Could this all fall apart?
Walking home last night, my thoughts were of the Soldiers I read about in a Washington Post article - 'For surge troops, Pride mingles with Doubt'. The article points out the success of the surge,...
View ArticleWhat a day!
Yesterday was amazing. I woke around 0400, shaved/showered and hit the office. I scanned the media activity from the last few hours and put together a summary report. Then I was off to LTG Austin's...
View ArticleSoldier Humor
I went to the International Zone yesterday for a press conference. Came across this sign and had to laugh. Wonder if there will be any grass by the time I leave? One of the things I've really...
View ArticleWhere's Paco?
My 3 year old, Ryan, seems to be having the toughest time with Daddy being away. He called recently (we have a military DSN line we can make morale calls back to our home station on) in tears saying,...
View ArticleSlow and steady...
I mentioned that we've been having a push-up contest in the office. I worried that the young, motivated, full-of-energy heroes would leave me in the dust. Not. I've opened up a comfortable 1000 push-up...
View ArticleSadr City
I went to Sadr City on Saturday with Brigadier General Talley - he is the 926th Engineer Brigade Commander. He's responsible for reconstruction efforts in the Sadr City area. To me, 'reconstruction'...
View ArticleUp in the morning and out of the rack...
...greeted at dawn by a mortar attack! Well, not exactly. I was in my CHU ('containerized housing unit' - or 'trailer' in normal person language) at 0700 this morning, putting away my laundry and...
View ArticleProud to be an American
More than 190 servicemembers from across Iraq raise their right hands Sept. 1, becoming U.S. citizens during a Multi-National Corps - Iraq United States Citizenship Ceremony at Al Faw Palace on Camp...
View ArticleHave You Forgotten?
Servicemembers and civilians sing "America the Beautiful" together Sept. 11 during a remembrance ceremony at Al Faw Palace in which they reflected on the events of September 11, 2001. (U.S. Army photo...
View ArticleDo you feel safe?
I get asked this question quite a bit - the answer is 'yes'. There's only been two indirect fire attacks on our camp since I've been here (knock on wood please) and I didn't even hear an explosion. We...
View ArticleTrip to Samarra
Well, tomorrow marks 3 months in Iraq for me. I've learned a ton and am finally starting to feel like I know a little bit about what's going on over here and what the important issues are. More...
View ArticleGeneral 'O'
Had the privilege of watching General Odierno interview with John Hendren of ABC news the other day. General 'O' took command of Multi-National Force-Iraq recently, taking over from General Petraeus....
View ArticleFun with Bill Hemmer and Crew
I had the opportunity to work with Bill Hemmer and his crew from Fox News over the past couple days. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot - it was really neat to see how they do business. I escorted...
View ArticleInteresting Conversation...
Interesting times here in Iraq. One of the big issues is whether or not the US and Iraq will agree on the 'SOFA' - Status Of Forces Agreement. This would provide the legal framework for the US military...
View ArticleRun to the border...
(Iranian Border) No, not Taco Bell -- the Iranian border! Went on a great trip with Brigadier General Keith Walker the other day. BG Walker is the Commanding General of the Iraq Assistance Group --...
View ArticleHappy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying the weekend. Aside from missing my family, I had a great day. A couple of highlights included serving chow in the dining facility (DFAC)...
View ArticleThank You USO!
There were a lot of smiles in Baghdad this week, thanks to the USO. The USO is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type...
View ArticleHappy Holidays from Baghdad!
The holidays have been an especially hard time to be away from my family. My wife and kids travelled to NJ to be with family and friends. I really missed our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of...
View ArticleOver the Hump
Well, I've made it past the half-way point in my deployment. Feels pretty good. According to my official 'Pie of Time', I've completed 56% of my tour. I have 13,954,241 seconds left (or 232,571...
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