Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Mass email sent 23 January 2005
Hello everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I know that I am a little late, but better late than never, right!!!
Anyway, let’s see what’s been going on
Well, we just past our six month mark (January 6th) and for some of us that used to think that time flies – well it doesn’t here! A year is a long time, but there are some good days when you don’t get mortared and you find a good bootlegged DVD. But, for the most part it is like Groundhog Day around here. Except, it is a lot worse than the movie. But for all accounts we should be heading home in July or August. Oh by the way, I just saw the weather for Chicago and I think I might stay here until that BS blows over! I don’t miss that stuff one bit.
New Year’s Eve
Many of you have asked if I was able to celebrate New Year’s Eve and I usually respond – DID WE!! Holy Hell, let’s see - after the three hour Earth Wind and Fire concert, we had this giant pig roast and I am telling you it was like our own little festival. Man it got crazy in seven different languages. I am just now able to eat solid foods again! Oh I am just kidding; Earth Wind and Fire are way too old to play for three hours straight.
Some of us gathered at the North Sea Club which is a gathering tent for the officers from the Netherlands. We spent most of the evening discussing the difference between Dutch and Danish (I think the Danish are from Denmark); let me tell you DO NOT call them the wrong "thing". Man, they get mad. Goodness, I mean I don’t get that upset when people say I from Kentucky. I will just wait unit they go to sleep and super glue their fingers to their face (did I say that out loud?). All in all is was a good time, UNTIL the Polish decided to fire off some flares that landed at the fuel point (10,000 gallons of fuel) and nearly blew us up. Good times, good times.
The Italians
There are some countries that just know how to go to war. The English and the Italians do it right. On New Year’s Eve day, some of us took a short convoy to Tallil Air Force Base. That was an interesting ride, but I will leave that for another time. On our way back we stopped at the small Italian Compound. While we were there I saw this little coffee logo sign and decided to grab some coffee (uh – duh). When I walked in, it was if the heavens had opened and the voices of a thousand angels started singing (at this point you should hum Hayden’s Hallelujah chorus). It was an honest to god, granny grab your teeth, BAR. There was this huge oak bar with all the liquors one could desire stacked neatly behind it. And to add to the atmosphere, there were several neat and clean Italian soldiers (equally divided men and women) having an early morning cocktail. Now of course I didn’t partake, it was 11:00 in the morning for god’s sake. I have my standards even if it is war. So, I waited until 11:30 before ordering a shot (Just kidding, just kidding).
A friend of mine and I decided to order an espresso – yes you heard me an ESPRESSO in the middle of @#$#$ @%^$ ^$#! Iraq! And for one moment we actually forgot where we were. Man, if I get reassigned – you’ll know where to find me.
I swear he said this . . .
Okay the new Chief of Air Operations is . . . well . . . slow! So, there are several times throughout my day that I hear some stupid stuff. For example, one day I received a message from III Corp concerning a safety conference to take place in early February. I turned to the Chief and informed him of the event and asked if he wanted to attend. I swear to you, he paused, gave me a dazed look, and said; “I had cucumbers for lunch”. Welcome to my world.
Now this example is not that stupid, but it sure was funny (I apologize if this offends anyone). One day he looked at me and said;
“We have no FAC here” (if you say that to yourself with a heavy Polish accent you will get the joke).
Daniel: Tell me about it
Chief: A FAC would make things easier
Daniel: Sure would
Chief: They have four FACs at Al Kut.
Daniel: What?
It was this point that I realized that he was not talking about what I thought I heard. He was referring to Forward Aviation Control (FAC), but the way he said it, well it sounded like he was saying . . . . okay you get it. The funny part is that he spends the next 10 minutes talking about FACs. Of course the eleven year old in me just can’t stop giggling ever time he says it.
A few more days and counting!
Of course all the news is of the election here in Iraq. I am torn between candidate #212 or #78, hard choices – wish I could pronounce their names!
It is an amazing logistical nightmare of pulling off the election. Just think about printing the ballots, storing them, and then counting them – just look at Florida!
I am sure it goes well. We will consider it a successful election if 60% of the registered voters vote; I wondered why we were asked to complete 100 ballots.
Tony Blair – the European Interpreter?
It seems that Prime Minister Blair has been put in the very peculiar position of “interrupting” President Bush for the Europeans. For example, President Bush says: “We will rid the world of tyranny” and during a recent speech at the G8 conference, PM Blair commented that the President did not mean we would invade any country we please. Further, PM Blair said that we would be out of Iraq very soon. And just the other day, the United States Army announced that they plan to maintain the current troop strength until the end of 2006. Okay, no wonder everyone is confused.
