Sunday, November 26, 2006

They Serve Too

A lot of people think that war is all about the soldiers. Those men and women in uniform who make up our military. That's what the media shows...the uniform. But in reality, we are just a one part of what makes up the group of people currently working with the coalition to rebuild Iraq. Here at Camp Anaconda we have thousands of civilians who work for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. Like us, they too experience the same kinds of struggles and difficulties we go through. They miss their families, live in some what primitive conditions, and work long hours with little time off. Then there are the contractors. Although some contractors do really well (some making in excess of $100,000 per year) most are from places like the Philippines, India, Ghana, or one of dozens of other countries. KBR, which is a subsidiary of Halliburton has the big contracts for things like billeting, dining facility, transportation, and the recreation centers. As a rule, KBR employees are paid pretty well, but KBR also sub-contracts to smaller companies that do things like cleaning the latrines, food service, or some other "low" skill job. I am not sure how much money they make but I hear that some of these people live in tents or rooms with 15 to 20 other people and work everyday for very low pay. Mind you, when you talk to them they are grateful that they have any kind of job. They tell you they left their own country to come here in order to save enough money to help their family. I can't imagine what their families must be going through. We are fortunate because we get tons of stuff from home. Lots of things from people we don't even know. We get tons of food...whatever we want from dining facility. We get paid well. We are truly fortunate. But for that Indian, or Iraqi or Filipino what do they have besides the job? Not much. Not by our standards anyway. They work and work and work. They deal with soldiers (who can be pretty rude sometimes) and with some Americans who look at them as if they didn't exist. I myself believe that we have more in common with these folks then we care to admit. Many of us are here not by choice but because we were compelled to come. Most of our soldiers want to make better lives for themselves and their families just like that foreign national. We all feel the pain of distance from those we love. But we got it pretty good...truth be told. We know what is waiting for us at home. We are told that the nation "supports the troops". We will go home to our families and friends and our way of life. This is certain for most of us. But for those who toil at jobs that most Americans would find demeaning, there is less certainty about what their future holds. Today someone told me about a person from the Philippines who was in the 9th year of a 10 year commitment with a contractor. He has been away from his family for TEN YEARS. Damn. But he is happy because he has saved enough to build a life for his family back home. I hope that he gets the chance to make that dream a reality. But who knows? I guess we can just hope. So in addition to those who wear our uniform, lets not forget those who serve to make our lives more livable while we are deployed. To those who serve our food, clean our toilets, wash our laundry and put up with our bullshit...this Non-alcoholic Bud is for you! Thanks for doing your part.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Thanksgiving and My Soldiers

In two days, most of you will be gathering with friends and loved ones and enjoying some good food...some good wine...and football. You will sit at your tables and toast your thanks. Then you will nap and start planning for Christmas. In two days....me and my soldiers will get up as we have everyday for the last several weeks and go to work or to guard duty or to some "yet to be determined" detail that may include filling sandbags or something worse. But for the most part...we are ok with that. You see...we want to be there with you. We just can't right now. But we want you to do the things you would do if we were all home. We want you to be happy...and to enjoy the time you can share with the people you care about. For me...I am thankful for many things...I won't go into them all but I am so happy to have a loving family, great friends, and my loves...Elvis and T. Those alone make me richer then most men. But this thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for the soldiers who have become my responsibility. My new friends and family include:

Specialist Michael B.....a great guy from Austin Texas who is smart, funny, and incredibly loyal. I count on him so much. He is my right hand soldier. Mike and I share many similier views on this war and in politics in general. He lives in a tiny blue dot (austin) in a very red state. He is 31 and has a wife and two dogs.

Specialist Scott M....another young soldier from Texas who I like so much. He is about 24 but looks about 16. Haha. He always tries hard and makes me laugh. He has grown so much since I first met him. He has a young son who was born back in the spring. His son is everything to him and I know that he is and will be a great dad. He hopes to make it back for his son's first birthday in March.

Specialist Jaime M...she is about 24 and a Texas girl with a husband and a 2 year old boy who she misses terribly. Jaime has become my "girl". I love her to death. We are always bantering back and forth and she has a great attitude and sense of humor. She reminds me of some of the gals I hung with back in Albany.

Specialist Arthur E....Arthur is also know as "smooth" because he is a big ladies man. Smooth is about 21. He is also very quiet and very intelligent. "Smooth" is from Alabama and is half African-American and half Korean. He does a great job at all his work. I am proud of the way he has grown into this job and am looking forward to seeing him continue to excel.

