March 2004 Archives

Day 24
Someone in supply read my blog entry about not having the proper equipment, I think (I'm actually just kidding). Yesterday with no effort on my part, I got a flak vest that fits properly. Then, an hour or so later I was told to go over to supply because they had a helmet for me. I didn't hold my breath but I went over to supply. Sure enough, they issued me a brand new, extra large, melon bucket. It fits wonderfully. I could wear it for days without pain.

How I ended up with a flak jacket the fits is an good story too. I don't know how but the unit got some Kevlar Interceptor vests with plates. These are the body armor that will actually protect the wearer from direct fire. These vests were issued out to the guys who stand watch on the gun mounts. These are the guys most likely to get shot at. The vest I got, a Vietnam era style flak vest, had been issued to a guy who got an Interceptor. When he got the Interceptor, I got his flak vest.

But why does our unit leadership have to make choices about who gets the better protection and who gets none? Why has replacing Vietnam style flak vests with body armor that will actually protect us from enemy fire been designated "non-priority" as this article states (this article provides more background on the vest and its predecesor)? Is it that Naval Coastal Warfare is a rear guard command and therefore does not warrant or need this protection? If this is true then doesn't it follow that we also do not need the various heavy weapons that we are manning either? The very positions we man - operational positions as well as the gun mounts - make each one of us a high value target to the enemy. NCW personnel are the gatekeepers for those who seek to repeat the mission that killed 17 members of the USS Cole and injured 39.

But the article points out that forward units who are involved in direct interaction with the enemy are also not being provided with the protection that would allow them to survive contact with the enemy. Why? How much do Kevlar Interceptor vests and the plates that go in them cost? More than the life of an soldier, sailor or marine? Think I'm being over dramatic? Ask one of the guys from the 4th ID or one of the other units that's been in Iraq for the past year. Most of those guys have buried at least one person that they knew personally. Many of them have buried three or four. All of them have turned out for more memorial services than most people go to in their entire life. I kind of wonder how much one of those guys thinks a Kevlar Interceptor vest and its plates are worth?

Aloha

Day 23
Lights. It's all about the lights. Turn them all on? Turn some of them on? Leave them off all the time? What do we do with the lights.

A number of our senior enlisted personnel have spent the past few days trying to find a middle ground on the very complicated issue of lighting in the berthing tents. The berthing tents are where we sleep. In the temporary housing tent there has developed a running argument around turning on the lights. It seems there are some people who want to turn on the lights in the tent.

Because we work in shifts round the clock there is always quite a few people who are trying to sleep in the tent. The lighting is in the form of four foot fluorescent tube fixtures. They are very bright. The people who are trying to get some sleep obviously want the lights off. Some of the folks who are off watch and not sleeping would like to turn on some lights so that they can lay in their rack and read or whatever. As soon as someone turns the lights on, the arguing starts.

Don't get me wrong here. So far, this battle has not really affected me at all save the entertainment value of watching the powers that be try to resolve the issue.

And then there's the on going saga of Internet access. It seems to be getting better. A friend of mine has joined the team that is working to improve it. Having been brought up to date on the whole thing he's pretty positive about it. Since I haven't yet managed to get Internet access through my cell phone I think I will probably hold off and see how things develop.

Another day, another watch, another X on the calendar.

Aloha

Day 22
Another day, another watch, another day with an X through it. That's about how I look at things now. I've made friends with the pain of being separated from my family. For the most part, I like my job here. As I've stated before in this blog I firmly believe in our mission and the mission of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It will be interesting to see how things change once we start taking on other tasks and doing additional tasks. Right now it seems that maybe there are a number of people who don't have enough to do. They have some spare time to come up with things that look suspiciously like busy work.

Political battles seem to be a favor out here too. There's the Internet Cafe, there are some interesting battles forming around which tent to live in, there's the battle over whether the Seabees can wear their Seabee patch or not. All kinds of interesting things to worry and get all worked up about. I find it all pretty interesting but I so far have managed to maintain my distance from most of the political hot spots. The Internet Cafe battle keeps trying to drawing me in.

The weather is still pretty nice. Warm in the day time, fairly cool at night. The guys from Arizona tell me it's pretty typical desert weather. They also like to point out that Phoenix is already having 100 degree days. I'll probably have plenty of material for that "What I did on my Summer Vacation" essay.

Aloha

Day 21
Made another trip into Kuwaiti society today. I managed to accomplish none of the tasks I went in to do. I couldn't open a monthly cell phone account because I don't have a Kuwaiti civil identification. I can open a monthly cell phone account by going through the military. I will start that process tomorrow. I wasn't able to get a headset or a case for my phone because they were sold out. I'll buy those online.

