The team departed Baltimore late on the 18th headed to Kuwait for training. We met up with our active duty counterparts at Rhein Main Air Base before flying through Aviano AB, Italy and on into Kuwait. We landed in Kuwait about 1 AM (0100) on the 20th. The cool evenings when we arrived (90 degrees) had us fooled; by 0730 it was well over 100 and by mid-day about 120. That, combined with the humidity and the wind from the coast, makes it feel much hotter. Sort of like sticking your head in the oven when you check on the cookies...
Over the next week, we processed through Camp Doha, Camp Beurhing, and Udari Range for training and then on to Ali Al Salem Air Base to wait for trans to Iraq. As is typical we spent much of our time performing �wait� training in true Army style. Our motto this week is �Sleep �til you�re hungry, then eat �til you�re tired.� We spent two nights out in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert in a tent with porta potties eating MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat)�yumm! The training was mostly a repeat of what we did in VA (close quarters marksmanship and convoy procedures); however, the class on IEDs (Improved Explosive Devices) was a real eye opener. We hope we never encounter one, but we are ready if we do.
26 Jul-1 Aug 05
After three tries at getting airlift (C-130), we finally got five of our team members into Ali Air Base on the 27th; the second five came in in the wee hours of the morning on the 28th and we have been drinking out of a fire hose, so to speak, ever since. The departing team truly established an exemplary operation as the Directorate of Public Works here at Camp Adder/Ali Air Base. Ali is about 6 mi SW of An Nasiriyah. Since this is a joint (Army and Air) and combined (US, Iraqi, and eight or so other nations) base, it is a real challenge to coordinate all the facilities� maintenance, repair, and construction issues. Things happen through extensive networking via Kellogg, Brown and Root, troop labor when available, and local and third country national construction efforts. We also have responsibility at several other off-base locations.
We are living in air conditioned tents and have access to all the basics (gym, chapel, BX (base exchange-kinda like a 7-11/mini-wal mart), e-mail access, etc). The dining hall has a pretty good variety of food so we aren�t going hungry. On the contrary, trips to the gym will be essential if we expect to stay in fighting shape! We did attend Combat Bingo on Fri night where we were indoctrinated (translated �set up�) by the previous team. We won�t sit in the middle of the room next time!
The ancient home of Abraham and the city of Ur are located on base with us along with the Ziggurat of Ur and other ancient ruins. See the link on our web site. We�ll post more pictures after we have a chance to make a field trip over to the area.
All in all, everyone is doing well. We�re a little overwhelmed with all we have to learn, but once we get up to speed, we plan to kick some serious butt.
2 � 7 Aug 05
We�re starting to get into a rhythm this week and are still learning the base and all the key players. The outgoing team finally departed on Mon. so we are now on our own. Several of our guys have been out to the Euphrates River where we have a pump that supplies all the water (other than drinking water) to the base. Some children were taking a break from the heat and tubing through the canal. Our guys handed out some backpacks stuffed with goodies that had been sent over by one of the churches in CO. Another couple of us have been to one of our forward locations that serve as a truck stop and re-supply point for trucks making their way up from Kuwait to parts north of us.
As the DPW, we are responsible for the planning and layout of the base, recommending who occupies which facilities, whether other missions can be accommodated here as we start to consolidate our forces in the country, and coordinate utility and facility maintenance, repair and construction whether done by the Army, Air Force or contractors. The Army Corps of Engineers is also based here and they are managing a huge program of reconstruction throughout the southern region of Iraq�power plants, water/waster water treatment plants, schools, police stations, etc.
Monday was our deputy, Buckeye�s, birthday and we presented him with a bluegrass CD and card at staff mtg. The week pretty much flew by. We generally work about 12 hour days Mon through Sat. The Army folks here work just about every day although the Air Force types only work about 5 � days. When the winds go out of limits or the dust kicks up there isn�t any flying and even some of the Army�s troop movements get slowed down. All of our Army colleagues here are great to work with/for�there is a great working relationship between all the units on the camp/base.
