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21 Jun 2009
British Humor
There are very few British troops left in Basra, but I received the message below from one of the officers.


Could you please ask your soldiers to start their ranges earlier in the morning? I find the noise of machine guns a pleasant distraction from sleep.

 
Army Deployment , General
posted by  henry at  11:32 | permalink | trackbacks [10625]



14 Jun 2009
The end of another school year
July 14th- the Army’s 234th birthday, and my boys’ first weekend out of school. I miss them a lot, especially now that they’re starting their summer Scout programs and what would have been a few months of family time before Eric starts High School and Ethan moves into his final year of Elementary school.

At the same time, we’re making some great progress here in Basra, with new facilities such as the new post office opening this week, a permanent finance facility before that, and a fuel farm, water purification facility, and a new cargo/convoy staging area. I’ve helped build many of these facilities, both literally and conceptually. Last night, I helped cut, drill and weld a piece of cage material needed for the post office security, and at the same time, I’m meeting with the Division Engineers to plan how we’re going to accommodate traffic flow and container storage, while not interfering with the Division Band’s new practice hall.

The position I assumed in April has me looking not just at Basra developments, but all of southern Iraq (everything south of Baghdad). I must say, the whole picture shows remarkable progress and opportunities for the citizens of Iraq. Basra has made the “Iraqi First” contracting initiative work, and the southern provinces of Iraq all have a tremendous number of infrastructure improvements going on, from beekeeping to cement plants!

This week marks my 6th month in Iraq, and coming up on 9 months of mobilization. Personally, I’m on the downhill leg, and with the President's plan to be out of Iraq by 2011, I know the United States is in a similar stance. There’s still a lot of ground to cover, but it’s easier, I think, when you can look back and see how far you’ve already gone.

GEN Odierno said in a letter to all those serving in Iraq:
Today, our Army remains strong and resilient. The very best Army in the world. The full-spectrum operations you perform are among the most difficult our nation's Soldiers have ever faced, carried out in an unforgiving climate against a resourceful enemy. It is a task which calls for the strength, intelligence and tenacity which you exemplify.
Our struggle to bring stability to Iraq links you to the proud heritage of Soldiers who have fought far from home in the defense of the nation.
Today, we fight and serve alongside our comrades-in-arms from other services and nations. We are part of a Joint and Combined team in Iraq.
We are Soldiers, mentally and physically tough, adaptive to the changing environment, who will always win.


 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  09:42 | permalink | trackbacks [147]



7 Jun 2009
Poking a little fun
In the wake of last week's sad news, and on the heals of a recent "Basra Idol" contest here, I thought I'd try my hand at scripting a short comedy routine, poking a little fun at our desert situation. I'll open it up for comments and see if the spammers attack, but I'd appreciate your feedback.

Background: The 34th Infantry division is about 1/3 of the audience, and the newest arrival. They're mostly from the Minnesota National Guard. Also big in the audience is the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division. Regular Army, hard charging warfighters. So here goes...

Red Bull, where are you? Yeah! Enjoying Basra? Like those CHUs? Well, I’ll tell you, as one of the lucky residents of a CHU, I can say it’s not all that 4 walls have been cracked up to be. One of the new rules, I mean besides everybody below Full Colonels having a roommate, some having three soldiers to a 10x10 room, is that we need to shut off the air conditioners when we’re gone more than 4 hours. For most of us, that means during the heat of the day.

So you take your bed, wrap it in a metal container, seal it up, put it in the 120 to 130 degree sun, and let it simmer for 12 to 16 hours while you and your roommate work the day shift. Sounds like a great recipe for my grandmother’s pot roast! Put the meat on a bed of rice in an aluminum pot, wrap it in foil, let it simmer. At least a pot roast gets basted!

I came back to our CHU last night, and the bed was HOT. I mean, like getting into a car with leather seats on a sunny day HOT. That’d be great for the middle of winter if we could just trade places there by 6 months, but a hot bed is a new experience in the summer. I cranked up the A/C and went for a shower... Guess what? My shower gel was HOT, and it just poured out of the bottle like water. And my toothpaste. If you’ve never brushed your teeth with hot toothpaste, you’re missing a real treat. There’s probably some exclusive Country Clubs in Minnesota where they preheat your toothpaste for you, and it’s considered a luxury, so you don’t know just how good you’ve got it here in Basra!

Of course, the faucets are labeled wrong, too. Cold water is usually pretty warm, and by the way, I know that truck that fills up the water says “potable water” on it, but the signs say DON’T DRINK THE WATER. Don’t brush your teeth with it. So where is the potable water going? To the toilets? To me, that’s not water. It’s not cold, it’s not drinkable. So why does the truck say “potable water?” That’s like the fuel trucks out at the fuel point. Have you seen those? There’s a big warning on each truck that says, “Danger! Inflammable!”

