no more living in a tent, but dust storms rage on

nandu lost his internet! we don't know why. it's a mystery. but for now, that means no more iphone posts... i still don't have a laptop out here, so until i get one it's going to be tricky to upload photos or videos. but i'll find a way.

so i'm not working at the detention facility. there are only 3 of us not working there and i'm one of them. actually they have me doing the exact same job i was doing the last time i was in iraq. which is managing the maintenance of every piece of gear, every radio, gun, truck, special force equipment, even printers. this is actually a pretty complex job, but it's what i did during my first 4 years, and it's what i know, so i'm fine with it. there's basically two main things i'm concerned with regarding maintenance management, and that is 1: make sure all orders pertinent to maintenance are being followed, and 2: make sure those above me (my battalion commander, the company commanders, the maintenance management chiefs on the regimental level and higher) understand what is being done. in other words, i brief them on the combat readiness of their battalion.

also, i am finally moving out of the tent today and into a "can"! a can is just a box with barely enough room for two small beds. yes i will have a roommate, but it's better than living with about 50 roommates in a giant tent on a cot like i've been doing for that past 3 weeks or so.

oh and the sandstorms have been insane. dust storms actually. i've never seen anything like it. there will be so much dust in the air sometimes that we can only see about 15 or 20 feet in front of us. and it gets in your eyes and nose. eyes are the worst, because the wind is blasting it into me.

a post concert pic

oh and here's a picture of me and nandu and degenfelder after we made it back to nandu's office. it was so insanely dusty outside that i didn't even know where i was going. i don't even know how we made it back. that's nandu in the middle and degenfelder is a guy nandu works with-he's on the right. i'm on the left with the glasses :)

charlie daniels

i just got back from a charlie daniels concert. it was cool to see him because when i was in kuwait back in april of 2006 he played for the troops right after i left, and i always wishes i could have seen him. however, right when he started playing dust storm so horrible i could barely see the stage started raging. it was out of control. i am completely covered in dust right now, and the had to cut the concert short. but not before playing "devil came down to georgia! here's a picture from the stands where i was sitting:


-- posted from my iphone

first post from iraq

i've been in al-asad, iraq for a few days now. my friend nandu is here so i've been hanging out with him, and he's been showing me around. the travel from california to iraq was insane. it was the worst travel experience of my life. planes and buses for three days. that's all i'll say about that.

nandu has free internet access, so i bought a wireless router so that i can use my iphone.

here's a picture i took this morning when we were firing our rifles to make sure our sights are set right:









here's a picture i took from inside the plane that took us from kuwait to iraq:






-- posted from my iphone

finally leaving

i'm typing this on my iphone from the airplane that will take me to kuwait, where i'll be for a few days or so waiting to go over to iraq.

i'll update as often as i can. here i go!


-- posted from my iphone

leaving friday

i'm leaving friday morning! i finally got the official word. after all this time. although it is april fool's day, so i wouldn't be surprised if they still don't know when we're leaving and they're just telling us that we're leaving friday as an april fool's prank...

but if it for real, then the plan is that we're leaving friday morning, and we have a two hour layover in kansas and a two hour layover in ireland. then we will land in kuwait. after a few days or so i'll go to al-asad, and i also found out that i will be doing the same thing i was doing last time i was in iraq, which is maintenance management. an important note: maintenance management is an office/computer type job where i make reports and hold meetings. not to be confused with maintenance, which is turning wrenches and fixing trucks/radios/weapons... i'll be in charge of the administrative aspects of corrective/preventative maintenance, and calibrations and inventories, and reconciliation with reports listing statuses on ordered parts and so on... for every single piece of gear that our battalion owns. which will be a lot of gear.

so until friday i'm just wondering around 29 palms with nothing to do. my ankle is still injured pretty bad. too bad to run. i'll get it checked when i get to iraq. remember, i hurt it during that pepper spray training, and that was over 6 weeks ago. the doc didn't give me any x-rays, but it is not the slightest bit healed, so i'm thinking it may be more serious than a sprain.