Back to Normal Life

I've been negligent regarding this blog while I returned home and spent a month on leave.
The month "off" was wonderful and was spent with family, friends, and horse! Now, I've been back at work teaching 6th-graders for 5 weeks. Yesterday, the kids were treated to Iraq pictures and stories of my deployment....and my friend with his working dog paid a surprise visit! (He is in an early picture on the blog. His job was to find missing Americans so they could be returned to families.) The students enjoyed seeing their teacher firing an M-4 weapon; working with scouts; and teaching communication skills; as well as they enjoyed seeing Tess, the working dog! My hope is that I sent the students off to their holidays with an understanding of the positive Iraqi people I shared with them and another motive to be thankful for their own lives in the USA!
It has been interesting to me the way that memories of time in Iraq pop into my head unexpectedly. It's amazing to realize that we can live in a 6X6 foot space for months at a time and wear identical clothing every day without thinking much about it. It's wonderful to have the varied scenery at home and a car to drive, with places to drive to.
Very little irritates me now...and I hope that remains. I did spend time reading church books in Iraq, which will benefit my outlook on the rest of my life.
I am eternally grateful for the low level of danger that we were able to live under at Victory Base. Many of my students at Baghdad Signal University were from "outside the wire" and returning to the borders of Iraq. I think of them often and wish them well constantly.
I am grateful for the experiences, and the new set of "brothers" I found who now are settled in their lives in Delaware, Washington, and Ft. Gordon, Georgia.
I plan to enter one more entry to this blog, then close it down as it has served its purpose. The last entry will include a few pictures, since I don't have access to them right now.
Thanks for watching as my unit members and I traveled this path.
Take care and continue thinking of the service members as they train and execute their missions all over the globe.
PS: While previewing the posted entry, I see links from some of my words. I have nothing to do with those links, and wish they were not inserted into my blog without my permission. Just wanted to make you aware of that.

Winding Down

I'm confused, but I think I just published the July/early August blog and this September blog at the same time. ???

Clockwise (if the pics stay in order): daily view of a chopper rising from the T-walls across the street from my chu. (They travel in pairs, but I only got one. They fascinate me as they rise and land.) Then you see the stage where some celebrities and some local talent entertain us. Next is the historic jail cell (Sadaam's). Last are 2 pics of BSU coworkers (one is the Birthday Boy wearing his cake; the other includes incoming people).

Life is interesting as we prepare to hand off our jobs to new people. Most days are routine, but there are little tasks to complete, etc.

I'm going to throw in a few miscellaneous pictures. Some are Sadaam's jail cell and excersize yard (now historic sites) and others are examples of what I see around here daily.

We continue to have fun at scouts as the older boys build a stage for future use, and we play chess, do arts & crafts, and play volleyball and other sports. (We can't seem to get the soccer out of the younger boys, as they kick the volleyball around :-)

Everybody take care! I know this is short, but not much new going on.

I am actually looking towards returning home and seeing friends, family, and school children... and Max, my 4-legged son (horse).

Enjoy the pictures.

Jugust (July & August together)

OOPS! I don't think this got published in early August. Well, here it is..

Flintstone Palace.....................inside "before" picture.........."after pictures" w scout prints

5 of our 6 Chiefs.....................the sixth promoted here!
The front 2 promoted!

Well, the days are passing by with some variation, but nothing major. Since my 4-day pass to Qatar I've played some softball (improved my fitness); attended a Security+ class so will take that computer test soon; enjoyed Scouting a few times; and drove a big MRAP (uparmored vehicle).

I've been playing in a new "Female League" in softball, which is a good thing since I get to play more often. We came in second in the league tournament (I won't sound negative and tell that the opposition walked our heaviest hitter EVERY time she came up...to include walking in a run. You didn't hear it from me. Yes, it's legal, but not in the spirit of this league.)

In Scouting, we made and "erupted" paper machet volcanoes; played "recorder flutes"; built a stage for the meeting area; and other crafts. One small boy took my hand the last time and in International Body Language, let me know that he wanted to ride around on my shoulders. (He did...for about 15 minutes until I handed him off to a fresh set of shoulders!)

Driving an MRAP is about like driving a medium sized dump truck. One was made up like an ambulance. They drove smoothly. The only concern is keeping track of the right side of it to be sure I was staying on the road!

