HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2007: A VERY AUSSIE CHRISTMAS!

Well I was forced out of extreme boredom to alter some pictures off the internet and make some Holiday cards. If you can understand my warped sense of humor you may actually enjoy them. In the end it is my way of wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May you all have health, wealth and wisdom in 2008!! Ben and the 7 Reindeer terriers send their best wishes as well! Maybe next year we'll be up to 12 and we can fill in for Santa! Enjoy!!










On a lighter note, we spent the Christmas Day with our buddies "The Australian Defence Force" where they fed us, supplied lots of near-beer and put on a show for us that was freakin hilarious! These are some of the funniest, most talented and nice people you will ever meet! Take a gander......

......And then New Years ther was a few bands on the Base stage which was nice, they sounded great! Unfortunatly I was in bed by 11pm so I missed the ball drop!

OK, so it may not have frozen over, but..........

It did snow in Hell!!! For the first time in 100 years, recorded history or whatever else you want to call it, it did finally snow in the city of Baghdad! Temperatures do get into the freezing marks often, however there is usually not enough moisture content in the air to make little dandruffy flakes fall or it just isn't damn cold enough! I feel fortunate to have been witness to a meteorological event of such proportions in my lifetime! Then again I may have just been witness to the spread of global warming on a local scale.......scary, yet exillerating. I attempted to make some snow angels in my excitement but I just got really, really muddy and looked at quite funny. Here are a few pictures of the blessed (or tragic) event, it was really coming down good for a while.........BTW, I think the gently falling snow in front of the bomb bunker says Christmas like nothing else!

THE ORIGINAL "ACTION FIGURE" BREAKS AUCTION RECORDS!!!

..................and "NO!", it's not the original Darth Vader 3 3/4" Hasbro action figure from 1979, new in box, mint condition.........it's the.............





GUENNOL LIONESS

This 5000 year old statue recently sold at Sothebys Auction House on December 5th, 2007 for a record "SMASHING" $57.2 million dollars ( Previously 28.6 million dollars paid for "Artemis and the Stag, a 2,000-year-old bronze figure which sold also at Sotheby's in New York in June, 2007 and held the record for the most expensive antiquity to be sold at auction.......Why? you ask? This Mesopotamian "Lioness Demon" artifact was described by Sothebys as..."one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization remaining in private hands." Ironically, this relic was discovered near Baghdad, Iraq ( I'm in Baghdad...how wierd is that!!) and its origins are thought to be in Elam, now known as Southwest Iran.

The piece is made of crystalline limestone and is approximatly 3 1/4", depicts a anthropomoprphic lioness possibly used as a Talisman to ward off evil although its exact function is unknown. There are holes at the back that may have been used to wear it as a necklace. The lower legs are missing and were believed to have been made of gold or silver. Its historical significance is that it was created at about the same time when the first known use of the wheel, the development of cuneiform writing, and the emergence of the first cities were recorded. The piece was expected to fetch up to $18 Million dollars, however, it was worth far more to an English collector. Its home has been the Brooklyn Museum of Art since 1948 and it was owned by Alastair Bradley Martin. Guennol (pronounced GWEN-ol) is Welsh for Martin.

A great deal of ancient Near East deities were represented in anthropomorphic figures, i.e. merged human and animal features. Such humanlike animal images evoked the Mesopotamians' belief in attaining power over the physical world by combining the superior physical attributes of various species.The nearby Sumerians possibly borrowed this powerful artistic hybrid from the Proto-Elamites. Maybe they will include here in the "THUNDERCATS" movie that is in pre-production!

HALLOWEEN IN BAGHDAD 2007: KBR PARTY

So, Happy Halloween to everyone! This has always been my favorite Holiday as far back as I can remember. I use to spend a lot of time, money and effort on costumes and parties in my younger days, especially in college and shortly after. In recent years we have always gone to our friends, Bruce and Keiths parties at their house in DC. They always throw a great party, lots of great food and people. The food is usually in costume as well, a few years back someone made a cake and put it in a cat litter box (new box I hope!!) crushed up cookies on top to look like litter and drizzled chunks of chocolate in a few places to make it look used. It made your stomach turn, it looked so real. Needless to say it barely got touched by the time we left.



I was surprised to hear that the Firehouse was the location for the KBR Halloween party every year. I wasn't aware until too late so no costume for me. KBR: Kellog, Brown and Root, is the Contractor that WSLLC works under. We are a sub-contractor that provides Firefighting services in Iraq.