Once again, thank you for your great letters, emails and packages. I couldn’t have asked for more. Have a great winter! And I will write more when I can.
Take care,
Daniel
Hello everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I know that I am a little late, but better late than never, right!!!
Anyway, let’s see what’s been going on
Well, we just past our six month mark (January 6th) and for some of us that used to think that time flies – well it doesn’t here! A year is a long time, but there are some good days when you don’t get mortared and you find a good bootlegged DVD. But, for the most part it is like Groundhog Day around here. Except, it is a lot worse than the movie. But for all accounts we should be heading home in July or August. Oh by the way, I just saw the weather for Chicago and I think I might stay here until that BS blows over! I don’t miss that stuff one bit.
New Year’s Eve
Many of you have asked if I was able to celebrate New Year’s Eve and I usually respond – DID WE!! Holy Hell, let’s see - after the three hour Earth Wind and Fire concert, we had this giant pig roast and I am telling you it was like our own little festival. Man it got crazy in seven different languages. I am just now able to eat solid foods again! Oh I am just kidding; Earth Wind and Fire are way too old to play for three hours straight.
Some of us gathered at the North Sea Club which is a gathering tent for the officers from the Netherlands. We spent most of the evening discussing the difference between Dutch and Danish (I think the Danish are from Denmark); let me tell you DO NOT call them the wrong "thing". Man, they get mad. Goodness, I mean I don’t get that upset when people say I from Kentucky. I will just wait unit they go to sleep and super glue their fingers to their face (did I say that out loud?). All in all is was a good time, UNTIL the Polish decided to fire off some flares that landed at the fuel point (10,000 gallons of fuel) and nearly blew us up. Good times, good times.
The Italians
There are some countries that just know how to go to war. The English and the Italians do it right. On New Year’s Eve day, some of us took a short convoy to Tallil Air Force Base. That was an interesting ride, but I will leave that for another time. On our way back we stopped at the small Italian Compound. While we were there I saw this little coffee logo sign and decided to grab some coffee (uh – duh). When I walked in, it was if the heavens had opened and the voices of a thousand angels started singing (at this point you should hum Hayden’s Hallelujah chorus). It was an honest to god, granny grab your teeth, BAR. There was this huge oak bar with all the liquors one could desire stacked neatly behind it. And to add to the atmosphere, there were several neat and clean Italian soldiers (equally divided men and women) having an early morning cocktail. Now of course I didn’t partake, it was 11:00 in the morning for god’s sake. I have my standards even if it is war. So, I waited until 11:30 before ordering a shot (Just kidding, just kidding).
A friend of mine and I decided to order an espresso – yes you heard me an ESPRESSO in the middle of @#$#$ @%^$ ^$#! Iraq! And for one moment we actually forgot where we were. Man, if I get reassigned – you’ll know where to find me.
I swear he said this . . .
Okay the new Chief of Air Operations is . . . well . . . slow! So, there are several times throughout my day that I hear some stupid stuff. For example, one day I received a message from III Corp concerning a safety conference to take place in early February. I turned to the Chief and informed him of the event and asked if he wanted to attend. I swear to you, he paused, gave me a dazed look, and said; “I had cucumbers for lunch”. Welcome to my world.
Now this example is not that stupid, but it sure was funny (I apologize if this offends anyone). One day he looked at me and said;
“We have no FAC here” (if you say that to yourself with a heavy Polish accent you will get the joke).
Daniel: Tell me about it
Chief: A FAC would make things easier
Daniel: Sure would
Chief: They have four FACs at Al Kut.
Daniel: What?
It was this point that I realized that he was not talking about what I thought I heard. He was referring to Forward Aviation Control (FAC), but the way he said it, well it sounded like he was saying . . . . okay you get it. The funny part is that he spends the next 10 minutes talking about FACs. Of course the eleven year old in me just can’t stop giggling ever time he says it.
A few more days and counting!
Of course all the news is of the election here in Iraq. I am torn between candidate #212 or #78, hard choices – wish I could pronounce their names!
It is an amazing logistical nightmare of pulling off the election. Just think about printing the ballots, storing them, and then counting them – just look at Florida!
I am sure it goes well. We will consider it a successful election if 60% of the registered voters vote; I wondered why we were asked to complete 100 ballots.
Tony Blair – the European Interpreter?
It seems that Prime Minister Blair has been put in the very peculiar position of “interrupting” President Bush for the Europeans. For example, President Bush says: “We will rid the world of tyranny” and during a recent speech at the G8 conference, PM Blair commented that the President did not mean we would invade any country we please. Further, PM Blair said that we would be out of Iraq very soon. And just the other day, the United States Army announced that they plan to maintain the current troop strength until the end of 2006. Okay, no wonder everyone is confused.
