Jim's Blogspot

Reflections

2006-02-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

I should preface this post by saying that this will be the most personal one that I've made as well as the most opinionated. It fits here though, as a conclusion to this journey, and reflection on how I’ve perceived this passage of time. Please remember that these are my personal perceptions and there is no universal truth that I’m trying to profess about any of this. Simply put, it’s just the meandering reminiscence of a young fool.

On the Service Members:

I am proud of how the vast majority of these guys carry themselves so far in spite of the failings of a few soldiers. Are they infallible? No person is. I think it's important to remember that these are not politicians, or a corporate public relations department.
They are soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen who are conditioned to do demanding emotional and physical tasks under high stress. People have given up marriages, relationships, income, and sacrificed everything they're familiar with while plunging into unknown situations and cultural clashes. It's no simple task and sometimes the worst in people is going to blunder through the cage we all keep it shackled in.

Many people in the army care little of politics and I think it's less of a detriment for them and more of a quality. Most are simply indifferent tools of a system they've put quite a bit of trust in. You may be aghast at this idea but I don't see how a military could function properly in any other way. When Lieutenant Joe says go to X spot and accomplish
Y mission, it simply needs to get done efficiently and with minimal questioning or your army is essentially broken (possibly some would prefer that).

They also are not apologetic about who they are, and why should they be? Many of these people are the ones who carry us in ambulances, fix our power lines, put out our fires and patrol our streets at night back home. They deserve the benefit of the doubt that they are trying to act ethical while performing their duties. Many are succeeding at this; you probably wont hear about it admittedly it’s rather boring.

I only hope that whoever is in charge, and whoever’s in charge next, and whoever’s in charge after that uses soldiers accordingly. This goes from Sergeant New Guy all the way up to President Old Guy. It may seem far-fetched but I don't see how anything more than hope can be applied to that problem.

On the Army:

Often I've desired that the US be an army of peace and not an army of war. I wonder why we can't be in Darfur or in tsunami ravaged areas, or wherever disaster support is needed instead of here? It's a question I think the US has to ask itself if it ever wants to be taken seriously as a peace keeper and humanitarian minded country instead of the colonial imperialist it’s perceived as now.

Hopefully this doesn't come across as a cop-out. There are events in motion that obviously can’t be undone and why shouldn't I be responsible? Why should someone else be tasked for my countries actions and missteps? I think protesters and rallies play an important part, but I'd challenge them to pick up a Kevlar helmet and try to change things from within. Be a medic or a construction engineer, or if you simply cannot stomach the military get your hands dirty in an organization that has direct impact. For me, it's been far more gratifying and eye opening than my ranting and complaining that preceded my deployment.

On War:

There will probably always be war. It seems easy to romanticize about it but I have a feeling anyone put in its path knows better. I don't think we should be afraid of this but I'm convinced that this will be a part of human nature for eternity. Finding ways to prevent it and using it as a last resort will always be a necessary consideration.

On Political Polarity:

I think Liberals and Conservatives are equally dangerous, rigid and uncompromising people and through it all I'm eternally friends with the staunchest supporters of both sides. I'm realizing the ability to view each problem with a balanced unbiased view is vital. Unfortunately I myself still haven’t figured out how to do this effectively. While that overshadows all of my political opinions I'm still tired of knowing people’s stance on topics before the question can even be asked. I think it's completely irresponsible to let your political party determine your answer.

Onward:

I’m afraid for the next generation that has to continue this job and yet proud at the same time. Perhaps it’s a major fallacy but it’s hard not to treat a lot of these guys like your brothers. When you see others wearing the same uniform you wore it’s hard not to project that feeling of pride and cautious worry on to them. I think about the situations they’re going through now and can only speculate on the worst of them, but somehow I like to think that they’re doing all right and they’ll be home soon.

A lot of people ask me if it’s strange to be home. On my final plane ride to Plattsburgh Airport, the place that I began my journey, I looked out the window and that was the moment I realized I was home. It was a culmination of feelings that I was comparing to my original thoughts upon receiving my activation letter. I was elated for a few moments and I just kept thinking, “I did it”. It was the final blow for my worries and doubts about the whole year. It was the verification I sought that I was safe and free again.

Huge Photo Update

2005-12-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

More photos have been posted, this time 36. It shows a few shots of the final Kuwait and Hawaii days. I'm working on a final post for the site that should be up after the holidays, but I'd like to put out an early thanks to everyone who's followed the blog and photo site, it helped make the year easier. Oh and Happy Holidays to everyone, I hope you have a good one!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

New Pictures

2005-12-18T23:22:00.000-05:00

I've added a new set of pictures from my final rain soaked days in Kuwait.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Home

2005-12-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

Another quick note here, I'm back in NY. More to be fleshed out soon. It feels great to be back!

One More Aloha

2005-12-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update that I've safely arrived in Hawaii. I'll post more info about it soon, but for now it looks like I'll be here for about a week. More soon!

Your Rabbit Wailing Collects Coyotes!

2005-11-20T06:19:00.000-05:00

I woke up to screeching rabbit death this afternoon. Thinking I could catch a little extra sleep for a lack of anything better to do (and a restless previous night) I dozed off for a bit only to wake up to some raging squeakfest. The platoon from Michigan that is attached to us has a fondness for hunting that goes above and beyond anything I've experienced. Although maybe it's out of shear boredom that they watch hours and hours of obscure hunting movies. It's not even the garden variety hunting shows you pass by on ESPN2 while watching cable on a sunday afternoon. It's more like "Bud and Bill go Hunting in Their Back Yard 7". And with production quality that rivals such big names like that comes hours of uninterrupted rabbit calling on some sort of death kazoo.

As I walked around the corner to ask about the death rattles I saw how much they were into it. "Are you molesting animals here?", I ask. They scoff at my comment and say condescendingly "No they're hunting Coyotes, duh!". Really I don't know what I was thinking, it was pretty obvious that it was a rabbit death kazoo used to lure coyotes... woh.

Relief

2005-11-18T08:42:00.000-05:00

Our relief arrived recently. We've been training them the last few days, driving them from point to point and letting them get a feel for the routes. It makes me a bit reflective seeing them in their first few days here. In some ways I feel sorry for them knowing they have a full year ahead but they seem to shrug it off like we tended to do in the beginning. They do ask plenty of questions but they almost seem disinterested and tired. It could be they're still adjusting to the time difference but it seems like for some of them they're disapointed about not going north into Iraq. Many of our guys were like that in the beginning but it's definatly faded as time went on. I myself had a very morbid curiousty about going north, and coming to the end of all this I find I'm less curious but still fascinated by what would have happened had I experienced that trip. Don't get me wrong, I'm under no disillusions about the horrible circumstances that go along with that trip. Still I have this feeling like I came here for nothing even as our officers are touting the importance of what we've done as they will always obliviously do. Sometimes I envy their blind faith.

The Anniversary

2005-11-07T12:39:00.000-05:00

Another day starts with highway driving. We're groggy and passing around the usual assinine conversations when some pop song starts raging on the radio "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" (repeat 30 times). We're oblivious to its origin and it may be as over played as any radio song you're vomiting at currently but it's new to us. It starts quiet but we all start singing, and within a few seconds a booming chorus of "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" comes wailing from our mouths. I'm not sure if it's our individual attempts to sound like fools or if we're screaming in defiance of everything here. It hits me that I've been activated for over a year at this point.

I'm realizing I never went into detail about what happened around that time. It was a strange turning point for me, I had just moved home from Florida after a stint of three years working towards a technical degree and doing a bit of job exploring. Overall I probably considered that whole experience an overall failure for reasons that would not be apparent to others, and I'd rather not elaborate on further. It was a turning point though, like I said, and worth the lessons gained but it was surely lacking in what I had had in mind for my stay there.

In any event I was home and trying to figure out where I was supposed to go next. Many days of a month were shot before I realized I was wasting my time with unrewarding meandering. Schooling in something that I care about and at a place where I've felt at home was my cure. And so I sent out my application and waited through another week of pandering interest until the packet I coveted came and proclaimed I could return.

I was on the phone scoping out possible apartments when the mail came. Setting dates for tours, fantasizing about new living spaces, it was all exciting and hopeful. Then I trotted downstairs and there was a packet two inches deep bearing the army's name and insignia. I felt like I'd been stuck by needles and my stomach sank. It couldn't be what I thought it was but as I peeled away the paper and thumbed the glue holding it together I realized it was everything I had feared.

Shock overcame me a bit, I was sitting in front of my mother, aunt and grandmother when it happened and I tried to hide my disdain. Everyone scattered a bit and I found that my mind cringed like a coward. Oh you can get out of this I thought. Just go away, don't look at it maybe it will dissapear. No you can't do that, call them they'll understand you. No this is the army, there is no compassion in this letter or for what you're going to ask. Later I was ashamed at my reaction, but more shocked than anything.

My mother let the dog in and a scent flowed throughout the house. My mind was scattered considering options. That smell though, it was everywhere what could it be? I was irratated, had the dog rolled in fuel oil? No, it was more like a dead animal or some other unthinkable scenario. Then it donned on us that the dog had found a skunk. What impeccable timing! He rolled around the house and we chased him as he spread the funk everywhere.

I collected my thoughts that night in bed amid the skunks stench. I wont lie, I was deathly afraid at this point (and obsessivly paranoid that I would smell of skunk for eternity). There's nothing so terrifying to me as the unkown and my mind would play horrible tricks and ask terrible questions that I simply could not answer.

Within the two weeks I had to prepare to leave I did get over my initial fear and while I was ashamed at the time I feel like it was perfectly acceptable looking back. All the people I've talked to have given their "letter stories" a pass around the bar table but I was the only one who had a skunk involved. Fate had a sense of humor that day, the contemptible bastard.

Halloween Patrolling

2005-10-31T08:44:00.000-05:00

Every holiday here passes without much notice. Hell there are barely even weekends here as everyday has the same consistency. It's a lot like the sloppy food that I'm now realizing is bland and so familiar that I greet it like a school child greets homework each night.

A friend here, a fellow shiftmate whom I'll call Hal for the sake of his mischievous outtakes brings the dreary day a shot of life. He's cut out some ridiculous paper mask which he has ripped from a magazine and he has it propped upon the front of his Kevlar helmet. Somehow he's managed to get a postal box full of bags of candy and he's hellbent on handing them out to the gates. This late in the deployment it becomes clear that neither I nor the other passenger in our vehicles cares for the consequences of being seen with a paper goblin hanging out of the turret. And when I say that I mean that we could care less what repercussions any authority figure would bring up against us.

We travel around to each gate, causing some faces to light up. Candy has that effect on anyone be it soldier or child (or Navy squid). The paper mask makes an impression too and we're all three of satisfied with breaking up the monotony of patrolling and the boredom that comes with gate duty for others. Hal screams "Open the @#&*ing gate, Happy @#&*ing Halloween!" and whips candy at their heads. He's a pseudo psychodellic halloween santa and it fits him well.

Not content to end the day with one simple spike in entertainment we roll down to the pier to inspect the ocean. We've been coming here a lot lately and meeting many of the foriegn nationals in the process. Hal is incredibly sociable and good at communicating through the thickest language barriers. He'll stand their playing charades for 10 minutes trying to get his point across.

