He's gone... He barely made it home...

 

 

 

I wrote that song when I got back from a year deployment to Iraq, embedded with the Iraqis.  And now he is one of them.  He wanted to learn to play the guitar too.  Said he wanted to "surprise" his daughter and wife when he got back.  He had big fingers though and I (the antithesis) have girly fingers, so I can see how maybe having big thick fingers might be a problem.  So we spent time in my hooch, strumming endlessly the basic chords wanna be guitarist often do...D, A, D, A, like a baby learning to speak.  It sounded good but he gave up altogether.  He decided he wanted to bring his guitar back with him but I knew better.  Unless you packaged it real good and got it to the IZ and then you mailed it from there, it wouldn't make it; it took some serious planning for those of us that had to take several choppers from Iraqi bases back to Baghdad in order to mail it back.  Bringing it along with the rest of your bag drag stuff just wasn’t' going to be feasible.  I sold mine on the LZ before I left the Iraqi base, got 75% of what I paid for it, thought of buying me a new one when I got back home, a kind of "hell I made it back alive" present for myself.  He innocently drug his to the IZ, along with his 16 (which had a grenade launcher on it), all the ammo we never got to use and four sea bags.  We had a couple days layover in Baghdad so I asked him "LT, lemme see that Gee-tar of yours, lemme see if it can make some noise".  He opened it out of its case and it was all banged up, busted and although I don’t know how to play, even a pro wasn't gonna make this thing sound good.  I said "sorry boss, I told you it wouldn't make it".  Now I regret that I wasn't more forceful with him.  Because now he's gone.

Sound bites of the Beatle’s "a day in the life" come to mind "he blew his mind out in a car".  His family was with him and they are recovering.   We will miss this Naval Officer, a giant that was ever so gentle.  Fair winds and following seas brother, travel well.

Sometimes I wonder, what is the point?  When I lived overseas it amazed me how in some countries their military personnel could not vote.  This was set up deliberately in order to avoid making the military a political branch.  At the time I admit it did not make sense to me at all.  If the vote is personal and confidential...who would know which way you would vote anyway?  But in backwards countries, where the absentia voting system isn't quite refined (as if our system was really that advanced and refined!!!), it would not be possible for soldiers to vote outside of the jurisdiction they worked and operated out of anyway, making the military vote a very strong one in those communities.  Fast forward fifteen years and I find myself disheartened with  the candidates, yet again this year.  And what is the point?  When it is all said and done I have to salute him or her (wow...) and say "Aye Aye Sir/Ma'm".  Flash back to 2004, to a quaint little sleepy Iraqi town in Al Anbar.  All that was shown in the Camp Fallujah DFAC was Fox News.  And the news was relentless...  At the time it made no sense to change Commander in Chiefs in the middle of a conflict.  Still, now almost four years later and we're still there, things are improving but when things were so crappy to begin with, any improvements are warmly welcomed.  And the enemy is just as relentless; for every good deed, those SOB's manage to do three bad ones so it was/is a real challenge to keep up the good work.  Now again is yet another opportunity for change, my role as a military man makes me question the practicality for me to vote and the will of the American people will be heard regardless of what a soldier feels.  And I would be good with that if it weren't for the fact that some of this year's candidates are pandering to that group of Americans that traditionally do not bring much to the table anyways.  Let's just hope that they are pestilent minority.  Americans must realize that the bad guys must be fought and challenged way before they start getting the "good" ideas to hurt us, that hurt our hearts, that hurt our pockets.  The fact that we must fight these bastards will never change, no matter who is in office until the second coming of Christ.

Yup, made if back, in one piece from "ummm, the Iraq".  Lots of good friends were made there, and at least I was able to spread peace and love to that part of the world.  I am now back in Texas, trying to stuff two years of Grad school into one, as per the Navy's directives.  UT and Austin sure are interesting places, we are enjoying the collegiate lifestyle, though the academia can be gruelling.  Recalling nineteen years ago this weekend, Roki and I spent the night in Jail on Texas-OU weekend.  We were special guests that evening at the Lew Sterrit Jail house (loose Stirup?) which, by the way, has jailed infamous people such Lee Harvey Oswald, et al.  Any way, Good to be back, good to be alive these days.

Today is Sept 11th, a very somber day for most people in the US.  I am in Baghdad and have been for almost a week now.  I really couldn't understand how they showed Flight 93 as a demo movie at the PX here in the IZ.  It was quite disturbing reliving the whole thing.

 

So it has been a very eventfull weekend for me as I wait for my Chopper to return to my Iraqi base.  I was due to Leave on Saturday so everything was prepared to pull chalks on that day.  There is a Peruvian contingency of security personnel here at the Palace led by Victor, who has become a good friend, and we arranged for cash for the iraqi folks to pick up some fish and ceviche makings (Victor pleaded to them to make sure the fish did not have any C-4 in it!!!).  I knew fully well that I would not be around for Saturday's ceviche festivities, but I did not want to pass up the chance to treat the paisanitos to some cevichito, a plate that brings peruvians to tears when they are expatriated.  So I lied and told them I would be around so that the plan would be put in place.