Specialist Licia S....Licia is our baby...barely 19. She is spunky and most of the guys call her "our princess". Deep down we really adore her but I think sometimes that she thinks I am really "old". Haha. But I admire her because she works hard and wants to make a good impression. She also did not get alot of support from her family and had to grow up very quickly. She is from Colorado.

SGT Sandra C is a hoot. She is a very sweet lady from Texas. Sandra is the mom of the group. I wont tell you how old she really is, but she has a very youthful spirit. She has a husband and a son at home and is our social director here. She knows everyone in the Brigade and sets up all of our dances and parties. She keeps us all laughing and loose. I am glad she is with us.

SGT Kendrick H is from Kansas. He is like 7 feet tall..He has been in the Navy where he was a paralegal as well. He recently joined the Army and has made a good transition. He is very smart and he and I always bust on each other. He just got promoted to SGT and I am sure he will be a fine NCO. He is about 23.

PFC Shenieka F. is from Texas. She a very quiet but very strong paralegal and is about 24. I am very proud of her work and Shenieka is always willing to do whatever work needs to be done. I enjoy working with her. She is not very tall soldier but she has a very big attitude and looks funny driving the big truck her unit assigned to her. Haha.

This deployment has been hard on all of these soldiers. But now we have become a family over here. We know that in the end...if we had nothing else...we still have each other. The other night, all of us gathered together for a early thanksgiving dinner. We were having a ball. We ate and drank near beer, smoked cigars and danced like fools. Everyday we laugh and laugh at each other's antics and we have become really close. I miss all my peeps at home...you have not been forgotten. But now, I have a little family I am taking care of here in Iraq. It is this family...of remarkable young men and woman...that I am truly thankful for this thanksgiving. Hey, this Thursday...set a place for me...and my soldiers. We promise not to eat too much...haha. HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Winning the Hearts and Minds - 50 Cents at a Time

I had guard duty yesterday. It was a quiet day. Not much action. Recently its been kinda hot out there. By hot I mean lots of action. Last night it was not "hot" at all though. In fact it was cold as hell. Last night the temperture dropped down into the 50s. There was a strong wind blowing through our tower so it felt even colder. It seems along way from those 120 degree days in Kuwait. But anyway, yesterday we watched alot of Iraqi farmers doing their work and we exchanged waves with most of them. They have become accustomed to watching us in the towers as they do their work. As they watch us doing our job watching them do their job, I wonder what in the hell they must be thinking. Do they hate us? Do they fear us? Do they wish they were in that tower aiming their weapons at us instead? I don't have a good answer for these questions but they are very intriguing nonetheless. On my first day on guard duty, I interacted with an Iraqi girl. She was there today as well. Still as spirited as ever. She yelled something to us in the tower, but I could not make anything out. I watched them for hours just doing them work...watched as they took breaks and talked to one another. Watched them have lunch. Then as they were beginning to load up the truck to head out of the field, a little boy about 8 years old came running up to our tower and yelled for us to look down. He was yelling for us to throw him down something. I looked at my tower guard buddy and he told me that we were not suppose to give anything to Iraqis from the tower. But I knew that lots of the guys often throw candy and water and other stuff down to them when they asked. Especially if they were kids. They were hard to turn down. So I looked down at the kid and I yelled that I didn't have any candy. He then said "dollar!" I laughed and yelled back down that I didnt have a dollar but I did have two quarters in my pocket. I pulled them out and I threw the first one down and the boy found it in the grass. He seemed excited about it. He then yelled at me to throw the other one down. Which I did. He grabbed it and waved back up at me and took off to join his family in the truck. Now I know that what I did was not by the "book", but then again, I don't like alot of things about the "book". You see, I came here to meet and to interact with Iraqis. Even if there is wire strung up between us...I still want to reach out and get to know these people. Many of my fellow soldiers don't view things this way. They see every Iraqi as an enemy or someone that must be feared. Call me naive, but I don't see it that way. I want to do my part in winning "hearts and minds" of the Iraqis. I don't want them to view me as a threat. I want them to know that I respect them, their country, and Islam. That I care about their future. That I want for them...what I have. A good life with lots of friends and a roof over my head and food on the table. Today...I tossed two quarters to an 8 year old Iraqi boy. What do you think he thinks now? A small gesture yes. But its possible it could make a difference on how he view soldiers and Americans in the future. Hard to measure but you never know. So yesterday, I made a down-payment on the "hearts and minds" thing and I will do it the next time too. Army procedures be damned. I am an Army of One and I am sticking to it.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Give Change a Chance

