6 June 2007

An ordinary day. Got up, took a shower, collected my clean laundry. Rode to the Rec Hall, did the reports. God bless the SAVI corporation, their computers are foolproof. Ran into James Bender from the warehouse yard, and he indicated that the system was fine there.

Got a lunch of a sloppy-joe sandwich and fries. My diet here is a train-wreck, but I take a multi-vitamin each day, to compensate.

Got a scare on Saturday morning. I went to the PX to purchase some vitamins, and my credit card was refused. "Call bank" came up on the screen. I called the bank, and someone has been using my credit card! They ran up $400 dollars worth of charges. I called one of the firms, and had 5 bad charges removed and credited. The biggest one was for $249, and the firm was not open. Will call them later.

I cancelled the credit card, and arranged for a replacement. Let's see how long it takes. Been waiting on my new checks since January. Larisa ran out of checks and did not order any new ones.

Went back to the Rec Hall after lunch, watched "O'Reilly". Did some net surfing, and I filed the afternoon reports. There is a new format for time reporting, and I filled out the time sheet.

Last night I saw "My super ex-girl friend", got laugh. Not much to laugh about here. The theater shows two films pernight because the light bulbs are expensive. I asked one of the lodges back in the USA to send us some new light bulbs. In a couple of nights, they will show "Hannibal rising", the beginning of the hannibal lecter series. People can't get enough of the cannibal.

The heat here is unbearable. When I get up in the morning, the heat has already begun. I walk back from the shower house, and I am already dry. There is no point in running the A/C all day in the empty hooch, so when I return at night, the hooch is an oven. Just open the door, and run the A/C full blast. Fortunately at night, the desert cools quickly. No need to run the A/C at night. But I can hear the humming of the generators all night long. My hooch is the last one in the row, and it faces the morning sun. By the time the sun rises, I am out of bed, and no need for the alarm clock. Sun, heat, loneliness. This is the desert of Iraq.

I have submitted my paperwork for a third year in Iraq. Approvals used to be automatic, but the firm has changed policy. They will review my work, and make a decision. The old senior engineer left the project and returned to the USA. He has returned to Iraq, and will be back on top again. I wish him luck! He approved my request for a second year, saying that I had done "exemplary work". A truer statement has never been uttered. I always do exemplary work for all of my employers. To work at a level less than 100% is unacceptable.

I am working an angle to get a CONEX container. They are in short supply on this base. But I might get lucky. I have also requested a cell-phone and air time. That is science fiction, the firm will never approve a purchase like that.

On Memorial Day. Please read

As a veteran, currently serving in Iraq on a military project, I think it appropriate for us to pause and keep track of exactly how our freedoms are ours to enjoy and cherish. I have a unique perspective, I have lived in a communist dictatorship, and in an Islamic kingdom. Communists take power, and kill or imprison anyone who gets in their way. Kings were born into the job, and rule their "subjects" by "divine right". Personally, I hate Kings and Queens as bad I hate the communists. The French had the right idea, chop all their heads off. The Russians had a better idea, shoot the Tsar and the Tsarina, and the whole royal family, then soak the bodies in acid, and throw the bones down a mine shaft, good riddance to bad rubbish. When we say "Remember Pearl Harbor", we should also remember that WW2 was started by an emperor. WW1 was also started by an emperor. To hell with all of them.We are now engaged in a bitter and long-term conflict, to end Islamic terrorism, and bring peace and freedom to the people of Iraq. Our mission here is difficult, America's finest are watering the desert with their own blood. Last week, on my base here in Iraq, two of America's sons paid the ultimate price, and last week a brave and lonely soldier blew his brains out with his own rifle. As far as I am concerned, his life was sacrificed every bit as much as if he had been killed in combat. Combat killed him, even if indirectly. We Americans take our freedoms for granted, often paying little heed to the billions around the world, who have no say at all in the government that rules every aspect of their lives. In North Korea, you can be jailed, just for taking a different route to your work. In Saudi Arabia, you will arrested, taken to the public whipping post, and whipped with a bullwhip, then jailed for 6 months, if you take a drink of water in public, during the month of Ramadan. In Venezuela, two days ago, the dictator shut down a television station, just for saying things against the government. Remember:It is the soldier, not the poet that gives you freedom of speech.It is the Airman, not the reporter, that gives you freedom of the press.It is the Marine, not the Worshipful Master of your lodge, that gives you freedom of assembly.It is the sailor, not the local gun shop, that gives you the right to bear arms.It is the radio operator, working 12 hour night shifts, not the minister, that gives you freedom of religion.It is the tank mechanic, working under 12 tons of steel armor, on his back, with his arms up in grease, and not the politician, that gives you the right to vote.It is the computer jockey, working for less than he could earn at McDonalds, and not the lawyer, that gives you the right to counsel.We often speak, of our "God-given rights", and it is indeed a power greater than ourselves, which has endowed us with our freedoms. But every free breath we breathe, has been earned- by the blood of our young men and women, who are entombed on countless shores and jungles and deserts, all over this globe.

27 May 2007

Sunday Afternoon. Had a whopper of a storm Friday night. First, dust then a "mud-rain". Huge drops of mud blowing against everything. I had heard of mud-rains, but I never saw one until Friday.

I have submitted my paperwork for a third year in Iraq. I like the work, and company treats me fairly. I just wish I could return to my old duty station at Al Asad. I may be able to get a transfer.

We had a communications blackout that lasted for 36 hours. Sadly, one of our troops here was killed by a roadside bomb, and the family had to be notified. I am sad to see America's Finest dying in this place.

I sent out cards to 100 of my friends and acquaintances, asking that they contact me, and so far I have received three (3) replies. I wish that people would reply when they get my cards, so that I can keep my address book up-to-date.

Mail arrived, and I got about 12 packages, some personal stuff for me, and some items for the troops.

Been feeling a little sick, I could not eat dinner last night, just not interested. The Satellite TV at the Rec Hall is broken down, so they are showing old DVDs and movies. I would like to see CNN/Fox again, I enjoy to keep up with the news. I hope the system is repaired by Monday, so that I can watch "Jeapordy".

I continue to be impressed by the food they serve here. Just marvelous. Today there was a delicious barbecued beef brisket. Tomorrow, there will be grilled T-Bone steaks and lobster tails. I just wish the dining hall could get eggs! I like hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, and there have been no fresh eggs on this post for 6 weeks.

I received a new pair of running shoes in the mail, and they are perfect for this duty. I am not an exerciser, but I have to walk everywhere, because I still do not have a bicycle or a vehicle.

22 May 2007

Tuesday afternoon. Summer is on the way. It was blindingly bright this morning, but I did not feel like wearing my sunglasses. Sunglasses are an important working tool in this environment. Heat is blistering, but I do not spend much time outdoors. The internet had a glitch, but eventually caught back up.

Decent lunch today, chili with spaghetti. The Rec Hall installed a sno-cone machine, and believe me, when you come in from the hot desert, a sweet/cold sno-cone is a delight. I hit up some of the lodges back in Virginia, to donate some additional syrup. Some individual already pledged to send some more syrup. God bless the Masons, they sure know how to support the troops.

After three weeks, with no mail arriving at all, some packages finally made it through. I ordered some personal items from drugstore.com, and somehow they flubbed the zip code, but the address on the order reads "FOB Sykes", so I think the post office, will eventually send it here.

The firm is going through some changes, and they have decided to end "automatic renewals" of the contracts here. No matter, the firm is going to examine each individual's duty performance, and make a decision. I am certain that my work performance is well in line with company standards, I get no complaints. Back in June 2006, when I asked for second year, the supervisor approved it, with a comment "You have done exemplary work, in an austere environment". While I agree 1000% with his comment about my doing exemplary work, I do not find Iraq all that austere. Fact is, there is a lot to like about Iraq.

I have spent 9 1/2 years of my career in foreign countries. I have been in worse places, and in better places. On the positive side, I have a decent CHU (containerized housing unit) which is the trailer where I live. I have a decent shower house, 50 yards from the front door, with unlimited hot water, and it is almost always vacant, no waiting to get a shower. I drop my laundry off about 100 yards from the trailer, and it gets washed, and I pick it up the next morning. The chow hall is excellent, only thing they do not have here is fresh eggs, I have not seen an egg in two months. The Rec Hall is great, plenty of space to chill out, and watch TV.

The job itself is fine, the equipment is indestructible, and operates with virtually no problems at all. I have only three interrogators, and one FDU (Field data unit computer), and one SARSS computer (down at the warehouse). As long as the internet is up and running , the equipment pretty much takes care of itself.

The firm wants photos of my equipment, and I told the senior engineer, I will take all the photos he wants, as soon as the firm provides me with a camera! We had a camera back at Al Asad, and we got some photos, but we never up-loaded any to the firm, to my knowledge. Unless the firm asks for something, why make waves?

The only thing I would like to have here, is a working Masonic square and compasses club. We are on a "gag order", and not permitted to advertise or put up any posters or flyers. Every other club on base, can advertise all they want to: The women's empowerment group, the model airplane builders, the domino tournament, all kinds of weight-lifting and physical exercise group, but not the masons. I hope the First sergeant here gets a transfer, and the new first sergeant is more amenable to the Freemasons.

I got to see the Preakness Stakes race on the television, I was rooting for "Street Sense", who ran one hell of a race, and then lost by a head. Well, he is an excellent horse, and even though he is not the winner of the Preakness, he will go on to a stud career. Imagine, retiring at the age of three to have sex the rest of your life.

I sent out contact cards to all the people in my address list, 100 cards in total. I am anxious to see how many actually respond. I sent the cards out when I was at Al Asad, and I got a couple of responses. Since the cards are free, and the postage is also free, why not try it again?

