POTD for November 15th, 2009: "Hat and Pipe"

POTD - Pic of the Day - Sailor Harry tries to provide his loving public a glimpse at the what he sees in the Sandbox, out at sea, or wherever he's at.

Wow, haven't done a POTD in a few weeks. Currently sitting in my Grandmother's guest room. Been nearly a decade since I've been in this house, yet when we pulled up in her car Friday, it was all too familiar. No complaints or negativity, just felt very much the same. Save for the new kitchen that was put in, the house felt just as small and cozy as it ever did.

Spent yesterday with my Aunt. Toured the town where my dad went to high school. I like small towns, yet felt a similar urge and desire that my father must have felt when he lived there. The one of looking at the surrounding hills and swearing to himself that he wouldn't be looking at them again by the time he was done with school. We ended up going to the high school's football game, which proved that live football is always better than TV. The game was one sided, with home walking away with a 56-06 victory, though I'm sure we scored again seeing how I walked away five minutes early.

Today took a drive to the Oregon Coast, which was nice. I always enjoy the beach in cold weather. Wait, I know what you're thinking. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? One, keep in mind where I've been the last six months. I've had my share of sun and heat. Been there, got the sun tan and the sand up my butt. Second, I appreciate cold weather.

While nice, it makes it awkward for me to visit family that I haven't seen since my last trip to Oregon. It feels like I have Alzheimer's each time I see family members. It feels like I constantly whisper, "Who's that? What's their name? Which cousin is that?" Seeing how I now have funds and will have less of a hectic schedule, I would like to try to come out and visit much more often.

I go home tomorrow morning. Would be lying if I'd said I wasn't looking forward to it.

POTD for October 20th, 2009: "Oooo! Shiny"

Today, Sailor Harry got a nice, shiny Army Commedation medal.

For exceptionally meritorious service while serving as an intelligence analyst for Weapons Intelligence Team One in support of OIF. IS2 Atchison's dedication during combat operations in Iraq contributed significantly to the command's mission success. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Combined Joint Task Force Troy, and the United States Navy.

Here is what it says in the write-up for the award. Shame that though it says it covers the time I'm in country, they did the write-ups for end of tour awards half way through deployment. For those curious to what exactly I did while I was over here on vacation, take a read.

#1 Superbly supported Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit Six and 3-25 Brigade Combat Team operations as an Intelligence Analyst on Weapons Intelligence Team (WIT) 1. He executed 27 combat missions, with over 172 hours outside-the-wire in hostile areas, conducting battlefield exploitation of weapons caches, IEDs, RKG-3 anti-armor grenade attacks, and indirect fire incidents. PO2 Atchison gathered critical pieces of forensic data to identify and disrupt IED-networks in the Salah ad Din Province.

#2 Provided key support to the first Combined Joint Task Force Troy-North Iraqi Police Counter Explosive Team (IP-CET) Combined Commanders Confrence from 25-26 July, 2009. He spent over 24 hours supporting the event ensuring material readiness of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) training evolutions and demonstrations and provided security for an Iraqi troop encampment on COB Speicher. The dedication of PO2 Atchison fostered goodwill with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and enhanced their capability to counter the IED threat in the region.

#3 Operated in an independent support role at FOB brassfield-Mora for the 630th, 797th, and 710th EOD Companies. He exploited over 674 pieces of IED evidence collected on incident scenes and through turn-ins by Iraqi EOD and IP-CET. His careful evidence handling enabled the identification of five latent prints of value. This sparked target and warrant packages and subsequent removal of violent extremists from the tactical landscape, thereby creating a safer enviornment for Coalition Forces in MND-North.

#4 Brilliantly collaberated with Coallition Forces and IP-CET to establish effective training and information-sharing networks. His contributions fostered vital sensitive site exploitation training and evidence gathering/handling techniques which resulted in the detention of over five enemy insurgents to be prosecuted in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. PO2 Atchison's decisive actions reduced the operational capabilities of extremist groups and provided effective new Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) for Coallition Forces.

This did cover most of the work I did, however, I went outside the wire almost twice what the write-up states, and processed double the amount of evidence. All complaints aside, I'm content with my colered piece of ribbon.

POTD for October 14th, 2009: "All my bags are packed.."

Getting ready for a flight to Ballad, then to Baghdad. Don't I look thrilled? Maybe because I'm going off of 2 hours of sleep for two days. I love you insomnia.

Which brings me to another bane of my existence; Red Bull. Ah yes, the piss of demons, disguised as a gift from the angels. Back on my first deployment, I went through a 4 pack a day for 2 months, STRAIGHT. Kind of swore of the liquefied cocaine when I started hallucinating, became paranoid, and felt like I had insects crawling in my skin. Occasionally I will drink it, whether in a mixed drink or a late night road trip. I finally sent off all my crap in the mail today and had to grab a big can of the swill to keep going. Good times.

