Bon Voyage 4-miler

A week ago, I got up at 4:30 AM, worked for half an hour, then ran 4 miles. What could possibly have compelled me to get up that early on a Sunday, when we don't have a hard shift change and I can be a few minutes later than normal? Yes, you guessed it: a free T-shirt!

1LT Michael Olsen organized the "Bon Voyage 4-miler" footrace as a last hurrah for our unit in the Camp Victory footrace sub-culture. It was a surprisingly well planned and well run race - not surprising because I expected any less of Michael, but because everything seemed to work behind the scenes and it all seemed effortless for him to execute and organize it. He and his crew of 30 volunteers (me among them) pulled it off and kept our flag from being dragged from the flagpole in front of our building by a disgruntled mob of hungry/thirsty/T-shirtless/etc runners. The T-shirts were also quite well done, sporting a simple design and a good background color. I won't mind wearing this one around!

My time was a few seconds over 27 minutes, which puts me in the 6:45/mile range - not too bad, but considering all the time I had to improve my run times, I should be running like 5 minute miles by now. I guess I should just accept it and embrace my inner Cinnabon.

Without further ado, the pictures:

Yep, that's me in the picture, running the last footrace we will get to run in Iraq!


... and this is me with my roommate Bob, the proud owners of free T-shirts. Bob didn't have to run to get his, he just volunteered to register people before the race and hand out XL T-shirts at the end. I realized too late that all this time I could have been volunteering to help for the races and still getting the T-shirts!! Oh well, at least I burned off some Cinnabon.


Here's the newest addition to the collection, front and back:

Zagat's Guide to Camp Liberty

"Wow, that's like 6 miles ..."

Those are the words that have been indelibly etched into my mind since (Marine) CWO5 Ed Lawson replied with them to a co-worker offering him a piece of cake from the monthly birthday cake we had at the office. At my civilian job, we would gather once a month to pay homage to the office birthdays, and everyone usually has a slice of cake, however small. Ed was apparently very health-conscious and had no desire to run more just to burn off a token slice of cake. Ooh-rah!

Imagine now over a year later, this last Thursday, I am invited by my boss to a Cinnabon run to the Camp Liberty Food Court. The couple of trailers that serve as the fast food escape for the base are located right next to the Post Exchange (military department store), and though I didn't plan on having more than coffee, I came along to pick up a sewing kit (the damage to my clothing is another post altogether ...). I discovered that a basic sewing kit is $7, and opted to just bug my friends and borrow one. I got my coffee (blended mocha) and sat down to a seat where there was half a classic Cinnabon waiting for me. Kim, the generous giver of cinnamon goodness and calories, says:

"If we're eating these things, you've got to have a bite!"

To which I replied, of course:

"Dude, that's like 6 miles ..."

Here's me eating the 6 miles

... and washing it down with another 2 miles!

Brian, with his fat pill

Will, my boss - setting the healthy example for me

Kim, the mastermind, and Tim the wheelman

Raise the Roof

I read an email earlier this week with a little dismay - my friend Dan, a Network Technician from one of our subordinate battalions, said that a radio link they were trying to put in wasn't going to work from where it currently stood. Radios like the ones they were trying to put up are aptly called "Line of Sight" because, of course, they need a direct line of sight between antennas to work. Normally, this isn't a problem until you hit the curvature of the Earth in a flat place like this, but we are in enough of a built-up area that we have to deal with buildings, parapets, man-made hills, trees, and even other people's antennas!

Dan pointed out that we have an antenna to another site on top of the Al Faw Palace (the one in the news when people visit Victory) - why not add another one? After a slew of emails probing for how much trouble we would get into for asking, we discovered that no one really cares what is up there, as long as it doesn't conflict with other stuff already there - wow. That led to a site recon :)

To get to the roof, you have to go to the third floor of the palace, then find the secluded utility access stairs:


I should have taken a picture of the ventilation level of the palace - it is a labyrinth of air ducts, air conditioning equipment, leaking pipes, shadowy movement (rats? lizards? dogs?), and lots of unmarked doors.