Around 8am that morning the House was crawling with KBR employees setting up for the party inside the truck bay. They were fast and creative, by mid afternoon it was done and looking good. Balloons, ghosts, huge spiders/webs, pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns and plenty of candy littered the room. Things were ready to roll!



Besides the set up people, folks started arriving early. Slowly the bay filled with people and the DJ kicked in, the party was in full swing. I grabbed my camera and got a bunch of pictures I will post asap. There were alot of interesting costumes.........and a few scary!! By scary I mean a grown man in a diaper with a bottle and a man in drag as a Lilly munster/grandmother looking thing...VERY disturbing! Everyone paraded around for about a 1/2 hour and they handed out the prizes for a number of catagories.




The organizers then asked for 10 people for a pumpkin eating contest, Our Captain wanted us to be represented so I was drafted into service! A call above and beyond my scope of duty which I accepted with pride!! LOL!! Just kidding. Anyway, it was fun and a great way to eat dessert before my dinner. Initially there was a 2 min contest that resulted in 4 finalist and a 30 second eat-off. I ended up victorious but the gentleman on my left was a very close second!! Those pictures will be posted tonight, my buddy (and twin) Greg took a bunch of great pictures of me gorging myself, not able to breath due to pumpkin up my nose. It was fun but gross!



So a Happy Halloween to all you Pagan beeotches! It's over now but I hope you all safely enjoyed your Al-Hallow-Even! Here is a link to Wikipedia to learn a little more about my favorite holiday!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween Pictures to follow!

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE HOMEFRONT???

So.....Enough about me already, what's happening with all of you?? I'd like to open a thread to post stories, quotes, happenings and pictures of everyone to see what i'm missing. I can cut and paste stories from emails, share your vacation pictures, announce new babies and even announce engagements, like Brett & Laurie Bibbo, Christines younger sister! I've had the pleasure of meeting them a few times and they are a great pair. Truely some wonderful people come from the Lake Region. Congrats to you both and your families! Do I see another beach wedding in the future? Ben and I will be sure to take the train up this time and leave the car behind!!!


Speaking of Ben, he took in another pup needing a home. "Herman" is the newest addition to the pack, his owner moved south and was unable to keep him. From what he described, she was heartbroken. She'll be happy to know he is gonna be as spoiled as the rest of them. We have now surpassed Brady/Partridge numbers and are moving into Rural town Idaho population" size! He's a little guy, about 10 lbs. yet your typical Jack Russell Terrier "warp speed" attitude. All reports are good so far, he is getting along with everyone well and proving to be a good match for Samantha. I don't know if Herman is a permanent addition, but Ben seems to be very attached to him so, who knows? I will have ben email pics and I will post them as soon as possible. I believe my first leave period will be February 1st- 10th and I am excited to get home and see the family and meet the new guy.



Brother John turned 42 on October 17th and to celebrate he went to see his boy Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden, DAMN! How convenient!! It would seem as oldBrucie-boy had the show in NYC just for his biggest fan!! I had to drive all the way to Richmond to see TOOL on my birthday this year! But it was worth the effort and makes the day memorable. Maybe I can get John to write a quick review of the show so I can post it on here. Also a footnote to John, I don't dislike Bruce anymore, my taste in music has matured through the years as have I!!

"...I want a new drug." Huey Lewis and the News

Somehow I don't think this is what Mr. Lewis and the News were referring to when they wrote that song, so let me apologize in advance. One of our MP buddies that comes by brought an information bulletin from the Collier County Sheriff's Office, Criminal Intelligence Bureau about a new found way to get high. Ladies and dirtbags welcome, JENKEM: also known as winnie, shit, runners, fruit from crack pipe, Leroy Jenkems, might, butthash (my personal favorite) and waste.

Jenkem is a homemade substance which consists of fecal matter and urine. It originated in Africa and other third world countries by fermenting raw sewage to create a gas which is inhaled to achieve a high. It is now popular in American schools!