15 May 2007. The Ides of May.

An interesting country. I thought the winter rains were done, but the skies opened up at 0400am, and the rain hit the trailer so hard, I woke up. I had a couple of packages arrive at the post office, so I went down to get them. They were games for the troops, so I signed the form, and said I would be back to get them.

The rain turned the camp into a lake of mud. No matter, a day of heat and wind, will turn the place back into a dust-bowl again. Went down to the Rec Hall, and filed my morning report. The internet is functioning normally, so all the data is uploading properly, Thanks for small favors.

Lunch today was a plate of nacho chips with chili, cheese, sour cream, green onions. Delicious. A bowl of cookie and cream ice cream for dessert. Then back to the Rec Hall for "Jeapordy".

I have ordered some items on the internet, and they sure are slow in getting here. I ordered a package, and instead of it going to APO AE 09351, it wound up at APO AE 09381. Fortunately the UNISYS man there got the package, and then sent me an email, asking for my address. I emailed him back, and the package is on the way.

I really need some new shoes. I am wearing running shoes that I found in the garbage. I can't believe what people throw away! At my last post, I went dumpster-diving all the time. I found two excellent pairs of combat boots, exactly the right size.

I have made my first purchases on Ebay! I found a very nice sterling silver masonic lodge ring, and I was the high bidder ($12 I think). It arrived in the mail, and I am just delighted with it. I still have my stainless steel ring, It has a couple of "dings" so I am going to send it back to the manufacturer, so that he can clean/polish/rehabilitate the ring. I do love to wear Masonic "bling-bling".

The Rec Hall is pretty much empty during the day. I can watch almost anything I want on the TV. The staff leaves the TV on the news channel, so I watch a lot of CNN, Fox,etc.

From an Iraqi Doctor!!

Dear Sir
I am Iraqi physician, I live now in Iraq-Baghdad and I'd red your blog on internet and i like it, i would like to know that there are alot of iraqi people and I one of them who support USA army and appreciate your sacrifies and we believe strongly that pull out of your troops specially in this critical moment will lead to blood bath more and more than what we are seeing now and I personally beleived in USA project in Iraq and I wish it to succeed and I wish that I can do something to support USA army here in Iraq because as I beleive USA win here mean a stronge and modern Iraq. I think the big problem now which stand against this project is a relegion problem, islamist both sunnis and shiit are working together against this project and the big mistake was to give the authority to islamic parties because this relgion parties donot represent a national interest they represent other countries like shiite who are working for Iran, USA s! hould work now to get ride of Islamic parties because they donot like USA just because they beleiv that christian donot like muslims and thats why you are facing such problem here they interprete any project as aconspiracy against them so they donot trust you, Iraq should govern by secular goverment, relegion should be separated from state, my opinion is to stope working of this islamic sectarian goverment and stope this islamic constitution and hire a secular goverment this will give a very good result because most of iraqi are secular in nature they love drinking like dancing and they enjoy life but the media and the parties in goverment give you diffrent picture inorder to let you beleive that this is islamic country and should be govern by islamic goverment.
I am sorry for this longe message but I have to tell you that there are alot of iraqi who stand with you in the war against terra and specially in Iraq, I would like to be a member of freemason but i couldnot find any lodg in iraq so it gives me great pleasure to accept me as a first iraqi member in your lodge.
Accept my best regards

A Bold plan for peace in Iraq

By Charles E. Martin

There is a path to victory here. I know what I am talking about. Ihave been in Iraq for 18 months. I have been from Kuwait to theSyrian border. I have been in a mortar attack, and been close enoughto hear the shooting. (I am a civilian computer tech, and not amilitary person). I have flown 90 combat missions in Iraq.Often in foreign policy, the player (In this case the USA), has tochoose from a number of bad choices. There are all kinds of badchoices in this desert. Instead of blaming President Bush, or badintelligence, or the CIA, or this or that, let's stop playing ablame game, as they said in Vietnam, there is enough blame to goaround for everyone.Since the objective of this exercise, is to get rid of SaddamHussein (mission accomplished), and bring freedom and the rule oflaw to the Iraqi people (not yet accomplished), we should step backand see how to get this operation through to a successful conclusion.There are a number of bad choices:1- Partition the country into separate nations: Sunni-stan, Shia-stan, and Kurdistan. Then let each individual group run their owncountry. This idea stinks on hot ice. It is not going to happen.The reason is OIL. The oil resources of this country are not evenlydistributed throughout the country. Locking two ethnic groups out ofthe oil money would never work, the war would just continue, aseveryone would be scrambling for the oil. You must remember, thatthis war is about power and greed. Religion and tribal causes aresecondary at best.2- Line up every military age male in the entire country, against awall, and shoot them. This will bring peace, but charges ofgenocide. Not a good plan.3- Pull out, and let them go at it, until someone comes up on top.This will result in a bigger genocide, than plan #2. The democrats,and other "surrender-clowns", do not realize, that if the USmilitary packs up their Army, and moves the entire operation to FortRiley, Kansas, that the Iraqi militias that are fighting in thiscountry, will not just drop all their weapons, and turn this countryinto a big "love-in". If the US military pulls out of Iraq,violence will INCREASE, not decrease, and more Iraqis will bekilled.If the US quits Iraq, there will be a full-blown civil war, betweenSunnis, Shias, and Kurds. The Shia government of Iran, willbankroll the Shias in Iraq, because the Iranians do not want a Sunnigovernment on their border. The Iranians want a friendly Shiagovernment running Iraq, that will give the Iranians more influencein the region, and put them that much closer to Israel.A blood-bath in Iraq, will result in some new strong-man coming topower here (Saddam II), and then the USA will have to come backhere, and start the whole process all over again.Or there is plan 4-I propose to declare that Iraq is henceforth a USA "protectorate".The USA can issue a proclamation, that the entire territory of Iraqis now under the sole control of the US government. (Like theBritish set up in Swaziland, and Basutoland in Africa). From nowon, the internal and external security of Iraq, will be the soleresponsibility of the US Government. The US will administer all ofthe mineral resources of the country, and sell petroleum. Therevenues will be deposited into an escrow account, and thendisbursed according to the directives of the US mineral andpetroleum authority.All borders will be closed, and any individual attempting to smuggleweapons or any military equipment into Iraq, will be summarily shot.Reconstruction of the country, rebuilding infrastructure,electricity, utilities, agriculture, civil engineering, etc. will beadministered by the US government.The current Iraqi government, constitution, and military forces willbe suspended for the duration for the adminstration of theprotectorate, and be restored at an unspecified date in the future,when the security and military situation is stabilized.Other nations will be invited and encouraged to participate in themilitary/security functions, but the USA will be prepared to go italone, if need be. Other nations will be invited and encouraged toparticipate in the humanitarian and infrastructure projects, as theysee fit. Non-governmental organizations, including the UnitedNations will be encouraged to participate as needed.The US government will then proceed to disarm all of the militias inIraq, and detain/imprison all internal terrorist forces.The US government will neutralize all terrorism in Iraq, and engagein "hot-pursuit" of terrorist forces who attempt to operate acrossinternational borders.Military bases will be established as permanent bases, with leasesin perpetuity.Provincial lines will be re-drawn to establish separatesunni/shiite/Kurdish political entities. Each individual group willbe assisted in setting up autonomous governments, responsible foradministering the internal affairs of each province. Similar to theCanton system in Switzerland.The capital area of Baghdad, and other major cities will be set upas inter-ethnic provinces, where administration of the cities willbe set up along the lines where cities are generally self-governing.Similar to the home-rule situation in Washington DC.The "new" constitution of Iraq, will be trashed, and a weakercentral government will be set up, ceding more power to theautonomous provinces. The central government will be non-sectarian,and political offices will be awarded on merit and popularsovreignty, without regard to faction or ethnic group.The new central government will be responsible for foreign policy,international trade, minerals management and revenue distribution,external defense, infrastruture management, etc.Once the security situation is stabilized, the US protectorateperiod will end GRADUALLY, and political power will be ceded to thenew central government, and the autonomous provinces.The new Iraq government, and the region as a whole, will be put onnotice, that sovreignty will depend upon the "good behavior"and "good faith" of all of the various factions in Iraq.This is a bold plan, but when you consider the alternatives, itmight just be the plan with the best chance of success.