We made it outside after a while to something OSHA would have a field day with:


It may be hard to see, but that ladder is at an angle, and the steps are all painted metal. Nothing but the best for the palace!

We wove through antenna after antenna - not just dishes, but all kinds, a lot of which I could not identify on sight (not that I am an expert in antennas; still, some of those looked alien!).


Finally, we reached the "spot":


The flat thing pointing off in the distance is exactly what we needed to see, along with a lot of unused real estate. This is perfect for as many new ones as we have!

Of course, what's a trip to the top of a 25-30 meter tall building without a picture of the view?

Low-tech Blogging

If you're reading this, I'm confident you think as I do about OIT (Operation Isosceles Triangle): it's a good place to get your weekly dose of the Fantastic Four's (Matt, Zach, Ash and Kate's) adventures with moms, aunts, and grandparents. Once in a while you also get an update from Afghanistan and Iraq, much like the Voyager spacecraft send telemetry when they encounter something interesting (but just send "I'm here" otherwise).

Before I left, I tried to assemble some pictures to tape to the wall to remind me, laptop or not, what home looks like. I asked for pictures in some cases, drew from the thousands we have on hard drives at home, and Autumn was nice enough to get some posters printed of collages. The result was a wall of pictures in my room, and assorted pictures that I cycle through at work.

When Kate and Ash discovered they could mail things to me, I started getting short notes expressing their various musings (like "this is a cat", written on an abstract reimagining of a cat) and their art masterpieces. Tonya advised me to enjoy the art briefly, then not worry about preserving it because there would be another wave in the mail in a couple days - good lord was she right about the production capability of the girls! I have actually managed to keep most of it, and I post the best ones on my ceiling and one of the wall panels next to the pictures Autumn sent:


My iPhone camera is kind of crappy, so there's not too much of a wide angle on it, but you get the idea. Anyway, I thought I would chronicle what happens each time I get Kinderart, since to the girls it must seem like Uncle James always says "wow, you guys did a great job on the last batch" but I never show them where their stuff ends up. Here you go, Kate and Ash!

Step 1: Select the best of the batch and prepare the duct tape.

Sorry, girls, there's not enough duct tape in theater to put up everything you've sent me. However, the best of it makes it to this stage, where I figure out what wall/ceiling panel it goes on:


Step 2: Roll duct tape and affix to perimeter of Kinderart.

Yes, everything you need to know about wallpapering a steel storage container that was converted into housing, you will learn in Kindergarten ...




Step 3: Press Kinderart onto wall.

Duct tape is amazing; it sticks even with dust covering the wall!


... and that's it! One "Ashley is Cool" sign on my ceiling just above where I look up when I sleep (thanks, Ash!).

Getting Chased by Wild Geese

What a last couple of weeks for me! I lapsed into a typical period of malaise where I seldom write, call, or communicate in any way - mostly to stay afloat amidst the many plates I had spinning. Sorry for the lean posting, but here's what has happened to me recently:

• 3 big projects at work, with 3 different sets of people. It's the old high school/college situation of all your professors assigning you huge assignments all at once because they don't know the other is doing it. For the last month, my three-man section was down to two people (one went on his two week vacation, which turns into 3+ weeks with travel), and for the last week it was down to one: me (The other guy went on vacation too). I inherited their projects :)

• I was studying for the CISSP exam (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) - it is a certification that helps both in the civilian world and in the military, as it is an industry standard Information Security certification. Unfortunately, the test is fairly comprehensive, though reasonably deep that you can attempt it with a fair shot of studying.