The fecal matter and urine are placed in a bottle or jar and covered most commonly with a balloon. The container is then placed in a sunny area for several hours or days until fermented. The contents of the container will seperate and release a gas, which is captured in the balloon. Inhaling the gas is said to have a euphoric high similar to ingesting cocaine but with strong hallucinations of times past. Once ingested the onset of the high takes approximatly 10 seconds with the most severe hallucinations happening in about 20 minutes. Several articles indicate that the subject immediatly passes out after ingesting the gas then regains a magical/hallucinogenic state within seconds of regaining consciousness. The high has been described by subjects as a feeling of "being out of it" and talking to dead people. The feeling of "being out of it" may last for several hours or days. All subjects who used jenkem disliked the taste of sewage in their mouth and the fact that the taste lasted for several days. Duh!!??

Well, everyone enlightened to the stupidity of your fellow homosapiens? This has got to be the funniest, yet pathetic thing I have EVER heard in my life! Nothing about people surprises me anymore, knowing one is capable of something like this. Feel free to comment and/or projectile vomit away from your computer.

Christine does NYC.......the marathon, that is!!

Congrats to Christine (Bibbo-Herr, Herr-Bibbo, Herrbo, Bibberr or Cougar-Mellencamp! Not sure how you guys worked the last name thing) on her 2007 completion of the NYC Marathon. A Herculean task just to finish, this petite power-house gunned the streets in a whopping 3 hours and 47 minutes, just enough time for John to catch an early showing of "Bee Movie" and grab a sandwich. Just kidding, he was able to see her twice throughout the course and he commented, "it looked like she was out for a 3 mile jog. Amazing." Too bad she couldn't have made it over here for the Baghdad Marathon, in an unfortunate burka accident, there was a 100 female pile-up at the start resulting in injuries and all contestants unable to finish the race! She would have been a shoe-in, and taken home prize pure-bred racing Camel. Wow, that was a bad attempt at humor!!!

Big news from the lovely ladies of Southern Connecticut State University.....

..........Now, was I dreaming or did I actually go to that school???? Wait a minute, I did but I was drunk for those 5 years, LOL, what a CRAZY time we had! Boy do I miss those days!!!......or do I, I can't remember!!??

Anyway, two of my favorite SCSU girls emailed me with BIG news! Sheryl, I withold last names for privacy, former RN of Neff Hall (was that right? Neff? Damn Jack Daniels!) was engaged to be married prior to my comin goverseas. She has since tied the knot with her new husband, Tom. The two honeymooned on a cruise in Bermuda. Now, come to find out Sher is pregnant! Please join me in a huge Congrats to the newly-Weds/ new parents!! She is due on Jan. 16th, no word on the sex yet but either way that kid has it made with her as a Mom and undoubtably Tom as a Dad! With her permission I will post afew pics of the wedding when I get them!

The other fine SCSU alum is Joan, she is tying the knot as well in April, I have not gotten any more info on her hus-to-be yet, but it will be forthcoming! Big congrats to them as well, se did say that she has two adult step-sons and no plans for other children yet but..........who knows what can happen! So, sendd me pictures I can post up here ladies!

Whenever Joan pops up I have to say "Hello" to her sister Irene, two of the cutest and sweetest siblings you'd ever meet! I can't wait to see all of them, best wishes for a wonderful Holiday to you all from Me, Ben and the canines!

13OCT2007: NIGHTWATCH

This week I've been on Night Dispatch, so all week I have sat listening to radios and answering calls from 1900 hours to 0700 hours the following morning. I've also been sleeping most of the day, trying to squeeze a trip to the pool or gym in whenever possible. I've also kept myself busy.....and awake....by answering emails, reading and surfing the net. For the most part it has been quiet, except for the attacks on the 10th, that certainly opened my eyes. I have heard mortar and rockets in the distance, but this really shook the house and it was obvious they hit only right down the street! The incident made the National news, there were many injuries and two deaths, scary to think that it happened at an intersection we drive through, walk through and go to everyday.
Today, while I was asleep getting ready for tonight, things around here got serious again. I guess there has been enough intel to close down most non-essential buildings and cause the DFAC to be "take-out only", when I went out to get dinner it was a ghost town. Everyone is ordered to wear their "battle-rattle" (body armor and helmet) when out, stay indoors as often as possible and even wear body armor indoors. So now I sit here monitoring the radios and phones waiting for something to happen. This has the makings of a long night, longer than usual anyway. So, it's 2135 hours, a fresh pot is brewing and I wait for the proverbial "shit" to hit the fan! Wish me luck!

10OCT2007: IRAQI ARCHITECTURE, HORTICULTURE AND WILDLIFE!! OH MY!!

