Oh my God!!!! You have never seen a place this bad in your life! I have to dust everything off, every 12 hours! This shit is horrible! I have to wipe my screen off twice a day! Have you ever been on a dusty road and a car passes? You know the smell of the dust cloud that surrounds you? That is what I am surrounded by constantly. in this shack all I can smell is dust….
Category Archives: Tom
Tom’s Ride
General Updates
Luckily, he’s been able to call pretty much every day—or at least every other day—even when he’s supposedly going to be incommunicado. This is a huge relief to me, as I am becoming more and more paranoid as time goes on. (You’d think I’d be more used to it after three months, but it just gets worse!) So, I treasure each second of a phone call—which, sometimes that’s all it is…mere seconds—as we frequently lose satellite connection!
Also, I just wanted to let you all know that Tom has been inundated with care packages!! He loves it, as do ALL his fellow marines that he inevitably ends up sharing the goodies with! The holiday season slowed down the mail tremendously…Tom still hasn’t received his Christmas package I sent the first week of December! Granted, it takes a while longer now that he’s “away from home” but be assured he will eventually receive all the packages! (Our neighbor, who has been home for two months, just received a package which his wife sent back in August! It never made it to him in Africa, but was returned to sender!) Also, please know that even if Tom has received your package, he may not have the time to email you to let you know—he tries to keep me in the loop, but it’s all he can do to email me updates on him! If you want me to ask him about something specific, email me and let me know and I’ll try to remember to ask him!
It’s over and he’s fine.
I have some news to tell you, you won’t like it, but the mission is over and I am fine.
I needed a ride to the ECPs, and the only one was with the XO. He wanted to see the ECPs and so I jumped on. Along the way we got a report of a weapons cache in the heart of Fallujah, so he made the Humvee convoy go straight for it. We had to go through some nasty stuff on the way, there was small arms fire all around us. We honed in on the grid coordinate with the GPS and stopped in front of a house that was totally intact, then we got the word over the radio to dismount. So we all climbed out of the trucks and left one marine and upgunner per vehicle. Upgunners are the marines that man the 50. cal machine guns and 40mm grenade launchers on the top of the vehicles.
The 8 of us got into patrol formation, with the Lt Col leading from the front, and went to the house, we waited to see if everyone was ready and then stormed the front gate and cleared the yard and front porch area. We then busted the front door down and started clearing the house from bottom to top. There was nobody in the house and no weapons there, so we went to the next house and the next. Nothing. Then on the fourth house area we found the weapons cache, there was a lot of ammo, grenades, rockets and other crap that had been burned in place. The ammo was not usable, but we had to document it for our intel. The XO had the driver of my vehicle write down all the crap, so I grabbed the Doc and we stood guard, in case there were any snipers in the area. The patrol went into another house to check around and found some IDs and then we packed up and moved on to the ECPs.
I have to say, I had a blast!!!! I was scared but excited as well. I knew that we could be hit at any second, but I was hoping to encounter resistance and get into a fight. I guess boys will be boys. After we got done with the ECPs we drove around the city looking for MUJ, bad guys. Everything is fine though, and I am safe again. I will be calling infrequently due to bad satellite connections.
Just like deer camp!
The FWD isn’t too bad, it is just like deer camp! Everything is good here—one of the marines is from home, so we were discussing many of the bars in the area, good stuff.
Checkpoints are working great!
I will be getting a lot of tasks done today—hair cut, laundry, shopping etc….. Looks like the checkpoints are working great! One had over 2000 Iraqis go through. I just received the preliminary word that we will be taking the links down around Feb 5th or so (this is good). I want to get away from the head games as soon as possible. Also, I have to get back to the gym schedule. Even though there are 5 gyms here, the ability to get to them is hard as hell. I have so much little stupid shit to do all day I get wrapped up in nothing at all and the gym goes to the wayside. I am starting to get flabby again—not good, I won’t stand for it!!!! 🙂
Iraq PITA
I am getting a little bitchy about my situation. We were told that we didn’t need to set up the last site until Saturday, when first thing in the morning they said it needed to go up but at a new area. Well I had to make plans for that, shoot a new azimuth, tune in the receiving antenna and such. Then by 7pm, I got the word to hold off, it may not be needed. I told them to notify me when the word has been finalized. What a pain in the ass!
