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So I'm just sitting around doing nothing productive as you would expect from a federal employee. I was cleared yesterday to return to Ft Belvoir but for some reason 24 hours later I still don't have a ticket? I even went so far as to get a reservation from Carlson Waggonlit (Official holder of government travel monopoly) and tried to book it myself. They made a reservation but could authorize payment. Has to come from the travel office here which off course is hidden away and we aren't allowed to contact them. Probably another good location of useless federal employees. Welfare for the middle class! You can see how efficiently the government and military are likely to pull out of Iraq. Gives you an indication of how long it takes to get things done. Napolean was an expert in logistics not in fighting tactics.
Read my previous post. Its an interesting narrative about people and who we all are and aren't.
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.” Or, as a sign in one California law enforcement agency put it, “We intimidate those who intimidate others.”
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
The gift of aggression
| "What goes on around you... compares little with what goes on inside you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
Everyone has been given a gift in life. Some people have a gift for science and some have a flair for art. And warriors have been given the gift of aggression. They would no more misuse this gift than a doctor would misuse his healing arts, but they yearn for the opportunity to use their gift to help others. These people, the ones who have been blessed with the gift of aggression and a love for others, are our sheepdogs. These are our warriors.
One career police officer wrote to me about this after attending one of my Bulletproof Mind training sessions:
"I want to say thank you for finally shedding some light on why it is that I can do what I do. I always knew why I did it. I love my [citizens], even the bad ones, and had a talent that I could return to my community. I just couldn’t put my finger on why I could wade through the chaos, the gore, the sadness, if given a chance try to make it all better, and walk right out the other side."
Let me expand on this old soldier’s excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid’s school. Our children are dozens of times more likely to be killed, and thousands of times more likely to be seriously injured, by school violence than by school fires, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their children is just too hard, so they choose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.”
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. As Kipling said in his poem about “Tommy” the British soldier:
| While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind," But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind, There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind, O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind. |
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. Look at what happened after September 11, 2001, when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.
While there is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, he does have one real advantage. Only one. He is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory acts of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.
However, when there were cues given by potential victims that indicated they would not go easily, the cons said that they would walk away. If the cons sensed that the target was a "counter-predator," that is, a sheepdog, they would leave him alone unless there was no other choice but to engage.
One police officer told me that he rode a commuter train to work each day. One day, as was his usual, he was standing in the crowded car, dressed in blue jeans, T-shirt and jacket, holding onto a pole and reading a paperback. At one of the stops, two street toughs boarded, shouting and cursing and doing every obnoxious thing possible to intimidate the other riders. The officer continued to read his book, though he kept a watchful eye on the two punks as they strolled along the aisle making comments to female passengers, and banging shoulders with men as they passed.
As they approached the officer, he lowered his novel and made eye contact with them. “You got a problem, man?” one of the IQ-challenged punks asked. “You think you’re tough, or somethin’?” the other asked, obviously offended that this one was not shirking away from them.
“As a matter of fact, I am tough,” the officer said, calmly and with a steady gaze.
The two looked at him for a long moment, and then without saying a word, turned and moved back down the aisle to continue their taunting of the other passengers, the sheep.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, “Let’s roll,” which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers--athletes, business people and parents--from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.
“Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?”
| "here is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men." - Edmund Burke Reflections on the Revolution in France |
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to slaughter you and your loved ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, “I will never be caught without my gun in church.” I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a police officer he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down 14 people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy’s body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?”
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for “heads to roll” if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids’ school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them. Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?”
The warrior must cleanse denial from his thinking. Coach Bob Lindsey, a renowned law enforcement trainer, says that warriors must practice “when/then” thinking, not “if/when.” Instead of saying,“If it happens then I will take action,” the warrior says, “When it happens then I will be ready.”
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: You didn’t bring your gun; you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by fear, helplessness, horror and shame at your moment of truth.
Chuck Yeager, the famous test pilot and first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, says that he knew he could die. There was no denial for him. He did not allow himself the luxury of denial. This acceptance of reality can cause fear, but it is a healthy, controlled fear that will keep you alive:
| "I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit." - Brigadier General Chuck Yeager Yeager, An Autobiography |
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation:
| "..denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn’t so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling. Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level." |
And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.
If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7 for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... “Baa.”
This business of being a sheep or a sheepdog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-grass sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
First time I've seen rain since March. Actually went for a run in it. Pretty cool lightening show as well as it got darker. Its lighter a lot later here. It was getting dark at 1930 in Baghdad. here its more like 2100.
The food here sucks. The service and hours are bad and the food choices are poor. Clearly, it was reminder why KBR runs the chow halls in Iraq. They do a lot better job at it than the Army. Its more expensive but the Army/gov is so good at doing things poorly that they recognized paying big bucks for the food would greatly help morale. You realize how wasteful it is but its sure nice to enjoy!