I'm starting a few new posts on here, there is a lot to write about and post pictures of all the great things to see in this country so you are gonna see it too! The architecture here is fantastic, very detail oriented. The Plants are beautiful and somewhat familiar too. And of course the same goes for the animals, many are common in our regions. Now insects, those can get interesting with the Camel spiders and the scorpions, have not seen any yet, maybe soon. Those combined with the buildings' stonework, archways and colums you never get tired of looking all around you. These grounds were once a resort spot and there are several large man-made lakes. Many of the buildings back up to the lake and there are even more that are built out across a bridge on the lake. All have staircases that lead into the water, likely for swimming purposes. There is an artificial lake, now called Victory Lake surrounding the palace that has a special breed of large bass dubbed the Saddam bass as well as large carp. They are huge, some possibly over 3 feet long and they are very acustomed to having people feed them, they swarm the shore when people are near. People feed them chex-mix from the DFAC, they even throw it about a foot up on shore and the fish jump out of the water to get it. It's amazing, I have not had my camera yet to get pictures of them doing it, but I will. Saddam also formerly used the palace for duck-hunting expeditions. So in this part of the blog I will be picking something and postiing pictures and some detailed information about it. Lets get started with the big one everyone talks about over here....and I do mean BIG ONE!

THE CAMEL SPIDER

Interestingly enough a camel spider is not a spider at all, it is actually a Solpugid. There are approximatly 900 species of them known to date. It is also commonly known as: Wind scorpion, Sun spider, Sand Spider and Sand puppies ( Puppy is not a name I would have come up with...not exactly cuddly). Camel Spider can get upwards of 6 inches long and can run at an amazing speed of 10 mph. They are nocturnal creatures and prefer to stay in their burrows during the day. If they are out during the day they seek out shadows, many people believe they chase humans when they are in fact using your shadow for shelter. Camel spiders typically feed on insects, scorpions, or lizards and often eat so much that they become bloated and can hardly move (much like I do!!). The camel spider is not dangerous and typically does not bite humans unless it is by accident or they feel threatened, they are harmless predators with strong jaws and no venom. On the left is a typical camel spider and on the right a picture actually showing 2 camelspiders attached to one another and held out in front of the soldier to make them look larger than they actually are.

AL FAW PALACE

So, I already got into the history and current occupants of Al Faw Palace, the headquarters for the Multinational Force Iraq (MNFI) along with the Joint Operations Center (JOC), which serves as 'Mission Control' for all operational aspects of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So now some pictures I took this week. These are mainly of the Foyer/Main Hall and the Exterior of the Entrance. Inside is decorated with almost every type of decorative stone imaginable, granite, marble etc, Large Chandaliers (The center is the 2nd largest in the world apparently) which I heard were actually cheaply made and all the glass/crystal pieces are made of plastic. I've also been told that much of the more intricate work and masonry is poorly done. Either way when you are here it looks stunning and very regal despite the former owner. So take a look and tell me what you think, there are also some pics of the Saddam Bass I mentioned in an earlier post, they are freakin huge! Oh yeah, and me on the Throne suckin in my fat gut!! Not that Throne, that's gross!! There is an inscription that says (in Arabic), "Victory is from God and soon we will retake Jerusalem." The actual Throne was a gift from Yassir Arafat and shows a Koran at the top open to a chapter entitled "The Isrealites".

THE CHALLENGE COIN

When I first came into country I noticed everyone had, traded or sought after "coins". I wasn't to sure what they were or what they meant. Then I was told we had a Station coin and after a little tutoring on the subject I came to know what a Challenge Coin actually is. Basically they are an unconventional coin bearing the logo of an organization. They are bought, sold, traded, awarded and are a very popular collectible over here. I assumed they had only been popular for maybe 10 or so years, but upon consulting Wickipedia I found they originated during World War I and have since become enormously popular worldwide. The workmanship varies but seems to be good at its worst, depending on the manufacturer. I will have some examples posted tonight.
Read about them here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin

07OCT2007: ANOTHER DOOR OPENS...

