It's cool, I'm a geologist.

The End

2009-06-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

I have spent over 365 days living away from everything I know, in the Middle East, and in an active war zone to boot. The day I landed I had a Hiking backpack, a school bag and a few essentials like a bottle of Shampoo and conditioner.

During the days here I have bought new bags and most of those clothes have also been replaced, but I do have a few things from that bag; believe it or not, that one bottle of shampoo and conditioner.

Well this is it I guess, “momma your boy is coming home.” My time is up, the gig is over, the curtain for me here has been drawn shut. The saying “the end is near” I believe fits the situation best. However, this “end,” will be the equivalent of pushing the play button on my life’s remote. I will be going back to the same room, same school, same department, and same classrooms that I left and pick up where I left off. I couldn’t be happier. The only difference now is that I have a little more stride in my step, a little more experience under my belt, and a little more lean when I sit on my wallet.

But enough with the bad clichés, lets get to the matter at hand, I’m heading home, and I am taking a lot from here besides the dirt in my shoes(ok that’s the last one I promise).

I left home with the goal to better my situation and start a better life for myself. I wanted to make my father proud and do what he would have done if he were in my situation. I wanted to see the world (without having too shoot people) and make a difference. I also wanted to make sure I had a solid future ahead of me.

I have come to the straightforward conclusion that I have not only obtained these, but far more then I could have ever guessed. I have to admit though, it wasn’t all too easy.

Above all things the separation was the hardest part. I was separated from my family, friends, like minded people, my cars, and the hobbies that make me, me. I was plucked from a comfort zone that I was so accustom too I didn’t even realize I had it.

I also missed a lot of important events, like friends graduations, the PA domination of sports, and of course the holidays. It was a first to be away from home for any and all of these things, but I handled it better then I thought I would.

I have met a lot of great people here, but the majority I wouldn’t want to talk to unless I had too. I give the benefit of the doubt to people when I meet them, but some of the most horrible people I have ever met in my life work here. Many people fall into a “group think” and are quick to “yeeee-haaaa” and “Yeah!” when someone brings up a topic they have no idea about (racisms, president, religion, ect.). I’m glad I never fell into this mentality even slightly. I’m glad I was able to remain myself after being surrounded by unwise people.

On the flip side (its really hard not to use these Clichés) many good things have happened to me over this year besides the paychecks. This year I found myself the solitude I experienced helped me learn more about myself and what I can do to be a better person. I also had a chance to see what I am capable of. The trials and tribulations have made me a stronger person. I really didn’t think I’d be able to do this for a whole year, but now I know I could do anything as long as I have my full self into it.

Sure many of the people here are bad, but I did meet some interesting people from all over the world. I have gotten to know, Turkish, Indian, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Bosnian, Croatians, Serbian, Romanian, Macedonians, Kenyan, Ugandan, South African, and Southerners. I have made a note to learn a little about everyone’s culture, language and customs. I can introduce myself self in 7 Languages (8 if you include “How Ya’ll doin?”).

I have also found a career I think I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I learned so much about Environmental work that it’s a shame I will not get a chance to use it for a while (well to make money that is). Most Environmentalist in the “real world” do environmental work in one aspect, I got to do it in all fields: Logistics, transportation, fuel farms, hazardous materials, hazardous waste, hazardous communications, OSHA, NFPA, DOT, DOD, solid waste stream, maintaince bays, ammo supply, O2 plants, first responding, and many more. And the work was all done while intertwined in complicated draw out contracts that take a team of lawyers to decipher. I have done more and learned more about Environmental work here in one year then many Environmentalists do in a life time (and I mean the real environmentalist, not celebrities or Al Gore).

So what have I taken away from all this, and what have I learned? Well on top of what I already said I have taken things from here I didn’t expect. If you had told me a year ago I could learn to appreciate country music, I’d probably laugh at you. The same goes for being excited to getting home so I can rock out my new cowboy boots.

I find myself worried I won’t be able to find good Indian Chi, or Bosnian Coffee. I also will have to learn to make Nepalese stir fry, along with southern collar greens. I wonder if I’ll ever stop thinking “soon-DA lar-Key” when I see a pretty girl. I hope people back home don’t make fun of me to much when I tell them “I’m fixing to..” or get on my case when a “Ya’ll” slips out.

I have also learned to appreciate the little things. For instance, the package from home is awesome, but finding a crumpled up page from the “Daily Local” being used as padding is an extra treat. I hate that news paper with much of my heart, but I couldn’t help reading every work on that crinkly mess.

Also, the few times when the DFAC got a good shipment of fresh fruit. I ate so many oranges I made myself sick on more then one occasion. Or when I find a small loophole in a contract that makes everyone’s life a little easier. Catching a few minutes of Sports Center on the TV in the DFAC was always a treat, especially if a PA team was in the highlights. I’ll also have to learn to stop calling women “Mam.” That doesn’t fly as well in the North as it does below the Mason Dixon Line.

I gave up a lot to come over here but have gained a lot in return and I’ll be getting everything I gave up, and more, when I get back. So now my friend, I leave here with a new outlook on life, some new skills, new experiences, new friends, a great looking future, a new hiking backpack, a new school bag, and believe it or not, that same bottle of shampoo and conditioner.

I love you guys, thanks for being there when I needed you and I can’t wait to see you all in a few. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting me take a leap of faith.

$urprise $urprise

2009-06-20T02:21:00.000-07:00

The other day I was got a call from home telling me that West Chester University was trying to get a hold of me. I figured that I missed a loan payment or something along those lines.

When I get on the phone with the lady I was trying to reach I was pleasantly surprised. It so happens that I was awarded a 2,000 (2Gs) for the fall 2009 semester at West Chester University. BOO-YA. The scholarship comes at even more of a surprise because I never applied for any such honor. The nice lady on the phone told me that each department was asked to nominate one student and it was the student my department picked. The Education Department then went though the names and pick me for this years ‘John Gontar Scholarship.’

How awesome is that? Looks like I don’t have a choice but to come home for this upcoming semester (not that I way toying with the idea of staying or anything like that, ha).

A special thanks to the Prof who nominated me (who I will be buying a dinner when I am home), and to Becca for scanning in the Certificate so I could post it here.

A few days ago I went to the Medic for a small rash that seems to have taken upon the top of my buttock’s crevasse. It is no secret that most of the medics wouldn’t make it past a Boy Scout’s First aid training, let alone anything formal. They are pretty much only good for sick slips and taking your blood pressure.

The Medic looks at my backside and says, “O, its ringworm,” in hopes that I would have no idea what it could be. I informed him that even I knew it looked nothing like ringworm, and then he told me, “Well….It’s like the same thing, Right?”

“Dude, you’re the freaking medic!”

He then rummages though the cabinets looking for what kind of off-brand junk he could give me. He hands me a tube of Vagisil over his shoulder while he is rummaging and says “Try this.”

“Um dude, you trying to call me a wuss or something?”

His reply was “No, but it’s like the same thing. Rashes grow in dark moist areas.”

“Dude, I’m pretty sure you just compared my ass to a woman’s vagina?”

So, I still have a little rash but the stuff I bought myself at the PX is making it go away. I also told all my Sub Contract Workers that if I ever get hurt to drive me to the army hospital instead of the KBR clinic like they are suppose to.

10 Days....

WHoo-Raa

Worst Dust Storm Yet
It's a Texas thing?

Big White

Day After

Trash Sorting buddies

Big Mama Jamma

One Year.

2009-06-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today Marks 365 days, or 8760 hours, or 525,600 minutes, or 31,536,000 seconds since my plane took off from Huston on its way here to Iraq. I made it, one year living out here in the Middle East away from friends, family and home. I’d like to take a moment to pat myself on the back *pat….pat*

I really didn’t think I’d make it this far, I figured a few months into it I would have turned home, but I did it. Now all I have to do is ride out my time for 19 days and I’ll be on my way home (in a round about way). I will spend 21 days touring 6 countries in this part of the world and Europe, then fly back to Baghdad for a “debriefing” (turn in my military ID, licenses, keys, secure documents, ect) and then be on my way back home on around the 31st of July. So, for all you back home it will be 47 days until you see me.
In the last year I have learned and experienced more then most people will in a life time. May the next 19 days, 456 hours, 27,360 minutes, or 1,641,600 seconds be as fun, safe, and enlighten as they have been.

BOO-YA

"Personnel Alignment and Reduction (PAR) Implementation"

2009-06-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

Finally a minute to write a blog; life here has suddenly become a game of “beat the clock.” Everyday we have some new deadline to meet, some new requirement to write and another idiot to contend with. This may be my last month, but I will probably do more work in it then I did my first 6 months on base (I was kinda hoping to sit back and take it easy). I can’t believe how far the military has gone to turn on us. The inspectors were told, “Go to town.” In other words, try and nail them for everything you can. Part of it is that the contract is going to end; another is that the Air Force has its own contract system that they rather use and finally, they seem to like it.

The Captain I have been dealing with seems to be the worst of them all. Instead of knowing and looking up regulations she just walks though areas and makes things up as she goes and hopes she gets us for something. This causes me to spend a few hours a day proving her wrong and providing my area’s with proof so they will stop freaking out.

The reason they are freaking out is that today they started a round of firing. The big bosses are literally going office to office, pulling certain people out, and telling them to pack there things. The memo today said 200 people by tomorrow will be told “see ya!” They even arranged for extra planes for the occasion and are setting up a Post Office in KBR camp so people can send there things home. So, understandably, people are now dying to know how to stay in compliance (or just saying F*@k it).

Many of the people left here are being demoted down a position but are still doing the same job. It goes without saying that things here are a major Cluster-F*@$.

On the bright side of things, the first of June finally came. That date meant 30 days left for me and a day off to relax. It was a nice time at the outdoor pool. We were there all day long, 11am to 8pm. We relaxed, swam, ate, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Especially with the way things are right now. Below are some pictures of the fun. I would like to point out that that high dive was probably the scariest thing I have done in a long time. It is like jumping off the peak of a two story house, I got tunnel vision every time I climbed that ladder. The worst part is you can actually hurt yourself if you don’t jump right! (I did fine mom).

Even better, I got to hang out with my friend’s buddy from Colorado at the pool. He makes the biggest splashes.

Which way to the pool?

I think it's over "HERE"
Relaxing

Game of Shoes, yes my team won.

Grilling- Motha Trucker

Big Boy Jump

AHHHHHHHH

(...O Sh*t...)

GRRRRRR

120F

2009-05-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

It didn’t take long for the temperature to start jumping up and up, and we are now in 120F days. I am getting used to how the sun sucks the life out of a person. After about 20mins of work in the heat and sun, you can probably lay down in your bed and sleep the rest of the day.

I’m still staying very busy which makes my days go by quickly. I seems like yesterday when May was just starting and now it is almost over. The end of May has an extra bonus. On the first of June myself and a few buddies are going to have a pool BBQ at the outdoor pool. If all goes well, it will be an awesome time.

Today I was invited to a BBQ with the military. I am good friends with my dad’s best’s friends neighbor. I go hang out with him every once and a while, very cool dude. I think the food starts at 1430, I am looking forward to it. I will be sure to take pictures if I can.

Other then that, all is well here. I am looking forward to today’s BBQ, June first, and then July First. Will write again soon.

Reading Dasha's letter from Moscow

Giving the Military a lesson

Speak-easy Barber shop

Working his magic

Me and my Barber

Baby Bird

100F

2009-05-15T21:18:00.001-07:00

Today it finally hit the 100F mark, and to be honest it wasn’t too bad. However the sun is kicking my butt. When out in that heat the sun sucks the life out you. It’s almost like you are slowly getting beat up for every minute you are out in the sun and heat.

Yesterday I got to see the Star Trek movie. It was pretty good. They did a good job at making the story interesting and exciting while at the same time appeasing the Trekkies. The actors did a great job playing the style of the originals, especially the guy who played “Bones.” I took a few Country Boys from Texas with me to see it and even they loved it. I enjoy the “in your face” approach that movies seem to be taking now (Batman as another example). They are using the stories and characters of the past and making them more realistic. Needless to say, I hope they come out with a sequel, I’d be more then happy to go.

Other then the movie this week it has just been work, work and more work. The busier I keep myself the faster time moves on. Hope everyone is enjoy the green back home. I would like to thank everyone for the pictures they have been sending me of the green. A special thank you to Dasha.

I happened to get my hands on a box of Girl Scout cookies. I won’t say what I had to do to get them but I’m pretty sure it’s breaking some part of the Geneva Convention and makes water boarding look like a tickle fight.

Booya

One bad Mamma Jamma

VIP

2009-05-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

The other day they had a Health, Safety and Environmental Managers meeting here which game my cousin an opportunity to come to my base. He had to do a 30 minute presentation and the rest of the 2 days we got to hang out. We drove around to different areas so that he could see the progress we are making with our “historical” compliance issues. So essentially we were doing work, but it was fun non-the-less.

He is a funny guy with a good outlook. He has lots of stories to tell and interesting insight in how I should to my traveling. I am really jealous of the work he did in the Bosnia war, after the 2nd year they were allowed to leave base and enjoy life a little more then we get to do here.

We also got to hang out after work, we watched episodes of Seinfeld. It might have been the last chance to see him for the next year or two depending on when he decides to come home for good.

Other interesting news is that I got to see the new Wolverine movie with my buddy at the theater here. It was pretty interesting and I am really looking forward to the Star Trek movie this Friday night. They had the long preview for it before Wolverine and I am excited.

Its 85 degrees and getting warmer every day. The dust is also giving me a hard time, last week I went three days without seeing the sun, let alone sky. I hope the dust storms are light until I leave; they make my nose all funky to the point where food doesn’t taste real good.

The 12th markes the halfway point between the last R&R and this next one. 50 days left baby!

JB doing his thing

Dustage

Testing out a Fire Extinguisher

Going away party for Indian friend

Battle Royal

2009-05-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Things on base have been very busy. My supervisor is gone on R&R which leaves the environmental bulk of this 30,000 person base on me. To make things even more hectic there is a DCMA woman here on base who is giving my areas of operation at hard time. DCMA is the organization that keeps an eye on the contractors here. I wouldn’t mind if they were fair with there evaluations but they often make things up as they go, and state personal preferences as if they were written regulations. Not to mention their rank seems to be very connected to how many CARs (Corrective Action Reviews) they have given out.

This lady’s pet peeve seems to be chemical storage and environmental issues. She is also a self proclaimed “Environmentalist.” She has gone to all my sites and my coworkers and has been trying to turn things upside down. She is scaring the dickens out people by saying things like, “You can’t store Windex and Alkaline batteries in the same building, and they are not compatible. One is a flammable and one is a corrosive.”

I have been pouring over Army, Air Force, OSHA, and KBR regulations gathering information to help “battle” this lady. She is just making things up as she goes, but I have to have the hard “black and white” to show her that she is wrong. It has been four, twelve hour days trying to prepare for her next oddball comments. And it turns out she has been making things up as she goes and using regulations that do not apply to get her personal opinion across.

What makes it a little harder is that I have to do this all myself because my coworkers here don’t know how to read the army regulations. I’m pretty sure they have never even opened them.

It hasn’t been that bad though, there are a lot of good things about this “battle royal.” For one, it forces me to become better acclimated to the nitpicky info in the regulations which will help me in the future. It also makes the day go by fast. I don’t seem to have enough time in a day anymore. I am also proving myself to the bosses. They get to see who really knows what they are doing, and who is just riding the clock. Finally, it is kind of fun. It is like a game to see who can top the other in nerdy regulation battle.