Incommunicado for a week
I will be setting up the final shot here in a few days. Looks like I will also be heading out into the city for a week. I won’t be able to talk to you, no phones or computers.
Tom’s Christmas 2004
Everything went well in the city. We were able to get the shot up, which happened to have the best Bit Error rate yet (very little packet loss). The set up was easy at first, then the generator went down on us. We tried everything to start it. I ended up tearing the pull cord out of the damned thing. The infantry company that was there had a BAT team assigned to it and the Gunny in charge saved our ass. He had wired the building (that we set up in) with power from a 60k generator so we had power but no American plugs. The Gunny lent us a Hadji power converter so we could plug in. The next problem was that we were getting shocked like a mother when we plugged in the UPS. Not just any shock, like static electricity, but the kind of shock you get from a full-powered electric fence! Turns out that Iraqi power is not grounded! So we had to ground everything so we don’t die and the equipment doesn’t fry.
After that turn of events we had to run the wire. I had my marines get out a pick axe and start putting holes in the walls to run the Cat 5 cable–they had a blast! Typical marines! We had to do this while they were still BATing the Iraqis, what a mess with the men coming in and out, mud everywhere!
We then programmed the router and the BAT computers and started pushing the info from the Iraqis to the server at Camp Fallujah. I had taken the contractor out with me and he was impressed as hell at what we did and how well the network worked. We are getting better bandwidth than any other BAT system in Iraq, because it is a dedicated line. We ended up getting done around 3 and then had to wait for the convoys to pick us up to head to the FWD and wait for the next convoy.
When we got back I had the marines head to Christmas dinner and then clean their weapons, due to the rain and mud (they ended up getting into a mud fight). I waited in line for chow, fresh turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing gravy! To top it all of they were playing “It’s a wonderful life.” Not a bad Marine Corps Christmas. Sorry I couldn’t be there with you hugging a sofa with the family around us…definitely next year though! That was my Christmas in 2004.
Fallujah Aftermath
Christmas in Iraq
It snowed!
Just to let you know, it snowed/hailed here in Iraq!!!! I told everyone to pack their shit, Hell froze over and it was time to go home! Tomorrow, we will try our test shot to see if we can move the database around. If it works, awesome, if not, I guess I will be going back to Ramadi. I hope it works, I have been busting my ass to get this thing rolling and I want to finish it. I guess I have drive after all. Also, I will be heading into the city to take a look at everything and to see where this shot has to go. I have to have one of the shots up Thursday, due to reporters. They want to have a dog and pony show, so there will be Iraqi and American reporters there. This might my my time in the spot light. LOL, I will give it over to my SGT, so he can be in the spotlight
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Camp Fallujah
FYI for all blog posts from Tom: I’m not entirely sure what all the acronyms stand for and never have time to ask, so I’m as much in the dark as you are when reading this. 🙂 All I know is that the FWD is where the “action” is. And I would have sworn Tom sent me an email saying exactly what he was doing, but I can’t find it, so it must have been a phone conversation. From what I can remember from bits and pieces of conversations, he was in charge of developing a type of biometric (fingerprint, retina scanning) communications system to keep track of who is entering the city. From the first few emails, you can tell he wasn’t really able to tell me much, so this knowledge came later.
I am at Camp Fallujah, but with Regimental Combat Team 1 (RCT-1). I have run into a bunch of buds from school. I’m waiting for the crap to start 🙁 I will be supplying a radio-transmitted data network for a new system, configured in an unusual way. Also, sorry to say, it is dangerous 🙁
Three months early?
