Streets of Fallujah

I'm back from my first foot patrol in about a month. It was rather uneventful - and that is a great thing. The biggest thing that struck me was the obvious strides made in cleaning the city streets. Previously, you couldn't even tell if the roads were paved, b/c they were littered with debris, rubble, and dirt. As the picture shows - they have curbs (they are painted rather obnoxiously, but that is fine by me)! They have even taken it one step further and planted trees along all the major roads (you can see it on the right hand side of the picture). I can't wait for the trees to actually take root and introduce some color into this beige-dominated landscape. The streets were littered w/ people, and all the shops were open. Folks, this is a major step forward! People are at work and buying things; children were out playing soccer in the streets. Good times. I am not declaring victory, as there is plenty of work to be done, but it nice to see the proverbial bus moving along.

My Padres

I have been negligent in my duty of keeping everyone abreast of my Padres. Quite simply, it is tough to write about b/c they are stinking up the place. It is very frustrating. They are professionals who get paid to execute, and they aren't doing it. Yes, they have been hit by the injury bug; however, that isn't an excuse. Injuries happen to every team, and they just have to overcome them ... and hit the baseball! Jake Peavy pitches the finale against the Reds tomorrow, and assuming that he does his job, the Padres will have taken 2 of 3 from the ailing Reds. It would be a better way to finish up the less than impressive road trip. Coupled with the fact that the Snakes have won something like 18 of the last 22, it is going to be a long summer (Snake fans be careful about the recent success - they have been beating up on the likes of the Giants, Nationals, and Pirates). The upcoming home stand is crucial - they have got to play better. We still have 7 games left against the Snakes. You would have to figure that sooner or later they are going to have to cool down.

At any rate, tomorrow I head out into the city for the first time in weeks. I am curious to see with my own eyeballs the progress - I'm told that it is significant, especially in the area of trash and debris removal. 2/6's named operation continues to go real well. More on that in subsequent posts.

A little over four months left - but who's counting? So quit judging me!

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a huge "thank you" to the Sinclair family for the wonderful care package that was on my desk upon my return. Very cool and very nice - thank you very much!

Back at Work

Upon my arrival at my desk of 2x4s and plywood, I opened my email inbox to find about 1232 emails waiting for me. I am sure that they were all long past urgent - so I just deleted them. If it was really that important, I would have known it by now. Unsurprisingly, the war went on without me and progress was made at a tremendous rate.

I find myself pretty much in awe of what has transpired since my involvement in our efforts became personal. I came over to Iraq not knowing a damn thing and returned only to find the same crap on national news. If you ask me, yes, the troop surge is working. I think that questions arise when you talk about the business of Iraqi politics; however, that isn't our question to answer. What government doesn't have burning political questions that divide its populous on the correct answer? I feel that the answer to such a question is up to the Iraqi Government. In the interim our Airmen, Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors will continue to make great strides. Just do me the personal favor of not saying anything to the effect of: "I support the troops - not the war."

I hit some golf balls this afternoon only to find that I have regressed. The light on that wand is that it just means that I have to practice. Playing on a real golf course really messed up my swing!

I'll close by saying that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to come back for a short while. What made it more special was being around ya'll and knowing that my support network is alive and well.

Travelin Man

When the doors of my airplane opened at Kuwait International Airport and the 100 degree temperature (at 4am) smacked me in the face it was as if a death eater was waiting to suck the life out of me. Unable to summon my own patronus, the resounding truth appeared - I am back in the land of Babylon. Whether this was due to the phenomenal two week break or the excitement of the unknown of a ground tour in Iraq having long since sailed or the realization that I would once again have to submit myself to life in desert - I am unsure. However, this much is very true ... my return to Iraq this time is/was much tougher. Military travel is an amazing thing. It took five days of travel to get me to the states and a day and half to get back (I expect to be in Fallujah late this evening) and that is with an 18 hour adventure of waiting in the Atlanta airport. We actually boarded our plane three times before we actually departed. If I was a paying customer no one would put up with the hurry up and wait attitude. All we do is muster every couple of hours, fly, wait, muster and repeat the cycle. I can't help it - all I want to do is complain 1) 18 hour flight from Atlanta-Ireland-Kuwait in a crappy old DC-10 2) 1.5 hour flight in a C-130 from Kuwait to Iraq 3) a 20 minute ride in a CH-46 within Iraq 4) Topped off w/ a 45 minute convoy ride in a HMVEE to my final destination. Fun times.