He leaps on concrete trucks for the simple pleasure of chatting with a worker. It's not uncommon that he's offering water, drinks or magazines for things in return. He's even got a hold of homeade beer through one of his contacts.

Somehow he balances his sociable skills with a keen addiction to pyromania. Just today he was setting a box on fire, five foot flames licking the humvee. He's had infernos explode in his face from barrels doused with diesal. He's set elaborate wood effigys of words like "Happy Fourth of July"ending in a puff of burning gunpowder he removed from a bullet shell casing by hand.

Always a treat when Hal's riding with me, crazyness and all.

You can see a shot of it all here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Weave Man!

2005-10-28T09:45:00.000-04:00

Everyday is a drive through a gauntlet of Kuwaiti and foreign national workers. We weave left and right along the highway, they counter-weave and we all avoid cracking each other second by second. It's a great orchestra of cars and behemoth trucks. It makes me crave driving in US traffic, but I'm relaxed anyway bouncing around like a pinball.

We stayed at the pier for most of the day. One guy makes a makeshift spear out of a steel rod and tries to hunt some tiny fish. He snags a couple of them and attaches their bodies to a fish hook we find lying around so we can try for bigger fish. My paranoia kicks in and I'm sure he's going to snatch my neck with this hook as he spins it in the air like a lasso. The fish are keener than us and only munch the guts of the fish while avoiding the hook. They take a taunting bite from each one and then show complete abandonment of interest for our bait. Navy boats pass by, surely wondering what we're up to but they never stop. Overall a good day with no calls at all, almost feels like I spent the day at Sea with the sun burning me up, hitting me from all directions.

Clever Title Here

2005-10-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

It's getting quiet in the Hummvees. It almost feels like everything that could possibly be said has already been said. I know every little love affairr, dark secret, greatest ambition and future plan of everyone on my crew. As for juicy going home rumors, we're all experiencing things in a bubble and if by some chance we were at the far side of this bubble any rumor spreads like wildfire in all directions until all is known. The rumors are quiet lately too, the dates for going home looking more solid.

Sitting there wasting away the last hour of my shift I'm content, I feel like time is finally winding down and I'm getting lazy. My head is flopping around until I see an odd site. Four people walking towards us, two small children and a man and woman. They pass by our vehicle three times until we get out for a closer look. It's odd to see children, I can only remember one other time that I've ever seen a child here, and behind our fences it's a larger rarity.

An Indian man with perfect english starts to chat us up. He's a captain of the cargo ship nearby and hauls his family around when his children aren't in school. Seems weird to think that these giant rusting hulks are pulling around families in their gut for months on end. Stachowicz hands the younger boy some Skittles and he shyly takes them. They continue their laps around the container yard getting what little exercise they'll be allowed before continueing on to Singapore and somewhere else that escapes me now.

I've managed to grab a friends camera and search through his photos for a few to post on my flickr account. They're up at the photo site now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

My Ethical Army

2005-10-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

It goes without saying that your Army probably needs some ethics. When lawyers sit around a table disseminating minute details about when and how you can drive your goverment vehicle one can only feel universally confident about their motives. Because really isn't it all about rigid rules and the unwavering unthinking enforcement of them? Let's hope so or the moral fabric of your Army is crumbling.

I had an Ethics class last night. It said 1800-2000 on the board, two hours of briefing bliss. Slam us in a room, bring out a few chairs and let the colonel speak his mind to us. As a soldier it's not ok to accept gifts of excessive money from strangers. Alternatively if you've been friends with a Sheik, as some are according to the good colonel, then it's a marvelous exception to the modest gift giving rule.

Fast forward through another one of his corny jokes. We all sit in silence, cracking painful grins humoring this ridiculous dinosaur who would wither in the civilian world. Since you can't support all charities then you shouldn't be allowed to support any at all. "People call me scrooge but I shut down toys for tots, over this rule" he says with a sly smirk, oddly proud.

The rest is a mush of words, the ramblings of obsolete thinking, the absurdity of a list of decade old laws. A new slide pops up, I'm half paying attention, something about the highest base pay for a General being around $150,000, and how "WE" don't make near as much as that. Coming from someone who makes at least 3 times as much as most everyone else in the room it seems comical. And so my ethics class ends and I can't help but feel like the Army completely missed the point. Lifes more than economics and insane values. There are bigger things to worry about here, but I'll sign my name and smile and pray with grinding teeth that few of these briefings await me upon demobolization.

Lobster Day

2005-10-23T10:41:00.000-04:00

They served lobster today. No joke, they do it about once a week with a side of fried shrimp. The shrimp is the garden variety freezer box kind and the lobster... well the lobster has its own story. You see, it never tastes the same twice. I'm completely baffled by it, it's always a gamble and even today when it tasted good it still wasn't lobster. What the hell kind of random shellfish are they feeding us?

I've posted a few new photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Simmering in Gravel

2005-10-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

OK, I lied it's not exactly a simmer sitting in this gravel pit anymore. It's 76 degrees here at 8pm but the humidity is at 20% which makes this feel more like 55 degrees out here. (That's nothing scientific mind you, I'm usually oblivous to such things.) During the day it still manages to hit 100 degrees but it's also noticably milder.

When I was home I noticed some sort of cut in my mouth that was getting progressively worse. Sitting in the Atlanta airport flickering the cut with my tongue I noticed that this was actually a tooth poking through. Wisdom teeth, (or tooth) what impeccable timing you have! The side of my face feels puffy but I think the tooth is going to make an appearance without nudging my other teeth. Welcome to Kuwait you nosy molar, now be good as I don't trust these Army dentists.

Slowly I've been sliding into things again, I'll be continuing my shift tomorrow morning. This flight back knocked me down more than any other in memory. I've slept away the better part of two days after already sleeping away nearly the entire flight back.

During the few hours I've been awake I've received some great news on our final departure time. I apologize for the mixing of information, I'm sure this is getting confusing for everyone but bear with me. In mid November we should be nearing our turnover to the incoming soldiers. By December 1st I should be on my way to Hawaii where I'll be demobolizing for about 10 days. Assuming this info stays solidified it's really a best of all possible situation for me. Not only do I leave early but I also get to finish the deployment in Hawaii and avoid my original concern of being there for over three months as was originally thought. I know what your thinking, how could I complain about three months in Hawaii, but 10 will do me just fine and put me home in time for the holidays and to continue college as I'd hoped. Keep in mind this is still totally tentative in typical Army fashion.

There really isn't that much time left, three weeks of work and then the usual hurry up and wait until the end of November. It comes down to staying safe and not going nutty in this place, which unfortunatly is already becoming tough for some of the guys here. Yesterday one of the guys on our shift pulled his pistol on another person and charged a round into the chamber. Luckily he chose not to fire. Supposedly they were having an arguement and he was a bit over the edge, but that doesn't excuse pulling a pistol on your own shiftmate. Wacky stuff, I plan on minding my own business until I get out of here.

Break Complete

2005-10-17T22:23:00.000-04:00

Fortunately for me the last two weeks were marked by tons of great visits, food, and booze. I hate to see it come to an end but it has been a great time indicator for me as I'm nearing a year of activation. There were moments overseas when I felt like I had lived my whole life there, and would continue to. Strange and foolishly dramatic no doubt, but it's true nevertheless. I finally feel like I've made some progress towards coming home and that's proving to be invaluable to keeping my head sorted out. Odd that this suddenly comes on the eve of my return flight back to Kuwait. Still it has come and I'm thankful.

So what did I do on leave you ask? Well, when I first arrived I was fooled into thinking that I was going to have cool sunny weather to bask in. I sort of bragged in my head how I was a northern boy and could aclimate easily to what I perceived as an average fall day. Turns out my perception of cool was more like blistering heat in comparison to the frosty wet weather lurking around the mountains for 90% of my trip. Luckily this was all still a nice change from the constant dusty cloudless skies of Kuwait. It could sound absurd to summer lovers but I miss damp grey days.

Getting attuned to a new sleep schedule is always a hazy experience. You sort of feel loopy and distant until you can get on a semi-permanent schedule. Part of my haze was spent on golf carts which I highly recommend. You can view a few shots in the photo section.

Speaking of haze, if you haven't tried taking a dry run for the better part of a year and then having a sip of beer it may be worth it. I found myself in the airport nursing a couple of beers and chuckling at my ridiculously low newfound tolerance. I wasn't the only one chuckling though, I tried to be slurry chatty to those passing by with uneffective results. Needless to say the rest of the trip was marked with numerous beer sampling events.

There were also endless great get togethers throughout the two weeks. Local concerts, meals, bar visits, tubs of jello shots, chicken brawls and gambling. Mmmm vices, yes please. I can't wait for my return in a couple months.

I've posted a few photos of it all here: http://flickr.com/photos/krimzen

I'd have more if I wasn't such a dolt and could get them off my cell phone... hmm

Thanks to everyone for making this leave time superb.

Off again for 16 hours of flight, yeah!

Incognito Mosquito

2005-09-28T12:47:00.000-04:00

Or at least I wish these little Mosquitos would hide for good. The weather is cooling down and the bugs seem to be taking full advantage of the low humidity by feasting on us. It's comical to watch people type on their computer, then intermittently flail their arms in all directions to wreak vengeance upon the little devils.

I'm nearly on the verge of heading home for a two week break and I think it came at a good time. Occasionally I get jaded about being here and I was swinging in that direction quite a bit lately. I'd even like to attribute that to my lazy posting habits (woohoo a believable scapegoat). Luckily I can already tell a couple weeks away is going to refresh me. Sometimes I need to kick myself in the arse so I remember it could be a lot worse. I'm getting there... Mr. Cynical tries to be positive, yeha.

I've actually been so lazy with my posting that I haven't even bothered to remind people that I've been updating my photo section. There's a lot of new shots of the living area here and a few others you may have missed.

You can check them out here as always http://www.flickr.com/photos/krimzen

I'm going to try and take a lot of photos to document the experience of flying back. More later, see you all soon!

Taste Good!

2005-09-06T16:38:00.000-04:00

Apparently I never posted in August... tsk tsk. The last four weeks have flown by with all the changes the command has made. New place to live, new things to see, new afternoon shift that I really like. There's something to be said about being awake during the day, the darkness gets dreary. Better yet I get a nice mix of day and night on my shift and I've traded a daily sunset for a daily sunrise for my viewing pleasure. Not too shabby. Other than that it's a lot of the same. Patrolling, staring, sweating, etc.

I'd say last night was more interesting than any other I've had in the last month. We were doing our patrols near the pier
(pictured previously here) when a guy crouching near the water flagged us down. He kept on pointing to the ocean and shined a light down on a huge fish he had snared in what had to be about 20 finishing lines spread out across the pier with no poles connected to them. There was a bit of a language barrier but he spoke enough english and a mixture of hand gestures that we could understand what was he wanted. Luckily one of the guys in my truck is an avid fisherman and he figured out a way to haul the fish from the pier, which is a good 15 foot drop to the water, to an area where he could pull it out at sea level (down the steps pictured here).

