Troop Weblog

The Friday Five

Please excuse some of the missing links we are updating the web site with some new features.

A reminder on how to post your responses to Friday’s Five questions and check out what everyone else has to say: At the bottom of each post there is a tag line that says “Posted by author at time | Comments (#)” If you click on the “Comments” link a new window will open and you just fill in the information and type your answer. Couldn’t be easier! After you post the (#) should update to show how many folks have posted their own answers.

This weeks FRIDAY FIVE:

1. What's your favorite time of day?
When I to talk to Michelle! We don’t get to talk every day, but when we do it is the highlight. To hear her voice on the other end of the line brings joy to my soul, a smile to my face, and a temporary reprieve to the longing in my heart. Even when we don’t talk her emails and posts about everything and nothing and all the minutiae of daily life remind me of home and what it is we are over here protecting.

2. What's your least favorite time of day?
Waking up - see next question.

3. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Does it cause any problems?
Dad always said, “you can’t stay up hooting with the owls, if you need to be ready to soar with the eagles in the morning.” Mom always said, “nothing good ever happens after 10:00 pm.” To Dad I say, you can sometimes do both (that’s what naps are for). To Mom I say, nothing happens at all before 10:00 pm in New Orleans. I’m an incurable night owl and would always prefer to stay up late rather than get up early.

4. If you had an entire worry- and obligation-free day, what would you do with it?
First of all I would sleep in. Then I’d whip up a big country breakfast with all the fixings, spend the day with Michelle and the pups walking some nature trails, going apple picking, and enjoying a beautiful autumn day. We’d wrap the day up with an evening for two at a nice restaurant, table by the fireplace, and then a hot bath before bedtime.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
I hope you all have some great plans, because my plan is to sit here at work, read what your plans are, and daydream vicariously (this will be a recurring theme in my posts for the next year).

The Friday Five

The Friday Five is an idea started by one of the first prominent bloggers. Each Friday she posts five questions on her Blog and many of her fans follow suit on their own. It’s an interesting way to learn about the folks who visit your Blog. Every Friday I will either post her current Five, or raid some of her older questions.

Your job is to check-in each Friday, answer the five questions and see what others have to say (you might be surprised).

It’s easy to view what others have added and to post your own answers. At the bottom of each post there is a tag line that says “Posted by author at time | Comments (#)” If you click on the “Comments” link a new window will open and you just fill in the information and type your answer. Couldn’t be easier! After you post the (#) should update to show how many folks have posted their own answers (It doesn’t always update, so it’s worth checking even if it says “0”).

We’d also encourage you to add comments to any of the other posts that interest you.

And finally, this weeks FRIDAY FIVE:

1. Where were you born (city or state or just country)?
San Antonio, Texas—So posting to Fort Hood was like coming home. O.k., not really. A lot of folks down here have bumper stickers that say, “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.” They make me laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I love Texas. I just don’t want to live here anymore. I miss the seasons, especially autumn with the leaves changing color. I also miss East Coast food: Pizza, Bagels, and Dunk’n Donuts. Although, I’m sure I’ll miss the BBQ and Tex-Mex when we leave here.

2. What is your favorite number?
I’m gonna go with 27. It’s not my “lucky” number-I don’t believe in that sort of thing-but, definitely my favorite. It starts out with a “2”, I’m not big on even numbers but 2 is the best of that easily divided lot. It ends with a “7”, a great number: it’s odd, it rhymes with heaven, and it’s everywhere: 7 days in a week, the 7 seas, the 7 Dwarfs (can you name them?), and a 7-11 on every corner. When you put them together as 27 there is even more reason. As I said, I have an affinity for odd numbers. 3 is odd, and 27 is 3 to the 3rd power. I’m sure you are convinced now, and 27 is your favorite too.

3. Vanilla or chocolate?
Chocolate of course!

4. What section of a bookstore would I find you in?
The Fiction/Literature section. I’ve tried to break into non-fiction, and while I have enjoyed many histories and biographies I always return to the literature section.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
I hope you all have some great plans, because my plan is to sit here at work, read what your plans are, and daydream vicariously.

Lance Armstrong, I am not!

In the future I hope to post more than once a week.

Unfortunately, this week has been rather unremarkable. I suppose an unexceptional week in Iraq can be good, but I am anxious to get to work; to contribute. I have not begun to work in earnest yet, as our office is in a state of transition. While we had been operating under a single command, Combined Joint Task Force-7 (CJTF-7), we are now standing up a second command. The two commands will each have a full General Staff, but the segregation will allow each to focus on its own mission. Standing up the new staff requires each staff section to apportion a piece of itself to the new staff (robbing Peter to pay Paul).

It’s turning out that this is easier said than done. In addition to the expected challenges of manning shortfalls, and the shortage of supplies such as computers we are also sorting out some of the gray areas where the delineation of duties and responsibilities is not clear. The period of transition will thankfully be short. Come hell or high water we will be operating on our own as a distinct staff soon. Given the manning shortfalls we expect to quickly shift from looking for work, to drinking from a fire hose. While I look forward to being that busy (it makes the days go by faster), I am trying to enjoy the calm before the storm.

I bought a bike to get around easier. The Post Exchange sells them at a reasonable price and many folks have bought them. Hopefully, by my next post I can put up a picture of me on my bike. Lance Armstrong, I am not! The intelligence section frequently changes our force protection posture. When it is upgraded we are required to wear our Kevlar helmets and Kevlar Body armor in addition to our weapons, which we always carry. I’m certain that I cut quite a humorous silhouette riding home at dusk atop my trusty steed weighted down with Kevlar helmet, Rifle slung over my backpack, and thirty-five pounds of body armor. However comical I may look, the two-minute ride beats a ten-minute hike, especially in the heat.