My Home for a year: South Victory Station #2

Sunday night, September 24th I arrived at South Victory Fire Station #2 and right off the bat I was made to feel right at home. Throughout this blog I'll use my co-workers names', but I will not use last names, hometowns or any other personal info. It was after dark when I arrived so the day was winding down, I was on the schedule for the following morning so I was assigned a room and began to settle in and unpack. All the accomodations are inside the Firehouse, no running out to a latrine trailer or port-a-john in the middle of the night which is nice because it is damn dark around here at night! I hit the sack ready for my first day, 0700 was starting time, morning meeting, time-sheets and stuff. I set my alarm early, back in DC I would try to be at the Firehouse an hour early. I woke at 0530 and threw my gear on the Irons position, forcible entry (My favorite, you get to smash things!). I made some coffee and waited for the day to begin. Since everyone is living in the Firehouse most get up shortly before 0700 because there is no travel/commute time. Morning meetings are very organized, short drill and it's out the door to chow. Once back it is clean-up time. This is one of the cleanest Firehouses I have ever seen, everybody is involved, everyday. Then, most weekdays involve inspections, Fire Prevention is a big part of the job over here due to the faulty electrical in the temporary housing, Capacity of the existing electrical work and the arid conditions. Therefore we are spending a few hours a day inspecting, getting signatures and scheduling buildings for the rest of the week.

The Station houses Engine 611, Tanker 611 and Support 611 (mini-pumper). In DC I was assigned to a ladder truck of which there are none here in country. No real need for them since most everything is single story with only a few buildings between 2-5 stories. I never got much experience doing Engine work in DC, pumps or driving etc. It's all about the Engine here and I'm already learning to draft and work the pumps. The week was spent getting use to the Engine, where the equipment is located and how things are run on a daily basis. One of the D/Os (Driver/Operators) is Cedric, extremely nice, very funny yet serious about his job. He teaches Fire Prevention/ Extinguisher classes to the soldiers and civilian contractors a few times per week. I started helping him out and hopefully will have a chance to start taking these classes to get certified in D/O and Inspector 1 & 2. The pictures with Fire in them are of the extinguisher classes, not incoming bombs or rockets. One thing I was seeing alot about being over here is there is not a high call volume, which I found out this week. Not a call all week but still lots of work done. There is always something to keep you busy, especially with all this damn dust!

On a serious note, during my first week I had a dream that really affected me. Being in a new environment I definitly have felt out of place and more than a little lonely. I miss home and everyone there and I can't wait to get back for R&R. I have been sleeping a bit deeper than usual, back home I had horrible sleeping habits which can happen with up to 6 dogs on the bed with you. I never slept very well at the Firehouse either, always on the verge of consiousness. When the bell went off at night I would literally jump off my bed wether the call was for the Truck or not. Anyway in this dream I was talking to someone, not someone you could see or touch, more of an entity. Also it was not a spoken word talk, more like mind-reading talk. Shortly after I had it I got a feeling that the entity was in fact my Grandfather (Pop), John Fennell. Although I distinctly remember thinking that there was no heavy Irish accent. The conversation was short, I was saying that I felt alone, not reallyy upset, but isolated. He almost laughed and asked me why I would feel like I was ever alone. There was no physical body to lookk at but it was as if he gestured off to the side. I looked over and saw Donna Curley, one of my very good friends growing up. Since she was killed by a drunk driver I think about her often. I have few pictures of people I grew up with that are readily available for me to look at, her graduation picture is always close by, she wrote on the back, it's really faded now but still legible. Whenever I come across it I keep it around for a few days and read it over and over. She was a wonderful friend, we had a lot of fun in High School. I think the highlight was Spanish with Mr. Inkles, that class was the best. We had a ball. If I could do it all over again and go back to High School i'd do it just to see Donna!!

Week two started off the same, kinda slow. A few of the house members were sheduled to be in classes this week and next so we had an open spot. It was filled by Chris, one of the guys I came into country with, young guy, 23 Army brat with a lot of Firefighting experience under his belt. He's a very knowledgeable guy for his age as well as a good person. He is assigned to Station #1 right next door at Camp Liberty but he got to spend the week with us. So over in Houston he was dubbed "McLovin" by me because he looks a bit like the kid from "Super Bad", plus he looks real young so he could pass for a senior in High school. I'll post his pic on here later, have to ask him if it's cool. I was happy to see a familiar face when he arrived and we manned the back step that week, me on the line and he on the irons. Mid week we had a small brushfire over at Lost Lake, not much too it, not much brush to burn! We literally used the dirt to put it out, didn't have to worry about a re-kindle, there was very little in the vicinity to burn.

The next day around lunch we had a small electrical fire in a bathroom that was out on arrival, not much to it but always good to have something. No medical calls yet either, which is a good thing, from what I have heard if there is one it is usually pretty bad. This is a warzone and the camp will get incoming.