Once it was pulled free the guy insisted that we take the fish with us in our Humvee saying "Taste Good!". After a bit of banter, we convinced him that we didn't have any ice or any way to cook it and he reluctantly put it in the back of his truck. Here's a photo, I apologize for my cameras lackluster flash.

Zee Fish.

New Address

2005-07-30T17:36:00.000-04:00

Here's the new address. I'm stocked well for most items but feel free to send whatever you like. (Unabashed plea for goodies.)

Sgt. James V. Tourville
227 En Co
APO 09366

And to shift gears a bit, here's a plethora of photos my friend has posted from a year long journey abroad through his The Watson Fellowship.

Enjoy!

On the move

2005-07-27T18:45:00.000-04:00

I've made the move to the new base safely and I've been settling into the new gravel pit over the last week. It's definatly an improvement, facility wise, but there is a bit of time tacked on for the commute back to our previous base where our job continues. I'll have a meatier post with pictures about the place up soon. For now I've posted a few unrelated new pictures up on the photo site, including a new black and white category.

New Photos

Flickr gadget thingy

2005-07-12T17:09:00.000-04:00

A friend pointed out a neat site that I thought some of you flickr users might enjoy.

From the site:

Flickr Graph is an application that explores the social relationships inside flickr.com. It makes use of the classic attraction-repulsion algorithm for graphs. Start exploring your contacts by entering your flickr username or the email address you used to register there.

Check it out - http://www.marumushi.com/apps/flickrgraph/

Moving Soon

2005-07-09T20:42:00.000-04:00

We should be moving within the week so it would be good if everyone held off from mailing until I get my new address. I'll post it here as soon as I get it.

It's odd but my time here is becoming a blur and I'd attribute that to the monotony of our work and daily activities. It's not that it's going by fast or slow, but instead simply a carbon copy of the day before. Many people joke that it's not unlike the movie Groundhog Day which sadly holds a bit of truth minus the driving rodent and toaster electrocutions of course. The move should change things a bit, and from what I've seen and heard our new base looks pretty comfortable for an army base in Kuwait.

A few people have asked if the events in London have had an effect on us here. For the most part we've had an increase in security but things still seem the same. From what little news I saw here it looked like the Londoners were pretty shaken but undettered by what happened. Admittedly this may just be the medias spin on it since I get a narrow slice of television footage here.

Photo Update
I've posted 4 new pictures in the photo section.

New Photo Section on Flickr.com

2005-06-21T08:21:00.000-04:00

I've made a new photo section hosted on flickr.com that should smooth out the photo editing and uploading process. What that means is that I should be able to post more pictures more frequently. You can reach this new section by clicking any of the random images to the right in the "Snapshots" section, or by clicking on the "Photo Section" link in the new "Links" section on the top right. You can also now make comments direcly on the Flickr site if you wish. I encourage anyone with even a mild interest in photography to sign up for an account, it's incredibly easy to use.

Also, thanks to Dan Studnicky for the help with the links, you can check out his blog at http://dstudnicky.blogspot.com
he's got a great post about buying music through record clubs up.

Student Letters

2005-06-20T01:37:00.000-04:00

I've received some letters from grade schoolers in New York and I thought it would be interesting to answer their questions right here on the blog. I've tried to take at least one or more questions from each student. There was a great diversity in questions, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did responding to them.

To the classes: I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed reading every one of your letters and seeing all the great drawings. It sounds like everyone has had their own share of adventures skiing, four wheeling, horseback riding, break dancing and having fun with friends this year. I hope you all have a great summer!

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Question: Where do you sleep?

Response: I sleep in a tent on a nylon and metal cot, in a sleeping bag. The tent is supposed to hold about 8 people but we had 12 in it the first month we were here. The army gives soldiers one summer and one winter sleeping bag and I find the summer sleeping bag is just right in the mild air conditioning. Occasionally though the power goes out and makes the tent feel like a sauna. Hearing stories from soldiers who lived in the desert without AC makes me thankful we at least have some way to cool down. You can view an older image of what my room looked like from a few weeks ago here.
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Question: When are you coming home?

Response: This is the golden question that we wonder about often. Most people think we'll be back home in late February or early March but it could easily be earlier or later. This should put me at just over a year of overseas deployment and nearly a year and a half of total time activated by the army.
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Question: Do you have any adventures?

Response: Occasionally we do, most dealing with responding to car accidents or other similar emergencies. Once we had a robot detonate a package that we thought was explosives... which turned out to be tools. (You can read that story here). Overall It's a bit quieter in Kuwait than I would assume it is in Iraq.
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Question: Do you ever get homesick?

Response: I think everyone here gets homesick, but we all find ways to deal with it. Many people exercise, read, play games, watch movies and a variety of other things to keep their mind off of it. For the most part I just try to stay focused on what I'm doing here and look forward to when I can come home and continue life where I left off.
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Question: How did you feel when you left home?

Response: I should explain that I wasn't activated in the way most other soldiers were. I had been out of the Army for some time and was surprised to be called back. I had also just moved home to New York after living in Florida for a couple of years, so it was hard at times to be pulled away so soon after just getting settled again. After the initial shock, I decided to try and stay positive and prepare myself for new experiences. I've been lucky enough to be attached to a group from Hawaii and it's been enlightening, fun, and unique living with them. I don't think I could have the same experience with a unit from the mainland United States. That being said we also have a great group from Michigan attached to us as well and I've made some friends that I'm sure I'll have long after this deployment. They remind me of a lot of people from Northern New York, they have great small town qualities about them that makes me feel right at home.
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Question: How are you doing in Kuwait?

Response: I like to think I'm doing well! It was strange stepping off the plane from America, taking in the first few breaths of desert air and then seeing all sorts of new people and new things I was unfamiliar with. Right now it almost seems like second nature to see things that I would have originally gawked at like camel spiders and endless dunes of sand.
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Question: Do you know how to play piano?

Response:No but some of the Hawaiians have tried to show me how to play a Eukalalie.
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Question: Did you know some people you work with before you left Kuwait.

Response: No, I didn't know one person, but I've easily met over 200 different people and become friends with many of them in the course of my training and deployment.
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Question: What's the climate like in Kuwait?

Response: Being in the desert you catch both extreme heat and uncomfortable cold weather. I've seen it in the 40s at night and in the 120s during the day and I've only been here four months. The last two days have been a great example, it was in the 100s yesterday and last night it felt like it may have hit the 70s.
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Question: Are you sad?

Response: I think everyone gets sad now and again especially when you're away from home and dealing with the unnkown. Knowing there are good times ahead is an encouraging thought when I'm down.
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Question: What is your job there?

Response: My job is to patrol the entire base in a Humvee. The other 90% of our company guard gates around the camp, which we do occasionally. The job I was specifically trained to do is called a combat engineer. Most combat engineers deal with mines, explosives, building bridges, putting out razor sharp wire, and many other building jobs.
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Question: What is your favorite food?

Response: Nothing is better than home cooking, I don't think it matters what it is but a piece of pie or one of Grandma's cookies usually hits the spot. Over here I look forward to the steak and lobster nights they have a couple times a month, but it's not as good as what you'd get at home.
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Question: What do you read?

Response: I occasionally get books and magazines in the mail as well as the local Press-Republican newspaper that many of you probably read. The local store offers a decent variety of reading material too. It depends on my mood mostly, and I find reading helps pass the time better than anything else.
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Question: What do you drink?

Response: There is a huge variety of things to drink in the dining facility. They offer Red Bull, coffee, Gatorade, most every kind of soda and milk as well as loads of water that we can take. I mostly drink water which is located all over the camp on covered palettes.
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Question: What are your friends names?

Response: I can tell you a couple of the more interesting first names I've run across, Angel and Valentine.
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Question: Do you like to Ski?

Response: I've only tried to snowboard and most of the time I fell flat on my face, but I'd like to try it again. Most people here think it's odd that I lived in such a cold mountainous area and never learned to ski. It sounds like many of you had fun on your ski trip, and I heard rumors that a teacher took a fall which was surely a sight to see.
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Question: Are people friendly there?

Response: There are many workers here from all over the world that we deal with on a daily basis and for the most part their incredibly friendly people. A few days ago I almost foolishly threw away my ID in the garbage and one of them reached right in and grabbed it for me as I unknowingly walking away. It would have surely been lost had not helped me out, and it would have been a major pain to get reissued.
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Question: Would you like to drive your car when you get back home.

Response: Right now my car has been sold, but I plan on getting a "new" used car when I get back. As interesting as it may sound to drive a Humvee I'd rather be in my own car.
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Question: Do you miss your family and friends in your home town.

Response: I do quite a bit, and I think everyone her does, but being away from home lets you appreciate where you're from and what it has to offer.
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Question: Do you need any supplies?

Response: I've been sent so many great things that I'm a bit overstocked at the moment. People have been very generous.
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Question: Where do you live?

Response: I live in Kuwait, about a mile from the oceon in the middle of a ton of nasty factories. We should be moving to a nice base soon though.
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Question: I like animals do you? Did you have any pets growing up?

Response: I do like animals. I had two cats and a dog growing up. Currently I have (through relation) a very vocal and wily sheltie. Over here in Kuwait a group of guys actually caught a lizard that was easily over two feet in length and the strangest I had ever seen. He didn't look like he wanted to be a pet though so they let him go.
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Question: Have you ever had an adventure like that? (Referring to a strange noise and their escape from it.)

Response: We're constantly hearing new and strange things here. Sirens go off daily testing the emergency systems here, often wailing or loud bangs are heard in the distance and the the wind makes the tent sound spooky. In fact right now the tent is slapping around so hard it sounds like it's going to rip out of the ground!
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Question: What type of games do you play?

Response: We play a lot board games like Risk, Monopoly, and Scrabble. Most everyone here is obsessed with chess and plays every day. A lot of people have video games too including Gameboys, Playstations, and computers. It all helps pass the time.
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Question: Do you wear camoflage all the time?

Response: Whenever we're on duty we always wear our Desert uniforms. When we're not on duty though we usually where shorts and t-shirts or the army issued excercise uniform.
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Well that's it for now, if anyone would like to add any questions feel free to post in the comment section. If you'd like some general information on Kuwait click below.
Information on Kuwait

Foreign National Workers

2005-05-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

We had a frustrating encounter last night involving Kuwaiti authorities and one of the foreign national workers here. This worker has been delivering military newspapers to our base for over a year without issue when suddenly one of the Kuwaiti gate guards decides he no longer will be allowed to enter the gate. Now I would assume he did something severly wrong but the reason given was that his arabic was simply not good enough.

This sounded absurd to me in a country filled with foreign workers and I assumed an officer would clear things up. To my amazement the officer confirmed his underlings demands. His official papers were taken away and he was forced to leave the gate while we escorted him out. We had the hopes of allowing him through our own US gates, and I figured the issue would be easily resolved.

The next day he returned to see about retrieving his papers and was interviewed for over two hours, which allegedly ended with him exiting in tears and told he would be deported. From what I understand he's from India which has a notoriously high unemployment rate.
(which possibly explains this crazyness?).