An interesting take on the MidEast!!

http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9302 Prospect Magazine Issue 134 , May 2007 The Middle of Nowhere Western analysts are forever bleating about the strategic importance of the middle east. But despite its oil, this backward region is less relevant than ever, and it would be better for everyone if the rest of the world learned to ignore it. by Edward Luttwak Why are middle east experts so unfailingly wrong? The lesson of history is that men never learn from history, but middle east experts, like the rest of us, should at least learn from their past mistakes. Instead, they just keep repeating them. The first mistake is "five minutes to midnight" catastrophism. The late King Hussein of Jordan was the undisputed master of this genre. Wearing his gravest aspect, he would warn us that with patience finally exhausted the Arab-Israeli conflict was about to explode, that all past conflicts would be dwarfed by what was about to happen unless, unless... And then came the remedy-usually something rather tame when compared with the immense catastrophe predicted, such as resuming this or that stalled negotiation, or getting an American envoy to the scene to make the usual promises to the Palestinians and apply the usual pressures on Israel. We read versions of the standard King Hussein speech in countless newspaper columns, hear identical invocations in the grindingly repetitive radio and television appearances of the usual middle east experts, and are now faced with Hussein's son Abdullah periodically repeating his father's speech almost verbatim. What actually happens at each of these "moments of truth"-and we may be approaching another one-is nothing much; only the same old cyclical conflict which always restarts when peace is about to break out, and always dampens down when the violence becomes intense enough. The ease of filming and reporting out of safe and comfortable Israeli hotels inflates the media coverage of every minor affray. But humanitarians should note that the dead from Jewish-Palestinian fighting since 1921 amount to fewer than 100,000-about as many as are killed in a season of conflict in Darfur. Strategically, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been almost irrelevant since the end of the cold war. And as for the impact of the conflict on oil prices, it was powerful in 1973 when the Saudis declared embargoes and cut production, but that was the first and last time that the "oil weapon" was wielded. For decades now, the largest Arab oil producers have publicly foresworn any linkage between politics and pricing, and an embargo would be a disaster for their oil-revenue dependent economies. In any case, the relationship between turmoil in the middle east and oil prices is far from straightforward. As Philip Auerswald recently noted in the American Interest, between 1981 and 1999-a period when a fundamentalist regime consolidated power in Iran, Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war within view of oil and gas installations, the Gulf war came and went and the first Palestinian intifada raged-oil prices, adjusted for inflation, actually fell. And global dependence on middle eastern oil is declining: today the region produces under 30 per cent of the world's crude oil, compared to almost 40 per cent in 1974-75. In 2005 17 per cent of American oil imports came from the Gulf, compared to 28 per cent in 1975, and President Bush used his 2006 state of the union address to announce his intention of cutting US oil imports from the middle east by three quarters by 2025. Yes, it would be nice if Israelis and Palestinians could settle their differences, but it would do little or nothing to calm the other conflicts in the middle east from Algeria to Iraq, or to stop Muslim-Hindu violence in Kashmir, Muslim-Christian violence in Indonesia and the Philippines, Muslim-Buddhist violence in Thailand, Muslim-animist violence in Sudan, Muslim-Igbo violence in Nigeria, Muslim-Muscovite violence in Chechnya, or the different varieties of inter-Muslim violence between traditionalists and Islamists, and between Sunnis and Shia, nor would it assuage the perfectly understandable hostility of convinced Islamists towards the transgressive west that relentlessly invades their minds, and sometimes their countries. Arab-Israeli catastrophism is wrong twice over, first because the conflict is contained within rather narrow boundaries, and second because the Levant is just not that important any more. The second repeated mistake is the Mussolini syndrome. Contemporary documents prove beyond any doubt what is now hard to credit: serious people, including British and French military chiefs, accepted Mussolini's claims to great power status because they believed that he had serious armed forces at his command. His army divisions, battleships and air squadrons were dutifully counted to assess Italian military power, making some allowance for their lack of the most modern weapons but not for their more fundamental refusal to fight in earnest. Having conceded Ethiopia to win over Mussolini, only to lose him to Hitler as soon as the fighting started, the British discovered that the Italian forces quickly crumbled in combat. It could not be otherwise, because most Italian soldiers were unwilling conscripts from the one-mule peasantry of the south or the almost equally miserable sharecropping villages of the north. Exactly the same mistake keeps being made by the fraternity of middle east experts. They persistently attribute real military strength to backward societies whose populations can sustain excellent insurgencies but not modern military forces. In the 1960s, it was Nasser's Egypt that was mistaken for a real military power just because it had received many aircraft, tanks and guns from the Soviet Union, and had many army divisions and air squadrons. In May 1967, on the eve of war, many agreed with the prediction of Field Marshal Montgomery, then revisiting the El Alamein battlefield, that the Egyptians would defeat the Israelis forthwith; even the more cautious never anticipated that the former would be utterly defeated by the latter in just a few days. In 1973, with much more drama, it still took only three weeks to reach the same outcome. In 1990 it was the turn of Iraq to be hugely overestimated as a military power. Saddam Hussein had more equipment than Nasser ever accumulated, and could boast of having defeated much more populous Iran after eight years of war. In the months before the Gulf war, there was much anxious speculation about the size of the Iraqi army-again, the divisions and regiments were dutifully counted as if they were German divisions on the eve of D-day, with a separate count of the "elite" Republican Guards, not to mention the "super-elite" Special Republican Guards-and it was feared that Iraq's bombproof aircraft shelters and deep bunkers would survive any air attack. That much of this was believed at some level we know from the magnitude of the coalition armies that were laboriously assembled, including 575,000 US troops, 43,000 British, 14,663 French and 4,500 Canadian, and which incidentally constituted the sacrilegious infidel presence on Arabian soil that set off Osama bin Laden on his quest for revenge. In the event, two weeks of precision bombing were enough to paralyse Saddam's entire war machine, which scarcely tried to resist the ponderous ground offensive when it came. At no point did the Iraqi air force try to fight, and all those tanks that were painstakingly counted served mostly for target practice. A real army would have continued to resist for weeks or months in the dug-in positions in Kuwait, even without air cover, but Saddam's army was the usual middle eastern façade without fighting substance. Now the Mussolini syndrome is at work over Iran. All the symptoms are present, including tabulated lists of Iran's warships, despite the fact that most are over 30 years old; of combat aircraft, many of which (F-4s, Mirages, F-5s, F-14s) have not flown in years for lack of spare parts; and of divisions and brigades that are so only in name. There are awed descriptions of the Pasdaran revolutionary guards, inevitably described as "elite," who do indeed strut around as if they have won many a war, but who have actually fought only one-against Iraq, which they lost. As for Iran's claim to have defeated Israel by Hizbullah proxy in last year's affray, the publicity was excellent but the substance went the other way, with roughly 25 per cent of the best-trained men dead, which explains the tomb-like silence and immobility of the once rumbustious Hizbullah ever since the ceasefire. Then there is the new light cavalry of Iranian terrorism that is invoked to frighten us if all else fails. The usual middle east experts now explain that if we annoy the ayatollahs, they will unleash terrorists who will devastate our lives, even though 30 years of "death to America" invocations and vast sums spent on maintaining a special international terrorism department have produced only one major bombing in Saudi Arabia, in 1996, and two in the most permissive environment of Buenos Aires, in 1992 and 1994, along with some assassinations of exiles in Europe. It is true enough that if Iran's nuclear installations are bombed in some overnight raid, there is likely to be some retaliation, but we live in fortunate times in which we have only the irritant of terrorism instead of world wars to worry about-and Iran's added contribution is not likely to leave much of an impression. There may be good reasons for not attacking Iran's nuclear sites-including the very slow and uncertain progress of its uranium enrichment effort-but its ability to strike back is not one of them. Even the seemingly fragile tanker traffic down the Gulf and through the straits of Hormuz is not as vulnerable as it seems-Iran and Iraq have both tried to attack it many times without much success, and this time the US navy stands ready to destroy any airstrip or jetty from which attacks are launched. As for the claim that the "Iranians" are united in patriotic support for the nuclear programme, no such nationality even exists. Out of Iran's population of 70m or so, 51 per cent are ethnically Persian, 24 per cent are Turks ("Azeris" is the regime's term), with other minorities comprising the remaining quarter. Many of Iran's 16-17m Turks are in revolt against Persian cultural imperialism; its 5-6m Kurds have started a serious insurgency; the Arab minority detonates bombs in Ahvaz; and Baluch tribesmen attack gendarmes and revolutionary guards. If some 40 per cent of the British population were engaged in separatist struggles of varying intensity, nobody would claim that it was firmly united around the London government. On top of this, many of the Persian majority oppose the theocratic regime, either because they have become post-Islamic in reaction to its many prohibitions, or because they are Sufis, whom the regime now persecutes almost as much as the small Baha'i minority. So let us have no more reports from Tehran stressing the country's national unity. Persian nationalism is a minority position in a country where half the population is not even Persian. In our times, multinational states either decentralise or break up more or less violently; Iran is not decentralising, so its future seems highly predictable, while in the present not much cohesion under attack is to be expected. The third and greatest error repeated by middle east experts of all persuasions, by Arabophiles and Arabophobes alike, by Turcologists and by Iranists, is also the simplest to define. It is the very odd belief that these ancient nations are highly malleable. Hardliners keep suggesting that with a bit of well-aimed violence ("the Arabs only understand force") compliance will be obtained. But what happens every time is an increase in hostility; defeat is followed not by collaboration, but by sullen non-cooperation and active resistance too. It is not hard to defeat Arab countries, but it is mostly useless. Violence can work to destroy dangerous weapons but not to induce desired changes in behaviour. Softliners make exactly the same mistake in reverse. They keep arguing that if only this or that concession were made, if only their policies were followed through to the end and respect shown, or simulated, hostility would cease and a warm Mediterranean amity would emerge. Yet even the most thinly qualified of middle east experts must know that Islam, as with any other civilisation, comprehends the sum total of human life, and that unlike some others it promises superiority in all things for its believers, so that the scientific and technological and cultural backwardness of the lands of Islam generates a constantly renewed sense of humiliation and of civilisational defeat. That fully explains the ubiquity of Muslim violence, and reveals the futility of the palliatives urged by the softliners. The operational mistake that middle east experts keep making is the failure to recognise that backward societies must be left alone, as the French now wisely leave Corsica to its own devices, as the Italians quietly learned to do in Sicily, once they recognised that maxi-trials merely handed over control to a newer and smarter mafia of doctors and lawyers. With neither invasions nor friendly engagements, the peoples of the middle east should finally be allowed to have their own history-the one thing that middle east experts of all stripes seem determined to deny them. That brings us to the mistake that the rest of us make. We devote far too much attention to the middle east, a mostly stagnant region where almost nothing is created in science or the arts-excluding Israel, per capita patent production of countries in the middle east is one fifth that of sub-Saharan Africa. The people of the middle east (only about five per cent of the world's population) are remarkably unproductive, with a high proportion not in the labour force at all. Not many of us would care to work if we were citizens of Abu Dhabi, with lots of oil money for very few citizens. But Saudi Arabia's 27m inhabitants also live largely off the oil revenues that trickle down to them, leaving most of the work to foreign technicians and labourers: even with high oil prices, Saudi Arabia's annual per capita income, at $14,000, is only about half that of oil-free Israel. Saudi Arabia has a good excuse, for it was a land of oasis hand-farmers and Bedouin pastoralists who cannot be expected to become captains of industry in a mere 50 years. Much more striking is the oil parasitism of once much more accomplished Iran. It exports only 2.5m barrels a day as compared to Saudi Arabia's 8m, yet oil still accounts for 80 per cent of Iran's exports because its agriculture and industry have become so unproductive. The middle east was once the world's most advanced region, but these days its biggest industries are extravagant consumption and the venting of resentment. According to the UN's 2004 Arab human development report, the region boasts the second lowest adult literacy rate in the world (after sub-Saharan Africa) at just 63 per cent. Its dependence on oil means that manufactured goods account for just 17 per cent of exports, compared to a global average of 78 per cent. Moreover, despite its oil wealth, the entire middle east generated under 4 per cent of global GDP in 2006-less than Germany. Unless compelled by immediate danger, we should therefore focus on the old and new lands of creation in Europe and America, in India and east Asia-places where hard-working populations are looking ahead instead of dreaming of the past. _________ Edward Luttwak is senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC

2 May 2007

Summer is coming. I decided to get a haircut today. In this duty, and this climate, it is much easier, to just cut it all off, and get a military style cut. So I did. Strangely, this is the only place on the base where I use cash. The little micro-PX takes credit cards, so when I but something there, I use the plastic.

Woke up, not much appetite, so I got a shower and dressed. Battery went out on the rechargeable shaver, so I took it down to the Rec Hall, and put it on the transformer.

Not much appetite for lunch, so I ate an ice-cream bar. Each Wednesday, I have to submit a time sheet, detailing which project I worked on. So I rode the bus down to the office, and filled out the time sheet, and emailed it in.

Got an interesting masonic video, a couple of days ago, so I took it down to the rec Hall, and they were very nice to play it.

Guess I will take a package of supplies back to the rec Hall, and distribute it. Found out today, that I will getting a Gator vehicle. That will make it easier to get around on the base.

29 April 2007

Good News! The firm I work for, was awarded a renewal of the contract to provide computer services here in Iraq (and South-West Asia). I always knew that they would get a renewal. The old contract actually expired, and UNISYS was paying us on an interim authorization. Anyway, the way is now cleared for me to ask for a third year on this project.

I like Iraq, and I like this project, and my firm has always treated me fair and square. I have no real problem here. I would like to return to my old duty station at Al Asad Air Base. Forward Operating Base Sykes is not bad. I have a decent trailer, unlimited shower time, the chow hall is excellent (they are still not serving eggs, and it may be a long time before they do!). The Rec Hall is decent, and most of the Army people treat me all right.

I am a little disappointed, that the Logistics section, where my office is, has restricted me from using their break room. What does the Army care, if I hang out there and watch their Television? I have a secret clearance, and even though I am not a soldier, I am here on Army business. We are all part of the same family, whether I wear a uniform or not. I am disappointed.

Summer is coming. This morning, the wind was blowing so fiercely, that it blew my door open to the trailer. I had to wrap myself up, to walk to the shower house. I picked up my laundry, and walked down to the chow hall. I did not have much appetite for a big breakfast, so I got some juice, milk, coffee and yogurt. Lunch is at 1130, I will go back and get a sandwich, maybe some ice cream.

I got a small hassle with my pay record. I have not logged on to the website, and checked my direct deposits for so long, that my account went inactive. I had to email the accounting firm that UNISYS has administering my pay records. They will re-activate the account, then I can check my leave and deductions,etc.

Mail here is erratic and spotty. I may go two weeks, without so much as a letter, then get a pile of mail in one day. A lodge in Hawaii, sent in a pile of recreational gear for the Rec Hall, and I delivered it, and the Rec Hall staff was thrilled. I am glad to see this kind of Masonic charity.

I still do not know if I will ever see Freemasonry here in Iraq. I was asked to take over this project in December 2005. It is now almost May 2007, and I am no closer than when I started. I am still waiting on my application to be a dual member of Master Builder lodge #911, in Tonawanda NY, and I still have no idea when the charter (dispensation) to operate Land, Sea, and Air lodge #1 will be issued. The Grand Lodge of New York meets in May, maybe then they will move on the dispensation.

I am delighted that the presidential campaign is underway. It is great theater, and the Rec hall television is kept on the news channel most of the time. I am anxious to see it play out. My feeling is that Hillary (Ptui!) Clinton will get the Dem nomination, and that Barack Obama will get Vice-presidential nomination. The Republican side, I am pulling for Mitt Romney, but I think that Giulani is a real contender. I would like to see a real tough "law and order" type like Rudy get that nomination. I met him briefly in Washington DC, and he is genuine.

I pray every day, that I can get back to my old duty station. I thought that Al Asad, while not being a paradise, was about the closest that I had ever seen to a real ideal work station. I had two bikes, and a Gator vehicle to get around in. My trailer was huge, and carpeted. I had cable TV in the trailer, and we had a good Masonic club, and posters up all over the base.

My office was an entire BUILDING! That is right, the marines gave me a whole warehouse, with unlimited areas for storage. I had a huge amount of privacy, and I could work, and get around the base by bike. I had to make a lot of road trips, but I did not care, I liked the chopper rides in the middle of the night, and staying out at different places. I sure hope that I can get transferred back to Al Asad.

The KY Derby is coming up in one week. I am going to stay up all night at the Rec hall, and watch it. It will be about 3am Sunday morning, and it should be a terrific race. One thing I miss being here in the desert, is I cannot enjoy horse racing. It is the "King of Sports, and the Sport of Kings".

He is tired

An interesting email.


Subject: He's tired and so am I "I'm Tired" Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of duty in Iraq, I wasforced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury I sustained priorto my deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to finish my tour. I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication that we are winning,to return to a demoralized country much like the one I returned to in1971 after my tour in Vietnam. Maybe it's because I'll turn 60 years oldin just four months, but I'm tired: I'm tired of spineless politicians, both Democrat and Republican who lackthe courage, fortitude, and character to see these difficult tasksthrough. I'm tired of the hypocrisy of politicians who want to rewrite historywhen the going gets tough. I'm tired of the disingenuous clamor from those that claim they 'Supportthe Troops' by wanting them to 'Cut and Run' before victory is achieved. I'm tired of a mainstream media that can only focus on car bombs andcasualty reports because they are too afraid to leave the safety of theirhotels to report on the courage and success our brave men and women arehaving on the battlefield. I'm tired that so many Americans thin k you can rebuild a dictatorshipinto a democr acy over night. I'm tired that so many ignore the bravery of the Iraqi people to go tothe voting booth and freely elect a Constitution and soon a permanentParliament. I'm tired of the so called 'Elite Left' that prolongs this war by givingaid and comfort to our enemy, just as they did during the Vietnam War. I'm tired of antiwar protesters showing up at the funerals of our fallensoldiers. A family who's loved ones gave their life in a just and noblecause, only to be cruelly tormented on the funeral day by cowardlyprotesters is beyond shameful. I'm tired that my generation, the Baby Boom-Vietnam generation, who havesuch a weak backbone that they can't stomach seeing the difficult tasksthrough to victory. I'm tired that some are more concerned about the treatment of captivesthan they are the slaughter and beheading of our citizens and allies. I'm tired that when we find mass graves it is seldom reported by thepress, but mistreat a prisoner and it is front page news. Mostly, I'm tired that the people of this great nation didn't learn fromhistory that there is no substitute for Victory. Sincerely, Joe Repya, Lie utenant Colonel, U. S. Army 101st Airborne Division This needs to get all over the U S A.

A very sad posting

Please visit this link:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/309485032.html

Email from a South African Mason

I got the most interesting email from a South African Mason who is here in Iraq.

