Fw:

Gah! I missed last week due to work, prepping for turnover with incoming Army. This picture represents where I'm at in this deployment: I've ran clean into the proverbial wall. We all have reached that wall in our lives, and simply left in a complete daze, stumbling over our feet and muttering, "But I don't want to go to work mommy. I want to stay home and bake cookies with you." It's like being in a drunk stupor, minus the fun of working to get into one, though depending on how hard you hit said wall, that's not to say the resulting vomit is omitted. It's been known to happen.

Good news is, I'll be in Baghdad in a couple weeks, if only to stay there for a moment. Then it's back to a place I wouldn't leave Hell for. That's right, little ole' Kuwait. Ah yes, this little gem that I detest truly makes you feel unwelcome. Whether it's the dust in your mouth, or the temperature that makes you wish you would simply die. I remember walking off the plane in April, taking a moment to look around, and a tear preceded to roll down from my eye. I detest hot weather and I knew I would be in Iraq during the worst months; July and August. I also knew I would be doing it in 60lbs of body armor and equipment, in long sleeves and pants. Thank goodness we wear shorts and tee shirts when not on mission.

The weather now is actually quiet pleasant, some days similar to Maryland. Chilly at night, and nice breezes during the day. Minus the generous amounts of sand, one could say we are experiencing California weather. One could also say that this Iraqi Partnership thing is going great and not a complete waste of this sailor's time. In that case, please direct me to that said person so they can share their hard booze with me. I can not wait to be in a place where I do not have worry about the locals. Hell, I'll be glad where I don't have to worry more about the local police! I think I'd rather be in Mexico City.

Nice thing though is that I learned we will be doing our, "Are you crazy? Say no so you can't get disability pay when the problems kick in, years from now..." tests in Germany. I took a "quick" psych eval before I left, and they will give it to us again to compare the results. We'll be able to see if I've cracked. I should be good. Lucky the Leprechaun told me so. he also told me to burn things, though I think he was joking.

Speaking of jokes, how 'bout them Redskins? For all those Skins' fans out there, what's it like having Detroit beat you?

Change Someone Else can Believe In

It seems everyday there's something new that our new Presidential Administration is doing to either worry or piss me off. I said from the start that my number one worry about Obama was his lack of experience and foreign policy.

Scrapping our missile defense shield in Europe, in my opinion, will do us more harm than good. As the days go by I really want to tell this Administration where they can take their "Change" and shove it.

POTD for September 16th, 2009: "Swine Flu Free, That's For Me!"

Seems I left for Iraq at a crazy time for our country. Health Care Reform, North Korea test firing missiles, and a global pandemic. The first couple of months in country, it seems people were panicking about the newest "Black Plague". The media made it sound as if people were
dropping like flies, Mexico was a biohazard, and it wasn't safe to go to school. Was it safe to eat pork? How can I prevent getting the H1N1 virus? How long can someone live if they have it? My question is, how will we react if we have a REAL pandemic?

Few months ago, I got into a heated discussion about swine flu with a friend online. He kept going on about how serious the virus was and how it would be horrible when it spreads all across the world. I asked him if this is the way he reacted whenever flu season hit. He scoffed and
reminded me that this was no "common cold". I simply responded, "No, this was more like the 'common flu'." Confused? He was, to say the least. I'll spare you the rest of his CNN-driven panic, and how WHO labeled this as a pandemic and how, "Dude, Swine Flu kills. IT KILLS MAN!" Yeah, so does MRSA, and remember how that was treated like the new doomsday disease, last year?

"Harry, death is serious and isn't a joke", some of you may say. You're absolutely right, it isn't. I just see the virus for what it really is, and what it really is, is a different strain of the Influenza virus. Influenza? That sounds pretty severe. People get Influenza all the time. My dad had it a few months ago. What's Influenza like? A really bad flu. What's Swine Flu like? Just like what it is; influenza.