I was enraged about all of this and I couldn't figure out why these Kuwaitis take so much pleasure in abusing their foreign work force as I've witnessed and heard stories about on several other occasions. From all I can gather it's a simple case of power breeding corruption in a country that is essentially a huge welfare state. Here's a quote pulled from this link at the BBC:

"Notoriously, the women who make up a third of the national workforce, among them many at the very top of business and academic life, still cannot vote or stand for election.
The state still owns most of the economy and employs some 96% of the Kuwaiti workforce, who are guaranteed jobs for life.

It's an irony of the Gulf War that the coalition led by Republican America and Conservative Britain should have ensured the survival of a vast nationalised industry in one of the world's richest welfare states.

Education and healthcare are free, housing and food are subsidised. And there is no income tax - not a single dinar.

It's hard to identify what Kuwaitis do other than work for the government or the government's oil."

You may want to me to concede that this is simply a different culture, but it's proposterous that these people could hide behind their culture to justify acts of oppression. For all the hassle modern democracies get about their overpowering mindless beurocracies at the very least I can appreciate that things like this could have a chance at being changed in those countries.

Sandstorms

2005-05-21T12:06:00.000-04:00

It's been a quiet month here, but it's not going to last as I've received word we may move from this base to another one in Kuwait sometime soon. They've already begun gutting the store here and I can imagine other facilities are soon to follow. There are rumors that we may stay but it's hard to tell as rumors are abundant about most subjects here.

In any event I suppose the move could be good to mix things up a bit but in all honesty I hope we end up staying here. More news to follow, but for now here are a few pictures of the recent sandstorm that rolled through. Each shot is accompanied by another taken at the exact same time of day.

*Note: I've switched over to a Flickr account for my photos. All new photos will be placed here: http://flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Standing next to the 10th Mounain Division's mural. Most of the 10th Mountain Division is located in upstate New York at Fort Drum.

The morning shift takes over.

The tents we call home, white oil tanks in view in the non sandstorm picture.

Riding around in the morning heat.

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

2005-04-24T12:30:00.000-04:00

Occasionally I'm caught off guard by the sights and smells here. Only today it wasn't the putrid smell of oil refinement or the smog spewing from countless army vehicles rolling by, but instead the salty seaweed scent of the ocean a mile away. Often I get caught up in my own meandering and bolt out of the pitch black tent for a moment only to realize where I really am. Being in a t-shirt, shorts and sandals helps coax the illusion. The night air brings some relief from the increasingly hot days and the warm wind on my legs and toes feels foreign to my feet used to thick socks and desert boots. The smell of fried food from the chow hall wafts by and I'm transported home for a moment. I could be on a beach in Maine, or in Florida sitting two stories up munching on fried calamari at a beach restaurant, or even in my backyard in New York staring at the sky on a warm summer night. It all happens in an instant and I'm back. I don't know whether to be thankful for the minds ability to trigger memories or to be angry for its tendency to flaunt them at the strangest moments.

So here I am on the desert coast, and things are becoming a bit slower. It's not a bad slow just more of a transition to a daily grind I suppose. I've been neglecting my blog lately racking my brain over what to write about. I figure the daily dredge is worth an overview.

Since my days start at about 10:30pm (3:30pm Eastern Time) I'll begin at night when I first start preparing for my shift. Around 9:30pm I hit the shower and it's worth mentioning that they're way better than what I would have ever expected. They're like small modular trailers with individual stalls for showering with a row of sinks in the middle dividing the toilets and showers. The graffiti in the bathroom stalls is usually quite colorful. I had even thought of collecting photos of some of them just to prove there is at least 20 different ways for one to spell obceneties. I probably shouldn't though, some of it is beyond vile.

From there, I slap on the layers of gear we wear then get the daily briefing and I'm off to patrol the post. A normal night is rather slow though occasionally spiked by moments of excitement. Mostly accidents and battle drills, or suspicious vehicles we keep our eyes on.

Lately there has been a couple of drive by shootings at the camp I was originally at, but details are always slim and the validity of it all starts to become questionable. Information like that usually funnels down from the Kuwaiti authorities and as I'm finding out they can be somewhat unreliable. I've also been hearing from our day time QRF (Quick Response Force, basically roaming guard in humvees) counterparts that some of the Kuwait gate guards are corrupt. Apparently some of them try to charge foreign national workers money to simply pass through their gate, and they're known for taking items from people. This becomes apparent when our guys go to search vehicles and when one of our guys simply looks at an item they say "go ahead take it". When one of the other QRF teams confronted the Kuwaiti guard he allegedly said "I am king here". Hard to argue with that logic.

We've had some strange run ins with the Kuwaiti roaming guard as well. Last week we were traveling along a one way perimeter road and one of them came flying at us looking to play a game of chicken. He was honking his horn and flashing his hi-beams ans swerving all over the place. They also like to frequently tail gate us, and turn on their police lights, for what reason I'm unsure. I'm sure there is a possibility it's a simply a few "bad apples" but I've also heard from a Sergeant that a Kuwaiti Colonel said they've been having problems with people leaking information. It's hard not have a bit of distrust when hearing things like that but I'm still attempting to keep an open mind about the situation.

After the usual ranting and raving about things like this we normally grab dinner at the chow hall, rotating out with the other QRF unit. The food here is either decent, or I'm just getting used to it because sometimes I look forward to the next meal. Every couple of weeks they even manage to snag some lobster of which the quality is way off from something you'd get back home but it is good nonetheless. Most of the time it's chicken, chicken and more chicken but given the situation (imagine eating at the same buffet everyday for a year) they do a good job of mixing up the frequency of meals.

By the time we finish with our first rounds, and dinner it's usually 12:30am. Our rounds continue most of the night, or we just find a few good spots and wait for the infrequent calls to come in. Mostly it's just radio checks every hour and conversations in the humvee. It's getting to the point where we know pretty much everything about each other, and stories start to repeat. I'll be curious to see what topics we stumble over in the months ahead.

At 6:30 we turn our vehicles over to the next shift and grab breakfast. Everyone has their own odd schedule due to the night shift. I choose to go to bed right after I eat, and usually sleep from 7:00am to 2:00pm. Others sleep later in the day. It can be a challenge to get good sleep with the majority of everyone awake doing their own daily grind. Luckily our tent has slimmed down from 12 to eight people in the last few weeks, and I now have my own 6x6 foot space. Having that much privacy is enough to put my mind at ease. Before I was sharing about five feet with one other guy who I rarely got along with and it was impossible to move around.

The rest of my day is spent reading, watching movies, browsing the web and taking care of minor chores like laundry. The day goes by fast enough and I usually don't despise having to go back on shift when the time comes.

In other random off topic news, we've had a ton of Ukraine and Dutch soldiers passing through. One of the female Dutch soldiers who was getting friendly with a QRF guy asked him if he wanted to go jet skiiing near Kuwait City. When he replied that that would be impossible she shrugged and told him that the US Army was ridiculous. Ridiculous indeed, restricting us from jet skiing with beautiful Dutch women!

The Ukraine soldiers are an interesting lot. They're allowed to walk around in whatever type of mismatched uniform they choose, and I can't say I'm not jealous as our uniform restrictions are sometimes rather annoying. A few days ago I was going to meet a Vermonter I work with to play some ping pong and when we entered the recreation tent a couple of the Ukraine guys were playing a mean game of ping pong. A couple of our guys tried to challenge them but they were just too good, and at the end of one game one of them chuckled "ha ha ha, Russia beats America" cloaked in a deep Ukraine accent. Apparently the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union is greatly exaggerated.

I have a bunch of new photos from when I went to the M249 range (The M249 is the weapons you see mounted on the humvee from previous picture posts).

We sort of... almost drove onto a tank firing range because a sign had tipped over.

One of the many camels we usually see on trips to the range.

The camel herder himself.

They alos wrangle sheep, though I've only seen them on two different occasions.

On a night escort from our base to another nearby.

My shoebox I live in, home sweet home.

Pardon My Absence

2005-04-01T03:36:00.000-05:00

I've been holding out for wireless internet in the hopes of avoiding the 5 dollar an hour charges they like to give us for internet usage. Somehow in the middle of all this one of the soldiers here talked to a local and bought an internet Satellite which he's hooking up. I'm just out of range of this device, so he's buying a signal booster so it reaches where we are.

Don't let the internet access fool you though, we're still in a gravel pit, living out of tents... albeit it's hard to deny some of the luxuries we have here. Someone was saying how veterans of other wars would mock us for everything we have and I'd say without a doubt it's probably justified. Still, that's no reason not to use what we have as anyone in our place would certainly jump on the oportunity as well, no matter what time period they lived in. So pardon me while I take a sip of my premium bottled water, turn on the cable TV and hop in the Jacuzzi for a moment. (Please note my sarcasm, there is indeed no premium bottled water here... and the Jacuzzi's bubbles are mild at best.)

Work has been slow lately. Most every week there's a car accident, usually involving foreign truck drivers who barrel around at incredible speeds. I've seen some pretty mangled vehicles, which luckily for the occupants shielded them from being seriously injured. The heat has been picking up lately, we can finally stop wearing warm clothing when we go on shift at night. The oceon breeze keeps the place relatively cool, but I hear the worst is yet to come. I'll get a better feel for it when I switch to the day shift later next month.

For now here's a couple of photos. Oh and I hope everyone at home had a good Easter holiday. Somehow I've managed to miss the family gathering for years, but I should be able to make the next one!

*Note: I've switched over to a Flickr account for my photos. All new photos will be placed here: http://flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Images moved to flickr.

Here's to a long life and a merry one.

2005-03-16T23:02:00.000-05:00

A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold beer—and another one!

An Irish Drinking Toast seems suitable here eh? Happy St. Patrick's Day. I'll admit the only green I have on is a small green pocket for a medical bandage, but it's saved me from being pinched by the thugs in my humvee already. Alas, the only beer here is near beer, which for those not in the know is non-alcoholic beer. But it will do, in all it's 0.3 glory, a Becks no less and somewhat tasty.

My apologies for the long interval inbetween posts. A lot of nothing has been going on, though there are a few somethings worth noting.

Last week marked the first spike of a true emergency since the inanimate and quite belligerent tools aided by their mischievous box tried to attack the washracks. A call went out about a reported accident and we were off from our break tent and on the nearby highway where we joined a glob of emergency vehicles choking the roadway. Two vehicles hit head on, one an American contractor in an SUV and the other a car with two Kuwaiti police officers.

The contractor's vehicle looked barely scraped while the Kuwaiti car's front end was completely smashed in. One was scooted off in an american ambulance, while the other waited to be pulled free with the jaws of life from the fire department located in our living area. (Private american contractors, a.k.a. - KBR a.k.a Halliburton.)

For once I was seeing soldiers, sailors, Kuwaiti's and american civilian contractors working together to help people. It was a nice change from the usual tension we face when dealing each other. Emergencies seem to have that effect on people, and it's a great sight to see differences set aside and everyone focused on acheiving one thing, especially when it involves rescueing an injured person. All right, I'll stop my preachy gush story right there.

Last week was marked by some heavy rains, occasionally on par with Florida storms if you've experienced those giant drops of rain. The lightning has been pretty spectacular as well, rivaling anything I've seen anywhere. It's mostly off in the distance devoid of sound and mesmerizing to watch.