I did get to go to a Kuwaiti department store. That was kind of interesting. I got to have two Starbucks' coffees. That was a good thing but I was pretty wired from the caffeine for most of my watch. For most of the individuals who went it was simply an opportunity to get off the base and relax. Which is interesting because we're really targets when we go out into society here. The Kuwaitis have no beef with us and I think we're safe from them. The Third Country Nationals who make up half the population of Kuwait might have a few who would like to see American service members killed or injured. Still, it was good to get out.

Aloha

Day 20
The trip to the airport to get cell phone stuff is becoming a real circus. Lots of people going just so they can get off the base and see civilian society again. I didn't go today. I'm going tomorrow. Of course, now that I've threatened to spend money the Internet seems to be up a little more often. It stayed up all day yesterday and seems to be making it through today. I also finally got blessed so that I can use the 802.11 wireless access. All in all, I've discovered that Internet access is really important to me out here. So the more options I have for making sure I have internet access, the happier I am.

We've been talking about Internet access for three days now. Let's find a new topic. There's some discussion of a couple of operations coming up. OpSec precludes me from going into any detail here. However, it will be good to get some other things going on. New problems to solve, action to be involved in, risks to take, reasons for all of you to worry about and pray for me.

I suppose some of you have seen the articles about families and friends spending their own money to provide body armor for their loved ones over here. Yeah, well, my own unit does not have enough to issue out to all the members of our unit. My duties require me to wear body armor part of the time. This is mostly for show but I'm required nonetheless. I went to get my issue. The helmet is too small. It fits on my head but gives me a headache after about ten minutes. I wear it anyway. My flak jacket is also too small. The flak jackets they issue only stop flak and glancing rounds. If I get hit with a well aimed round I'm probably screwed. Where I am currently working my biggest risk is vehicle accidents and mishaps. So I'm not overly concerned about it. If I find that I'm heading north, I will probably purchase my own body armor and helmet along with a few other pieces of equipment.

It should be noted that part of what is going on here is that the military issues one type of body armor. Better stuff is available. The same is true of most of the equipment we're issued. The boots I was issued are mediocre and don't fit well. I purchased my own. The unit used discretionary funds to purchase good quality sunglasses for the unit. What is available through the military supply system is inadequate for the conditions out here. Of course, those of us who need prescription lens were left to our own devices for getting those lens. Don't get me wrong here. The unit went above and beyond in getting us sunglasses. I'm very happy that they did it. It shouldn't have been necessary.

When Congress considers military spending they would prefer to spend money on big ticket hardware that brings industry and jobs to their constituencies than to spend it on improving and retaining the service members. The men and women going into Iraq and other hot fire zones around the world ought to have the very best equipment money can buy. Typically, what they and we have is equipment developed and produced by the lowest bidder. Immediate family members of military service members should have excellent housing, excellent schools, excellent medical and dental care. Military families make huge sacrifices for the sake of our country, our freedom and our liberty. The country should be taking better care of them than it does.

There are a thousand quotes that talk about the fact that freedom and liberty are not free. They are paid for in blood by each generation. People can talk about world peace and stopping war but the simple fact is that there are people in the world today who are free because there were people in the previous generation who were tough enough to fight the bloody battles required to either win it or keep it. I've met a few of those people from the current generation while I've been here. Quite honestly, I consider that one of the privileges of serving over here.

Aloha

Day 19
A follow on to yesterday's rambling about internet availability out here. I've decided to get Internet service through my cell phone provider. MTC offers Internet via cell phone. I was hoping that the free internet offered by NCW would be enough but as I said yesterday...

So, I am currently scheduled for another trip to the airport to talk with the folks at the MTC office again. I'm not using the 'contact' that our unit has. There have been some problems with people running up high bills (in excess of $1000) over the course of several months. I don't know the details yet but I suspect that this is because they don't get a plan that includes monthly minutes and they don't do their research to determine the best ways to communicate with MTC. I'm just dealing directly with the office at the airport. MTC offers online tools for managing your account. I believe that if I get a monthly plan and the internet option I should be pretty set. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, I'll get another chance to have Starbucks coffee and interact with Kuwaiti society and culture. I'm looking forward to it.

Speaking of Kuwaiti culture, we were introduced to another aspect of it last night. One of the gun mount watches reported seeing anti-aircraft fire with tracer rounds. Got the watch pretty excited. Turns out, that's part of the way that the Kuwaitis celebrate. Hum? What goes up must come down, right?