But what about the unfortunate people killed by the virus? Isn't that something to raise concern about? Sure, but not the escalated fear that FOX and all the other networks went on about. Thousands of people were killed! Compare the numbers with the amount of people that are laid to rest from the common flu/cold. And the numbers are from a global scale. The annual rate of American deaths from common influenza rivals that! Wow, you had no idea? I don't blame you. H1N1 was a breaking story in a slow news lull.

When I began writing this, I was going to blast and chastise the general ignorance of common people, and the way they perceived the "epidemic". But I stopped myself because I soon realized that this panic was brought on by misinformation. What really got to me though was all the concern and people wanting to know how to prevent catching the virus. What was worse was the reaction when news casters explained that simple hygiene, such as washing hands, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing, and to stay home if you have, (and this is what was the final straw with me), "The following symptoms". The reporter then went on to list the same
exact symptoms of the common flu. Woooooooooooooow. This is a brand new MEGA VIRUS?! Please give me a break and stop toying with people's fears. We have enough problems with people panicking about supposed fake birth certificates of our President, North Korea and Iran using Wonder Twin Powers, and the fate of our Nation's Health Care. Now we're discussing a
huge push for a vaccine. How effective will it be? It's just a guess, but maybe it'll be as effective as a normal flu vaccine?

Bottom line is this, if you or your child gets Swine Flu, DON'T PANIC. DON'T PANIC. DON'T PANIC. Panic causes stress and stress can determine how effective our bodies are to fighting disease and getting better. People usually get better with a positive attitude. Stay at home and get better. I hear H1N1 is like having a bad flu, and that's what it is. The symptoms may be a bit more severe, (people who normally don't feel nausea may start vomiting, migraines, worst aches and pains), but it effects people differently. I believe that the virus has been the cause
of some deaths world-wide. I'm simply trying to play down the built up hype and panic caused by the media. Don't panic and definitely don't treat those that have H1N1 like they're going through chemo with a 50-50 chance to live. Lastly, you can't get the virus from eating pork, so eat some friggin' bacon if you want!

There's outrage of how WHO was prepared for this "epidemic". I think people should be outraged if this is the best WHO could do for just bad cold. You think the world was in shambles from just Swine Flu? Imagine when a real health threat, that kills respectful numbers returns to
erase a good percentage of our population. Hey, at least I have a gas mask for when that happens.

Please don't say that...

There's two reasons why I like doing "ten things" lists. You guys love them and it makes it easier on me when I seem to have writer's block and can't figure what to post.

Today we go over some of the things you don't want to hear before going outside the wire.

1. This is my first time!

2. I'm headed home. Been here an entire year with nothing.

3. Intel says they don't expect anything.

4. @*$%! I forgot to call my wife. Remind me when we get back.

5. We should only be gone for a couple hours.

6. I forgot it. Shouldn't need it though.

7. The IPs (Iraqi Police) say they're going to escort us the rest of the way.

8. They call me "Lucky".

9. We have to go through a few SOI (Sons of Iraq) checkpoints along the way.

10. What could go wrong?

I promise to have "real" entry on Wednsday. I swear! My brain... How it hurts soooooooo.

POTD for September 11th, 2009 "Daddy. Where do IED's come from?"

Well Timmy, when a man loves a woman very much, but hates America, a stork makes a magical journey from a mystical land called Iran. Then the stork decides to take a dump on the nearest Humvee it can find.

But that's just a fairy tale, so it isn't true. Right daddy?

You would think seeing something like this would make me mad, but for us Intel nerds, we simply smirk. Go figure. I thought IED components would say something like "Made in Taiwan" or China. I would think they would be smart enough to rub irony in our faces with something American-made. Their lack originality is almost insulting. Try harder Mohamed and Omar.

I'd much rather they learn from our good buddy Ahkmed, and be good, little, DEAD terrorists. At least his sense of humor is funny.

What makes a good deployment?

A friend of mine about to go into the military asked me the other day of what made a good deployment? Is it the action, or the satisfaction of doing one's service? As I was in the middle of some good Halo multiplayer, (and I'll be damned if anyone comes between me and the Master Chief), I told him I would take some time to really think about it and come back with a real answer.