Along with the storms has come the bain of my existance, the mud puddle. Our drivers are so keen on hitting these things at break neck speed that barely a day passed last week that I didn't have to dive in the turret at every turn. I'll admit it was funny to see our counterparts humvee fly through these slop pits. In retrospect it was all in good fun but a few times I was ready to uh... nudge the driver in the head with my boots for splattering me.

As I've said, things this past couple of weeks have been slow but we are managing to entertain ourselves. Actually, we're resorting to completely ridiculous dares and weird taunting in the absence of adult beverages but hey, it passes the time! What do you do at 3:00am when you're bored? Well how about a paper eating contest? I didn't partake in this but two other guys did, and I was amazed that they could fit 25 notepad pages in each mouth. I'm sure The Guiness Book of World Records would not be impressed or interested.

What's left to do after you eat paper? How about a Tabasco eating contest. This one, I'm sheepishly proud to say, I participated in and was severly beaten at. Though, can you really be classified as a winner if your mouth is seared, and your gut full of hot sauce? I'll ask the winner tomorrow how that all worked out.

Ah, and the taunting. Yet another "trapped in the Port-O-Potty by the bumper of the Humvee" but this time the victim was a new Private from Michigan who for some unkown reason brought along his DVD collection which included "The Golden Girls: The Complete First Season". We spiced it up a bit by doing a stirring rendition of the theme music to the show. I'm not sure which is scarier, him owning those DVDs or us knowing the lyrics to the theme music by heart.

A lot of foolishness no doubt but it does break up the long bouts of monotony and boredom that plague our patrols.

I've received a lot of care packages, packed with DVDs, snacks and other items that I'm enjoying and I want to thank everyone taking the time to send them. Everyone is starting to know me as the package guy, and crowding around to get a bit of beef jerky, borrow things or fiddle with the latest toy and gadget that is included. Again, thanks!

I'm off to snag more of that Becks, so I'll leave the post with an Irish Blessing.

"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand."

Road Trips, Robots and Respirators

2005-03-03T10:31:00.000-05:00

The Road Trip

Out here a trip to a nearby camp can be tempting. After finishing my shift from 11:00pm-7:00am I jumped in line to board a bus to a nearby base. The Lieutenant told me we'd be back around noon, so I figured it was worth the ride. I could catch up on some sleep later.

The bus looked a bit clunky and had that distinct rounded edges that most vans here have. About 30 of us piled into the back of this tiny bus which wasn't much longer than your average mammoth SUV (Ford Excursion anyone?). At first glance I thought "No way we'll fit", but somehow you can fold out extra seats into the aisles completely blocking off anyway to get off the bus quickly. Kuwait's Department of Transportation is obviously manned by flame retardant individuals.

So there I was, stuffed in the back, my feet scrunched up to my chin from the wheel below. I had to smile as we wheeled around in this death trap, swerving from left to right to avoid Kuwaiti's unique sense for driving. It didn't matter though, I was going to reach that holy grail, the big PX.

Now, a PX is a Post Exchange, sort of a military K-mart, and collection of mini mall stores. Where else can you buy, baby diapers and extra large ammo pouches for your body armor? Of course we have one of these at the camp I'm at now, but ours is miniscule in comparison.

After an hour of cruising the Kuwait highway we reached the cascade of checkpoints we needed to go through to enter the base. Inbetween some of these were roads turned to slippery mud from the downpour the night before. Our driver sped up and began doing powerslides and churning mud in all directions. Each slide met with a cheer of satisfaction and exhilaration by everyone in the vehicle. I glanced out the window on our final slide and saw a foreign national truck driver in a pink turban walk pidgeon-toed through the sludge.

Upon arrival we rushed into the overcrowded PX building. I headed for the mini food court section and to my right there it was... a Starbucks. I'm convinced that even in the seventh circle of hell there must be a Starbucks somewhere. I wasn't about to pay for coffee, the army has tubs if it everywhere, so I grabbed a bit of food from the pathetic pizza hut immitator.

Around this time I started to get incredibly hot. I was still wearing all of my warm clothes from being on the night shift earlier. There aren't many options for changing so I made my way to the closest rest room. I bounced around like a pinball in that tiny filthy stall trying to get those stubborn long underwear off. More than a couple people stared as I walked out red in the face and drenched in sweat. I think Cosmo Kramer put it best when he said "I'm out there, Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!".

I browsed the main PX building and only ended up buying a tooth brush. Yep, a seven hour trip to buy the same toothbrush I could have gotten at my camp. It was worth it.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

When I arrived back at our home camp I felt completely drained and flopped onto my cot for some rest. It didn't work out though, I was still somewhat wired from the trip so I decided to just stay up another day. An hour and a caffeine binge later I was feeling jittery and ready for our oncoming night shift.

Not two minutes after we had taken over from the day shift we received a call. The Lieutenant barked over the radio, "Suspicious package at the wash racks". Now, an average night shift is filled with minimal excitement so our driver floored the gas and weaved through the checkpoints with ferocious speed.

Normally I'm a gunner but on this night I was in charge of operating the radio, and in the passenger side seat, so I had a better grasp of what was going on than I usually would. The radio net was abuzz with chatter. They weren't sure where the package came from so they closed off the entire area. We were tasked with blocking a nearby entrance, which gave us a clear view of the package.

While the higher ups discussed what to do and shut down checkpoints close to our area we started to have a trickle of traffic trying to get by us. One was a Sergeant who explained that the box had actually been their for two days before they had reported it. From all the details floating in it sounded like it wasn't going to be anything other than a misplaced package.

It's standard for the Army to treat everything with suspicion. (Or so they say.)A new call crackled over the radio for EOD to examine the package. EOD which stands for Explosive Ordnace Disposal, do just that. They have the dangerous job of checking out possible explosives, and disarming them.

Within a few minutes they were on the scene and sending out their little robot to scope out the dubious package. To my surprise they radioed in for clearance to blow the package up! A call was made to find cover, so we jumped in our up-armored humvee and waited.

As an engineer you have a fair share of training with blowing explosives up. There's always that weird silence right before something is detonated preceded by an abrupt warning that it's about to explode. The blast went off, everyone flinched a bit and then the usual nervous laugh followed.

The all clear was sounded and we stepped out of the humvee and started our speculation on what was going on. Confused people started stepping out of buildings, startled by the explosion.

We peered at the spot where it had exploded and saw a person walking out from way closer than he should have been. He had wide eyes and once informed about what had happened he explained that he had fallen asleep and woke up to an explosion and an empty tent. We all started to chuckle.

Turns out the mysterious package was a misplaced tool box. Rest assured people, you'll never have to face the evil those tools were plotting to unleash on America.

Respirators

After a night of coordinating the annihilation of a box of tools one finds that they're very tired. Finally I was going to get some rest, and even better it was my day off.

I went to sleep and woke up the next day to the most vile scent I've had the pleasure of being subjected to. The tent was a sauna of rotten egg smell. At first I thought someone had brought some awful new food into the tent or someone had... ahem went a little heavy on the infamous baked beans at the chow hall.

Our tent is fortunate enough to be located closest to a nearby oil refinary to which a glorious byproduct known as sulfur is spewed into the air. It was so pungent after collecting in our tent that I dashed out as soon as I could. Outside was even worse, so I began a mad run around the camp looking for refuge. Right before I got to the recreation tent I started to dry heave. This was no good, it was tainted here too. Ah, the chow hall must be aired out. On the way over I saw a clump of smokers gathered around puffing away, impervious to the sulfur. It was hilarious, and I laughed and choked as I walked by.

The chow hall was alright, but it's only open for a set amount of time. There just wasn't anywhere to go so they recommended we stay in our tents. I was particulary sensative to this stuff, as well as a couple of my tent mates. We'd had enough so we threw on our protective gas masks. I ended up wearing it for three hours, but the fresh air was worth it.

From what I could tell, the nearby smokestacks that produced the scent and were normally lit had been extinguished that day. I'm hoping they never have to do that again.

Note: I've posted pictures in the previous post. (That's a lot of P's!).

Also I wanted to thank Ben for the great letter, and Colleen for the card she sent as well as my parents for the care package I received. As much as I love email it's always more fun to receive "snail mail".

Pictures Posted

2005-03-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

*Note: I've switched over to a Flickr account for my photos. All new photos will be placed here: http://flickr.com/photos/krimzen

Here's me in one of the unarmored humvees we roll around in.

Showing off my clunky M-16.

My personal favorite. We trapped our medic in the port-o-potty with the front end of our humvee.

The Da Kine about Hawaiians

2005-02-23T05:57:00.000-05:00

I haven't mentioned it that much but the unit I'm with is actually part of the Hawaiian national guard. In my tent of ten there are seven from Hawaii. The other two are fillers like me, one from Washington the other from Iowa.

There's a type of slang called Pidgin that in some ways sounds a little bit like Jamaican. I'd catch a lot of hell if they saw me write this, they're fiercly independent and sensative about that type of comparison. That's why I like to mention it to them daily, all in good fun of course. Here's a site with phrases you can listen to.

I haven't picked up on all of it but the most used phrase has to be "Da Kine". It pops up in nearly every other sentence. This is akin to saying "whatchamacallit" I suppose. I like the previously mentioned websites official definition and translation.

DA KINE

Definition: anything to which you are referring when you can't remember what it is

Example: You going take DA KINE wit you fo go pick up DA KINE? ah. Oh shoots.

Translation: So are you going to take Susie & Judy with you to pick up the pizza & beer? Yes. Good.

Besides the slang exposure I've had a run in with some interesting snacks. The first was dried mango which I love, and the second was cuttlefish which I can't find a taste for. It reminded me of seafood that had been cooked, allowed to go cold and then gone bad. When I first tried it I was in the Humvee turret and immediatly shot the stuff out of my mouth and into a garbage infested razor wire fence where it looked less out of place. "That's good stuff huh?" asked the driver not knowing I had spit it out. "It's... interesting" I said, as I shoved 4 cough drops in my mouth to alleviate the taste.

What's a cuttlefish you ask? Click here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish

What did this fine snack look like? Click here.
http://www.alohagoodies.com/Crunch.html

Mmmm monosodium glutamate.

Settling in / Address

2005-02-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm just settling in and getting my living space set in a comfortable way. We managed to scavange some old furniture tossed away, and a couple guys have even built some rickety shelves themselves. Bob Villa I am not unfortunatly, but I am managing. Here's the address:

Spc. James Tourville
227 En Co
APO AE 09305

From what I hear it takes a couple of weeks for packages to arrive depending on the type sent.

Our patrols have been slow lately except for a few incidents . On one outing we received a report that someone was using a cell phone which isn't allowed for civilians on post. It turned out to be a Kuwaiti police officer and as soon as we flew in he flopped on the ground. Eventually it got sorted out but our leadership caught a bit of hell from a Kuwaiti Lt. Colonel. We were told not to be as bold.

On another trip outside the gate we ended up digging the humvee into a few feet of sand and ended up being stuck for nearly 3 hours out there. The Sgt. with us demolished the transmission trying to get it out, and then we spent quite awhile trying to tow the thing out. It did make the night go by faster though.

I've managed to catch another cold, I swear these army tents are a breeding ground for sickness. Well I'm nearly out of time an I need to prepare for the night shift. I hope all is well back home with everyone, thanks for all the comments you've been posting!