“…O YEAH?!? Well how bout you look in OSHA 1910.106 of Subpart H, and tell me that isn’t the correct way to store flammables.”

“Well well, that isn’t what TM38-410 Chapter 4 part 4.20 says, where are you getting that information from?”

“How about you go look at DLAI 4145.11 figure 6-3 and then tell me that I am wrong? Then take that clipboard, turn it sideways and shove it up.……”

Well in any case, stuff like this keeps me busy, even if it turns my head to mush. It can also be kind of fun and funny sometimes.

Haven’t had a lot of time to take photos, so I added a funny poster I found online.

Hello PA

2009-04-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot new on base, I have just been busy. I have started my Peru reports and they are turning out to be a bit harder then I thought due to the fact Articles are hard to get here. For some reason the KBR server blocks a lot of scholarly websites and things like ebcohost (A.K.A. God’s gift to the student).

I have gotten into a good grove with work and the Gym. My buddy PJ meets me at 7pm right when I get off work and we go the Gym for two hours. We have a four days on, and one day off cycle that seems to be working well. I hit 155lbs the other night, which I am very excited about. That means I have gained 15lbs of good weight since I have gotten here. I can’t wait to get home and start hitting the gym with my brother. I hope we can convince our dad to join in as well. Now that I know what I am doing we could all get into good shape together.

Other then that everything here as been about the same, like usual nothing here really changes. I haven’t had a lot of time to take pictures but here are a few.

Dust Storms have been bad the last few days

Sucking the fuel from a big generator

BBQ with a few Good Ol' Texas Boys

That's PJ, the dude I go to the gym with. Probably the chillest guy here on base.

Texas Feast!

Happy Easter

2009-04-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone, hope you all got your fill of yummy candy. I know I did thanks to my family back home, thanks again Mom and Nana.

I have a few interesting stories and events that have occurred the last few days. The first that jumps to mind is that I went to Church on Easter Sunday. It was interesting seeing passages being read by people wearing side arms and whose job is killing people for a living (an oxymoron that I don’t wish to get into). The service was nice, the Priest was funny and intelligent, and the message generic. And it also gave me an hour to sit down and relax with my radio off (Heck, I might no next week).

Easter Sunday on base is like any other holiday here. Everyone goes to work, but no one actually does any work, it is sort of an accepted thing. I just realize that it was the last holiday that I will experience on base; the end is near my friends.

On a somber note my buddy demobilized (went home). The management here is getting funny due to the reality our contract is winding down. They have started to make up ridiculous rules and many people are just tossing in the towel and heading home. JG is one of those people. Three and a half years here is enough and he decided to head on home to be with friends and family. He stayed long enough to pay off a house, car and to live it up for a few years (got his “bling” on, for lack of better terms).

I am already missing him. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together, and he taught me things that I couldn’t have learned from anyone else. He grew up in a NYC ghetto during the 70ies and got out. He couldn’t read or write well due to the fact his schooling was probably subpar at best, but his people skills were amazing. The way he received respect from these racist, bigot, Southerners still astounds me. He can walk into a group of people who make it obvious that they already hate him because he is black (and from the North) and still get his ideas and needs across. In no time at all he earned these guys respect and had them doing the work he needed them too. To add to the amazement, New York Ebonics is his first language I think.

I learned a lot of life lessons from him; everything from how to read people’s interactions to bullshitting like a professional. I could write pages of funny stories he told me about growing up in NYC, and leaving to join the military. I have already written down a few for my own records so that I don’t forget, ask me sometime and I’ll tell you one.

Other then that, I am just trying to keep my head above water. like I said before the management for my company is getting ridiculous. They are pulling every trick in the book to get people fired (it seems). One of the rules being enforced now is how to properly back you vehicle up. Everyone working for KBR has to “combat park.” Which simply means you back into parking spots, not pull in. But now you have to have your passenger jump out and guide you into the spot using hand signals which isn’t so annoying to do. However, if you are alone in the vehicle you have to:
Swing out and line up with the spot
Put on your hazard flashers
Get out of the truck
Lock the truck
Walk completely around the truck checking for hazards
Unlock the truck, and get in
Then put your seatbelt on
Honk Back the truck up slowly into the spot

Yeah, I know, a bit ridiculous. I think I have heard every curse word in every language on this base while blocking traffic to do this “back up from hell.” Anyone caught not doing that exactly as stated gets seven days off work with no pay and if you are caught a second time you are fired. Not to mention, no hat=fired, no lanyard=fired, caught taking lunch to long=fired. Also, if you truck is in a hit & run you get five days off work with no pay, how the heck are you suppose to control that? If you don’t like someone, you could kick in a headlight on there truck when no one is around and they would get penalized.

But I just have to last 70 something days, a walk in the park *knock on wood*

No elaborate decorations for Easter

They won't eat Peeps for some reasonCandy from Nana

Letter from Polish PenPal (Three months Travel time)

Me and my homeboy JG

Emergency Tank Empty Job

Krishna

Hey mom, ignore those danger signs. It's cool, It's cool.

Grrrrrrrr

AC

2009-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday was the day I switched from Heat to Air Conditioning. The Iraqi summer heat is coming and I already hate it. It gets into the 80s during the day now and I very much miss those 35 degree mornings. On the bright side, the days have gotten long enough for me to catch the sunset on my ride home from work. I love tossing up my hammock for an hour at the end of the day before I go to the gym.

I’m down to 80 something days until I leave here and I already know I am going to miss this place. I have wanted to go home since I got here, it was weird when I realized that I am going to miss it here. I have a close group of friends that I will probably never see once I get outta here. Heck my roommate called my house when I was on R&R because it had been so long since we talked.

I have started a list of things I want to do when I get home, when I finish it I will post it up on here. But until then I want everyone to know I am looking forward to seeing each of you. I apologize for not calling or writing some of you guys back, I’ve been crazy busy here.

Happy Easter everyone!

Hey Mom, I'm thinking about a new job...

Photoionization (Fuel Sinffer)

Spring is in the Air

2009-03-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

Things here have been busier then ever. My company’s contract is nearing the end and we are doing out best to look good for the new bid. DCMA (the people who inspect us) seem to have the opposite drive. All my areas are doing fine, but they are making up more rules by the hour. This Sunday we have a big meeting for most of the camp. I’m trying not to think of what will come of it. Chances are it will be some crazy off the wall regulation like, “Everyone needs to march or jog when outside, no more walking aloud. Look busy people!”

I have been also trying to get a job for my brother over here, but with this end of contract thing and Iraq shutting down it doesn’t seem to be looking up for him. I am doing my best but I don’t know if things will work out. Only time will tell.

Easter is getting close and I am going to see if I can get off an hour of work or two so I can go to the service. I was lucky enough to get a letter from West Chester. To be honest I was very surprised. Everyone says they are going to send letters but never do. It brightened my day by leaps and bounds!

Here are some pictures of me making a big version of my self water flower box. I used the big yellow thing to mix the dirt, vermiculite, poop, and sand then put it into the box that had been drilled and stoned for drainage. I have a 3 other boxes to do, I really hope things grow well, especially my cantaloupe. 87 days to harvest, 91 days until I’m out of here!

"Home cooked" Indian meal

Tomatos, Cury, onoins, garlic, red pepers, water, sunflower oil

Cook down to a simmer and add whole hard boiled eggs

Serve with rice and enjoy

The guys playing with my camera

Labor crew after a big dig

Mixing soil, poop, sand, ect.

Setting in bottles for irrigation

Add the soil and seeds

Back in the Groove

2009-03-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a week and a few days since I have gotten back from R&R and I think I am back in the swing of things; found my groove again, so to say. I am excited for my last R&R and returning home so I can get back to school. I am also very excited about attending Graduate School. I am looking into colleges now so I’ll be ready to apply next semester. I hope, with this job experience, that I’ll be a shoe-in for a research position or a Teaching Assistance spot. I hope to go to grad school for free; there is no reason at this point why I should have to pay to go. It would also mean a solid job for two years. I’ll check out what schools are offering in October at GSA.

I had a little pizza party for the guys to mark St. Patrick’s Day and did my best to explain to them what is was all about. In any case, they got some pizza and had an awesome lunch. Speaking of parties, I am having a grill made so I can have a cookout with my buddies and roommate one day soon. It is staying light enough to have one outside after work, and it isn’t hot yet. Now it’s just a matter of searching for things to cook. I’ll end up having to sweet talk some of the DFAC warehousemen.
I have gotten to the point where I referrer to this place as home which is kind of scary, but today actually marks 100 days until my next and final R&R! I’ll have to come back into country to pack up my stuff to send home, but in 100 days I’ll be done working.

Below are some photos I’ve taken here on base since I’ve been back. Also some photos MBH took of me while in Dubai, I had an awesome time that day, I can't wait to hang out with them again! Enjoy!

Peru

2009-03-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

My apologies for not writing sooner, but I wanted to get settled in before writing about my AMAZING R&R. There is nothing that could have made my R&R better, I had an absolute blast and I can’t think of anywhere else I would have enjoyed more.

To be honest, I went into the trip a little skeptic. I’m not keen on traveling in big groups; I hate being a tourist. But having my friends on the trip and getting the chance to make new ones was awesome! I had such a great time.

The trip started out in Lima, Peru. I got there a night early so I was able to scope out the night life in Miraiforles (Flipping sweet). It was a little odd at first; I stick out like a sore thumb (6’ tall white dude in a room full of short dark Peruvians). To add to the awkwardness, I can’t salsa to save my life but the Peruvian women are friendly and helpful. A young lady, who’s name I forget, gave me a crash course at the first “Disco” I went too.

The next night my friends were around for the fun. ‘Fe’ ended up with a giant balcony and we tossed a little party with a few of the Russian girls joining in. It was also a chance for me to try out a little of my night photography, which I didn’t do too much of.

We then jumped on a plane and headed to the Amazon basin which is exactly what I needed after eight months of nothing but brown. We were in a small town called Puerto Maldonado before we headed on a five hour river ride up stream to a small research station where we stayed for three days.

On the way up river we stopped at the little village of Vuelta Grande where we dropped off school supplies and toys. We hung out and showed the kids how to play frizbee. I partook in some of “carnival festivities” which included drinking some strange fruit juice looking liquid from some sketchy looking communal pitcher. It was the real deal “Jungle Juice” and tasted pretty good for being ‘jungle moonshine.’ I thought for sure I was going to be sick, but it seems that I have obtained an Iron stomach in my travels.

Once we got to the research station the people there were welcoming and showed us around the jungle. I got to see monkeys, snakes, bugs, and most importantly…. Trees! Then the rain came. I have never felt rain so hard, it was like big pitches were pouring from the canopy. I rapidly ran out of underwear and socks.

The last day at the research station we played some football (soccer) with the locals. One of the guides asked “would your group like to play some FootBall?” As soon as we said yes he turned around and yelled “Foooooooooooot-Baaaaaaallllllllllll” with his hands cupped at his mouth. Immediately, about 10 guys come scrambling out of there huts yelling “Foooot-baaalllllll.” They love football and were very good, but the slippery grass made for an even playing field. I have never gotten so dirty in my life!

After a two hour ride down river, we jumped on a bus, that took us to a plane, that took us to a bus, that took us to a train which put us well on our way to Manchu Picchu. The ride was gorgeous; I couldn’t believe the mountains we were passing. Some of them had glaciers at the top that we could see from the 75 degrees we were experiencing below. The train took us to a small town called Aguas Calientes at the bottom of the mountain that hides the ruins. I hate to use the word “magical” but that best describes the place.

The next day we rode a bus to the start of Manchu Picchu, which was a very scary ride up some cliffs. The ruins were incredible and the views were breathtaking. My pictures do no justice to how awe-inspiring the sights were. I think everyone should see this place once in there life. I want to take my brother down and hike the Inca trail to the summit.

I was also lucky enough to get a chance to hike to the top of Huayna Picchu (‘Ha-wan-a Pich-chu’) which overlooks Manchu Picchu. It was a rough hike, but well worth it. I got a chance to stand on the tippy top of the mountain, and sat on the edge of cliffs with thousand foot drops (Never could you have a place like this in the States, lawsuits just waiting to happen).

The night following that remarkable day was almost as amazing. We went to some local hot springs, which is just what we needed after all that hiking. We then got some food at a nice restaurant, and went out to paint the town red. We were there at the low season so we ended up having a whole bar to ourselves (with our own bartender, who I think was about 15 years old). Heck I was behind the bar making drinks with the little dude, it was a blast. We took the place over.

The next day we hauled ourselves to the train and headed back to Cusco, the large town we flew to on our way to Manchu Picchu. The city is a pretty cheesy place. It is entirely oriented to Gringo groups. However, we had a blast that night, and the next day I taught the girls how to haggle a little(A skill I picked up when dealing with the Iraqis).

The next day we flew home and I got a chance to hang out with my family and friends. I got to go out to a nice dinner at Bonefish with an old friend, which was fun. It has been a while since I have had the chance to go there. And to top it off, I took another friend out and ate at Morimoto’s (one of the Iron Chefs’ restaurant) my last night home. I’d kill for some sushi like that here.

This R&R couldn’t have gone more perfect, I have no complaints! I have a lot to look forward to on my next one, but that is another Blog entry I’ll shave for later. I want to thank everyone that made it such an awesome time, I am lucky to have such great friends!

Baghdad

2009-02-07T02:47:00.000-08:00

I just got back from beautiful Baghdad today, I had a great time. I was lucky enough to make it down there for a HAZWOPER class. The class, Baghdad, and the transit were all interesting.

The flight from Balad to Baghdad is about 25 minutes, but the process of getting to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) is intensive. I woke up at 4:30am so I can sit though a 20 minute meeting, check in my luggage and get my report time of 9am. I show up at 9am get on a bus and sit on it until the plane lands at 11am. Showing up at 4:30am so I can get on a plane at 11:30am. “Hurry up and wait,” is the unofficial motto of the Armed Forces.

BIAP was an incredible site to behold for me. The last time I traveled though the airport the only people there were; KBR security, a few Iraqi desk Clerks, and Iraqi Police holding AK-47s. The place was deserted, ran down, looted, and dirty. It was the airport time had forgotten. This time the fountains were on, the place was clean, the lights worked, and most importantly people were using the airport. When I first landed I saw actual airlines using the airport; not just US military planes. The place was packed full of Iraqis moving in and out of the country. It actually looked like a real airport.

The last few times I went though you could see the dates and numbers of the last flights to leave before we invaded the country (really eerie). Now the area is alive and they have taxis waiting outside, people directing traffic and cars (unexploded ones) parked in the parking garage. In no time at all Iraq may be close to becoming a 2nd world country. It may even make it to a 1st world if we keep up this pace. Iraq has so much potential as long as everyone can learn to get along. I can’t wait to see how things improve my next time though the area for R&R.

One of the best parts about being here is that I got to see my relative John. He was also nice enough to let me stay in his room with him, which turned out to be walking distance from the DFAC and the training center. If it wasn’t for his hospitality I would have been stuck in a 10’x10’ room with six other people and would have to jump on a bus for class each morning. I would also have had to ride a bus for all my meals as well. Staying with John was a godsend.