So after saving Earth the umpteenth time, nine headshots, and some trash talk between coworkers, I decided to make out a list of what actually made a good deployment. I came up with 12 things, but people like lists of 10, no more or less, so I figured two could actually fall under others.... so yeah, lucky me.

Now I will go ahead and list them, while explaining in further detail what I'm talking about:

1. Depends where you go.
And also what you deploy on. A deployment to the Persian Gulf on a ship is different than being on a FOB in Iraq. Trust me, I've done both, and I own both t-shirts. Some people prefer ships, but most prefer doing it on land. Ship board life is very different than most are used to, but the same could be same about FOB life. Your environment plays a part too. Would you rather be rocking back and forth on the water, or using 20 q-tips to get sand out of one ear? Keeping in mind of your environment, it also depends on when you go. Summer in Iraq is exactly what you think it is, except warmer. (No seriously, it gets that warm her. Fine, be like that. I'm telling you, take that number you're thinking of, and add ten degrees. Yes, I know you're thinking in Celsius.) In the winter, it rains and actually snows. So while you may detest the heat, several people hate the muck and mud winter brings.

2. Depends on your job.
This may seem obvious, but I wasn't the one who asked the question! Anyway, for my friend, do you think you would enjoy your deployment if your job, simply put, sucked? Hell no! Unfortunately, most of us don't have that "recruitment tool"-type job, jumping out of planes, reconing enemy positions, sneaking onto beaches when clouds block out the moon and only leave our prints in the sand... Most of us think... Thought we had a cool job. Get pay and benefits and free* health care? And ALL I have to do is drive trucks for the Army? My heart goes out to the special individuals who signed up in the Navy as boatswain mates when the recruiter asked them if they liked to paint, convincing them that they could be "Naval Artists"...

3. It depends on who you work with.
People make the final determination whether a job is "good" or not. If you can't stand the people you have to deal with because you must spend time with them, then what will make you want to get out of your rack every morning? I mean, even if my co-workers were hot, Swedish bikini models that majored in college as full-body masseuses, I still wouldn't be as satisfied as if they were my peers AND I could come into work at 11.

4. It depends on who you work FOR.
I could have done the simple thing and combined 3 and 4, but #4 is extremely important. I'm not listing these in order, the most important first and so-on. It's important and makes a job more enjoyable if your boss, or in this case, NCO is what an NCO is supposed to be. An NCO is not supposed to be my friend or pal, but someone who will lead me in getting the job done, and take care of me if I need help or some other NCO screws with me. It wouldn't hurt if my NCO wasn't a jerk, though.

5. Depends on how long the deployment is.
Simple question: Would you rather leave and come home in six months or a year? OK.

6. Depends on what you bring.
Their are a few items I will consider bringing with me for my next deployment. That said, do not interpret this bullet as me suggesting their is a huge checklist of what to bring. What I'm telling you is = LESS IS MORE. There are a few special people that feel they will never see their families again or a place to purchase items. No SPC Timmy, you don't have to bring 30 tubes of tooth paste. You don't have to bring enough crap to get you through the whole year. There's a place called a PX. I would consider one to bring a laptop, especially if they have access to Internet. If not, a portable DVD player and a deck of cards.

7. Depends on the people back home.
You went the whole deployment without on package or letter? Does your family hate you, or are you an unfortunate orphan? Keeping in touch with home is key to survival on deployment. This is mainly the responsibility of the family back home. Spouses and girl/boy friends need to quickly realize that the significant other can't exactly whisk themselves back home to deal with issues any given day. That also includes births, holidays, and emergencies. It's important to sort out bills and set up plans before the feces hit the fan. Oh and if you plan to break up with your partner, do it when we come home. Please!