Friday night this week was movie night. We ordered pizzas from Pizza Hut (we have a Burger King trailer too as well as a cappuccino bar and pizzeria run by the Italians) and watched the first two episodes of Band of Brothers. Saturday night was another chance to relax as well. The Comics on Duty Tour was here and put on a great show with four really good comedians. Sunday we take mostly as a day of rest, catch-up, laundry, etc. Some of us come in to the office to do e-mail, call home and other good stuff.
8-14 Aug 05
OK, now all the days are starting to be the same. We�ve got a little better handle on our surroundings and how to accomplish our mission. In fact, we gave our first mission brief and tour of the base/facilities to an AF chaplain who came to visit us from Balad Air Base north of Baghdad. The days at the beginning of the week were a little cooler and then it was right back up to 120 by the end of the week. We had a few days of low visibility last weekend while Baghdad had those severe sandstorms. Because it is so flat here, we get some really beautiful sunsets.
Friday night, some of us went to Combat Bingo again and played a dice game called �12s� that the Chief has taught us to play. Either the dice are fixed (they�re Chief�s dice) or Chief is just really that good because he always wins. They also show movies under the stars on a giant screen (it gets down to 90 at night) three nights a week. Last night we saw some bats flying around.
Many people have asked what they can send us; candy and school supplies are always good to hand out to the children off base. We have most of the basic amenities here so we don�t really �need� anything. Although there isn�t much variety and eating in the dining hall three meals a day does get old, we really can�t complain when there are others in the country doing much more dangerous missions under much harsher conditions. We�re very thankful to be where we are. Thanks also to everyone for the cards and e-mails!
15-28 Aug 05
This has been a busy two weeks! We made several trips out to the various pump sites that bring water from the Euphrates River to our base as well as Camp Cedar, a refueling point that we service about 6 KM north of us. The area that surrounds Tallil is mostly open land that has Bedouin tents scattered around. The children run toward the road from their tents when our vehicles drive by. One of our folks almost hit a donkey in the road last week and another almost hit a camel this week. And we thought driving in the states was challenging!
Being close to the end of the fiscal year, we have been getting some money to do some smaller projects around the base. We do a lot of our projects through contractors from the local area. It has been a challenge lately to get the workers to show up. With the political situation in Iraq sometimes there are skirmishes in their towns and/or their lives and families are threatened by various insurgent elements. Much of our efforts this last week were spent preparing documents to advocate for funding for major upgrades to the infrastructure of this base. Everyone put in a lot of long hours this last week and really pulled together to make it happen.
We instituted a Warrior of the Week award for the person who makes a significant contribution to the team; last week�s award was won by one of our Army electricians on �loan� to DPW (nickname �005�) and this week�s award went to our teenager on the team, one of our engineering assistants (nickname �Junior�) for his great attitude and smiling disposition. Yes, he really is only 19.
Everyone has gotten into a great routine of going to the gym (have to work off those cookies and ice cream!) and we take a couple much-needed sanity breaks during the week to frequent the Italian-run cappuccino/pizza place. Hard to believe we�re already at the one month point!
29 Aug - 4 Sep 05
Well, what a sad week this has been, both in Iraq with the stampede and back at home. We are shocked and saddened by the tragic events in the Gulf Coast and wish we could be there helping instead of here. It is great to see the response from the National Guard though, and all the relief efforts as well as the support from around the world. Watching all this on TV does make you appreciate what you have.
Nothing too exciting happening here this week. After a month on the ground, we are now considered old hands and have a pretty good grasp on things. One of our goals is to leave this place better than we found it and to teach the Iraqi contractors we deal with about good, safe construction practices.
