Hillah, Iraq.
The mission planning starting to ramp up again. We have some great intel developing, and hopefully we will have a good mission in the next day or two.The pool has made progress. The KBR guys cleared and leveled the pool area, but we are waiting on sand. We also learned that the potable water for the showers is filtered city water. Conveniently, this water is stored in four rather huge above ground tanks right next to the pool area. Our plan now is to use one pump to keep the pool full, and another to run the filter. We are also considering using the filling pump to run a vacuum to keep the pool clean, directing the effluvium into the filter, or perhaps the septic tank.
My mail gets delivered to the main camp, Camp Echo. Mail for the forward camps (specifically, Camp Charlie, where I am) is separated out for subsequent delivery. Contractually, that mail is to be delivered by the Polish every other week. The HQ element is supposed to deliver the mail more often. However, our HQ element has all but one of their vehicles down, so they haven’t been able to deliver anything.
Our staff sergeant got sick of waiting for his mail, so he took our highback truck along with an unrelated convoy going to Diwaniyah. While he was there, he picked up the replacement TV for the one we burned up, a freezer for our new “training room” in the C-hut (which was finished today), as well as a boatload of mail.
He also learned that the HQ guys aren’t doing much. They have only run two missions, and they are pretty bored. They have started a radio station complete with request line, and Staff Sergeant Woody has met with great success with The Morning Wood show. He is quite popular in Camp Echo.
Loaded down with mail, our guys were well met when they returned. I personally got a boatload of packages, and I would like to thank everyone who sent something. Regrettably, I ate far, far too many cookies, brownies, and other goodies right before dinner, and I paid for it Mongol style. My brother and his wife really hooked me up with some Texas Champagne Hot sauce and some Austin Slow Burn (for those outside of Texas who don’t know, you need to learn about these products), as well as some very tasty snack type items. I got a wealth of coffee (Hemant, you outdid yourself), which was a big hit with everybody, as I have figured out a solution to my coffee brewing problem. My folks really came through with a lot of domestic stuff that I needed. Pat and Lisa did me right with some tasty, tasty cookies that are regrettably far gone already. Randy had a brilliant “hearts and minds” plan with Hotwheels for the local kids, which really is a good idea. But top of the list was My Beautiful Bride with six oh so silky rolls of Charmin, among other things. She also sent lime juice, which will be a big hit when we go buy more (nonalcoholic, I assure you) Coronas from the embassy. In fact, I am going to have to reorganize my hooch tomorrow when I clean it out. I got a lot of stuff!
The SF guys and Marines are pretty competitive. They play a lot of sports, and a lot of games. I was surprised by the nature of the video games they play, always on the X Box in the common room, which is hooked to a Proxima projector so all can enjoy. I thought that they would be into combat games like Halo or Ghost Recon, which are indeed popular. But far and away the most popular games are head to head sports games. Right now, boxing is huge. The games and graphics are so good that it is almost like watching a real boxing match. The second most popular is golf, followed by football. It is amazing how “into” the games the players and the crowd get.
Finally, Converse has not replied to my inquiry about high tops made of digital camouflage material. So, a friend knows a guy who can get stuff made cheap in China. I am exploring the option of having high tops made bootleg, with a Marine Corps and Special Forces logos instead of the Chuck Taylor star on the ankle. At first glance, the minimum lot size is 50 dozen shoes, which, even at $5 a pair, is a lot of cash and a lot of shoes. Hopefully, we can pare that down. Also, one needs approval of the Marine Corps to use the USMC logo, apparently. I figure Converse will probably have something to say, too. I have not worked that out. I am sure the shoes would sell here, but where am I going to store 50 dozen pairs of shoes?
Today marks one month in country, which means one month of not wearing underwear. I am hanging in there, though.