I am happier today then I was the other day. The "people" have spoken. The polls were accurate as it turns out and now the Democrats will control both house of congress for the first time since 1995. I kinda feel alot like the Red Sox fans after they won their first world series in 90 years. Dazed...happy...and not sure how to respond to the being a "winner". Now it is clear to me that this election sends a serious message to Washington....change is needed. But I want to make sure all you liberals and progressives out there (I put myself in that category) do not allow your recent good fortune to delude you in to thinking that the long american conservative nightmare is over. It is not. We are not going to wake up on January 3rd 2007 and suddenly have all the things we have been fighting for. This is only the beginning. The leaders in of the new congress should not repeat the mistakes of the leaders of the "Republican Revolution" who attempted in their first 6 months in power to undo and dismantle everything the Democrats had done in the previous 50 years. In other words...they went too far and in the next election, Americans let them know about it. The other thing that America rejected in the late 90s was the constant attacks on the President and calls for his impeachment and investigations. Now with congress in the hands of Democrats, many want the Democrats to use their power to encourage investigations and to move toward impeachment of the president. In other words...turn-about is fair play right? Uh....no. Wrong answer. Americans do not want more impeachment and investigations on top of investigations. They want progress. They want to clean-up government and they want a plan for Iraq. They also want a fix for social security, health care, and many other things. We should take the next few days to reflect on how we are going to use our power to make these things happen...not scheduling hearings and developing witness lists. Oversight is necessary...but we can't afford to overreach. Now is the time for reaching across the aisle and building support for our agenda. Let us stay focused...find our common ground...and work our plan. That is the change the people seek. Let's give them that.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Time for Change - November 7, 2006

Next week this time we will know how serious the "AMERICAN PEOPLE" are about making a change. Every election those out of power try to convince most of the electorate that what the people need is "change". The voters, we are told by all the talking heads on Fox, CNN, and MSNBC are angry. Angry about everything. Its the economy, political corruption, the war in Iraq, YADDA, YADDA, YADDA. The political writers all say that this election will turn on Iraq. I'm not sure about that. Political polls all show that the war in Iraq is very unpopular and they blame Bush and the Republicans. But I truly believe that most people in the United States are not that interested in the war itself...most of them are living their lives and rarely if ever give it a second thought. I know that's not true for the people in my life or for others that have love ones who are in Iraq...but for the most part....most of America is still disengaged with whats really going on here...too caught up with their financial troubles or their bad marriage or the job they hate or whatever. If Americans are angry its because they don't like to be inconvenienced or to make unnecessary sacrifices. This war thing...this war in Iraq....the "war on terror"...the war in Afghanistan...well shit....they are really, really inconvenient. I mean, look at what Americans are asking to give up. Reduce their use of gas? Nope...people love those 10 mile per gallon "hummers" dammit and they won't give them up for nothing. Higher taxes? Nope. We don't want to pay a dime more then we have to and thanks to the Bush tax cut we don't have too!! The really rich people in this country really don't like to pay taxes and Bush made sure of that too. What about conservation and recycling like they did during past conflicts. Remember that woman gave up silk nylons during WWII and there would be community scrap metal and rubber drives to help out with the war effort. None of that....we don't care about recycling and we don't want to give up anything that will affect our "quality of life." This war makes us angry? Naaa...we just don't like to here all the bad news. It depresses us. We want change because we don't know any other way. We got big change in 1994. 12 years later...we see what this change has wrought. Not a pretty picture. But can "Americans" step up to the plate? Can they pull that blue switch instead of the red? I am hopeful but not overly optimistic. Mainly because we have been down this road before. Last time...2004...the Republicans made sure that the campaign in the end would be a about gay marriage and abortion instead of the war and the economy. The Democrats...miserable failures at standing up to them....just laid down and let the Rove Machine work its magic. They need to clean their own house too, grow some spine and stuff John Kerry in a lock box for awhile. If they win on Tuesday...it will be because they managed to "not lose it" and the tired Republican ideals finally were rejected by most of the country. Get out there and vote my friends...or you might end up in Iraq. Haha.