Rumor has it that we will move into permanent tenting on the first. That will mean a lot of work and then a new set of personalities to intermingle with and get used to. Not always my favorite aspect of life.

There is an interesting discrepancy between the weather forecasting we get via the Navy and what the Weather Underground has to say. The weather forecast I read on watch last night said that we would be up to 93 degrees by Sunday. As you can see, Weather Underground has us at around 80 degrees for the whole week. I currently have no way to determine which forecast is correct.

The whole weather temperature thing here is funny. I've now heard people say that it gets up to 160 degrees here.

Another zany day in the desert. Oh the fun we have.

Aloha

Day 18
It's kind of comical. I had this long entry about the politics of the Internet out here in the middle of nowhere written and saving when the Internet connection that I was using went down. Again. So now I'm back in the $6 an hour Internet place where the connection is reliable, fast and expensive. I usually use the Internet about one to two hours a day. Some times a lot more. At an hour a day it would cost me $180 a month. That's too much. I am going to have to look into other methods of Internet access.

The Naval Coastal Warfare (NCW) community has a free Internet Cafe. However, the Internet connection they have there is slow and sporadic. The past three days it has gone down around 1100. Which is why I've been paying $6 an hour for Internet access for the past three days.

CyberSpot is an Internet Cafe that is open to all military personnel here at Camp Spearhead. As I said, the Internet provided here is fast and reliable. You do have to pay for it though.

The NCW Internet Cafe is becoming some thing of a political hot spot. There are a number of people who would like to control the Cafe. There are a number of people who have skill sets that are needed to improve the Cafe. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, the people with the skill sets have little political ambition and are therefore distancing themselves from the Cafe. What I anticipate will happen is that eventually people will realise how much work maintaining an internet is and will loose interest in doing it. If that happens, that will be the point at which the folks with the skill sets needed to improve the internet will have the opportunity to get in there and make a difference. Because those with the skill set already know how much work is involved. They also know how to minimize that work.

So, for now there's a lot of alpha male chest banging going on to see who knows the most about computers and the Internet. Once this 'king of the hill' game ends, the winner will take over the Internet Cafe. It will be interesting to see what happens then.

Aloha

Day 17
Music is an interesting thing. For quite a while I listened to the music I brought with me. A lot of Hawaiian, Japanese, Jazz. But I started finding that most of it made me sad because the songs all reminded me of something about my family that I then missed. Listening to Hawaiian music I would think about how much I enjoy watching my wife dance to that particular tune or how great my son does on that particular number. Most of the music just left me longing for home.

So, I logged on to iTunes Music Store and went looking for some new stuff to listen to. I'm revisiting a style that I was really into about 15 or 16 years ago. Back then it was called Fusion because it melded elements of Jazz and Rock. Many of you probably know it as New Age or Smooth Jazz (I just heard my good friend Chris groan. He hates Fusion.)

From iTunes Music Store I purchased two albums; The Rippingtons' "Let It Ripp" and "The Best of Hiroshima" by Hiroshima.

I've been interested in The Rippingtons for a long time but this is the first album of theirs I've bought. Great album. I really like it. Eventually I'll pick up a few more. For those of you looking to send me care packages, any album by The Rippingtons would be a nice surprise.

Now, on to the band Hiroshima. This band is made up of mostly Japanese-Americans and their music incorporates a lot of instruments and sounds from Japan, Hawaii and the Pacific islands. I first listened to this group back in the late eighties. I still love their music. Hawaiian Electric is one of my favorites. Again, for those of you looking to send me care packages, anything by Hiroshima would be most welcome.

Aloha

Day 16
I talked with a couple of guys who have been up in Iraq since the middle of last summer. One was a Combat Engineer, the other a supply person. Both of them talked a lot about the fighting they had seen and been a part of. The supply guy didn't like it at all. The Combat Engineer found it to be the most incredible rush in the world. Both of them talk a little bit about meeting the Iraqi people.

Both of them talked about how comfortable Camp Spearhead is. Within the OIF theater, Camp Spearhead is one of the nicer places to be. Both talked of not have any electricity, running water (let alone hot water). Both ate a lot of MREs.

The supply guy had served a four year stint in the Navy before joining the Army. When he switched to the Army he went into supply because he had seen that it was a rather comfortable job in the Navy. Turns out the he saw more fighting action as a supply person than a lot of the Infantry did because the Iraqis prefer supply trucks. They are perceived as soft targets.