The area which this base incorporates includes Saddam’s palace and the grounds around it. It is a pretty nice area with trees, grass, lakes and ducks. I was told by a guard that the grounds were a lot nicer before we blew it to hell and put a military base on top of it (imagine that?). It was nice walking down by the lakes Saddam placed around his “White House.” He may have been an evil vile person, but he did seem to have great taste in landscaping and architecture. Its been a while since I’ve experienced the smell of cool water. Walking around the Palace was a pleasant way to start my week. I even got to feed some ducks.

The class itself was pretty hard to deal with. It was a room full of older men and women who haven’t seen a class room in probably 20 years (The pace was a little slower then I am used too). The lady teaching the class was from South East Texas and had a very thick Texas twang. To top it off, all three days of class she felt the need to continually point out why Texas is the “greatest state in the Union” and why Yankees are crazy. Her choice of topics was a little annoying at first, but worked out in my favor. I wrote down the funny things she said to keep myself entertained during the class. Things like:

“….It will kill you dead….” And “….It will kills you bad….”
“This class, is what we call a ‘mores than’ symbol”
“sK-ooool” for School
“naK-uut” for Naked
The acronym PPE is pronounced’ “Paa-Paa-EEEEEEEE”
She also called everyone “Sugar” or “Sug”

Below are some pictures I took while on my little trip. It killed me to buy an overpriced SD card here, but I think it was well worth it. Also, I added a countdown to my Blog. It counts how many days, hours, minutes and seconds until my plane lands in Philadelphia International Airport. As of today I have 17 days!

The Flight out (MyBase)City of BaladCanal

Me and Saddam's Palace

Iraqi Ducks

The Palace

I had to take a picture of this. Poor VW in Iraq, named him Ishmeal.

???????

John and Me, go Steelers (It should have been the Eagels!)

Harley Davidson in the Baghdad Airport. That bike has traveld a long way.

The Flight out (Saddam's Palace from the sky)

The name's Bentley.......Andrew Bentley

2009-01-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

I am not counting down the days until my next R&R, today makes 24 days left. I am more excited then a little bit. However due to the close time proximity the days are starting to seem longer and longer.

Besides the R&R on the horizon, I have had many things here to keep me busy. I have been meeting with the owners and operators of the Serka Company to help them with their Hazmat, Hazcom, and Environmental issues. Soon I should have them up to speed on OSHA, RCRA and DOD regulations.

Meeting with the owners of this company is fascinating. Once you enter their office you forget you are in Iraq. The inside is more extravagant then a five star hotel. Hardwood floors, hand woven Turkish carpet, intricate wall paper, and elegant lighting. They also have a “butler” at the door that takes your coat and asks you if you need anything. This is not a place you want to walk into without wearing a suit jacket and a tie. The owners are multi-millionaires and clearly love to live the high life. One of the only things they don’t have is an understanding of the mentioned regulations. They have never operated in a place that has Environmental or Safety standards. This is where I come in.

The first time I went over there I was blown away by the quality of life these gentlemen live her in Iraq. The well dressed door man took my jacket, and had me sit in the meeting room until he could summon (yeah he used that word) the owner, translators, and head staff. These guys were serious about getting down to business.

The meeting room is pristine. Large round hardwood table, well lit oil paintings of Arabic horses on the walls, and a small ornate podium in the corner. They even had a little jazzy Arabic music playing in the background.

After a few minutes of soaking up the quality of this room a small jittery man with a British accent comes into the room and tells me the boss will be with me shortly and he apologized for the wait. I told him no apology is necessary and he runs off. At this point I was wishing I had worn a tie.

Then the boss came in. He walked in with 3 other people and was followed by the jittery British fellow (who ended up being the translator). He sat across the table from me with two of the gentlemen standing on either of him side. The British dude sat at his left. Now I’m thinking this is almost a joke because it is starting to play off like an old Bond movie, and I was 007. I kept wishing in the back of my head he’d not understand why I was here and offer me a briefcase of money to make his problems go away. It was intimidating sitting on one side of this room by myself, I had a small amount of tunnel vision for the first few minutes.

To help break the ice I thought ahead and learned a few words in Turkish before I went and was able to say hello and introduce myself. I couldn’t resist saying, “Benim adım Bentley…..Andrew Bentley” (Hello, my name is Bentley….. Andrew Bentley). It was probably the worst sounding Turkish this guy has ever heard in his life, but he appreciated the effort and had his translator tell me my last name was a very powerful one and he respected that.

After the introductions, the boss man yelled out of the room to the butler guy and in a minute I had the smallest cup of coffee I have ever seen sitting in font of me. It was in one of those little tiny cups little girls use to play tea party with. The cup looked like it was painstakingly hand painted and had a gold inlay on the handle. I was almost afraid to touch it in fear I would break the damn thing. I drank it in 2 small gulps then looked up to see the blank looks on the Turkish guys faces. I soon realized why they were so shocked.

In about 30 seconds I became so wired I felt like I could flip the desk and take out the two “goons” standing behind this guy. It felt like I had just drank ten Red Bulls. Later I found out Turkish coffee is some of the strongest in the world. They use some special bean with the coffee bean that is super caffeinated.

The meeting went well (even more so once my hand stopped shaking under the table). I just explained to him the basics of why I was there, why he needed to comply with what I had to say and what the military would do if he didn’t. I didn’t go into depth on what exactly he needed to do, that was the job of his workers. I was just asking for his help and permission to get things started.

By the end of the meeting we were joking and having a good time. I have discovered that in all cultures many underlying themes exist. Women are a pain in the ass; government is corrupt and has too much power; the weather in Iraq sucks; and your hometown will always be your favorite place. I found it easy to get along with anyone if you can start conversations with topics such as these. The meeting went so well, he even offered me a job which I politely declined.

He has been a valuable powerful friend. His kindness is unmatched. He offered me the use of his facilities, his workers, and assets. If I ever needed anything built, made, or fixed he told me not to hesitate to ask. At the end of the first meeting he said with the best of his English abilities, “Mr. Bentley, you are a man of many good things. Often show your face. Turkey you come, I promise good times.” (It was something like that)

However, I make it a note to keep my distance from gentlemen with this much power. People with this powerful usually have had to toss a few people under the tracks over the years to get where they are. I will enjoy his hospitality, but will keep myself removed from him.

Here are some recent pictures from below. They may be the last ones for a while. My SD card seems to have quit on me and I can't seem to find the other one I had. So enjoy these ones for now.

Working hard and staying clean

Proud owner of a new Forlift Licence

Pizza party, Doewinder is an Uncle

"Blue Steel" pose from Zoolander (caught him off gaurd with the camera)

Me and my Buddy Emir

How bout them Steelers????

2009-01-20T00:28:00.000-08:00

Well the Eagles lost, bummer. O well I guess we will always have next year. I am happy that at least one of my two teams made it. It would have been cool to see an all PA Super Bowl, but at the same time would have sucked because I wouldn’t have been home to enjoy it. Maybe I’ll be luck next year.

I’m down to 30ish day until my big trip to Peru. I am very excited and am going to have the time of my life. I can’t wait to see Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. This trip alone will make the last few months here worth while. And to top that off, three months after this trip I’ll be going to Europe for 21 days. That trip will be even nicer, I can’t wait. These will just be a taste of what is to come, who knows where I’ll be headed after that.

There isn’t a whole lot new for me to report about me, but the Iraqi elections are revving up. This will be the second election since the fall of Saddam. It is clear though what I have heard, seen, and discussed with the Iraqis and soldiers that Iraq is more and more stable everyday. Every day more schools, hospitals, public work projects are starting up. Not only that, but the Sons of Iraq, Iraqi Army, and the Iraqi Police are handling 99% of the security here. They will also be the ones looking over this election.

I have been talking with Hotum and he doesn’t even need an escort anymore and has a military ID. Everyday additional Iraqis are working on base which shows me that the US military is trusting them more and giving them more responsibility. Soon they will be the ones overseeing and rebuilding there own country. It would be nice to see this place back on it’s feet again and let most of these soldiers go home. I also think the election of Obama is going to help even more, the Iraqis love him. All and all, everything is good here.

I don’t have much in new pictures but below are two that I have taken today. One is of me at my desk and the other is of a little Cement factory right outside the base.

How Bout them Eagles??!?!!??!

2009-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

How bout those birds? I heard on the radio today that we kick some New York butt… Again. Not only had the Eagles won, but Pittsburgh as well. PA teams are doing awesome! It seems like since I have left, Philly teams have been doing well. Almost makes me think leaving somehow helped the Mojo of Philadelphia. As if me being here is good luck. All this talk about the Eagles on Sports Center as made me think of Philadelphia a lot.

Cheese Steaks, Whiz Cheese, Cold Pretzels, Herrs Chips, Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin, and let us not forget Tastykakes. Philadelphia is an awesome city with lots to offer, maybe one reason why it is hard for me to stay here. I could see why people from the South can be here till the wheels fall off, from what they tell me they don’t seem have much to go home too. My area back home is so nice, why wouldn’t I want to be home?

My roommate, by sheer chance of luck, is actually from the Philadelphia area too. He is the only one on base besides me. He grew up and lived in North Camden NJ. On my birthday I was lucky enough to receive enough Tasty Kakes to feed a small army. The look on my roommates face when I handed him a few boxes was priceless. The first thing that came out of his mouth after inhaling some Krimpits was, “Tell your mom I love her.”

My roommate and I had a chance to share our Philadelphia-ness yesterday while eating dinner with a guy from Chicago. While finishing our meal TC (my roommate) said that he was skipping the ice cream tonight because he was going to scarf down a Tastykake when he got back to the room. Confused, the gentlemen from Chicago asked, “What is a Tastykake?”

For the next 15 minutes while we walked back to our hootch to give Mike a Tastykake we tried to explain to him what a Tastykake is and how great they are.

Me: By far the best cake ever, they probably ate it at the last supper after the whole bread and wine thing.

TC: A Tastykake, is exactly that. A really really Tastykake. The first thing you are going to think when you have one is, “Wow, this is a really Tasty cake.”

Me: Tastykakes are so good, from here on out all other snack cakes will probably taste like dog do-do to you.

TC: I am almost afraid to give you one. You’ll end up knocking on my door at three am this morning scratching your neck and looking over your shoulder asking for “a fix.”

Me: Dude, they are so good, after eating one you will shit rainbow…No lie.

TC: Right now, if President Bush airlifted Tastykakes and dropped them by parachute to the countries of the world, no one would ever hate the US for anything and we could probably get away with whatever we wanted. They are simply that good.

Me: People atop bridges and buildings in Philadelphia trying to commit suicide are usually talked down with a box of Tastykakes.

We had a great time reminiscing about the SE PA area, and even after all that hype Mike still loved the Tastykakes. I even tossed in a bag of Herrs chips for him to take back to his room. He tells us when he get back from R&R he is going to bring us some tastes of Chicago. Apparently there is a company that makes good chips and popcorn he is going to have us try.

I got a chance to use some of the new lenses for my camera, the telephoto to be exact. The other pictures are of me and my buddy from Kenya. He is the one who asked me why I looked and talked different from everyone else. (Because I am Irish and not from the South!)

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-01-08T02:10:00.001-08:00

Today I turn 23 years of age. My Mother and Brother called me this morning which was nice. A few emails and IM’s have come in as well which has bighted my morning thus far. Before work I ripped open my presents from home and I got a book on Peru and a poncho for when I go. I also got a bunch of lottery tickets from my Nana (Mother’s mom). I had a stack of them and didn’t even win a buck, I’m almost afraid to hang outside to much today. I will keep in mind where the bunkers are just in case.

Your birthday in Iraq doesn’t really feel much different from any other day. The only difference for me is that I can justify not doing a gosh darn thing today, haha. After all it is my birthday.

Things here on base are way more hectic then usual the last week (hence why I haven’t written since the New Year). Without a supervisor or a secretary, or help, I am starting to stress out a bit. I now know why our supervisor is always a space cadet or looks like the undead from a zombie movie. Trying to make sure everything is under control, while at the same time making sure your co-make the department look like a joke is a lot harder then I previously thought it would be. It is sad that I am the youngest one here and have to babysit the persons with more “experience” then me.

For example, I sat in on the weekly conference call with “AS.” He was so nervous about the conference call that he kept dialing the number he uses to call his phone card. Once we did get on the line I had to explain to him that the conference call wasn’t a time to show off. He had a big list of things we have done in the last few weeks, and our yearly numbers. I had to explain to him that no one on the conference call really cared about the little things we have done on the base. He would have made himself look like an ass, not to mention the whole department. It was a good thing I was there to explain that too him. It’s really hard to explain that to someone without hurting his feelings or causing an argument, but I am getting good at handling those situations.

Because of situations like this I have to go the gym every night just so I don’t strangle someone. I really hope someday I am surrounded by fellow employees that are worth a damn. O well, I’m not on here to complain, this is just another one of those mild stones that comes with the working world I guess. It has helped me recognize that I am a good, valuable employee, and am going to do awesome once I get back to the real job market. I am looking forward to finishing school so I can work my way up that ladder (which might be a while now because I am interested in graduate school now).

The transition from the old food service to the new one is in swing right now. By the end of January the old company will be out and the new one will be completely in charge. I am nervous because I have seen the new company unloading MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) into their buildings. When the old company leaves they are taking all the kitchen equipment. The new company will not only have to learn this job overnight, but will have to set up kitchens that feed thousands of people a meal. I am worried we might have to eat MREs for a few days while all that jazz goes down! It will be an interesting event to say the least.

The pictures below are from today and yesterday. I somehow ended up wearing the same shirt both pizza party days so far, that's what the photos might look similar. Hope you enjoy.

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T03:01:00.000-08:00

Hope all is well at home and everyone’s resolutions are standing strong. Mine is to get home safely and resist spending money best I can. I also hope to get more pictures up here. I ran out of interesting things to take pictures of four months ago, so I will do my best.

I ended up checking out one of the New Years parties they had on base. It was a prime example of what a lame party should be. Music that clears the dance floor, food that the DFAC wouldn’t serve, and was full of people I had just worked the last 12 hours with. On the bright side, my roommate was there and he is a cool dude. The best part of the night was watching the ghetto ball drop they had outside with a crane. At the stroke of midnight, when the ball had reached the bottom of it’s ride the military set off every C-RAM in the whole base off at the same time. The one for the KBR mancamp shot directly over our heads. I must admit I puckered up a bit. It fires so fast the bullets come out in a steady stream; it looks like a long orange ribbon ripping though the sky. The tracer rounds make it look awesome! It was the highlight of my night, that and seeing my roommate running like a little school girl!

Things here on the base are getting very crowded. The old units are on there way out and the new ones are on the way in, so for the time being the DFACs are packed along with the gyms and computer rooms. However, on the up side, this has given us the opportunity to raid a few of the abandoned motor pools for useful supplies. When a unit leaves an area they do just that, leave. They don’t do any cleanup, don’t turn anything back into a property department (because they don’t have one), let alone leave the place trashed. Me and JG took this opportunity to go and snoop around and see what interesting stuff was up for grabs. Pocket knifes, tools, hardware, drip pans, metal signs, everything you could think of just left where it lays.

The unit that left the area we came across was so ready to get the hell out of here, that you could see where they had been playing cards and left mid game. The cards still laid out on the table as if they had stepped out of the room ten minutes ago. It was almost like the start to one of those cheesy zombie movies.

We didn’t find anything real useful; someone had already been by and gotten all the good stuff I think. I ended up with a nice big “No Smoking” sign that I can use to get one of my areas in compliance. When the military needs something, they just get it (or take it from us). When we need something, it could take up to eight months to show up. So it is good to get things when you can. I was really hoping to find some nice Gerber knifes or tools, but it was cool just looking around.

