April 2004 Archives

Day 51

Somehow I apparently did not make a post for yesterday. Not sure how that happened. Also be aware that I will be away for a while. I would suggest check once a week for the next month or so.

All of my friends from 3rd ACR are beginning their trip home tomorrow. I will miss them. We played one last game of Spades today. Sarge and I did not do very well. Sarge was a little more impatient with me tdoay. I guess I've used up my "I'm just learning" grace period. That's as it should be. I've learned a lot and we've won a few games now. At any rate, Sarge, The Supply Guy, and The Other Guy, you guys enjoy your families and take it easy on the beer and booze. Maybe I'll make it out to Colorado for one more game of Spades.

A regular reader here that I'll call The Groom sent me and email and asked if I would say hi to his fiance who I will call the bride. Now when I saw the name of The Bride I recognized it as one that I had seen around camp. So I decided that would not reply to the email and instead find The Bride and tell her, "hi, from your fiance." Today I finally saw The Bride. It was great fun watching her as I first walked over and said hi. She was quite surprised. She will be writing The Groom tonight I suspect.

This blog is really great fun for me.

I'm nodding off here so I think I'll go to bed.

Aloha

Day 49

This kind of stuff is the mission of my detachment. From what I've read of the news reports it sounds like the forces in place in Basra were successful in defending the port. I see that oil was flowing again from the port facilities hours after the attack. The news reports state that the dhow boats were intercepted and as a result of those interceptions were not able to get close to any of the high value assets (HVAs) in the area. Successful execution of their mission. BZ guys, BZ. Two sailors committed to Davey Jones in the action. To the friends and family of those sailors, my condolences.

We had another sand/dust storm last night. Another mild one I guess. Wind blew pretty hard last night. This morning when I woke up it was quiet and still. Desert weather is interesting.

Aloha

This is the second entry for day 48. I did one yesterday and thought I had posted it. I guess maybe I was pretty tired when I was trying to get it done. In any case, it didn't get posted so here's my second attempt.

_________________
Day 48

I had the day watch today. It started out sounding like I was actually going to have some interesting problems to solve. Alas, the bueacracy of the Navy deprived me of the opportunity to attack that problem. Such is life in the military.

I thought I would have the opportunity to play Spades with the boys from 3rd ACR. There was an awards ceremony. All the new second class petty officers got frocked. I wasn't one of them. The sailors of the quarter were awarded. I wasn't one of them. A Navy Accommodation Medal was given. I didn't get that either. For all of this we stood in ranks at attention in the hot sun. It was hot too. One of the citations was exceptionally long. That got a few chuckles afterward.

After the awards ceremony there was a bar-b-que. I generally don't like parties very much. Initially I made the effort to be sociable and chat with people. Eventually I gave up on being social, found a corner and read my book. I'm currently reading Sue Grafton's B is for Burglar. Pretty good. Mostly novacaine for the brain stuff but that is exactly what I'm looking for. Entertainment pure and unadulterated. Mr. Knief's book Emerald Flash is on its way here, courtesy of my beautiful wife. Have I mentioned that I'm married to the most awesome woman in the world? So, this reading thing could be kind of fun. I could start a reading club like Oprah. Hum? Have to give that some thought.

Aloha

_________________

This entry is pretty close to what I originally wrote for this entry. I'm sorry it didn't get posted yesterday as it should have. I know I have a few daily readers that I don't want to lose.

Day 47

The midwatch wasn't too bad last night. Around 0500 I had real trouble staying awake. I finally got to bed around 0800. Slept until 1030. It's now 1925 and I'm still feeling pretty good.

On Sunday I'm going out to shoot crew served weapons from boats. Should be an exciting and interesting experience. I'm sure I'll have something to say about it here on Sunday.

We had a dust storm today, the first one I've experienced. It was really awesome in the way that nature often is. It looked like a large red cloud moving toward us. Very red, very dark and moving rather quickly. The dust or sand seemed to be mostly high in the air on the leading edge of the storm. As the storm moved over us I could feel a graininess in my eyes and a grittiness in my mouth. I could not see anything in the air but there was definitely something there. I could also feel it on flat surfaces as the dust/sand settled. It lasted about 15 to 25 minutes and was followed by a light rain shower. Not sure if the two were related but it seems like they might have been. Apparently these sand storms can sometimes last for more than a day. When that happens it shuts everything down since visibility is reduced to mere feet.

We play one game of Spades again today. Sarge and I did pretty well.

Aloha

Day 46

This morning was quite interesting. I spent thirty minutes or so iChatting with my beautiful wife and was wrapping things up when this guy comes charging into the tent along with about eight others and tells me that I'm in his place. Buckets of attitude and aggression. Good morning to you too.

The remainder of the guys that were in the fest tent had to move out this morning. The majority of them moved into my tent. As is the case with anyone who is forced to adjust their living situation, these guys were unhappy. Gradually, everyone calmed down. We got everyone settled in and now we can set about the task of learning to live together in significantly tighter quarters. The area that I can call my own is about six feet by four feet. The tent is designated by the Army as an eight man tent. We currently have eleven guys living there.

There's a line of logic that is often offered up around here. "It could be worse." This has always bothered me a little bit but now I've started to really wonder if people who say this have really thought it out. I mean, who really cares if it could be worse. What is the consolation in finding someone whose condition is worse than the one you find yourself in? This seems just plain silly to me. I don't get it.