Both of these guys were mature beyond their years. Both of them have seen things that no one should have to see in an entire life time. They volunteered for that. They believe in what we're doing here. We all know that if we do not finish this job we will be back, in one form or another. If we pull out now, if we do not use force to maintain the peace while a viable government is built, Iraq will very quickly disintegrate into civil war. There are a thousand Saddams looking for the opportunity to fill the void and assume the power.

What we're doing here is an ugly job. However, we have to remember that 25 million people are now free after over 30 years of oppression. Iraq is moving toward a form of self-governance that will allow the populace to choose their leader. And remove them from power if they choose. As I have said in this blog before, whatever the rhetoric in the press or from the politicos around the world, OIF is about 25 million Iraqis and their chance to experience freedom and to define democracy in a way that works for their culture and society. Anything less and we have wasted our time.

Aloha

Day 15
I went out to go on watch yesterday to find two ITs, the watch officer and the commo in a huddle outside. Huh oh. That's probably bad. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Obviously I can't go into detail here but there were some problems that needed to be dealt with quickly and right. I joined the other two ITs in working to fix the problem. Got the off going IT out as quickly as I could and then continued to work the problem. When I finally had time to sit down and catch up on the more mundane aspects of my job - and look at a clock - three hours of my watch had gone by. Wow! That's cool.

I think one of the big struggles for me in most jobs is that I really prefer to be fighting a fire than simply working a well defined process. I like walking into a situation that's all a mess and trying to figure out how to get things working again. In my current position and with the guys that I work with, things aren't likely to get very messed up very often. We have a good team of communications operators and electronic technicians. Things get fixed fast.

A few entries ago I talked about going into town to get my cell phone working. Well, for the past two days the main frustration of my life has been that my wife was not able to call me on my new cell phone. That, of course, was the main reason for getting a cell phone. So I was pretty bummed. Again, I was working on the issue today. Calling the cell service provider and asking for their help on the issue and feeling like I was getting no where. So, on the third phone call to Machiko as we were trying to work things out I was finally ready to give up and start looking for alternative methods of communication. Then Machiko asked a very important question.

"What's your phone number?"
"I don't know, let me look. It's 555-3820."
"Now I know why we've been having all these problems."
"Why?"
"In your email you said your number was 555-3829."
"Cool. Call me back!"
And everything worked just fine. Woo hoo!!

I have to credit Mobile Telecommunications Company. All but one of the people that I have dealt with at this company have been wonderfully helpful, even when struggling through a language barrier. The women that I've talked to in customer service have worked very hard to try and figure out my problem and have asked me to call them back if I do not get resolution. It's been a wonderful experience and I highly recommend MTC eeZee to anyone coming to Kuwait.

Aloha

So, we drove into the town where Kuwait International Airport is located. It was a somewhat harrowing drive and we weren't even in a taxi. Looks like they have some nasty accidents here.

The houses and buildings are really quite beautiful. This is most definitely the desert. There is very little vegetation around. We saw a few of the nomadic herdsmen. Or rather we saw their tents.

It all rather reminded me of Tatooine from Star Wars. The buildings were very similar.

So we got to the airport where we were to buy SIM cards for our cell phones so that they would work. Well, the Nokia store where we normally buy them didn't have any. I found that frustrating. I wanted to get it taken care of and I didn't want to have to come back. So I walked over to the MTA store that was right next door. The folks that I had come with said they wouldn't help me. I walked up and the guy behind the counter said what I have to assume was, "can I help you" in Kuwaiti. I asked if he spoke English, he said not much and then made a facial expression that effectively communicated, "if you're patient we can manage." Ten minutes later was I walking out with exactly what I came for. He was very nice, very helpful. He went and got some one who spoke better English as soon as the person became available. It was an fun and interesting experience.

So now I have to get the phone so that my family can call it from outside Kuwait. The folks at the phone company are working on that now.

All in all, it was a fun trip. It reaffirms my thoughts that I would really like working in a Civil Affairs unit. I really am going to have to check that out.

Aloha

Well, I'm headed into town today. I'm going to the airport to get a pre-paid sim chip for my cell phone. I understand this also entails a stop a Starbucks. I'm not sure which one I'm more excited about, the fact that I'll have a phone or the fact that I'll be able to have good coffee.

I'll post again with an after-action report (a postmortem for you civilian Silicon Valley geeks).

Aloha

Day 12
Those of us that are still waiting for permanent housing have it a little better now in the transient tents that we are in. Fewer people, more room, a little less noise. Yeah, it's a little better.

