I left Kuwait bright and early (3am) on a C-130 and arrived at the Victory Base Complex (VBC), which is a series of US bases around Baghdad International Air Port (BIAP) early yesterday morning. I came as an advanced party to set the conditions for our unit which will come later. During my last tour we would come to VBC for refitting-- they had seemingly endless hot water, good chow halls and every amenity you could ever want. I called it Disneyworld, as the place was a circus of FOBBITs (people who never leave the Forward Operating Base), contractors, rogue contracted security companies in Mad Max-style vehicles andof course, the giant logistics contractor Kellog, Brown and Root (KBR). We met the unit we will likely work for and set about the tasks for getting our unit here and lodged.
They have a FOB Mayor here. This cell's purpose is to house Soldiers and ensure facilities are up to standard. We actually bring people over here from the States who never actually see or talk to an Iraqi. The environment created is garrison-like, as if we transported Fort Hood to west Baghdad. Chow halls, gyms, rec centers, small stores of locals selling wares, and fast food joints through AAFES are in a couple of places. (NOTE: I am certain this is not the case in Afghanistan, nor is it normal for most line units.) You can go to the "non-tactical vehicle" yard and get a car/light truck to cruise around and get your business done. We would have gotten our own yesterday, but the TMP yard was closed on Sunday.
Closed on Sunday?? I thought we were deployed.
So we borrowed one from another unit until we can get one later. We went to the FOB Mayor's cell to get a place to live and some places to work, and we were issued keys to some work buildings and we signed for some CHUs (Containerized Housing Units) for myself and the guy I came with. It's really like a mobile home, except we got a "wet CHU" which means it has a real live bathroom. Apparently rank has some priviliges.
I am just in awe of a porcelin toilet I don't have to walk a hundred yards to.
It is evident why the war costs so much when you drive around this place. You can argue that nothing is too good for the Soldier, but in the past year it is evident that not all Soldiers got the same experience. Oh well.... I guess we all pick our occupations and reap the appropriate consequences.
Super Bowl: It was on at 3am, and I could have got up and gone to the DFAC (dining facility) to watch it but I didn't. Too tired, and it's just not the same as home. Maybe I'll catch the replay.
Off to go do more prep work. Hope you enjoyed the game.
Ron
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Camp Buering
Camp Buering is a good-sized base in Kuwait. It is in the middle of nowhere, but on top of a lot of oil. This place wasn't around for our Intrinsic Action rotation in 1997, but this place is much nicer. We pretty much had just junk tents back then, and we had to burn our own poo. Buering is significantly better- Soldiers sleep in fortified tents with heat/AC (they can hold up to 85, so it gets a bit of a funk going), they have three giant chow halls that serve four times a day, they have a big gym, some rec centers, and we shower in trailers. Remarkably, all water (really everything) is trucked to this place daily. I am told the camp can hold up to 15,000-20,000. They do have some fast food joints, you can pay $12/week for really bad wireless internet, there is an internet cafe and some AT&T phones, and the USO has a fantastic facility here.
Plug: If you want to support the troops, then donate to the USO, the money is well spent. The USO tent here has *free* phone calls to the US, an internet cafe, TVs with sports, video games, books, games and card tournaments, and a decor that doesn't look like a tent (nice furniture, real walls, etc). They also have a cool program where you can pick out a book to read to your child and a place to record it on video, then they give you the book, the video of you reading it to your child, and an envelope to mail it home. All for free. The people who work there are always friendly, and they do a fantastic job of supporting Soldiers.
Around Buering is.....nothing. Literally. Imagine the most barren desert, this one is more barren. There are some ranges we shoot and train on, and there are bedouins and camels. And blowing trash (Kuwaiti wildlife). That's it.
Thanks for reading- see ya.
Ron
Plug: If you want to support the troops, then donate to the USO, the money is well spent. The USO tent here has *free* phone calls to the US, an internet cafe, TVs with sports, video games, books, games and card tournaments, and a decor that doesn't look like a tent (nice furniture, real walls, etc). They also have a cool program where you can pick out a book to read to your child and a place to record it on video, then they give you the book, the video of you reading it to your child, and an envelope to mail it home. All for free. The people who work there are always friendly, and they do a fantastic job of supporting Soldiers.
Around Buering is.....nothing. Literally. Imagine the most barren desert, this one is more barren. There are some ranges we shoot and train on, and there are bedouins and camels. And blowing trash (Kuwaiti wildlife). That's it.