 

I was taking care of some email over some fancy gourmet vanilla shake at the "Green Beans" internet cafe at Sadams former Palace that evening when someone announced that they would be filming a "shout out" from Baghdad for the Longhorn-Buckeye College ball game for Saturday (the Longeye game, as my mother said...).  So I went and participated in that, it would be aired nationally during the game and that is something I have really been excited to be able to do since I was a kid...to be the face of the troop stationed far away sending a shout out to the folks back home.  To know they would be cozy in their armchairs, enjoying the Americana lifestyle we have chosen to defend with our lives.  Finally, it was me on the other side of the TV!!

 

And so, Saturday came along, I was to pick up a million buckaroos and take back with me pay for some work that was done at the base.  The money lady was late, she was in a briefing that was everything but brief....so I was delayed and I started to worry I would not make my bird.  Once she showed up she delivered the goods.  I've never seen that amount of cash in my life and I was very surprised to see that it all fit neatly in a grocery bag size space.  It was very heavy though!!!  So, also for the first time for me, I was in possesion of a million bucks!!!!  I started out the door of her office to go to catch my bird back to the base when BOOOMMMMM!!!!

 

The building shook and we were in lock down.  We took on a VBIED or maybe a rocket attack in the street in front of us, so for the next two hours I would be held in the building until the clear signal was given.  Had I left on time it is very possible that I could have been in the area of the incident so I was glad to be in lock down!

 

It is very difficult to catch a bird to where I go, only a couple of flights every two or three weeks.  Luckily, the movement control guys fixed me up for another flight out. 

 

The first thing I thought was...Great!!! Now I get to partake of the ceviche!!!  So, no pun intended, I returned to the Palace, met up with Victor and enjoyed a Ceviche to Die for!!!

The last time I blogged for the world cup was in 98, a little after the cup final when France won.  Long time since then, and now I find myself enjoying the world Cup in the most particular of ways.  It is 128 degrees F outside, there is an exuberant swimming pool surrounded by elegant marble.  One may call it a palace, as it is in fact Sadam's Palace in downtown Baghdad.  The excitement of the world cup takes on a different feeling when you have a chance to enjoy some downtime between mission here out in Iraq, in OIF.  The internet Cafe where I blog from was at one time one of Sadam's many ballroom/conference rooms.  Very elaborate, marble with a magnificent chandelier hanging from the middle.  I literally sleep in a tent on what at one time was his front yard.  But I digress...

The first game was witnessed pool side with England playing against Trinidad and Tobago.  It was an exiciting game all the way to the end, England finally scoring something, even a second goal in the last 6 minutes of the game. Our British allies were rooting their home team and were very nervous until then.

 

The US performance has picked up a bit from the first game, we hope they can perform as well with the Gana team as they did with Italy, albeit having two men down.  It is my opinion that the US team has too many of their folks playing in the EU teams and they have aquired some pretty nasty habits.  The first game against the Checks was specially troubling, I left with an empty heart, not just for the loss, but because of the lack luster performance.  Against Italy, however, there was a spark of that american spirit that can fill your heart with pride.  Just a spark though.  We'll see what else they bring, and in the mean time, I will board a Blackhawk and head back to my Iraki base, and continue with my mission.

I had forgotten....and I mean just plumb forgot about those silly details...but it didn't take much to remind me, all of 15 minutes of boots on the ground.  I had forgotten how hot it can get, how the wind blows such that it feels like a giant hair dryer was chasing you everywhere.  And the sand...how it goes on and on and on...with no end in sight and getting in places that sand has no business being in!  I saw a ton of camels and goats, which I hadn't seen the last time around...at least not as many.  My arabic is rudimentary at best but I plan on making it very smooth in the weeks to come.  More to follow-

 

I can't ever remember eating as much Arabic bread in my life like I have in the past week.  There is something to be said about eating that bread while in-country that makes it very special.

A crazy trimester indeed.  Two days after moving to a nice mediteranean chateau, I'm informed Im to undergo Army training and will spend a year in Irak.  I was soooo dreaming ofa typical andalusian summer, with horse rides on the beach, learning to play Flamenco on my guitar (which I was going to buy...) and finishing grad school.  Most of all, enjoying the European lifestyle with my HP, that was the icing on the cake.  Instead Ive spent the last three months in an open bay barracks teaching my squid (blue navy) counterparts what is and how to use 782 gear and all the ins and outs that the "green" navy is well acustomed to and that the blue navy is totally clueless about.  HP, a true trooper, has been on standby to come and do "missions"...with me from Dallas to Fort Hood...literally undercover missions in between my army training missions!!  And so, Ive been the luckier of the troops on this venture so far because I've had my weekly dose of TLC just because the training happened to be in Texas.  I really hate to think how it would have sucked had it been somewhere else.  HUA Fort hood....

 

So now, were cocked, locked and ready to roll in country.  The bird will be here within the week.