Jan. 2 – Today is the day that we pack up and finally move out of this compound en route to Kuwait. The snow here doesn’t stay very long on the ground. The weather is a comfortable 57 degrees today. We spent last night packing our bags. We are only authorized 4 duffle bags, 1 laptop, 1 rucksack, and 1 carry-on. I know for me that I just barely made it. Thanks to you guys again for sending me care packages while I was here. I still had some items left over. I just barely got every packed into those bags! Let’s just say that it took a crowbar, shoehorn, and duck tape to close my bags! Happy New Year to you all. I pray that God grants you the desires of your heart this year and that each of you grows in a deeper relationship with him. I was here when the year turned over. A friend and I watched the New Year come in downtown Aggieville which is located near Kansas State University. The crowd was a little younger but we had a good time. I really missed my wife and kids. God has brought my family and me through a lot last year. My wife is a strong person. She really has a strong faith in God. She had to deal with the sickness of my daughter, issues with my son, and now my deployment. I love that woman. She doesn’t spend a lot of time on herself like I want her to. She does her own nails and even cuts her own hair! I ordered her that while I was away she should pamper herself but as always she graciously declined. This year will be our 25th anniversary and I am working it out to be home for the event. Today is going to be a long day. The talk around the barracks says that we will land in Kuwait in the early morning. I have been out of the country before but this is my first time in the Middle East. The men are excited about leaving today. It’s been a long 60 days. This is where I start my daily prayers of God watching over us and returning home safely.

Jan. 3 – We left Fort Riley last night at about 9:30 p.m. last night. They brought us to this gymnasium where they made us stand on these scales with all of our armor and equipment on and holding our laptops and carry-on baggage in our hands. I weighed in at 368 pounds! I can truthfully say that 250 of those pounds are mine. By the time we made it to the airfield, it was about midnight. We took off and landed in a German town at 4:30 p.m. just outside Berlin to refuel. The flight was about 8 hours during the night. I slept on and off during the night. They let us get off the plane for about an hour to stretch our legs. I lost a whole day! It’s so weird flying over all of these countries. We flew over England, Ireland, France, Istanbul, and Israel, and of course landed in Kuwait. We have 4 more hours to go. It is so funny the food on the airplane is pretty good. I guess I have been victimized by the food in the mess hall for too long. Our plane is huge. Two sets of seats on each side with a set of three seats forming a row in the middle. They are showing us movies and keeping the soft drinks and coffee flowing. I can’t believe that in just two hours I will be in the Middle East. There are about three hundred of us on this flight. I know I shouldn’t think about it but as we took off today I had the thought of just how many of these guys won’t make it back? Well, I will do everything in my power to watch myself and my team to make sure we make it back.

Jan. 5 – We are here! We arrived in Kuwait City at about 11:45 p.m. on January 4th! I am totally exhausted from traveling. It took two days to get here! I couldn’t sleep on the plane. It felt like I slept 6 hours in two days! It’s almost midnight and it’s pretty cool outside. I would love to take a tour through the city but I know better. We are going straight to the camp from here. The buses pulled up on the runway near our plane to pick us up. Before I left Kansas a friend let me borrow his cell phone to call home. As I was walking up the runway to enter the plane bound for Kuwait I called home to my wife and kids and told them that I loved them. My wife asked me why did I sound so winded. I was carrying my weapon, laptop bag, and backpack up the runway while I was at the same time trying to keep the phone to my ear.

Jan. 5 – I want to dedicate this entry to my son. Today he is twenty years old! My firstborn child is all grown up! I want him to know that I am so proud to be his dad. When we brought him home from the hospital I would go to his nursery and just stare at him. I prayed to God to show me how to raise this child. I was in total fear of what to do with this child but at the same time excited by the beauty and miracle of God giving him to us. I want him to grow up to be more than what I am. I want him to go further in his education, and most importantly I want him to love God just as much if not more as I do. He has recently had some setbacks but I have no doubt that the strength that God has placed in him will help him overcome any obstacle! At the same time, it hurts to let him go. When he was a little boy I was the center of his attention but I had to step aside to allow him to experience hurt, pain, joy, and the struggles of life. This has been one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do in my life. I’m still not at a place where I can relax. I don’t think any parent is. So happy birthday son. Sorry that I can’t be there but when this gig is over we will have fun making it up.

