One Year in Iraq

Sense of Accomplishment

I finally did it. I completed my half pipe, and only 1 month before I leave Iraq. It took a lot longer to build than I expected. I am covered with scrapes, holes, and bruises, but all my appendages are still intact. The ramp is 24ft long and 66 inches wide. It is made completely out of reconstituted wood, stuff that has been used before. I had to remove a few hundred nails just so I could use the wood. It will be a parting gift of sorts for the Marines. Need to go home from Iraq? Just ride Brian's ramp till you break something. Here is a little video I made of the project. It was a lot of fun. The volume is a little loud on the video. You might want to turn it down before you press play.

It's not in the credits but the song was 'Beyond the Blinders' by Death by Stereo. I am almost out of here. I cannot wait to get home. It has been a looooong year for sure. If you pray, do so for my safe travels home. Nothing like a last minute rocket to ruin your day.

Happy B-Day USMC!

The Marine Corp turned 232 years old this week. To celebrate they had cake and beer. It was the one time during the year that the Marines were allowed to drink alcohol while deployed. I almost missed out on the festivities due to having to go to Baghdad again. Luckily, the Air Conditioner in my room decided to nearly start an electrical fire, thus causing me to postpone my trip.

At first I didn't even know they were having a celebration. I went to lunch as usual and noticed that they had beer there. I inquired as to what you had to do to get a beer and was told that those who were authorized were given tickets. I felt ripped off. Nobody gave me a ticket or even told me that there was going to be beer available. It is not that big of a deal being that I usually only drink about twice a year any way. It was more a fact of having something available and not being able to take advantage of it. Luckily the Marines I work with came to the rescue. They picked up there own supply of tasty beverages and invited me over to join in their celebratory activities.

Cpl. Ayres and Myself with my Guinness

I got a Guinness, being it is the only beer I can stand to drink. I am a super light weight drinker and started slurring my speech after about half a beer. There were some left over beers, so they had a round of Marine Corp history trivia to help distribute them.

It was amazing to hear how enthusiastically these Marines new their history. It is the only service I know of that seems to take so much pride in their heritage. It is really admirable.

There was also the celebratory Hookah. It resembles a bong of sorts, but is totally drug free. They smoke a fruity type of tobacco that smells really good. The cake was great and the beer was a nice treat. Much thanks to the Marines for sharing their Birthday with me.

Opinion

There is a large water tower on FOB Ramadi. I have had dealings with this water tower in the past and you can read my old blogs if you want to know more about those dealings. Suffice it to say it has been a rough relationship. Part of the charm of this water tower is that it has become a public canvas of sorts. There are a few pieces of graffiti as well as some paintings of some of the unit insignias for some of the units that have been here. I am not sure as to whether or not people obtained permission to paint the water tower. For the graffiti I am pretty sure that it is not the case.

Ramadi Water Tower

There was one person who painted a not so nice word on the water tower and a few days later it was buffed over. In the states it would definitely be illegal to use a public water tower to express ones self artistically. That I am aware of, there is no explicit rule or regulation that prohibits painting on the water tower, or any other surface for that matter. They even allow you to climb up it if you want, just don't take any pictures of the base is all they ask. The question I have for all of YOU is what do you think about people painting on the water tower? In light of being in a war zone, it is probably an insignificant thing, but I am curious to see what people think none the less. Here are a couple pictures of the artwork/vandalism.

Much Needed Break

I got the lovely opportunity to attend my 10 year High School reunion. Since I grew up in Hawaii, there was no way I was going to miss it. I spent a lot of time leading up to going trying to track down old friends I have lost contact with over the years. I found a few, but not all. I hoped the ones that were playing hard to find would show up at the reunion and make the process much easier.

I was supposed to arrive on Thursday and then fly out the following Sunday evening. The reunion events took place on Friday evening through Sunday morning. This would have given me lots of opportunity to visit with old friends and still make it to the reunion events. Unfortunately, I ended up getting stuck in Iraq for a couple extra days and had to push my trip back. I was able to make it to the Saturday event, but then spent the rest of the time running around visiting as many people as I could. I should have known better than to try to do all this in just three days. I did meet up with a lot of friends and was grateful for the chance to catch up. There were still a few that I couldn't track down and who didn't show up at the reunion. The reunion was a really good time. We had a lot of laughs, they gave away a lot of prizes, and the food was awesome too(At least compared to eating Iraq cafeteria food for 8 months). I made sure that I went into the ocean while I was there, even though it was only for five minutes. I also made a quick hike up diamond head, just long enough to take some cool pictures and then ran back down.

Trying to Remember the Alma Mater

Hawaii felt a lot different this time through. My 'pigeon' accent returned, but it was very diminished from what it once was. I stayed in a hotel and got a rental car, which was a big change. Usually I would crash at a friends house and catch the bus everywhere. I hate to admit it, but I think I have fallen for the mainland. Hawaii has the best food and the greatest beaches and some of the greatest people. The pace of life there is extremely relaxing too. In spite of all of that, it still didn't feel like home. I would choose it over Iraq in a heartbeat though.