Having said that, my own situation is really pretty good. The guys that in my tent are all people that were near me when we were in the fest tent. They seem mature and responsible. After the initial blast of frustration they all settled down to the business of figuring out how to make the space we had accommodate the people who had to live there. Everyone is now settled in and hopefully, we're done with the anger and frustration. Supposedly, more tents will become available to us in a few weeks and then we can reduce the density a little bit.

If we could actually get down to eight people in one of these tents it would be pretty comfortable. Even roomy.

Aloha

Day 45

I moved into a tent today. So far there are only two of us in here but more will be coming to be sure. There is suppose to be eleven of us in here. It's not bad. Wireless Internet in my tent. Enough space for me, my stuff and a little room to stand around in. It's close to the chow hall. There's still a lot of disgruntalment and argueing going on about living conditions. I can't complain. Things are better than I expected.

Didn't get to play Spades today. I had to go on watch at 1500 and my friends from 3rd ACR weren't up yet. I was bummed.

I've gotten four or five letters from regular readers. Everyone who writes me almost apologizes for writing and for reading my blog. I really enjoy the letters I get. If I can say hi to a friend or loved one, I will. Please feel free to response and let me know that you're reading.

Quiet watch tonight. That's always welcome. Took the opportunity to provide some training to the security watch standers. That too was fun. I enjoy training.

Three of us in the unit are surfers. We talked about surfing in general, the possibility of going surfing together in San Diego when we get back and the possibility of surfing together in Hawaii. It was good to talk about life after deployment. Makes me wonder what friendships I'll make here that will last a lifetime. When I went on West-Pac back in '84, there were two guys with whom I became very good friends. Buddy Gentry and Marc Cruse. I lost touch with them after I left the Navy in '85. I've tried many times but I've never been able to reconnect. I'd like to. I would like to talk about old times and see what they are doing now.

Aloha

Day 44

To start, I need to offer a correction. Or at least The Supply Guy says I need to offer a correction. I should be referring to his unit as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment instead of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Division.

3rd ACR finally got some definitive word on when they're going home. Or at least it's semi-definitive (which renders the definitiveness questionable but I'm going in circles here). My three buddies went to call their families and deliver the news. Two hung up on my buddies and, I suspect, one took the news with more than a little skepticism. You see, they are going home a little later than many were hoping. Not a lot later mind you, like many units. Just a few days later. I'll miss my new friends but I'm glad for them, they are going home.

Those who moved into the smaller tent had an interesting day yesterday, it seems. Struggling over fair allocation of the available space. From what I hear they had to hash it out one last time at around midnight. The Fest Tent where I still live is becoming positively roomy.

Aloha

Day 43

Came off the midwatch this morning at 0700. Was sound asleep by 0740. Woke up at about 1045. Took a shower and headed over to the mall to see if any of the guys were there to play Spades. The Supply Guy was there. He went to wake up Sarge and The Other Guy. The Supply Guy came back and a little while later Sarge showed up. We grabbed a stranger and commence to play. The Other Guy showed up a while later. We finished the game with the stranger. The Other Guy was happy because that meant he could get in on the new game. The Other Guy is The Supply Guy's usual partner. Sarge and I always play together. Sarge and I were on the money today. We were getting good hands, bidding them well and hitting our bids. We won a couple games. It was a lot of fun.

We were suppose to move out of the Fest Tent today. It was the in typical style. Some one came just a few minutes after I'd woken up and said we had to move, right now. Hum? OK. A myriad of a questions went racing through my groggy mind. I went to check out these new digs we were supposed to be moving into. My understanding is that this tent is designed as an eight man tent. The plan is to put eleven men into the tent. I opted to stay in the Fest Tent a while longer and see what happens.

Aloha

Day 42

The Mid Watch
I have the mid watch again tonight. Last time round I tried to lay down and sleep from 1700 to 2100 before going on watch. I was not able to get any real sleep. I got up at 2030. I was going to eat last time before I went on watch but then decided not because I thought they'd bring out mid-rats. They didn't. I did pretty good on watch until about 0400 when I started feeling really tired. So tired I almost felt sick. I managed to last through the watch. I went straight to bed when I got off watch, slept for about an hour and a half and then went the whole day with no real problems. Went to sleep that night and was mostly fine the next day for the day watch.

I didn't go to sleep until almost 0300 this morning. I slept in until 1030. I am not going to sleep before watch and I will be picking up a Subway sandwich meal before I go on watch. I plan to eat the sandwich about half way through watch. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Bathroom Wall Literature
Since using the bathroom isn't really an optional activity it is kind of hard to not read what is written on the walls here. After some forty days, I've determined that the writings seem to dwell primarily on four subjects. Sex, Inter-service rivalry, Inter-occupational rivalry, and a few specific military topics.

The discussions of sex are the usual, unimaginative stuff that's written on bathroom walls everywhere. Nothing interesting to see here.

Inter-service rivalry tends to be primarily Army vs Marine Corps, each detailing why the other is the lesser service. From what I can tell there appears to be some Army folks also taking swipes at the Navy. However, the Navy is really a minority player here. We are grossly out numbered by Army. There aren't many Marines here either largely because they've already moved north. About half of the writings are simple declarations. Army rocks. Marine Corps sucks. About a quarter are sexual in nature. About a quarter make some attempt to quantify why one particular service is the lesser. All in all, none of it is very original.

Inter-occupational rivalry is interesting because it seems to be primarily written by members of the Infantry, stating that other occupations are in some way and to some degree less than Infantry. These writings seem to be written entirely by Army personnel. Navy has no infantry to speak of and I've never seen a writing about Infantry that could be identified as having been written by a Marine.