All that notwithstanding, my break was much needed and fantastic. As usual, it was too short and I wish I had more time. And most importantly, it was unbelievable to get back to my girls (Colleen, Murph, and Keaton). Important footnote time ... Colleen and I are considering renaming our animals Murph to Murphlepuff and Keaton to Voldemort (of Harry Potter fame). I know it sounds cheesy, but quite possibly the best time I had during leave was reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows aloud to one another.

Among the highlight of events during the two week break (there were too many to list and I know that I am forgetting something):

* Watching two of my idols Cal Ripken and Tony Gywnn get inducted into Cooperstown
* Sean's surprise visit to Annapolis
* Pusser's with Dennis & Melissa, and Amber & John
* Lauren and T Tom's Biloxi Wedding
* Quality time with the Bent and Moody Families - and yes, I am still undefeated against Byron and Sean
* Shooting a 200 on the golf course
* Watching the Padres sweep the Giants and Barry hitting # 755 (in a losing effort) against my Padres (it was only fitting)
* Colleen's cooking
* Meeting our Midshipmen
* Putting on (or attempting at least) to wear my old clothes
* Running over the Naval Academy Bridge to the USNA golf course for the first time (C/ was still faster than I)
* Our 4 hour TV buying experience ... how many Best Buy's did we go to? 4?

So all in all I am in a good state of mind. The miles to appear longer as I near the finish line. However, I remain comforted in the fact that the end is in sight and I have not yet begun my sprint ...

Almost home

I just got my flight information ... it is pretty exciting. I'll be in Atlanta Saturday morning and on into Baltimore around lunch time. I am currently scheduled to return to Atlanta on the morning of the 6th of August.

I'm in Kuwait at the major staging area, known as Ali Al Salem Airbase. I'm surrounded by what seems like an entire Regiment of Army personnel going on leave. The Army is such a different culture from the Navy-Marine Corps team. I'm glad that I am on this side of the fence. I just think that our standards are a little bit higher. The base has a McDonalds, KFC, and a pizza hut. It is strange to have those places around. Even so, I'd rather eat at the KBR chow halls where it is free, and you can eat your face off.

I have to go into "lockdown" before my flight - about 6 hours of waiting around to clear customs. If I am told one more time that we can't do this or can't do that, I'll snap. I hate it when I'm treated like a two-year old just because I'm part of a large group. The sad part of it all is that they wouldn't keep saying it if some jackass would just listen ... there is always one in the group. And surprisingly, it isn't me ... this time.

Excited about coming home ...

En route

It took three tries and a combined 25 hours of waiting in various tents, but I have finally left Fallujah. Currently, I am on a brief layover at an air field in western Iraq, but I should be in Kuwait by late tonight. Exciting times.

The weather has been pretty bad the past three days, and that is why I was unable to depart the pattern. Oh well. Things are looking good for a 21 July return to Baltimore.

I don't think that it has hit me just yet. See ya'll soon.

Padres won last night ... that is what I am talking about!

Seventh Month Thoughts

Before I start this entry, I feel that I must make some things quite clear. The modern age of technology is a great thing, and posting to the Internet makes my thoughts open for all to read. I am quite sure that on some search engine, if you were to enter the correct key phrases, you would be taken to this page. From the invention of Al Gore's Internet to the age of free space travel, people will have unprecedented access to these words. Hell, some grad student 30 years from now might attempt to use this information as a source for his/her thesis on foreign diplomacy, and this is something that I do not wish. I am a cynic, and I am attempting to mitigate the ability of someone to twist my words - take my thoughts and perspective for personal gain or as a synopsis of the War on Terrorism in Iraq. I will say that I have faith and trust my chain-of-command, and I am convinced that we are doing good things. Hence, I feel the need to state the following disclaimer:
The ideas, thoughts, and commentary represent my personal thoughts and do not represent any official endorsement or statement of any kind. Further, these thoughts are not intended to claim what is "right" versus what is "wrong" or insinuate that one way is better than the other. I provide these thoughts for the audience of my close friends and family. Entities are not to transmit these thoughts without the expressed permission of the author - me.

Now, that I have taken care of the pleasantries - I'll proceed. I'll start with a person who does not wish attention - Colleen. She's going to be mad at me for talking about her in this forum. I'll keep it short to say that I am really lucky to have my best friend as my wife. I still don't know what I did to get such an amazing person in my life, and she has made me a better person in all aspects of life. Thank you C/ (you're welcome). I'd also be remiss not to mention my friends and family. Your thoughts, prayers, and care packages have been wonderful and have made my transition to the desert tolerable.