View of Honolulu from Diamond Head

I got to stop off in DC for a little layover on the way back. I got to go on a date while I was there. We went to a cute little Indian restaurant called the Ambassador near John Hopkins in Baltimore. It was refreshing to get dressed up and to have a nice night on the town. I got a rental car for my DC trip too. My initial options were minivan, minivan, or for $20 extra I could upgrade to a luxury car. I upgraded. They gave me a nice little Chrysler 300. This was a nice addition to the date as well.

Date Night

My daughter Madelyn will be moving with her mom to Texas soon. She was still in Virginia while I was traveling so I was able to visit with her too. I am amazed at how fast she is growing up. Even from the last time I saw her three months ago, she seems to have changed so much. She is talking like a champ and is very intelligent. She is still as stubborn and independent as ever, but that is her personality. She was a joy to be around and I miss her incredibly.

Madelyn the Cutie

Only a little less than three months to go. I cannot wait.

Been Here Too Long...

I went on my first organized run in Iraq this week. I had to make a trip to Baghdad to do the usual pick up and drop off gear routine. When I got there a couple of the guys said they were going to the Air Force's 60th Birthday Run. I decided to join them. When we arrived there were quite a few people there. Oddly enough, there seemed to be more army people there for the Air Force run then Air Force. When I think about, it is more logical then it seems. Air force people are not well known for running and the base we were on was mainly Army. They had two running options, a 6.0K and a 6.0 mile. The 6.0 to signify the 60th birthday thing, kinda cheesy but whatever. I did the 6.0 K and came in around 32 mins. I had a killer side pain, having not drunk quite enough water before the run. Unfortunately they didn't give out t-shirts just little Air force 60th birthday pins. It was a great time and I hope to do it again.

Ramadi Sunrise

Here is a list of things that might indicate that you have been in Iraq too long:

• You start picturing your wife in traditional Arab dress
  
• You drink the water from the tap because you want to drop 20 pounds in two weeks


• You can put your body armor and helmet on in the dark in under 5 seconds
  
• When you actually get excited to get a package that contains 3 pair of socks, 12 bars of soap and a Victoria Secret Catalog
  
• You make the new guy show you his count down timer just to make you feel better about your time you have left in country
  
• You forget there are other colors than brown that can be found in places other than power point slides
  
• The temp drops down to 102 degrees and you shiver while reaching for your polar fleece.
  
• When, During the BUA, "DIV asked MNSTC-I for the FRAGO that MNC-I was supposed to publish, but couldn't because MNF-I hadn't weighed in, since they were too inundated with MOD and MOI war-gaming the JCCs within the ISF to square us away!" is a valid comment and generates no questions.
  
• When you end every phone conversation with "Out"
  
• When the weapon buyback program has become so successful that you have issued the same AK-47 to the Iraqi army 3 times
  
• When you can actually tell the difference between the sound of an exploding car and an exploding mortar
  
• When on R&R you go to Church and wonder why no one is wearing body armor or carrying an automatic weapon to the service
  
• You see an indirect fire attack take out a generator and get angry at the enemy for not hitting the one that powers your work computer
  
• You see an indirect fire attack take out an air conditioner and your vigor to fight is renewed
  
• You decide that it is a better course of action to pull your blankets over your head than put on your body armor during a mortar attack - the woobee will save you and at least you are comfortable
  
• You go to a social gathering and intermittent gun fire or explosions don't even cause a pause in the conversation


• My personal one: You have a preference for the kind of dirt you use to fill your chow entrence fee sandbags.

BBoy Bbux

The first group of Marines I worked with are gone. They were some really good people to work with and gave me a much better image of the Marine Corp. They will be missed. Somehow word got out that I had experience in the area of Break Dancing (properly known as bboying). As a result it was demanded of me that I put on a performance for the marines that were leaving. I obliged and below is the video. I pulled a muscle in my leg and one in my back during the making of the video. I will leave up to you to figure out what the look on my face at the end of the video means.

I have a new group of people to work with and to get to know. In general it is a challenge for me to be sociable. Being in Iraq doesn't help. I have my own room that I can just go hang out in all day without interacting with anyone. I really need to stretch myself in this area. I hope the new group of Marines will provide opportunities for me to do so.

The above pile of wood is my future half pipe. I have been slowly scrounging wood for a few months now. Last week I hit the jack pot and got just about all the wood I will need. All I need now is a few sheets of ply wood and I will be good to go. That and a new skateboard, being that I kinda sorta broke the first one. (Helium is not as strong as I thought it was).

People send out some random things in care packages. The item pictured above is no exception. It is a collapsible Pirates of the Caribbean container. It was sent to someone else, but they didn't want it, so I snatched it up. I knew I wanted it, I just didn't know why or what for. I finally got the idea to turn it into a laundry basket. It is both practical and highly decorative. I don't think I will turn my whole room in a Pirates theme, but it would be cool.

Four months to go. I like the sound of that.