The blog begins.....

Hello to any and all readers.  This will be my first attempt at writing a blog. My intent is to share observations and activities from my deployment to Iraq with those who may be interested.  I will make no guarantees nor offer any appologies for the quality of what lies within.

This first posting will be a summary of what has happened since I left the U.S. in route to the "sandbox".  In early February I left Gulfport, Mississippi with the 30 plus other members of second platoon (Zombies) and flew to Bangor, Maine to refuel. Approximately 30 veterans were there to greet us with handshakes and loaned cell phones.  After an hour stay it was on to Lipzig, Germany for another fuel stop.  Finally, close to 18 hours after leaving Mississippi we touched down in Kuwait City, Kuwait.  There we were loaded onto buses and driven to Camp Buehring, Kuwait.  This was our home for the next two weeks while we became acclimated to the 8 hour time difference and began training on the guntrucks we would be using on convoy security missions.  Kuwait offered me herds of camels and sheep, sand stretching to the horizon in every direction, and the joy of living in 70-man tents.

Soon the time came for us to board an Air Force C-17 for the hour long flight to Joint Base Balad which will be my new home for the next 8 months or so.  One of the immediate joys of JBB was the assignment of my own CHU (conex housing unit). This is a tractor-trailer size shipping container that has been modified and divided into three seperate rooms.  Even though my half of the room is only about 10x8 feet I only have ONE roommate now instead of 60! If that wasn't wonderful enough it also comes with a real mattress on a real bed.  The tent in Kuwait featured cots.

The first week or so was spent staying up late (2-3am) in order to get used to working nights and sleeping in the day since the vast majority of our missions will be conducted at night.  Also, getting the "lay of the land" here at JBB took a few days.  The base is over 13 miles around!   The food here is very good, the AC is working well so far, the guntrucks are intimidating, the internet gets the job done although very slowly, and the three missions I have been on have not met with any enemy activity.  All in all a pretty good first two weeks.  More to come.............