Back home

Well superfriends, I'm home. I've actually been home for about a week now, but didn't update the blog. Strange, I wrote as often as I could while deployed, but didn't write much about the coming home process. I don't know why exactly, but I don't think I'm the only one. Even in my own community of embedded observers, there's plenty written about the deployment process and the actual tour itself, but very little on the return trip. Part of it could be that people are "smelling the barn door" and reluctant to take on new work as they start thinking of home.

But, I think there's a part of me that feared that writing about it could somehow jinx it. Military folks are pretty superstitious and I'm no exception. But now that I'm back, I can say that it was a long process and involved a lot of waiting. The route home was: Iraq, Kuwait, Ireland (just a quick layover), Ft. Benning, Georgia, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, LA, San Francisco, then finally Shanghai.

Seeing Sarah again was not something I was apprehensive about, like some soldiers are. It had only been about 7 months and we had been in regular contact. No kids or routine to worry about messing up. Getting my head back into the game to return to work will be a little tough. Things have changed, market conditions have changed, projects have moved on, and a lot of my role has been taken up by others on the team. I'll have another week of break and then will ease back in, but am counting on some understanding from my boss and the guys.
It is strange to not be in uniform every day, have fewer restrictions on daily life. I've woken up several times and experienced a sense of not knowing where I am. I am glad not having to worry if today will be the day where a random act of violence will touch me or someone I know. But, civilian life also has plenty requirements and sometimes it's almost easier not having choices.

I count my blessings - I stayed safe during this deployment, I learned a lot, I have a wife who is strong and independent, an employer who supported my absence, and a group of friends and family who kept my spirits up. But not everyone is as lucky. Suicide and divorce rates in the military continue to climb. A good friend of mine confided in me a couple days before I left that his wife told him that their marriage was over. Three deployments in 5 years did that. He will probably get to go home early to try and solve things, but I don't envy him.
If you come across any spouses or family members of deployed servicemembers, keep in mind the challenges they face and if you can, say or do something nice. Many people don't know what to say or are afraid it'll come out like a cliche, but it is always appreciated.
So that's it for now! Thanks for sticking with my first blog during this little journey and I've dearly appreciated all the contact and words of support. I'll continue to update with life in China and elsewhere, so stick around if you like.

Lessons in Iraqi culture part 2

 

Last night, I'm having one of those dreams where there is a repeating sound, and it gets louder and more insistent until you finally half-wake to figure out that it's coming from real life.  CLANG-CLANG-CLANG....CLANG-CLANG-CLANG.  I heard this repeat 4 or 5 times, then resigned myself that it wasn't going away.  Usually, when there is an indirect fire attack, they use the "Big Voice" or loudspeaker warning system that blankets the base.  I figured that either it was broken, or the Iraqis were running a drill.  If it was a drill, I thought as the sole American representative, I was duty-bound to set a good example and play along. 

 

Back in the days when we thought that all our enemies were going to use nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, we had it pounded into our heads that the sound of metal on metal meant an imminent attack.  I don't know if that also applies to rocket attacks (which is the common threat in Iraq now), but I assumed so.

 

I stuck my head out and saw an Iraqi guy running around sounding the alarm.  I got his attention and mimed a rocket coming in.  He nodded.  So, I got my body armor and helmet on and headed out towards the bunker.  They had fenced it off since I was last there.  I had to walk all the way around, wondering the whole time why I didn't see any other Iraqis.  I got to the concrete bunker and there was no one in it.  That was not totally surprising, since Iraqis tend to blow off alarms.

 

I tracked down the guy ringing the alarm and repeated my rocket pantomime.  THis time, he shook his head and responded with the universal fingers together pointing at his mouth.  I looked down at my watch which read 3am and it all made sense.  He was signalling the last meal before sunrise for Ramadan.  They just happened to pick the same sound that means chemical attack to us.  I had to laugh and went back to sleep for a few hours.

