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Welcome to Basra

I knew my welcome to Basra would not be a relatively "warm" one since we are in this country fighting a war but I did not figure in the least that I would be forced to get used to IDF as soon as the first night in country. IDF stands for in-direct fire and what the means is we got hit with a rocket and mortar attack. To make the situation more interesting, I was in the shower when it happened. Now I dont want anyone to panic or worry, the rocket was a dud and landed in no mans land between the fenced border and where the actual COB is located and the mortar was shot out of mid-air by out IRAM system. Nothing at all happened, but it still was a quick realization that tension still exists and we all have to be on our toes at all times. As it turns out, other than in a bunker or a hardened building, the shower is actually the next best place to be because of the steel and wood roof that houses the sink, shower, and toilet stalls. Lucky me. It was pretty funny to tell you the truth because myself and one of my Staff Sergeants were in the showers and we hear the rocket launch and then explode and I said out loud, "was that a rocket attack on the FOB?" Then he replied "Yep." I just shrugged my shoulders and said "wow thats pretty cool, the first day we are here and we are already getting attacked." Then of course my Platoon Sergeant came running into the structure yelling for me to find out if I was scared and nervous so he could laugh at me. It was a good way to start off the deployment in Iraq especially after the fact that we got delayed a day and a half leaving Kuwait to even get here!

So onto better news. Let me describe what it is that I am doing here in Basra, Iraq and what my sole mission will be for the next year. I am the Platoon Leader for a PRT patrol. PRT stands for Provincial Reconstruction Team. The PRT is made up of DOD Army COLs and US State Department personnel. They can be teams that consist of up to 6 guys and I am their personal security detail and escort anywhere and everywhere they go. Pretty much the way things work is that the State Department has identified jobs that need to be done in and around Basra and people that need to be aided and assisted in doing their jobs. There are close to 100 different things that the PRT does and when they need to do anything, I am the guy that takes them there. A lot of them sound like they will be pretty interesting and exciting so I am looking forward to the job that I will be doing not to mention the fact that it will keep us very busy and make time go by quickly. Tomorrow I roll outside the wire for the first time (I cant say where Im going) and Im really excited to get out there and see what it is I will really be doing. They have given us about a week to takeover from the unit we are replacing and do combined missions with them so that we can ease into everything. Originally we were hoping for a longer turnover period of time but I guess we will have to do the best we can. It is pretty ironic how Peter works for the State Department and with the relationship the family has with the Clinton's, I now too am indirectly working for them both.

I was hoping to have internet in my living space but the living conditions are a lot worse than what we were expecting. We are living in massive 80 man tents that are subdivided into 10 x 8 man sections. There is no internet but at least we do have twin beds and dressers to unpack into. There is not internet or phone lines so I am still forced to go to kiosks and centralized locations to use both. That is really annoying. Until I can get internet on my computer I wont be able to put up pictures and paint a better picture of what its like here. Soon I will however sign over for my official fleet of vehicles which will consist of 6 HMMWVs (M1151s) and 3 MRAPs (which kind is TBD). That will be pretty cool! So as of now we have a lot going on and a lot more to come. All of my guys are doing well with the exception of the living conditions and the fact that supplies out here are very limited. We are all excited to start doing what we came here for and now that we are in Basra it is very soon before we take everything over and start showing our worth.

Leaving on a Jetplane

Tomorrow is officially my last day in Kuwait. Im excited to finally get out of here and move on to the destination that we will be based out of for the duration of my tour. It will be nice to figure out some sort of living situation whether its temporary or not so I can unpack some things and we can all get ourselves situated. I finally got an address to where I will be and how you all can send letters and packages. Below is the format you need to get it to me in Basra.

1LT Raymar, Aaron
HHB 3-29 FA
Unit # 104
COB Basra, IZ
APO AE 09374

I talked to someone in the USO here in Kuwait that knows one of the people that works at the USO in Basra and they said the facilities are pretty good. Hopefully its just as decent as what we have here in Kuwait. Im sure you all will be reading about it in a few days time when I get boots on the ground and regain my bearings. This is what we came here to do so we are all anxious to get over there and find out what is needed of us. I know the first few days will just be an adjustment and we will be meeting up with leaders in the unit we are replacing. That process will take time.

I want to officially congratulate Abby on her pinning because I know that was today and Im very sorry that I cant be there with you and your family. I hope my parents being there is a sign that Im thinking about you and we all are proud and support you and everything you have accomplished. I love you very much sweetheart.

Waiting Game

There hasnt been much going on lately here in Kuwait. 3-29 officially left a few days ago and 1-68 has slowly been leaving as well. The way they have these flights scheduled really does not have much of a method to their madness but rather just luck of the draw. I know we are at least scheduled to fly out on the 19th so we are just playing the waiting game until that date comes around.

Last night we actually had a concert here. The Zac Brown Band kicked off their USO tour here in Kuwait and are headed up to play at all the big FOBs in Iraq soon. That was a lot of fun because it was a part of the outside world that is natural to all of us and they came here to bring us a piece of America. I had only heard a few of their songs before the concert but they were really good in both the country and rock music that they played. They did a rendition of "The Devil Goes Down to Georgia" that was awesome and I really like that song so that was neat. It was just a great treat.