So, this friend of mine at work joined the Army several months before I got mobilized. She is now a member of the 351st Civil Affairs Command. Civil Affairs sound very interesting to me. For almost twenty years I've been interested in cross-cultural communications. I have to wonder if this would be an opportunity to use my education and experience in cross-cultural communication. It sounds like the work would be very interesting and rewarding. Of course this article makes me wonder if I want to commit myself to the Army. The Navy seems to do a better job of keeping mobilizations down to manageable lengths of time. There have been five detachments to OIF. Insofar as I know, all of them have been returned to their civilian lives within a year of activation. I will probably hook up with my Army friend and go talk to her command. See what they have to offer and how my expertise fit into their mission.

Of course, switching services would not be easy for me. In my own mind I've been a United States Navy sailor for twenty years (I actually have six good years toward retirement, twelve years total service). I'm very proud of the Navy uniform and service. There would be a certain amount of psychological trauma in hanging up the Dress Blues for a Class A uniform. Lots to think about.

Aloha

Day 11
As we get more settled in and as we find our routine, time seems to go faster. I can honestly say that this week is going by quite a bit quicker than last week did.

Some of the guys start moving into their permanent housing -- or rather tenting -- next week. My understanding is that I don't move in until the end of the month. Whatever. It'll come.

I haven't been to the chow hall in about a week or so. I find that when I go there I eat way too much. Going to the Subway here costs money but I only eat the six inch sandwich.

I'm running pretty regularly. I skipped yesterday. Couldn't get motivated. Kind of made up for it this morning. I was up at 0630 to run so that I could call home and read to my kids before they went to bed. I enjoy that.

Det 5 was formed up to recognize some of their top performers for this deployment. They fly out tonight. I've asked a few of them to say hi to America for me. I also hope that their arriving home will remind some people there in the States that we're still over here.

There are a lot of guys that have been here for a long time. 12+ months. Sometimes it is disheartening to see that the only news that gets back to the States is when one of us gets blown up. I guess maybe that's all that's news. But it seems to me that some of the water projects and similar endeavors are worthy of the reporter's time. Why is it that they only choose to talk about those who die here?

Aloha

Day 10
They keep telling us that the heat in the summer is going to be unbearable. That may be true but I have to say, the weather right now is awesome. Bright warm days, cool breezy nights. It's really nice.

The discussions of summer temperatures are pretty interesting too. We started out hearing that it got into the 120's here. Then, as time went on, the number kept creeping up. It gets to be 125 in Shuiaba. It gets to be 130 in Shuiaba. Pretty soon they were saying it gets to be 150 in Shuiaba. Hum? OK, that may be true but recorded record for Kuwait is 52 degrees C. I spoke with the corpsman who was involved in tracking the temperatures. He said that the highest he saw was 136 degree F. 120, 130 degrees. Yeah, that's awfully hot.

It will be interesting to experience it. I wonder if it is that hot every day of the summer or if there is variance that provides a break from the extreme heat. If you want to track the weather I'm enjoying - or suffering through - you can check here.

Aloha

Day 9
Det 5 stood their last watch last night. The men and women of Det 5 are now unemployed. Their only remaining tasks are to pack up, fly to San Diego, de-mobilize and begin the process of integrating back into the lives they left to serve their country.

Fair winds and following seas, Det 5. Det 6 has the watch.

Aloha

Day 8
Things are becoming pretty routine. I like my schedule. Enough time to do things for myself. Not too much to get bored and unhappy. We still have to send the departing group on their way. Then there will be some adjustments as we tailor things to our own liking. Once that is done, we'll just start grinding through the days. I figure we have about 195 days to go.

Talking to the det that is leaving it seems that some guys have found that time passes pretty quickly. Others say they feel like they've been here forever. I wonder which one it'll be for me?

There's a little area here where the Exchange, Baskin-Robbins, Subway, the barber, the dry cleaners, the internet cafe and a coffee shop are. We call it Shuaiba Mall. The younger service members -- some of them look like they're about 12 -- gather there to 'hang out'. It looks a lot like a mall back home. Kids in groups talking to each other and on their cell phones. Cell phones seem to me like a bad idea tactically but...

I saw something that made me go 'hummmmmm' the other day. Camp rules say no sex in camp, period. In the Exchange I noticed this product on the shelf called Erotica. Hum? It is a dietary supplement designed to enhance women's pleasure during sex. OK. So if sex isn't permitted in camp...