The big news was the fire at Al Faw Palace, nothing huge, just a good room and contents probably electrical in nature. The whole room burnt up, fire jumped up pretty good when we got in. The building itself is very, very big so it took a while to actually get to the fire and get hoselines up there. Initially the guards brought us to the wrong part of the building, there was smoke coming out of the HVAC and they thought it was the fire. The call came out at about 0130 hours and I was dead asleep, McLovin knocked onn my door and I was out-of-it! I ran out to the Engine and put my gear on. Now I was sleeping with no socks on and later forund out my boots were also a bit too small ( Logistics wrote size 11 on the outside of the boots, but the inside manufacturer label was 10.5). We were on-scene for about 4 hours and every part of my feet were covered in blisters, man was it painful! I got through the next couple of days with little problems but thank God I am on dispatch this week so I can heal and get new boots! Anyway, so far that was the best fire we've had, cool to think it was in probably the 2nd most important building in the world right now. Kinda surreal looking back, things are still sinking in.

Another incident we had was kinda funny, started at the gym. I was on one of the weight machines with my ipod on. I was moving around and didn't feel anything but noticed people all of the sudden start looking uneasy. I took one bud out of my ear and heard a 2nd explosion and felt the impact pretty good. So people start jumping underneath the weight benches and equipment. So I get down on the ground like everyone else because thats what you do when there is an air attack, right? Then I see two of the guys on the Engine with me running out the door and I remembered I am supposed to be responding to wherever the mortar/rocket hit. So I got up and ran to the Engine and got suited up. The driver, Terry, great guy with a heavy, heavy southern draw says "you got your battle-rattle on?" I was like "battle-what?" Turns out he was talking about body armor, we have to wear it under our turnout-gear when responding to incoming incidents. Another new experience for me, even though it wouldn't hurt sometimes to have it in SE, DC. Boy is it heavy too! In the end there were two hits, one outside the fence and one in. Nowhere near anyone or anything that could catch fire, only about a 6 foot diameter crater to show for it. They missed this time.

The rest of the week was uneventful, "McLovin" went back to Station 1 and we got another addition to the house, Greg. A real nice guy. Next week I am on night dispatch which means I'll be up from 7pm to 7am everyday for 7 days. Not much fun, but I'll get to go to the pool all week during the day! More to come soon!

This is the beginning of a new career for me, yet this career requires me to live in a different, unfortunatly hostile, country. No doubt there will be many things worthy of sharing with people close to me and others I do not know as well. I will document as much as possible and look forward to your emails and comments, update me on your lives but most important of all, stay connected. On that note, I'll start a new post and look for correspondences from you all.

29AUG2007: ONE DOOR CLOSES.....

Well, today could be my last day with the DCFD. I will be putting in my resignation in the morning and apparently I will be put on day work. There is NO way I am going to the academy for two weeks, I'll use my leave or just not give any notice. I'd rather be more amicable, but there are things to do before I leave and little time to do it. We had a great dinner tonight, it was a really nice thing to do before I left. I wish everyone from the shift could have been there. Being a man of few words normally, I wish I had a better ability to communicate and convey my thanks. I have a knack for clamming-up at times that I should be talking. I also tend to be very guarded, have few close friends and I get an itch to move on when I have been somewhere for a while. I can't allow myself to get too close, usually dissappointment follows. I have had the pleasure of working with some very extrordinary people and I can only hope to meet more of the same in my life ahead. Maybe someday a permanent place for me will present itself. The more I have talked to management in the Department the more I feel I will not be back fighting fire, or more likely running EMS calls , in DC. I think my age is the main factor, I learned that my classmate, Kenny, from the academy was turned away after his first stint over here. I believe he was in his early 30's. Oh well, there are a ton of jobs to be had out there, something will keep me busy.


This week brought a close to my time at Behnkes Nursery as well, I will really miss this place and all the people that came with it. You could not ask for a cooler crowd of folks. We had a party for Ann leaving for Guatemala and I to Iraq. It started at the Nursery and moved later on to our house for a pool party, lots of food and Beer. Actually enough to justify a few more days of inviting people over that week to finish everything. I think I gained about 10 Lbs. that week. Especially noteable was Mary and Keiths cake, damn if I did not eat most of it my self! A big thank you to everybody, it was a blast.