Jan. 7 –  I had a bit of a sore throat going on. The jet lag is wearing me out. My body is still on Eastern Standard Time. We have been at this camp for 4 days now. It’s pretty impressive. The Kuwaitis do most of all the services here. The mess hall is incredible. There are 3 lines for short order, main meal, and sandwiches. There is a mini Baskin Robbins area for ice cream (I need to stay away from that!). There are all kinds of fruit and salad to choose from. There are refrigerator cases of all kinds of juices and bottled water everywhere you look!

Jan. 11 – Today was so funny. We were doing some training outside the camp today. When the sun comes up there are so many herds of camels! We were training at this place that was made to look like a town. My chief and one of the officers were talking to one of the Iraqi role-players when just then a camel walked over to where they were talking! Of course, the men dispersed quickly but the camel kept following my chief all the way to his truck! We were all laughing hysterically. It blew our military moment but it was worth it.

Jan. 13 – We arrived in Iraq! The weather here is not much different than in Kuwait. My team and I were waiting in Baghdad airport for our helicopter (I’ve never ridden one) to our next training facility. There are a lot of palm trees within the city. In my view, Baghdad has a certain beauty to it. In the distance, I could hear mortar rounds landing. Of course, I’m nervous but for me, I know God has ordered my footsteps.

Jan. 15 – We are staying in some barracks that were occupied at one time by Saddam’s soldiers! The bunk beds are made out of thin metal and the wall lockers are thin metal with sharp edges. How do I know? I just cut a chunk out of my hand. My first war wound! The training here is pretty much the same but the staff is from England to Egypt. I can’t wait to get to work.

Jan. 18 – You can find a funny story anywhere. I can’t give names but there is a soldier here who when he cuts his hair looks just like Hitler! I saw him in a meeting and kept staring at him saying to myself that he looked familiar. Then it dawned on me, he looks like Hitler! I was laughing out of control! It made my day because I was dealing with a slight case of homesickness. We are winding down our training here at this facility. We will move next week into Baghdad. I can hear mortar rounds in the distance. It’s so freaky to really hear that. We have had so many briefs and slide presentations that I am about to go crazy! Last night for dinner we had lobster tails with crab legs. Who would have thought that to get a decent meal from the army I would have to go to Baghdad! I’ve worked out six days a week. It’s hard not having my class to motivate. I just pretend that they are in front of me. Hey whatever works, right?

Jan. 19 – We are processing our records today. The people that I am with are from all walks of life. We have police officers, businessmen, correction officers, and yes even a lawyer or two. There is one guy who was on the plane that was so happy to be there that he wouldn’t even shut up on the plane. I know yours truly has the gift of gab but this talked the whole entire flight! It was like being on the plane with a bad Robin Williams.

Jan. 21 – Today is 4 months since I’ve reported to active duty! Sadly enough we had a large number of casualties last night. For informational purposes, I can’t mention the details. I am now coming to grips with what’s going on over here. The country needs a lot of work. To change this society’s way of thinking here is a huge undertaking! There are some cultural things here that are beyond my understanding. The people lack in my opinion patriotism for the country. It’s more of a ‘me’ society. I’m starting to understand it because of their history and the things that they have gone through. There is 50% unemployment mixed with a high illiteracy rate. It’s a hard life in such a beautiful country. Pray for me I’ve got to fly out tonight to my base camp tonight. The weather is not so good tonight.

