Mob 2008 Blog

Well, a year has come and gone.  I can’t believe how fast it went by.  So, as I sit at my desk, writing my last entry for this blog, I’m reflecting on what the past year has brought.

Here are some stats…

I’ve lost over 33 lbs
I’ve ran over 320 miles
I’ve played over 1342 games of Spider Solitaire (with an overall win rate of 49%)
I traveled over 31,000 miles in five different countries
I’ve finished 21 credits in my Master’s program
I’ve finished my Master’s Certificate
I’ve just about completed my Master’s Degree
I’ve taken over 28,000 photos (I can’t believe this number either!)
I’ve managed over 500 local Iraqis and third country nationals from over 18 different countries and about 23 different languages.  
My DFAC served 3.6 million meals (about 12,000 daily)

But most importantly, I’ve made more friends then I could have ever imaged.  I truly mean it when I say that I would pack my bags right now and head back to Iraq for another year if I could spend that time with the wonderful people that I met there.  The people that treated me as if I was their own flesh and blood while I was at Bucca.

To my friends still there, I will always hold a special place in my heart for you!

Here is a photo from the Fort Dix newspaper of me and my First Sergeant accepting an award for our company’s performance in Iraq.

Ok, who is cooler?

It’s only been a few days since I left Iraq (and Kuwait,) and already I’m finding the things that I miss about Iraq.

I’ve complied a short list of the things that I miss from the big Sandbox that I want to share with you.

What I miss most about Iraq…

-Not having to plan out my meals.  Really, I mean it was great walking into the DFAC and having an endless, high quality, buffet to choose from.  Beyond that, there were always the locals and the third country nationals that would invite me over for meals that reflected their culture and heritage.

Since returning to FT Dix, the DFAC here is pretty limited.  The food quality is what you would expect from an Army Chow Hall.  The service is worst that you can image.


-Never having to clean a bathroom.  This is one of the contractor’s responsibilities in theater.  The bathrooms were cleaned, top to bottom, at least twice daily.  Now that we are back in Ft Dix, if we want a clean bathroom, we need to clean it ourselves.  

-Not having to worry about parking or gas.  In Iraq, all the fuel was free, 24 hours a day and there was never a parking problem.  In fact, many times you could just park anyplace you wanted to.  I’m not looking forward to gas, traffic, of parking problems when I get released.

-This one may seem a little weird, but it points to a much bigger premise.  I really miss getting served, either my food, or ice cream, or anything, from someone who was genuinely happy to working.  Let me explain, no matter what time, day or night, that I was in the DFAC, and no matter what I asked for, the person who served the food, was always happy and had a smile on his face from ear to ear.  In the US, I defy you to find a single ice cream joint where the employees will always be that friendly and happy.

-Most of all, I miss my friends.  It’s amazing how close you can become to people in less than a year.  I was lucky that I got to work with all the local and third county national personnel on the base.  We forged friendships that transcended culture, language, and ideology.  This experience has changed me and the person I am, indelibly.  I get to see the world from a much larger perspective from now on and I’m forever grateful for each and every friend I left at Bucca.

If any of my friends still at Bucca are reading this, I want you to know that I will forever value the friendship you extended to me and I will constantly be grateful for the richness you brought to my life.  I don’t know when, or if, I will ever see you again, but you can believe that I will never forget the contribution to my life you have made and I will do whatever I can to ensure that I see you again.

welcome.AVI

So, image driving down the road.  In every direction, this is your view.

You know you are in the desert.


I’ll be out of touch for a little while.  Don’t worry, I’ll be back and have lots of stuff to post and pictures for you all.
Until then, “Shine On.”

That was how hot it was here the other day.  I want to put this in perspective.  On that same day, it was 77 degrees in New Jersey.    That means it was almost TWICE as hot here than in NJ.  
So think about the difference between 0 degrees and 77 degrees.  Then add that difference to 77 degrees!

I don’t think that I can accurately explain how hot that really is.  But, next time you are in a sauna, check out the temperatures.  Normally, they top out at 120 or 130 degrees.  So, that means that we could have walked into a sauna, set at its maximum temperature, and it would feel COOLER.

So, what do you do when it’s 130 degrees?  You find the nearest pool!  (That pool may be a few hours away.)

The water temp of the pool was 86 degrees.  It felt pretty cold from 125 degree air temperature.  I’ve never been in a pool where if you are standing in the shallow end that your head and hair will dry within minutes.

After that, we walked around a little bit.  A found a little piece of my own private Mecca!

I can’t wait to get home and ride!

I’m pretty sure I am the first person to say this…

“I don’t want to leave Camp Bucca, Iraq and I tried to extend for another year.”  Yes, the simple truth is that my time at Camp Bucca was abruptly ended. Yesterday I received last minute notice that I was leaving to move to Kuwait to assist the redeployment efforts (getting the rest of the State of NJ’s troops back to NJ.)

So, in less than two hours, I had to hurry up and pack and say goodbye to all of the friends that I made there over the year I was there.  I missed a few people I really wanted to see.  Over all, there were almost 500 people that worked for me and I wanted to do something special for each one of them.

I gave out coins and decorative maps of NJ (Thanks to the help of a great friend, Mary-Anne D'andrade) and whatever else I could.  Luckily, the local Iraqis threw me a party the night before for my farewell.  Unfortunately, there was another party in my honor at another site last night on the base that I didn’t even get to!  8>(

Over all, I’ll miss Bucca.  Yes, there was a tear in my eye as I rode out of there.

Here is a picture of the sun setting as I left Bucca.

Tonight we had our Squadron Farewell dinner.  Some of our unit has already left Iraq.  I’ll be the next to go most likely.  So, I stand as my Commander-in-Chief stood, not so long ago.

Well, yesterday we hit another Psychological Barrier.  The barrier was moving out of our pods.  I left my cool desk and now I’m stuck in an 80 man tent.  It’s a good benchmark, but there is no room to work, almost no Internet (but I’m working on changing that), and things are getting VERY busy.

Then, today we hit the next Psychological Barrier, our replacements are here!  So now begins the process of turning the FOB over to them.  Once that is done, we are out of here and begin the demob process.

Things are moving along, but they are going to get worst before getting better!

Till then, I will not be able to email as often, so please bear with me if you are waiting for a reply or answer from me.