In the gym, I've tried Yoga (good for the body!) and am hoping to try Pilates tonight. My former roommate left a Reabock (sp?) brand Pilates ball behind...all nice and deflated. So I am taking it home. The instructor has been on R&R (vacation), so I've only seen a few exercises that people did when they remembered that she had gone for a while.

I went up on the palace roof again. What a view!! (No pictures for that yet.)

The weather is somewhat better now with cooler breezes, and the stars were out the other night looking a lot like the east coast sky with my favorite constellation, Orion.

Everybody take care!!! I'll put more on the blog in just a few weeks instead of waiting so long next time.

Sneaking into July

I found grass at the pool area! 4Wheelin in the desert!

The trip to the Persian Gulf! Salty but different!...................Desert Horse! not Max!!


Sand storm........ and Not........................................................; 4th of July in Qatar & below.
2 pics in the same location, one in sand, other at dusk;

The Colbert Report ....................at Victory Base.....................Qatar Game Room July 4th

My Outlook calendar reminds me that I have a lot to share from June through July 9th! I've played in softball games (a little..mostly keep the book); fired a personal-best 35 of 40 bullets into the intended paper target at the range; visited with family and friends on Video Teleconferencing with Skype; watched a taping of the Steve Colbert Report tv show from the palace; passed the first of 2 tests to become A+ computer Certified (not taken the other yet); and completed my 4-day vacation to Qatar (pronounced "cutter").

Pictures are above unless I can get them to cooperate! Among them will be a pair of pictures to compare of the same location with and without a sand storm! Notice the background in the one taken at dusk but on a clear afternoon.

The Colbert Report (both silent "T"s) is a comedy show on current events, to include guests. The pics will show the backdrop and Colbert with his buzz cut hair and ACU army suit! Notice on the backdrop there are Port O Potties shooting out of the left roof of the palace! Well, WE thought it was hilarious!

Highlights on VTConferences were seeing Hawke's Miami colored braces along with his great report card/FCAT results; and seeing John Mark's birthday treasures along with Bennett playing with some of them as Mom herds them around!

Qatar was a very nice break from the daily routine! I enjoyed the company of 2 unit members and the new friends we made during the trip.

We made a trip to Doha City with a guide who entertained and educated us. Of note, the only people in Qatar who can have a mosque on their personal property are the emir's family; and all businesses are owned at least 51% by Qatari citizens. Dinner was a traditional meal of tikki and kebabs (like shish kebabs, mostly lamb) with good chicken soup and salad.

Another trip was over the desert in SUVs. They wouldn't let us drive, but we saw an inland waterway that extended from the Persian Gulf into the desert at high tide, and we stood on a very high sand dune above it (it was like a cliff but sand). Off we went again in the SUVs (nothing to see but sand) to a "park". It had an air conditioned tent with couches and pillows on which to relax; a bathroom/shower trailer :-) and a tent for the buffet of bar-b-qued food (delicious chicken and lamb). Otherwise the area looked a lot like a Florida beach with "palm frond" umbrellas over plastic tables to sit at while looking out over the Persian Gulf...and the camel! Yes, I rode the camel for about 5 minutes. If you've never sat on a camel while it gets up and down, you've missed a treat! This one is a girl camel and was very polite! She did not spit nor be gross in any other way! She is very tall, or at least looks that way from above!

My group made it to the markets twice, although I didn't buy much. I did get a children's story book that is English in the front half and Arabic in the back half. (The illustrations match from front to back and Arabic is written from right to left, so it made sense to put the book together like that.)

The rest of the time was spent being harrassed by my roommate and a new friend who is based there, to participate in sports. I thoroughly enjoyed TRYING to play Glow-stick Putt Putt Golf; volleyball; and indoor soccer. I even earned a small but vocal fan club when I lucked out and made a couple of good plays as goalie! All of this, wrapped around the 4th of July celebration!

I splurged on a massage, manicure/pedicure, and hair color/cut. The pedicure was a life-saver! The ladies were all from the Phillipines and spoke Tagalog (middle syllable accented) which is a distant cousin of Spanish, but not much alike. Thank goodness they spoke English too.

OK, now I'll quit rambling, and post pictures! Enjoy them!!

Oh well, the pictures will post where they want to! Just try to match them to the story! For the most part they are in reverse order. :-)

One More Month In Paradise In the Books

The impact hole from an American weapon in this first picture and the photo of a Major talking to a crowd, as well as the picture of "graffiti" in my new profile picture all come from a "field trip" I participated in. We went to the site of a battle where the only Medal of Honor in this military operation (Operation Iraqi Freedom) was earned. The Major took us around the site and told us the details of the battle. At the end, we stood in a formation and saluted the spot that SFC Paul Smith had given his life while saving over 100 American lives. What a trip!

