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