Also noticed having more free time. You get used to working 14 or 15 hour days over there and not having much free time. Carrying a cell phone again. Seeing green grass and trees. Not seeing everyone in uniform and civilian cars instead of the over-sized MRAP trucks.
The trip home dragged but now it seems like a blur. Flew to Kuwait for a couple of days. Didn't find out my flight till about 12 hours before it happened. Kinda had a flurry of activity to get going. Was on a packed C17 with my backpack in my lap as it was completely full to capacity. Slept in a tent with other random guys in Kuwait. It was extra hot there. 130s. Been watching some bootleg movies. I should have taken orders from people before I left!
Last day in Kuwait was etremely long. We got up at 5 and had our bags to the customs tent by 6. Mind you, for me it was 4 totally full duffel bags probably weighing 35-60 pounds each. I did ship one box of stuff home from Baghdad. i would have shipped more if I knew how inexpensive it was and wasn't in such a rush. Anyway, at 7 we started some briefings and checked some paperwork. About 8 we started going to customs. Got completely searched. As in emptied pockets everything xrayed. Then we had to dump all of our bags. All the stuff was combed through by customs guys. They checked every pocket of each bag. Of course this meant we had to re-pack. This took all morning as there were about 300 of us. Then we got put in a quarantined area for the rest of the day.
The tents had electricity and one TV shoing news. Had drinks and pre-packaged food for us. We could also order Pizza hut? There was a little booth to take orders then they brought the pizzas. Around 9 pm we got bussed to an airport and finally took off around 1130pm.
Had the layover/refuel in Shannon, ireland. Then we landed at Fort Dix/NJ. Wife knew we were going there so she drove upto a friend's in NJ and surprised me in the terminal. It was great to see her but it only lasted for about 45 minutes before we got back on the plan and flew to Georgia. Here we have been doing out-processing stuff. As usual my paperwork had issues. Had to communicate with a bunch of people in other places and get that straightened out. Should finally get a flight home tomorrow. Everyone here wishes we were already somewhere else. The operation is somewhat drawn out more than necessary. It is probably designed more to justify staff as a full work week than an efficient process to get people squared away enough then head home.
bitchyObama was in Baghdad today. The interesting thing is Maliki backtracked and says he was misquoted about supporting Obams's pull out plan. You probably won't hear much about it in the press. Obama visited the Green Zone but not the regular bases. I'm not sure he even stayed here more than a day visit. Interesting to see if he changes his view of Iraq after being here. It is time for us to pull out more troops. There is still insurgents to fight but the Iraqi police and army continue to do more and more. They aren't perfect and there will definitely be sectarian problems in the future. Luckily Iraq is raking in the Oil money a lot faster than it can or will spend it. Thats one of the biggest differences between here and Afghanistan. All they have there is heroin!
Soon enough there will be an Afghanistan surge. I'm happy to not be a part of it. Its another situation where the people we need to take out spend most of their time safe in the border country. Thats essentially the same issue as here in Iraq. Sadr and his cronies hang out in Iran. Of course Iran is nervous about us being in the neighborhood but as long as we are busy in other countries we won't get a chance to focus on Iran.
Anyway, I should be out of here in days. Sadly, I'm still working late to get my replacement going. Nothing like piling on stress instead of relaxing my way out of here.
My replacement is here. decent start in getting him signed in and situated. Got his main computer account set up then they decided to run an update on my computer. Dun Da Dun Dunt! Of course the upgrade was a disaster. Locked me off the computer. Froze admin people off. 36 hours later they finally hacked back onto the computer and unscrewed whatever. Set me back almost 2 full work days in showing how stuff works and what to do etc. At least my computer didn't need re-imaging which would have meant I lost almost everything! Drove him aroud the base today while we waited. Fot home really late. Red Sox are on right now. I need to go to bed. I'm a bit tired.
Haven't heard where Obama will visit but its doubtfully around here. Most of the politicians usually just go to the green zone and get briefings from top state dept and military. Usually means they don't talk to any regular military nor do they go out and about.
My replacement is almost here. He is stuck doing some training exercises in Quwait. Its a good example of how the Gov thinks one size fits all. The training has nearly nothing to do with whats going on or what he would be doing. But someone created this checklist for everyone. Doesn't matter that its a waste of time to do for many people. In fact there would be other things more worthwhile. The military has learned to be more flexible over here but not enough. In many ways it continues to pound the square peg through the round hole. Change is harder to accomplish than plan and execute.
OK, squeezing in a quick post. Not a lot to write about lately. Hasn't gotten any hotter than 1-teens. Dust is back today.