8. Depends on work load/schedule.
Dear mom and dad. I haven't slept for three days. Kill me.
For those not lucky enough to be in the Air Force... (Har har).... For those of us on a deployment, we are taught to combat two types of enemies: Complacency and boredom. They taught me about a third one, but I wasn't exactly paying attention. Something about insurgents... Or heat related injuries.... Or stupidity. I don't know, I was busy fighting boredom.
Stress can kill and if one is feeling stressed, (and they have a decent chain of command), they can seek help from a chaplain. Finding stuff to kill time is key to making deployment seem like a bad remake of groundhogs day. Except you're not Bill Murray, this isn't Stripes, and you don't have a butt-load of cash.

9. Depends on what you accomplish.
This kind of deals with #8, but I'll do it separate because I can. Some people like deployments for the extra money to pay off mysterious things called "bills". What I can't figure out are the people in the military paying off student loans that aren't Officers. Whether it's financial or personal goals, they can be achieved. Saving money or loosing pounds and gaining muscle in the gym. Some will use it to help achieve rank, or even finish off school.

10. Depends on what happens.
All jokes aside, deployments are rarely uneventful. Something will happen that can determine the outcome of your deployment. Whether you screw up or someone screws up, or that special someone miraculously didn't screw up... Death of a shipmate/battle buddy can affect a deployment.

11. Depends on your attitude.
11, so sue me. If you go into a deployment hating life and feeling like you've been wrongly accused of some crime, with no bail, and you found out your parents planned this to happen long before you could even walk... Then deployment will either surprise or not disappoint. If you go into deployment hoping to do your best, then you will either have an immense satisfied feeling, or you will disappointed, hate life feeling like you've been wrongly....

POTD for September 4th, 2009: "Birthday Beer"

Ah, another year has come and gone, and a certain special someone has become a year older. The year was filled with ups and downs, but thankfully it has been more of a positive experience. Thanks to the birthday wishes and to my grandma and parents for their birthday packages, they were awesome. The only thing that would have made them any more awesome-er is
if you guys mailed yourselves, (then that would mean I could try to mail myself home.) I was even fortunate to keep my birthday a secret for half of the day, so bonus points for that.

Been a few weeks, hasn't it? Sucks when you're in a place with people
who love to keep you more than busy. To be honest, I returned to
Speicher last week and took the week off from posting. I've been feeling
like crap and running on empty and hope to recharge Sunday. I'm back to
the blog though, so don't worry about not hearing from me for periods at
a time.

Let's see, what have I been up to? Can't say nothing, that doesn't seem
to appease you people. You guy's desire words of wisdom and tale of
heroics from this, honest-to-God, American hero, and I can't say that I
blame you. I must deliver to my legion of devoted fans. But seeing how I
don't have a legion, horde, or any type of fan base, I guess I can use
that loophole to my advantage.

Just kidding... Though not about the fan part. (One day Harry, one day.)
I've been working diligently both on and off mission. My time spent back
at Brassfield was a bit different, as I spent more time on the FOB than
I did usually outside the wire. Normally, there was a mission every
other day, but I only did two the two weeks I was there. That's not to
say I sat around doing nothing.

The Army EOD left Brass to be replaced with Navy techs. I have much
respect for EOD as a whole community, (except Air Force... "AIR
POWER!"), but obviously more towards Navy EOD. This time, I was working
with a full fledged Master Chief. Not too many missions, but a hell of a
lot of demo: burning ammo and destroying explosives! Very nice indeed. I
will be sending out pics of the demo soon.

But really my time at Brassfield was busy being worked by the techs
themselves. After working with EOD these last 4 1/2 months, I decided
that I prefer their job a heck of a lot more than my own. I decided to
put in an EOD package and get screened when I get back home. The techs
learned this and decided to "help" me. By help, I mean they PT'ed my
butt off. Every day was going to sleep with aches and pains. It was all
worth it, and thankfully I've kept with it even after leaving Brass.

But now I'm back at Speicher and will know update this blog again and again for your reading pleasure. I have a bout a month and a half away from home, but I still plan on using this to let you all know what I'm up to. Take care and stay classy.

- Sailor Harry