• I am applying to stay on Active Duty with the Army, stationed with Autumn. I have been debating doing this for years, but our situation in Maryland with my contracting job, house, etc was better than I would have gotten in the area with the Army. In El Paso, it's a different story - I'm not sure I can find a job when I get back! Besides that, I have other reasons which could make a post of their own, the most important of which is that with a civilian job I will be split three ways (job, Army, home - four if you count school). I am stuck in the Army no matter what for three more years, minimum, which is the amount of time they require you to serve if you apply for Active Duty like I am. I'm not leaving my wife, son, and Tita for some job or the Army, so the job's pretty much the only thing that can go. Anyway, the application process is insane - I had to get a physical, take a Physical Fitness Test in 110 degree heat, produce every shred of documentation on myself in the Army, and I had to do it all ASAP! Bastards.

• I've been harassed by semi-domesticated geese on the way to work. Actually, this wasn't that bad ...
  

Yeah, so the title wasn't for nothing; I saved the best for last:



These guys are seasonal guests of the lakes that surround the Al Faw Palace and its satellite buildings, in one of which I work. They were here for a couple weeks when I first arrived, along with some other fowl, but they left when it got cold. It more than warmed up by the time they came back.

On my way into work from the chow hall, I pass by the path in the pictures, and the geese demand their "toll". That many geese usually chow down three or four pieces of bread or a couple croissants in only a few seconds, and they are pretty aggressive about collecting; I wonder if the Port Authority of NY & NJ knows about this technique. When one spots you coming, it makes a distinct sound that alerts the others to get up and surround you. Once you are surrounded, they cock their heads to the side a little, mainly to get a good view from the eyes on the sides of their heads, and the caucauphony of honks begins. If you cough up enough bread, they leave you alone on their own, but if you don't have anything, prepare to wade through the mass of geese ... and don't fall down!

"Your mom sends me care packages"

This must be "funny vignette day"; here's what made me laugh today ...

Some background: We live in two-man rooms here on Camp Victory, and no matter how you try, if you have a roommate, you have to resort to skills you learned when you were in Kindergarten. Fortunately, my roommate, Bob Anuszewski (a.k.a. "Ski"), and I get along just fine, so we set up our room as an open area with the beds and closets along opposite walls, giving us a living room of sorts when we aren't occupying a bed. Throw in opposite shifts, and we basically have 2/3 of the room whenever we are in it.

Along with the fortunate living situation came some conveniences we developed. For instance, since it is easier for me to drop off laundry on the way to work than for Ski (I'm on day shift) and easier for him to pick it up on the way back from shift, that's how we handle laundry. I take two bags, and he picks two up a day or two later.

We can also pick up each other's mail, which leads me to the point of the story: Ski is traveling in the North of Iraq right now, and I'm picking up all his mail. His mom unfortunately sent a lode of cookies after he found out he was leaving, and they had not arrived by the time he left. I have been photographing and emailing him the mailing labels, and when this one came in:


he told me to open it, eat my fill of cookies, save him half a box, and distribute the rest. The cookies are excellent (thanks Mrs. Anuszewski!!), and along with the other wonderful packages everyone has sent, I am running more and more on the treadmill to burn it all off.

I told the other soldiers in our section about all of this, and we decided we had to somehow poke fun at Ski because he missed the care package, leaving us here eating cookies his mom baked for "all of us" (but we all know they were really for him, she just knows better than to include only enough for him to eat ...). One guy came up with this patch from the custom patch shop:


Patches on your right sleeve are a big deal to some people out here, for various reasons. Some patches signify you served under a storied unit during a conflict (i.e. "I was in 'Nam, man!"), having many patches means you went to war many times (i.e. "This is nothing ... you should have seen it in '03!"), and having certain other ones indicates you have some special skill (i.e. "Special Forces", "Ranger", etc) - these unofficial "custom" patches are meant to poke fun at the patch-worshipers, and have a good laugh in the process.

So, after much ado, I'm going to send a thank-you note to Mrs. Anuszewski with the picture below printed out and enclosed ... and email a copy to Ski to let him know the cookies made it!

