4/22/2007
We've been hit with rockets/mortars quite a few times since getting here on the 23rd of March (I believe). Just a few days ago a barrage of probably 15-20 rockets screamed in, killing a DoD civilian that was in a bunker. There are slots (like windows) in all the bunkers which are filled with sandbags. There was one slot on this bunker that was empty...the shrapnel went through it and caught him in at least the chest. The day after we saw the bloody handprint where he probably spent his last moments on Earth, God Bless him and his family. Just this morning Sims and I were watching Family Guy in the SCIF when a blast shook the whole trailer. Was only one round, but damn, it was loud.
I've been thinking a lot on setting up a nice vacation for Amy and I. Maybe drop the kids off at Oma and Opa's house and get Copper in a kennel, then hit the road. I don't want to give too much away just in case Amy reads this before we go. I am really looking at taking a full month off when I get back.
So, I have been working out with Sims to the tune of 5 times a week or so. My lifting weight has improved I still hate going to the gym. It's just not me, and I don't like lifting. At some point, I'm gonna have to incorporate some sort of cardio into my workout so I don't get any slower. I can feel my pullups getting stronger but I need to work on the running at the very least a month before I leave.
Being on the night shift now, I have been able to talk to Amy quite a bit more than previously. To tell you the truth, I miss my family much more this time. I can't really explain it but I am guessing it's because Sean and Ryan are getting older and more aware of what is going on. It hurts that I have to miss the entire Summer, I hope I can some time where school is out and take previously mentioned vacation.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
3rd Deployment Journal - April 19, 2007
4/19/2007
Camp Victory (which is also connected to Slayer and Liberty) is a joke. People talk about this road called "Sniper Alley" because it is overlooked by the Baghdad slums. The houses that overlook it are probably a 1/2 mile away. Some guy wanted to drive us down the road because it was an "intense" experience (he was Air Force if I remember correctly). I've had more intense experiences sitting on the toilet. But, we did see some cool sites in Saddam's majestic city. I could really tell Baghdad used to be gorgeous. It is now falling apart, all plant life is pretty much gone and there is a ton of graffiti. I really hope they can one day rebuild the area and landscape it the way it used to look.
This is where we stayed at Camp Victory:
Here are some pictures of the base and buildings of the old Saddam regime:
Marines really are perverted (we had time to joke around amongst the rubble):
Camp Liberty probably has the most useless array of items (and the best stuff) in its PX. yeah, they have a lot of stuff that could be useful to you but they also have dumb stuff like 47" Plasma TV's. I mean, honestly, can't you spend the money it takes to have those things shipped and use it on getting items we actually need.
Anyway, after a very uneventful stay at Victory for a few days, we headed down to FOB Kalsu. I had been here before but I didn't recognize the base. We flew a CH-47 and it was loud as hell, I didn't have earplugs either.
After taking a few days to walk around, I did start to recognize some things but most everything had a new area. The medical area was the only thing I could recall being in the same spot.
Camp Victory (which is also connected to Slayer and Liberty) is a joke. People talk about this road called "Sniper Alley" because it is overlooked by the Baghdad slums. The houses that overlook it are probably a 1/2 mile away. Some guy wanted to drive us down the road because it was an "intense" experience (he was Air Force if I remember correctly). I've had more intense experiences sitting on the toilet. But, we did see some cool sites in Saddam's majestic city. I could really tell Baghdad used to be gorgeous. It is now falling apart, all plant life is pretty much gone and there is a ton of graffiti. I really hope they can one day rebuild the area and landscape it the way it used to look.
This is where we stayed at Camp Victory:
Here are some pictures of the base and buildings of the old Saddam regime:
Marines really are perverted (we had time to joke around amongst the rubble):
Camp Liberty probably has the most useless array of items (and the best stuff) in its PX. yeah, they have a lot of stuff that could be useful to you but they also have dumb stuff like 47" Plasma TV's. I mean, honestly, can't you spend the money it takes to have those things shipped and use it on getting items we actually need.
Anyway, after a very uneventful stay at Victory for a few days, we headed down to FOB Kalsu. I had been here before but I didn't recognize the base. We flew a CH-47 and it was loud as hell, I didn't have earplugs either.
After taking a few days to walk around, I did start to recognize some things but most everything had a new area. The medical area was the only thing I could recall being in the same spot.