Rolling around Kuwait

2005-02-10T03:58:00.000-05:00

Our location has changed and finally we've arrived in a semi-permanent location at camp spearhead. The days leading up to this were a mix of the usual Army down time and busy work, with a sliver of odd moments.

Upon arrival we were completely exhausted. They showed us to our new living quarters which was a large green tent with cots for sleeping. I didn't have much will in me to start exploring so I headed for the showers with heavy eyelids. These were strategically placed about 300 yards and two checkpoints away. So I trudged through the gravel, flung my ID card near the guards eyeballs and hopped into surprisingly good showers. From there I plopped into my sleeping bag, and to my surprise found the cots to be comfortable.

Early in the morning we all woke up to some wailing coming over distant loud speakers. Our camp is inside a Kuwaiti navel base and just outside the fence is a Mosque. About five times a day, depending on the alignment of the sun I believe, the call to prayer is heard from a slender minaret. The normal reaction of troops walking around the camp was usually to start humming along, attempting to imitate it. This provided some interesting ear splendor.

Around half the time we were there we had down time to adjust to the time changes. New York is approximately 8 hours behind Kuwait so it took some getting used to.

Whenever we did leave the base we headed for firing ranges near the Iraqi border. This made for three hour bus rides that become tedious, but offered up a great opportunity to catch up on lost sleep. Most of the time we were up and out by about 4am. It was still dark for most of the ride and in the distance I noticed what looked like large sticks of vertical light all across the desert landscape. Apparently many Kuwaiti Bedouins like to camp right off the roads. The lights look a lot like long fluorescent tubes you see in the ceiling of offices. A few times there were even herds of camels trotting around nearby areas.

Once at the firing range we were forced to embrace the change in climate. For the most part the only section of Kuwait I had seen was not all that different from the El Paso landscape. In many cases Kuwait seemed more fertile, with large trees and even grass growing in dispersed patches. Out on the range near the Iraqi border was a completely different place. It was entirely desolate and flat like most deserts are portrayed in film and television. You know the scenes, a single guy dragging himself around gasping for water.

This all proved to be hell on my gun which locked up several times. Things weren't much better for my body either. In all my infinate wisdom I forgot to pack some goggles and my eyes payed the price. A day later I could still feel grains of sand crunching around in my eyes. For the guys and gals who live in this everyday, I'm impressed. After eight hours I was ready to be rid of it all.

After about three days of going to these ranges we thought we were finally through with them. To our surprise, the brigade decided that our company was going to give up our M4 weapons (The lighter version of the M16 rifle you see most people with) to give to a headquarters unit.

We were sent out again, and the mood of the company was furious. I actually saw some soldiers throwing dirt into the bolt and barrel of the rifle, and cranking the sights to completely screwed up positions. As annoyed as I was about losing my gun, I found this ridiculous that they would knowingly throw dirt into weapons, and sabotage the sights because they were upset about losing their M4s. I was less disturbed by this though when we received our rickety M16s that hadn't been cleaned in ages. Some of the bolts were rusty, almost all had a thick coat of carbon, and many of the weapons were incredibly worn out. I'm still curious as to why they decided to do this in Kuwait instead of within the United States where they had proper Zeroing ranges. I'm also curious as to why a headquarters unit is doing combat work in Iraq while an engineering unit stays behind but I guess I shouldn't complain abou that. When all was said and done, the people who were going north to Iraq right away have the better weapons and that sits alright with me.

After that controversy the mood turned more positive as we finally began doing our jobs. For the first two days we were trucked out to a nearby port we've been tasked to guard, but now we've made a permanent move which was gladly welcomed. We're still in large tents but soon we'll make the move to smaller eight man tents and a bit more privacy.

Overall this new camp is very similar to the old one, only a bit smaller. The major difference is the surrounding setting which is packed with smokestacks from the nearby port and oil refineries. Giant flames burst out from the top of most of them constantly. There's a question of air quality as there's not much of an EPA here. If you ask me, South Florida smells worse in many spots. Most of the guys leaving looked like they were in good health so for now I'm not going to worry about it.

So far my job has been entertaining. I was fortunate enough to end up on a team assigned to patrol the base on a Humvee which gave me the opportunity to scope out most of the base I wouldn't have otherwise seen. Lately I've been assigned as a gunner which means I get to stick my head out of hole on top of the Humvee and suck in some of the smokestack juices.

The crew that we're taking over from was made up of a creative and resourceful bunch. They somehow managed to put together an old tent from corpses of other tents to use as a bit of a hidden rest stop. They've also collected all sorts of other junk people were throwing out or giving away including a bunch of comfy chairs, a pair of cots, coffee maker, assorted games, magazines, and even a huge generator. Most amazingly (and as yet unverified) is that they somehow managed to sign for a brand new up armored Humvee that somehow was lost. Makes you feel all warm and cozy inside knowing the government can lose something that costs over 150,000 dollars.

Camp Arrival

2005-01-30T16:53:00.000-05:00

I've arrived safely in Kuwait after a long but decent flight. We flew from El Paso to Fort Polk for about 3 hours, then to Baltimore for about 4 hours. From there we made an 8 hour journey to Germany, and then a 4 hour trip into Kuwait. At most stops we had a 2 hour layover, but it was good to get out and stretch my legs.

At Fort Polk we sat in a large hangar, at about 4:00am and ate some kind of funky cake with weird crystals as we watched the stoner movie "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" on a large screen. Anyone who's seen this movie knows it made for an interesting experience, especially considering the circumstances. A few Red Cross workers (I believe) came out to see us off and shook everyones hands. High on Cake and Coca-Cola we headed for Baltimore.

Once there they unleashed us into the airport where we all quickly hit up the pub for our last drinks and a bit of food. I opted for eggs over easy, with bacon, toast and a 24oz Guiness. It was a good breakfast.

From there we were off to Germany which was relatively uneventful. We spent a couple of hours in a small terminal in the midle of the night. The prices for food were outragous topping off at about 3 dollars for a shot of coffee. They had a duty free shop that sold cigarettes which everyone gobbled up. I found it funny that the boxes in Germany had giant phrases that took up half the box that said things like "Smoking will kill you".

The last leg went by quick, and we found ourselves at an airport in Kuwait. From there we were sent with an armed escort and I was separated from most everyone I had known from the last two months. We were sent to the West (I think) where we'll be staying at a Camp in Kuwait. Supposedly we'll be here the entire time but I haven't gotten confirmation on this yet. So far it doesn't seem that bad here. More on this later.

Kuwait Departure Bumped

2005-01-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

In true Army fashion they've changed the day we're leaving from Saturday to this Thursday. I'm trying to run around and do all the last minute things I might need so this will probably be my last post before I head out. As soon as I get some sort of internet access again I'll update everyone on my address and other news.

I'm actually excited to get moving and meet up with my unit. It should be an entertaining flight with over 200 soldiers crammed into that plane for 15+ hours. No doubt there will be some fun stories to tell. I'll see you all soon!

Renegade Training Complete

2005-01-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

Tonight we finished off the final part of our two week training schedule. I haven't posted about much of the training lately since it's mirrored much of what was done when I was at Fort Jackson.

Today was a bit different as we were practicing convoy operations using live ammunition. The first part was a familiarization with firing live ammo from a moving vehicle. The second part consisted of driving through and actual course with targets popping up and mock explosive devices going off. During one of these runs a humvee with a pair of medics actually flipped over. A blackhawk helicopoter was flown in and medevaced one of them. Thankfully both weren't seriously injured but they were badly banged up. This shut down the range for hours and the day ended up being over 12 hours long.

The time spent waiting wasn't as bad as it sounds as we were in an incredible spot with mountains surrounding us and clear sunny weather for most of the day. I even saw my first tumbleweed which wobbled in and out of the landscape. It ended with an amazing sunset and some fierce rain showers.

We're set to head out to Kuwait later this week. For now it's time for a bit of celebration before we leave.

It's a great day to be a soldier

2005-01-19T04:37:00.000-05:00

Well that's at least what the sign says when entering the base at fort Bliss. Things are going slow here. The training is redundant and somewhat cumbersome but more than likely necessary. Most of it is a review of what I had done at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

Monday was weapons draw, and I was fortunate enough to receive the M4 which is a smaller version of the m16 machine gun you see soldier with so often. It weighs in at a pound less and is much more compact. Hopefully it isn't that much different to qualify with as we're scheduled to attempt that later this week.

The rest of the week was made up of night and day land navigation, minefield and explosive training, first aid, and radio operations. Today I was running around the desert learning infantry tactics and it was draining. I can't imagine what it's going to be like lugging around that body armor, kevlar, weapon and various other gear in 120 degree heat. It's going to take some adjusting that's for sure.

This week we'll be focusing on qualifying with weapons and then we'll be nearly done with training and ready to ship out. In a way I'm anxious to move on from this segment and on to my unit. Hopefully things will go well.

All my EX's live in Texas

2005-01-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

Ok, I can't back that up at all, but so many people blurt this out that I have to chuckle. Especially since 90% of the people here seem to have been married at least twice. Ah, home sweet home is El Paso, and I have a new home in a warmer tent. I think that deserves a YEEEHAAA.

Other than my move not much has been happening here, which at times can be frustrating. This is compounded by the fact that we all know we could be home instead of sitting around all day. Those gripes aside I had a great holiday break that I'm thankful for.

Training starts up again on Monday and from what I hear it's going to be similar to what we did at Fort Jackson. I should be done by the 26th of January and then from their we should either be going to Fort Polk or overseas. For now I'll enjoy the low 40s temperatures, snow and -20s puts things in perspective.

Disaster Relief

2004-12-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

No doubt you've heard about the massive Tsunami that has smashed into numerous countries overseas. (If not click here.) I've made a donation and I'm sure anything you can give, big or small, would be of great help. A friend recommended https://www.americares.org for donations, and it only takes about 2 minutes to do.

I was thinking about how many people have offered to send me care packages over the last month and I'd like to request that instead of doing that maybe you could make a small donation to the link posted above.

Back in the Frigid North

2004-12-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

After a long day of flying and the insanity that goes along with waiting in line with over a thousand other people for over 2.5 hours I made it home. I was greeted with -17 degree weather, but to be honest I was so excited to be staying in a warm house instead of tent that I'll take the -17 with a big grin.

I'm going to keep this short but I'm planning on fleshing out a few posts that I didn't have time to put together before, so look for those soon.

Also I was sent this video with some great photographs in it that I wanted to pass along.

Click here for the video.

Fort Bliss Arrival

2004-12-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

I blame it on my own ignorance but I was totally unaware of what El Paso would be like. Inbetween dosing off on the plane I peered out the window and was greeted by a desert and lines of mountains. It reminded me a lot of my trip to Tucson over 6 years ago.

After jumping off the plane and chatting with a group of Red Cross workers fresh from Kuwait I stepped into the open air to a perfect evening. This was a nice change from Missouri, and I was excited for a bit of warmer weather. The night was deceiving though, as the last two days have been cold, and the wind bitter and sharp. It dips down to nearly 30 at night and hasn't pushed must past 50 during the day but the incredible view makes up for it.