Day 150: "Building whose foundations create terror"

I've been at my "second home" for the past few days for a conference set up by this brigade to share its insights and recommendations on being one of the first specially designated "advise and assist" brigades. My own organization, the Center for Army Lessons Learned defines this as: "a modular brigade combat team augmented, based on the requirements of the operational environment, with enabling assets and capabilities to support a distributed security force assistance mission." It's all the rage right now.

When you strip away the hype, all this really means is that an AAB, about 3000-4000 soldiers strong, is no longer focused on fighting a counter-insurgency fight, but on stability operations and advising and assisting a host nation's own security forces (army, police, border security) and its government. It is really a difference in mindset -- in the words of the average joe -- from "blowing up sh*t" to teaching the Iraqi (or Afghan or [insert third-world country we've defeated here]) forces how to train themselves and the Iraqi government how to run itself and be legitimate. It's a pretty far step from where we saw the Army's role in 2003, which was to defeat the Iraqi Army and then go home. It's also the next evolution from the seize, hold, and build strategy used in previous years.

The problem? It takes us very far from our core competency and has us doing things that historically the military has never really been doing. When field artillerymen and tankers are learning how to be administrators of reconstruction funding and serving as project oversight for rebuilding projects, it necessarily takes them away from their ability to shoot big bullets when we need them to. And in Afghanistan, there is this need. The idea is that AABs will support the civilian Provincial Reconstruction Teams (6-15 person teams of specialists) from the State Department who will lead the stabilization effort. However, I've seen that the State Department right now isn't able to field the experts who can do this job. Despite being paid salaries ranging between $200-400k, some of these spots go unfilled or are filled with contractors who are unsuitable -- imagine an econ PhD who has no actual business experience.

Anyhow, the brigade did a good job of putting together a 3 day conference, which probably could have been 2 days. First day was good -- lots of multifunctional team discussion, but the final messages that were briefed to the big shots were mostly taken from a few dominant voices and some of the opposing viewpoints never made it. That's the military way -- makes me wonder if during some of the civilian breakout groups that I've organized, if I've ever been one of those voices that overpowered the others.

Enough boring stuff....I took around some of the Division and Corps folks to see the biblical Ziggurat of Ur, which is just outside the camp's security perimeter. Built an estimated 4000 years ago with similar characteristics as the Tower of Babil, the ziggurat actually means, "building whose foundations create terror!" The ancient Babylonians were big into buildings that reached to the skies and the ziggurat was the momma one of them all. The ancient city of Ur where it was situated was also the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. Although we couldn't actually get to the site, I took them along the fenceline to a security tower (manned by our friendly Ugandan contract security guards) where they could climb and take some good shots in the setting sun. One group even had a photo op with a pair of Apache helicopter gunships flying overhead. When I was getting ready to return with the second group, one of them pointed out that we had a flat. It was almost a joke -- took 6 senior officers and non-coms almost a half hour to get the tire changed because no one was familiar with where everything was on an armored Suburban. Finally we got it done and I was a little red-faced to return a borrowed vehicle with a flat tire in the back.

I had dinner with TL, the deputy team leader of the Dhi Qar provincial reconstruction team. We had met on a previous visit, when I interviewed him to gauge the military-civilian interaction, and this was a follow up visit (depressing, but a topic for another day). This was more of a social chat too... T is a career State Department guy and had been posted all throughout Asia. His Indonesian wife and two kids were actually in Beijing right now. So, we got along the way you do when you meet another expat. He returns in Feb, but departs China to go back to Indonesia in June of next year, so we traded info and hope to meet up in a different place. Small world.

Day 145: Mr. Culturally Sensitive

So, I thought I would be a good citizen, try and contribute something besides misery to the Iraqi military community that I'm a part of, and get a little cross-cultural exchange going, so I invited the Iraqis to the Army 10-Mile race that I'm running in tomorrow.  The Band commander also was very interested to do some sort of music exchange with them, so I suggested that as well.

 

As I finished chatting with the Deputy Commander, another truck with my pals, LT Mohammed and the medic, "Doc" SA, pulled up.  I said hello, then asked them if they had eaten yet.  They both said no.  I asked them if they wanted to get some lunch (and added, "with lots of ice cream")  Doc SA says, almost regretfully, "Sorry, I am fasting." 