I hoped to have this entry done a few days ago, but my secretary quit and I have been doing my best to do all the reports he was doing. He had a lot to do, and now it is all on me. It’s like I am doing to separate jobs in one. However, maybe his replacement will not be a he…. One can hope hope….

POL effected soil from the military.

You Don't Want to Know.

New Years party, with a bunch of rednecks that I don't care for. I wanted a picture and forgot my camera so I jumped into one with other people.

Christmas 08

2008-12-27T01:36:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas was a fun day! I started the day off a little rough when I woke up an hour and a half late to work, and missed the Indian guys open there gifts. They were really happy for there new socks, jackets and underwear. Me and JG pitched in for the cash to get the gifts, and it was the other two employees that took credit for them, telling the guys, “Don’t worry about it guys, it’s nothing, enjoy your gifts.” A bit of a bummer and if I were here I would have called them out on it.

Christmas on a military base is an interesting event. Everyone is at work, but no one is actually working. The boss outright told us to not doing anything today and to just relax. The soldiers had a fun day as well; they were out having a little parade and parties all over the place. Santa hats where everywhere. The day was fun considering no one here was able to see there family, or friends back home.

The DFAC was dressed up nice as expected, however I think the Thanksgiving decorations were way better. It seems that DFAC 3 won the event, they go all out on Christmas and my DFAC, DFAC 4, concentrates more on Thanksgiving. In any case, I stuffed myself full of turkey, prime rib, chicken and all the fixings that go along. It was hard to stay awake at work after that.

After my long, lazy, bloated day at work, I went back to my hooch to destroy some wrapping paper. I set up my camera so that I could record my first Christmas away from home for my mother. I was very happy with what I got this year. I got a nice camera bag, clothes, underwear, neat flashlight, hat, and camera lenses. I loved everything! I the camera bag inspired me to buy a more professional camera. I may have to get one of the Cannon EOS Rebels or something. I would love to have a full blown professional one, and probably will get one after I leave here. I’d hate to have one of those here; I’d be scared to use it! I do love my camera, and now I can do a lot more with it and the new lenses. I can’t wait to lug it all to Peru to use there!

Id like to give a special thanks to the Beaudoins. They made me a DVD which really lifted my sprits. It had a photo slideshow comprised of pictures of the family the last few years. Even though I had my first, “what was I thinking” moment, it was nice to see the family, and reminisce about past gatherings. I really enjoyed it! Thank you!

Now I need to get ready for New Years, and then my birthday on the 8^th of January. I think I may have a little party here, buy some pizzas and sodas.

Thanks for all the gifts everyone! I really enjoyed them and they were that extra boost I needed to get though the holiday season!

Navy's hummve

Me and Deepak

Krishna

Veggies

My Uganda buddy, Alex

USO SHOW

2008-12-24T01:19:00.001-08:00

They had a USO show here on base a few days ago, and it is exactly what I needed to cheer up a little. It was a really entertaining and I took lot of video and a few pictures that you’ll see below. I had never been to a show like this before and it was interesting.

They had three country stars, the Army band, some Dolphin cheerleaders, and one of my favorite comedians, Louis CK. The country music was fun for me just because the crowd loved it. They kept asking, “who loves country music?” and every time they did the crowd went wild. All and all it was a great show. I was also lucky enough to have my picture taken with Leeann Tweeden who has been on the cover of FHM, was named the hottest Hooters girl of all time and has been in Playboy. She is also one of the hosts of “The World’s Best Damn Sports Show Period” on Fox. Truthfully I didn’t really know who she was, but I do now! I also got to shake Louis CK’s hand after the show, which was pretty awesome since I love standup. I should have waited in line to do the meet and greet thing, but it was long and I’m not a solider; it would have felt kind of weird.

Tomorrow is Christmas, So Merry Christmas to all! I can’t wait to see how the DFAC is dressed up! I will have lots of pictures her as soon as I take them. I also can’t wait to open my Christmas presents. I will have to wait until Christmas night to open my gifts because I am working all Christmas day. Everyone told me to save that vacation day for some other time since no one does any real work on Christmas. They tell me it ends up being a day everyone comes into work and just hangs out, no real work gets done all day. And besides, if I didn’t come into work I wouldn’t see any of my friends on Christmas. We are also having a small Christmas party here in the office, which the safety department is setting up. KBR Environmental and the safety guys usually don’t hang out, but I hear they are going to give some of our SCW’s certificates for a good job.

A Little Down

2008-12-20T07:25:00.000-08:00

To be honest, things have been sort of rough lately. Not being home for Christmas is a small part of a complex, which has left me very short tempered and depressed. The biggest part causing this is the swift kick-in-the-balls that comes with suddenly becoming single though a process that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. A breakup that leaves you with a knife in you back and no one to blame but yourself because you alone carried and maintain the relationship. The actions of the other, that caused the breakup, were out of desperation so that they could keep their own sanity; which now leaves you no one to be mad at but yourself because you truly believe that if you were there things would be okay (even though things would have probably ended up the same). What upsets me most is that I couldn’t provide someone that I care about what she needed to be happy. I have failed at being that hero I always strived to be, and that is what I am bummed and angry about most.

Anyhow……..I didn’t start this blog to let out my sappy feelings with the self centeredness to believe that anyone would want to hear about it. I wrote it so people could get an idea of what it is like to work as a twenty something contractor in Iraq. So, what is it like to go though a break up 12,000 miles away in a war zone? It sucks! (big surprise huh?) Being here has made dealing with this harder then it would have been if I were back home.

If I were home, I would have my friends, a stiff drink, and plenty to get my mind off the situation. I could go to the bars, get toasted, be around a whole bunch of people and chicks my age (I think the chicks would help the most). I would be awesome, and help me roll with the punches a little better. Here, however, I have nothing but 12 hours a day to dwell on it. I have no real outlets or entertainment, and definitely no way to “get away from it all.” A simple hard drink would cost me a job, and a whole crap load of money.

I have tried the gym, movies, and video games, but I have discovered that nothing can make up for, or replace, a good time with friends. I have pictures on my wall from the campfires we used to have as a department from school. I would give my left hand for an hour with those guys and girls. I never took friends for granted, but now I really understand how important they are.

And I know, I know, this is something dumb to be upset with. Hell, I’m only 22. There are older people here going though messy divorce with kids involved. I really can’t compare to most of the problems people here have. But I guess at some point in the future I will look back and realize this was all not a big deal.

I almost didn’t come here so I could stay home and take care of her; try and make things work for the long haul. But now I am glad I didn’t. If I had stayed home, I would have thrown away this amazing opportunity all for nothing. I guess I will realize this in good time but right now it still hurts (a lot). If any of you find some free time I could use a few “hang in there,” “you can do it,” “Merry Freaking Christmas,” and “Plenty of fish in the sea” emails. Not that I absolutely need it, but it wouldn’t hurt!

AndrewPBentley@gmail.com

Testing Mystery Chemical

pH of 3

Arabic Graffitie

Half Free

2008-12-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

Let me start of by apologizing for my grammar and spelling on this one, I don't have a prof reader anymore, if anyone wants to give me a hand, let me know!

One thing that really ticks me off here is the “freedom” they keep telling us the Iraqis now have. True, they are not under a dictatorship, and have the freedom to choose, vote, and live. BUT, that is only for half the population here.

I have always known that women in a Muslim society are not treated fairly and they are at the bidding of there husband. However, the more and more I hear about what life is like for them, the more I look down on the Muslim religion. Now don’t get me wrong, to each his own. BUT when a group of people’s basic human rights are taken away from them I don’t care what the cause it, it needs to change immediately.

‘Hot-um,’ my Iraq friend who gets me things from outside the wire was telling me some stories the other day. I got to asking how they heat there home, and they explained, “fire, duh.” The conversation then went onto how they deal with the crazy heat here. They do it like most places; the get down to there skivvies and jump in a river, canal, or pond (and pool if the community has one). It then came to my mind, “If women have to be covered, how do they swim?” Hot-um looked at me with a slightly mean face and just made the gesture for “slit throat” and accompanied that with it’s eerie sound effect that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The women here have it REALLY bad. They can’t even go swimming, let alone much anything else.

May times during the summer I have observed women breaking their back to work the fields outside the wire, while there husband (pretty much their owner) sits and naps under a tree. And I don’t mean she is driving the tractor; she is shoveling mud in a black berka, in the sun, in 130 degree weather. Women here are slaves to men. The men here own the women and use them as they see fit. To add, if they have enough money, they get to own more then one.

I have heard many stories from the truck drivers who toss candy out there windows when they drive though towns. They tell me that if a woman, who probably hasn’t eaten a real meal in a week, tries to pick up anything she usually gets held down and beaten in the face. Not only that, but no one even bats an eye, as if the Iraqis around her are thinking, “serves her right, how dare she try to eat before her (overweight) husband.”

Why the heck hasn’t anyone caught on to this in the States? They keep preaching Iraqi Freedom in Washington, when in reality, only half the people here even notice a difference since we have gotten here. I hear “good news” stories on the radio about soldiers rebuilding community pools outside in the wire, and I can’t help to think… “So freaking what???” Only men and boys can even use it, unless of course, a woman wants to cause her own lynching. Yeah we are building schools here, but guess who is getting to use them?

And people wonder why the Iraqi government wants us outta here and the average Joe doesn’t. The Iraqi government knows that we represent change, a new CIVILIZED future for these people. The longer we stay the more Americanize these people come, which I think could be the best thing for them. Young women seeing accomplished female soldiers and contractors that get to run there own life, let alone not be owned by someone. The young Iraqi men seeing older American men treating women with dignity and respect, let alone having a sense of pride in there work. Iraqis think it is demeaning to clean up after themselves, or to do hard labor. Maybe these ideals could change and they could pull themselves up by there own bootstraps. Maybe Iraqi men will get over themselves and do a hard day’s work, and realize it isn’t beneath them to rebuild there own community, not to mention treat there women better then farm animals.

The really sad part is the Iraqis don’t know better. It has been this way for so long they don’t even realize that it is different anywhere else in the world. They mostly likely think that the US is the only country in the world that doesn’t treat women like this. It really isn’t there fault; it has just been so long. I hope the smaller the world gets and the longer we are hear then maybe this country can join the rest of the world when it comes to basic human rights.

Below are some pictures from the Haggie store and some that I was sent from home. I love getting pictures from home, West Chester, or Philly. Don't hesitate to sending some. (AndrewPBentley@gmail.com)

Six Months

2008-12-08T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well it is that time of year, not only the holiday season, but I am just about to my six month mark of being here. It sure hasn’t felt like half a year, but I guess that is a good thing. At the same time, it feels like I should have less then six months left. This does give me a chance to bank some money. Everything I need to pay off I have the money for right now. From here on out all the money goes into the bank for a rainy day or a house.

It has been an interesting six months; I have learned a lot of things. Not only about this career but about life in the military, life in Iraq, and life lessons in general. I’ve discovered how to get along with people I don’t agree with, and people who are simply ignorant of life outside of there town. I have also learned how to get a point across without hurting or belittling anyone’s feelings or ideals. I have become a better ‘people person’ while here. I had trouble going up to someone in a business setting and trying to get an idea across, especially since nine times out of ten it was someone who had at least 30 years of age or experience on me. I can now present myself with poise to an individual or a group without hesitation.

While here I have been introduced to other cultures and ways of life. I have worked with people of different languages and get points across even with that language barrier. (It ends up being a real life game of charades.)

I have educated myself on how to deal with stress, lots of stress (especially right now). I have also revealed to myself how to turn inward for help and come to a logical answer on my own without the help of other, but still have the wisdom to know help from others is a good thing to have at my disposal.

This job has also given me a glimpse to the future on what I may want to do for a living. I now know that the job I take up in the future needs to be one that tests my mind, and challenges me, otherwise I will not find it fulfilling.

WELL, besides all that sappy sentimental stuff up there, things here are going okay. I’m sure most people will not get this far after starting to read the above! I have been working day to day and am waiting on a box with my Christmas presents. I already have two trees, one for the office and one for the Hooch (I have two because they were both gifts). The sunsets seem to become more amazing every day; I have to admit I sometimes pull over into a field to watch them when I get a chance.

My garden doesn’t seem to like the really cold mornings, it seems to be slowly dying, it was pretty cool while it lasted. I am thinking about brining inside my room if I can get my hands on some grow lights and fine some room. The Indian guys have been inspired by my greenness and want to plant things, to bad it is to late in the season.

Well here are some new pictures, enjoy!!!!

Curry, Onions, eggs, red peppers. Eaten with rice and water.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T05:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I know that is a little late, but I had to have my Thanksgiving before I write about it. I was bummed not being home for the holiday for the first time, but I did have a good time. Every year they decorate the DFACs with lots of homemade foods, breads, and displays. They make a contest out of it, and the best decorated DFAC get a trophy. They have been working on displays all month and go all out to make sure they win. I was lucky to end up eating in the DFAC that won, DFAC4.

To say I was impressed by what the Indian guys created would be an understatement. For not knowing much about the holiday at all they did an awesome job capturing the spirit of Thanksgiving. It surely raised the morale of the homesick Americans here. I attached a lot of pictures here at the bottom of the page; I hope the quality comes out good so you can get a feel of what the DFAC was like on that day. Under Each picture I put a caption so you know exactly what you are looking at if you can’t tell because of the picture quality.

Wine Bar (NA wine)

A Few of my DFAC buddies

Platter made peals

Big Ass Cake

Turkey Made Of Veggie Peals

Watermelon Carvings

Thanksgiving Viking

One of those horn things

DeePack, Me, And a buddy

Me and buddy W/ potato chip turkey

Colored Grits

Me and JG

Another Big-Ass Cake

Deck of the ship

More Carvings

Ice Sculptures

Potato Chip Turkey

Me and scary looking plastic pilgrims

Uneventful

2008-11-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

It has been an uneventful week, which is why I haven’t written until now. I have been busy getting my areas ready for an Air Force Environmental inspection, which turns out to be a joke. The small company in charge of looking after the military aspect of this base (along with checking up on us) doesn’t have standards that even come close to KBR’s.

My supervisor sent out the military's checklist to the managers of all my areas. Due to the use of different terms and “whisper-down-the-lane dynamics,” all of my areas became scared that they were not up to compliance (The big bad Military Inspector is coming). It gave me an opportunity to get them past compliance, to go above and beyond what they “need” to do. It let me put in my two cents in and implement some things I believe should be done. For example, new product and waste can be stored in the HazWaste storage area, but I am having some of my areas get separate spill pallets and areas set up for each one. Also, there is no requirement for hardened structures for HazWaste storage, but it helps keep the rain out of secondary containments. It isn’t required, but I am sure it would score brownie points with the military inspector. Pre-inspections of my areas are a great time to implement things like that because that is when I have the attention of my point of contacts the most and when they are most likely to listen.

I was told that the military might be shutting down the Burn Pit which I believe to be the most harmful thing to the environment here on this base. It is where they burn all the things that can be put into the incinerators. Unrecyclable plastics, rubber, tires, old port-a-johns, among other things create the thick black smoke that often covers half the base. It isn’t very responsible, but since we don’t have the access to a landfill, it seems to be there only answer. I personally think it is about time they start operating one, or set one up with the Iraqis, but they won’t do it because that would take to much time away from training the Iraqi military…

On a happier note, I got a package in the mail that was sent over a month ago. I figured it got lost in the mail, or went down with that FedEx plane. I am grateful that the only thing in it was a comforter because what finally got to me doesn’t even count as a box anymore. If there was anything breakable inside, I am sure it would be broken. It was more like a big cardboard baggie by the time it got to our post office.

