Breakin' the Law

The base I'm on has so many rules, I sometimes wonder how we can win a war when the Army is so wrapped around the axle with administrative rules.  For example, you cannot run (or walk) with your headphones on, you must run (or walk) against the traffic (I agree with that one) and you must wear a REFLECTIVE Belt. I call it a Flourecent And Green belt....Gotta love the Army and Air Force for this one.  Anyway, here's a picture of another rule....Now while I took a picture of the sign, does that mean I just broke the Law?  Ha, good luck catching me.

 

Last night a bunch of us got together and played some Texas Hold'em Poker.....I hadn't played since I was in Pennsylvania.  It was good to sit around, drink sodas, eat some pizza and tell jokes & lies.  It was a much needed break from the routine.  I may have to do it again next week.  That's all for today....I'm doing fine as my 42nd BIRTHDAY looms in the very near future.

Nighttime Pic

Here's a pic that I took at night....Pretty cool sight for a "prison" wall.

Getting Old

Our oldest turned Sweet Sixteen they other day.  We are getting old.  They grow up so fast. 

 

Things are moving along here and another Flight Suit Friday complete.  I'm finally getting into a rythym with my new job.  I think I figured out where I need to be and what meeting I need to attend.

 

More of my "shipmates" or other NArmy compatriots are getting ready to leave....which means that my time will be coming soon.  My relief is in Iraq, but he first needs some field experience before he takes over my job.  He'll be heading out soon to gain that valuable field experience and when I see him again, I'll be packing my bags to come home.  There is a DIM light at the end of the tunnel at this point.

 

I've been taking some pictures around the base....The No Parking sign is a joke...of sorts....If you don't know what it means please click here or look up the acronym on google.  More pictures to come.  Thanks for checking up on me.....Later!

 

K, J & C I love you!

Small World

Today as we were heading into the DFAC (Dining Facility) on FOB Liberty, I spotted this sign posted outside of the DFAC and thought what a SMALL WORLD.  My mother, brother and sister all live in an around Medford, Oregon.  It put a smile on my face and put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.  I told my co-worker that I needed to bring my camera back for a picture and he instead pulled out his micro-sized camera and took this pic.  It was really bright outside and he couldn't get the flash to work, so I'm a little washed out but it is me in my Flight Suit (Flight suit Friday).

 

Yesterday I helped a buddy move from Liberty to Slayer.  He had to move because he was asked to make room for some other folks.  He was pretty good about the whole situation, so I helped him out.  It took us about 45 minutes to load the vehicle with all his stuff.  He had the same realization that I had when I moved: "Look how much junk I have."  We both agreed we'd need to get rid of some stuff before we re-deploy home.

 

That's all I have from Baghdad....Another post soon.

Adjusting

I am still adjusting to the new job. Today, I went for a run around a place called Lost Lake. I was told that's where Uday and Kusay used to live.

The weather in the mornings is very nice for jogging...around 85 degrees F or so. I also cleaned up our deck today...it was coated with about a quarter of an inch of sand and dirt. I rinsed all the dirt off with a hose. I still need to vaccum my room, but I have found it very liveable.

The picture to the right is of me and a couple of buddies. They have been here as long as I have because we all went through training together back in the states (See Blogs from FEB07). We should all be leaving about the same time and then we'll all head our separate ways. Mike (L) is a Prowler NFO like me and Jim (C) is a Helo Pilot. It's good to be back around my own type (Navy that is). Us Navy types go to chow together and tell sea storys or just laugh and joke about silly things that go on over here.

I am looking forward to getting home and back to civilization as you all know it. It's a different world over here....that's for sure.

K, J, & C I miss you and love you.....

Pics of my new Abode

As you can see, it's not the palacial lifestyle I was living, but I do have a fridge, a closet and a small desk. No internet yet. The room is very small, but it's private. There are two rooms in this Cargo container along with a bathroom. (It's no kidding a cargo container that you'd see in the shipyards).

We had a BBQ last night at HQ and it was really nice to hang out, BS, eat some food and relax for a bit. We had grilled steaks, ribs, chicken, salad, chips, sodas, and desserts. We also had some fireworks thanks to our friends from Baghdad. :)

I'm still adjusting to my new job and I am starting to build my situational awareness of what the job entails. It's a much different job that what I was doing before and I almost have my biological clock turned around. The job basically entails being a jack of all trades revolving around operations.

This post looks a lot different than most of my other posts because the Army's FUN police have blocked any commercial website that would bring happiness or joy to a soldier's life (to include all blogs, you-tube, etc.). I have figured out another way to post. Don't you just love the resourceful military? That's about all from Baghdad.

HQ Sweet HQ

I made the move today and I'm already busy. Now I just need to re-adjust my sleeping hours. My new room is very small and I have yet to unpack my things. I need to clean first. Good news is that I now have full size bed. So I moved from a big room with a small bed to a small room with a big bed. I'll post pics when I get a chance. That's all for now.

Air Force Fun

What Air Force dudes do when they are bored. :)

Winner!

My daughter's JV Field Hockey team won their first game yesterday 1-0. My daughter was very excited to experience the team win. Her eye has gotten better and she had the stitches removed last week. My younger daughter is having fun at school and is entering a contest with one of her works of art. Both of my daughter are very artistic.

I pick up my newly trained relief tomorrow and by mid-week I'll be parking my hat at a different location. I will be sharing a "wet" trailer with my boss so it can't be all bad. I'll miss having internet in my room and all the good folks I've worked with over the past 6-months.

The time here should pass a little faster now that FOOTBALL season has started!! Whoo Hooo!!

The picture to the right is of a mural on one of the palaces in Baghdad. It represents the former Iraqi solders of the Republican Guard.

Getting Ready

My relief showed up yesterday and is going through some specific in-theater training before I pick him up on Saturday.  My turnover for my new job is complete and I still have some hands on learning to do in order to become proficient at the job.  It looks like I'll be moving over there either Wednesday or Thursday after I train up my relief. Things are still clipping along here and I'm in good spirits.

Auntie Em, I saw the cat today o the base...he is living near our empty lake and when I saw him he was chasing a rabbit.  He is but a shadow of his former self.  He's all grown up and I believe he is a "WILD" cat living off the land.  I called for him, but when he saw me, he ran off.  At least it's good to know he's still alive and doing well. :)

As I've said in my previous posts, I do not have my own vehicle and I have to beg, borrow or steal a vehicle to get around.  When I am driving around and I see someone walking, I always stop and offer a ride.  Most of the Army soldiers I pick up assume I am an Army Major. I usually ask what they do for the Army and they reply with some random letter and numbers ("I'm an 11B") so I have to tell them that I am in the Navy and I really don't understand their Military Occupation Specialties (MOS).  So they will tell me what they actually do (11B is an Infantryman).  It's neat being able to learn what most of these kids do....from driving trucks, repairing tanks to shooting.  I will continue to give rides to walking soldiers as long as I have a set of wheel to borrow.  I have another story, but I'll save that for another entry.

By the way, I've changed my blog so that ANYONE can post a comment.  Please keep it tasteful and I have the right to delete wayward comments.  That's all for now from Baghdad.  Thanks for checking on me!!

Another test

via email with pic