The specific military topics center around who got Saddam Hussein, what cities or areas were the hard core areas, and how long any particular unit or person has been 'here' ('here' varies from writer to writer).

The capture of Saddam Hussein has been attributed to the 4th Infantry Division, the 3rd Marines, and Task Force 20. All of these groups have also been accused of playing to the press. I should probably dig around and see if I can find out who actually did capture Saddam. My guess is that it was a result of the work of quite a few groups over a long period.

Areas around Fallujah seem to top the list of hard core places. I don't recognise all the place names so I'm not sure all of them are in the Falluja area. My friends in 3rd ACD tell me that some of the writings are in jest. That is, the places were not at all combative.

I was talking to my buddies from 3rd ACD today as we played Spades again (my third day, my partner Sarge and I almost won today). Listening to them it seems there's a whole realm of bathroom wall literature and art that I've not yet been exposed to. Given their descriptions I think I'll avoid those bathrooms.

I've got to wonder. Do you suppose anyone has ever done a master's degree on bathroom wall literature?

In the continuing saga of when my buddies will be heading home, it seems that each week the projected date moves out one week. One friend is pretty stressed about it and really wants to go home. The other two want to go home but seem to be taking the prolongments in stride. I'll miss them but I hope they go home soon. These guys have been through a lot and have been here a long time. They need to go home and see their families.

Aloha

Day 41

Today I went into town again. A reward for doing a favor for a Chief. I bought an earphone/mic for my cell phone. Hopefully, it will make hearing and understanding phone calls home easier. It will also making reading to the kids a lot easier having both hands free.

One of the ways the kids and I stay connected while I'm deployed is I read to them. When I am home I read to the kids before bed. Both kids and I lay on our queen size bed and I read. One night I read from a Nancy Drew mystery, the next night I read from a Hardy Boys mystery. The kids really enjoy it. Now that I'm away, I have copies of the books we are reading. I call home around the time the kids are going to bed and read to them. I think we all get a lot out of it. The kids say they like it and I know I really like it. I'm still struggling to get on a regular schedule.

Mr. Knief sent me an autographed copy of his latest book, Silver Sword. Thank you very much, Mr. Knief. I have to say that I've turned into a real John Caine fan. I tried to read another book while waiting for Emerald Flash to arrive but really couldn't get into it. I'm glad to have a Caine story to read. And I see from the cover flap that my friend Kimo has been promoted to Police Chief. I'm really looking forward to getting to know Kimo.

As a result of going into town today, I stood up my buddy from the 3rd ACD. I promised I'd be around at lunch time to play Spades. I wasn't there. Sorry my friend. I did manage to catch up with a staff sargent from the same unit while he was at work. Sounds like these guys are getting pushed out again. While I'm glad to have my friends around, I really do wish they would get to go home. Then again, I guess they should count their blessings. They could be the 1st Armored Division.

Aloha

Day 40

Yesterday a few guys from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Division taught me to play Spades. I played a game with them yesterday. They had to leave for work but agreed to play today after I got off watch. I was looking forward to it all day. I really like these guys. They're fun.

The Sarge was my partner. He's a quiet, patient guy who suffered losing due to my inexperience cheerfully. One of the guys is my old friend from the 3rd ACD. I've talked about him quite a bit here. The third guy, or fourth if you're counting me, is the guy that I wrote about a couple days ago. A good bunch of guys. I'll be glad for them when (or maybe if) they go home but I'll miss them. They are threatening to continue reading my blog. Maybe they'll even remember to send me an email and a care package. Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, we played for a while today. Fun game. I seem to be getting the hang of it. Made a few mistakes. We still lost. Sarge still didn't complain. It was fun.

Aloha

Day 39

I cried a lot this morning. It all started when I read this article (free registration required). America will bury 64 of her finest in the coming week. First, to the families and friends of those who died, my sincerest condolences. All of them were taken too soon.

Mr. Morel, the father of Marine Corps Captain Morel, made a very important comment that America needs to hear and comprehend.

"This war has to be fought to conclusion. It can't be fought with velvet gloves. I do not want those men and women to die in vain. I'll be mad if they do."

However we got here, we are in this now and we have to finish it. At this point, this is not the United Nation's job to finish. They weren't willing to step up to the task in the first place. So whichever your view, the United Nations should not be asked to clean up our mess OR the United Nations should not be permitted to finish the job that we have started. Either way, it is the United State's to lead.

My own father believes strongly in President Bush. I don't always share my father's faith in the President. However, I do believe that the course put forth by President Bush in his address is a good one. The American Public needs to grasp and understand the underlying goal that was so prominent in the President's speech. "... an independent, free and secure Iraq." The American public needs to hold the government to that goal and support the government in its efforts toward that goal. This thing will not be over soon. United States military personnel will not be withdrawing from Iraq soon. More United States military members will die in Iraq before our work is done here. It will not be easy and it will be painful. We still need to finish this.

In the same vein, the father-in-law of Marine Corps Captain Morel, Ray Mullins, made a comment that captures another important aspect of this.

"He died the way he would have wanted to die, leading his men."

I haven't talked to a single service member who wants to die here. There may be some but they are few. Every one of us knows and is reminded regularly that we might die here. We try not to think about it. We and our families never mention it but the majority of us know that it is part of what we signed up for. Many or even most civilians may not be able to comprehend that. It is a military thing. Do not let Marine Corps Captain Morel and all of the others who have died in Iraq die in vain. We need to finish this.

Lastly, my crying continued when my wife told me what my son said.

"I feel like I haven't seen dad for a long time."