It also rained a little bit, not more then 30 minutes of light rain. Just enough for a bunch of rednecks to get there hummers stuck. It also raised the water table enough to mess with a poop station project that my friend, construction foremen, is over looking. He is a cool guy I meet on my way out on R&R, he is in the picture below. He is 25 years old and headed home soon, his 20 year old brother is here too, but is sticking around for a few more years. Both are really cool guys from the Detroit area.

Good news back home, they got there first snow. That is something I am also going to miss since I am here. Snow is very rare here, and not fun to play in with all this mud. It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less then a week away. I got Christmas cards to send out, I better get on them soon!

Opps

2008-11-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

It has been an interesting last few days here on base. For one, we had Veteran day Celebrations. I didn’t get out to see what was going on at the MWRs, but they had amazing food at the DFACs. Lobster, Cake, Ribeye, Shrimp Cocktail. It was a pretty cool day all and all. They had a giant American Flag set up by the outdoor pool held up by two Wreches (big connex moving machines). It was pretty impressive, I have a picture below.

Another interesting part of that day happened toward nightfall. The Power Generation department was trying to move a connex sized generator on the back of a flat bed tractor-trailer which is all in good except they didn’t properly strap the bad boy down. Two 2’’ sized straps trying to hold 26,000lbs of generator goodness. Needless to say, there efforts were quickly rewarded after going around their first turn. While going around one of the main round-a-bouts the straps snapped like fishing line and the whole deal fell off blocking the road perfectly. This event brought everyone and there mom out in a hurry. Some to take statements, some to help clean up, and some to just take pictures of this glorious PowerGen screw up. I, of course, was called out to make sure no oil or of fuel spilled out of the generator, and of course they did. So I sat back, took pictures, and waited for them to move it. It was a pretty impressive ordeal. I am sure someone is on there way back to the states right now over this fiasco.

The day before was my day of bad luck. I got a call out with JG to go look at a tanker truck that had bad diesel fuel in it. It was parked in the trucking lanes and needed to be emptied. As JG talked to the point of contact I decided to climb up and see exactly how much fuel was in this tanker truck. I opened the soft ball sized hole in the top of the tanker and saw there was about three 55 gallon drums worth of fuel in it. While doing the math in my head, my business card holder, which happened to be in my top pock, came sliding out and fell directly into the dark hole. I don’t thing I could have made that shot if my life depended on it. This card holder was a one off, and a gift from a really good friend back home.

I got to the bottom of the ladder just as JG was telling the POC that he needed to do this job himself. I quickly butted in and said, “J, I think we better handle this one, I….. um…. Need to work on this one personally…yeah” as I motioned him with a slight head movement. The last thing I wan this POC to know is I may have just clogged a 100,000 dollar tanker truck in the middle of a warzone. With a confused look on JG face we walked back to our truck. I explained what happened and JG though the situation was a lot funnier then I.

Needless to say I was determined to get that damn thing out there before this tanker was to be moved to another base. I tried everything, little sucking cups, mop handles and little magnets on a string (damn Aluminum). At one point the POC came out and asked me what I was doing, “Um...Um…Doing official Hazmat slash Environmental diesel tank inspections…” He replied with a confused look, “With magnets?” The only thing I could thing of was, “Yeah magnets, what else do you think I should be doing this with? You want to come up here and do this Environmental testing thing?” Luckily he had no idea what the word Environmental meant so he didn’t call my bluff. I eventually brought over the big ass vacuum truck with a two inch hose and used that to suck onto it and pull it out. An hour later the tank was on its way to another part of base to be hauled to another camp. Not only did I stop that tank from getting clogged but I got back my business card holder which is in my top pocket right now. Amazingly my cards in side were intact, which would have really sucked if I had left it in there. Within a week a Mechanic would have been pulling it out the disassembled back end of that tank saying, “Who the F*#K is ‘Andrew Bentley.’ O wait, here is his phone number and address.”

Anyway, it has been an interesting few days, I hope the next few are a little easier. I wouldn’t mind a quiet day.

Colder

2008-11-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

For the first time since I have been here I can say I have been cold. The weather is cooling off here by, what seems to be, leaps and bounds. I have to turn my AC unit to heat at night, otherwise I wake up freezing. During the night it gets to around the mid 50s and during the day the mid 70s which makes for some nice days. It hasn’t rained in a week and most of the mud is dried up. The air seems to have no dust in it which makes for some really really nice sunsets, ones that put the summer ones to shame. I catch myself staring at them with my mouth wide open. I will try and get a good picture on here as soon as I can. I don’t know if my camera can do it justice. The moon also looks awesome and comes out during the early parts of dusk, and appears very bight in the sky. You also see Jupiter next to it, it comes up as a bight red dot to the moons right (at least I think it is Jupiter, that’s what I was told).

The big news here is that Obama won the election. There is an eerie quite among the halls of my building. I was expecting, in this situation, for the Texans and Louisianans to be freaking out, or pissed off. They all seem to have there foot in there mouths. ‘AS’ left the office first thing this morning. He ran out like I had some flesh eating disease. I don’t think he could take being in the same room as me after he found out Obama won. I just hope now that Obama can live up to his promises, make big changes and try and turn things around. I hope maybe he can make the rest of the world not hate us, and be a good example for the rest of Washington, maybe do a little house cleaning, get fresh ideas and people in those big white buildings.

I had a funny thing happen to me the other day, I ran into a Kenyan working at the DRMO Yard (Recycle yard) and he asked me an odd question. He asked me, “Why do you look different then everyone else here?” I didn’t quite understand what he meant. I think the confused look on my face prompted, “You have skin whiter then the other Americans, and I don’t think I have seen anyone with that hair color, is it real? I more then a little set back by this question. I didn’t think I looked that different from everyone else but I explained to him that I am of Irish descent and that the Irish have lighter skin and often have red hair. I guess to someone that has not been to America and only has seen American that are generally from the same place, would easily point me out of the crowd.

I had the chance to sit down with my Iraqi friend ‘Hotum’ today. He is a little upset because the soldiers at the gate are not letting him bring in the shirts, pants, Viagra, belts, perfumes or Dinar that he was bringing in to sell to KBR and the military. It messed up the sweet business he was running. I know he had to have been making a killing. Iraqis working for the military are making 16 dollars a day, which exchanges for 18,800 Dinar. This makes any Iraqi working for the military millionaires, which doesn’t really amount to much. However, he was selling shirts for 10USD which I know he had to be getting for pennies. Hotum is a rich man to say the least; he tells me he has 4 wives.

While there I also asked him what he thought of the US military and KBR being in Iraq. He said he didn’t mind us here, but will be happy when Iraq is run by Iraq. I asked him what he thinks of his president, and he said he is good, but not always. I further went on to ask him what it is like in his town. Are schools being built? Hospitals? Roads? He smiled and said yes, and explained that things are being built up. I was glad to hear this! Finally I asked him what he thought of Saddam, and with a scrunched up face and flipping his wrists into the air said, “Saddam no good man, bad for the people, bad for business, bad for Iraq.” He went on to explain that Iraqi is better now, and the future looks bright. I hope to translate some more specific question to ask him on a later date. Find out his views on America, what life is like as an Iraqi pre and post Saddam, and what he and the other Iraqis think will happen in the future.

Rain Rain Rain

2008-10-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

The rains I mentioned have started. They are way more harsh then I thought they could ever be. I poured harder then I have ever seen in my life for a whole 24hrs. It rained so hard, it kept me up at night. The Lighting didn’t help either! It looked like the Red Carpet was outside my room. Literally a few lighting flashes every second for ten or fifteen seconds at a time. I woke up in the morning to find the water up to the top of my second step. I had to trudge though the shin high water for about 100 yards to my truck. I took 3 pairs of socks with me that day and use every set. Luckily I have found a pair of rubber boots that go over my work boots.

The rain has made everything muddy; the halls of every building are tracked with footprints. In some places the mud sticks to your boots enough to make you a few inches taller after walking a few feet. Other places it is so thick it can rip a boot right off your foot. It has gone from one extreme to the other. However, it has made for some AWESOME driving. I find myself picking the muddiest, wettest, path I can find to get places. I’m wasn’t a huge fan of this big ass truck, but in the mud, it is awesome. I have had it so sideways going though muddy fields that you can still see permanent palm prints on the steering wheel from me squeezing it so hard. To say the least, I am having a blast driving in it. The more of the muck I can get to stick to my truck the better.

Unfortunately the big vacuum truck is not so mud worthy. I was tasked with taking our Indian guys out and sucking out the secondary containments in the bulk fuel area. They are big, dirt walled, structures that are lined with bladder material. They are made so if the fuel bags that are inside burst, the fuel will be contained. Unfortunately, when it rains and they fill up with water the fuel bags begin to float. It puts too much strain on the bags and can cause them to burst. I successfully got the truck stuck twice within one hour trying to get it backed up to the fuel bag area. The second I guided the truck off the road it sank up to its Axles in mud. They came and pulled it out (after crawling though the mud to hook up the chains) and before they got out the gate I got it stuck again in another spot. They were not happy, but although the Indian guys thought it was hilarious. They mocked me as I called heavy equipment on the radio.

On the upside, the 28th was Diwali. It is a festival in India that could compare to combining our Christmas, New Years, and 4th of July into one. In India it is a big deal, and is also known as the Festival of Lights. They exchange gifts, have fireworks, eat massive amounts of food, and have lots of candles lit. Both the Hindu and Sichik religions celebrate it. In India they tell me the Hindu and the Sichik religions are “like brothers.” Completely different religions with different Gods living side by side and they don’t fight.

To celebrate the festival I got the guys together for a little pizza party. We got snacks, soda, French fries, and of course, pizza. We had the little get together in the conference room and everyone had a good time. It also coincided with the last day for Sonu, he got on a flight to go back to India for the first time in 3.5 years the next morning. So it was a combined celebration. We need to have stuff like that more often.

O yeah…. HOW BOUT THOSE PHILLIES!?!?!?!?!?! BOOYA!
Another thing, I made an “Insturctable” for this website I read a lot. It ended up getting featured and put on the homepage and the news letter.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_grow_flowers_on_a_military_base_in_Iraq/

Cooling off

2008-10-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

It is starting to cool off here in Iraq. It gets to the upper 80ies during the day, and the 60ies at night. I really enjoy the brisk mornings. I hear that soon it will start raining so hard that I’ll never want to see rain again. It seems like we have no good seasons here in Iraq. It is either HOT and dry or COLD and wet. I know I’ll probably hate the rain eventually but I wouldn’t mind a few wicked thunderstorms, I hear that are pretty awesome here. The say the weather gets “Old Testament” when winter starts.

A few days ago my old bosses son was airlifted to the hospital here because of an accident he had with an up-armored Striker hatch. He was hurting pretty bad, but the hospital here is very good and he should be leaving in the next few days. I found out he was here from an email his dad sent me. He asked me to check on him and I have been every day since he has been here. He is good sprits and looking forward to getting back to work. It has given me a great opportunity to get the a soldiers perspective on what is going on over here, and to know what it is like outside of the wire. He has an interesting view on things here, and the military itself. He told me “if the military was half what I was hoping, I’d never leave.” JB is a smart guy, a lot more intelligent then most of the military people above him, let alone his rank.

He described the living conditions of most of the Iraqi cities he has been in. No building codes, electrical wires low enough to reach by putting your arm up, above ground sewage, falling down buildings. He went on to say, “The conditions are not even 3rd world, they are more like 5th world.” He then asked me, “So what I KBR doing to help rebuild Iraq.” I told him that we have built water purification facilities and sewage plants, but we are limited to what the government tells us to do and pays us to do. If we were allowed to contract with the Iraqi Government I believe we could do a lot of good outside the wire. My biggest beef, and JB was quick to agree, was that the US military is more interested in setting up an army then rebuilding a country. Maybe if we built schools and provided electricity and water we wouldn’t have as much trouble with the locals as we do now.

He also went on to tell me about the Iraqi culture and how it blew him away. Things I have heard from others, but were quick to disagree with, are actually true. Yes, many Iraqi men have sex with goats and sheep, men have sex with each other openly, and it is acceptable to poop anywhere outdoors. He described people “poppin a squat” in the middle of the street, pooping, and walking away; both men and women. I guess that is the norm in many parts of the world, but I guess me and him are both used to a completely different system.

Well the election is coming up, we are down to 11 days. Most people here have casted there absentee ballot and most of them voted for McCain. To each his own, but I not only want Obama to win because I think he would be an awesome president, but also so I don’t get ripped on for the next 8 months. It scares me to see how scared these Southerns are about Obama winning. You really see the hatred come out when the idea of a “brown president” come up. I got an email, that I wish I had kept, that said a black president was the sign of the Apocalypse. Not only that, but these people here took it serious. Like it was there mission from god, for man kind’s sake, to make sure a black man does not become president. I now second guess thinking everyone should the right to vote (just kidding). But seriously, these people have believed chain emails before about Obama being a “Secret Muslim” that wants to change out “National Religion” to what they call “Muslimism.” But now this? You have got to be shitting me. Its ridiculous how easy it is to scare these people from the South. Just use the word Islamic or the phrase “Gun laws” in a sentence and they start freaking out. They really think Obama wants to make guns illegal. They will believe anything you put in front of them, emails, or TV are like the word of god to them.

Frankley, all I care about is that our country goes in a new direction. I don’t care who does it, but someone who has voted over 90% the same as Bush doesn’t seem like the right guy for the job. However, if McCain wins, then power too him. This sentiment is not shared the other way around with the Texan and Louisianans. I have heard more then a few of them say, and I quote, “If Obama gets into office I hope he gets assassinated.” Now I wouldn’t be really happy if McCain went into office, but I wouldn’t want him dead. I am amazed by how racist and easily scared people are from the South. And I do admit, granted, these people do not represent the South entirely, but 100% of everyone I have talked to here openly have this sentiment (I thought at least one or two would feel different).

The BBC radio show I listen to in my truck that is broadcasted from outside the wire said the other day, “A survey in the United States shows 40% of Americans said they would never vote for a Black president no matter how his policies were.” I am ashamed to be an American when I hear things like that.

Sorry for the rant. Things are starting to boil up here with the election, and they like to pick on me often. I went to my supervisor and he laughed and said something along the lines of “good for them.”

O yeah! GO PHILLIES!!!!

Back In Iraq

2008-10-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Being home was really great! I got to go to most of the places that I wanted too, did a lot of the things that I wanted to do, and ate all the food I was missing from home. However, I wish I had some more time. I didn’t get to see everyone that I wanted. I will be back soon enough, and then maybe I’ll get a chance to catch up with everyone.

Apparently more people then my mom actually read this, so I need to start putting more pertinent information into what I write. I guess I’ll start with what I actually do here on base.

I am an Environmental Technician who works under the Heath, Safety and Environmental (HSE) division of KBR. We are known as HAZMAT out of habit because when the contract kicked off, that is what the people in my department dealt with the most. However, we now deal with a wide range of problems that occur here on my base and other bases in the rest of the country. For instance, we do Environmental Base Guideline Surveys which include field research to determine the present status of the environment on base (water, soil, and air). We do soil samples using Petrol Flag instruments that determine the PPM concentration of petroleum products in soil. This is a very important and pressing issue we have here. All the information we gather is written into reports and presented to the higher up KBR and military officials.