Friday night we continued our viewing of the Band of Brothers series. �Deacon� has joined the Gospel Praise Team playing the piano; they put on a fabulous gospel performance on Friday night as well. On Sunday, Falcon and Big Sarge had the good fortune to be invited to the Italian Camp for a traditional southern Italian feast to celebrate the change out of one of their brigades�we were so stuffed we couldn�t eat for two days. Who would have thought you could have such fabulous food out here in the middle of the dessert? The only thing that would have made the meal better, would have been to share some of the wine that was on the table. The Italians can drink while they are here, but the Americans are under a �no drinking� order. L Still, it was fun to spend time with our Italian friends; of course they speak better English than we do Italian.
A new link has been added to the web page called �Good Stuff Happening in Iraq� that shows a lot of the positive things that are going on with the military and the Iraqi people around the country. The �Ali Times� link on there is the base newspaper for our base. We also added some pictures.
This week�s warrior is �Sparrow��no smoking for two whole weeks!
5 � 11 Sep 05
Well, the temperatures have finally started to drop. The high is usually under 110 and a couple mornings have been a chilly 70 degrees. Brrrr. Who would have thought 100 degrees felt decent? It�s all a matter of perspective.
Another great week of work. The �Secret Squirrels� (our electricians), named for their scrounging abilities and because they work magic the rest can�t believe completed a big project to provide power out to some folks on the flightline that really needed it. Some of our Engineering Assistants even got into the act helping to pull wire.
We also have an interesting renovation project about to start. It will convert one of Saddam�s old aircraft shelters into some needed office/storage space for a couple units on base. The challenging part has been how to get the bats and the pigeons to give up their real estate so that we can occupy the facility!
Double H stepped into full time duties as a project inspector freeing up the engineers� time to focus on design of future projects.
One of the highlights of the week included a traditional Iraqi meal brought in to us by one of our contractors. It consisted of kebabs, chicken, home grown tomatoes and cucumbers, pickles, and rice, topped off with watermelon for dessert. He and his son also shared some lessons in Iraqi culture with us. He lives with his wife, six children and 22 other family members all in one house.
The work week ended with a rib and burger feast that the Squirrels brought back from a scrounging trip down to Kuwait to pick up some equipment for the pump sites. This and the ongoing work keeping the pump sites running, earned Lightening the Warrior of the Week award.
12 -24 Sep 05
The team is really humming now and doing good things for the base here. We have about $2M worth of projects under construction and another $10M in various stages of design and approval at higher headquarters. The hot project is completion of the base auditorium. It is a joint effort between troop labor from our AF counterparts, contract construction, and our own electricians.
Many of the AF folks here are on 4 month assignments so we have watched the entire AF group swap out. The new crew all seem really nice and we will spend the duration of our time now coordinating with them on some joint projects. Although we technically work for the Army, we still live in Bedrock, the AF tent city. The AF general who tracks us administratively for logistics and personnel support was here visiting last week and presented coins for superior performance to two of our electricians (Lightening and 005) and one of our project managers, Fender. We were also excited to see Fender promoted to Major.
Buckeye and Big Sarge made a visit out to one of the schools where they handed out school supplies and candy to the kids who have recently gone back to school. They also made a stop at the Euphrates River and handed out candy and soccer balls to the kids there.
As far as activities go, Deacon has joined the gospel choir and Double H and Junior can be found at the basketball court most evenings. Several of us still play �Twelves� once or twice a week and we�re wise to Big Sarge�s strategies so a few more folks have won. Billy Blanks of Tae Bo fame was here recently and did several workout sessions. We also wrapped up watching the final two episodes of Band of Brothers.
Warrior of the Week last week was Junior again for his work on the drawings for the shelter followed by Big Sarge this week for sneaking bread out of the dining hall every day to feed the birds at our office, and for his all around leadership by example.
24 Sep � 2 Oct 05
An action packed week here at Base Camp Adder. On Tuesday we had the great honor of receiving our Army combat patches from the First Corps Support Command (COSCOM), our Army higher headquarters at Balad Air Base. The patch is only awarded for combat service, but once awarded, can be worn indefinitely. See the link on the site for more information on the lineage of the 1st COSCOM.