That’s enough for now.
Dan

Happy Easter

Sorry it’s taken me so long to post another entry. As Michelle said: I’ve made it to Iraq, into and out of a tent, and finally into a trailer. I moved in with the Commanding General’s speechwriter, CPT Rich Hartney, who had a vacancy. He works, currently even shares a desk, with Margaret—I’m not the only one hurting for office space. We will all be spending the greater part of our days at work so it’s nice to know there will be friends around.
The amenities here are better than expected. The trailer room we share is no more than one hundred feet square, but it is considerably more private than a twelve-man tent. What’s more, the small size means the window mount Air Conditioner does not have to work to hard to keep the room cool. The food is good; it was better in Kuwait, but they are building a new dining facility here. The gym is a bit small and cramped, but again there are rumors that they will expand it as well. I certainly hope so. I can’t imagine doing PT outside in July. There is small Post Exchange where we can buy everything from sundries to bikes (more about the bike in my next post). There is a laundry service that returns your clothes clean and folded in three days. The MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) tent provides a place for the soldiers to unwind, play games, and watch movies. The Camp itself is both beautiful and rundown. The headquarters, where I will work, is in the Al Faw Palace. We call it the, “Water Palace” because it stands alone on an island in the middle of a man-made lake. At first it is quite impressive, but upon close inspection it can be disappointing. Where the marble façade has broken away it reveals ten-year-old brick and mortar work that would never come close to passing a building code inspection in the U.S. It really makes you respect the work that the Free Masons did in Washington D.C. over two hundred years ago. Still, the building is impressive and the work that’s been put into fixing and wiring it is amazing. We are moving in over the next few weeks. That’s when we will all finally get our own office spaces. Mine will be in a large hallway off the main rotunda. Here’s a picture of the Crystal Chandelier that hangs there:

The section I work in, Secretary of the Joint Staff, is responsible for providing services to the Commanding General to include several administrative functions, Protocol and Executive Services. I will be in charge of Executive Services, which plans and coordinates the itineraries for all the distinguished visitors who will visit the military forces in Iraq. This is similar to what I did at Fort Hood, except on a larger scale (and now I get to wear Body Armor and a Kevlar Helmet doing it).
That’s enough for now. Hope you all enjoyed your Easter weekend.
Dan

News from Dan

I talked to Dan today. He seemed to be in good spirits. He moved into a trailer, which is a nice upgrade from the tent. Now he is just waiting to get a desk, chair and computer in the office. I guess they are moving their office to a new location this weekend, so it shouldn't be much longer until he gets those too.

The only other news is that a few of his buddies from 2-8 are seeing some of the action they have been reporting on the news this week. That really brings it close to home, especially since Fort Hood has had it's worst week for casualties since the war began. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with the soldiers and their families.

I know I keep saying this, but with any luck, Dan will also be posting soon and he can fill you in much better than I can.

Love,
Michelle

Update from Iraq

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Dan made it to Camp Victory in Baghdad. He is currently camped out in a tent, but on the waiting list for a trailer. Dan has already found some friendly faces and was able to see Margaret for dinner. Once he has access to a computer, Dan will start posting his own updates.

As for me, its a very busy week at work. I am preparing a group of four siblings to meet their "forever family" next week. All of us will be flying to PA, where the family is located. Wish me luck...I think I am going to need it!

Also, I am still waiting to hear from the last few law schools I applied to so I can make a decision about where to attend next year. I will defer my admission until Fall '05 since our stay in the Army has obviously been somewhat delayed.

Thanks for checking in on us! Hopefully, Dan will be able to post soon!

Love,
Michelle

Greetings from Camp Wolverine

Hello everyone,
I'm not yet to Iraq, but I thought I'd let everyone know that I've made it safely to Kuwait. I flew this leg of the trip with five other soldiers from my office at Fort Hood. We were tagging along with a Military Police Company of over one hundred soldiers; many of whom had only been home for six months since their last one year deployment to Iraq!
Amazingly, they were all in very high spirits, a testament to both the unit and the soldiers serving our country today. We enjoyed layovers in Gander, Newfoundland (Canada) and Shanon, Ireland. From Shanon we flew straight to Kuwait. Our connecting flight north was cancelled, which explains my presence in an Internet Cafe at four in the morning. Sadly, this cafe is devoid of anything Parisian. No wine and cheese; no starving artists; no tourists with their cameras. On the other hand there's no angry, socialist waiter impatient with my failed attempts to converse in French. C'est la vie.
I've tried to catch some sleep, but my body will not agree to it. I must have slept too much on the plane. Although, I did wake up for the end of Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin, (I won't ruin it for you); and an episode of Gilmore Girls, those carzy girls from Stars Hollow were at it again.
I will wite again when I get to Iraq, hopefully today.
Take care, and thanks for all the well wishes, it means a lot to both Michelle and I.

Fredericksburg, TX

Hello everyone! We just got back from three days in Fredericksburg, TX. We stayed in a bed and breakfast and spent the days hiking, shopping and eating! No phone, no tv, no email! We got in plenty of R&R before Dan leaves for Iraq tonight. The trip let us escape our hectic pace for awhile...just what we needed this week!

Dan will be starting the deployment process tonight at about 6:00pm. He should be on a flight out of the country later tonight. It is about 18 hrs from here to Iraq, usually with two layovers. Dan will probably be out of the loop for a little while, but will start posting as soon as he has access to a computer!

Take a peek at our trip photo gallery for more pictures of us in Fredericksburg!

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Love,
Michelle