These surveys are important because there was a times in this base’s history when it was one of the most polluted areas in Iraq due to the “pervious owners.” It isn’t our job to necessarily clean up historical messes, but we have taken the measures to go above and beyond, when possible, to help eliminate these old environmental concerns. Our main mission it to make sure the area isn’t polluted by the present clients in any way shape or form. And I have to say, we do a damn good job at it.

Unfortunately our work is limited to the life support activities on base, and what KBR and subsidiary contractors operate. In other words everything KBR employees operate and any area under our control. The military, both Army and Air Force, cause a more then a few messes which we will clean up if the military goes though the right channels to “hire” us on a spill to spill bases. Many times we jump in and clean up what is sort of deemed “their problems” with the justification of “doing what is right.” If we are called to an area where a major spill is occurring, even if it isn’t under our jurisdiction, we are not going to just say, “Well it’s not our problem,” and walk away. We always help out, and stop any major catastrophes. I have also taken a shovel in my own hands to help clean up minor messes (<5gallons) knowing that the military would just leave it there. Sad, I know, but they do not educate or follow though with instilling “cleanliness” to its forces.

We also do a lot of preventive measures to keep the soil, air and water from being effected. We help get training for people in departments that need it. We also still do the hazmat work. Things like Hazardous communications and hazardous chemical storage. We also make sure the shipment of chemicals are done properly so to help minimize danger and possible accidents which are a real issue when your shipments are being shot at. The last thing you want is a tractor trailer carrying two incompatible chemicals and then being shot though. I have also written more then a few Emergency Spill and Response plans to help the response actions and times. Many things can’t be prevented, like rockets slamming into 50,000gallon fuel tanks, which has and does happen time to time. We cross those bridges when then come to us.

I like my job because it requires many different elements. This helps from becoming board with what I do. We do massive amounts of research looking though OSHA (29CFR 1910.1200), DOD Military, KBR and DOT regulations to make sure we are in compliance with all of them. This, conversely, can be a pain balancing out multiple regulations when most places and activities in the world only have to worry about one or two at a time. We also do a lot of work out in the field. May it be observations, emergencies, research, requests by sites, or general knowledge exchange with people of various departments (and languages). Lastly, we work with a great deal of people. Shooting emails, scheduling visits, or making phone calls. We have to work with many people to get things done on base. A cool part about that is the people are from all over the world. They have different cultural standards, languages, customs, and beliefs about how things should be done. This of course can make things hard at times.

I sometimes forget how amazing an opportunity like this is. It is a great experience and I am lucky to be over here helping save the world one pile of dirt at a time. HA!

That is a tiny part about my job, and every aspect of what I wrote can be taken into page after page of detail, so I’ll leave it at that now.

Ramadan

2008-09-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

Ramadan is here which usually means heavy attacks from the Iraqis. However that is not the case, things here are super quite and Iraq seems to be moving in the direction we want it. Every day more and more Iraqis are working on base, which I think is a good thing. How can you hate someone you know? Let alone the fact, why would you shoot a rocket into a base where you brother is working? I know most people think they are just sand people who have no value for life, but I think it has a lot more to do with a lack of education. Saddam kept his people ignorant for the simple reason it is easier to rule ignorant religion obsessed people then educated ones (just look at the Republican party for instance…just kidding).

I think the future holds bright for the country of Iraq, but I do think we need to spend a lot more time here. Leaving now is too early. We need to pump more money into building hospitals and schools instead of giving them tanks and weapons. The Military is too concerned with making Iraqi military strong instead of setting up a healthy educated society. It is important to have a country that can defend itself (especially in the Middle East) but there is more to a successful society then a strong military.

I am suppose to fly in a Blackhawk helicopter when I get back from my R&R and check out another base that is close by. Far smaller then ours, but it has the Iraqi prison and has a lot of Iraqi military working there. It will be interesting seeing them in action.

Well it is down to two weeks until I am home! Some pretty sweet stuff going on here too. For one, it rained. It rained really hard for about a half hour the other morning. It made the area seem like a different world, I am so used to cloudless skies baking me all day long. With rain it makes you feel like you are in a totally different place.

I got something cool in the mail the other day. My boss and friend, Don, passed away a few months after I got here. I finally was able to get a hold of the family a month ago and sent a card. I was surprised to find my name on the box list in the Daily Post Office email. Don’s wife ended up sending me one of his Grateful Dead T-shirts. Along with the shirt was a thank you card. Don was huge into live music and played it often at the Deli he owned. It is really cool having one of his shirts and I took a picture of me in it to send back to her. I hope she likes it. Don was an awesome guy, and, by far, the best boss I have ever had. Chill, laid back, didn’t mind if we ate at the store. An all around cool dude.

I also got a package from my Ashley and her mom. It had lots of cute things in it like Tasty Kakes and Herrs Potato Chips. I took a picture for them. I love the chips, the chips here suck. They are very thick, almost enough to hurt your teeth.

Speaking of bad food. The contractor that was in charge of the DFACs has lost it’s contract and will be gone in November. You can sorta tell they have given up. The food quality is lowering and they don’t put out as much as they used to. They also “forget” to order things like “to go boxes” and lettuce. They used to not care about how much you took out of the DFAC, and that was probably because they were doing there best to keep the client happy. Now they only want you taking out what the contract states. Which is 2 drinks and one plate. Before the loss in contract people would take a bunch of drinks and 2 or three plates. Which is a shame because you know they didn’t eat all that food. Americans have the tendency to take as much as they can if it is free even if we don’t need it. I am looking forward to the new contractor; I am hoping they have a healthier setup. All the food with these guys is really good, but not the best for your health. However, I am worried they will not be ready in time. They are suppose to start in November, and they don’t have a camp set up yet or any equipment here. Let alone any sort of workforce. It is going to be interesting.

Can’t wait to be home, will be there in no time!

Decon

2008-09-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago started on a crappy note. I was sitting in the office checking my morning emails when J.G. walked by my room saying with a sad tone, “Get your gloves Drew, it’s decon time.” I had a pretty good idea what he was talking about, and wasn’t very excited to say the least. HSE Environmental is in charge of cleaning up not only chemicals, but blood as well. Back in the day, they use to get trucks from outside the wire that had been blown or shot up. The military removed the bodies but KBR Environmental is in charge of the clean up. They have some stories I’d rather not share.

This wasn’t nearly that bad. Some guy got really sick in his room. He got fecal matter that was mostly blood, everywhere. The walls, the door, the bed, the bathroom and the kicker was it was there for a whole day, caked on. Dressed in rubber gloves, makes and aprons, we used bleach, hospital spray and resorted to using a knife to getting up the mess. It was pretty graphic. The gentleman was airlifted to Germany for hospital care. Its pretty obvious he had a rough night.

I have been noticing some military discipline since I have been here. I take it that when you mess up as a soldier they not only get you in trouble, but like to make an example of you. For instance, the other day driving into the DFAC I noticed a young man with a “5 MPH” sign around his neck standing out in the sun at the corner for all to see. I couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like, baking in the sun, looking like a jackass. The next day I noticed a girl eating in the DFAC with a 4’ long 4X4 post next to her on the floor. Apparently she walked out the DFAC a few days ago without her gun, forgot it. As punishment they made her carry around, not only her gun, but that big 4X4 post with her. It isn’t something you can play off, everyone knows what you did. I felt kind of bad for her. Goodness knows Id be walking around with two 4X4 post with the way I forget things. Id look like an Amish construction worker or something.

I had a chance to talk to my friend Brad the other day. He left about the same time I did for Seoul, S. Korea to teach English. I got a phone call from him a week before I left, “I am carrying everything I own and am about to get on a plane to Korea.” I personally think that is pretty bad ass. It was nice talking to him, and he seems to really like it out there. He had stories to tell me that were very interesting. I hope to get to talk to him more now that we both have skype.

I think today marks 21 days until I leave here to come home, I am very excited. I will get to chill in Dubai for half a day before taking off on my 16 hour flight. I was able to get myself a isle seat, and when I get there they told me I can try and ask for seat at an emergency exit. I may have to pull out the "I am an Eagle Scout with years of emergency training and First Aid card."

No pictures with this post(I don't think any of you want to see pictures of a decon), I need to get out and find things to take pictures of. You run out of things to photograph pretty quick here, just T-walls and dirt. I hope to get a picture with the Iraqi guys I talk to.

Same Old, Same Old

2008-08-29T06:07:00.001-07:00

Not a whole lot new going on, it is just the same old same old. I have been getting my areas up to speed more and more every day. A lot of the areas I got were from A.S. who has no idea what he is doing, so it takes a lot to get the situated.

My garden seems to be working well, the self watering things is pretty effective. It soaks up about 2 bottles of water total during the day, and 2 at night. I have some things growing; I hope they flower at some point. I will take pictures for my next blog, they are not very impressive yet.

Two days ago I had to escort a representative from the majors cell and the Air Force Environmental Manager who is now going to call the shots on what is correct and isn’t. The guy working for the Air Force is too high up on his horse and is giving us a hard time about little stuff, but isn’t paying attention to important things. He honestly has never had a job like this and has no idea what he is doing. He is trying to make a “master checklist” for all of Joint Base Balad so that we can all be on the same sheet of music. However that will be hard to implement considering the military has hidden lakes of oil and other petroleum in the ground that they use. Being KBR we can do anything about it, I hope this Air Force guy does something about it. The Army and Air Force do not have to follow the rule we do, and I wish we had some say just for the environments sake.

The gentleman from the Air Force “B” is a dork too. I may be as geeky as the next guy but this dude is over the top. He is also kind of a weirdo. He picks up rocks from the ground and collects them to polish and send home. Being a geology student I can say these rocks are not special and, in my opinion, are ugly as hell. I made the mistake of telling him “O, I am a geology student, I study rocks and minerals.” For the rest of the day he kept picking up rocks and saying, “What’s this rock….. and this one……is this quartz?” It was a bit annoying, but I guess I walked myself into it.

While taking these guys to an area where my Iraqi friends work, my Iraqi friends didn’t seem to realize at first that it was a bad idea to come up to me. “Andrew, Andrew.! How are you my friend, what do you need tod……..” I had to stop him with a “Get the fuck outta here” look. He caught on real quick after looking over my shoulder and took off. I told the Army and Air Force guy that they are helping me with my Arabic. Thank God a new a couple of words because there next question was, “What can you say?” The first thing I thought was “how do I say AWW SHIT.” If worse came to worse I could have just made some stuff up.

On a not so, get my ass in trouble, note; I awoke a week ago to discover clouds. Nice big, fluffy, sun blocking clouds. It is nice to have shade every once and a while. I caught myself starting at them at times like I had never seen clouds before. It has been 3 months since I have seen anything like them. Another cool thing is I had business cards made to give out in my areas and when I meet new points of contact. They are free at Vistaprint.com and turned out awesome. I use a business card holder Pearl gave me at my going away party. It is sweet to whip it out and say, “Here’s my card.” I’ll have to get some made when I go to find a job after school. Makes you seem pretty important.

Anyway, I can’t wait to get home, almost no time at all. I’ll be there the 26th of September, and leave on the 10th of October. I hope to eat at some nice restaurants, go to the beach and visit Pittsburgh, it will all be AWESOME.

Pictures:
The security guard holding the only picture he has of his family, he takes it with him everywhere. His name is Khem, and he is really cool, was excited to get his picture taken, I gave him a copy of it to send home. The extremes KBR goes though with safety, goggles, safety glasses, rubber gloves and a drip pan. Some odd trucks and the clouds I was talking about.

Another Day, Another Dollar

2008-08-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Things here are about the same. "A.S." is back from his R&R now and is really annoying but I can’t complain, I get paid to much for that. I found out that he calls me “Pansy Boy” behind my back, but that is probably because he is intimidated by me since I have surpassed his 5 years of experience already when it comes to overall knowledge and performance. It might end up just being me and him here within the next month. Another contractor is offering twice the money. "P.P" is leaving and "J.G." might be right behind him. "A.S." isn’t close to being qualified and I’m reluctant to leave because I have "J.B." watching over me.

It is not 34 days until I am home on my first R&R, I think I will have just about every day planed while home. I an headed to the beach with Ashley my first weekend right when I get back. There is a VW show down at the beach we went to last year that is really nice, the “H2O International.” The weekend after that I hope to make it to Pittsburgh. I really like it up there and when I think vacation, I think Pittsburgh. There is so much to do, and I have four skateparks within an hour drive to chose from. Back home I have one, and it sucks. I will also get a chance to see Aunt Linda, one of the few people who actually writes me letters and I may get a chance to see JJ. I also hope to get to go to Danielle’s graduation party, she just finished school and I think she is having some sort of party, I hope I can make that. Besides the running around I hope to do some camping, definitely something outdoorsy. I miss green!

Speaking of green, I had a chance to start a flower garden; I did it on my day off yesterday. I found a packing crate in the scrap wood yard and put legs on it so it stands level with my porch. I also though of a way to keep it watered during the day, just watering it in the morning and at night wouldn’t be enough. I bought some parachute cord and cut it into 10inch lengths. I then inserted half the cord in to holes I put into a water bottles, leaving the other half out. I then put the bottles in the planter and filled it with dirt. The string wicks the water from the bottle into the peat moss I used as planting soil. It seems to be working well. I just hope the seeds I bought from the Hotum, my Iraqi “supplier”, actually grow. If not I will get some seeds from home. I just hope it isn’t too late to get something to grow, however the summer does last until late November or early December.

I am happy to get my mom’s tripod in the mail yesterday, I had a chance to take lots of night pictures and play around more with my camera, I posted a few at the bottom of this page, tell me what you think. I had to decrease the quality so I could upload them. The southern people thought I was nuts seeing me out last night with the camera, “yurr can’t take pictures at night, there aint no light, everyone know that DUH!” I sometimes wish the south had won the Civil war and were there own country, that way we wouldn’t have to deal with them and the would probably destroy themselves anyway.

More night Shift

2008-08-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

I am on night shift until the 16^th, and I have to say it has gotten pretty old. A few days ago I was called out to exploded battery at an area not to far from where I stay. It was one of those large 100lb ones they use for tractor trailers, a crazy big one. I got out there and did the cleanup, which was pretty easy since the giant battery broke over a cement pad. I went back to my room, undressed, washed up, and hopped into bed.

Literally the second my head hit the pillow….KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. I was called out again to the same spot. The mechanic, and I use that word loosely, that showed up to the spill took the old battery off and tossed it on the ground and left. If he had been there I would have kicked his ass. He was reporting to an exploded battery, you think he would have brought something to put it in. I was hesitant about laying back down in bed after the whole routine of cleaning up because I was afraid I’d get called out again.

Three days ago we had a “red alert drill.” They simulated that shit hit the fan pretty much. One part was a mortar hit a 50,000 gallon fuel bag, another part was a rock hitting a DFAC, and a contamination of the waste stream headed to the STP plant (shit plant). Of course I was called out to the shitter. Apparently that would be a big deal, fuel in the waste stream would kill all the “bugs” in the plant. To fix it would cost about a million dollars.

I was aware the drill was going to happen, I just didn’t know when. So I went though the day as if it was normal. My first stop in the afternoon was the Air Force Hospital, they have a small DFAC that I check everyday.