We also took some time Friday morning to play tourist and went out to see the ruins from the ancient city of Ur. While the Ziggurat (the ancient temple dedicated to the moon god) is the most recognizable feature of the site, the most interesting is the underground tombs which are still in process of being excavated (about 1800 tombs have been discovered so far). The excavation isn�t currently active although the Iraq Department of Antiquities hopes to resume work in the next year. For more information on Ur, see the link on the main page.
We did actually do some work this week and have wrapped up efforts on the base auditorium. All of the projects we received funding for in the last several months were awarded before the end of the fiscal year on 30 Sep. Several projects also received approval and are now awaiting funding.
Friday night we had a get-together under the stars and palm trees at our DPW building with some of our fellow Civil Engineers also deployed here--the Air Force engineers, the Corps of Engineers, and us (AF engineers working for the Army). (The evenings are quite pleasant and almost dip down into the 60s.) There were plenty of near beers and cigars to go around.
Finally, this week also blessed us with a major glut of care packages. The record for one individual was three boxes. As if that wasn�t enough, one of our contractors brought in cakes and cookies in celebration of Fender�s promotion. Thanks to everyone for all the goodies!
Birthdays this week included Fender and next week, our teenager, Junior, turns 20! Warrior of the Week this week was Fender for getting promoted, throwing a party and giving us gifts of Iraqi dinar.
2 Oct � 16 Oct 05
A lot going on the last two weeks. We experienced a traditional Iraqi lunch of lamb (tastes like chicken!) and okra with a rice dish that had dates and raisins (and some other brown things?) in it. In celebration of our two month point, we did a pizza and movie night. The comedy was selected by our very own H2 who was selected for Warrior of the Week for that and his conscientious work as a full time construction inspector.
Last weekend we received quite a bit of year end funds to execute several more projects both here at our base and at one of the convoy support centers not far from here. These should keep us hopping for quite a while. Money could be tight again after this with support being diverted to the disasters back home.
The next couple months will be interesting as all the major Army units begin to swap out after their one year rotations. We�ve met a lot of great people and wish them all a safe journey home. Of course, we are now the continuity for the base as far as its� future development and growth. That�s a little scary.
Last Sunday one of the Army warrant officers we work with took us fishing at the on-base lake (our water source for the installation; comes in to us from the Euphrates River). Sad to say, we didn�t catch anything except a few mosquito bites. Falcon was probably a jinx; her family never catches anything in Colorado either.
As you can imagine, we have been gearing up for the elections all week and taking necessary precautions. Overall, things appear to have gone very smoothly and the Iraqi people turned out to vote, despite the threats to their safety. We�re very hopeful that the constitution was accepted and will be anxious to find out in the next several days. It�s exciting to be here at this most important time in the fledgling democracy of Iraq.
Hope everyone is enjoying the great fall days at home, and, for some, the snow in Colorado. It�s football season and the World Series is gearing up so life is good!
17-30 Oct 05
Iraqi Charter Ratified by Huge Margin!!! Words we are happy to hear. While not without sacrifice, this is a significant step toward democracy for the Iraqi people.
Another fast two weeks for the DPW staff. One of the Army Headquarters units that we work closely with has completed their RIP/TOA (Replacement in Place/Transfer of Authority) with their replacement unit. This starts the beginning of the rotations for all the Army units here as they complete their one year tours of duty. It�s sad to see all these folks depart after we�ve worked to build relationships and establish alliances. But it�s also an opportunity to make new friends.
Buckeye attended the RIP/TOA conference of our parent unit (TACON or Tactical Control) and briefed on the status of all our projects. The unit we are technically assigned to will be leaving soon and won�t be replaced. Hence, our official boss will be located a good distance away. The Army Combat Engineers have been great to work with and have accomplished so much for our base. A year ago, this base used to look like �the rodeo after everyone�s gone home� and now it has many comforts of a traditional base.
Last weekend we hosted our ADCON/OPCON (Administrative/Operational Control) HQ staff. We took them out to the Euphrates River and to visit the pump sites that bring water in to the base. We bumped into a couple of the local sheiks while we were there. They employ local workers to operate the pump sites and keep the canals clear of debris and are always anxious to show off their operations when we show up.