Now in almost every word in the English language, when you put the prefix “in” on the front of a word, it means “NOT.” Like, INDESCRIBABLY HOT! It’s SO hot, you can’t describe it. So the fuel is INFLAMMABLE, and if you see the MoGas trucks what do they say? “Danger! Highly Inflammable.” Check it out some time.

Seriously, though, Iraq has made some outstanding progress since 2003. And you’re a big part of that! It is absolutely awesome that the elections were a great success, the Iraqi citizens overwhelming voted for leaders who embrace building the infrastructure and economy of this nation, and people are getting out and making a difference. So we’re transitioning now, on our way out, and most of what we contribute now is advice and assistance.

In fact, our new Brigade Combat Teams on the way in next year are now called “Advisory and Assistance Brigades.” Did you know that? This is the new politically correct term. Where’s the 2/4 tonight? You’ve heard of these “AAB’s” - Am I right?

It’s still a Brigade of 3,000 trained warfighters, but they’re here to advise and assist. We’ll help the Iraqi Army become independent. For example, we’ll stand next to a squad of the Iraqi army and say, “Hey! See those Terrorists over there?” Well, wait, terrorists isn’t the right word. “Hey, see those peace-challenged fellows over there with an armload of TNT, a motorcycle battery and a detonation switch?” I advise you to light them up with this Mark 19 I happen to have with me. Do you need assistance loading it?
ACI , Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  04:39 | permalink | comments [9] | trackbacks [61679]



6 Jun 2009
Kelly Ryan
Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated. I hadn't realized that time had flown by so quickly. Normally, that's a good thing, but in this case we've been wrapped up in the particularly difficult situation of one of our Cub Scouts, Kelly Ryan. I am saddened to say that Kelly had a rare illness and passed away last Sunday at the age of 10.
Henry holding Kelly's photo, next to the Cub Pack 145 banner

Truly, Kelly was an exceptional boy who was always smiling. He was blessed with a loving family, and I believe they did their absolute best to make the most of their short time with Kelly, not even knowing he was not to be with us long. God Bless Kelly and the Ryan family.
Kelly Ryan's page on the Cub Scout Pack 145 website
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Army Deployment , General
posted by  henry at  04:31 | permalink | trackbacks [12635]



17 May 2009
The Military can MAKE Things Work
As you’ve read about the transformation we’ve undergone in Basra, you know that a great deal happened here, all at once: we went from UK forces to US, all the contractors changed to Iraqi-based businesses, almost all of whom had not contracted with the military before, and the number of soldiers doubled or more. Coming up, we will switch from using US Dollars to a system based entirely on the Iraqi Dinari. A soldier who writes a check or who takes a portion of his pay in cash will receive Dinari. Contractors will be paid in Dinari, including the American contractors. The PX will only accept our “Eagle Cash Cards,” or Dinari. Everything, and this time, Tallil will lead the way, converting over in a few short weeks.

The purpose of this switch is to get US Dollars out of Iraq, and help the Iraqi Dinari be a more stable, viable currency. We’re putting a lot of money into the country, so let’s do it in their currency. Another move to their own independence, and the departure of US influence.

So I thought to myself, "Where else but the military can you force a change that is decidedly good for the long run, but certainly goes against our natural inertia?"
I certainly wouldn’t choose to carry Dinari in my wallet. "I’m an American! I get paid in dollars! But wait: if everybody does this, all at once, it won’t matter, will it? I can still get a haircut, buy a watch, or give the guy at the carwash a tip."

So what would happen in the US if we wanted to make some change for the good of the country, but for it to work, it had to be a sudden, dramatic switch? Say we need to abolish the complex income tax system. Throw it out and use a simple table where lower income people pay from none to a small percent of earnings, and the highly compensated pay a significant percent of their income to tax? We’ve seen lobbyists attack this idea, income tax preparation companies, tax lawyers and others who earn their living based on the complexity of our system. They have a loud voice, and they’ll sue someone because their rights are being violated. And many special interests would loose their protected tax status that their congressperson fought so hard for.

And that’s why we can’t seem to have the Metric System in the United States. It would take a sudden, simple change to unify the US with the rest of the world. Can you imagine? We’re the leader in the global economy, but we trade on a different system of weights and measures . We’re holding ourselves back, because too many people can fight for the status quo, afraid they might have to change their tools, or wouldn’t understand the speed limit. But if we could really take charge, just for 3 months or so, and say, “No. This is the way it’s going to be. It’s a little painful, but get over it, because we WILL all be better off.” Then there would be some amazing things we could do, and we wouldn’t sue each other silly trying to do it.
 
ACI , Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  08:03 | permalink | trackbacks [252]





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