Our gym is named after SFC Paul Smith, so every time we go to the gym (supposed to go more often than I manage to go :-) we see his picture and that of his wife and young son receiving his flag.

The next pictures you see will be on the lighter side. I decided to highlight one of my coworkers. I don't think he'll mind....but he's not here, so it's ok.

He is about 25 years old and a SGT (sergeant), trying to make some points to earn a promotion to SSG (staff sergeant)! He and I teach together most of the time. He's a proud husband and father of a 1year-old. I know this because I hear his end of much of his phone conversations to them! Yes, he talks to his 1year-old like we all do (in a child's voice :-)

He is funny and likes to fish. Enjoy these 3 pictures:

These are taken in our office from my chair/desk. Well, the 2 are...not the one of us fishing. I tried to catch something. He fed the fish and laughed as he watched them eat the bread off his hook.

At scouts (Girl Guides and Scouts), we attempted to make sun screen prints (put a shape on the dark paper and leave it out for the sun to fade the outside, leaving the shape darker). Unfortunately, since we are meeting later due to the heat, we didn't have enough sun to do a good job. There was another construction paper craft going on, but I forget what.

There was a game that one of the boys dreamed up based on American Gladiator. Two people were tied to a pole in the ground by a rope with a bungee piece. They raced to see who could take a ball out of the main box and put it in their own box (one at a time) to end up with the most balls. It was funniest when somebody got pulled back by the bungee and flopped to the ground. One female soldier did that but jumped up running and kept playing.

It was also funny when the girls played. They grabbed all the balls they could at once and ran to put them in their box.

We ate at the local restaurant again after the meeting. I found a Pizza Italia that is great!

I'm playing softball once or twice a week. I'm not any good at hitting yet, but am getting better. I used to be good at it during some chances at bat. Today, I played second base: made one error in throwing and caught one throw from the outfield to tag a base before a runner could get back to it (OUT!!!!!)!

I'm enjoying my classes pretty much. They are a little (spell that LOT) frustrating at times. After all, they work with equipment. How many of you have been frustrated with a computer or other machine at times???? Oh, ALL of you!

I'm also trying to get a computer certification or two (have to pass a test for each) so I can pretend I'm really smart when I get home!

I practiced firing a weapon today. It was a plastic weapon cabled to a computer that is designed to help me be ready for our range fire next week. We will all go to the range and fire our weapons at "pop-up" targets that simulate being as much as 300 meters away. Surprisingly, I am better at the 300 meter ones than some of the middle-range targets. I do ok, though.

If I remember, I'll tell you how I did, next time. We shoot 40 rounds (bullets), so 40 would be perfect. The best I think I've done before was about 32.

I know that the summer has started for my teaching friends and our students! Have a great one! I'll get to join next year's students part-way through the year! I sure do look forward to it since I missed this year's students so much! (I enjoyed talking to and listening to them a few times when I called while they were in the room. They made my deployment better because of things they sent, and how nice they were when I called!)

Everybody take care of each other!!!! Be safe!

The Month of April

It's been a whole month since I posted here. It's been an interesting month. Work has been routine as I: taught some more of the satellite classes; taught an A+ CompTia computer class (mostly hardware and manipulating the Windows services etc.); and managed the commercially-sponsored test center for a week & half. The test center meant that I checked people in who came to take a Microsoft or other computer test to earn a certification in the field; then monitored their test; and checked them back out. Thank goodness most pass their tests. I HATE sending people off who paid a couple hundred dollars or more for a test and didn't pass it. Most come back again later because it means a good job for them. (I had one person who was going to get to go home if he passed his since a new job wanted him in the US. He passed :-).



Oh, I had a wonderful visit from one of the two adult former students who are in the army over here! He is now about 44 years old (obviously was about 11 when in class). I introduced him to several friends, including one who coached at his High School a few years after Gerald graduated. They had fun talking about Gerald's cousing who the "coach" knew also. Gerald is a SFC (E-7, so has had 6 promotions in his career so far) and is in food service. He loves his job of providing a good meal for soldiers! (He was a student in Wakulla County, before I moved back home.) The other former student is not close enough for me to see, but his mom teaches at our school!!