Several of us have made trips off base to some of the local schools in the last two weeks to hand out supplies and do some minor repairs and also to visit some of the Bedouins. There are some photos of our trips on the web site. We have decided to do a toy and clothing drive as part of our contribution to the locals and to get us into the holiday spirit. For more information on how you can help, see the flyer on the web site as well.
We closed the weekend with a Halloween costume ball at the Big Top. Some of us were even brave enough to wear costumes although none of us won the contest. There were also some casino type games and a pie in the face contest.
Warriors of the Week the last two weeks were Sparrow and Lightning. Sometime this week we will pass our halfway point. :)
Things have really been busy lately! We continue to say goodbye to many of our colleagues and to educate the newer folks coming in. After three months here we are the continuity and the �old� guys on the block. We are officially over halfway through our deployment and threw ourselves a party/picnic to commemorate the occasion. Big Sarge grilled steaks that we got from the DFAC (Dining Facility) and they were a big improvement from the overcooked shoe leather we usually eat. After gorging ourselves, a few of us engaged in a game of horseshoes and some basketball as well. It was a beautiful sunny day and we took the afternoon off.
Comics on Duty rotated through here again as well as the AF Reserve Generation Band which put on a great concert of pop, classic rock, and jazz tunes for us. We also held a get-together with our CE brethren on the AF side here (an excuse to drink fake beer and smoke cigars). Some of us stayed up until 2 AM the night AF fell to Army in football. :( Perhaps Army will beat Navy this year and take the Commander in Chief�s trophy.
We continue to get funding to do additional construction projects so that is keeping everyone productively employed. Big Sarge and Falcon made a trip up north for the change of command for our ADCON headquarters and visited the Directorate of Public Works as well as our sister Detachment at Balad. Fender and Senator are redeploying to the states, but Hunter and one other (call sign TBD) have joined our staff. Warriors of the Week the last two weeks�Big Sarge for the picnic planning and Deacon for his work with generators.
It�s hard to believe Thanksgiving is actually next week. It has been sunny and warm here until the last two days which have been cloudy with one short rain. We will certainly take some time over the next week to count our blessings and watch some football as well. Thanks for the support on our Toy and Clothing Drive!
16 Nov � 4 Dec 05
Wow, our Thanksgiving feast here was tremendous. The dining facility certainly went all out. We had turkey, ham, and roast pig with all the trimmings, stuffing, pumpkin and pecan pies we could eat. The displays and carvings would rival any that you would see on a cruise ship at the midnight buffet. We went to lunch as a group after attending a memorial ceremony in the morning for all the soldiers from this base that had lost their lost lives since the beginning of OIF. There were 47 names on the wall and the general we report to gave an inspiring speech. Several of the names on the wall were names of soldiers he lost over the last year.
We also put up our Christmas tree (courtesy of Carole from VA) at the office and have decorated our tents with lights so we are in a festive mood. The care packages have been rolling in so we have had to step up our workouts at the gym. Thanks for all the goodies! We are also making great strides on our toy and clothing drive; we are already up over 100 pounds! We�ll set up a trip to deliver everything after the holidays are over. Thanks again to everyone who has sent items in.
Our projects are all still going well and keeping us very busy. We continue to educate the new units and getting them on their feet, so to speak. The next major hurdle here will be the elections for permanent government officials on the 15th of December. Then, the Iraqis will begin to make some decisions on their own about how they will govern and provide services to their people. The transition still continues to go well in many parts of the country and the sooner the Iraqis can stand on their own, the sooner we can begin to send some troops home.
And on a sad note, Army failed to capture the Commander-in-Chief�s trophy last night, but they gave it a good shot. Maybe next year�
Happy Holidays!!!
5 Dec -11 Dec 05
This week we said goodbye to 005 and Lightning, our two Army electricians. They had served their year here in Iraq so it was time for them to go home, but we were still sad to see them go. They will be greatly missed!