Being exhausted made me realize my talents as a writer and that I perform differently when I'm due for shut eye. While at times my mind will wander when it comes to simple crap, I tend to be more focused and determined in other tasks. On the ride over to the post office, I was rambling off in my head and wished I had my laptop to write it all down. I guess whenever I want to post here, I'll just stay up the whole night prior.

I'm scheduled to leave sometime this morning and will post how the whole trip went when I get to the capital, and get some well-deserved rest. I can't wait to get there and get yelled at about important things, like not wearing reflective belts, and being in Iraq and in the Navy. Yippee.

POTD for October 7th, 2009: "Iraqi Master Chief"

Sorry, kind of been in a Halo-mood this past week. Ended up helping out at another Partnership event. Though this time, I mistook it for simple training. Boy was I wrong. Seems it was more along the line of a huge publicity stunt for high brass and Iraqi leaders. So what did that mean for Sailor Harry. Oh I had the besttest of times! Who wouldn't want to sit in full gear, inside one of the dustiest of Humvees with no A/C, on one of the hottest days of the last 2 weeks, and sit and wait for 3 hours, waiting for people to show up. Really showed them what the Iraqis could do, especially how we rehearsed the whole event and went step by step with them, before any of them were there. Oh they knew what they were doing. ;)

UPDATE: So, as was and still is expected, dates were changed. I probably will still end up coming home around the same time I think I will. The nice thing is my Chief doesn't want us hanging around for BS and is sending us to Freedom Rest for a few days this Friday. At this mini-troop resort, I should be able to swim around in the pool, sleep as much as I want, and maybe even get a steak cooked how I want it: Bloody with a dark, cool center. Nummers big time!

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.

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.

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

POTD for 01AUG09: "Did they get my Good Side?"

I know the quality kind of sucks, but that's the best my web cam does. It's a copy of the May, 2009 issue of the Army's 25th Infantry Division's monthly newsletter/magazine, "Lightning Strikes". Way back when I first came here, I did my first demo, along with some engineers and Army press. They had the pics from the demo shot and it included me. Not exactly Newsweek awesome, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Good to know our replacements want to get here as much as we want to leave, so I won't be here too much longer. We've done alot and are ready to share our stories and experiences via live audiences, rather than phone calls and emails. Though, I have to say, with technology the way it is, never did I imagine that I would be in a place like this and actually have a face to face conversation with my family on my computer. My mom and dad were in more disbeliefe but it was actually nice to wave at each other, say hello, and even play a game of UNO. Thank you Windows Messenger.

An old friend who likes to show up in random places smiled at me today. World War two is over, but he is always there with the military. Whoever decided to do it though needs to learn to spell. The "wuz" is cute, but the "hear" is just embarrasing.

Our supply guy is keeping me busy with the inventory. So nice that I have a bunch of equipment that's not on any lists, yet I can't seem to find the stuff on the lists. Go figure. I'm very close in just paying for stuff we're missing, just so he'll leave me alone, yet I don't think I could afford it, even with my life savings.

I also may be heading back to Brass for a few days. Seem the EOD guys tore their place apart and Chief may want me to help tidy the place up. Be nice to be able to see my Army friends one last time, though they say they're headed to Baghdad, and I'll eventually be heading there too.

Besides that, it's getting through the day, boredom being the worst enemy. Beats bullets and IEDs exploding, I guess.

- Sailor Harry

POTD for July 7th, 2009 : "Young Fans"

POTD - Pic of the Day - Sailor Harry tries to provide his loving public a glimpse at the what he sees in the Sandbox, almost every day.

"Young Fans" - I should have known this would have happenend. I go and write that we rarely get a call these days. I went on two in one day, yesterday. This picture was taken on the fifth. Right before I could post my last one, we got the call and off I went. We had to wait for some Iraqi escorts and some curious, local children approached us for a ball. Unfortunately we didn't have one, but the LT got out and we had a really nice PR moment. With the terp's help, the LT handed out water and sodas to the kids.

We picked up some turned in items and the two recent calls were similar in nature. That's the majority of the things I have done so far. Fortunately, some of my personal work has actually done some good, where they've actually identified people and the evidence is being used in the courts to put the bad people away. It makes me smile as I have found a job where I actually feel like I have an ACTUAL purpose and my work is meaningful.. It's always nice to get an email with pictures of evidence you've actually collected and a face of the owner.

Its hard to believe, but time does blur by faster than you know it. Seems like it's been only a month, but its more like three. Navy deployments only last about 6-7 months, so I'm nearly half way done. I still will have a few months in Norfolk, but I am looking forward to getting home and picking new orders. I still plan on England, but I have an open mind and you never know what is available ahead of time. I won't know till at least August.

I look forward coming home and seeing you all again. I also plan on spending a week in Seattle with a couple relatives who I always seem to miss whenever they've visit Maryland. I plan on spending time with Caroline and seeing her at college, having belated college graduation celebrations with Josh, Curtis, and Jeff, and of course spending time with my parents and Sydney. Thank you all for your emails and as soon as I get my mail, I will be thanking everyone who sent me something.