I was a member on the softball team that helped win the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Sports Cup. It was an amazing tournament that lasted a couple of weeks. We had about 75 people in our unit who participated in some "sport". This included basketball, softball, flag football....pickle ball (mini-tennis on a basketball court), dominoes, spades (cards), etc. Believe it or not, the championship, after all the sports, was a tie going in to the last event: a "vicious" dart game! Our team of 2 met the same unit with which we were tied for the whole cup in the finals of darts. So it was "winner take all". We lost the first of 3.....then won the next 2 and the Trophy.


One more great event this month: OPE sent me 2 boxes: one full of Tagalong Girl Scout cookies (devoured within the month of April) and another box with the following in it: different kinds of Girl Scout cookies; GS Gummie Berries ( I LOVE these); some homemade cards; some craft materials that I get to use with the scouts in a week or so; some toothbrushes, and other personal use things that will come in handy; puzzle books; jump ropes, frisbees, and kickballs to donate to Iraqi children; and a beautiful bouqet of crafted flowers which I have in a "vase" in my chu. The group at school also sent materials so I can teach the scouts how to make flowers. Since I have only seen ONE little, dainty bunch of flowers since I've been here, those construction paper flowers look amazingly colorful and "real" in my room. Thanks to EVERYONE who helped fill those boxes! I know it was a Daisy Troop led by a parent who had a sixth grader come through my classroom; a Brownie Troop; our PE teacher; my own 6th grade :-); a younger class; our "whatever your title is this year, Debbie" from school; and our Community Service Group with media specialist and 5th grade teacher from school.

Thanks to all!!!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Jax River Run in Iraq!

Hi, everybody! I'm going to throw some pictures on here, then figure out what to talk about.

OK, while I'm trying to pull my pictures of the River Run, here are a couple of the fishing team I spoke of last time (from FL, who attended our tournament). The scenes are the nicest views from nearby. Needless to say, the wind was blowing that day.

JACKSONVILLE RIVER RUN Middle-East Style:

Friday, before the Iraq version of the River Run, the following pics show us practicing our "set-up". We sponsored the run and our Logistics Officer led the preparations (see the "stage" below).

THEN came Saturday morning 0430 (yep, 4:30am) and we arrived, began setting up, and ran for cover to wait out a big thunder/lightning storm! We comandeered a covered area from a US unit as we sent early arrival runners to wait there. Enjoy the afteraffects of the storm:

Welcome! It's official!--------------------- Stage--------------------------- Registration

National Anthem............................................................Ready Set Go!

---------------------------------Mud for everyone!

Go that way!.................... Go THIS way??............... Cheerleader!......... A different friendly rivalry!

A voucher for a JRR T-shirt! -------Most of OUR runners!--------Most of our SUPPORT Staff!

You are probably going to have to play "Match the caption to the picture!"

I'm not very good at this Blog stuff! Have fun with this. Next time I write, I'm going to bring this back to reality. We are very lucky to be assigned where we can hold races etc.

Fishing at VBC

Well, life has become busy, mostly because of work. You will think it is because of activities because work is rewarding but not exciting to write about.

Work is rewarding because I teach service members how to work critical pieces of equipment. I help figure out the best way to do that also.

However, you will be more interested in the fishing tournament (see pictures) etc. Notice I say "fishing" tournament...not "catching" tournament. I fished for 4 hours and caught for 0 minutes:-)

The pictures include 3 fisherpeople from Florida who are on ESPN occasionally. Joe Mercurio hosted Pro Tarpn Tournament Series at one point; Sondra Rankin (Turn Up The Bass with Sondra Rankin on FOX Sports Net); and Eric Mannino (largest money-winner in redfish tournaments and hosts Get Schooled on ESPN2). Sondra is also a country western singer.

These stars came to our office area the next day, since we're from Florida too, and fished and ate grilled hamburgers etc. with us.

There is also a picture of me with a Flintstone play area that the dictator had built for kids in the background.

Scouting was fun last time. I'll be glad when I can share pictures of these kids (maybe not until I get home). They played American flag football (usually they play soccer); learned to shoot marbles; and made some crafts the last time I was able to go.

Well, enjoy the pictures. I'll try to get back soon.

Oh, I'll include a picture of a medium sandstorm. Notice that it looks like rain or fog, but it's sand and the whole world look yellow in real-life.

Take care of each other everybody!

I'm almost at the half-way mark of deployment.