My first R&R is in January/February and I am looking forward to seeing everyone from both jobs, I'm sure there will be lots to tell as well as hear. I will be posting as much as possible, been taking a lot of pictures and I hope to hear from you guys too.


S0 generally I think most people at the Firehouse , Behnkes and in my life think I am crazy, more so than before. No doubt this can not be construed as one of the most sane decions of my life, but this being my 40th year in existence I think I have succumed to the proverbial "mid-life crisis". I think most people who live like I do have a deep rooted desire for a life less ordinary, a little excitement and a hefty paycheck can really seal the deal! Since I started realizing this change I have been having some pretty realistic "True Lies-ish/ Arnold Shwarzenegger-pumpin-baddies-full-of-lead" dreams, being ambushed by insurgents, fighting back, bustin caps and takin no prisoners! Very funky and exciting, but highly unrealistic. At no point in my dreams do I cry and wet myself which is more likely to happen, LOL! I am confident in Wackenhut and the Armed forces that we will be safe on base, that has not been a worry to me.



So my final week before leaving I had off. I thought it best to relax as much as possible, chill at home with Ben & the pups and pack for the trip. I don't know why, but all the way up to departure from BWI I never stressed at all about the trip, may have been the first time I was actually confidant in a decision I made. Even then I was not nervous, still just excited. Despite knowing that I may be living out of a tent in 130 degree heat in a war-zone, just excited.

FIRST STOP: HOUSTON

So the flight to Houston went smoothly, no delays, freaked out people or snakes on the plane, hehe! Caught our shuttle to the hotel which was outside downtown Houston so would not be sightseeing much. Checked in early and checked in with our contacts around 2pm. Everyone arrived mainly by 6-7pm. The majority of the week was spent getting uniforms, going over paperwork and taking a few classes on antiterrorism and NBC training (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical attacks), fun stuff! Lots of Policy and Procedures to go over, working as a DOD contractor there are three sets of laws you answer to if you decide to break one; Stateside laws, Military Laws and the Laws of the country you occupy at the time of breaking the law. So no t a real smart idea to decide to be bad over there, but believe it or not, people do. BTW, did you know prostitution is illegal??? (more on that later)

DUBAI BOUND VIA ATLANTA

Our group of 21 guys left for Atlanta in two groups, 1pm and 4pm flights. I was on the early flight which meant a longer lay-over at Atlanta which was not so bad, went by pretty quick. We left out of Atlanta at around 9 pm Sunday night with a 13-14 hr flight time. Man what an uncomfortable flight, even with empty seats next to you there was no way to feel relaxed, thank god for movies! I watched Fantastic Four 2 and Spider-man 3 again, helped pass the time.

We arrived in Dubai right on time, and made our way to the hotel which was about 8pm, Had a quick briefing and found out we were leaving at 4 am the next morning. Got a bite to eat and hit the sack. Not before trying to figure out the electrical in the hotel. When I opened the door with the car- key all the lights were out, I tried all the switches. Then I found a card-key slot inside the room and dipped the card in......the lights came on! Great. About 5 min later the lights blinked out...........so I dipped the card again.............and then the lights went out again. Eventually, with my above average cranium working overtime I decided to leave the card-key in the slot and low-and-behold I had all the electricity I needed for my stay! Of course by then I had to get ready to leave, it was 3 am. We had a nice breakfast and headed to the Airport. I learned a bit about Dubai by then, other than what I had seen on the Discovery channel with their man-made designer Islands, Larget indoor skiing/snowboarding facility in the world etc. Dubai is the Las Vegas of the Middle east, an extremely popular tourist getaway with a big draw, prostitution! Told you I'd get back to that! Turns out human trafficking is rampant here , girls are promised better lives and are sold into slavery until they can pay back debts that they have incurred that will never go away. A man will walk into a bar and be swamped by girls looking to complete a transaction which is illegal. So WSI really drives it home that it is illegal and you REALLY don't want to spend any time in a foreign jail, cause if your guilty you're fucked!

And finally......Baghdad!!

