26 September 2003

Minneapolis. Most of yesterday was a blur. There was a 10:00 conference call with the Iraq Team. Craig is in charge. Gary’s a planner and administrator. John plans. Don’s an architect. George and Dean are electricals. Brian is wet civil. And I do what I do. All eight of us. Rebuilding Iraq.

We are slated to fly to the CRC as guests of the USACE (United States Army Corps of Engineers) next Wednesday for shots and gear, but they want medical records of all sorts. To get a Kuwaiti visa, I need my passport and a few photos. So, I left around noon, having called the doctor and dentist and made the administrative request for my records (please expedite so they don’t take a week to process). Quick run to the barber to de-shaggify (the Army will cut my hair in the desert). Secure some fresh passport photos (“Make me look dignified”, I ask. “Take the pencils out of your pocket”, she replies.) and grab a bite, then off to the house to pick up some documents and yak with the City inspector about the new street, then to the vision center. Apparently, the government wants me to have a spare pair of eyeglasses for the trip and, since I need a prescription for them, and I haven’t seen an ophthalmologist for close to a decade, I get an exam as well, and do some shopping while I wait, and he dilates me, and everything’s a blur. Then, once I’ve returned to the office, Craig hands me the Kuwaiti visa form to sign, but I have no clue where my name goes, because the entire form is in fuzzy Arabic.

He shows me the correct location, I sign, and I head to the first of two Open Houses for a project that I would have like to have finished before departure, but that looks unlikely, since I may only be here for another 15 days or so.

There is little time to catch breath today. And Craig says that we need to be at the CRC on Tuesday morning through Thursday, giving us an extra day for fuck ups, which means we fly out on Monday evening. I’m gonna miss Queens of the Stone Age after all, just so I can sit at an Army base and get a dose of Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Influenza, Measles, Oral Polio, Tetanus-Diphtheria, Malaria, Smallpox and Anthrax.

Man, did I buy enough ibuprofen?

Meanwhile, Darlene writes “I imagine I am supposed to be supportive? Honestly, I am not so happy about the "adventure". I have very mixed emotions…. the whole spectrum. Happy to angry. In this respect you remind me of David. I know there is no talking you out of it. So what I will say is, I love you very much and will be looking forward to any correspondence we may have until you arrive home safely. Darlene.”

It’s not for everyone. Read More......

24 September 2003

Minneapolis. Still no word on anything. I keep adding to the question list, but there’s no opportunity to get any answers. Perhaps once Craig returns from Washington tomorrow he’ll have a little more knowledge of the situation. I ordered seven months of prescription medication today. I’ll need a huge bottle of Ibuprofen as well.

Craig did call later. Says that I need to report to the CRC (CONUS (Continental United States) Replacement Centers) in Winchester next Wednesday at 08:00 for Kevlar vest and gas mask fittings. My response was, “fuck”. I hope that didn’t offend him (but he’ll need to be thicker skinned than that to hang with the soldiery). I hope I can get back in time for the Queens of the Stone Age show that night. In addition, Craig says that Foster ships out this Saturday, Craig with a few others the next Saturday, and myself with three or four others the Saturday after that, 11 October. We’ll fly to Kuwait, and then take a military transport into Baghdad.

And then there’s the wife. She told me, I think for the last time, that “you’re not going to Iraq”. Most of this is denial and hope based in the fact that some international work just doesn’t materialize. Mostly, she gets very quiet whenever the subject is raised. I imagine she thinks I’ll get blowed up or whacked or seriously injured somehow. I’m sure every soldier’s spouse feels the same way. The primary difference between they and me is that being in the military is their job, and for me it’s just an adventure, a mid-life crisis perhaps, an excuse to do something more interesting than sitting in this cube. Read More......

23 September 2003a

Minneapolis. This is a really big deal, I believe. People blow up over there every day and it scares the wife. Sadly, her support organization is not well centered in this state. Hopefully, she can make do and improvise with the materials she has at hand. Mid-October plus six months is mid-April, so I’ll miss winter. Rather, I’ll be gone for winter. How will she deal with the cold and the solitude. We’ll see.

I may get shot, kidnapped, or damaged in some way. I may be wholly burned out at the end of this.

Then again, it might be a total rush.

We’ll see. Read More......

23 September 2003

PART I - RECONNAISSANCE

Minneapolis. Gosh and golly,

Weird Event Notice: I leave for Iraq in a couple of weeks. I should be back in half a year.

The Company is doing its share of war profiteering and I'm pleased to be a part of it. I will go with a score of other Companymen to Virginia for a few days of briefing, then on to Baghdad. The job is part of the $87,000,000,000.00 nation-building effort. My office will likely be in the fortified basement of Saddam's palace in the capital and I'll live on the palace grounds. I will wear my Civil hat for the site development aspects of the work, but I imagine that I'll wear my Construction Management and Project Management hats most all of the time.

I am well aware of the dangers involved and yes, I'll be careful.

The hours will be quite long. The work quite tough. The setting quite surreal. It should be an adventure to be sure, but I sort of like those. Besides, this will help me afford the new cycle that I need for my mid-life crisis.

Please call the wife at all hours, or drop her a note, or buy her lunch, or mail her a turnip (at your own risk), or stop by for a few days, or meet her for coffee, or take her fishing, or send her a snow blower, or.... whatever. It would be most appreciated.

I have no clear notion as to how international communications will be handled during this period, although I hear that internet access is swift. Presumable, either the Company address or the Yahoo! address will do the trick. I'll send a note when I discover the answer. Regardless, I'll tell you all about it when I return, or through various posts during the assignment.

Disclaimer: A wise old white guy once said, "No international assignment is assured until you land there." So don't count on any souvenirs just yet. Read More......

Who's Your Baghdaddy?

A few years later, and the internation work takes an interesting turn, this one mostly, mainly, Middle-East.

Also from the vaults, and with limited commercial interruption,....

Who's Your Baghdaddy? Read More......