West Palm Beach, FL. We got up early to go to the airport. I was sort of hovering around the Marines, asking the gunnery sargeant what needed to be done. Finally, he looked at me pointedly, and said, ‘These Marines are doing a pretty good job here, sir.’Point well taken. I will go demonstrate some […]

Frankfurt, Germany. OAI lost two Marines luggage, which really, really sucks. We were supposed to be on a flight out about three hours after arriving. We got out to the plane, but then they claimed a maintenance delay, and we sat for about 12 hours in Frankfurt, which, overall wasn’t that bad. We changed into […]

Baghdad, Iraq. I hate the Air Force. We flew into Baghdad at 2AM. Our flight to the camp was at 10PM. They Air Force has four tents set up to handle all the transient passengers, and there are a LOT of transient passengers. The tents have airport terminal style seats in them. It angered me […]

Diwaniya, Iraq. Spent the day trying to get over jet lag. This base is pretty huge, with all the amenities one would expect of a base hosting a three star general.

Diwaniya, Iraq. I spent the day going over all the air officer materials (one of my jobs on the det is air officer). I am responsible for all the JTACs (Joint Terminal Air Controllers), and I mostly reviewed the rules of engagement for actually being able to drop ordinance. In short, it is virtually impossible […]

Diwaniya, Iraq. As the air officer spends his times going to meetings, I went to the big wig meeting this evening. I was reminded to roll down my sleeves as the general doesn’t like rolled up sleeves. I sat next to an Army LTCOL, who, I learned graduated from West Point two years before I […]

Diwaniya, Iraq. CAPT Catlin rolled to his camp today. His area is somewhat active, but mostly with insurgents (called booger eaters) that are looking for a fight. He won’t disappoint them. The colonel came to me today to inform me of a change of plans. Looks like I am going to Camp Charlie to FAC […]

Diwaniya, Iraq. Got up early for transit to Hillah. I found out I was sitting in the SAW gunner’s seat, so I was the SAW gunner. I got some training on the weapon, and we mounted up. Outside the gate, the Staff Sargeant ordered “Lock and Load!”. Five machine guns racking a round is an […]

Hillah, Iraq. The Marines returned to Diwaniyah at 8 this morning. I took a shower, then came back to my hooch to get a bit organized now that I had it to myself. I moved furniture and gear around seeking the ideal arrangement, then decided that I needed to think about my options for a […]

Hillah, Iraq. Slow day today. No missions planned, so I pretty much slacked all day. I will offer the following comments: 1. American toilet technology totally rocks. We have totally lame Euro style toilets here. These toilets are concerned with saving water, and not at all concerned about the serious business of flushing. Additionally, we […]