Tom called with an update: He is fairly certain that he will be coming home in March! Three months early! Of course, I have a hard time believing it and am taking it with a grain of salt…but he said they’ve been assigning flights and when that happens, it’s fairly certain. I’ve adjusted the countdown clock to be a little more accurate! Please keep your fingers crossed that I don’t have to change it back!
Mortar Aftermath
Around Iraq
Hi everyone! In the following pictures, when I say “various gifts” I mean they are Turkish gifts made in Turkey. Ali has them sent here. He used to be a translator and worked with the Army, when they first got here, and decided to sell stuff inside the camp instead. We take care of him. We (marines) gave him body armor and kevlar, he has a place to stay here and he eats for free. He is considered one of the workers. But the other workers don’t have body armor at least that I have seen. Everyone likes Ali—hell, he has Colonels come in that have orders with him. He is that type of guy that you ask, “Can you get me….” and he says no problem.
You can send wrapped presents.
I’ve received a few inquiries about sending wrapped Christmas presents to Tom. He said sure, go ahead…nothing has been tampered with so far, so…
Palace Grounds
Hi Guys!
I had to clear this up for Jen as well; I know all of the stories that have been on the news about Ramadi. Before I got out here I was a little worried as well, but in fact I am at Camp Blue Diamond, which used to be a wild game preserve for Saddam and his sons.
Ramadi is across the Euphrates from us and there is a huge wall (about 30 feet high) which blocks out everyone’s view of us. I think Saddam didn’t want to see the Iraqi people or have them see him. On the other side of us is a huge wall as well, which used to have huge portcullis gates at each end of camp. [See below for an example of a portcullis gate! -Jen] However, now the gates have been removed and it’s just the arches! We have these well guarded with barriers and lots of firepower, artillery, and snipers, so nobody gets more than a hundred yards of us.
I won’t be leaving the camp, unless I have to go on a convoy, which are at night, for safety, or on Helo. There is a chance that I will be going to Camp Fallujah for a month or so, but that camp is a lot like ours, away from the city and heavily fortified.
As for living conditions (as I mentioned before) I am in a large guest quarters with 12 other officers, and it is just like a frat house. I have a night shift and have the place to myself most of the time. I am the Division G6 (Communications) watch officer. I maintain all communications systems (secret internet/e-mail, regular internet/e-mail, telephones, satellite, tactical radio and HF radio) for the Division units, which are spread over a 100 square mile area around Baghdad. If something goes down, I have to identify it and then start the repair process. Once that starts, I then have to start the report process to the colonels and have to keep updating them until the issues have been resolved.
I am also working part time as the Information Management Officer with a Warrant Officer. We have to do a lot of IT work like creating data bases, Active Server Pages, maintaining websites and development work. We were working 8 hour shifts, but now I have 12 hour shifts and might go up to 16 hour shifts pretty soon.
I only get about 4 hours of sleep a day. I have trouble sleeping, because people come in and out all the time, slamming doors and such, oh well. I wake up around 2ish and then go to the gym for an hour and a half, then go back to the room and relax. I then get ready for the night meeting around 7 and work from 8pm till 8am and start the whole thing all over again. We work 7 days a week, no days off. I don’t mind it much; I am actually having a good time. I get to do what I wanted to do when I joined the MC.
Love,
Tom
Palace grounds—This is near the river where I work.
This is the other side of Usay’s Palace.
This large gate is the entrance.
This is the outer hallway of the palace in which I work.
Mail takes 14 days.
Tom just received his first package from me! It seems like it took FOREVER, but it only took 14 days!