Aloha

Day 7
Had an interesting discussion with one of the guys in my unit this morning. It kind of wandered across a pretty good range of topics. He's a police officer in Texas. Nice guy. This deployment has helped him to decide that he will leave the Navy Reserves. He does not want to be in the position of having to leave his family again. I'm wrestling with that same issue. However, I think that it will be important to wait for about six months to gain a better perspective. I miss my family emmensely. Everyone over here does. That is probably the first thing every one talks about. Especially those who are married and have kids at home. My friend has very young children at home. He will miss events in their lives that he'll never get back. This is less of an issue with older kids because they usually don't change drastically in the course of six to eight months.

What my friend and I cannot see now is how it will impact us and our family to have participated in some thing much bigger than ourselves. Obviously, we can't possibly know how a decision we make today will affect us in five years. But I think that my perspective on having participated in OIF will change of the course of six to eight months after my return. Right now all I can see is the pain and grief of separation, the excitement and thrill of doing my job, the boredom between watches. Once I have returned to the warmth, safety and love of my home and security of my civilian job I will have the opportunity to reflect on my time here. I think that only then will I be able to put the experience into perspective against the larger scheme of life. I think it is nearly impossible to see or determine what God is doing in a person's life until God's work is completed.

Aloha

Yesterday was a bad day. Got in trouble twice for things that were either not my fault or largely out of my control. Some times the military sucks.

I wonder how long it takes before you become accustom to the pain of being separated from your family?

I heard again from Mr. Knief. He sent me a very nice letter telling of his experiences in the military and expressing his support for me and the others that are over here. I've read the letter several times over now. It makes me feel good.

I went running today. First time in almost a month. Ran about 4 miles at about an eight and a half or nine minute pace. It really felt good. I need to make sure I go more often.

I still haven't been issued Kevlar or a helmet. None of the operations folks have. Wonder when they'll get around to that?

The days definitely go by faster now that we're standing watches. I suspect that it will go faster yet once we take full ownership and send the other folks home.

I already think often about spending a month in Hawaii after I get home. It will be awesome to spend a month getting reacquainted with my wife and kids. Being in Hawaii makes us all happy. We really like it there.

Aloha

Day 5
There are a lot of units passing through here on their way home or on their way north. I've had the opportunity to meet a number of Army service members from a lot of different units. 4th ID, 149th Maintaince, the 3rd some thing or other. The names and numbers of all these units are a challenge for a sailor like me to learn and remember. On the flip side, I've been saluted three times now by Army personnel who mistake my Second Class crow for a Colonel's eagle. I've had several people ask me about the Navy rank insignias in an effort to better understand who's who. Likewise, I've been taking the opportunity to get some lessons in their rank structure as well as the Army culture.

It is interesting to compare the perspectives of various people with regard to being at Camp Spearhead. From the perspective of our unit, we are forward deployed to a hostile zone. They don't want us to salute Officers because that would give them away as leadership personnel and therefore a priority target. There are lots of lectures about wearing protective gear and potential attacks, etc. Yet, when I talk to guys from units coming in from up north, this is the safe area. They are expected to salute, they can finally take off their body armour and helmets, and they turn in their ammo and clear their weapons. This creates an interesting dilemma for the soldier meeting a Navy officer on the road. The soldier's commanders expect him to salute that officer but the officer may well go into a rage at being singled out as a target. It seems interesting to me that these issues are not resolved universally by the base commander and then put out to all personnel through the various chains of command. Apparently, each service is left to their own devices on some/many things. A more unified stance at the top would certainly help to create a more unified force in the field.

Related to this is the intra/inter-service rivalries are also very interesting. The more mature individuals grasp the fact that all of us have a specific mission that is contributory to the objectives of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. But reading the bathroom walls it is apparent that their are some out there who think they might be able to do it without the contributions of any one else. Always entertaining is the sophmoric mind.

I need to provide some clarity on the day count. I actually set boots in Kuwait on Sunday evening at approximately 2000. I arrived at Camp Spearhead at approximately 2200. Monday, March 8 was my first full day in Camp Spearhead so I will be counting that as day one.

Aloha

Charles Knief replied to my blog entry that talked about him. Everyone should now run over to Amazon.com and buy one of his books to show my gratitude.

Thank you Mr. Knief. You made my day.

Aloha

Day 5
First, sorry for missing a day. I will try to keep that to a minimum. Part of the problem is the very slow network speeds that we have during the day. I need to start writing my blog entries off line and up loading them.

Stood my first watch out here today. The Det we're relieving still does all the work. We, the oncoming Det, watch, ask questions, and learn the processes and patterns that the departing Det has established. Once we've taken over and sent these guys home, we'll look for ways to improve on what's been built over the past 14 months.