Jan. 22 – We flew back into Baghdad. We are at another camp. Downtown Iraq is just outside the gate! I haven’t been down there yet but I know it’s coming. This camp is located where one of Sadaam’s palaces is! This complex is beautiful. Sadaam really hid the goods from the people. There is a lake that runs throughout the complex. There are a couple of small beach houses located around the lake where he entertained guests. There is a mosque where the artwork on it is simply beautiful. The roads that run through the complex are lined with palm trees. It’s a paradise in my opinion. I think Bush can’t compare this to Camp David. The weather here is cold in the morning and as the day progresses it warms up. I know the hot days are just around the corner. The mess hall is amazing. They have a main entree line (3 choices), of course, the hamburger/hot-dog line, and then a deli bar, hot wings bar, dessert bar, ice cream bar, and my favorite a bar that serves Indian food! Anything that you want to drink including nonalcoholic beer! All of the workers are Iraqi. These people can cook too! Believe me when there is so much food I tend to not eat right. One day I had 3 of my favorite meats on my plate with no veggies!

Jan. 24 – We met the guys who we are relieving. They took us around the complex today. We flew in on Blackhawk helicopters. It was a sad time because we heard that a Blackhawk had gone down the night before. We sat for 2 hours at the airport waiting for our flight. We the helicopter finally came I sensed that the guys were nervous. I prayed right there for our travel and safety. This was at night and traveling over Baghdad in a helicopter is dangerous because a rocket can be shot up at you! As I said we arrived safely. Today we are being given a tour around the complex. One of the things that are hard for us coming in. That is we are in a ‘war zone’ and our behavior and awareness should not be relaxed as if were at a normal post in the states. Sure there are walls separating us from the rest of Baghdad but anything could change here. They say that sometimes they can get mortar attacks during the month here. Wow!

Jan. 28 – I just got my gear from the team that we are replacing. To make matters worse I have to add side plates and shoulder protectors to my body armor! This adds an additional 10 pounds! I made a joke to the guys and said ‘Please just shoot me!’ With the side plates, it makes my hips bigger. I still have to climb in and out of the vehicle with all that weight. Tomorrow I go what we call ‘outside of the wire’. I am going downtown to meet members of the Iraqi National Police. It will be dangerous, so our visit with them will be short and brief. Last night I had dinner by myself. I met a gentleman a civilian man about in his mid-sixties who worked here as a contractor at this camp. First I found out that we had one thing in common. We both were from the same county in New York. He is an Italian immigrant who worked hard and raised his children. He explained to me that he has worked all over the world. He said this situation here and that this was the most ‘ self-centered and selfish society he has ever seen! Wow! He went on further to explain that he understood their history and that making significant changes here would take a long time. I tended to agree with him.

Jan. 30 – My team and I headed out this morning to meet the Iraqi National police personnel. Unbeknownst to me, I was asked to ride in the gunner position! I’ve trained only a little at this position but this time we were headed towards downtown Baghdad! With all of my equipment on it’s really a chore to maneuver myself in and out of that hatch. Well, I got up there and I must say that I looked pretty awesome! I had my Oakley sunglasses on and a serious ‘you stole my lunch’ look on my face! I had to lock and load my machine gun as we left the camp. My job was the rear security for our convoy. There is so much dust. I ate a dust sandwich the whole day. As we made our way downtown it was the worst thing that I have ever seen. People were living in areas that were cluttered with rubble and trash! Even though some of the buildings had remnants of the past on them that once made this city great this place is devastated! I couldn’t allow myself to get caught up in the scenery because I had to stay alert at my post. For the first time in 23 years of service, this was the REAL deal here. This was not just another field exercise. We drove through the city with precision. We made sure we were not in any one place too long. I had to swing my gun from right to left to scan the road behind us. One thing that struck me was that children will be children no matter where you go. There were groups of little boys playing soccer in the street. We even saw a little boy pointing a ‘toy’ gun at us. I found that disturbing of course. But to live like this day in and day out is beyond my comprehension. Listen when I tell you that as Americans we are blessed! These people don’t even have running water in their houses or an indoor bathroom. Their use of electricity is limited also. They live in constant fear of death. We don’t even think about it. You can step right outside your door and take a walk down the street and get a coffee at Starbucks. You can spend the weekend shopping and enjoying lunch at your favorite restaurant. These people can’t do that. I know a lot of their problems are internal but since I’ve been here I have become more and more grateful that I am an American. Despite whatever your political views are I will tell you this for sure and without a doubt, trust me, you would be glad that you don’t live here. I will be updating my site where I can show you some video clips of my journey through this experience.