The Marine Corps is a tremendous asset to the United States and truly a force of readiness. The ability of these members of our society to do great things is legendary, but don't think for one minute that it isn't well deserved. They are well trained, well disciplined, and their organizational culture is a marvel. When you get down to it, I have some Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in my blood; however, I prefer to be on the high seas. I think that perhaps the best part of the Marine Corps culture is how they empower junior Marines. The Marines have a very effective tiered empowerment system E1 - E3, E4 - E6, E7 - E8, and then E9. Each enlisted rank at the top end of each tier has deliberate power to make decisions. Conversely, the Navy is basically E1 - E6, and E7 and above. This system is not nearly as effective. Additionally, it takes a large chunk of time for a Sailor to reach E7, so the length of time Chiefs have to affect change is limited. That is not to say the Navy doesn't have outstanding personnel - I just think that we short-change the enlisted on their ability to make decisions. Another way of looking at this is that many of the things that a Junior Officer in the Navy has to "take care of" are things that a SSgt in the Marines does with routine. The Navy could learn a lot from this empowerment strategy.

One thing that annoys me quite a bit about the Marines is the insisted relationship between physical fitness and leadership ability. The two are not related or correlated one bit. The idea that because you can run so fast and do so many pull-ups translates into the ability to lead is inane. The Naval Academy has this same problem: Midshipmen think that leadership is about being "hard" and an individual's ability to PT. People want to quantify leadership, and I don't think that it can be done. Leadership is a set of intangibles that revolve around subordinates trusting the leader. When it comes down to it, Sailors and Marines don't care about your GPA, how fast you can run, etc ... What followers care about is if they trust you - it is really that simple. It is also the beauty of the whole thing, as it can be done in whatever style you'd like, and that it changes depending on the desired action, terrain, supplies, and people you have at that particular time. I would like to see less cultural emphasis on leadership = PT.

I've decided to illuminate my next observation with the tag line of Marine culture as "a race to aggression." At times this philosophy is flawed, but often it is quite entertaining. As a whole, Marines feel that the best solution to any problem is through it. I'm sure each one of you has heard the expression "dumb grunt." In fact, I think that Marines perpetuate this myth - especially, when they don't want to understand something. Don't let them fool you. It is just that they have figured out over the years that if they can get someone else to do it - why not. I think the story of how the Navy is filling these IA billets (supposedly, very demanding technical support job - my job as Electronic Warfare Officer) for the Marines parallels this thought. Marines are smart and figure out various and sundry assortments of ingenious ways to get things done. I've even taken money that a Marine could find a way to break an anvil. The genesis of this idea falls squarely back on the idea that ones ability to PT is paramount. You wouldn't believe how many times Marines try to assert dominance over one another by saying, "Why don't we take this outside?" or saying, "Don't make me break you off." Somehow, they've come to believe that an argument should be settled by physical activity - vice, on the merit of the idea or solution. And, don't even get me started on the whole I am an Infantry Marine thing ... at the risk of being controversial I'll say ... never mind.

Sequentially, my next comment is about a few things that I have figured out about my likes and dislikes. I hate being the support. It is not as though I am not grateful for those members of society who provide a direct service - I just know that it is something that I don't like doing. I can't see myself serving in a true supporting role. I am still undecided about my future in the Navy, but I can tell you, if I proceed on this naval adventure, it will be as a line officer. The reality is that going on deployment all the time gets old, but it sure beats being the support. I'm too old to join the sub or pilot community, so it'll be SWO or nothing for me. This revelation also points out that I still have a lot of searching to do about what I want to do when I grow up ... I know that I don't want to be salesman or work for the government. I guess the lure of the private sector is making tons of cash (often not the reality), and sales involves being the support ... and the government doesn't pay. So where to next? I don't know. The good news is the Navy has given me some time back in Annapolis to figure things out.

Finally, I don't know what the big Navy has planned for me, but I get the feeling that I am on the war-fighter track. I just get the sense that I am or have become the guy who gets sent all over the place to random situations and told to deal with it and make things happen. I guess it is a good thing, but it gets old when you look around and not a whole lot of people are doing the same thing. When is something going to be easy? Maybe it is more of a reflection on me and my self-perception and attitude? I just don't know; I do know that I am tired of going on deployments all the time. Upon my return from this assignment, I'll have 30+ months of time spent on deployment (not counting work-ups). It is time for all the EPs of the Navy world to go on deployment. It pisses me off to know that several of my peers have a) never been on deployment b) only made partials c) only been on one or two. I know that fairness isn't in the equation ... but come on.

Some other random assertions:
I am obsessed with the Padres.
I was fat and didn't realize it.
I still hate running, but if you want to lose weight, go run (you're welcome). Screw the new fad diet.
There is hope for Iraq and progress is being made every single day. Why is it that the news isn't actually representative of what is really going on in Iraq?
The Army 15 month deployment plan is ludicrous and way too long.