Let's see did my laundry last night around 11pm....finally got to sleep. Had to get up at 3:30 to see if I could get a flight. Well I did. Had to get stuff and then wait in a holding tent till 7am. Next came the bus ride to the - Business Class C-130 (NOT). The plane was a Japanese C-130 and no one spoke much English... We eventually took off (about 30 of us- civies and soldiers) - it was an unbelievable flight....smooth as silk. Other soldiers said best flight they ever had. Got lucky no spiral decent. Landed a t Baghdad militay airport called BIAP. Then it fell apart again, and of course it was darn hot. Had to wait for OSS to finally come and get me (1.5 hr wait) - we went to eat (thats always very good food)....then they took me to the Liberty Pad around 12noon. Had to wait again and finally was to leave at 4PM......my first BLACHAWK copter ride. It was sweet. Wish I could have taken pictures as I fly over Baghdad. Some very beautiful mosques, but alot of destroyed buildings as well.
Landed around 4:50pm and had to wait again till 6:30pm for some one to get me. Then we drove to the BMAR compound. Lot's guards. British in charge of security (with Iraqi's) at our compound. The hospital is directly across the street, guarded by americans and koreans I think, and Iraqi's. Security is tight every where - have or will get 4 more ID's....always need them to get anywhere.
Dining hall here is fabulous, can't believe the quality and quantity of the food. And can eat 4 times per day. Havent seen the other places will tomorrow cause its the Iraqi's Sunday - Raimada I think is how it's spelled. Most of them dont work.
The compound is not very nice...needs lot's work, last company didnt do much at all as far as I can tell. My trailer is very nice. Cement barriers all around, have a hard bunker outside if needed. Pictures to follow. Small living room, TV, DVD (500 TV channels), teany tiny kitchen (no stove), nice bedroom (king bed) and very small bathroom. The bed had a net thing like in africa over it....for show no bugs.
Have to drink tons and tons of water constantly cause of the heat. Outside for 15minutes and you need 2 quart refill...
My counter part is Leo he is from Colorado, nice guy. Our tranlator is Mo (short for Mohammed) - he's OK. Frankly they all are very nice - most don't like the terrorist cause they have shot some of the workers here in the past (when they went home). Now most stay in IZ in housing to be safe. It's the least we can do for there help. They get paid peanuts compared to US but its great money for them here. Again I will get pictures later.
Tomorrow I will tour the hospital....it's mostly for emergency cases. Saw copters in today and the wounded (soldiers) were a sight. The doctors were thick as flies, unbelievable care. No losses today here at any rate. Enough of that.
Guess what they kept talking about a meeting tonight....finally found out it was for POKER...and drinks. It's a dry country and Gen Order 1 is NO BOOZE.....several officer and non-coms plus us are playing in the compound. It's a weekly meeting:-). Small stakes and dont play late.
As of now no attacks today....yesterday there were some (the Welcome Wagon - I suppose). But all's well so far.
That's it for now - Only 361 more days to go.
Hope someone is reading these :)
CYA LATER
5 comments:
Hi Brian,
This is all your good friends at Good Sam. We are hooked on your blog as it is very interesting , sounds like it is going okay besides it being very very hot and your delay getting into Baghdad. We will keep in contact with you, Let us know if you want us to send you anything from the great city of Cincinnati !
Take Care,
Kerri
Jackene was not sure how to post a comment so I have pasted her's from email,
Jackene Writes :
We are definitely getting the impression that it is extremely hot there and that it is a challenge to keep up with your fluids. I can’t imagine the dust. I just watched “Jarhead” last weekend. They did an excellent job portraying how hard it was to see with all the sand storms etc. That was further complicated by it raining oil when they set the wells on fire in the 1st Gulf War.
We miss having you around. There was a guy in your office the other day. Don’t know if he was your replacement or someone from corporate.
Take care,
Jackene
Hi Brian,
Enjoying reading your blog. What an interesting trip. I guess it's hot there?? Are the trailer accommodations permanent? If so, it sounds nice - but all trailers do have small bathrooms! If you get a chance go to www.pahfest.com and www.pahnation.com to see some of the videos from the film festival. We're recovering slowly from all the work. It was great that Jason had a chance to come to Madonna Magazine and see Elmore Leonard. He was a great speaker and seems like a nice guy. Chuck and I went out to dinner with Tina yesterday at Applebee's. Stay safe. Looking forward to reading more about your new adventure. Pat
Glad to hear that you finally made it to Baghdad after a long and arduous journey. Adam would prefer if you would call helicopters "birds" or "heli's" or maybe even "choppers." He was a bit confused by the word "copter." If you are going to be in a deployment area you will need to learn the military lingo ;)
I don't think you are going to go hungry. Adam said that the food there is always very good, all-you-can-eat surf-n-turf, things like that. Probably a lot better than the MRE's that he had to eat while sleeping under his vehicle (or on top). Your trailer doesn't sound too bad either. Some more words of wisdom from Adam - you should sleep under the net since the sand flies carry lots of diseases.
We like reading your blogs, so keep them coming. It lets us know how you are doing, what you are doing and where you are. Drink lots of water. We can't wait to see some pictures of your trailer.
Nothing exciting going on here. Same old routine. Take care and we love and miss you.
Dad, you're gonna become an internet celebrity in no time. Definitely work on the lingo. Give us that realistic, gritty feel. Can't wait to see pictures of your set-up and your work. Get some more names, too. I'm sure you're gonna have a thousand stories so you better peeter out with the blogging! Take care!
Sheesh, look at all the people! i didn't know you knew so many! Heh, but pay attention the rules. On the basis of 'cutltural experience' you can have one alcoholic beverage PER mean. Ok? no getting drunk on the job! sheesh. Lol ... that is a good thing there are no attacks. Seriously. But a little action would be interesting - no .. bad. BAD! Uhh, if you take pictures try to get in them! WE NEED TO SEE YOU! SO we know that you aren't missin an arm or leg or nothing. Well if you are.... uh ...... WE MISS YOU! LUVZ!
Post a Comment