Apparently the military was not privy to upcoming drill, or that it was just a drill. As I pulled into the turn off for the hospital, I was greeted by a 130lb 5’3” blonde girl running at me at full speed in full body armor, locked and loaded. She was yelling, “Sir we are at red alert, please like get out of here!” I hit reverse so fast I patched out the tires. I then heard my radio blow up with people scrambling to get assembled. I then moved to the pump station I was called to and did a little fake routine, “the pump is now off, diverting sewage out of base, pump secure.” It was pretty exciting for a drill. Everything went well, and we joked around about the fact something like that would never happen; how the hell could fuel get into the waste stream? That is a one in a million chance.

Guess what happened the next day? Yeah you guessed it, fuel got into the waste stream and we were called out quickly. I thought it was a joke at first, but when I showed up to find the heads of the base all standing around I knew we were in some deep shit, literally. It was cool being able to walk right past men who were ranked so high and heads of KBR saying, “Excuse me, Environmental coming though.” It was cool being one of the guys running the show. We shut down the plant and directed the sewage to a near by town. However, the military being the geniuses’ that they are broke the pipe exiting the camp right over the canal stream that provides water to the camp and didn’t tell anyone until now. So by diverting the sewage I pretty much just created a giant cluster-fuck putting raw sewage into our drinking water. I didn’t feel so cool pushing past those bigwigs now. Luckily the amount wasn’t enough to hurt anything and even if it had been more the water purification would have been able to handle it fine, they turned water production off as a precaution.

We handled the situation pretty well, hell we just practiced it, I’d hope we do well. We prevented a few million dollars in tax payers’ dollars. The reason it happened was because a contractor the military hired dumped contaminated junk down a sewer station. The more I am here the more I dislike the military, but I’ll save that for my next blog, this one is kinda long.

Night Shift

2008-08-08T02:37:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the beginning of the week I was put on night shift. I don’t actually work at night, but I am on call incase something happens they need an environmental person for. Most of the time nothing happens at night, but every few weeks something big will happen, like a shot up tanker truck of fuel or oil. I was excited to be on night shit, but nervous because it was my first time.

My first night was Saturday the 1st and of course I forgot my clipboard with blank paperwork and notebook back at the office. I figured, what are the chances of me being called out on my first nigh? Or if I do get called out that it is something serious? Lucky lucky me. At about 2am I get a knock on my door by 2 security guards sent by KBR Operations. I stager out of bed in my boxers, get to the door and hear, “Sir, Hazmat yard on fire, you need wake up now.”……. “MOTHER F*#$@ER,” Something like this could only happen to me.

I however, discovered the large “real world” version of whisper down the lane that happens during a night call. First the person that caused or found the incident calls there supervisor, that supervisor calls the manager, and that manager calls the incident into KBR Operations. Operation then tells the messenger which is usually a security guard that doesn’t speak much English to come wake me up and tell me what happened. By this time, a “fire located on Victory loop road near the Hazmat Yard” turns into “the hazmat yard is on fire.” So it ended up being nothing I needed to deal with, but it did drag my out of bed at 2am for no freaking reason.

My second night was even more fun. What are the chances I’d be called 2 nights in a row, let alone my first to nights? Lucky me again. I was called in by KBR Ops because of an emergency with the water tower. I rush to the office to find out what was wrong and all they wanted was a few drums out of the freaking hazmat yard. That is something they should have waited till the next day. That guy who called KBR Ops to wake me up was lucky there were witnesses in the room otherwise I would have dove over his desk and strangled him to death. Him waking me up for that would be like calling the fire department in the middle of the night asking if they rinse off there sidewalk.

All in all the night shift doesn’t bother me to much, however I cant wait until it is over, that way I can go to the gym and do stuff after work. We have been getting a lot of dusts storms lately. I attached a picture of me in one. To me they end up looking like a foggy day. When the wind picks up you sometimes end up having to pull of the road because you can’t see past the hood of your truck. I am always afraid of getting rear ended by one of those big ass MRAPS. They could drive though a brick building and not know it.

I have also been getting to know the Ugandan guards better. I stop and sit in there little guard stations on my way into the dfacs. They speak very good English and are interesting guys. They always complain about the heat and say they can’t wait to go home, even though they can go anytime they want. I was asking one of the guys if he was married he told me, “Not yet sir, I hope someday. But Ugandan women only want to be with men for money, if you have it they want to be with you and if you don’t they don’t even want to know who you are. It is impossible to find one that isn’t in it for your money.” Looks like something else transcends cultures. HaHa. This same guy also taught me out to say hello in their language that way I can say hi when going in and out of the dfacs, people really like it when you take the time to learn a few of their words.

On a side note, I finally got a hold of my Uncle John and Cousin Amy on the phone; it was nice talking to them both. I hope to write some more letters in the next few days to send home. I would like to take a second to thank Ashley; she has been helping me get by. We talk every day and that really helps me get though my long days, I can’t wait to be home and see her and everyone! I also want to thank Emily for buying me the Tilley hat before I left, it is working awesome and I should have wore it right when I got here instead of waiting. Everywhere I go people ask about it. I am wearing it in the picture below during the dust storm, and one of the guys wanted a picture wearing it. The others are of the Van fire and morning chabatee.

Working Hard

2008-07-31T08:46:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since I have written in here. New news is that my family got the box I sent them in the mail with gifts and they like them. I am also getting to know people better and seeing out things work here. I got a letter from my Cousin JJ and it really made my day, I hope he gets the ones that I am sending. On anther note, today is my Aunt Linda’s Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT LINDA! I hope she has a great one!

I now inspect the defacs (dinning facilities) daily. I enjoy the work and it helps my day go by. I am also meeting cool people at these locations. For one, each time I go into a defac I have to have the guard check my ID. Most of the guards here are Ugandan military, and very intimidating. They are all over 6’ and have a very deep voice; if they were here in the states we would have no women left. At first I was very intimidated by them, they carry guns and don’t really deal with any bullshit. But after you have been coming by a while they get nicer. I have sat down with these guys a few times now, they are really cool. They do a 2 year tour here and are making good money to raise a family back home. They complain about the heat, in Uganda it is around 78 degrees all year round. One of them told me it sucks here because if it isn’t hot it is too cold (it gets in the 30’s here in the winter time). Another thing to note is they speak very good English, they sound like the guy who did the voice for Darth Vader. They talk about home, say how nice it is and how they can’t wait to get home and raise a family. Everyone here seems to have the same goals, make a better life for themselves and family. It really doesn’t matter what part of the world you come from, or what language you speak, better ones’ life seems to be the reason to be here. The guards I think hare the hardest job all day. They literally sit in these open shacks all day and do nothing. I bought them some word finds and Sudoku puzzles, they say it helps the time go by. I hope to take them some taskey kakes soon.

I have been drinking Tea with the Indian workers in there break room every day. I really like it. I wanted to learn how to make it so I asked what kind of tea it was. Like maybe a Indian secret or something. They told me it was “iptan tea boss, iptan, very good.” I thought it sounded cool, like some indigenous tea to India. So I asked them to show me, and it ended up being regular freaking Lipton Ice Tea bags that they were pronouncing wrong.

That was the same day I ate one of there meat meals for the fist time. The usually just have veggie ones since none of them eat anything but chicken. It tasted really good, although I knew I had never had that meet before. It had a chewy almost bitter taste too it. I said to them, “Meat, what kind of meat is this?” The replied just as I was taking another bite, “Mut sir, Mutten Meat.” I jump up out of my seat, spit the crap in my hand and start yelling, “Mutt Meat? Like dog? WOOF WOOF?” They thought it was funny as hell, “No No sir, BAAA BAAA.” Apparently “Mutten” is the Indian word for Goat meat. I really thought I was eating dog meat. Now they mess around and bark at me, they really found it funny, and I guess it is.

I got a chance the other day to get a drive though of the ASP (ammo supply point) Freaking sweet. It was like driving though a grocery store of a grown up. “Alrighty here is your small arms fire, and that on your left is the rifle ammo. And here is the good stuff, hellfire missiles, Rocket Launchers, grenades. I can’t say anything about the area, but it was impressive.

Sorry it took so long for this blog, I have been crazy busy. I am looking forward to coming home!

My New Haircut

2008-07-22T05:11:00.001-07:00

I have been doing my best to learn a little Hindi so I can talk better with the guys that work for my department. I am picking some things up, but slowly. My English tong has a hard time making some of the sounds.

Anyway, I was telling the guys I need to get a haircut. At that point my options were going to get it buzzed off like the military guys, or growing the balls to go into the female hair salon and getting it cut by someone who has never cut male hair before. I was kind of on the fence when the Hindi guys said to me, “No go to PX for hair cut boss, we take you to good guy. Indian man, very good. He not have shop, but have everything of shop.” I figured why not, if it gets messed up, it s not like I am trying to impress anyone here.

So I agreed to let the guys take me over and get it done by this Indian man. We pull into one of the big yards and went into a building you rent tools out of. It is always odd walking with 4 of the Indian guys with me, they never go anywhere without everyone. Inside the building we were greeted by the SCW’s that run the tool renting desk. Son-no talked some Hindi to them and I was moved behind the counter by one of the SCWs and the other goes upstairs to get the guy that will cut my hair. Behind the counter there is a cubical sized area that has 3 sides and can’t be seen into from the counter. That is were a lone chair stood. They sorta hid me back there from Expacks coming in to get tools at the front desk.

After a few minutes went by and a tall lanky Indian man walks around the corner to where I was with a tool box and a smile on his face. He stretches his head around to see if the coast is clear and begins to work. He first flips over the safety poster on the side of the cubical to revile a mirror, the opens up a small hole in a platform that has a bottle of water, shaving cream, a 3inch paint brush and some clean (I hope) towls and blankets. That is when I realized I was in a “speak easy” barber shop. The SCWs at the counter were looking out while this guy did his work, my guys were just hanging behind the counter.

He started off by tossing a sheet around me and tucking it into my shirt. He then opened up his tool box which had a strait razor, scissors, and a sprits bottle. He said “Ready sir?” I said yes and he was off, he starts to cut my hair faster then anyone I have ever seen before with a brain surgeons look of concentration. He zipped half of my head and asked if it was ok in a matter of a minute. He asked if that was ok, I said yes and he did the other side the same, just as fast. Just about when he finished that side I heard an American greet the SCWs at the counter and ask if he could sign out a post hold digger, he also said jokingly, “What are all you guys doing back there, having a party?” to my guys sitting a few feet from my hidden area. Son-no replied, “no sir, busy day today,” and shoots me a wink. Haha.

Once the Hindi man finished the second side of my head he went around and cleaned up his work, did some detailing. I was very happy with his work, and how fast he did it. He then spoke some Hindi to Son-no and Son-no asked me if I wanted a shave too. If figured why the hell not and said “Cona” (yes) to the barber and he went to work giving me an old school strait razor shave using a cutoff bottle as a cup, some Gillette shaving cream and a barber brush. I have to admit I was a bit nervous but this guy worked with precision, I was shaved in no time, and it ended up perfect. You could have put a strait edge on my facial hair.

Once done that, he worked my shoulders a bit, tossed an arm at a time over his shoulder and worked each of those too. Kinda like it was in an old barber shop from back in the day, it was pretty cool. Finally he used the paintbrush to brush the hair off of me and whipped off the sheet covering me. And I have to say I am dam impressed. I can’t say I have ever had a better hair cut. He worked as a barber in his country for who knows how long, and was really good, and proud of what he did. And the kicker is he only wanted 6 bucks for the whole deal! Something like that would have cost me 30 back in the states.

He quickly hid everything back in its place and I was on my way. I have to say I was a pretty crazy experience, and one definitely worth mentioning.

These Hindi guys have really taken a liking to me, and have brought me into there world, there is a lot of cool stuff behind the senses here that most people don’t know about. I will have a picture of my new cut on here soon.

Pre-Haircut

Friends & Food

2008-07-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

I have been getting to know the SCWs more and more. They have me eat lunch with them. The Indian food they have is really good! Some of it they make themselves, some is from their bosses. They introduced me to "Cha-bat-ee" which is awesome. They also eat some yellow sauce thing with rice that is really good. They love when I eat with them, they always insist that I sit and eat or hang out with him.

I have started to try and learn Hindi, the language is hard, but I am getting it slowly. I can say "hello", and ask how someones day is going, and answer them. I can also say "yes", "no", and "thank you". I enjoy learning a new language when I am actually going to use it on a daily bases, and that makes it easier too. On the other hand I have been trying to learn some Arabic, which is even harder. I visit a man who works on base but lives outside the wire. He brings in pretty much whatever you need, and sells it to you for cheap. I get dress shirts from him for around 10 bucks a piece, which I think is a good deal. I ware an XXL in Iraqi size. They are pretty small people. I hope to get a picture with my buddy to show everyone back home. He is very funny and friendly.

Today I found out the one person in the group from Nepal actually lives at the base of Mt. Everest. Not only that but he has worked as a guide for the trek to the top! He has seen the top of Mt. Everest numerous times. I think that is really bad-ass! It blows my mind. I jokingly said "I visit you at your house" and he go all excited and would love it if I came to his village. I might have to do that! The SCWs are pretty amazing people.

Today I have also been assigned the task of visiting a few of the DeFacts (Dinning Facilities) on a daily bases to make sure they keep they keep hazardous materials out of the food prep area. I have worked in kitchens before, but have never seen anything like this. The place is packed and everyone is running around getting food ready very quickly. The massive amount of food that is used every day at one DeFact boggles my mind. They cook like 50-60 stakes at once, chop fruit by the barrel full, and peal boiled eggs by the basket full. I hope to get on the good side of the people in charge there that way I might be able to get some raw seafood to take by to my hooch and grill. They have times where they have lobster tail on the menu, I'd love to get my hands on a few of them. My mom sent me "Ol' Bay" and I'd love to cook with it.

I am burning all the videos and pictures I have taken and sending them home today. I got in trouble for using to much internet. They don't want people to use over a certain bandwidth and Collegehumor got the best of me the other day. I hope that once Ashley gets them she can post them in a photobucket for everyone to see. I hope all is well at home, and thank you for the people to read this, it is nice to know someone enjoys this.

Andrew

SCWs-Sub- Contract Workers

2008-07-14T01:39:00.001-07:00

Here on camp, at almost every department, we have sub-contract workers. Most of them are from Eastern Asia; places like India, Nepal and Tibet. They work for either Kulak, or PPI. Each department has a few, or more, that do the grunt work of the jobs. Many of them do the skilled labor to, like working on trucks and doing carpentry work. They range in age from 18 to 40, but none older then that. You might have two guys working together doing the same job and one of them is a convict and the other has a PHD. And everyone seems to get along.

They kind make around 500 bucks a month, which might sound like a little, but is really good pay to send back home. They tell me that 500 bucks is enough to live for about 6 months without working. One of the guys who has been here for 3 years has bought a house for his whole family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, in-laws, and everyone’s kids and they don’t even have to work. I would be like if I made 20 grand a month.

I have taken a interest in the guys so they seem to have taken on in me. I go to the makeshift, hole-in-the-wall, break room they have and hang out with them. They don’t eat the same place I do, there company provides meals that they bring to the worksite. They like to share their food with me and explain what they eat back home. They like to think about food back home like I do. The food the company provides isn’t good so I bring them things like milk and snacks from the dinning area for them. They like milk but don’t seem to get it form there company.