The watch was quite a bit more relaxed than those we were standing in San Diego. I suspect in part because we have a real mission to carry out. At any rate, no one was stressing out about anything. Some opportunities to learn, a few opportunities to teach. All in all, a good watch. I look forward to standing watch with this off-going group.

I'm tired and sleepy, it's late. I'm going to bed.

Aloha

Day 3
The rest of the unit arrived last night. I ended up working until about 0100 helping them get their bags off the truck and into the tents where we'll be living for the next three weeks. There were lots of people so there were lots of bags. We spent about an hour just getting the bags off the truck. We had a muster at 1330. The command gave us the rest of the day to get situated, settled and rested. Tomorrow it sounds like we will be put to death by PowerPoint starting with a "Welcome Presentation" at 0830. Lots of coffee is in order I'm sure.

Small Pox vaccinations suck! You get this really big, ugly pimple/welt at the site of the injection. And the virus causes the lymph nodes in your arm pit to swell up significantly. This causes a lot of pain. Not fun. Doc and others who have already gone through it say I have another two weeks of itchiness and pain. I'm hoping my body's immune system is real strong and cuts that short.

Did a lot of hanging out and talking with other members of the unit today. Catching up on the news and what not. I guess by the end of the week we should be doing some real work.

I talked with some of the guys coming out of the north and some others who are heading up. We talked mostly about equipment and gear. Not a whole lot about what's going on up there.

Things are good, I am well, I miss my family but the job that I - and my family indirectly - am doing here is important.

Aloha

Day 2

I spent the day checking out Camp Spearhead. Not a bad place really. I guess the air quality gets pretty bad some times. Summers hotter than anything I've ever experienced before. But the basic accommodations seem OK. Food is good, living quarters are endurable which is more than can be said of many others involved in Operation Enduring Freedom.

We have a Subway, a Baskin-Robbins, an Exchange, a Gift Shop, a barber shop, a laundry, this really cool embroidery place than will embroider your name and all kinds of cool stuff on your hat or whatever.

I guess the gasses in the air get bad some times. Chlorine and Ammonia are what everyone talks about. There are some pretty scary stories going around but I suspect they are mostly just stories.

I have found an interesting phenomenon. People that have been here a while seem to have a tendency to exaggerate how bad it is here. Not really sure what that's about.

Soon they will start a color coded rating of the day by heat index. During the summer there are days when we can't work because it is too hot. That should be interesting.

Jet lag doesn't seem to be too much of a problem. I got through the day pretty well though I'm pretty tired and sleepy right now. I'm hoping to get a phone call off to the family tonight before I go to bed. Might be difficult since the line for the phones is often very long and very slow.

Aloha

Day 1
Well, I have arrived at Camp Spearhead, Kuwait. I am now officially serving in Operation Enduring Freedom/Noble Eagle. The flight over was long, tiresome, and grueling. Glad it's over. Now I only have to suffer through the two to four days of jet lag and then the 180 days until I see my family again.

On another note, it seems that the commercial airplane that was suppose to bring everyone else hit a generator while taxiing on the runway this morning. This disabled the aircraft and everyone is now delayed two days. They won't be here for a while yet. Pretty funny.

Camp Spearhead

We arrived at the airfield at 0730 which, we were told, was when the aircraft was supposed to land. The aircraft touched down about 0810. A C-17 Globemaster is a big airplane. The aircraft taxied up to where we had our equipment position and we began loading. Or I should say, the equipment got loaded. We didn't have a whole lot to do with it. Civilian load vehicle drivers showed up and drove all the equipment. It was mostly the Air Force personnel directing the civilians. The exception being our own Load Masters.

They are the ones who plan out how the equipment will be loaded into the aircraft. It is actually quite difficult. Unlike when we, or at least I, load the car to go on vacation, everything must be balanced in the aircraft. Load Master School is one of the more difficult and demanding schools that we get sent to.

While getting ready to go this morning I put on some music. The second or third song to play was musical tribute to someone who had passed away. The song talked about how much the person would be missed and what not. Half way into the first verse I just started sobbing. Realising that I'd probably been burying this for a while I just let it all go and cried pretty hard for about 10 minutes or so. I haven't cried like that since my mother died some 16 years ago. I'm really going to miss my wife and kids. I was talking with Yoshi on the phone on Friday. I told him that we would be leaving on Saturday. Yoshi said, "that sucks. That means I won't see you for a long time." He's right. It does suck. As I was standing on the flight line waiting to board the aircraft I thought about the fact that the next time I set foot on that ground I will likely be running to embrace my wife and kids. That won't suck at all.

