My shadow

My ENS has arrived and has been shadowing me for the past day and a half. I must admit that it is very strange to have someone following me around. I am so used to doing whatever I want, whenever I want. I find him to be very well intentioned and eager. He wants to be here, and I think that if I can pick up on that level of enthusiasm - he will succeed. The funny part is that there are just so many things that he doesn't know about. Today, we went to a reenlistment ceremony - and I had to explain everything about it. He just had no clue. Oh well.

In other news, I passed my FMF board. I found it to be very fair, and at the appropriate level of knowledge. One more check off on the good old to do list.

Huge series for the Friars this week against the Dodgers. I figure that once we win two out of three we will end their chances at the post season. It is beginning to look like we might have to settle for the wild card - read cringe. That would pit us against the Mets and have us starting on the road. Ironically, those two factors shape up quite well for the good guys. We shall see.

Stranger things have happened

This snippet wanders to get to the point - so stay with me. In order to understand the nature of this IA, you have to have a loose understanding of my relationship w/ the various chains-of-command. First, I am under the administrative control of the Naval Academy. They are responsible for my regular administrative matters, as I still count against their numbers. Basically, I am on travel and for all intents and purposes, I still belong to them. Next, you have my operational boss, a group based out of Baghdad, JCCS-1. They are the ones who are administratively in charge of me in Iraq. They are akin to the wizard behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. My interaction with them is limited to a few emails, and except for emails, I don't know who they are. In fact, I think the only time I have met my Navy boss is when he met my group at the airport in Baghdad. They assigned me to the Marines and are dedicated to the missions of man, equip, and train. Next, you have my tactical chain and that is 2/6 - they are the ones who tell me to jump and I and respond with "how high."

So, the synopsis of this dialogue is emphasizing the point that I am out here alone and unafraid. In fact, this is the point of IAs - you show up, drop off your sea bags and get to work. We are supposed to have certain skill sets and just operate.

Now, I'll get to my story. Yesterday, I got a call from the man behind the curtain, and they asked if I would mind taking a new EWO under my rudder and help train him. Blindly, I say sure, but I had to ask 2/6. This fact was lost on them ... at any rate, 2/6 is fine with it. So, who is this mystery man and why does he need my tutelage? This is the question of the day. I'll tell you what I do know: 1) He is an ENS who has never been to the fleet2 ) He graduated in May from some higher institution of learning 3) He failed out of Flight School 4) He is currently in transit to me. Wow, that is a whole lot to chew on! I'm doing my best to keep an open mind - there has got to be more to the story. If that really is the story - holy cow, we've got a lot of work to do. On one hand, it is very exciting to have this ENS/FNG, and on the other, I feel sorry for him. It should be very entertaining to see how this story develops. Let the hazing begin!

Mail Cutoff

News on the mail cut-off date for 2/6. The date is now Sept. 17 for everything!! Anything postmarked before the 17th will still get to Iraq. Anything postmarked after will be rerouted to the 2/6 office at Camp Lejeune. I don't have the address for 3/5 yet.

A little slow

I didn't realize the pressure I was under to write on such a frequent basis. I know I haven't delivered in a few days, but at the rate ya'll are chastising me, it makes me feel as though I am working for George Steinbrenner. I suppose it is because I am lazy and/or there really isn't much to talk about. The big wigs coming into town provided a little stir. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that is was long overdue. The President was not in Fallujah. Seems as though, old girl Katie has had some positive things to say ... it would be nice if the press actually put the names of the Marines she talked with or the unit name into the paper. I don't think she realizes that it would be something that the Marines would put into their proverbial scrap book.You know - something that many years from now they would whip out and show their children - look what I did when I was younger. I think that the majority of us have/had grandparents in WWII or Vietnam and can remember times when grandpa would regale us with the stories of "the war." It is a shame that with all the advances in communication the art of newspaper clippings or letters are going by the wayside. I hope that the young Sailors and Marines are saving or printing their emails.

The good news is that we are just starting a very exciting time in the sports world - the baseball season is the seventh inning stretch, college football has kicked off, and the NFL season is tossing the coin to see who gets the ball. The Saints should be tough, Navy opened up a winner (and faces a huge uphill battle against nationally ranked Rutgers on Friday), and the Friars continue to look for walks against the NL West.

More News

Fallujah is all over the news. Here is a recent article that details much of what we have been doing. It is a good snap shot of things.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/news/columnists/how_marines_pulled_fallujah_ou.htm

Disappointed

From what I have been able to discern, old girl Katie hasn't come up with anything to say about her trip to Fallujah. It is rather disappointing. I sure hope that she is going to talk about it on Monday. Maybe because it was a Saturday and the start of the college football season? I sure hope that it wasn't because it was an uneventful and rather positive trip. Honestly, it was amazing that not one bullet went flying through the air. I think that we got lucky. I don't think we'll be taking the next VIP to get his/her "Fallujah T-shirt" in that area. Stranger things have happened.

How about them Padres? 8-2 over the last 10 and working on a sweep on the LA Bums! I like what I'm seeing. If Jake isn't the NL Cy Young award winner - I'll cry my baby eyes out.

VIP Visit

General Patraus and Katie Couric have come and gone. I will be veryinterested in learning what they had to say about the trip. The VIPs went to one of our newly established Joint Security Stations - think community center that the police operate/live out of. The part of town that they visited is known as Andaloos. Historically, Andaloos has been the scene of some horrific events (this is where the black water contractors were hung a few years ago) and was a known haven for the hooded idiots. Even a few months ago this was a place where kinetic events flourished. I can tell you that I know all to well ... At any rate, the fact that we were able to take the VIPs into this area speaks volumes. It is not like we take the VIPs to areas where they are going to get into some trouble. At any rate, they shook some hands, talked to a bunch of people, and moved about freely. I wonder how the event will be reported.