Other than that my days have mostly been dedicated to going to the gym, playing volleyball, watching movies or tv shows, and sleeping. Throw in going to the cafeteria to eat and thats daily life. Tomorrow we are going to do some drivers and orientation training on the MRAP and that will be followed by volleyball. I have decided that if their is no court set up already in Basra, my PLT and I will build one. Ill use the gift cards I got from people to buy the net and poles and balls off amazon and create an awesome competitive arena. It good because it works teamwork and allows people to take their agression and frustration out athletically rather than in other ways.

We are all itching to get out of here and move on to start doing what we came here to do in Iraq. I met the COL that I will be responsible for protecting and he seems like a very likable and down to earth kind of guy which will mesh very well with my platoon and our personalities. A few more days and I will finally be in country!

New Beginnings

Today I officially am no long part of 3-29FA and have become a Silver Lion with 1-68AR. My Platoon Sergeant and I met with the Commander and he actually did a stint with 3-29 a few months back so its good that he knows where we are coming from and the training that we have already done. I also met the COL that will be the head of the PRT cell we will pull security for. He seems like a fairly laid back and relaxed guy for being a full bird COL. We also heard about what to expect for our living situation and it may not be as desirably as we had all hoped. The Brigade size element our battalion is replacing is currently staying in all of the nice facilities and they dont actually leave Basra until mid July. Therefore, we are getting pushed out to a different area that is pretty much a tent city with trailers for showers, sinks, and bathrooms. Oh well I guess I just need to accept it and deal with the suck of the situation. Hopefully they have Internet I can get in my room and I dont have to go to a centralized location like I have to do here in Kuwait. I am also just getting over being really sick, with what I dont know, but it has really affected me the past few days. I didnt get much sleep and I felt like complete crap but its starting to get better so thats a good sign.

Its kinda weird right now because as much as I cant wait to get on with this experience it sucks that I wont be working with any of the LTs I have come to know and become friends with. They all start heading up within the next few days and I will be here in Kuwait until the 19th. I am not worried at all about meeting new guys to spend time with not to mention I get along really well with all the guys in my Platoon its just a new beginning and time to start over to say the least.

Oh, and by the way, I had to go out and run another M4/M16 rifle range the other day and everything was going really well until me got the worst natural event I have ever been a part of. The dust storm that hit us was like a fog over a lake in the early morning. It came out of nowhere with 50 mph winds and kicked up dust and sand everywhere. It was completely miserable. I was laying in the prone position trying to fire on my target and the sand hitting my eyes hurt so bad I was crying. It was hard to breathe with all that sand rushing into your mouth and up your nose and when I get back I was literally digging sand out of my ears. It was just incredible and it was so bad that range control forced us to stop shooting and shut down the range. I couldnt even believe it but at least it was something new to experience right. Not every experience will be good but it was still neat to feel what its like living out here.

Getting Hot

You know its hot outside when that hand sanitizer that is attached to all the porta-pottys comes out as hot as the water you use every time you shave in the morning. The last few days it has gotten to the high 90s and even eclipsed the 100 degree mark I think a few times. Sometimes its not too bad when there is a nice breeze that cools you off but otherwise its a hot wind that swirls the sand into your face and eyes, thats not fun at all.

Yesterday I had to run an M4 Range. To try and describe the chaos that preceded that actual running of the range would be like trying to verbally explain to someone how to navigate a maze without looking at a diagram of the actual maze. First of all, every time a range is run there are 2 people in charge, the OIC and the RSO. The OIC is the officer in charge and is responsible for doing all the planning and preparation, writing the order, and delegating responsibility. The RSO is the range safety officer who is responsible for safety on the range, making sure everybody is doing their job and soldiers are conducting their activities to standard, making sure water and gatorade and ice and MREs have been packed up, and ensuring their are constant radio communication between OIC, RSO, and Range Control. I was supposed to be the RSO. Our Battalion Commander ripped apart the other LT and had him up all night the night before writing and rewriting his order because he was being very picky with what he wanted except the problem was, nobody up at Battalion supported the range and gave any time of guidance or instruction as to what the intent was. It made things so much more difficult than necessary. In the end, the range was conducted but there were a ton of hiccups and it was much more stressful than it needed to be.

Moving on, I am kind of sad because I missed getting to spend this past weekend with Abby and my family. I wish I could have been home for Passover and spent time with everyone that came into town. I dont want to say that I am homesick because thats not what it is, its more the fact that I miss getting to talk to Abby every night and hear from my parents every few day, I miss going out and doing things with Craig or just watching TV, I miss the normalcy of life back in Colorado. Driving my truck, going out to eat or cooking a dinner feast, it all seems so foreign to me and I havent even been gone that long. Hopefully the Passover Seder went well and everyone enjoyed themselves. Just know I miss you all and wish I could have been there too.