HOOK EM!!!

Hook em!!! On November 15th I went to the US side of Taji, and I visited the 4th Battalion, 4th Armed Reconnaissance Brigade from 4ID. My old boss from UT, LTC Kevin Vizzarri is the Battalion Commander there, and he generously hosted me for a couple of hours in between my classes at the Phoenix Academy. I also got to see some Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operations, and I got to eat in a big huge chow hall. It was a nice break from Death by Powerpoint. Attached is a picture.

Speaking of pictures, on a previous day we visited the Iraqi National Supply Depot on Taji. They have lots of stuff there. In fact, I would argue that all the money spent for the huge amount of stuff there could have been spent to buy us out of our current financial crisis. One of the warehouses was for all of the weapons that get captured in Iraq. We had some fun in there—they have some neat stuff there like this:

It was a good trip to get some perspective on how Iraqi logistics is and isn’t working. There has certainly been a lot of progress made; I hope it pays off.

I meant to get this on the blog earlier, but time and electrical power didn't permit it (sorry for the delay, LTC V, and thanks again).

Hope you are well—take care.
Ron

EVEN MORE UPDATED MAILING ADDRESS!!!!!

Sorry!!! Seems we missed a couple of lines in the address, so if you are sending something, please use the new and improved one below!!!

MAJ Ronald MacKay
1-63 CAB 2BDE 1AD
IAG MiTT
FOB Mahmudiya
APO AE 09322

A Good day of training. Most of it was lecture, but at least it was by some really smart guys. We learned about one guy's 13 characteristics of insurgency and counterinsurgency by a guy who has studied it for 28 years. We also discussed centers of gravity for the insurgency and the counterinsurgent. Some of it was a review, but it was good to get it again.

We also had a former big CIA chief come and talk to us about COIN too, but more so on the role of interagencies. Again, it was pretty good, but not as good as the first guy.

More COIN stuff tomorrow.

Hope you are well. Take care.
Ron

I thought the following quote summed up what our expectations for Iraq should be:
"If you break a clay pottery vase, you must buy it. You can piece it together, but itwon'tbethe same. It will have cracks and holes, and its consistency won'tbe pure. And no matter how hard you work to piece it together, it will never be the crystal vase because it never was one in the first place. The best you can hope for is a very good pottery vase."

MAILING ADDRESS!!!!

Lots of folks have asked, and we finally got a mailing address! This is the closest coalition unit to where we will be; our mail will get shipped there, and then we will have to come and pick it up.

We aren't there yet, but will be soon, so if you send it now it should get there by the time we get there.

MAJ Ronald MacKay
1-63 Armor
IAG MTT
APO AE 09322

Cheers,
Ron

You can neverget too much learnin'

I'm now at Taji, attending the Phoenix Academy. (Sorry for the typos, as this is an old beatup computer. Pretty much everything on this side of Taji is old and/or beat up.) The Phoenix Academy is about counterinsurgency (COIN) and learning more about how to be an advisor. Here they train Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, as well as Iraqis, on COIN. A lot of the training is redundant, but it some of it is good to see again, as it takes a bit to sink in.

We are getting more on Iraqi culture. More and moreI realize how little I know about the world, and how ignorant I am of other ways of living life. Iraqi culture is very tribal and family oriented. Without a group, youwill not survive here. As a by-product or consequence, lack of individuality reduces the need or requirement for a lack of responsibility-- a cornerstone of western-style democracies. We ugly Americans think this is wrong, but it's just the way it is here, and it's been that way for thousands of years. It will take a generation (or two or three) to overcome this mindset if a truly democratic style of government is to take place.

We live in some old Iraqi Army barracks-- not too bad, compared to the tents of the past three weeks. Yesterday I had the pleasure of using an 'eastern style' toilet. I can mark that off my bucket list... We are comfortable, but we are also ready to get out of here and get to work on our own patrol base. We are also getting out of the "receive" mode and now are having to start thinking about how to advise these guys so they can be more efficient. It will be an interesting problem to tackle.

Weather is pleasant. Highs in the mid-70s and low80s, lows in the 60s. The mornings are very pleasant. Too bad it can't be like this all the time.

I had somenotes on Veterans Day, but the USB on this computer is inoperable, so they will remain stuck on my thumb drive and on mylaptop. Oh well. My thanks to those who went before me, for those who made this easier, and for those who gave us the privilege of our freedoms.