The guys are really friendly and nice; they call me “boss” which is something I am not used to. In there culture they never see, let alone talk to their boss, he is like an office high up and a middle man delegates what he says. So it is a little odd for them to interact with the boss, although they like it. However, they don’t like when I do work. If they see me lifting or moving anything, they immediately run over and say, “No no boss, I get this, it ok, I will handle it.” They often insist that I give them the keys to my truck because it is dirty. They take it down to the fuel point and fill it up, then drive it to the wash-rack and detail it for me, they don’t take no for an answer.

They are hard workers, and enjoy work. No matter what job they are given they are determined to be the best at it, master any task. It could be sorting trash or being a security guard, they take their job very seriously. I respect them, but God forbid they ever start coming to the US in large number, the Mexicans would be out of work, let alone most of US workers.

They are really good at there jobs. They had some of them picking up trash around parking lots when they noticed some US workers having trouble with their truck. They Indian guys fixed it better then any US worker could with all the tools in the world. Many of the Indians worked on cars and generators back home, but since they don’t have replacement parts they can pretty much rebuild or make any parts they need. They can do impressive things with tools. So they have started putting the workers in areas that they excel at, which is working out awesome. Like I said before I am impressed. To be truthful they are harder workers then most of the US workers here.

Interesting People and Places

2008-07-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, but for the first time in my life I am gaining weight. It seems that the food here might be too good. I have been told the food is very high in calories and very high in carbohydrates because that is what a soldiers body demands when this physically active. However, that is not a great diet for someone who sits at a desk and drives around a truck all day. So to battle this I have started to work out. I run about 3 miles and do a 40 min weight lifting. I hope to do more once my body gets used to working out. I am filling out nicely, not so scrawny anymore.

That aside, I have come across some cool things and people while here. I had the chance to talk to a Srilankan bus driver while waiting for my truck to be worked on. After talking to him for no more then one minute, he asked me if I was from Pennsylvania, which I thought was a odd. How the heck did he know? He told me he could tell by the way I talked that I was probably from there. I don’t know if I could have picked out a PA accent, and he has never even been to the US. He then asked me, “What ever happened to the red Indians, do they still have wild tribes in your country?” Which was a question I wasn’t expecting and it was more then a little bit hard to answer. I wasn’t sure what he knew about the Native Americans let alone what the US Government did to them. So I explained that they are still around but integrated, for the most part, into our culture.

And the coolest thing on base. A few days ago James, a co worker, took me to an area outside of the garbage incinerators. He took me over to what looked like a really crappy cement pad with a 1 inch PVC pole sticking out of a 20 inch hole. The hole was covered by an old garbage can lid. We removed the garbage can lid to find the busted open opening. It wasn’t a manhole or entryway; it was a smashed open spot of an underground container. Inside was crude oil filled to the brim. The pole was around 12 feet down into the stuff. When I pulled the pole in and out of the hole I could feel sand at the bottom of the pit. Perplexed, I asked James what was with this. Why would there be crappy underground container of crude oil here? He explained to me this is what Saddam did to hind certain items. He would put whatever at the bottom of the container, cover it with sand, and then fill it with crude oil. So there could be, Goodness knows what, at the bottom of an oil pit here on base? He said, “yep, and the military wants no part in it, for some reason they just ignore it.”

I personally would love to drain out the dam thing and see what is at the bottom of the pit! Who knows what could be down there. I later found out these pits are all over the country and everything from stacks of gold bars to guns are found in it. Some even connect to large underground tunnel systems. That is pretty awesome! Maybe one of these nights I’ll sneak over the vacuum truck and do a little investigation.

Greed

2008-07-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Money changes people here, it had it’s sights on me before I came to my senses.

Living here on base is like the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. It is pretty much the same 12 hours every day seven days a week; the same sights, the same people, the same food, the same everything. People tend to forget why they are here, consumed by their paystub. Many times when I ask people, “how long have you been working here?” They have to think or second guess themselves because they really don’t remember. Because every day of life here is the same as the last, time just isn’t a priority anymore. It isn’t about the money; it’s ALL about the money.

Like I said before KBR isn’t a heartless company, you get paint holidays, vacation, sick leave and if someone in your family is hurt and they send a Red Cross message, they will pay you for the time you go home to visit them.

What gets me is, people turn almost all of this down. When you take these paid days off you “only” get paid your salary, no over time is added to your pay. For some reason this bothers people. “I can’t take a day off, I’ll lose money.” Granted you do loose a lot of money when you take paid leave, but if you really think about it, big whoopdy doo. An employee like myself makes around 378.13 bucks a day. If I take paid leave off that goes to 203.13 bucks a day. For some reason people are so worried about that 75 bucks they don’t take off and complain about losing it if they have to take paid days off for training.

If you were working at home, people complain about working on the weekends, but once you pay them enough, they complain about having to take a weekend.

I almost fell into this line of thinking. I have the opportunity to take July 4th off, I thought to myself, “I’m not doing that, I’ll lose 75bucks.” Then I got to thinking, “so what?” 75 dollars to me was about what I made in a week back home, I make that in a few hours here and I will still be banking 203bucks anyway. It is so easy to fall into the money hungry lifestyle. I am glad I caught myself early. I am going to make around 100,000 dollars this year, why be worried about a few thousand off that if the best Id do at home after college will be 40,000?

I hear the same story over and over again, “well I was only going to work here one year, but I couldn’t turn it down.” A lot of people here have alienated themselves from friends and family for what? A few extra bucks? People come over here to make a better life for themselves back home, but they make this their life.

That will NOT be me, I have a plan, and I am sticking to it.

Irish Genetics

2008-06-27T22:30:00.001-07:00

Irish genetics/genes defiantly were not made for this environment. I haven’t gotten sunburned yet and surprisingly I have gotten somewhat tan. It is a farmer’s tan but a tan none the less. The real harsh part for me so far is how dry it is here. I have never had a nose bleed in my whole life and it bleeds here everyday. The blood doesn’t run out but it is so dry that it cracks and leaves giant scabs that make the inside of your nose crusty and hard to breathe tough. It would be like having a bunch of frosted flakes stuck in your nose. I figured out if I coat my nose with Neosporin or Vaseline it helps out, so I can deal with that.

The heat is the second part messing me up. It is so hot, that it smells hot. The funny thing is that because it is so dry you really don’t feel yourself sweat which is nice, but dangerous at the same time. I hope to get a picture of me holding a thermometer one of these days, it has been getting around 117 out and they tell me that isn’t as bad as it is going to get. Getting in and out of my truck is a pain. The inside feels hotter then an oven and leaving your windows down doesn’t even help with how bright the sun is. It is so hot that you can’t touch anything, they have contest to see how long people can hold there hand on the hood of the trucks, I can’t last more then 2 seconds, it feels like I’m holding a log pulled from a camp fire.

I am getting used to it though, and it isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everything is air-conditioned which helps out A LOT.

On the flip side of things, I bought a TV the other day. It is pretty sweet. A 19” flat screen one. It is some off shore brand but ran me, with a DVD player, about 200 bucks. It has been an awesome investment. I have the whole series of scrubs on DVD and it helps pass the time and created nose in my hooch besides just the AC unit. Although while hooking it up I made the mistake of plugging in the wal-mart power strip I got from my mom into the wall, it just about exploded in my hand. I figured being a power strip it could handle 220V. It knocked out the power in me and my roommates place and was more then just a simple switch of the breaker. I had to stay up to like midnight waiting for a guy to come around and fix it which made the next day kind of rough.

One more thing, sorry this is so long, I downloaded a program called Skype, everyone needs to get it. It lets you call computer to computer for free and it even has a webcam feature. I can also use it to chat. It is very well put together. My name on it is:

AndrewPBentley1

Once you get it look me up. I really wanted to keep these shorter, sorry for the long windedness

The picture is of me and my Cousin John in Baghdad in front of one of Saddam's palaces. Click it to see it bigger

Vacum truck

2008-06-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty good day. It started off with me overlooking a work crew out back that have been send over from the labor department to move drums around that are out back so we can inventory them. It is sad at first seeing these foreign nationals do this hard work in the sun, but they are making excellent money for what they are doing. It would be like if I was making 150k a year to them. They work here around 5 years and then go home, buy a house and retire with their family.

After that was done I asked Patrick to take me over to the Iraq Bazzar. It is a big tent set up in camp were Iraqis sell goods, well pretty much just dvd's. Copyright laws don't really mean anything here and I have never seen movies and such for so cheap. I bought seasons 1-7 of Scrubs for 20 bucks. Movies were like 2 bucks and you could get ones that aren't out yet. They also have a crap load of anime, stuff you cant find in the states. They had whole series of it. Tonight I am going to buy a nice tv and dvd player so I can take advantage of this. I could catch up on tv series I missed out on in the states. I bought the scrubs DVD, I want to buy the "samurai shampoo" one next, and they even have "Death Note" (for you geeks out there that know what I'm talking about. I am going to have to buy a lot to bring home, you can't get this stuff back home.

Finally before the day was done, we got to take the vacuum out to suck out some tanks. The vehical is awesome, it is a Benz and giant, I hope to have some pictures soon. It has a bed in the cab and everything. It was fun to ride in, the hmmvs look like Hondas. I took video that I will be sending home soon.

Today was a good day, I can't wait to get my TV and what not set up, it's going to be Awesome.

Andrew

Computer

2008-06-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't written in a while, I haven't had computer access until now. Today I got a brand spanking new HP laptop issued to me, It is pretty freaking sweet.

That isn't the only thing I have been issued. I ended up with a nice F350 full cab pickup truck with an extended bed and a lift gate. I think it is a 2005 model, it is almost brand new. Almost no one on base has their own truck, I am very lucky my job requires it. Otherwise I would have to take a bus around base. This way I can go were I want after work, and explore.

I have been on base now for 11 days, and time is flying by. I have to say I am set back by how large this base is. It is 30 square miles and each acre has something going on, on it. They have a movie theater here, that is free! I saw the incredible Hulk the other night, pretty cool experience being one of 15 people in the entire theater not holding an m16. It is nuts seeing black hawk helicopters on the screen and then see them fly over when you walk out after the movie.

I am impressed with the environmental consciousness of the base. To be truthful I though my karma was going to have to take one for the team for this job. Everything, and everyone is held accountable for their action on base. I reported to a spill the other day that was less then 3 gallons of acid, no one would have even bothered in the States for that. I figured they were digging big holes to dump trash and oil in and then covering it up. Instead they go though every piece of trash here by hand a recycle everything that can be recycled. Once everything is out, they toss it into an incinerator that has emissions tracking equipment on it. This base is cleaner, and has stricter regulations then most of the United States.

The weather isn't as bad as I thought it would be, 110 feels like 110, but 100 feels like 70 when compared. It is a nice day when it is 100. My truck also has kickass AC so it makes driving around nice.

My job, my job entails driving around to my list of departments and looking at their hazardous waste/hazardous storage areas to make sure they are up to par with the standards set for them. If someone isn't compliant, I just tell them, I don't get them in trouble. The QAQC(quality assurance quality control) department gives out the punishment, I just consult people on how they should do things. Other then that, if someone spills any materials on the ground that could be harmful to the environment I am called on my radio to go check it out. I deem how it is to be cleaned up and call for digging permits and heavy equipment on my radio. I don't do the cleaning, I tell them how they have to clean up. All and all the job isn't to bad, 12 hours a day is kinda hard.

I am very much looking forward to coming home in October! It will be nice to see fall in Chester County again.

Keep it real guys, sorry it took so long to put this up.
Andrew B.

Hey Guys!

2008-06-17T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been on here, I dont have a computer yet. I am doing better then well, this job is going to be nice. I love the work but I can't wait to come home for RR. I'll be writing more once I get a computer, untill then, know I doing well.

Andrew

Texas

2008-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have been in Texas now for a week; it is an odd environment down here. I was a bit scared down here at first; I am definitely out of my element. The weather is nice and the sky is always blue, however, it isn’t very green, and the food is subpar. This is a realization from looking at what has been fed to me from the KBR catered food staff. I have seen, however, the idea that they like to eat gravy and cheese on everything. Grits is also something I have heard about but never saw enjoyed.

The people here are very nice, but I have to run because the computer line is getting longer.

I leave for Dubai on Tuesday and will be in Iraq by Friday if everything works out smooth.

Today Is the Day.

2008-06-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well here I go, today I get on an airplane for Texas. I am slightly worried, I called my recruiter and he hasn't been with KBR for almost two weeks now. I really hope that when I get to the airport that my ticket number is valid. Also, Harsh thunderstorms the entire length between Philly and Texas. Its going to be a hell of a ride.

Andrew B.

5 days

2008-05-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

It is a matter of 5 days before I leave for Texas. I am very excited, however the more I talk to people about the trip, the more I worry. Not about my trip or my safety, but how ignorant most people are. How easily they fall into propaganda, and government ploys.

I hear things like "so you are headed to the worlds largest sandbox"..."They should just bomb that whole place, its a shithole anyway"..."they all should die" and "sorry you have to be around those sand nig***s." How sad it is that time hasn't changed. During WWII the U.S. Government portrayed the Japanese as mice like creatures who were inherently evil.

I know Iraq will be hot as hell, and very sunny. But let us not forget it is the birthplace of civilization. Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers. It is where the modern number system comes from, and the first written tablets are found. And not to mention that, guess what, Jesus is from the middle east. Not Iraq, but a stone throws away. Does that make Jesus a sand ni***r?

I feel ashamed and sorry how ignorant some people in this country are.

However... I am very excited to get on my way, and can't wait to see everyone that I can before I leave. Thank you everyone!

Push Back

2008-05-18T10:43:00.001-07:00

Well KBR messed up a bit and now my leave is pushed back until the first. My background check expired since I did it and I had to redo it. I am happy I will be able to spend more time here, but I was really excited to go. I now have a bit more time to do things I was going to do on the plane, like paper work and possibly cutting my own hair. I hope to get on my way soon.

o yeah, I got an awesome hat as a gift for my trip! A Tilley hat if you have ever heard of those.

Last day of school for a year.

2008-05-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well today was the last day of school for probably a year. It was a really good feeling to be done. However, saying goodbye to people I most likely wont see for a year, was rough. I just want to thank everyone for being so nice and supportive with me leaving. I can tell people really care about me, and that makes me happy (sorry for sounding sappy).

So now I have 8 days left until I leave, and in these 8 days I have about 100 days worth of stuff to do. Most importantly visiting people before I leave. I hope to see you all in the next few days! I am leaving for Pittsburgh on the 11th for 4 days, and have to get my car ready before then.

This is enough for one entry, thank you everyone for your support and help. You know who you are.

School is almost over

2008-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Two days of school left, and a lot of school work still to do. I can't wait for it to be over. Also, the leave date is coming up fast, I am very nervous and excited. It is going to be a blur from here till the 18the before I leave, just about every day has something scheduled. This is going to be a crazy 20 days~

Andrew.

Start

2008-04-21T21:23:00.001-07:00

This is hopefully one of many blogs here. My name is Andrew B and I headed for Iraq. I will be there for a year to work as a Environmental tech. I will be leaving for Huston, TX May 18 for a physical and safety training. After that I will be going to Dubai for additional training before being flown onto LSA Anaconda where I will be working four months at a time. As of right now I am buying clothes and equipment for the year, saying my goodbyes and finishing up my eighth semester at West Chester University.
The purpose of this blog is to let all my friends and family know that I am still kickin' and to give my perspective of what it is like to live on a military base, in a war zone, in a desert.