Yoshi, you haven't seen dad for a long time. Miyuki, I can only guess what your thoughts are. You are your father's child with his tendency to think too much and bury his feelings and emotions away in the hope of hiding them. I think you probably suffer in silence.

I am proud of both my children. It is my honor to know them. They are two of the finest people I have ever had the privilge of knowing.

My wife is one of the bravest people I know. I pray that God rewards her well for her dedication to me.

All of this gush actually leads to a point. For most if not all of the 115,000 to 135,000 service members currently in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theatre there is a family and some friends somewhere trying their best to support their service member. Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends. Each service member has some group of people some where that care about them, worry about them and try to find ways to support them. America, these families and friends are your responsibility. Please, take good care of our loved while we cannot.

Now, excuse while I go off and experience my feminine side. I'm going to have a good cry.

Aloha

Day 38

I went to a place called Doha toady. There's a Coalition Military Base there. Staffing for the base is predominately US Army but there are a lot of different countries and services there. I saw all of the US branches of service. I saw service members from Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Finland, Korea, Japan, and a couple of countries that I either don't remember or wasn't able to identify from the uniforms. It was pretty cool.

The exchange at Doha has all the stuff I can't get here in Shuaiba. Edge shaving gel, Sauve shampoo and conditioner were the main items that I was really missing. I bought three cans of Edge Gel. They also had several varieties of hard candy that I can't get here in Shuaiba so I get a break from Jolly Rancher's original flavors which I've been sucking on since I got here. Lifesaver tropical fruit flavor are my favorite. Doha exchange had them. I only bought one bag of those.

Some thing that has struck me as odd every time I ride on the highways here. There are signs indicating the routes military convoys must take. Now, I suspect that many of you don't yet understand the oddity of that. When I see a sign that says miltary convoys must exit here, I see, "Terrorist, place improvised explosive devices here or further down this road." Paranoid? Probably. That doesn't mean they aren't out to get us.

Four section watches in a three watch rotation seems pretty nice. Tonight I have my first mid watch since I've been here. I'll know better whether I like this rotation or not tomorrow or the next day after I've had to recover from being up all night. My current plan is to go to bed about 1700 and sleep for three hours or so before watch. I think I should be good to go with that.

Aloha

Day 37

We're in four sections now. Standing a three watch rotation. That means I'll stand a different watch each day and the mid watch once every three days. Hum? Wonder how that will be. More time off. I struggle now to find ways to fill up the time off that I have but part of the problem there is that the time off was long enough to get bored but not long enough to get involved in something else. Now we have time to get involved in some of the MWR thing and chapel stuff. Should be good.

I talked to a guy in the showers today while we were shaving. He's just down from up north. Spent a year in and around Fallujah. He made the comment that a lot of what is happening in that area right now is, at least in part, due to changes the Marines made when they took over. Specifically, the Army had hired Iraqis to do jobs on base. Hotel services and sanitation stuff, among other things. When the Marines took over they let all of the Iraqis go.

Some interesting issues to consider here. It is fair to assume that taking a job working for US Forces carried with it a certain amount of risk within the community. US Occupation Forces are not popular with everyone in Iraq. Secondly, with the instability of Iraq, jobs and a steady income are hard to come by. Those who had jobs on the base probably thought they had a pretty secure future, even with the risk associated with it.

Once fired, these people were likely shocked, angry and afraid. It would make sense that those people be interested in lashing out at the entity that betrayed them. They now have the motivation to work with the insurgents. They have some knowledge of the physical plants on the base. They have some knowledge of how the Army did things. Did they have any intelligence of tactical or strategic value? Probably. More significantly, the Marine very likely pissed off a bunch of families. It is interesting that a decision made by a unit commander in the field could quite possibly affect Coalition policy.

The Ripple Effect.

Aloha

Day 36

I think my favorite thing to do here is meet the guys who are headed home. I really enjoy hearing their stories, hearing about what they're looking forward to. I met a guy today, well actually I met him a few days ago. He's a buddy of my other friend in the 3rd Armored Cav Division (ACD). Got to Iraq in November. He's one of the ones to stay behind and help load 3rd ACD's equipment on to the ships. He's looking forward to seeing his family again. Really nice guy. We talked about the Army. Mostly because I asked a lot of questions. The poor guy was trying to eat his supper before formation – which is Army-speak for muster which is Navy speak for gathering together to talk about what to do next. I learned a lot about the Army and his career plans.

Sounds like I might get a chance to see the USNS Bob Hope. I am a big Bob Hope fan. If the ship comes in here I would like to get over there and get a ship's ball cap and maybe a coffee cup. USNS Bob Hope is cool.

Aloha

Day 35

Just got off watch. Things went well enough. A fairly uneventful watch. I guess we're going to four sections. More time off between watches. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Too much time off and time slows to an absolute crawl. We'll see.

Still living in what they call the Fest Tent with about 60 other guys. Supposedly we will be moving into smaller tents with only eight to ten people per with a little more space and the opportunity to put up some walls and personalise it a little bit. I'm not holding my breath. I've resigned myself to living in the Fest Tent for another 150 or 160 days. I've got the routine down so it's not too bad. There's quite a bit of stuff that I brought or bought but can't get to because it lies at the bottom of a bag somewhere.

