TOA (Transfer of Authority)

After a long road of training and deployment, the new guys are here and settled, the equipment has been accounted for and signed over, and the new team is settling into their roles and figuring stuff out. After four very busy days of inventories, file sharing, knowledge transfer, and Iraqi Army engagements, I find myself intensely bored today. I told my replacement I’d stay out of his way, and where I would be if he needed anything. I slept in, I went to the range, and I worked out. The new team worked through problems and issues, and I found I had to force myself to stay out of their decisions—I had my chance, and now it’s their time.

Tonight we had the big going away dinner/welcoming dinner with the Brigade Commander. Lamb kabobs, hummus, some unidentified vegetables, fruit and bread, and lots of chai, too. We talked about the upcoming elections, Che Guevarra, how to make the mystery vegetables, about how spicy food gives you heartburn. The Brigade Commander burned through a half a pack of cigarettes in two hours- his 4th pack of the day. I said my goodbyes as we moved about the headquarters. They gave us gifts, thanked us for all we did, and some were very sad to see us go. Some of them I will wonder about, and some of them I will miss.

Tomorrow we will move up to BIAP and wait on a plane. Life doesn’t stop for the IA; tomorrow the Brigade gets inspected by the Ministry of Defense (MOD). There has been a flurry of activity and a lot of hard work has gone into passing the inspection and putting the best foot forward. I am sure their hard work, along with some bribery, will bring passing, if not commendable results.

Not sure how I feel about leaving. Even at the end I am still thinking of things we can do and ways to try to influence the Brigade Commander to do them. But my time has passed. At the end of the day I can say I did my best. We did everything we could within reason prior to 30 June, and we tried to do all we could post-30 June, but on many days they would have nothing of it. Some days I wondered if we did any good at all. If I were to summarize our time here I would say it was very productive up until the 30 June deadline, then after that it was only marginally productive. In some ways we have regressed, but I struggle with calling it regression, maybe instead it is more along the lines of growing pains. 30 June may be seen as a tipping point for Iraq: The training wheels are off, and they are fumbling with their newfound independence, sort of like watching an infant try to walk—they are sure to make an occasional trip, and sometimes the falls will hurt. As stated in previous posts, some days I think Iraq has a bright future, other days I’m not so sure, at least not in the short term. What matters now is that it is up to them to figure it out. American units have certainly done all they could, but we can’t do it for them. They have to find an Iraqi way.

What happens next: In about two weeks we should be back at Fort Riley for some outprocessing, and then it’s back home. For me there are personal adjustments to tend to. I haven’t lived at home for over two years, and have grown accustomed to an austere lifestyle that is very work-oriented. I am off to a new job back in the Real Army that has a bunch of rules and it will probably be nothing like the past 15 months. I am sure my family will have to adjust to ‘having dad around.’ I have to learn the social and sporting events schedule of a 12-year old, and actually think of someone other than myself. This may in fact be the most difficult part of the deployment.

Not sure about what to do with the Blog, or how to end it. It has been very introspective, and it has also been a good way to constructively vent.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck to the new team. Take care,
Ron