The boxes you all have been sending in support of our Holiday Toy, Clothing and School Supply drive continue to arrive. We are up to 240 pounds!!! We will plan to go out and distribute everything after the holidays so look for some pictures in January. Thanks to everyone for the support.
It�s still hard to believe Christmas is only two weeks away. The weather here is still great; 80 during the day and 50s at night. Our apologies to everyone back home in the single and minus digits.
Merry Christmas to All!!!
12 Dec - 25 Dec 05
Well, our luck has finally run out on the weather. One day last week we actually had golfball-sized hail (just kidding�it was more like marble-sized) and Christmas day was cold and dark and rainy. Everything is a muddy mess and there are standing pools of water and mud everywhere. The high is now barely 60 and the low in the low 30s. Despite the weather, we had as good a Christmas as one can have away from family and friends.
Once again, our dining facility put on a fabulous meal, though not as fancy as Thanksgiving. We had a White Elephant gift exchange amongst ourselves and played some cards in the afternoon. We also watched a touching video of Team Ali Baba put together by Cyclone�s wife Lynn. Thanks Lynn�that was awesome! The Air Force put on a play and had cookies and cocoa Christmas night. The biggest news of the day, however, was Tent D-4 (our guys) winning the holiday decorating contest and the $75 prize that went with it. That�ll be a good start for the next pizza and near beer night!
With only six weeks or so left on our time here, there is still much to be accomplished. We took on a new significant project in the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we won�t be here long enough to see it built, but we should complete most of the planning and design before we leave.
In the last two weeks we also hosted our new leadership from up north for a grand tour of our operation down here. Falcon and Buckeye also traveled north to Balad Air Base for a theater-wide Engineering conference. We had the opportunity to fly on a C-23 Sherpa, a mini cargo plane that looks more like a helicopter, and we flew the entire trip at about 100 ft �off the deck�.
Finally, we distributed some of the 770 POUNDS!!! of clothes and toys all of you have sent to one of the families that lives just outside our borders. This family oversees one of the pump sites that brings water from the Euphrates River to the base. They were most appreciative, as you can see from the pictures. We will make some trips in Jan as well so look for more photos next month. We can�t thank all of you enough for what you�ve done. It really does go a long way towards building good will in the local communities here. There are still more boxes on the way, but here are names of some of you who have contributed to our drive:
Potomac Presbyterian Church and the Chapin Family
Maintenance Engineering at Ramstein AB, Germany and SrA Heminger
Becky and Karrie Shute
Iowa DOT and Donna Matulac
St. Ignatius and Richard Camden
USAFA Engineering Dept
The Larsen Family
The Parker Family
US Bank and Dean Snow
Hearts Across the Miles
Thanks again to everyone�great job!
26 Dec � 8 Jan 06
Happy New Year to everyone! The New Year came upon us fairly quickly, but quietly. The AF had a casino night at the Big Top to ring in the New Year. New Year�s Day itself was beautiful weather and several us went over to the Italian Camp (Mittica) for an awesome steak lunch. The USAFE Band also made a brief stop here the week after Christmas to entertain us.
We also passed along some more of the toys, clothes and shoes all of you sent to one of our old interpreters. He lives down in the marshland, S of Nasiriyah and his brother is a dean of a school. We�ll have some pictures of the kids out on the web soon. The final tally of the drive was a whopping 940 pounds. Thanks again to all of you for being so generous.
Our work continues to keep us extremely busy which is a good thing as our time here rapidly comes to a close. Our big project is also progressing well and even though we are still in the middle of planning and design, we have already started construction with one of the Army combat engineer companies. We have also heard from our replacements so we know they exist! They have already been to combat skills training and are ready to go�we should see them on the ground here by the first week in February.
It won�t be long now!! Thanks to all for your support of our team over these last months. The cards and e-mails and packages over the holidays were outstanding. We're all back in the gym now to make up for all the goodies we ate!