USO brought some people around to do pictures and autographs. Drew Brees (Saints), Osi Umenyiora (Giants), Roger Goodel the NFL commissioner and 2 Dallas cheerleaders for the token females. I've never gone to one of these things even though sometimes they happen in the building. I just don't really care much. Might be different if there were some Patriots or Celtics?
Things continue to be fairly good in Iraq. Looks like Prez Obama might come by for a visit in the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure if it will change his story or expected policy. The stability here is very unstable. Thats why the military leaders haven't been pushing to send more people home. One of the problems is all the contractors. They should be drawing down but they have contracts. The govt doesn't know how contractors are supposed to work. You should be able to terminate and let people go! Instead the mentality is still we need to keep any assests we can instead of the cost benefit ratio.
Played some soccer last night but it was a little dusty. I feel like its gotten harder to breathe here. I was disappointed with my run on Sunday and I really wonder weather all the dust in the air has bad effects on lungs. This morning I played basketball for the first time in a couple of years. We played 4 on 4 full court which was a pretty good work out. My foot got stomped on so I'm limping a bit and my big toe nail already turned black.
I discovered I can listen to NPR morning edition on TV at lunch! I usually eat lunch in my room since the ban on eating at work. The station which has the rolling schedule of whats on sometimes plays music or other shows. At lunch it plays NPR.
Busy day getting little of importance done. Started some of the paperwork to escape. As usual its not very clear how to go about this since I'm not part of a regular unit. I have to go to some sort of Chaplain brief tomorrow. Getting out of here can take some luck. Most of the flights the last couple of days have been cancelled/delayed due to dust conditions. In fact tonight I know several people who are at the airport just hoping the dust will break so they can fly. The nice thing is they don't get charged for leave till they hit the states. So you could spend a couple of days here then in Quwait and get delays coming back. Pretty quickly, you're gone for over 3 weeks! I also know a couple of more guys going home tomorrow. Weather looks good for their flight. Kinda sucks because I like talking to these guys and doing meals once in a while. Many of the people who I have hung out with have left in the last couple of weeks.
My news about Anbar being turned over isn't happening this weekend. Ceremonies got cancelled due to the dust. VIPs were supposed to fly there by helicopter which isn't going to happen. Bad suicide bombing there the other day as well. Killed 19 including 3 US and a bunch of important sheiks. They were having some sort of meeting. Regardless, things continue to progress slowly here.
Sadly, its amazing to continue to see how the Sectarian groups here hurt each other. Its amazing to see the once 2nd class Shia citizens do the same thing to Sunnis and Kurds. It also cuts along tribal lines. Its like the Hatfield and McCoys stereotype except its Dulaymi and Mashadani!
In other tidbits there was a soldier who went home last week for emergency leave. Is dad was ill and apparantly he didn't make it home in time. Lots of things get missed in peoples lives when over here. Its hard for people in the states to understand what its like to be gone for months. You miss births, deaths, reunions, christenings, graduations, world championships, holidays and all sorts of significant events in lives.
Another funny news bit that mad it to us the other day was about an AWOL soldier. One of the soldiers from the unit disappeared before the deployment. He has been Awol for about 8 months. Just got caught via a traffic stop! Not sure whats gonna happen to him.
Sadly, I'm still awake at 1 am writing this. Had a long frustrating day at work. Left after 11 pm and haven't been able to get to sleep. Its actually still 95 degrees outside! Chance of breaking 120 in the next couple of days!
groggyTonight I went for a run around the lake after work. Started at 930 and it was about 99 degrees out still. Its 1130 now and its still 95! I wonder when the last time it got below 80 at night was? Clear sky but the moon wasn't out so it was a pretty dark run. There aren't street lights but is somewhat peaceful. Interesting to see the Oasis bottling area going full bore 24 hours a day. Essentially most of the bottled water we drink comes out of Z swamp. They purify it and bottle it up. They ought to start a recycling program here. I can only imagine the number of plastic bottles thrown out a day. I probably drink about 4-5 1 Liter bottles a day. So if the average person drinks 4 and you multiply that by 250,000 (150k US troops and about another 100k OGA (other gov agency), contractors and soldiers from other countries. Thats about a 1 million bottles a day completely unrecycled. Remember all these bottle are plastic which means they are made from Oil! Don't worry becasue the dump over in the corner of VBC is usually on fire which means much of the plastic will burn up!
Woke up Saturday feeling a bit off. Stomach has been upset all weekend but I kicked the fever last night. Seems a more than normal number of people have gotten a bit sick this weekend. I think I slept about 18 of 24 hours starting yesterday.
Iran is nuts. Their president closed down a major newspaper that was critical of the government this weekend. Amadeinajad (however you spell it) started telling stories how when he came to Baghdad a couple of months ago the US tried to capture him but he evaded us! Thats pretty crazy! He landed and took off from an airport surrounded by US soldiers. He has also come and gone from the UN in NYC. Iran continues to squander its huge oil revenues by supporting revolutionary organization all around the Middle East.