-------
W.Bro. CharlesJust read your notes on the uphill battle to open a lodge 'in country'. I wouldlike to say, "jolly good show and good luck".I'm a private security contractor in / out of country since mid 2003 and currently in the IZ, quite some way from your location, I believe.My background is law enforcement and international private security so it doesnot seem that I would 'qualify' to become an affiliate member of the proposedNew York Military traveling Lodge structures, here in country.Like you, I have no official mandate to make statements, comments, etc. but Iwould like to re-iterate my previous comments of encouragement. I'll pass thison to my Provincial Grand Master, as a matter of interest and for his insight.Good luck and if I can be of any minuscule assistance, do not hesitate toshout.My mother lodge is the Sharman Crawford Lodge No. 608 I.C. - Constituted on 16May 1927 in Cape Town and named after a member of the British Military topstructure of Cape Town, a British Colony at the time - The Right Honorable, SirSharman Crawford CBE. Our lodge is a member of the Most Worshipful, the GrandLodge of Ireland and we meet in the De Goede Hoop Lodge Room (oldest masonicbuilding in SA - built in 1752 by the Dutch), within the Cape TownParliamentary Complex, on the 2nd Thursday of each month.Maybe you will find the time to copy me with your progress, every so often.You stay safe and take care.Fraternal GreetingsStephen van DiggeleRt. W. Past Provincial Deputy Grand MasterProvincial Grand Lodge, Southern Cape Provinceof the Cape of Good HopeRepublic of South Africa

and my response:


How very wonderful to hear from you. Of course, we would be delighted to have you participate with our traveling military lodge. ANY MASON in good standing may participate. We have American civilian and military personnel now participating, and we had one Kuwaiti national petition our lodge.A traveling military lodge is a "lodge without walls" set up by a Grand Lodge, (In this case, the Grand Lodge of New York USA) to serve (primarily) a group of military Freemasons. Our lodge was first established in World War 1, in 1917. This is our 90th year of operation. I am currently at Forward Operating Base Sykes, near the town of Tall'Afar. the lodge is at Al Asad Air Base, but we hope to "franchise" out smaller lodges elsewhere in country. If there is no informal masonic fellowship at your current base, then I encourage you to begin one. We have a "Masonic square and compasses club" here.If you are interested in the story of our lodge please seehttp://www.esmason.com Fall 2005 issue page 32For a journal of our progress, and my personal journey to get Masonry in Iraq please seehttp://www.cemab4y.blogspot.comMy home lodge is Bowling Green #73, Bowling Green KY, Grand Lodge of Kentucky Free and Accepted Masons. I lived in Maputo, Mozambique 1984-1986, and I spent many fine times in Nelspruit and the Eastern Transvaal. I took a wonderful holiday in Sun City Bophuthatswana. Please feel free to email anytime, I love to get correspondence from Freemasons here or anywhere!

17 April 2007

Tax Day. Fortunately, my taxes are filed. I hope I get a refund this year. My accountant back in the USA handles it. We heard about the school shooting last night. I had hoped that the base would have our flags at half-staff, in respect for the biggest mass murder in US history.

Spring is coming. The nights are cold, I keep the heater running in the trailer. I prefer to wear a denim jacket in the mornings, it is perfect for this climate. The Rec Hall is usually kept very cool, so I just keep it on all day. This morning, I did not have much appetite, so I skipped breakfast. I can get my lunch at 1130am.

I got some interesting emails from my friends back in the USA. One of my old Air Force friends, Major David Block(retired) has decided to petition for the degrees of Masonry. I hooked him up with a lodge near his home, and he is getting the paperwork submitted.

I found a couple of interesting websites, and I have been ordering some items from the USA. The summer will be HOT here, so I ordered some short pants. My previous supervisor discouraged the employees from wearing short pants, but I wore them anyway. When you ride a bike 5-8 miles a day in 120 degree heat in the Iraqi desert, short pants are more serviceable.

I don't think the new supervisor cares one way or another if we wear short pants.

An Article about my duty station

Here is a COPYRIGHTED article that appeared in the Halifax (canada) Herald Limited.
I think it is very accurate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 15, 2005 Back The Halifax Herald Limited------------------------------------------------------------------------Off-duty soldiers live in comfortIraq remains a dangerous place, but U.S. troops not shortchanged at end ofday By SCOTT TAYLOR / On TargetThe two major military campaigns mounted by the U.S.-led coalition forcessince 9/11 have proven that the conventional notion of linear warfare isobsolete. The Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam's regular army could not stand in theface of the overwhelming technological superiority and massive firepower ofthe American juggernaut.As a result, the U.S. offensives were quickly able to capture all their keyobjectives in Afghanistan and to depose the regime of Saddam in Iraq withonly a minimum number of casualties.However, in both of these theatres the resistance has been unpredictablydogged, and the relentless insurgents and holy fighters have turned theentire countryside into a guerrilla battlefield.Biding their time and avoiding major combat with heavily armed front-lineAmerican forces, the insurgents instead target U.S. supply vehicles withbooby traps and hit-and-run tactics.In response to this new threat, the Pentagon has had to rapidly introduce awidespread program of up-armouring every vehicle in the army's inventory.As the highways of Iraq and rough tracks of Afghanistan have become the new"front line," every truck, fuel tanker, and Humvee must be converted into acombat-capable weapon platform.Another major development in the way non-linear modern war is waged is themanner it has manifested itself in the ability of the U.S. military toprovide creature comforts for their combat soldiers.As I discovered on my recent visit to the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regimentbased in Talafar, Iraq, there is very little discomfort or personal hardshipassociated with waging war against the insurgents.That is not to say these soldiers don't face danger on a daily basis (duringmy five-day visit, 3ACR incurred five killed in action and one seriouslywounded), but it is only to observe that at the end of a gruelling patrol,these troopers can return to the relative comfort of Forward Operating BaseSykes. This compound consists of a heavily protected airfield about five kilometresfrom the insurgent-held enclaves in the city of Talafar.To date, the U.S. troops housed at FOB Sykes have not received any incominginsurgent shellfire, as there is no way for them to safely approach theAmerican base across the wide-open desert terrain.Without threat of hostile fire, the troopers can sleep safe and sound intheir air-conditioned portable trailers, enjoy hot showers and flushtoilets, and dine up to four times a day at their massive, privately cateredkitchen facility. Operated by the corporate conglomerate Kellogg, Brown and Root, the messhall serves up a stunning variety of main courses, fast food, salad bars andmade-to-order sandwich counters.Unlike the old Beetle Bailey comic strips, U.S. soldiers no longer spendtheir off hours pulling kitchen duty and peeling potatoes.The task of preparing the four daily smorgasbords is done by a bevy of cooksand cleaners recruited from civilian firms in Turkey and India.Given the level of insurgent activity in the Talafar area, the U.S. basedoes not employ any local Iraqis. The extreme heat and dust at FOB Sykescertainly takes its toll on clothing, but KBR also provides a complete24-hour laundry service free to all soldiers.To keep fit, the troopers of 3 ACR have access to a fully equipped,air-conditioned gym and before each morning's training runs, the KBR trucksdampen down the roadside dust with their water trucks.During their off hours, U.S. soldiers can rent DVD movies at the on-basemini-mall, or use the satellite Internet cafe free of charge.One has to keep in mind that these facilities are all part and parcel of aforward operating base.From FOB Sykes, the troops don their full flak jackets and venture out on adaily basis to patrol the winding streets of Talafar.At the more established, larger Green Zones in Mosul and Baghdad, U.S.personnel have additional access to a complete range of fast-food outlets -Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell (to name just a few) - bowling alleys,movie theatres, swimming pools.The experience of modern warfare still includes the horror, shock andviolence of previous conflicts, but the U.S. soldiers' personal lot betweenfirefights has improved considerably.

Life in Iraq

I received an email today from Brother Steve Cramer, and he asked some interesting questions.

Portion of his email:

Also, yes please tell me what daily life is like there in Iraq. We get such a skewed version of life there from our media that I'm not sure what life is like there. Most Americans think that it's just a dirty, dusty, hell hole of a place, but I know that most Iraqis are good people. and they have such a rich history, I think if we can just get them to embrace their own destiny, and embrace freedom, that their culture will bloom and they will become such a model good society for other struggling countries to emulate. Am I off base?All we see on the news is them blowing each other up. I've got to think that some good things are happening over there. I just don't know. Maybe you and I can make a difference. You never know.

(end)

Well, I live in Iraq, I have been here for 18 months. And I watch CNN/FOX, etc. I must say that the picture that is presented in the US media is very good. I have no serious problem with it. Iraq is not a dusty hell-hole. Fact is, it is raining right now. Iraq is either dusty or muddy. I have seen some blistering heat, and I have seen snow here at Tall'Afar. Anyplace where there is less than 7 inches of rain per year is classified as a desert. Iraq qualifies.

I must say, that I believe in the mission here. I think the USA is absolutely right to be involved in settling the disputes here, and in helping the Iraqi people to mold their own society and future. It is going to be a difficult task, make no mistake.

Americans are by and large historically illiterate. Let's take a step back into history. Adolf Hitler killed himself, and the nazis surrendered May 8, 1945. I was stationed in Germany 1976-1978, and at the time there were 300,000 American troops in central Europe. Today, 62 years after the end of WW2, there are 70,000 American troops in Germany.

Saddam Hussein was hung in 2007. We should be prepared to have a substantial military presence in Iraq for 40-50 years. This is simple reality. NO one wants to talk about it, but it is going to happen.

Now I must state for the record, that I do not have any contact with Iraqis. I live on a military base way out in the middle of nowhere. The American army runs the operation, and no Iraqis are permitted on this post. The laundry and kitchen staff are all third-country nationals. Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Turks, etc. The security situation is just too dangerous to permit Iraqi civilians on post.

I am optimistic about the outcome here. This war is not about religion. This war is about greed and power, like almost all wars. The main factions are the Sunnis, the Shi'ites, and the Kurds. The Kurds want to set up a separate state, but the oil fields are not distributed evenly in this country. The Iranians (predominately Shi'ite), are bankrolling the Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Weapons and logistical support is flowing into Iraq across the Syrian border. Al Qaeda operatives are active all over this country.

I believe sincerely, that a peaceful outcome is possible, and that all Iraqis regardless of religious sect or ethnicity can have a place in a reasonable political solution. This is going to be a difficult and long-range goal. Problem is, Americans are not willing to pay the price and tough it out for the long haul. Americans expect a "quick fix". After all, we developed the atomic bomb, and ended WW2 in the pacific. We put together "Operation Overlord", and invaded France, and ended WW2 in Europe in 9 months from D-Day to Berlin. We put a man on the moon in 8 years. But here in Iraq, there is no "quick fix" or "magic bullet".