3rd Deployment Journal: 4/10/2007
From my written journal in Iraq during third deployment (March - September 2007):
4/10/2007
1800 Local Time - Well, I've been meaning to write in this thing for a couple of weeks now and am finally getting around to it. What's sad, is we live in such a technical age now, that it is almost foreign to write in cursive when I began this. A lot of things have happened since I've began my third journey to this hellhole called Iraq. I'll start at the beginning. After leaving my family at the airport I realized I forgot to leave my jacket. Even though I've had that jacket (Black w/ white stripes down the arms) for about 8 years and it is my favorite jacket...I tossed it in the garbage because I had no room for it.
The night started off pretty good, we bought some whiskey and mixed it w/ our sodas. You just never know when your last drink will be, fortunately, that wasn't our last drink.
The plane was a MILAIR flight, which just means, it's all coach. Luckily, I had three seats to myself and asked Sims if he wanted to sit in one since he was crushed between two girls.
Pretty uneventful flight but there was some turbulence. Ever since that day Amy, Sean and I came from England on that terrible flight w/ terrible turbulence, I have been very nervous whenever we encounter turbulence. Once we got to Germany, we played the wait game and finally boarded (the same plane) about 2 hours after we got there. I have yet to see more then an airport in Germany.
1810 Local - After Germany, we stopped in Cyprus I think. Not much to say about that since we weren't allowed off the plane and headed to Al Udeid Air base in Qatar. After going through the part I hate most, getting all of our gear and carrying it everywhere, we finally were brought to Camp As Sayliyah. If anyone every says there were "deployed" to this place, you must point and laugh at them. You were allowed 3 beers a night (if the computers went down it would be much more). They also wore civilian clothes on the weekends (if they even worked), massage parlor, Chilis, swimming pool and hot tub on base. The base was a joke, and doesn't even need to be there. It's a resort, and a waste of money. It is so funny how a lowly enlisted man can see so many areas where we could save money. It was here though, we would have our last beers before we really deployed. Fortunately, the computers went down the last night we were there.
I did get to go to Doha while in Qatar, that's where I got the camel bone boxes I sent to Amy, for her and my Mom. The city was in stages of construction but I could tell they were really trying and some day, might even be a very large metropolis area.
After staying in Qatar for about a week, it was time to take a military aircraft to Baghdad. Three hour flight is not something you want to do, but it had to be done. Once there, we went through the whole loading our gear and carrying it everywhere so we could be transported from the airport (BIAP) to Camp Victory.
4/10/2007
1800 Local Time - Well, I've been meaning to write in this thing for a couple of weeks now and am finally getting around to it. What's sad, is we live in such a technical age now, that it is almost foreign to write in cursive when I began this. A lot of things have happened since I've began my third journey to this hellhole called Iraq. I'll start at the beginning. After leaving my family at the airport I realized I forgot to leave my jacket. Even though I've had that jacket (Black w/ white stripes down the arms) for about 8 years and it is my favorite jacket...I tossed it in the garbage because I had no room for it.
The night started off pretty good, we bought some whiskey and mixed it w/ our sodas. You just never know when your last drink will be, fortunately, that wasn't our last drink.
The plane was a MILAIR flight, which just means, it's all coach. Luckily, I had three seats to myself and asked Sims if he wanted to sit in one since he was crushed between two girls.
Pretty uneventful flight but there was some turbulence. Ever since that day Amy, Sean and I came from England on that terrible flight w/ terrible turbulence, I have been very nervous whenever we encounter turbulence. Once we got to Germany, we played the wait game and finally boarded (the same plane) about 2 hours after we got there. I have yet to see more then an airport in Germany.
1810 Local - After Germany, we stopped in Cyprus I think. Not much to say about that since we weren't allowed off the plane and headed to Al Udeid Air base in Qatar. After going through the part I hate most, getting all of our gear and carrying it everywhere, we finally were brought to Camp As Sayliyah. If anyone every says there were "deployed" to this place, you must point and laugh at them. You were allowed 3 beers a night (if the computers went down it would be much more). They also wore civilian clothes on the weekends (if they even worked), massage parlor, Chilis, swimming pool and hot tub on base. The base was a joke, and doesn't even need to be there. It's a resort, and a waste of money. It is so funny how a lowly enlisted man can see so many areas where we could save money. It was here though, we would have our last beers before we really deployed. Fortunately, the computers went down the last night we were there.
I did get to go to Doha while in Qatar, that's where I got the camel bone boxes I sent to Amy, for her and my Mom. The city was in stages of construction but I could tell they were really trying and some day, might even be a very large metropolis area.
After staying in Qatar for about a week, it was time to take a military aircraft to Baghdad. Three hour flight is not something you want to do, but it had to be done. Once there, we went through the whole loading our gear and carrying it everywhere so we could be transported from the airport (BIAP) to Camp Victory.
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