Thanks for reading- see ya.
Ron
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Gene Simmons Family Jewels
Forgot to mention, it seems our Squadron made another TV show.
As our main flights were leaving, Gene Simmons and his TV show descended upon our motor pool and he filmed part of an episode for his reality show there, visiting with departing Soldiers and their families.
Not sure when it will air, but it was a bit of a lift for the Troopers and their families on a less than optimal day.
Hope all's well. Take care
Ron
As our main flights were leaving, Gene Simmons and his TV show descended upon our motor pool and he filmed part of an episode for his reality show there, visiting with departing Soldiers and their families.
Not sure when it will air, but it was a bit of a lift for the Troopers and their families on a less than optimal day.
Hope all's well. Take care
Ron
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Giddyup
Kuwait progresses. Sleep schedule is still dorked up, I remain magically awake from about 2 to 4 am. Accomodations are fine; we have about 30 guys in our tent but it is a big tent. Food is great, they still have fountain diet coke. the fellas continue to arrive, and the training isn't bad.
A couple of small glitches so far. One, one of our planes has been significantly delayed in Maine. We have renamed this flight Oceanic 815 (shot out out "Lost") as we have not heard from them in some time. Should get another update later today.
Another tick on the adventure meter: The mission we were going to do changed, and now we have to regroup. We had planned to send all of our stuff to one particular place and assume a certain mission, now it has to quickly be redirected to another place and a much more ambiguous mission (no not Egypt or Afghanistan-- still Iraq). It will involve heading to a completely different area of Iraq far and away from the rest of the Brigade but we have to start from scratch- find a place to live, rally equipment, figure out who we work for, get linked in with new headquarters. There are not words to describe the calamity of this switch in our travel plans, but at least it is making the time go by fast.
Tomorrow is a range! Nothing like shooting for free, but the weather looks kinda scuzzy. Should be fun though.
Going north in a couple of days before everyone else. More to follow. Stay tuned!
Ron
A couple of small glitches so far. One, one of our planes has been significantly delayed in Maine. We have renamed this flight Oceanic 815 (shot out out "Lost") as we have not heard from them in some time. Should get another update later today.
Another tick on the adventure meter: The mission we were going to do changed, and now we have to regroup. We had planned to send all of our stuff to one particular place and assume a certain mission, now it has to quickly be redirected to another place and a much more ambiguous mission (no not Egypt or Afghanistan-- still Iraq). It will involve heading to a completely different area of Iraq far and away from the rest of the Brigade
Tomorrow is a range! Nothing like shooting for free, but the weather looks kinda scuzzy. Should be fun though.
Going north in a couple of days before everyone else. More to follow. Stay tuned!
Ron
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Made it
22 Hours in a plane. Good times. It seems our excessive weight in the plane necessitated several additional stops. We arrived at Camp Buering after a four hour bus ride in the fog, found our home for 10 days and then were promptly hailed on. I took a shower, then bought some internet that works occasionally.
The coming days include preparation for the rest of the Squadron getting here, then some training, then a move north. To where, we don't know yet. The Brigade knows where it is going, but our Squadron mission is up in the air.
Much more to follow. Only 364 more to go...
The coming days include preparation for the rest of the Squadron getting here, then some training, then a move north. To where, we don't know yet. The Brigade knows where it is going, but our Squadron mission is up in the air.
Much more to follow. Only 364 more to go...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Fast Forward 15 Months
A lot has happened in the 15 months since the last post. I thought about doing a final wrap up, making some predictions about the future of Iraq and what I thought would happen, and also what it was like readjusting. I was having such a good time I never got around to it. Sure there were challenges- readjusting to home after prolonged separation, moving to a new house, new friends, catching up with old friends, changes with family, and starting a new job. In summary-A bunch of life happened.
All of that is water under the bridge now, as fifteen months after coming home, the unit I am assigned to is redeploying.
A bit about the unit and my job: I am now the executive officer for the 6th Squadron 9th US Cavalry, a reconnaissance squadron assigned to the 3d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood. My duties will change once I get to theater-- not sure what I will be doing yet, or where we will be going, but I know three things: 1) It will be in Iraq. 2) It will be for a year. 3) It will be something.
I wasn't going to do a blog again, as I wasn't sure if what we were going to do was going to be blog-worthy or not. The security situation in Iraq has changed, and US forces can't and don't do the things they used to do. Missions and tasks aren't as dynamic or exciting, and are mundane compared to actions in Sadr City in 2004, or in Diyala in 2007. While it doesn't make for good blogs, it does make good for security, progress, and healing. Our unit will get to be a part of the drawdown process, and we will get to see closure up close and personal, which will be neat to see.