30 Mar 2007

I have not made a posting in a while. Life goes on here at Forward Operating Base Sykes. I moved into a new trailer, that is very nice, except it is too close to the generators. It took a fe nights to get used to the humming, but now I can sleep just fine. The trailer is just four walls and a roof. I must walk 50 yards to the shower house, fortunately there is plenty of water, and I can take as long a shower as I like. I got some "Irish Spring" soap, and it is excellent, I shower myself every morning. When the hot weather hits, I am going to have to shower at night, when I get back to the trailer after work.

I spend most mornings at the Rec Hall. There is never any wait for the computers, and I wind up spending several hours there, and then watch Jeapordy at 11:30. Daylight savings time starts this weekend, so I will have to advance my watch one hour, so Jeapordy will start at 12:30.

The Rec hall cut back on the afternoon movies from four shows a day to two shows a day. I do not know why. I got some excellent recreational equipment and sporting goods from a lodge in Delaware, I must bring it down and distribute it. A lodge in Hawaii is sending some items (about $2000 worth), and I will bring it to the Rec Hall. This is so fantastic! People do not realize that the Rec Hall and gym get no government money.

The politicians are doing their thing again. I am convinced that pulling out of Iraq, before the job is done, is the stupidest thing that could ever be done. The US military should be prepared to be in Iraq for 30 years or more. Iran is messing around with those captured British sailors/Marines, and we will be at war those people soon.

I will not get any vacation until August or September. I do not care. I like the work and I like Iraq.

26 Feb 2007

Just changed the operating software on this blog. Let's see how it works. Been getting a lot of comments, but they are all SPAM. I guess I better shut off the comments option.

Moved to a new trailer this morning. It is very clean and I even found a new set of bed linens in the trailer. Just a bit longer of a walk to the shower house.

Still no ability to post flyers and posters for our club. I am sad. I met a Major Victor Sundquist, who is a Mason. We will meet with the First Sergeant, and try to work out a compromise.

Masons have held meetings on military posts since Valley Forge. If we handle it with tact and discretion, I think that we can have an excellent club and lodge here.

30 January 2007

Another weekend just went by. It is COLD in the mornings here. I was reading a book in the library, and I walked across the street to get a sandwich, and someone stole my sweatshirt (That I had left on the couch). People will steal anything that is not nailed down.

I only got 6 (six) days to clear out of my last assignment. I did not get to sell any of my personal items, I could not sell my bike or my home entertainment system. I only had the address of my new posting for three (3) days. I was busy as hell moving out, and shipping my personal items here. Then I got an email from the man who replaced me, saying that I left the office in "chaos". Hell, I am not June Cleaver, or Felix Unger! Carlos could have swept up the damn office, but he stays in the trailer all day, playing video games or IMing his wife.

I do not dislike this new base. The food is excellent, the work is the same as Al Asad, but there is much less work. I told them, that if he wants to swap back, he can do so anytime!

I put in for an instructor position in Reston. I also applied for the new project in Luxembourg.

Keep your comments on point.

I have received a number of comments, since I opened up the blog to moderated comments. Most are SPAM, and vulgar and racist. Please take your comments elsewhere, because they will NOT be published on my blog.

I welcome your comments

Comments are welcome, but NO Spam. Also no Hate speech or threats. Keep it on point, or take your comments elsewhere.

Comments are now moderated

Feel free to post comments.

18 Jan 2007

For the record, I am a Caucasian man. My people immigrated into Kentucky, with Daniel Boone, on his second trip through the Cumberland gap. My family history has been researched back to the 12th century in Wales. I am also a civilian technician here in Iraq. I am not a soldier, and I do not get involved in combat operations. I just run the computers here. I am a veteran, I was in the US Air Force for five years, and I am proud of my military service. I am also proud to serve alongside America's finest, in my civilian capacity. I am way out in the middle of the Iraqi desert, and there is no combat out here, anyway. My biggest danger is falling off my bicycle.

17 Jan 2007

We have a Masonic Lunch Group that meets every Wednesday at the Chow Hall here. Today, no one showed up except me. I hope that we can have more participation. The Chow Hall director (civilian) and the (Army) NCO in charge are both Freemasons, and they have been really helpful. We can have the meeting room every Wednesday at 1200noon, but the 1st Sergeant will not let us display any posters! One of the other 1st sergeants is a Freemason, and I am going to meet with him, and have him ask the (other) 1st sergeant to reconsider.

Comments are now moderated

I believe in Freedom of Speech. I have decided to open the blog to all comments. However, they will be moderated. I will delete any hate speech, or threats. Also, I will delete all SPAM. So keep your comments on point, or take them elsewhere.

13 Jan 2007

Well, this place is like "Ground Hog Day". Every day is the same. Work, eat,sleep, watch TV, surf the net. Today I rean out of deodorant, but I ordered some from drugstore.com on line. The company I work for (A fantastic company -BTW), has landed a contract to renovate the Airport at Luxembourg. Can you believe it? I used to live 40 mins from the airport, and I have flown in and out of the place many times. I have contacted my company to see if I can get an application in for one of the jobs there. It would be cool to go back to Luxembourg.

My mother-in-law arrived in Washington last night, I must call the wife and speak to her.

The work here goes on, we are still trying to locate that pickup truck that the company had shipped here. When it arrives, I will have to send it along to Al Asad, and then Carlos will send the Gator vehicle here.

New Years Day 2007

Had a decent New Year's Eve. The chow hall did a whole buffet of snacks. I just love fried jalapeno "poppers". Also a whole fountain of egg nog. The chow hall set up a disco and amplifiers, and we danced and enjoyed the night.

It is cold here in Iraq, this time of year, there was a hard freeze, last night. I finally got back to the trailer about 2am, and slept for ten hours.

Not much to do today, just watched a film "28 Days" with Sandra Bullock. Yesterday, there was a "Sopranos" marathon. Watched the big screen all day long.

I met with the Chow hall manager today and we are now authorized to have a Masonic luncheon every Wenesday at 1200noon. fantastic! We could not reserve a table back at Al Asad, but here the manager (civilian) and military liaison are both Masons! Can you believe it?

I also secured the classroom at the Rec Hall for every 1st/3rd Saturday at 7pm for the Square and Compasses Club. We will meet there, and if there is enought interest, we can see about getting a lodge going.

I found out that there are several other Masons here at Talafar, we just might have what it takes.

Christmas day over

Christmas day was an ordinary day. Worked as usual. An excellent meal was served up in the chow hall. We had prime rib, dressing, and an excellent shrimp salad with crabmeat.

They served up cans of egg nog, and I drank several glasses. I was thinking about how nice it would be to have some Claxton fruit cake, and they gave me one! I went back to the Rec Hall and ate a whole pound of fruit cake!

One week at Talafar

Been here for a week. Place is all right in many respects. Just wish that I had more to do. I miss the work at my previous base. I had a good thing going at Al Asad. Rode my bikes all over the place. We had a decent Masonic Square and Compasses club.

Talafar has a good chow hall, decent rec hall. I do not have cable TV in my trailer. But I will install the satellite dish later on, and then I can see AFN and some other English language TV shows.

I already reserved the classroom at the chow hall for 1200 wednesdays for the S&C club.

I set up the Rec Hall for the 1st/3rd Saturdays at 7:00pm for the S&C club.

We may just make it a go after all.

New assignment.

I have a new assignment. It is at Talafar, Iraq. I am Forward Operating Base Sykes. It is a small base, smaller than I have been posted at.

I will be here until August 2007.

I always enjoy getting mail. Please send your emails to

cemab4y@hotmail.com

and your postal mail to

Charles E. Martin
UNISYS CORP/LTF
APO AE 09351

Charles Martin's Blog. Iraq and Freemasonry

The tale of six boys:

Charles I thought you might enjoy reading this.
Fraternally: Jack

A Tale of Six Boys

Each year I am hired to go to Washington , DC, with the eighth grade
class from Clinton , WI., where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I
greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some
special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This
memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the
most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers
raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo
Jima , Japan , during WW II.

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed
towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the
statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?"

I told him that we were from Wisconsin "Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come
gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story."

(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the
memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to
his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he
saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received
his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing
to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington on,
D.C., but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that
night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his
words that night.)

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on
that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our Fathers" which
is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story
of the six boys you see behind me.

"Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground
is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in
the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They
were off to play another type of game, a game called "War" But it didn't
turn out to be a game.

Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't
say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand
in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to
know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old.

(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon
from New Hampshire If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo
was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a
photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for
protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the
battle of Iwo Jima . Boys . Not old men.

"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike
Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called
him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike
would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, Let's go kill
some Japanese' or Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to
little boys. Instead he would say, You do what I say, and I'll get you
home to your mothers.'

"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from
Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima . He went into the White House
with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told
reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the
island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your
class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing
everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of
your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of
horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32
.. ten years after this picture was taken.

"The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop,
Kentucky. A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70,
told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop
General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't
get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.'
Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the
age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it
went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to
his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into
the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

"The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John
Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until
1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's
producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little
kids to say, 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada
fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is
coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually, he was
sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had
to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the
press.

"You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys
are heroes, cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew
better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In
Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died
in Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed in pain.

"When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was
a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said,
'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys
who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
"So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima ,
and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo
Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is
giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag
sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the
heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero.
Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero
nonetheless.

We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us
to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from
the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in
between that sacrifice was made for our freedom. Remember to pray praises
for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous
unrest around the world. STOP and thank God for being alive and being
free at someone else's sacrifice.

God Bless You and God Bless America .

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great
day.

Charles Martin's Blog. Iraq and Freemasonry

5 Nov 2006. WHEW! Three weeks in Moscow, then two weeks in Kuwait. Got back to Al Asad Fri Nite and trying to catch up. Someone stole the bike frame that I was going to re-habilitate. I had removed all of the serviceable parts.