 

Doh.  I knew that, but it didn't process.  I felt like a dick.

No more packages, please!

I've been traveling so much and am getting ready to start shipping things back home, so please hold off on sending any more packages.  I really appreciate everything you all have sent already to send a little taste of home!

Day 136: Last day of freedom

Ah, tomorrow morning will be a sad day. We fly out tomorrow to go back to the real world. We were delayed by one day. That's actually pretty good. There were groups here that had been "stranded" for a week. That means their 4 day pass turned into close to two weeks off.

But, work doesn't stop and I had told one of the units I was supporting that I would be there 2 days ago, so I'm actually glad to be going. Plus, with Ramadan going on, and no trips going out other than the mall, I end up going a little stir crazy. The equivalent is if you went on vacation, but were under house arrest. At a big house with a bowling alley, club area, and movie theater, but a big house still...

I did have the good fortune of being sponsored to go off post. A chaplain's assistant saw me walking to the chow hall and offered me a lift and then asked if I wanted to go into town. The deputy garrison commander and I went -- just in the right place at the right time. We went to the Gold Souks (markets) and the tourist quarter -- beautiful at night and even though it was after sundown, there still were not many locals there. I found that Qataris get something like $8000/month for nothing other than being citizens. Men get more than women, so women go to university more than the men.

The old city markets didn't have much to offer that was really unique. The exception was a falconry training center that had a few falcons just chillin with little gimp-style hoods on. Their hearing was so sharp that they would cock their heads wherever we were moving in the store. I felt bad for the shop owners. They have to know that everytime an American enters the store that they'll ask the same stupid questions and won't buy anything.

Even the pearls here were from Dubai or Tahiti, though a long time ago, apparently there were actual pearl divers here.

We had dinner at a nice Qatari restaurant. The place was nearly empty, but good atmosphere and attentive service. I had the mixed grill and some banana yogurt -honey drink.

I heart poodles

There are no words to describe this.

Maybe, "why?"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208913/The-poodles-transformed-pandas-horses-snails-creative-grooming-dog-shows.html

Day 134: Qatari Beach Day

So, this morning, I was able to secure a spot on the inland sea picnic. For $27, it was an excellent deal. The 20 of us split amongst 5 SUVs and drove out to the coast. Although we had to wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed toe shoes, the drivers did not. Go figure. It took us about 45 min to get out to the sand dunes. On the way, we got to see a little bit of some of the apartment complexes from a distance. Lot of construction going on, pretty clean and nice Arabian architecture that reminded me of the Alhambra in Spain.





The sand dune driving was a trip. Our driver, Shyam, from Sri Lanka (the other drivers were from Ethiopia, Egypt, and Pakistan) was really good and took us ripping across the dunes at angles that I was sure were going to make us rollover. We finally ended up on a bluff overlooking the coast -- impressive.

Then we drove down to a semi-permanent camp with A/C tents, volleyball court (that no one used), showers, and an eating area. For the next 3 hours, we did whatever we wanted there, but mostly, people just swam, laid out (but the sun was extremely hot and anyone who was follish enough to suntan will pay the price tomorrow), ate, or read.

The water was beautiful. Light shade of blue, then turned into a dark turquoise when it got deeper. What was most unique about it was the salinity, which was so high that some of the women were able to lay back and just float. I tried and failed, getting a nose full of super salty water. I highly recommend you not try this.

I felt sorry for the two bored looking camels that had been there all day, so paid $5 to ride one and get some pictures.

When we came back, the entire carfull of people was really subdued because people were just worn out and sunburn-fatigued. Good day.

I had hoped to make the evening trip to the mall, but no luck - already full. Apparently, it's a place where you can ice skate.

Hell is bad karaoke

Now I understand why karaoke has such a bad reputation in the US. People are allowed (or feel they are allowed) to sing when they should not be singing.

Maybe just military folks sing worse than the average person?
Maybe military have less inhibitions?

Whatever it is, they need to take a page from the asians who practice and when they don't have anything nice to sing, stay away from the mike...