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the air quality here. As I've mentioned before, Camp Spearhead sits in the middle of an industrial area. There are stacks with continually burning flames all around us. To those who haven't seen oil refineries before, they are scary looking things. But in the end, there is nothing noticeable in the air here the vast majority of the time. Occasionally there's a bad smell but little more than that. On the whole, it appears to me to be no worse than some areas of Torrance or Long Beach, California. At any rate, I guess there's a lot of complaining about it because the command spends a fair about of energy explaining to us what they are doing about it. Which is mostly nothing. We get paper and cloth masks to wear which will keep the particle matter out of our respiratory systems. We have been issued a few canisters for our gas masks – a few meaning not every one gets one – that will protect us against the industrial stuff that might be found here; gaseous stuff like chlorine, ammonia etc.

Most of this stems from the fact that bulk sulphur is being loaded on to a ship on the same pier where the military equipment is being loaded on to RO/ROs. Airborne sulphur dust is nasty stuff. Stinks, makes you cough, makes your eyes water and in some cases, makes you puke. Medical tells us that it has no long term affects. Yeah, whatever. In short, it turns out that being in the rear with the gear has its own risks and dangers.

Following up yesterday's long ramble on the Japanese hostages, there are some reports that they will be set free, there are reports that there has been no word. I have to wonder if the animals didn't figure out that they were in way over their head. I have to wonder if we won't find the three Japanese out on a desolate road some where with no one around. That would be consistent with the cowardly acts of animals.

And lastly, to my family who I know read this every day. I was listening to music as I wrote this entry and Mele Ohana by Keali`i Reichel came on. It speaks clearly of my own feelings for you. We are ohana. I love you guys. I miss you terribly.

Happy Easter everyone. He is still risen.

Aloha

Day 34

Fallujah. Japanese hostages. Just a few of the items from Iraq in the news this past day or two. It all reminds us that Iraq is a violent and lawless place. There is a huge power vacuum. What is known is that the US will not fill the power void created by the toppling of Saddam's "government". To think that the US would even consider governing Iraq is, in my opinion, naive. What is perceived as a wide open question right now is who will step into the void. It would appear that Mr. Sadr thinks he might be able to force his way into that position of power. And Mr. Sadr's thought is a very logical one. It's been done that way in Iraq and the surrounding area since anyone can remember. Mr. Sadr has raised his hand and volunteered to be the next Saddam Hussein.

On a loosely related note, the threats offered by the animals who took the three Japanese hostage strike me as interesting. It appears to be a fairly well thought out mission. Internationally, the Japanese involvement here in Iraq is seen as wobbly. The Japanese are late and reluctant comers to this war. And they make no bones about the fact that they hope to participate in this war as non-combatants. So, it is reasonable to believe that the Japanese are most likely to cave in and go home provided with the right motivation. Pretty good thinking for animals.

The motivation these animals have chosen shows them and their kind for what they are. Three Japanese civilians with absolutely no hostile intent whatever. Three civilians without means of even defending themselves let alone taking on any kind of offensive posture. The threats these animals offer up - to burn the hostages alive - is intended to terrorise not just the Japanese but the world. It is intended to make the world afraid, starting with those who they perceive to be the weakest. Clearly these animals hope to reduce the force they face by trying to crack the coalition by taking on what they perceive to be the weakest first.

I truly hope that US Forces find these pathetic animals. I truly hope that US Forces rescue the Japanese hostages in true SpecOp form. Animals such as we have here are vicious and fearful only in front of a camera when their only opponents are unarmed and terrified civilians. Typically, these same animals experience a special kind of horror when they find themselves up against trained military personnel intent on a mission. I want these animals to experience the intense, terrifying horror that they are visiting on the innocent people they are holding. I want them to know fear beyond their wildest imagination.

And what then of Fallujah? Are US Marines in Fallujah so different from those who have taken the Japanese hostages. Yes, I think they are. US Marines, all US Forces, offer no deception about who we are or what it is we do. We are the United States Military. In one form or another our job is make happen by use of whatever means necessary that which could not be made to happen by peaceful negotiation. For the most part, we are clearly marked and easily identified. For the most part, we do not hide who we are. If you attack or provoke us you should expect that we will strike back. Given that obvious fact, anyone who plans to attack us should first take inventory of the equipment and personnel we have at our disposal when we decide to strike back. We have the most formidible weapons in the world. We are the best trained military in the world. There is none better than the United States Military.

The United States Military in Fallujah has been patient. When the citizens of Fallujah used a missile to shoot down a lightly or unarmed Chinook aircraft carrying US service members headed out for much needed R&R, our response was to reroute our helicoptors so as to make such attacks more difficult or impossible. And from that day to this, the attacks have continued and increased. In my 20/20 hindsight, it is my opinion that we should have locked down Fallujah like Fort Knox on the very day that Chinook was shot down. From that day forward until the citizens of that city proved that they could be trusted with freedom, no one should have been permitted to walk out their front door without prior written approval from the US military authority in charge of the city. My own opinions notwithstanding, it should come as little surprise when after several months of kicking the giant dog the dog finally attacks.

Black Hawk helicopters are hardly surgical strike weapons. I am certain that a lot of innocents have died in Fallujah these past few days. I am glad to see that women, children and the elderly have been offered the opportunity to leave the city. I wish they'd been offered that opportunity sooner. But I am not opposed to action that the US Military has taken in Fallujah.

And yeah, I think there's one hell of a difference between the men and women of the United States Military and the animal pack that calls itself The Mujahadeen Brigades. But that is to be expected I suppose.

I hope all the hostages are freed soon. If that's the way the animals are going to play, I wish they would at least take us, the military members who are here and not the civilians who are in Iraq as journalist and aid workers. We signed up for this. One might say that the anyone who comes to Iraq right now is signing up for this kind of treatment. Maybe. But I think those who come here to help should be admired for their courage. The Iraqi people need help right now.