Take care and I'm still having a "blast". - Sailor Harry

Happy 4th of July

Funny how fast a year can go by. You don't realize it till you stop and actually think about it. Another year, another Independence day. Last Year, I was in Boston when my ship pulled in. Boston was awesome and I went and saw the Boston Pops, getting myself on TV every other five minutes. Now I'm in Iraq. If you would have told me last year what I would be doing at this exact moment, a year later, I would have looked at you funny.

My family enjoyed their holiday with friends and they told me they missed me. I missed them and I look forward to seeing them when I get home. Right now, I'm with a second type of family. The FOB, (Forward Operating Base) I'm at is tiny. Yet, the two EOD teams make the place seem even smaller. I'm not complaining about the size, in fact, I prefer the close community of ours. Both teams have three members and I go out with both. Being the only WIT guy, I don't get to trade off with someone, and I go on every call.

The DFAC, (chow hall), served BBQ from 12-5pm all day, and the base had games and activities for all personnel. We ended doing our thing, which was taking it easy, watching Band of Brothers, and a couple of us threw some water balloons at each other. The temperature was actually one of the cooler days, but I'm sure that was due to the fact that it was orange outside and the dust kept out some of the heat. Crappy to breath, but we weren't sweating to death. The chow was actually pretty darn decent and for dinner, our LT hooked up the grill, grabbed a couple of near-beers and cooked some hot dogs and chicken wings. It was excellent and the non-alcoholic beer even gave it a nice taste.

One of the gents had his 20th birthday and our friend who works in the DFAC was able to nab a cake for him. Brought a pleasant Independence day to a close and the cake was delicious. Unfortunately no fireworks, though I think if there were anything making loud booms, we would be worried about that. Being EOD, it tempted a few pyros to think up some stuff, but we enjoyed the cake instead.

Had a call on Friday, which ended up being delayed, then cancelled. I sent the rest of the day asleep.

The second before I hit "Publish Post", the security team came over the radio with a call. I will have pics in the next post.

POTD for July 2nd, 2009: "The Real Bomberman"

POTD - Pic of the Day - Sailor Harry tries to provide his loving public a glimpse at the what he sees in the Sandbox, almost every day.

"The Real Bomberman" - Today's picture shows one of the many heroes out here. After the rope attached to both of the charges thrown from our truck, snapped. SFC Bray put on the bomb suit, faced the brutal heat, and attached the line to do a remote pull.

Finally did another mission, after about 3 weeks of nothing. Saw a different part of the country, as we were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by palm groves and farm lands. The temperature, however, was just as "wonderful". Took about an hour's worth of driving and the ride back in the 249mm turret made the ride no better. Driving through the farms, I got the chance to share warm greetings with some children, so that was nice.

Seems like they like to bug us with something, once a week. Nice though that the it seems the Iraqi EOD teams are taking care of the allot of the turn-ins and destroying the stuff on their own.

Besides the call yesterday, it's been pretty quiet.

POTD for June 30th, 2009 - "Root for the Home Team"

POTD - Pic of the Day - Sailor Harry tries to provide his loving public a glimpse at the what he sees in the Sandbox, almost every day.

"Root for the Home Team" - Luckl, last year, I was able to see a couple Blue Crabs games last year during their first season. I remember going to Bowie and seeing the Baysocks, and now my family doesn't have to go that far to see a game. The stadium is nice and brand new and the games I did get to see were really enjoyable. Go Southern MD Blue Crabs!

POTD for June 25th, 2009 - "Green Haze"

POTD - Pic of the Day - Sailor Harry tries to provide his loving public a glimpse at the what he sees in the Sandbox, almost every day.

"Green Haze" - Today's pic is a glimpse through night vision. Night vision is cool and thought I'd share it with you. It's cool because there is nothing funnier than scaring someone so bad that they scream and draw their weapon on you. Wait, maybe it isn't. Anyways.....

I will start tagging my daily pics with the POTD tag so you all can find them easier. Just look on the right of the page for "Labels", and click on "POTD".

- Sailor Harry

New Beginnings: In other words, FIRST POST!

"This is the first night of the tour. Thought I'd give it a try." - Robin Williams: Live 2002

So I thought I'd go for this blog thing. Apparently a couple of my emails back home were funny enough for a couple people to comment that I should save a few of them. Firstly, I will post the couple good ones. Look forward to my daily pics from Iraq and some quick stories for your entertainment and enjoyment.

Hopefully I can get a few readers here and this can continue and become more than just a place for my posts from Iraq.

Today's picture shows why Navy is better than Army. Though it looks like something you'd see at a nature center, you can be sure it's more comfortable and awesome-er than wearing Army ACUs in this heat. I fondly refer to it as my "Ranger Rick" uniform and I happily stroll around this tiny place, garnering nothing but dirty looks and curious stares. It's nice to see the bothersome SGT Majors, confused as hell, trying to determine whether they should take the chance and inspect my authorized, Navy "uniform".

I don't leave the Wire in this getup, but I'm sure if I were, it would be awesome... till the first bullet whizzes by my head, that is.