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!