Aloha

Day 33

I am nearly finished with Charles Knief's second book. Reading seems to be the way I pass my time here. Now I'm going to have to go find a new book to read. I want to read Emerald Flash but the paperback edition is out of print and I'm not sure I want too many hard cover books here in the desert where live space is at a premium. I really like Mr. Knief's books. I don't relish the idea of looking for something new.

The latest issue here in Camp Spearhead is air quality. We live in the middle of a heavy industry area. Lots of refineries, factories, etc. And, of course, there's lot of speculation about what those refineries, factories and what not are spewing into the air. The stacks at the refineries have constant flares – where there is a flame coming from the stack. More fodder for idle speculation. If you put all the rumors, stories and speculation together, it's a wonder any of us have survived these 32 days.

All in all, most days the air and the weather seem pretty nice to me. Lately, they've been loading Sulphur on to ships. Not Navy ships. Sulphur is apparently an export item. Sulphur stinks. Makes some of the guys sick, like, they throw up. My friend from the 3rd ACD was very affected by it and spend his work day sitting in the bus. Nasty stuff.

Fallujah is in the news lot these days. Women, children and the elderly have been permitted to leave the area. Wouldn't it be cool of building a free, democratic society to replace thirty plus years of despotic tyranny were easy and cheap?

Aloha

Day 32

It is really interesting to me how a single event can change the out look of a group of people. As I mentioned it was decided that we should rearrange our work area. As I mentioned, it didn't really go very well. OK, so that just is what is, right? Wow, talk about an attitude change. Some equipment still doesn't work correctly. We're not really sure why yet. There's lots of talk about putting everything back the way it was and how much the current set up sucks. Lots of questions around why the rearrangement was necessary, who planned it, why it needed to be done in such a short time frame and with so little planning. Lots of questions, not many answers.

Another fine Navy day.

Aloha

Day 31

I had dinner tonight with my friend that I talked about several days back. I have to be more careful how I talk about him now. I think he's probably my newest user. Turns out he's with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Division. We talked about his experiences up in the Fallujah area. Another guy from his unit joined us. It was interesting to hear their stories.

I told you all that the 3rd ACD went home. Well, apparently there are about 90 or a 100 guys still here to pack up their vehicles and gear on the ship. Most of the folks still here are guys who do not yet have a year in country.

I mentioned the rearrangement of our workspace. Yeah, that was every bit the fiasco that I expected. We'll just leave it at that.

Lots of activity in Fallujah these days. The Marines got hit pretty hard. 10 or more dead in one weekend. Welcome to Iraq. Some 200 people total, mostly Iraqis. Personally, I think they should have locked the city down hard in response to that city's blowing up a helocopter full of service members headed out for R&R. Our reaction then should have been much stronger. Not with retaliatory strikes but with a much greater presence of force. A side note, those were 3rd ACD soldiers on that helo. My friend lost five friends that day.

There is still a long way to go if the Iraqis are to have the opportunity to build a democratic and free Iraq. Pulling US troops out now will allow militant leaders like Sadr the opportunity to replace Saddam Hussein and his reign of terror. And with that, our children will be coming to this region to fight yet another war. More importantly, the Iraqi people will be returned to the horrorible hell they lived in under Saddam.

The US must finish this. The US must see this through to the installation of democratically elected government in Iraq. It will probably take several more years. The current administration should be preparing the American people for that. Presidential candidates should be explaining how they will ensure that the 600+ American lives lost in Iraq so far will not be in vain but rather will be counted as the heros by the free Iraqi people of the future.

Aloha

Day 30

One month in Kuwait.

The 3rd Armored Cavalry is heading home today. They are all wearing what appear to be new, well pressed desert cami uniforms and really big smiles. There will be a lot of happy families this week. I haven't talked to any of them so I don't really know where they've been or how long. It's good to see them going home though.

Last night was my first night off since we started standing watches. I hardly knew what to do with myself. I was planning to start reading Sand Dollars but I ran into a guy who just recently arrived in Kuwait. He is with my own unit and is one of the active duty personnel. Nice guy. I enjoyed getting to know him. His Navy career - four years thus far and ending in the not too distant future - has been an interesting one albeit the type of interesting that most of us would prefer to avoid. Despite four years of things not really going his way, he has a great attitude, a great sense of humor. It's going to be fun serving with him.

Watch was interesting today. They (I don't know who they is) have decided to rearrange our work space. I find this rather comical. Rearranging our work area is a big like trying to rearrange a techno-geek's living room. We're not talking the repositioning of a couch and two chairs here. Every thing that is to be moved has at least half a dozen wires, cables, cords and other appendages that will need to be accommodated. Given the amount of time that this plan has been tossed about - less than one week - I have a sneaking suspicion that no one has really measured things out to ensure that all of the equipment will fit in its new location AND all of the equipment's associated appendages be long enough to reach there appointed termination points. So they came in today when we had two hours left on our watch to begin this reorganization of our workspace. When I mentioned that the effort would probably run over into the next watch I was assured that it would be finished in an hour or so. They hadn't even managed to get started when I got relieved. I mentioned to the mid-watch guys when I saw them that they would probably still be sorting it out on their watch. Be interesting to see what I find tomorrow when I go on watch.

