ago. (I was also happy to get out of Kuwait. Each time on my past two tours, I’d get the Kuwaiti Crud. Last time I was so weak from sickness, I was out of action for a whole day. So I was glad to get out of Kuwait unscathed for once. People in my unit were getting the Crud before I left, so it was a concern.)

From March 13 – 18, I attended the COIN Academy. (The COIN Academy was started by GEN George Casey, then the Multi-National Force – Iraq commander, now the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, in August 2005. My brigade attended the first class in Dec. 2005, but I was not invited that time. Casey wanted to train the leaders of each U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team or USMC Regimental Combat Team coming to Iraq how to defeat the insurgency.) Every morning I would run the roads of Camp Taji for 4 – 6 miles with a few of my buddies working out before class. I also hit the gym a few times to lift weights. The first morning it rained on us, so we looked like pigs that had found our favorite mud hole. The moon dust turns to peanut butter when it gets wet, so from the knees down we were muddy. Our classes ran from 8 a.m. to 8 – 9 p.m. One evening after class, we rode to the PX on a MWR trip. After picking up some electrical adapters, I visited my old office. The maps I hung on my walls in 2006 were still there. Other than the furniture being rearranged, it looked like I’d never left. I made a call to Kirk, the guy I would be replacing and had a nice chat. (I also wrote a story about my brigade attending the COIN Academy again, which hit the media outlets a few days ago.)

On March 18, we boarded another Army CH-47D and flew south to Forward Operating Base Falcon under cover of darkness. (CH-47Ds only fly at night for force protection reasons. They are huge aircraft and very valuable. It takes a general’s signature to authorize a day flight with this type of helicopter.) I visited FOB Falcon once in 2006 to attend a memorial service for one of our killed in action Soldiers. (One of our battalions, was stationed here for the first half of 2006.) Kirk met me at the Landing Zone and I moved my bags to temporary billets. I live in a trailer with three rooms. I have my own room, but the trailer has no water fixtures. I have to hike about 80 meters to the latrine/shower trailers, but I’m not complaining. My room is furnished with two beds with new mattresses, two wall lockers and two smaller dressers. (I am not unpacking because I’m told I’ll be moving again in a few weeks.) Then I linked up with Kirk at the office that I take over in a few weeks. Soon after I arrived, a 107mm rocket exploded just outside the building. I was covered in dirt that flew through the boarded up window. My friend LTC Mike McNally, whose office is on the second floor about 20 meters away, was sitting at his desk. Shrapnel came through his boarded up window and impacted his interior walls in several places. So, FOB Falcon welcomed me with a bang. (Mike and I were stationed together in an infantry battalion at Fort Chaffee, Ark. and we were running partners.)

March 19 – 21, I have been shadowing Kirk but giving him enough space to do his job. I’m impressed with what his unit, 4th Infantry BCT, 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kan. has done. The 4th Inf. Div. (and Multi-National Division – Baghdad) public affairs officer, LTC Steve Stover, who is an old friend of mine, told me that Kirk’s public affairs section is the best one in the entire Iraqi theatre. So, I am observing what he does and I will continue to do what works well and will modify where I think I can do the job better. However, he is an awesome PAO. Just for an example, in 12-months at Taji in 2006 I had 30 embed reporters and 35 VIPs with me. Kirk has had over 70 media embeds during his 14-months here. Of course, the Rashid District of Baghdad is much more popular to the International and Iraqi media than the Taji area plus Kirk doesn’t handle VIPs. Someone else does. His staff also cranks out more print stories than any other public affairs section in Iraq. (My staff cranks out more print and broadcast products than any other PA section in the 4th Inf. Div., so I think I can continue Kirk’s trend.)

On March 19 when my boss, COL Ted Martin, arrived here for the first time, he rushed up and asked me, “are you OK?” For a second I thought he was going to hug me. I was startled and surprised. I did not know what he was talking about.

I replied, “of course.” I was still bewildered. Later, I found out that my friend, Dave, our night battle major who is shadowing his counterpart from 4/1ID passed on to him that I was nearly hit in Tuesday’s rocket attack. I don’t remember telling Dave, so I’m not sure how he found out.

We have received an indirect fire attack everyday since I’ve been here. Today, while I was in the dining facility, 10 81mm mortar rounds hit the camp. One round landed just outside the building but did not explode. So now my boss asks, “were you near that attack?” So far my answers have been “yes.” So he jokingly calls me a mortar magnet.

It’s not alarming that the indirect fire has increased lately. The enemy is responding in one of the only ways they know how. The unit here is doing an awesome job of catching bad guys. In recent days they have captured some big fish and the enemy does not like it.

Camp Taji was pretty big. If I remember correctly, it was about 45 square kilometers. FOB Falcon is small, maybe two square kilometers. It takes me less than 40-minutes to run around the entire perimeter and that’s when I run into a few dead ends and backtrack several times. So when the bad guys shoot at us it is like shooting fish in a barrel.

FOB Falcon does not have very many trees. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve seen three buildings with a handful of trees around each building. So, this camp is not attractive, but it has everything a Soldier needs. The PX is not very well stocked, but I don’t make many stops there anyway.

I must get back to work. I have an operations order annex to complete.

Thanks for all the prayers. Pray for our troops over here. Being on the receiving end of indirect fire can be demoralizing. Keep Jazz in your prayers. God is definitely in control…and I’m glad He is. I wish you well.

Happy Easter!