Once again, thank you for your great letters, emails and packages. I couldn’t have asked for more. Have a great winter! And I will write more when I can.
Take care,
Daniel
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Mass email sent Dec 23 2004
Hello everyone,
I am sure all of you are getting ready for a wonderful holiday break and looking forward to spending some time with family and friends. I wanted to write and wish you some holiday cheer and to also share some stories.
Bye Bye Babylon
Well, we had to leave our beloved Babylon. Now, it wasn’t like it was a resort area or anything, but it was nice to be living in an historical and interesting area. But, nothing is permanent and we were asked to move to Ad Diwaniyah which is about 120 kms south of Babylon. Now the Army has a saying “trying to fit 20 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag” (sorry for the French). But that is exactly the way it is here at Camp Echo. This place is designed for about 1,500 and of course we are trying to fit 3,500 here. You can’t walk ten feet without tripping over some Pollack, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Mongolian or some other “ian”.
You should write a book
I have become close friends with several members of a British owned private security firm. These guys have spent years in either the British or South African Special Forces. Anyway, one night we were sitting around and they were telling war stories - the stuff out of Clancy novels. One gentleman was warmly reminiscing about how he was struck in the back by the fins of a RPG. The only damage was that “it cut my suspenders and caused a little internal bleeding”. Holy Hell! There was a pause in the conversation and I decided to offer my own story which involved nearly cutting off my index finger while trying to open a box of crackers (don’t laugh – I nearly cut the tendon). Well of course it came off as one of those “one time at Band Camp moments” and everyone had a good laugh.
At one point I made the comment “you sumabitches outta write a book”. At that time a gentleman named Keith said “Hold on chap” and came back with a hardback book with his face on the cover entitled “The Life of a Mercenary” Holy Hell #2. The kicker is that the book was written by the founder of “Soldier of Fortune” Magazine.
The Polish Prime Minister just walked in – hold on (really – I am not joking).
10 for you, one for me
On our convoys we frequently take large bags of candy to toss to the Iraqi children that are waiting anxiously by the road. It is an enjoyable exercise because the children seem to love the treats and I have implemented my own 10 for them one for me rule. During one of our latest trips, we came upon a group of about six young Iraqi boys (10-12 years old). They were waiting for the candy and we of course tossed them handfuls. However, one of the boys “flipped us off” and then spit at the vehicle. After my initial reaction which was “hey that little bastard just spit at us, turn this thing around” I realized that he was much too young to have personalized that kind of resentment. He must have learned it from his parents or the adult leaders in his village.
It is a shame how hatred for one another can continue and grow especially when it starts at such a young age. And it reminded me that we as parents have a responsibility to our children and to be mindful that they are constantly watching us and listening to our words for guidance on how they should view the world.
Bottom George the WITCH DOCTOR is doing fine
Since I work two night shifts and three day shifts per week my sleep clock is all screwed up. I mentioned my problems sleeping to Bottom George and he suggested a “sedixtive”. The next day he gave me about four little white pills and said with a grin, “these make you very relaxed”. I decided to take one after a long day shift and “holy Jessica Parker”. Immediately I somewhat regretted taken some Mongolian “special” pill, I woke up 16 hours later feeling like I had been run over. I still have a nervous twitch, little bastard.
Good Bye Ted
Major Ted Korontjis is a state patrolman from the Boston area. He is about my height, but weighs 210-215 lbs. He has been an active bodybuilder for several years and has the arms to prove it. Over the past few months, Ted and I became great friends and running partners. We took great pride in training for the physical fitness test together and doing a helluva job on the run part.
As an avid Red Sox fan, we all shared in his joy when the cursed Sox finally won the big one. Anyway, Ted’s time with us came to a close and he had to rejoin his unit in south Iraq. That is one of the bad things about these missions, you spend so much time with good people and you grow to appreciate their friendship. So here’s to Ted, I hope he has a safe trip home and I know his son will be overjoyed to see his dad again. He is a great guy. Of course when I get home, I am going to Boston to whip his ass in his hometown.
With apologies to my Texas relatives and friends, Tennessee is going to WHOP Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
Christmas
Many people have asked me that since I am Buddhist do I celebrate Christmas. Hey, I celebrate any holiday that involves me getting presents!
If you are wondering, we are planning a small get together on Christmas day. Nothing special, just something to remind ourselves that it is Christmas.
Well folks that just about does it for this time. The thing I love about the holidays is that when all of the presents have been opened and all of the great food has been enjoyed there is a special moment. It is a fleeting moment when one gets that sincere sensation of happiness and peace and that for a split second everything is right in the world.
So for you my dear friends, my wish for you is that that moment of happiness is with you throughout the New Year.