Our accomadations haven't helped things along either. Last night the heater broke in our gigantic tent, sending chills through my toes up to my nose. Taking a shower when it's 55 inside and there is an incredible draft has gotten me sick for the third time on my trip. We're all a bit frustrated but overall I'm happier here than in Missouri.

The tent I mentioned may need explaining too. It's more like living in a gymnasium, with the hard floors and high ceiling. I'd estimate there are four of these tents with over 200 bunk beds. I'm going to pick up a camera so pictures should follow soon.

As of right now we've been told we'll get leave from the 20th of December until the 2nd of January. I should know later this week on how final it is when the paperwork goes through, but it sounded like a sure thing. It's common for plans to change in the Army though.

I'm off for some chow, mmm army food.

Change of Plans

2004-12-11T16:37:00.000-05:00

I received new orders today and I wont be attached to the 467th Engineering battalion at Fort Benning Georgia. Instead I'm headed to Fort Bliss, Texas to meet up with the 29th Infantry Brigade, and the 277th Engineering Company which are all part of the Hawaii National Guard. I'm assuming things could and will change numerous times so I'm treating this all as a posibility until I get some sort of finalized answer.

I'm running incredibly low on time but I did manage to find out that they're set to go to Iraq in February and should be at a base in Balad, which is North of Iraq I believe. I also read that they should get a two week pass on December 20th, but I'm not sure if that applies to me or not.

Here's one article I found outlying a few things.

http://starbulletin.com/2004/10/03/news/story9.html

Well I'm off tomorrow morning for Texas, I'll try to get online there and flesh out everything I've learned when I arrive.

News on possible unit and job

2004-12-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

I've found some more information on what I might be doing when I leave the states. Looks like we'll be hunting the infamous IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) that you hear about so much in the news. Sobering information for me, there's no doubt about that.

(Note: I've posted the article here, but there's a link at the bottom with some irritating sign up form if you want to go to the main site which is www.comercialappeal.com)

"Reserves to hunt explosives in Iraq

The main mission for Memphis-area soldiers in an Army Reserve battalion called to active duty on Wednesday will be finding explosive devices that cause casualties in Iraq.

Roughly 200 area reservists in the 467th Engineer Battalion are readying to leave for Fort Benning, Ga., for training before heading to Kuwait and then Iraq. In Army jargon, the soldiers will be "conducting area damage control" and "anti-terrorism/force protection operations," a news release said.

"Hunting for IEDs, that's layman's terms," said Maj. Robert Ott, battalion executive officer. IEDs are "improvised explosive devices" used to attack American military vehicles and other targets in Iraq.

Companies of the 467th are based at Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington. They moved to the military base in 2003 after a July storm ruined their former decades-old quarters in Memphis at 2562 Avery."

Link to actual article (requires ridiculous registration)

Thoughts on 60 Minutes piece

2004-12-06T17:52:00.000-05:00

For those of you that caught the 60 Minutes show, you probably saw me, yet you didn't see me. My fraction of a second of fame will only show in slow motion I'd guess. Too bad, those gigantic glasses are damn flattering.

As for how I feel they presented things, it was a bit skewed. They definatly picked a wide variety of people to interview but who made the final cut were some of the more extreme cases. For instance I can guarantee you that the majority of people walking around Fort Jackson are not 55 years old, and under five feet tall. They are also not all mothers of three young children, though many do have children. I'm sure some of you noticed the big guy who got a lot of screen time, and I can assure you that while many of us are not in the best shape we are fit enough to do what needs to be done.

At the same time, it is important to note that it is disrupting a lot of people's lives, and the way some people are called up is asurd. I think they drove that home in their section about the people who aren't reporting. In any event I'll have to watch it when I get home and make a final judgement about it.

Please feel free to post your thoughts about it here.

Arriving at Fort Lost in the Woods...

2004-12-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

...otherwise known as Fort Leonard Wood. It's affectionate knickname is glaringly accurate. Welcome back, ahhhh.

Now that my dramatic yelp has subsided I'm feeling a weird mix of nostalgia and repulsion that only a trip back to your basic training site can accomplish.

Let me take a few steps back to Friday before I go into good old Missouri. The orders came in fast and within an hour of waking up I was told it was time to leave. There were some heavy goodbyes mixed in with a bit of tears as what was left of our company made their final farewell. I'm amazed at how close everyone became within 17 days. I've never been involved with a group that stuck so closely together in the military, let alone the civilian world. Numerous times I saw higher enlisted soldiers vehemently sticking up for the lower ranks and protecting some of the more disorganized people.

Once the farewells were finished I was put on a bus with 6 other people from my platoon and carted to the airport. I was angry to find out that Northwest airlines was charging my friends an unbelievable 80 dollars for having an extra bag with them. No one warned us of this and two of the guys didn't have enough money to make the payment. I encourage everyone to boycott Northwest for their absurd fees, and completely unprofessional and rude staff they have.

At this point our female Major stepped in and tried to get the fee waived, with no luck. She then offered to pay for the two guys who couldn't. Yet again I was surprised and impressed by the group of people I was with, especially the Major. She was actually set to go home because she has Asthma, but requested that it be waived so she could serve. It's hard not to admire that type of dedication and fortitude.

After this we were off through security, where I was fortunate to get one of those ridiculous random screenings they love to dish out. Thoroughly felt up, we headed for the food court and said our final farewells.

In typical Army fashion, I took the most complicated route to get to my final destination. From South Carolina I went to Chicago, had a three hour layover, then went to St. Louis and had an hour layover, then flew into Fort Leonard Wood. The Chicago airport was impressive, sort of a mix between an upscale shopping mall and a museum. One part had a life size replica of a Brontosaurus, while another one had a huge corridor with a collection of pastel panels that would light up as you walked by.

The last plane I took into Fort Leonard Wood was by far the smallest I've ever been on. When we landed it felt like it was going to do a roll. Never was I more happy to be on the ground, though Missouri certainly wasn't my first choice.

Preparing to Leave South Carolina

2004-12-02T13:21:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note that I may be leaving early tomorrow morning for Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. If this is the case then it may be a few days or longer before I get to post again or write emails as I'm unsure of the internet access of where I'm headed.

Last week overview

2004-12-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well today we officially finished all of the training we're scheduled to do at Fort Jackson. Here's a brief overview of all that has happened in the past few days.

Monday - Today they carted us out to the Zeroing range where we adjusted our M-16 rifles to fire as straight as possible. Basically you get 4 magazines with 3 rounds in each one, and you fire three shots per round at a paper target 25 meters away. Assuming your breathing or pulling of the trigger doesn't throw it off, you should have a tight shot group where the bullet holes are no more than 4 centimeters apart.

While we were getting ready to shoot, the crew from 60 Minutes showed up and had two camera men as well as about a six man entourage running around. It was interesting how they had total freedom to move in a live fire range, where normally no one would be allowed to do such things except for the range cadre. They were given kevlar helmets and it was comical to see them propped on top of their heads and other gear.

The cameramen were bold and shoved their cameras only inches away from people even while they were shooting. I guess I never realized how they got certain angles until you see it done, but it was awkward and invasive at times. One soldier to my right stood their without moving while they held the camera to his face for at least two minutes. I don't think I was in too many shots but they did pan by me several times from a few feet away. Whether this will be used or cut for the final edit I have no clue, but if you do see me I'll be wearing the notoriously stylish gigantic army issue brown impact resistent glasses. Rest assured I only wear these when I have to.

After we finished firing, the 60 Minutes crew interviewed a few soldiers. I'm not totally sure what was said or asked. I'll reserve my opinion for when I've seen the show, but it's obvious to many of us that they were looking for whatever negatives they could find.

Once this was finished and some soggy ham subs consumed we headed for the qualification range. When you arrive out there you're given 2 magazines with 20 rounds in each. You're then sent to prepare to fire at green pop up targets ranging from 25 to 300 meters. The first 20 are shot from inside a fox hole with sandbags to support your weapon. The second 20 are shot while lying on the ground in an unsupported position.

By far this was the toughest range I had ever shot at, though I've only shot at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and Fort Drum in New York a few times. We were also using older ammunition which acted strange to me. The rounds would fly incredibly high when aiming at targets around 150 meters. This caused us to have to shoot almost into the dirt below a target to get a hit. I only struck 25 out of 40 but it was good enough to qualify. Overall I was dissapointed as I had qualified expert the last time I went out with a 36 of 40, but the entire company qualified so it was a good day.

Tuesday - Since everyone had made the cut the day before we got the morning to rest. Most of us spent it snoring in the barracks. Later in the afternoon we headed out to a nighfire range. We were tasked with hitting 25 meter targets with our gas mask on, and then shooting with the mask off at night while trying to hit 50 meter targets.

I'd forgotten how weird it was to shoot with a mask on. You have to tilt the M-16 forty-five degrees to the left just so you can see through the rear sight post.

In between the mask and night fire we were served chow in the field from the usual scratched green containers. A few guys made comments about how you forget about how nice it is to be able to have simple comforts. Another person made the comment that soone enough we'd probably look back and wish we could be eating out in the woods of South Carolina. We finished the night fire exercise with tracers flickering against large sand berms.

Wednesday - This was by far the most interesting day of training, but I'm going to have to wait to explain it more in depth as I'm running out of time today. We spent most of the day driving in and hopping out of vehicles learning about Convoy Operations. More on this later.

Thursday - Today we received a day off from PT (Physical Training) which meant we could sleep in until about 6:00am. After breakfast we went off to clean weapons. A couple hours of that and we were officially released from training. Right now I'm getting ready to sort out my gear, and then whats left of our company is going to go out for some good food and... adult beverages of course.

Yahoo! We're on 60 Minutes

2004-11-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

One of the other guys in my platoon just noticed that Yahoo! has a few pictures from the last company of soldiers that went through here. Most appear to be from the Urban Ops. class I had posted about before. If you click on the link below and then hit "next" there are 4 pictures total with descriptions for each.

Note: I've disabled the link since they've switched the page it was linked to.

Also, we found out from our Lt. Colonel today that on Monday the television show 60 Minutes will arrive to shoot footage and interview some soldiers. Whatever piece this is going to be used with should air Sunday, December 5th at 7pm Eastern Time. I'm assuming this should give you a much better idea of what it's like to be here. If anyone could tape this I'd be curious to see it and verify that.

www.cbsnews.com doesn't have much up about it, so maybe it's just a small segment of another story.

NBC - Nuclear Biological Chemical

2004-11-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the CS gas chamber and my first day of NBC training. For those of you who don't know what CS gas is, it's basically a more potent version of tear gas. You can read a bit about it here: CS Explanation

Here's the mask everyone wears.(Click to enlarge, my apologies for the poor quality, I don't have an image editing program here.)

For the training we were assembled into groups of seven and sent into an old army tent with a few CS tablets thrown into a can and heated with some sort of open flame. The room was dark and there was a thick cloud of smoke swirling around. After a few minutes a small burning sensation can be felt where it seeps through the covering of your mask and onto the neck. Oddly enough my hands were never irritated even though they were completely exposed.