Aloha

Day 29

They dogged the watch last night which has the affect of shifting everyone back one shift. My section has been standing the evening watch, now we stand the day watch. Today was my first time on day watch. It's kind of nice to be off work with daylight hours left. Feels kind of normal. I'll have to get used to talking to the family before I go to bed instead of right after I get up. Not sure how long we (the comms guys) will stay on the current watch schedule. We're currently in three sections but comms is trying to go to four. That would have me standing a different watch each day with more time off between watches. I really like the crew I'm with so I'd just as soon stay with everyone else.

There was a thunder storm last night. Some rain, thunder and lightning. It was a beautiful sight. The desert it is pretty during storms. By about noon it had cleared off. The seas were still pretty rough but beginning to calm down.

The Shi'ite radicals who were so eager to grab the attention of US forces in the Fallujah area seem to have succeeded, at least if this article is any indication. Undoubtly this will get worse - especially for the Iraqis - before it gets better. With vastly superior fire power and comparatively unlimited resources, US Forces will overcome in the end. I have to wonder what the cost will be in Iraqi lives. How many innocents will die?

Recent news articles released by the Marine Corps regarding personnel killed in action in the area of Fallujah did not contain any details about now the men died, where the men died nor any detail of the fighting in which the men died. An article in Stars & Stripes (sorry, the exact article does not seem to be online) explains that the Marine Corps is citing Operational Security in its refusal to release the details of the deaths. It goes on to say that the Department of Defense is talking to the Marine Corps in a effort to get them to change their policy. Personally, I hope the Marine Corps stands fast. Describing in detail the methods by and manner in which soldiers/marines/sailors/airmen die serves only to feed that same morbid curiosity that causes people to slow and look at a traffic accident. Beyond that, nothing is gained.

Five Marines died. The how and when will be in the medal citations when they come out. What is news worthy is that five brave men lost their lives in a far away land fighting for the freedom and safety of people they've never met. What does it matter to Joe-Six-Pack in the Wal-mart parking lot whether those five men died as a result of an IED, direct enemy fire or indirect fire? The American Public cannot and should not try to fight this war from their Lazyboys in front of the TV. The President and candidates for president should not be trying to fight this war on the campaign trail. War is dirty, ugly, nasty, gruesome business that should be left to the professionals who have chosen, despite their detailed knowledge of this utterly repulsive aspect of mankind, to make warfare their trade. The American public needs to be judgemental of the conflicts the US involves themselves in but the details of battle and how men die will not help the public in that judgement.

Aloha

Day 28

I finished Mr. Knief's book, Diamond Head. I really enjoyed the book. Very engaging and entertaining. I had to get all the way to the end of the book to really meet Kimo but I think I am going to enjoy getting to know Kimo in Mr. Knief's subsequent books. I already have his next book, Sand Dollars, in my pocket to read in spare moments. We have a few of those out here. Well, OK, more than a few. I'll probably order an other one or two of Mr. Knief's books today. Mr Knief, please write quickly. I dread having to find some other form of entertainment once I've read all you're books.

I met a young lady from Hawaii last night. She was sitting outside strumming an Ukulele. We talked for a while. She grew up in Molokai, which she still calls home. She's been here in Camp Spearhead for a year with the 10th Mountain Division. She's trained to be a truck driver but spends the majority of her time directing traffic and managing the ingress and egress of vehicles in the staging yard. Tough young lady. Good attitude. She's 18 years old. Five years older than my little girl. We're sending kids to fight wars.

Two more Marines were added to the honor roll today. Again in the area near Fallujah. I have to wonder what is in Fallujah that keeps the insurgency a live. Sounds to me like there is a fair amount of organisation and coordination happening there. That implies some sort of Command and Control in the area. I hope we can find it and kill it soon.

Rest in peace, Marines.

Aloha

Day 27

I had a day off yesterday. First one since we started standing watches. There's not much to do here. I got caught up on email. I posted a blog entry that I could not get posted earlier in the day because the Internet connection was struggling. I went the DFac (Army-speak for the place where they feed people) to eat dinner. They had steak, lobster and shrimp but you had to choose between the lobster and the shrimp. I had steak and shrimp. It wasn't bad. Walked over to Camp Spearhead Mall, got an ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and then spent about three hours reading Mr. Knief's book, Diamond Head.

It's a good book. Very entertaining. I'm getting to know John Caine, Mr. Knief's main character. I think I've met Kimo already but he's only been referred to by that name one time. I'm anxious to get to know Kimo better. He's the reason I'm reading this book. It kind of interesting how things work. A T-Shirt I saw in Hawai`i led me to investigate a fictional person name Kimo. This led me to an author named Charles Knief. I then get to meet Mr. Knief, if only through email to date, and as a result of the impression Mr. Knief leaves on me I end up reading his books. Some times it is interesting to follow the chain of events that leads to one's actions.

Anyway, I read until about 0030 and then went to bed. It was odd not standing watch. I'm not sure that I like having days off. At least not unless there's something to do. I think I'd rather be out with the guys I work with. At some point I think there may be some MWR trips to places here in Kuwait. Hotels or whatever. That might be fun. To be honest though, I'm a bit apprehensive about being out on junkets like that. We all know that al Qaida et al are out there. al Qaida would relish the opportunity to walk a suicide bomber into a group of American service members. That is one of their established MOs. If I am going to go out into Kuwait, I'd feel better about it as part of military endeavor. Fully armed, equipped and mounted up. A hard target. You can call me paranoid, Hollywood, whatever you like. I just want to make sure that I leave here in the same or better condition than I arrived. I think our biggest threats here in Kuwait are accidents and terrorists.