I really hate to start this entry off on a negative tone, but man......What a shithole!!! Starting off at the airport, aside from the usual "airport headaches" we got our bags pretty quickly. Mind you there isn't the daily bustling of commuters, tourists and such you would see elsewhere. Mainly Military and contractors like ourselves. The workers are Iraqi and the looks you get....... cold! After getting my bag I had to use a restroom. I will never again use a restroom in Baghdad airport again! First of all you have one toilet that is just a hole in the ground and then a semi-nrmal 2nd toilet which I went for. Thank God I only had to make a #1, this was the most disgusting toilet I have ever seen, smelled, imagined had nightmares of...etc! Covered in feces, no toilet paper to be found AND no door on the stall to hide you horror! Did my business as carefully as possible so as to not touch anything and got out fast. Ironically there was a cleaning guy at the door with a mop and cleaning supplies but I am absolutly positive that place had not been cleaned in Months. Later on I found out Iraqis wipe with their left hand...only...no paper. How gross is that? I was told never to present my left hand to an Iraqi to shake hands, it is an insult because of the left hands job. I can assure you I will not be presenting any hand to anyone as long as I am in this Country.

Following that lovely experience, after the nausea subsided we waited a couple of hours in the main lobby for our transports to the processing center in Camp Liberty. When the buses arrived, we boarded and I noticed it was very dark, there were curtains on all the windows. When I sat down I noticed the curtains were actually coverings for the windows made of a type of body armor. As I felt the material in the dark I located a few bullet holes in it. This is starting to get real!!

The trip was short, real short but it took a few minutes due to a lot of zig-zagging and changes in course that is apparently to confuse the insurgents. We all arrived safely and proceeded to get our luggage. We were escorted to our tent that would house us for the next week. It was definitly not a weekend camping tent, fully equipped with a big AC unit and a wood floor, but damn it is dusty around here! The sides were lined with cots and I grabbed one on the end near the AC unit, nobody wanted it because it was too cold, I like cold. We got sleeping bags, were shown where our bunker was in case of an air raid, went for a initial briefing and then to the DFAC for dinner. DFAC is the Dining FACility. It was a bit of a walk, the structure is a huge building with a seperate exterior shell built over top of it in the event a rocket or mortar hit the facility, to absorb the blast. This DFAC had apparently been through that recently and it worked like gangbusters. One corner of the shell had obviously been hit and completely stopped the incoming.

Lets talk food, my God do they have food here! Station after station of almost everything you can think of, pasta bar, taco bar, carved meats, ethnic food, burgers, fish........the list goes on. Same for drinks, it's like walking into 7-11 with the big glass front coolers and just grabbing what you want. There is a limit but I don't see many guys sticking to it. An ice cream and cake bar with apple pie, cherry pie, about 20 toppings and 20 or so different cakes and smoothies or shakes if you want. Not good for my hopes of dropping under 200lbs, not good at all. Did I mention how dusty it is around here?

The rest of the week was mainly classes, protocols and such. I got my first two Certs, Telecommunicator 1 & 2. I am really hoping to build up my resume while I am here, I'm gonna need it if I decide to try to get back with the DCFD. Finally at the end of the week we got our assignments. While we were in Houston we were asked to write an essay pertaining to which camp we wanted to be assigned to. Not really having any experience with anything but Firefighting I only asked to be assigned to an ARFF Station with a structural unit as well. I want ARFF more than any other cert while I am here as well as a chance to work at a station and get the experience as well. I didn't get my wish, However, I did get Stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Right next door and encompassing Saddams former Palace compound, Al Faw (The Water Palace). I'm not sure if that is a direct translation or due to the fact that several of the main buildings on the Palace grounds are situated on man-made lakes. A fantastic vision to look at today and one can only imaginge what it would have been like to see it in its prime condition. The Palace was constructed on a Former Resort complex and was built to commemorate the re-taking of the Al Faw penninsula by Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq Conflict, more commonly known as The Persian Gulf War (1980-1988). The Palace contains over 62 rooms and 29 bathrooms and houses the 2nd largest chandalier in the world just inside the entrance in the rotunda. The Palace, and numerous surrounding buildings, sustained very light damage during the 2003 liberation of Baghdad and it is believed that the compound was intended to be used as a headquarters and main base area by initial war planners.

Now the home of The Multinational Force Iraq (MNFI) and The Joint Operations Center (JOC) , this place is mission control for all aspects of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The next year I will be witness to a historic era for the people of Iraq that holds many questions for their future. Are they up to the challenge? Can they sustain a Democracy? Are there too many factions impressing upon them that will influence and undermine their efforts? I'll be here to see it and I hope to tell you all about it.... BTW, it is REALLY dusty here!

Please keep in mind I love to hear comments on the blog, but I can't respond to them. I have created an e-mail address specifically for this site: JiminIraq@gmail.com That way I can write back. Thanks!