Happy Holidays everyone and have a wonderful New Year
Sincerely,
Daniel
Hello everyone,
I am sure all of you are getting ready for a wonderful holiday break and looking forward to spending some time with family and friends. I wanted to write and wish you some holiday cheer and to also share some stories.
Bye Bye Babylon
Well, we had to leave our beloved Babylon. Now, it wasn’t like it was a resort area or anything, but it was nice to be living in an historical and interesting area. But, nothing is permanent and we were asked to move to Ad Diwaniyah which is about 120 kms south of Babylon. Now the Army has a saying “trying to fit 20 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag” (sorry for the French). But that is exactly the way it is here at Camp Echo. This place is designed for about 1,500 and of course we are trying to fit 3,500 here. You can’t walk ten feet without tripping over some Pollack, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Mongolian or some other “ian”.
You should write a book
I have become close friends with several members of a British owned private security firm. These guys have spent years in either the British or South African Special Forces. Anyway, one night we were sitting around and they were telling war stories - the stuff out of Clancy novels. One gentleman was warmly reminiscing about how he was struck in the back by the fins of a RPG. The only damage was that “it cut my suspenders and caused a little internal bleeding”. Holy Hell! There was a pause in the conversation and I decided to offer my own story which involved nearly cutting off my index finger while trying to open a box of crackers (don’t laugh – I nearly cut the tendon). Well of course it came off as one of those “one time at Band Camp moments” and everyone had a good laugh.
At one point I made the comment “you sumabitches outta write a book”. At that time a gentleman named Keith said “Hold on chap” and came back with a hardback book with his face on the cover entitled “The Life of a Mercenary” Holy Hell #2. The kicker is that the book was written by the founder of “Soldier of Fortune” Magazine.
The Polish Prime Minister just walked in – hold on (really – I am not joking).
10 for you, one for me
On our convoys we frequently take large bags of candy to toss to the Iraqi children that are waiting anxiously by the road. It is an enjoyable exercise because the children seem to love the treats and I have implemented my own 10 for them one for me rule. During one of our latest trips, we came upon a group of about six young Iraqi boys (10-12 years old). They were waiting for the candy and we of course tossed them handfuls. However, one of the boys “flipped us off” and then spit at the vehicle. After my initial reaction which was “hey that little bastard just spit at us, turn this thing around” I realized that he was much too young to have personalized that kind of resentment. He must have learned it from his parents or the adult leaders in his village.
It is a shame how hatred for one another can continue and grow especially when it starts at such a young age. And it reminded me that we as parents have a responsibility to our children and to be mindful that they are constantly watching us and listening to our words for guidance on how they should view the world.
Bottom George the WITCH DOCTOR is doing fine
Since I work two night shifts and three day shifts per week my sleep clock is all screwed up. I mentioned my problems sleeping to Bottom George and he suggested a “sedixtive”. The next day he gave me about four little white pills and said with a grin, “these make you very relaxed”. I decided to take one after a long day shift and “holy Jessica Parker”. Immediately I somewhat regretted taken some Mongolian “special” pill, I woke up 16 hours later feeling like I had been run over. I still have a nervous twitch, little bastard.
Good Bye Ted
Major Ted Korontjis is a state patrolman from the Boston area. He is about my height, but weighs 210-215 lbs. He has been an active bodybuilder for several years and has the arms to prove it. Over the past few months, Ted and I became great friends and running partners. We took great pride in training for the physical fitness test together and doing a helluva job on the run part.
As an avid Red Sox fan, we all shared in his joy when the cursed Sox finally won the big one. Anyway, Ted’s time with us came to a close and he had to rejoin his unit in south Iraq. That is one of the bad things about these missions, you spend so much time with good people and you grow to appreciate their friendship. So here’s to Ted, I hope he has a safe trip home and I know his son will be overjoyed to see his dad again. He is a great guy. Of course when I get home, I am going to Boston to whip his ass in his hometown.
With apologies to my Texas relatives and friends, Tennessee is going to WHOP Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
Christmas
Many people have asked me that since I am Buddhist do I celebrate Christmas. Hey, I celebrate any holiday that involves me getting presents!
If you are wondering, we are planning a small get together on Christmas day. Nothing special, just something to remind ourselves that it is Christmas.
Well folks that just about does it for this time. The thing I love about the holidays is that when all of the presents have been opened and all of the great food has been enjoyed there is a special moment. It is a fleeting moment when one gets that sincere sensation of happiness and peace and that for a split second everything is right in the world.
So for you my dear friends, my wish for you is that that moment of happiness is with you throughout the New Year.
Happy Holidays everyone and have a wonderful New Year
Sincerely,
Daniel