Terrorists may try to hit Camp Spearhead. They've done something like this before when they drove a truck into a camp in Beruit and killed some 200 plus marines. However, I consider such an attack unlikely and most likely to be unsuccessful if it is attempted. There are, however, some other opportunities that they might consider worthy. MWR forays into Kuwait would definitely be prime targets. This would be in line with al Qaida's bombing of bars that are known to be gathering spots for service members.

We'll see how things go. It is a difficult choice for me. I really like getting out into the society and culture, learning about how their society works, seeing how it is different from my own society and other societies I am familiar with. Weighing this against the inherent risk associated with being out in society is difficult. It is impossible for me to accurately assess the risk involved in going out there. For that I am suppose to trust my commanders. Yet, history and observation indicates that commanders don't always get it right. As I mentioned yesterday, some of the things that soldiers are doing in Iraq seem ill advised to me. Here in Kuwait I think we cannot go out into society in full military force save for the purpose of moving from one base to another.

One of the jokes here is to pull up to Starbucks in full gear driving a Force Protection humvee which has a heavy, crew served weapon mounted on it, walk in and order coffees to go. Some of the interaction we've had with the Kuwaitis indicates that US Forces are not necessarily all that welcome here insofar as the Kuwaiti equivient of Joe Six Pack in the Wal-mart parking lot is concerned. Of course, they also seem to indicate that they think Kuwait can handle its own defense. Kuwait defense force doctrine seems to say that Kuwaiti Defense Forces are only intended to hold off an agressor until international help can arrive.

This is an interesting and thought provoking experience. It will be interesting to see what lessons I learn for it. I expect that it will be six months to a year after I leave this place before I will really begin to understand what it is I have learned here. For now, its not bad. I'm relatively comfortable. I am comparatively very safe. I enjoy my job and the people I work with. I feel like I am doing something worthwhile and important.

Aloha

Day 26

Andy Warhol said that in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. I think maybe we don't get all fifteen minutes in one continuous segment. I think maybe some of us get that fifteen minutes doled out in short segments. It seems that another of my segments is here. The Kauai news paper The Garden Island had a front page article about me going overseas.

My dad sent me a copy of the newspaper. It included a picture and everything. Pretty cool. Reading the article reminded me of what I'm doing over here. It is some times easy to lose sight of one's purpose. It was fun to read.

This was not so fun to read. Some will argue that this is the reason we should pull our troops out and go home. That is like running into the house and locking the door while someone is murdered out in the street. These are the people who would love for the Coalition to leave Iraq so that they could begin to build their power bases through the use of terror. As hard as it is to understand, let alone accept, the terrible things described in that story are the occupational risk of being a soldier/sailor/marine. It comes with the job.

The part of this I don't understand is driving through places like Falluja in SUVs. This is called a soft target. Something or someone that can be attacked with little risk of retalitation. Four guys driving around in an SUV is a very soft target. I talked to a guy who spent six or eight months up passed Fallujah. He said the area is pretty nasty. When they were heading back down to Kuwait to begin the process of heading home they draped spare flak jackets on the outsides of their vehicles to provide some additional protection.

And that's another thing. You gotta wonder what whiz kid thought it would be a good idea to build combat vehicles - such as the hum-vee - with absolutely no protection for the occupants? The doors are made of cloth or aluminium. This friend of mine – I consider him a friend – said that they would take steel from wherever they could get it and jury-rig extra plating on the vehicles to increase the level of protection they offered to those riding in them. He said the guys called them Mad Max vehicles because they looked like something out of the Mad Max movie series.

My friend is a supply person. He said that he did not have an Interceptor vest until they left for the convoy down to Kuwait. The Army finally issued him a vest and he got plates from a guy who was flying out of Iraq. He also said that they had a lot of vests in country sitting in store houses. He suspected they were waiting on the plates for them but does not know for sure why they weren't issued out straight away. Still gotta wonder. Why?

There was a nasty taste and smell in the air this morning. Made it hard to breath. I could definitely feel a constriction in my throat. Breath shallow, walk slow, find some place inside to be. This is the first time it's been more than just a nasty smell.

Aloha

Day 25

So, let's see. There's really not much to talk about today. It's April 1st and we still don't have a permanent place to live. Living in the Fest Tent is starting to wear on some folks. Or maybe more accurately, Fest Tent living is a contributing factor that is causing some folks to struggle with adjusting to life out here. Tempers have flared a couple of times in the past two days.

I've managed to settle into a fairly comfortable routine. I enjoy my job and the people I work with. The people I work with will change starting tomorrow as the Comms division goes to four watch sections while Surface/Sub-surface continues in three sections. Four sections will give the comms folks more time off. I wish the S/S guys could go to four sections as well so that I could continue to work with the same group of guys. This is probably pretty confusing for those of you who have never been in the Navy.

I've been contemplating my military career after OIF. I find the thought of switching to the Army some what uncomfortable. I really like the Navy. I'm very proud of the Navy uniform. More importantly, the Navy mobilizes its reserve components for much short periods than the Army does. We will likely be out here for seven months or so. The majority of Army units mobilize for one year or more. I feel like seven months is a long time to be away from my family. I'm not sure I want to sign up for longer stints.

The Army Civil Affairs operations are something that I suspect I would really enjoy. That might make a one year deployment go by very quickly. At least for me. I also discovered that the 351st Civil Affairs Command has a subordinate command in Hawaii. That seems to imply that my two week active duty stints could be done in Hawaii. That would be cool. First step is to finish what I'm doing out here, get home and talk to the folks at 351st Civil Affairs. Hey Mel, can you help me out with that? :)

Aloha