Just wanted to post a picture I finally got from my visit to the medical clinic. The girl is Jasmine, the one who really, really wanted the pink soccer ball. Sadly, the military has cancelled the clinic, no reasons given. My guess is that someone in a “senior leadership position” decided that, because the clinic was an unfunded venture for the military, it was more important to use the money and supplies on something “better”.

It seems like the military or politicians would have learned a thing or two about “hearts and minds” from Vietnam but apparently not. Granted, I don’t know the exact reason why the program was stopped but, knowing the military the way I do, I can almost guarantee the reason was probably stupid.

So, that was the first and only time I’ll probably be able to work with real Iraqis. I had fun and wouldn’t mind doing a tour that allowed me to work with the locals on a regular basis.

Just a couple more days and I’ll be at my 90 day mark in-country. Not only that, but I finally (after 6 months) got my follow-on orders. After I’m done in Iraq, I’ll be heading to Japan. Rock on!

I’ve been trying to go back to Japan since I left there in 2003. At the time, I was on the USS Kitty Hawk (nicknamed the Shitty Kitty for reasons I soon found out). I had reported there in June of 2001. For those without a calendar, just a few months later was the infamous 9/11 incident in New York. Being a forward deployed battle group, we were naturally one of the first units to respond to the upcoming war in Afghanistan. > more <

Though I don’t get to go outside the wire, I figured some people would be interested about my observations of Camp Victory and Iraq in general.

For one thing, you know you’ve acclimated when 109 degrees feels moderately comfortable and 85 degrees is decidely mild. The other day, while walking to work at 4:45 in the morning, the temp was 77.5 degrees; we thought it was a little on the chilly side. Life is really going to suck when I get back to San Diego. > more <

The last week at Camp McCrady is pretty quick. The big events are learning to clear rooms (a la SWAT teams) and convoy operations. The biggest classroom training is SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape); basically how to prevent being captured and if you are, what to do to stay alive. > more <

While stationed at Camp McCrady (Fort Jackson) in South Carolina, I heard about the term “NARMY”. Obviously it’s a combination of Navy and Army, but it’s kind of cute. It’s the unofficial term for Navy Individual Augmentees, since we are augmenting Army personnel. > more <

The second week of training is much like the first:  lots of weapons firing and walking in around with body armour in 90+ degree weather. But it’s also the week when you get to shoot the big guns and go full auto. > more <