Dodge City North

Quick quiz: What is "Dodge City North"?

A) The name of a town from the Wild West where a famous shootout occurred.

B) The title of a second-rate action movie starring Arnold Schwartzenegger.

C) A Chrysler plant that makes the new Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.

D) The aptly named living area in Iraq where James currently lives.

E) This is an April Fool's joke; why would anyone name something Dodge City North?

If you guessed "E", then you are probably thinking the same thing the people who lived in this place thought when it was officially called something else, but affectionately called Dodge City. So the story goes, this used to be the living area that got hit the hardest and most often by mortars and over-the-wall attacks. It's not particularly close to the wall anymore (the wall has been moved out over the years), and there have been almost no attacks since I arrived. At some point, though, it was bad enough that the residents nicknamed it, and the military let the name stick.

Despite the relative calm, the living areas are pretty heavily fortified with concrete barriers, and it is a lot like cabin camping in a post-apocalyptic wasteland:

Bottled water is available everywhere - you just help yourself to however many bottles you want. Of course, you are encouraged to conserve, but not at the expense of hydration. Even in the winter and spring, I usually go through two or three of the 1-liter bottles a day. All the water is purified out of the Tigris River, which is diverted to Victory Base Complex via canal, and the bottles are produced, filled, and distributed from the Oasis Bottling Plant about a 20 minute walk from my room.

This is one of the massive generators that provide power to the living areas. All of the power here is generated using fuel that is trucked in. All of the water and raw materials used on base are trucked in, and the wastewater and trash are trucked out. It's almost like we are living on the moon.

The tall concrete walls are known as "T-walls", since they roughly form the shape of an upside-down T. They are everywhere. In the beginning, there were sandbags, but as our presence grew more permanent, they were replaced by the Jersey barriers (like on the freeway), then 5-foot tall barriers, then a year or two ago, these 12-foot T-walls. As going-away gifts, units will often get miniature replicas of the T-walls and engrave something in them or mount a coin in them. The signature mark of the company that makes the T-walls is the number "77" at the top - it is even on the miniature ones they make!

Dodge City just goes on and on ... and it's one of several living areas on Camp Victory (one of 6 camps that make up Victory Base Complex)!

The structure to the right of this picture is a bunker. These are not as frequently occurring as I would think for a place called Dodge City, but they are close enough to you if you are between T-walls that you can dive into one in a pinch.

Gate River Run 15k Pictures

At long last, pictures of the 15k. First, a team picture of the folks from my unit who ran:

Top (Left to Right): CPT Beau Biden, MAJ Steve Willey, SPC Gully, CW2 James Richards, CPT Kim Lindgren, CPT Brian Nichols, SFC Charles Kosiek, CH (LTC) Ken Brandt, CW3 Porfirio Alequine. Bottom (Left to Right): SPC Nathan Siebach, LTC Robert Fink, CPT Tim Drake, 1LT Michael Olsen, MAJ John Herholdt.

Most of the pictures looked like the ones below, just without me in them. Notice the sludge on the road (it's also caked on the backs of our legs):

Gotta smile if you notice the camera!

1,000 words

Pictures are really worth 1,000 words.

Today, I just want to show you two slideshows: the first includes professional pictures taken by Guadalupe Dove of GDove Photography in Marana, Arizona. She is a volunteer in an organization called Operation Love Reunited and kindly offered to take photographs of Matt and me during James' deployment. She also sent James a beautiful album of proofs!



This second slide show consists of pictures taken during our second professional photo session, this time by Rebeca of Rebeca Irene Photography in Fontana, California. She is also a volunteer photographer, and the pictures you see here are a "sneek peek" of the proofs from our session. (Interestingly, I downloaded them from her blog at rebecairenephotography.com/blog.) The full set of proofs are available at http://www.rebecairenephotography.com/logon/OnlineViewing/session.php (username: Richards, password: Autumn, both case sensitive.)