Tom’s Daily Grind
My day usually starts around 9:30pm. I jump off the top bunk and get on my shower shoes, get my shower kit and towel, and head out to the community showers. The showers aren’t anything like MASH and they aren’t buildings either–they are mobile shower trailers with 16 stalls per trailer. They are nicer than some of the camp sites we have stayed at (pics will come later). The trailers also have six sinks in the middle of the trailer that separate the eight pairs of shower stalls. After I get cleaned it is back to the house, Building 223, where I talk to my roommates and get dressed. After some always enjoyable conversation I head out to the Palace/COC (Operations HQ). I check in with the outgoing watch and then head to late dinner and then hurry up to start my watch.
Work consists of watching the many communications links from our adjacent units and our command unit 1MEF. We have software that lets us know when something goes out and how long it has been down. I then have to contact our Systems office and find out the problem and estimated time of recovery. When that is complete, I log in the entries into our log as well as 1MEF’s logs. I also wait until the problems have been fixed and update the logs accordingly. I also am incharge of the Help Desk in the COC. I have four marines who fix the various computer issues that arise in a state of the art war-fighting center.
Around 5:30am, I head back to the chow hall for my last meal of the day, breakfast. One thing about the food out here? It is outstanding! For breakfast I usually have the egg chef make me a western omelette, and I get sausage and hash browns. Yummy! Then it is back to the office, where I wait for around 7am (0700) and the usual round of enemy mortars to land in the Euphrates river behind me. They aren’t very good shots, really. They have to run into their positions and fire as quickly as they can and run away before we lower the hand of pain on them. We can quickly triangulate their positions and fire on them with 155mm high explosive artillery, usually around 6-8 shot vollies. A 155mm shell is roughly the size of a 2½ foot long coffee can. I would not want to be anywhere near that display! Needless to say those little buggers don’t have time to aim, so we stand back and watch the show.
My watch ends at 8am and then I have a meeting at 9am. I then get my lifting partner, a Warrant Officer, who is a programmer and has the watch before me, and head out to the gym. We have started going to the gym about six days a week, this breaks up the daily grind! After the gym, I try to fall asleep and turn over a new page in my Iraqi notebook.
Iraq Sweet Iraq
Tom’s top bunk at the house. Notice the plaster-embossed wall.
Usay’s Palace that has been bombed.
First emails from Iraq
I received a phone call from Tom last night (well, this morning!) at 2am letting me know he had arrived safely and had met everyone he needed to. (I have a feeling I’ll be getting quite a few of these off-timed calls…but it’s well worth it to hear his voice!) What follows is a compilation the first few emails he sent me.
I am now the late night watch officer, from 12-8am, it isn’t bad. I have been sleeping on such a shitty schedule that I don’t mind having to work it. I didn’t get any sleep yesterday, so I slept like a baby from 10am to 730pm. There is so much tactical gear that I am in the stupid seat now, and am spinning myself up on everything. After a few weeks I will be doing other stuff as I am more familiar with everything.
The Camp is small but not bad. A little about the place I live. It is a marble house, in a row of about 4, all looking the same. There are 4 rooms and a small entry room. Kyle [a friend from Camp Lejeune] is in the first room with 2 Majors, a Lt Colonel, and a Captain. I am in the next room with a Captain, 2 Warrant Officers and 2 Majors. We all are in bunk beds and everyone has gear stuffed everywhere! I am glad I brought my pillow, because there are none here! Another thing you could send me are a couple of fitted sheets and a blanket, I have to use my poncho liner to cover the mattress. There is a gazebo out back full of camping chairs and a large Sony TV that they watch DVDs all the time. They loved the movies I brought! All in all, the place feels like a fraternity house with a bunch of old frat boys. Not too bad at all.
I wish you could send Diet Coke, they have no diet POP here! Ugh, I hate the taste of that nasty syrup. The chow hall is AWESOME here. For breakfast they have an egg chef that will cook your eggs to order, tomorrow I will get the western omelet. They have anything you could want. I slept through lunch and dinner, but they have a midnight meal, which was yummy. I had a polish sausage, veal parmesan, and onion rings, yummy!