Aloha

Well, managed to get everything done. Got everything packed, or nearly (I was missing my beautiful and talented wife every minute I was packing). I got the car returned. And I was even able to go out to dinner with several guys from the unit. We went to Fat City Steakhouse. It was very good.

Tomorrow will be the demarkation line between the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. Or you might see it as two phases of the same adventure. Whichever. In any case, starting tomorrow it is no longer a drill, it is all for real.

I will be flying on the Green Bird. The Air Force C-17 Globemaster III (C-17 Pictures). That means I'll leave before the main body of the unit and arrive at our final destination after they do. By as much as a day or two. More if we breakdown which apparently is not uncommon. Should be an adventure in and of itself.

OK, I have to finish the last of the packing because Machiko isn't here to do it for me (I miss her). It will be a few days before I can do any blogging. Hopefully I'll have a lot to post once I get reconnected to the Internet.

Aloha

Busy day today. Last minute shopping, sorting things out between 'sent it home', 'pack it away' and 'pack it in the carry on'. 'Sent it home' is obvious. 'Pack it away' is the pile of items that can be packed in the bags that I won't be able to get to until we arrive at our destination. 'Pack it in the carry on' is the pile of items that I need to be able to get to while in transit. They tell me the trip will take 30 hours. Wow!

Got two more shots today. The last ones for a while. Got another Anthrax shot. They are no worse than a tetanus shot. I also got another Small Pox vaccination. Everyone else got the Small Pox shortly after we arrived here in San Diego. I was deferred because I wanted to be able to see my family. The Small Pox vaccination is a live virus. They basically infect you with Cow Pox. This means you can't be around people with immune system disorders such as what Yoshiyuki has or skin conditions such as what Machiko has. So, had I gotten the Small Pox vaccination -- actually a booster since I've had the vaccination before -- I would not have been able to be around Machiko and Yoshiyuki.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. Finish packing, return my rental car, get to bed early. Saturday will begin another phrase of this adventure.

Aloha

I hate colds. Actually, I hate being sick. I'm not sick very often and when I am I suspect that I am an awful patient. Anyway, I came down with a cold last night. Drugs seem to help. I hope it doesn't get worse.

So it sounds like we're finally leaving on Saturday. At least they are gearing us up to leave on Saturday. We'll see.

I have to pack up and get things ready. I'm still waiting on a Desert CamelBak. I ordered it over the weekend. Sure would be cool if it comes in before we leave. I also ordered some gloves and eight point utility hats. I had them shipped to my home address. Machiko can send them to me once they arrive.

Aloha

Yeah, I know. I'm stating the obvious here. Nonetheless, after today's experience I feel and deep need to reiterate this painfully obvious truth.

So, I needed to get a base pass for the oh-so-cool red Mustang Convertible -- now dubbed the Comms Mobile -- so that I can drive it on base. In the course of attempting to do this I was made aware of the fact that the temporary extension of my expired license had expired. No pass! Crap!

I arrived at DMV in Chula Vista at 13:37 according to the stamp on the ticket they gave me that also had my customer number on it. I was G282. Hum? What number are they on? G202. Wow! That's bad. Oh wait. It gets worse. There are also A, B, C, H, and J sequences being used. Hum? So, I have no way to know where I stand in terms of distance from being served. Guess I better settle in for the wait.

Had an interesting discussion with three other Navy guys. That's one of the aspects of being in the military that I've always enjoyed.

Never did sort out the odd numbering system the DMV used. It took 3 hours to get called. It took 3 minutes -- yes, I timed it -- to complete my business and exit the building.

So, why have I not yet received my new driver's license thus landing me in this predicament? The photograph they took "didn't come out". I applied for a new license on 12/3/2003. I have received nothing from DMV to date. If the photograph didn't come out you'd think they could at least let me know.

DMV sucks.

I did manage to finish at DMV with just enough time to get back to the base and get my pass so that I can drive my oh-so-cool red Mustang convertible -- now dubbed the Comms Mobile -- on to the base. Just barely.

Aloha

We are trained up and ready to go. Now all we have left is to wait for the time to actually go. Today was a pretty light day. Got laundry done, packed up some gear, got it loaded on to a pallet. Did some shopping for some final items.

Yesterday before flying down I made a rental car reservation. Pretty good deal. I was expecting a four door economy car. Imagine my surprise when the lady asked me if a convertible would be alright. "Hum, didn't know Kia made convertibles," thinks me. "Sure, convertible would be great," I say out loud. Good, second to the last row, last stall. It's a red Mustang convertible. Some times things just go your way.

Aloha