On the money wasting front, many truckloads of gravel were brought in and spread around the headquarters building. No need for this as its not even an area that is walked on? Someone I play soccer with confirmed how KBR was replacing the lights in our trailers. It was under the guise of maintenace but of course they are charging hundreds of thousands to do it. Anyway, enough complaining for one night.
Iraqis should have finished a soccer game tonight. Didn't hear any celebratory fire but I wasn't exactly outside waiting. Each of their last two games someone has gotten struck by a random bullet on base. One in the neck and another in the back. People in the middle east love shooting their guns. You might remeber this happened a couple of years ago at a wedding party. A US plane or helicopter was flying in the area (at night) and detected the hostile arms fire. It returned fire and ended the wedding celebration.
Its way to fricken hot! The difference between 112 and 102 is pretty big! My eyes feel fried. Afternoon at work got a bit hot because they shut down the AC units for maintenance. All next week is supposed to be in the 1-teens. I wish I could Huff some air! Yea, thats right! You know those air cannisters you use to blow out your computer! They are now banned here. Some knucklehead apparantly OD'd and died! So of course this means you should ban the best viable option for keeping computers and electronic equipment running in a dusty dessert environment! This epitimizes the way military and government operates. Big brother must control your life to make it safe! So safe, everyone needs to do illegal drugs for some excitement!
"Mission Accomplished", declares the liberal press! Some oil companies have struck some deals to get involved with the Iraqi oil ministry. Clearly this whole war was over the oil so I guess we can go home now! Oil output here has been fairly stagnant because of the lack of expertise in country. Of course until this winter insurgents were still attacking the oil pipelines just to cause problems. Iraq needs foreign investment and expertise to keep growing production. Probably some engineers sitting in Syria right now because they are still afraid to come home. There are still some fuel shortages here caused by corruption. It is the commodity and reward of insurgent groups. Propane and gas are more important here than in most places. Electricity can still be spotty so everyone has a generator. Air conditioning is prevalent and enabled by gas generators. Same with the military ops here. Its pretty much all run via generators.
At least Iraq is back in the news. Its been getting less attention since things have been going well here. Crackdown is going well in Amarah, Mosul has stabilized and Sadr City has been wrested from JAM control and continues to improve. Things are far from perfect but 1 year ago there were many times as many people killed per day and much of it was sectarian. The 10th of 18 provinces is now run by the provincial councils. There are more bumps coming like when Sadr's new "Special Groups" return from Iran with new weapons and training but the public may not put up with them this time.
Not a lot of news here. Fairly quiet day in Baghdad. Probably too quiet because out of no where the brass decided to ban to go plate/food at work. As per the Army way an email was sent out at around 11 saying this was effective immediately. Now this is too late for some people to hear. So lots of people came back and were told be the guards that they couldn't bring food in. Same thing at dinner time with night shift people who didn't have a chance to hear because they sleep durning the day! Additionally, there was no explanation why this was happening! Lastly, of course, the top level people made themselves exempt! This really did annoy 75% of the people and it was handled poorly. I probably eat a meal a day at work. People at home probably don't realize but when most of us here are at work at least 13 hours a day it easier to eat at work because unlike a 9-5 job we are expected to be working or covering a duty during meal times. Speaking of that, I need to get going and off to breakfast!
crazyYou probably missed it but the Iraqi were shooting guns to celebrate the win over China in this first round of World Cup qualifying. Sadly, a female suicide bomber took advantage and blew herself up amongst one shiite crowd of celebrants. There appears to have been another bombing today in a Shiite market that probably killed over 50 so far. Coincidently Iraqi foreign minister Zebari came out today saying Iraq needs some sort of agreement for coalition to stay longer.
I was at work late last night and we watched the US Open playoffs through the unclassified internet. Tiger can play golf but his knee isn't such a big deal. I've had my knee scoped and re-constructed and I can still play golf as well.
Its been mostly crappy dusty here for about a week. Should clear up on Thursday. Been a bummer for getting exercise. About 2/3s of the cardio equipment in the gym is broken and soccer and jogging aren't much fun for the eyes and lungs. You can taste the grit in your mouth just walking outside.
I traded in the Ford Explorer lease vehicle for a brand new trailblazer that probably gets worse gas mileage! It only had just over 200 KM on it and still had the new car smell! Went to a meeting with someone later and we joked we should buy up the SUVs that are being sold in the states and ship them over here and start a leasing company. Over here the gov pays for the gas so no one cares about mileage per gallon so it would be and is a great place for the big king cab V8 double wide trucks that probably get 8 miles per gallon driving around the base!
Soccer got cancelled again due to lack of players. Weather forecast calls for dust from now thru wed! Awesome!