Many changes while I was away. I will catch up later.

Charles Martin's Blog. Iraq and Freemasonry

21 Sept 2006. Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait. FINALLY! I got our of Iraq for my R&R. The Marines flubbed my schedule, I was supposed to leave on Thursday, but when I went to the flight office to check on the ticket, they had me down for Wednesday. I was already packed, so I went to the flight line, and got a flight to Kuwait. I arrived late Weds nite, and went to the transient tents. I will wait here until Friday night, and then get to the civilian airport for my 0300am flight to Dubai, and then on for my vacation. The engineers back at Al Asad will run the show in my absence. Man it is good to be finally on the way!

Charles Martin's Blog. Iraq and Freemasonry

Charles Martin's Blog. Iraq and Freemasonry 17 Sept. 2006. Today in church, we talked about the importance of keeping journals. I enjoy this blog, but I should be more diligent about entering information. This place, is like the film "Ground Hog Day". Every day is the same, since I work 7 days a week. Last week, two new individuals arrived here. Mr. Carlos Zambrana and Mr. Raul Ramirez. These guys are really sharp, and I think they will both make excellent FSE's. Raul will stay here, during my R&R, and learn the ropes, then get sent to some new base. Carlos is taking to the job like a fish to water, and he will remain here, when I return from R&R. There is really not enough work here for two full time Engineers, so Carlos will probably be traveling a lot, covering other bases, when people go on vacation and emergency leave,etc.

I was supposed to fly out of here on Friday 15 Sept. and then on to Moscow. There were no flights on Friday, and the only flight was Saturday morning. Problem is the flight left here at 0300am, and I had to be at the Kuwait civilian airport at 0345am. So I had to cancel the flight from here, and then push back my R&R. I am going to leave here on Thursday, and then wait a day in Kuwait, and then leave from Kuwait at 0345am on Saturday morning, fly to Dubai, and then change for a direct flight to Moscow. I will be in Moscow on Saturday afternoon 23 Sept. In's'hallah.

I am glad that I was able to re-enlist, and get a second year here in Iraq. I like it here. I like the work, the people I work with (mostly), and my supervisor is terrific, I get a lot of lee-way to do this job. The chief said "you have done exemplary work in an austere environment" I wish that all my performance reports read so glowingly.

I will be here through Sept 2007, and from there, who knows? I might even ask for a third year here in Iraq. I like this place very much. Yesterday afternoon, I got cable TV hooked up in my trailer. Now I have ten channels of TV. I will get my own satellite dish going later on, and have some additional channels.

14 Sept 2006. Leaving on vacation

I am flying out of Iraq on Thursday 21 Sept. Will spend three weeks in Moscow Russia, and return. I enjoy all of your comments, please continue to post.

The lodge is on hold until I return. We will get a dispensation to meet, later this year.

27 August 2006

Sunday morning. Cool this morning, drove down to the convoy yard, and collected the data off the computer to a disk. What a hassle, the repairs after the fire in the yard, are slow. Preparing for my vacation, I have my tickets prepaid, but I still do not know who is going to come here and cover my job. I requested quarters for the person in July, but I still do not have a place for him to stay.

Someone cut a hole in my bike tire, so now I cannot use the Mongoose bike. I ordered a couple of replacement tires, and when one of them arrives, I will install it. Until, then I am riding the old bike.

You cannot believe what people throw away. I found four(4) excellent bed sheets, almost new, in the trash. I have already found two(2) pairs of excellent combat boots, and two(2) pairs of running shoes. I go Dumpster diving all the time.

Sleeping OK now, I just wish that I had my satellite system hooked up. When I return from vacation, I think I will install the satellite dish. I have plenty of DVDs and VHS tapes for now. Last night, I watched "The Tall Men" with Clark Gable and Jane Russell.

the days pass quickly, work is good, and I will be flying out in a couple of weeks.

11 August 2006

Men Are Just Happier People--

What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name
stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of
themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You
can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You
can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth.

The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas
station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to
stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more
pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress~$5000. Tux rental~$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. The
occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes
don't
cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone
conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all
your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of
thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still
be
your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of
shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in
public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original color. The same
hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your
face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. Your belly
usually
hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for
all
seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can
"do"
your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning
growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on
December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier. Send this to the women who can handle
it and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

31 July 2006

I keep getting these terrific emails, Here is one from Down Under!

My SAS Sqn {Australian} took that airbase you are sitting in in one night on their own, in a vehicle mounted attack much like Sir David Stirling's mob and the LRDG in WW 11.

Ya want pics of us celebrating our ANZAC day with the Aussie flag on their HQ bunker. This is years ago now though Charles.

Me, yeah I am a Master Mason here in OZ. But I am bent up in body and mind, but am slowly getting back into some shape.

3 Sqn did East Timor {Indonesian bastards killed 250-000 Timorese since 1975 there} Then onto the �Ghan with 1 Sqn, then into Iraq.

Rests break then Ghan again and Iraq, and so it goes on and on.

We mainly now work in Afghanistan though.

We fight above our weight ever since our inception in 1958.

We have never lost anyone to an actual enemy combat engagement or from and enemy Unit.

In fact in Borneo 1964-5 our dead {4} one was dead from a stalking elephant {yes true, a rouge bull stalked the Patrol of 5 for days} we lost 2 in river crossings, and one from illness.

In fact in 10 years in Nam till 1972 {officially pulled out} we lost NONE to the enemy. Now Charles, we are in the Ghan, many years later {with lots of deployments in between} our only loss was 1 dead a bloody landmine.

It hit one of our special desert patrol vehicles {vice-versa}, and we lost a man, that is it.

None dead from anything in our assault on Iraq, where our special vehicles were seen 30 clicks outa Baghdad on the first night of the War by Journalists and Reporters who were being stopped by our guys trying to capture fleeing �special targets� We were the closet in and fired the first shots, with some Seal�s who were way Nth of us

Yeah wounded for sure, but Iraq, Ghan, Vietnam, to Borneo back in 1964 none dead from the enemy.

We are known in Nam by the Viet Cong as �Phantoms of the Jungle.

Hell there is a potted history of one of your main Allies.

Maybe it would be a fitting gift to your NEW IRAQ Lodge to know about the SAS Regiment in a Special Book on us. I have just the one.

And Australia was the original one of three, original Members of the Coalition against Terror, yep the US, UK, and Australia.

It is some luck, but really pure training and discipline that makes us what we are mate

Anyhow I am rambling, as it is late, I need my meds, and my bed, if {I can sleep at all these days}

Stay safe Charles, watch your arse.

Chris

Mail from an Iraqi Mason in Canada

I get the most amazing email. Here is one from an Iraqi Mason in Canada.


Dear Brother Martin,
First, I would like to congradulate you and all brethern who have started and opened
the first masonic lodge in free Iraq, it was one of the most wonderfull work which has been done by Air, Land and Marine personnel beside bringing the freedon to the land of mosipotemia ( Iraq).
secondly, I would like to know if you need any equipment for the Lodge, I will be happy to try to get them, just to help the brethern in masonic work.
My name is Khoshaba Mirza, past master of Bridgewood Masonic Lodge Lodge in the A.F&A masonry in the Grand Lodge of Canada, province of Ontario.
I hope to hear from you.
Thanks
P.M. Khoshaba Mirza

22 July 2006. From a mason in Hawaii

Charles, my name is Jimmy Coleman from the Honolulu Lodge of F&AM. I was recently passed to the degree of Fellowcraft and just want to say congratulations for what you are doing out there in Iraq. I'm a submariner in the Navy by the way, stationed at Pearl Harbor. The brothers and I are looking forward to seeing some pics of the lodge when you get a chance. You were a topic of discussion last Tuesday in the lodge. If there's anything that I can do for you, shoot me an e-mail. Until then, Godspeed and good luck with the lodge.

Fraternally,
Jimmy Coleman
http://honolulufreemasons.org/

20 July 2006. Ramadi Base

Stuck here one more day. Crud. The data shop is still working on the computer, to get it ready to get on the internet here. Looks like they will work on it today, and it can go on the net tomorrow. Walked down to the guard shack, and checked the antennas, they look good. Walked over to the chow hall. Today they served: baked fish fillets, Hot italian sausages in tomato sauce, rice, corn. Ate the food, and had a bowl of BR cookie dough ice cream. Then walked over to the Rec Hall.

Will spend tonight in the tent,with the generator blowing all night. Then get the system back on line Friday morning, and then hang around the base all day, and try for a night chopper back to Al Asad.

19 July 2006. Ramadi base

Sunday morning, got the flight to Camp Korean Village. Got the system back on line. Had to wait until Tuesday for a return flight. Came back to Al Asad Air Base Tuesday afternoon. Then grabbed a hot shower, packed some more clothes, dropped off my laundry, and then caught a night flight to Ramadi Base.

Got in at 1100pm, and hitched a ride to the transient tent. It is a lot cleaner, and all the crowd that was there last time is gone, just me and one other person. Still bloody LOUD, next to a 10 KW generator roaring away all night. Slept as best I could, then got up at 0600am. Walked over to the shower trailer, and there was no hot water. Checked out the hot water heater, someone turned the water off, so I turned the water back on. Got an excellent shower.

The helicopter that I flew in Tuesday night, had severe hydraulic fluid leaks in the ceiling. Hot sticky hydraulic fluid dripped on me for half an hour. I now have hydraulic fluid on my uniform at the wrists and knees. One of the hassles of life in Iraq.