Heading to Iraq
I finally got to talk to Tom last night! (I haven’t talked to him since he arrived in Iraq a few days ago.) The bad news? He told me that he can’t get any IM (instant messaging) clients to work through their firewall…so that means no chatting like we were really planning on and looking forward to (to save expensive phone card minutes). But, the good news? Through a convoluted dialing system (dialing Camp Pendleton and then being rerouted to our number via operator), he can use his phone card minutes on a 1:1 ratio (as if he was calling from the US) instead of a 1:12 ratio (as if he was actually calling from Iraq)! The only minor glitch is that there’s about a 1- or 2-second delay where I can hear my voice echoing back to me–although he sounds clear as a bell. And the better news? He can make phone calls right from his desk at work so he can pretty much call me every day!
The pictures below are of his first class cabin on the way over, as well as some more shots of his lovely abode!
And then not: March AFB, California—Waiting to leave.
The C130 out of Kuwait.
Tom is in Kuwait
As of 6pm Sunday, Tom is in Kuwait at Camp Victory (an army base).
The original plan was to leave California this past Saturday morning about 2am and fly to Baltimore. He called sometime later from the air force base to let me know that plans had changed, were delayed a bit because his flight was canceled, and instead of flying to Baltimore and then to Kuwait, he was now flying to New Jersey, then Ireland, then Italy, then Kuwait! Of course, I told him to take pictures (am I my mother’s daughter or what?). He said he’d try, and he hoped he’d get a chance to visit an Irish pub!
I expected to NOT hear from him for at least two or three days—until he reached his final destination. But, I got a call at 2am Saturday night—from Germany! Turns out the plans had changed again! He also made sure to let me know that he was traveling FIRST CLASS the entire way! Complete with in-seat movie screens and seats that folded out into beds! He didn’t get any pictures in Germany, though, because they only had enough time to get off the plane while it was refueling.
Again, I thought I wouldn’t hear from him for a day or so… but when I got home from work today, he popped up on IM so we got to chat for 10 minutes. He was at a cyber cafe next to a Baskin Robbins! He said you wouldn’t believe the money in Kuwait…he said when the people get into car accidents, they just pull the car over and leave it and get another! He’s seen many new cars and trucks just abandoned! He was going to be leaving for Iraq in about 12 hours so I’ll probably get a call sometime after that, or as soon as he can get to a phone! He said he’ll be sending pics as soon as he can, too. He says hello to everyone!
Pre-Iraq California
Needless to say, Tom hates being away, but LOVES California…the weather is amazing (no humidity!) and the skies and water are a gorgeous blue! It doesn’t hurt that his hotel is right on the beach, too! He would love to live there if it wasn’t for the exorbitant housing costs (drop our house out there and it would go for probably $300,000 to $400,000). But, we’ve decided I’m going to go visit for a week when he comes home!
We’ve been spoiled…we talk at least twice a day and IM every so often. It’s comforting knowing I can still pick up the phone and call anytime (well, keeping in mind the time difference, of course!). I know I shouldn’t get used to it (it will make it that much harder when he leaves the country and we can’t talk every day), but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. I’m thankful for email as well…that way we can all get picture updates…
In the following pictures, you will see a portion of his kitchenette, the view out his hotel room, an art fair right outside the hotel, and his trip to the beach. Why the shot of the parking garage? I asked the same thing. Turns out, it’s a hidden parking garage…located completely under the property of the hotel—it’s about a half block and the buildings, pool, jacuzzis, grass, etc. all sit on top of it!
D-Day–Tom Heads Out
Well, it was rough…like I knew it would be. I managed to make it to the very last day without breaking down (although I came close more than once when Tom was saying goodbye to people)…and it seemed once I started, it was hard to stop—any little thing would set me off again. Logically, I knew better. I knew I could handle him being gone, I knew I’d be fine in a day or so, and I felt silly for being so emotional…but in the meantime it was just horribly painful.