Hope this finds you well. Take care.
Ron

Hurry up and wait

Sitting here at an airbase in Kuwait… After getting up at 3 am on Friday morning and spending all of it on a range running amok, we got back and turned in vehicles and cleaned weapons. At 1900 we got our travel orders. My team flies tonight. Other teams have been going out throughout the day, even though we are all going to the same place in Iraq for some more training. My team manifests around 6PM, then we fly significantly later in the evening. The deputy IAG commander, a Navy LTCDR (Lieutenant Commander, which is the same rank as a Major in the Army) stands up and tries to tell us how he hoped our time here was beneficial, but it came off more like he was complaining about how hard they have been working “in the war zone of Kuwait” in the past couple of weeks during the surge of MTTs. Apparently our class and the class before us were too much for them. It sounded more like they were ready to get rid of us.


Everyone went back and started packing; we ended up turning off the lights at 2330. IAG then decided to make it easier for themself by moving all 240+ of us to the airfield in one move “so they could control the movement.” So we all got up (regardless of flight times) at 2AM on Saturday morning to finish packing. Wee loaded the baggage truck at 3:30AM, and left Camp Buering at 4AM. We got to the airfield at 0530, unloaded the baggage truck, and commenced to do what the Army does best: Wait. I unloaded on the IAG staff about how we were all moved at the convenience of them, not the individual teams of senior NCOs and officers that are going to live in austere places. As I predicted, it got me nowhere. Not impressed with IAG.


But I’m still getting paid. At least I hope... I got an email from Finance that said I hadn't been 'arrived' into country yet by IAG and that I was still in an in-transit status (no kidding...) and if I didn't go see my local finance office, my pay could potentially stop.



Great.....



I went to see Finance; they told me they 'fixed' it. Not sure what 'fixed' means. Guess I'll find out on the 15th.


The bigger irony is that we started off in a 40-man barracks at Fort Riley. Then we got to Camp Buering and moved into a big tent with 70+ guys. Then we got here to the airfield, and we had NO tent… Going in the wrong direction here… What’s next, a hole in the ground?
It gets better… We will arrive at in Iraq and then “someone from IAG” will come and pick us up and drive us to a FOB (Forward Operating Base) a couple of miles away from the airfield. We will spend Saturday night there, all of Sunday, Sunday night there, and then hopefully hitch a ride up to our next destination sometime on Monday. I feel like a homeless Bedouin.


More interesting news: There was a fire on our future home which burned down the dining tent and some CHUs (containerized housing units, basically 20 foot shipping containers that house 2-3 soldiers, with some furniture, electricity and AC). Luckily no one was injured, and there was not a great deal of damage. Apparently it could have been worse. It seems now there is a bit of a temporary housing shortage on Patrol Base Deason. Fire extinguishers just moved up on our priority list of things to rapidly procure.


The good news: They think they will have the housing crisis on Deason fixed by the time we get there and we should be able to move right in. Not sure how I’ll deal with not having 39 roommates.


On a good note, the weather is nice. Cool in the mornings, highs around 75 during the day. A good time to travel to the Middle East.



We are very much looking forward to getting to work. One more series of schooling to go.



Hope you are well. Take care.

Ron

Election Day Musings

Today is the election. I voted while I was home, prior to deploying. My decision of who to vote for was like trying to decide which branch I wanted to put first back in 1993 when I was filling out my paperwork to become a Lieutenant.

Prior to my enrollment in college and the ROTC program at the University of Arkansas, I had previously served in the Army as an enlisted soldier as an Infantryman at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. My conundrum was whether I wanted to be infantry again, or to try something different like Armor or Cavalry, which appealed to me as well. The neat thing about Armor is that you don’t have to walk anywhere, and you get to blow stuff up at a much higher rate than the light infantry guys. Should I stay with the status quo of being an infantry guy, which is what I know, what is comfortable, and what is easy? Or do I take a risk and try something new, learn to think in different ways, and expose myself to some new ideas? What about the unforeseen pitfalls of going Armor? Nobody told me that I would walk more as a Cavalry guy than I ever did as an Infantry guy, and the maintenance time and upkeep of complex systems would be time consuming, frustrating, and at times, all encompassing. Armor also requires a lot of logistical effort in terms of fuel, parts, ammunition, and other resources needed to make the beasts run. There are so many unknowns with such a seemingly superficial decision.

The vocational decision took a long time. In the end I picked Armor, and I have been happy with my decision. Even though I’m not really doing Armor and Cavalry stuff right now, it has been a great ride so far in my career. But for me this year, the election brought about the same type of indecision.

My prediction: Obama will be my new Commander in Chief, and the sugar pill of change will be enough of a jolt to America to quit talking about how bad things are and get them to start talking about opportunity and potential.

Regardless of how it turns out, I know where I’ll be for the next year.

So go vote. Enjoy the opportunity to voice your opinion—not everyone in the world has it. Take care.

Ron

Why I will still have a job despite the global economic downturn

I thought this was a pretty good editorial from Newsweek outlining why we need a strong military, despite what either Presidential candidate says or promises.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/166688?from=rss

Global security seems to be a growth industry. Like it or not, I guess we are the world's police.