Army life

Kirkuk Weather

January 24, 2006

On January 22nd my aircraft and our sister ship just barely arrived at FOB Warrior near Kirkuk through increasingly poor weather without having to turn back to FOB Speicher. In retrospect, we should have turned around because the weather did not clear for 48 hours leaving us stuck. You all might remember that I spent Christmas night in Kirkuk under similar circumstances.

In addition to our crews, another flight of 2 UH-60s from our company got stuck at Speicher. This totaled 16 crew members and about 50 passengers all stranded. We were put up in the transient housing section of the FOB which, I have to say, is not well maintained. We stayed in a well heated tent on bunk beds but did not have sheets, blankets, pillows or towels. The bathrooms were filthy and the showers overcrowded and clogged. Nonetheless, we were warm, safe and dry and, as Ive said many times before, things could have been much worse.

One good thing about FOB Warrior is that the Air Force shares the base. For whatever reason, this seems to bring better facilities to the base. We spent many hours at the "Clamtina". This is a club set up in a clamshell aircraft hanger. We sat around drinking "near" beer from bottles, eating fresh popcorn, and playing board games. It was actually a lot of fun. I think we all forgot for a few moments exactly where we were and why.

We finally returned to Speicher today only to be sent on a four hour "battlefield circulation" mission. The mission went without a hitch and I am finally back in my own CHU. Read more about Kirkuk Weather

Neighborhood Improvements?

January 2, 2006

My battalion lives in LSA 11. This stands for, I think, Living Sustainment Area 11. It is our neighborhood. Two days ago the civilian contractors began pouring concrete sidewalks between the CHUs in our LSA. These will be invaluable once the rains start. The alternative would be slogging through what I hear is oatmeal-type mud. The sidewalks, however, are a little depressing. They seem to be a permanant fixture in what I like to believe is a temporary environment. I have attached a photo of the sidewalk in my little row of LSA 11. My CHU is the second down on the right. It is just past the door with the porch and the santa picture. Oh, Happy New Year!

The Holiday Spirit

December 28, 2005

I wanted to share some pictures with you from the past few days. You will see attached to this entry the following:

Two photos from our command post here at Speicher. Notice the festive decorations.

A few photos from the midnight Christmas dinner we had at the Forward Operating Base Warrior chow hall near Kirkuk when we got stranded there. There is a picture of Floyd using his leatherman to crack open some lobster and another of me standing next to an odd food sculture.

A photo of the tent we stayed in Christmas night (also the first night of Chanukah). It was drafty but cozy.

A photo of the actress Kelly Hu (X2 and Scorpian King) sigining one of our pilot's (Anna) helmets. She is writing. "To Fly Girl - you go!". Anna, you will notice, is not wearing an Army issue hat. We flew Kelly Hu all around Iraq to meet the soldiers before we got stranded.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season.

Compliments

December 20, 2005

After a brief flight today one of the crew chiefs asked me who had been at the controls during the trip. When I told him I was he said that I had improved a lot since we last flew together a month ago. "You were flying like one of the more experienced guys," he said. He made my day.

I am attaching a few photos. One is an aerial view of my current home. The other is just a nice twilight photo and third will be especially appreciated by those of you who used to be on the Search and Rescue team with me.

Done With Planning

December 17, 2005

I spent the last week and a half on the "planning cell". That meant that I was working at night preparing the maps and GPS loaders for the next day's missions. The work was moderately interesting but it meant I did not fly during that time. My time on the cell, however, finally ended and I was back in the air yesterday.

I flew a relatively short night mission - about 3 and half hours under goggles. We are starting to get some winter weather here. There was a dust storm and some rain the morning before I flew. Night time temperatures are in the 40s. It is getting into the 70s during the day. The change in weather led to some interesting flying. The air was "soupy". I could see objects on the ground fairly well but all of the haze made it difficult to pick out details or make out the horizon in flight. That is not a big deal since I can use the instruments to determine whether I am level but it takes some getting used to.

Other than the brief flight, there is not much to report. Most days are pretty much like the ones before. Our miniature CHU christmas tree has a few presents under it and the twinkling lights in our little window still great me when I come home each night. Two of my CHU-mates are away for a while so its just me and Floyd. The box we live in is a lot more comfortable with two people than with four.

Thank you all for staying and touch. Enjoy the holiday season.

Holiday Spirit

November 29, 2005

As you know, once Thanksgiving passes everyone starts to think about the winter holidays. It is no different around here. Our neighbors in the CHU next door started to decorate yesterday. They have a life size picture of Santa Clause on their door and lights inside. Not to be outdone, we had a decorating party in our CHU last night.

Frank broke out the oatmeal bars and decorations that his wife sent, we turned on holiday music, and began the festivities. Since we are a multicultural CHU, Adam Sandler's Chanukah song was played more than once. I have to admit it was a fun time. We strung lights around our window and decorated a mini tree. We ate home baked treats and drank Hi-C out of those packets you put in lunch boxes.

As I was going to sleep to the glow of the christmas lights, Frank stayed up to surf the web. Everyone once in a while he'd interrupt with my sleep. "Chanukah starts the evening of the 25th" he'd say. Later, "What is a dreidel"?, then "What are Chanukkah coins?" It was pretty cool that he must have been checking out site about my holiday to learn a little more.

I am attaching a photo of our decorated CHU.

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