Got the system into the data shop for repairs, should be ready by Thursday morning. Went to the chow hall, and had an excellent veal steak, with salsa and rice. Stir-fry vegetables, and Baskin-Robbins strawberry Ice cream. Met a couple of over-the-road civilian truck drivers, and they told their tales of teamstering in Iraq. One of them is interested in Freemasonry.

We have our dispensation! May 2, 2oo6, the GLNY issued the document. We still do not have any New York Masons here, I will not get my dual membership until September 2006. Then we can finally have a meeting!

Not much to do now, just kick back, and wait for the data shop to get the system prepped for going back on line. Will hang out at the Rec Hall, and get dinner, then back to the tent and try to sleep next to the generator roaring away all night.

15 July 2006

The Ides of July. Heat has moderated. Last Monday, we had a bad windstorm. Blew down one of my systems. Smashed the mounting pole, and one of the cables just blew away, no idea where to find it. Fortunately, I had a spare set of cables. I went to the site, and one of the marines climbed up on the roof and helped me replace the cables.

We had a casualty, one of our Navy SeaBees was killed by a land mine. The Marines shut the internet down for 36 hours, until they could notify his family. When the internet came back up, one of my systems could not report. Now I must fly to Korean Village, about 12 miles from the Syrian border. The flight is 2 1/2 hours. Korean Village is the bleakest place I have ever seen.

Tonight is a Masonic Square and Compasses Club meeting. We still do not have a charter after 7 (seven) months of waiting. I am so disappointed. I have written all of the New York officers, and I still have no idea when we will have a charter. I still do not have my dual membership with Master Builder lodge #911, in Tonawanda New York.

10 July 2006

Back to it. Could not sleep at all last nite. Got up at 0800, and rode the bike into the office. Wind blowing hard across the desert, by body works like a sail, pushing me back the wrong way! Finally got to the office. Must travel to Ramadi tonight. No rest for the weary.

Yesterday at church,we talked about the importance of keeping a journal. I mentioned that I keep a BLOG. Must keep it high-tech. Like a diary, but I broadcast mine out for all the world to see, and even make comments.

Been working 10 hours a day 7 days a week since I have been here. No matter. I like it. Some SOB stole the kickstand off my Mongoose bike. I do not understand why so many people steal here. We put our lives in each other's hands. I had a nice pair of sunglasses with a neck string, and someone stole them. I had a spare wheel for my bike, and someone stole that. If they had asked me for them, I would have gladly given them away.

I finished reading "The cruelest miles" about the sled-dog drive to get the vaccine to the sick children at Nome, Alaska. The book was fascinating, and it included some insight into what it is like to live in Alaska. One thing struck me. In one of the stories, the narrator said "In Alaska we have to trust each other, else we cannot live here". I feel the same way about life in Iraq. We put our lives in each other's hands. you must rely on your buddy in the foxhole. You must also rely on your buddy, when you park your bike in front of your hooch.

The bicycle is the preferred mode of transport here. There are hundreds of bikes. Soldiers and civilians use bikes for transport. Since we go months without rain, why not! I have a John Deere Gator, and I only use it, if I have to haul tools or luggage or packages. I much prefer my bikes.

My computer is still back in California. It was busted, and I thought that the repairs were covered under warranty. Turns out that the internal damage was covered. The repair depot said that I needed a new battery, so I bought one. Turns out the battery was fine, the AC adaptor and the charging circuitry in the computer were defective, and that is not covered by warranty. Now I had to charge $225 on the American Express card, and then try for re-inbursement. The company authorized the repair, but they will howl regardless.

Getting close to lunchtime, I will close it off now.

Looking back. 1 January 2006.

> Got your mail. Iraq is an interesting place. I consider myself an
> "old mideast hand" after spending a year in Saudi Arabia. I think
> Saudi Arabia is a paradise, at least for American males.
>

>

>

> My work is fantastic, I love it. I supervise 9 computers (soon
> 10) on 5 forward combat bases in Western Iraq. I am based at Al
> Asad (33deg47min N/42deg28minE). My other bases are in a "ring",
> and when one of them conks out, I get on a chopper, and fly up.
> On New years eve, I flew to Ramadi (a big insurgent area), and
> stayed in the barracks.
>
> I went to the office the next morning, and serviced the computer.
> I got it back on line, and then "baby-sat" the system all day, to
> make sure that it did not go out again. I then got a ride to the
> helicopter terminal at 9pm. I stayed in the terminal, and got a
> chopper ride back to Al Asad at 3am. I got back to my trailer at
> 0400am. that means I worked 21 hours in one day.
>
> I then grabbed a hot shower in the shower trailer. I slept for
> about an hour. Then I got up at 0600am. I took a disc drive from
> an old computer, and installed it in another computer. I then got
> a chopper ride up to Al Qaim. I installed the computer, and got it
> back on line. I stayed with that computer all day, again making
> sure that it did not go out.
>
> One of the men there got a pizza oven for Christmas, so he made
> homemade pizza for all of us. I ate a slice, and then I watched
> "Flight of the Phoenix" on the television. I then grabbed my
> duffle bag, and walked over to the barracks for the night. I slept
> in the barracks, and then got up at 0900am. I went back and
> checked the computer to make sure that it ran all night. By 1130,
> the chopper was ready to go back.
>
> I got on the chopper and flew back to Al Asad, then got a bus back
> to the trailer. I had not eaten anything for 24 hours, so I was
> hungry. I went to the Chow Hall, and got a dinner of pork loin
> roast, and baked pollock fish with parmesan cheese and curry
> flavored rice. The chow hall has unlimited baskin-robbins ice
> cream, but I got cheesecake for dessert.
>
> I then went back to the barracks, and watched "Midway" with
> Charlton Heston. I fell asleep, and went to work at 0600am. I
> usually work 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I am on call 24/7.
> It's great, and I am 99% ready to re-enlist and spend a second
> year here in the Iraqi desert.
>
> I am getting a masonic lodge organized. (see
> http://gbp.net/rtj/iraq.html) I wish that there was a MENSA
> chapter here, but no luck. When I was in Dharhan, Saudi Arabia
> (1991)we started a MENSA chapter, and it was just getting
> underway, when I left.
>

>

On independence day, Remember the Civilians

gets up to 120+ degrees in afternoon. night down to about 80. Windy, dusty. just keep drinking water.Does anyone think about the civilians in Iraq?We live in the tents with the soldiers and marines. We eat in their chow halls, and pray with them in the chapels.We leave our loved ones back in the USA. We are bombed on, mortared on, shot at. Unlike soldiers, we are forbidden by international conventions from carrying weapons or shooting back.over 350 of us civilians have lost our lives here in Iraq. Bombs and IED's do not discriminate, they kill civilians and military people with equal enthusiasm.We deliver the mail, the food to the chow halls, we keep the computers running , the military cannot function without computers, we keep the generators producing electricity, so that the buildings can have air conditioning. We run the Recreation halls, where the soldiers/marines can have their limited free time. We provision the hospitals, where they are treated. We keep the supplies flowing, the ammunition delivered.the average civilian is 45 here, he has a gut, and his hairline is receding. He does not have the physique of a marine Corps lance corporal, but he misses his family just as bad. He is probably a veteran, many here served in Vietnam, and came back home to the USA to be spit on.He went to college on the GI Bill, and learned the skills to support this military operation.The civilians here, are bit by the same sand fleas, the same scorpions, and the same camel spiders, that bite the soldiers. They pick the same sand from their hair. They take the same 3-minute showers as the Marines. They eat the same food in the chow halls. They weep over the same letters from their families. They miss their kids just as bad as the soldiers.The civilians here are mighty proud to be part of this operation. Terrorism kills civilians and the innocent. 3,500 civilians were killed on Sept 11, and we don't forget. Saddam Hussein killed civilians, used poison gas on Kurdish women and children. Each one of us plays a part in the fight against terrorism here in Iraq.We have no fancy uniforms, we won't get a service ribbon for our time here. We will get no welcome home parades, there will be no band waiting when we step off the plane. The president of the United States will not serve any thanksgiving meals to any civilians. The VFW posts will not be named after us. No flags fly at half-staff when we are killed.But this operation WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE without civilians. Each one of us will receive the deep personal satisfaction of having done our part to fight terrorism. When this conflict is over, and Iraq has a constitutional republic, we will have the knowledge that we civilians made it possible. People I have never met (I am forbidden to have any contact with Iraqis), will live their lives in safety, and without the monstrous rule of Saddam Hussein because of what I have done here. The Iraqi people, and the people of the entire middle east, will have a future, without terror, because of the work and sweat of the civilian force in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

01 July 2006 Ramadi Base

I am at Ramadi base. I flew up last night, and went to the transient tent. What a pig-sty! Trash and bottles and various crap all over the floor. The tent is right next to a 10KW generator, and sleeping is impossible. Went to work at 0800 in the morning, already HOT. Ramadi is in the center of the terrorist stronghold. I have an antenna up at a guard shack, and a soldier was killed in that shack some months ago.

Looks like I will be here for a couple of days at least. It's bearable. I am glad that I brought enough clothes for four days. The mess hall is barely tolerable, not nearly as good as what it used to be last year. Like most mess halls in western Iraq, it has gone downhill.

Fortunately, I can get on a computer at the Recreation Hall. Been surfing the net all day. Also reading "On the wings of Eagles" about how Ross Perot had his people rescued from Iran. As a contractor working in a foreign country, I am interested in this story. Fortunately, I am forbidden to travel on a motor vehicle, or even to leave the perimeter, except by air.

I stopped the automatic posting by the YAHOO group. If someone wants to read this BLOG, they will have to open it on the web like anyone else.