It sucks to leave again. You go through the week of "finals" --My wife asked me "what do you want for your last meal/want to do for your last weekend, etc..." While I am not going to jail, and I have no previous experience with incarceration, I imagine it feels a bit like this. (I referenced this topic in last tour's blog too). The subject of leaving is the 1000 pound elephant in the room- you can smell it, and sense a presence that suffocates. I am not wild or excited about leaving, and not crazy about putting my family through another year of absentee fatherhood and husbandhood. But this is the path I have chosen, and there are consequences to all choices. So be it. There is a bit of a sense of urgency though, with this deployment: The faster we get there the faster we can get home, and the faster we can bring eight years of sustained conflict to a conclusion. All preparations are complete, all contingencies discussed with the family, all administrative requirements completed, all bags are packed, and goodbyes are in the process of being said.
Stay tuned. And thanks for reading.
All of that is water under the bridge now, as fifteen months after coming home, the unit I am assigned to is redeploying.
A bit about the unit and my job: I am now the executive officer for the 6th Squadron 9th US Cavalry, a reconnaissance squadron assigned to the 3d Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood. My duties will change once I get to theater-- not sure what I will be doing yet, or where we will be going, but I know three things: 1) It will be in Iraq. 2) It will be for a year. 3) It will be something.
I wasn't going to do a blog again, as I wasn't sure if what we were going to do was going to be blog-worthy or not. The security situation in Iraq has changed, and US forces can't and don't do the things they used to do. Missions and tasks aren't as dynamic or exciting, and are mundane compared to actions in Sadr City in 2004, or in Diyala in 2007. While it doesn't make for good blogs, it does make good for security, progress, and healing. Our unit will get to be a part of the drawdown process, and we will get to see closure up close and personal, which will be neat to see.
It sucks to leave again. You go through the week of "finals" --My wife asked me "what do you want for your last meal/want to do for your last weekend, etc..." While I am not going to jail, and I have no previous experience with incarceration, I imagine it feels a bit like this. (I referenced this topic in last tour's blog too). The subject of leaving is the 1000 pound elephant in the room- you can smell it, and sense a presence that suffocates. I am not wild or excited about leaving, and not crazy about putting my family through another year of absentee fatherhood and husbandhood. But this is the path I have chosen, and there are consequences to all choices. So be it. There is a bit of a sense of urgency though, with this deployment: The faster we get there the faster we can get home, and the faster we can bring eight years of sustained conflict to a conclusion. All preparations are complete, all contingencies discussed with the family, all administrative requirements completed, all bags are packed, and goodbyes are in the process of being said.
Stay tuned. And thanks for reading.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
By Popular Demand
I have been back in the states for two weeks. For the most part I have adjusted well. Sleep schedule is normal (I never had much of a problem sleeping), I think I may finally be over the intestinal stomach death (following another trip to the doctor which was indicative of what I think Government run health care will be like), and things seem to be going well, although my fantasy football team sucks. I went to the UT football game on Saturday. Last weekend we went to a softball tournament in Temple and took the new RV trailer. I have enjoyed living a normal life, and it has been great catching up with friends and family.
We are in the process of buying a new house. If you know anyone who needs a house in Austin, let me know, I happen to know of one for sale.
I was at Fort Hood on the 5th when the shooting incident took place. I left post at 1:15 and found out about it when I got home. It was surreal to think I just missed it. It was also uncomfortable to know that if I was involved with something like that, I could not defend myself. If I was in Iraq, I would be able to, but even if you have a CHL, you can't carry on post. My thoughts and prayers go to the families and the units involved.
I will post some thoughts on Veterans Day later. Hope you are well, thanks for the many welcome homes and good wishes.
Ron
We are in the process of buying a new house. If you know anyone who needs a house in Austin, let me know, I happen to know of one for sale.
I was at Fort Hood on the 5th when the shooting incident took place. I left post at 1:15 and found out about it when I got home. It was surreal to think I just missed it. It was also uncomfortable to know that if I was involved with something like that, I could not defend myself. If I was in Iraq, I would be able to, but even if you have a CHL, you can't carry on post. My thoughts and prayers go to the families and the units involved.
I will post some thoughts on Veterans Day later. Hope you are well, thanks for the many welcome homes and good wishes.
Ron
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