Safely in Iraq?

I call this photo "Last chance to run"

The steady hum of the twin rotors calms my nerves as we fly through the desert night on our way to the place that will become our home for the next several months. As I look out towards the back of the CH-47 Chinook, I suddenly see flares shoot off and the silence is shattered by the .50 Cal machine gun as it rips off rounds at the ground below….my heart races and I look out of the ship-like porthole straining to see if we are taking fire. I think to myself “great, my first day in Iraq and I’m already getting shot at.” I feel completely helpless sitting there not knowing what is happening so I began to pray.

Turns out we weren’t under attack. Apparently, the base that I live at is in the middle of nowhere and the gunners on the helicopter use the open space to target practice every once in awhile. I’m sure it was no coincidence that they decided to do it on our flight since they knew that we were just arriving in theater.


It has been over a month since I left Germany and a lot has happened since then. We started this adventure like any Army mission…waiting. Waiting for hours to get on a bus, driving somewhere, waiting several more hours to get on a different bus and then waiting even longer to get on a plane. We board a chartered commercial plane and start the trip to Kuwait. When we land in Kuwait, we get on another bus and wait. Then we drive for about an hour and get off the bus. At this point we endure another Army ritual- briefings. We sit through safety briefings, information briefings, Rules of Engagement briefings and so on. After that we unload all of our gear from the trucks and we finally make our way to our tents. Its been over 36 hours since we left and it is about 0430.

We spent several weeks in Kuwait doing training before moving north. Because of my job I know all of the company and battalion commanders in the brigade, so I was able to have a little fun while we were there. One day, I went out to the tank range and the commander let me hop on an M1-A1 and ride around with half my body sticking out of the loader’s hatch. I learned that you have to keep your mouth closed, which, as most of you know, is very hard for me and other members of the legal profession.




While we were cruising around the tank range we saw several camel herders walking with their camels as they graze. The camels don’t even seem to be phased by the tanks rolling by them. I have to admit, I was a little excited to see camels. What is a trip to the Middle East without camels.



While I was on the camp, I also ran into a snake. Now, I’m not crazy about snakes but having lived in Alabama for 5 years while I was growing up I had my fair share of experiences with them. Back in the U.S. I can tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. But here I just assume they are all deadly. I ran into this one while I was walking back from dinner one night. I was alone and I was wearing my PT uniform with running shoes and ankle socks. It was only about a foot and a half long, but I didn’t mess around with it. I decided I would take the long way around it.

The movement to Iraq is similar to the first leg of the trip, we ride on a bus and then wait around. We get on another bus that takes us to the plane. As we drive to the airfield I see numerous concrete bunkers that look like they had been hit with artillery. We reach the airfield and wait to get onto the plane. This time it is an Airforce plane. The crew has a US flag hung on the inside of the plane. We fly for less than an hour before we start our decent into Baghdad. Now a combat landing has a much different feel than a commercial landing. Instead of making a gradual descent the pilot waits until he is much closer to the landing strip and then makes what feels like a nose dive toward the ground. I knew about the combat landing before the trip, so I was prepared and it really wasn’t as bad as people said it would be. From there, after waiting for a couple of hours, we got onto a helicopter and flew to our FOB (Forward Operating Base). After unloading our bags again we shuffled to our tents to sleep our first night in Iraq.


This is a picture of me at the Camp in Kuwait

Baby Paste

Lincoln had one of his first biter biscuits the other day. I think that they are one of the most disgusting foods a baby can eat, but he sure loved it! Lincoln was not so sure at first, but after a few minutes, he was really into it. By the time he was done, he had it in his ears, in his nose, in his hair, and basically everywhere he could get it.

Summer Fun!

The weather here has been amazing! We have been soaking up the rays every chance that we get. I think that it has put all of us in a good mood. I took some pictures of the kids while we were on a walk the other day; they were playing tag out in a field that is nearby.

Baseball

Clayton just started baseball recently. This is his first encounter with it, but, overall, I think that he likes it. The games are a little slow, but I think that is what is to be expected when the kids are 5/6 years old. He is doing great! He has been playing 1st base most of the time because he is pretty good at catching. Here is a picture of Clayton and his buddy Gabriel before their big game.

A Day at the Park

This afternoon, the kids and I went to one of the parks on post. When we got there, it was fairly nice out. Midway through our time, it was a little cold and breezy. By the time we left, it was pouring down rain. Such is life in Baumholder! The weather here changes all day long.