I told Tom about four times that this was the LAST time I was doing this…that he was getting out when he was done and he was never leaving me again! I honestly don’t know how some wives can joke about being glad when their husbands leave…or wanting them to leave…or joking that “Can’t my husband go with yours?” I can’t fathom ever looking forward to him leaving. Especially for nine months. NINE MONTHS. Maybe it’s still the newlywed in me??
One of the hardest things about the day was being home alone while he was on base doing last-minute things. In my mind, the hours were flying by, totally wasted, when we could have been together. As it turns out, there were some screw-ups, so he actually did end up wasting a lot more time than he had planned on (he got home about noon, having left at 7am). But the good news is he got all the necessary paperwork done and now he can go up for Captain. (I’ll have to have him explain the process in more detail, but basically, you have to get your packet of information together to present to the selection board…which will happen while he’s in Iraq…so he had to complete it before he left. If they determine he’s qualified, then he makes Captain in a year or so.)
Then it was the rush to get the last-minute packing and last-minute “honey do” things done. And that’s when it started to hit me…he was really leaving (although logically, of course, I’ve known that since August). Before we knew it, it was time to pack the car and head to the airport. And before I knew it, I was home again…in an empty house. (Thank goodness for the cats…at least there was some life there.)
My only thoughts for the first few hours were… He’s gone. He’s actually gone. For nine months. Nine. NINE! Almost a year. I will be alone for 270 days. How do these other wives do it??? So, finally, I went to my crutch…this website! I spent some time updating and felt much better…although I still can’t believe he’s going to be gone for NINE MONTHS!
Iraq Prep
Details & Maps
The countdown has been on, and it’s down to three days…Tom leaves this Wednesday. Plans have changed slightly, however. Instead of heading straight to Iraq, he will be spending a month in California. He’s not quite sure exactly WHY, but it has something to do with additional training. Conversely, on the route home, he will be spending the last month of his nine-month deployment in California again. So, the government is spending $10,000 for him to stay in California those two months (food and lodging).
How big is Iraq, really? See the comparison in the first map. Once he gets to Iraq, he will be stationed in Ar Ramadi (or Ramadiyah), situated about 70 miles west of Baghdad on the Euphrates River (second map).
Upcoming deployment…
Well, everyone…we have good news and bad news.
The bad news? Tom got the call today—he’s headed to Iraq on September 15! We’re both taking it well (or as well as could be expected). Of course we didn’t want for this to happen, but we both knew it was a possibility so it’s not like it was a total surprise. What we ARE thankful for is that we have until September 15 to prepare…we actually got notice yesterday that he had a 50/50 chance of leaving in 10 days (!) and THAT really threw us for a loop…so we’ll gladly take 45 days instead. (This will give us time to get the legal stuff in order…as well as have our garage sale!) Everyone has mentioned how well I’m taking this…and I say “Well, FOR NOW! Just wait until he starts packing and I have to drop him off…I’ll be a total mess.” 🙂 Oh, and did I mention what might just be the worst part??? He won’t be gone for the normal six months like most everyone else…he’ll be gone for NINE MONTHS! Oy vey.
But, the good news? He won’t be on the front line! He’ll basically be doing some of what he does on base now—technically, he will be an Information Management Officer/Data Programming Officer. In civilian terms, inputting data into databases and making sure applications are running correctly…in an air-conditioned tent. 🙂 He’ll be located away from shelling and direct fire in a Headquarters type area (just about as safe as you can be over there). And it’s also good news that he’ll be pulling in overseas and hazardous duty pay…
A Friend’s Wedding
I’m actually posting this in February 2013 because I was looking for the pictures on my blog and couldn’t find them but could have sworn I posted them…but obviously didn’t (they were just in an album on the old site). So I’m posting them now. 🙂
Congrats Angi and Forest! It will be nine years this July! 🙂