You're then tasked with pulling up your gas mask, opening your eyes and then resealing and clearing your mask of whatever was sucked in. One soldier who's mask malfunctioned ran out of the tent. The initial gas that seeps into your mask when you do this brings back painful reminders. Once everyone has done this (and the drill instructors have stalled as they see fit) you're placed in another line where you must fully remove the mask and open your eyes. At first there is mild stinging and your main goal is to move out of the tent as fast as you can without falling over.

Once outside the real burning begins. To make matters worse you cannot rub your eyes or face or it will just make things more irritated. Soon after this your body decides it's not so happy with the gunk in your nose and mouth and it sends it cruising on out. Needless to say everyone was looking not so pretty when they got out. The comical thing of it all was that people whipped out cigarettes almost instantly after they popped out of the chamber.

I figured by this point the excitement was over but I was wrong. The drill instructors informed us that there were records for the amount of pushups and situps one can do in the gas chamber with no mask on. Amazingly the record for males was 80 pushups in this environment. Obviously that record was safe, I don't know many people who can do 80 in a clean air enviroment in one sitting let alone that burning mess. The situp record sat at 8, and our resident situp specialist decided she would have a try at it. She knocked out 18 I believe, a hefty feat, and then proceeded to set the mark for females doing pushups by doing around 22. Everyone was impressed.

Sometime later this week we'll be doing a live fire exercise at night with our masks on.

Possible Unit Station

2004-11-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

The drill Sergeants informed us that about 50% of us had already been attached to units. I was fortunate enough to know where I may be going to. They're an engineering unit located in Memphis, Tennessee under the name 467th Enginnering Battalion Company B.

I'd say there is a possibility that I may be attached to another unit though, as this one was sent on November 12th to Fort Benning for a month of training. I figure I have a week of training here and then two weeks of training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri so I may be too late to be attached to that unit. Although they also may just train me and ship me when I'm ready, I'm not sure.

There wasn't much information about Bravo Company but I did find this article about Charlie Company and what they would be doing. (Hopefully you wont have to register, if it asks you to then just type "army" into the top right search box and it should pop up.)

Click here for the story.

Looks like they're headed to Kuwait for a couple weeks, and then into Iraq to rebuild things. I suppose if I have to be there, that wouldn't be the worst possible job to have.

Please note: I've made 3 posts today, this one, a thanksgiving one and a training day one. Scroll down, or click on the right sidebar to view the next two.

Happy Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T18:11:00.000-05:00

This morning we woke up at 6:30 for a formation and then everyone jumped back into bed and enjoyed the training holiday. Around 1:00 we headed to the chow hall dressed in BDU's (don't they look happy?). Some guys were complaing about having to dress in uniform on a training holiday and decided to either not go or wear civilian clothes in protest. I don't think anyone noticed though, as we spoke with several officers who gave us the usual greetings along with a glazed look. I don't blame them, who wants to eat in a cafeteria on Thanksgiving.

The food was like packed styrafome peanuts flavored with mud. Maybe I'm spoiled since some people did enjoy it, but I'll never get used to fake potatoes. Perhaps I've just become too accustomed to good family cooking. (Minus the time in Florida where I picked up takeout from Boston Market.) Oh well I've had worse Thanksgivings, like that time I had the flu the entire day, so it could have been worse.

I really don't want to give the wrong impression to everyone, I'm sure they did the best with what budget they have in the chow hall. Overall everyone has been good to us so I shouldn't gripe too much.

I hope everyone is having a great time filling up on good food and getting in some family time. If you would like to post what you did in the comment section I'd be curious to know.

Training Day 1 - SINCGARS and Urban Ops.

2004-11-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

Today we finally started our actual training. It frustrates me that we had to wait so long. From what I've heard only around 20% of IRR soldiers are showing up which in turn screws over the people who are here because they have to wait for a big enough group to start training. I honestly hope those people without legitimate excuses are punished accordingly.

Our training consisted of Radio Operations (SINCGARS) first. A quick overview of how the system works and how to use call signs and we were pretty much done.

After that we had a hands on class for Urban Operations. They gave an overview on how to cross terrain in an urban environment and then we practiced clearing rooms in a field with tape on the ground to designate hallways, walls and doors. It all culminated with everyone in four man/woman teams actually clearing rooms in a real building.

The four man teams were all lead by the lowest ranking soldier in the groups. I was with three other guys who were all two ranks above me (Two of which had been in the gulf war.) so I was designated team leader. The team leader goes in first and basically directs everyone where to go and decides how and when you go around corners and into doors. It looked a lot like this, except we had on kevlar helmets and there were only four of us in a team: (click on the image to enlarge.)

The real building we breached also was filled with opposing forces played by the instructors themselves. It was thrilling and unnerving all at the same time. People were flying out from behind desks, crouching behind rows of chairs and sneaking around behind us as certain points. Some groups even had dummy grenades thrown at them.

It all ended with a room that appeared to be large but when I swung open the door there was an unarmed "civilian" in a tiny closet who screamed at the top of her lungs and gave us all a shock. I now have a strong appreciation for the fortitude and tenacity it must take to do this for real. Overall I think my group did well but I hope the situation wont arise where we'll need to do this.

First Week Overview: hurry up and wait.

2004-11-20T15:38:00.000-05:00

Ah the joys of waiting. Most of my first week was spent standing or sitting in line, or riding to a new destination.

We knocked out medical first, and this was the spot many people laid down their case for being sent home. Everything from head pain to aching knee joints was looked over and for the most part everyone has been told they'll be sticking around. Interestingly enough some people are being sent home simply because they need so much dental work that the army isn't willing to do it. In addition to these people, I'd guess over half the IRR soldiers here were given dental work anywhere from a simple filling to having all of their wisdom teeth pulled. I was amazed to find out that only novocaine was used, and motrin prescribed for the pain for the pulling of wisdom teeth. If I'm not mistaken people are usually knocked out and then given prescription drugs but most everyone was resilient and I heard minimal complaints. Me, I'm healthy (Other than this damn head cold I wish would fly away.) and made it through the shots, probing and screenings quickly.

After that we went to various stations to take care of financial and legal concerns as well as general briefings. If I can give any advice to someone in this same position it's to bring all the paper work they requested including any lease you have so you can get money for your housing allowance. The Army's standard $250,000 life insurance in hand I was nearly finished the initial part of our processing.

From there I went to clothing issue and received all new BDU's and PT uniforms. Another set of advice for those headed this way, don't bother bringing any gear they reissue everything to you again. Save the space for something else, like an extra bag.

Following this we jumped on a charter bus with a strange old driver who was wearing what looked like a comercial airline pilot uniform. Out of nowhere he turns on the TV and starts blasting this horrible Ray Stevens entertainment show at ear bleeding decibel levels. While we made a stop to pick up more soldiers, he began to dance up and down the aisle and was singing to the show which he undoubtably has played numerous times for an equally confused audience. To top off the performance he grabbed his microphone (which made the audio of the show go silent) and made what sounded like grunting noises for a few seconds. Everyone looked around thinking it was the bus making the noise, and then we all put on a confused look when we realized it was the driver. It was a surreal experience.

Other than the processing I've been fortunate enough to be placed with a good bunch of people. A few from the Chicago area, some from New York, and the rest scattered from California to Alabama. Everyone has a great sense of humor so far, and it has helped to pass the time and keep all of our minds off of the numerous questions we have about where we're going and what we have to do.

Next week we'll be starting the actual training segement. Qualifying with the M-16, going through the tear gas chamber again, and other skills the Army thinks are important. From what they've told us so far I should be here for about 17 days and then off to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for two weeks of training, and then shipped somewhere else to be attached to an activated reserve or national guard unit.

Quick Note: Email

2004-11-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note that if you're going to send an email please send it to jamestourville@yahoo.com That'll be the easiest way for me to get back to you.

Departure

2004-11-17T18:57:00.000-05:00

So far things have been going well, here's an overview of my travels on Tuesday.

I kicked off the trip from Plattsburgh, NY in a tiny plane with two propellers, and landed in Albany, NY not too long after that. For such a small airport Albany proved to be a big holdup, but nothing could prepare me for the mess that is Washington Dulles airport. It was a Tuesday and it felt like I was trying to cut through lines at a busy store on Christmas Eve. The runway proved to be similar as we sat in line for nearly an hour waiting to take off. I definatly don't envy the person who is tasked with creating those schedules. Not long after we were in the air and just as quickly the plane started to descend to my final stop in Columbia, SC.

Now I've been expecting the worst in terms of reception and my fears were nearly confirmed when I heard a Sgt. squaking at some new recruits fresh off my plane. I asked where I should head and he switched gears and politely told me to head downstairs to meet an IRR representative. No one was there but there was a sign informing me to call a shuttle service which I did. Waited for nearly 2 hours and finally caught a ride out to the training center 30 miles away.

When I first entered the shuttle I thought I had entered someones personal living space. Blankets on the seats, a TV and VCR on the center armrest and most surprisingly a random woman who was along for the ride for some reason. I never did find out if she was related to the driver, but it seemed as though they barely new each other. So we set off onto a rural road with classic rock blaring and the stench of cigarettes heavy.

Upon arrival and farewell to my driver I was met with an empty building greeting me. By this time it was nearly midnight and I was worried that I had missed anyone on duty even though a sign promised that someone would be back soon. At this point I gave in and walked to the security checkpoint I had driven by earlier. Oddly enough one regular army mp and what I think were two private security contractors were cooking a huge meal of hot dogs, chopped onions and french fries. It made for an interesting odor for sure. They radioed for someone to come meet me and I was off to the barracks for my first night. The smell of Army linens brought back first night jitters all over again but I managed to sleep well.

More on my first few days later as I've rambled on in minute detail too long...

Sometimes the littlest things...

2004-11-14T23:32:00.000-05:00

... can help make a big difference.

A card I received had this scrawled on it and it resonated with me. So many things big and small have helped me this week. I want to thank my Aunt Lori and Uncle Allen for hosting the family get together this weekend, fitting that many people into one spot is no easy task! Whether everyone knows it or not I want to impart how much I appreciate every hug, kiss, handshake, gift and word of encouragement I've received. Now more than ever I understand the advantage of having great family and friends, and I hope I can return the favor to all of you someday.

PS For those of you who couldn't attend the 2nd installment of Saturday evening, let it be known that you missed a rousing dance duel between a certain relative and a jittery amazon that would put a professionally choreographed dance program to shame. This will forever be seared into my mind.

Deployment Date

2004-11-08T16:08:00.000-05:00

Well I received an amendment to my orders and the actual date I'm leaving is Tuesday November 16th. First stop is in South Carolina at Fort Jackson, and then eventually back to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where I went for Basic and Advanced Training. From there I'm unsure of where I'll be headed, but I would assume I'll be attached to an engineering unit somewhere. In any case, I've got a good week of hanging out with friends and family before I leave and I want to thank everyone for this as it makes the wait that much easier.

Letters and Preparations

2004-11-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

As most of you already know I received orders from the Army on November 1st notifying me that I would be mobilized for deployment. I decided this blog would be a great way for me to let friends and family know about my experience, as well as other soldiers who may be starting the process themselves.

Here are a couple of other blogs that I've been following and have been helpful to me:

www.lostiniraq.com
www.armyadvice.org