In Balad

Last night I caught a C-130 up to Balad Air Base, which is north of Baghdad. I have some training here today before I catch a flight to my next destination. So far the training is going well -- folks are receptive to our product and they have a lot of positive feedback and recommendations for future work, which keeps the paychecks coming in. Hooray for cash, right?

The photo above is a V-22 Osprey I caught landing at Al Asad earlier in the week.

Still in Al Asad

I'll be here in Al Asad for a few more days while I'm conducting more training before I move onto another base to take care of more training there. Fun times -- its nice to get face time with the folks that will be using my system on a day-to-day basis and get their suggestions and feedback.

The weather here cleared up since our little flood yesterday morning and has been pretty nice. Its a bit chilly, but a welcome change from the heat and the skies are clear here for the first time since I got here, which has given me a few decent photography opportunities.

The photo above was taken at sunset with a CH-53 Pave Low below the sun and the top of a satellite dish in the foreground.

Flooded!

Yesterday it started raining here at Al-Asad Marine Base... the first rain we had seen in quite some time. Last night it started pouring, which I knew could not be good in the desert. When I woke up this morning to a thunderstorm, I was not surprised to see a flash flood running through the base, effectively separating me from work and, more importantly, the chow hall and any other source of food. For right now I'm stuck and probably going to take a nap since our power is also out and my laptop battery is about dead.

The photo above is a truck trying to cross the river on what had been the road to get out of here.

Combat programmer!

My job in the US Air Force was a computer programmer, and I essentially did then what I'm doing now, except I was doing just outside Washington, DC supporting HQ Air Force and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. When the war here in Iraq started I tried unsuccessfully for volunteer for deployments. There are no jobs for programmers in Iraq, I was told. Me and the guys used to joke about the concept of a computer programmer in the desert with a laptop jumping out of a plane and programming in the desert.

Aside from the jumping out of the airplane part, I realized last night that I'm now fitting the mold. Laptop in hand and body armor donned, I got onto a Marine helicopter early in the morning to come out to Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province. I'll be out here for a few days to train some of the users of my application on how to use it, as well as some performance testing in low-bandwidth environments.

Pictured above, a combat programmer in the flesh.

Exciting World Series shaping up

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a terrific season, and I couldn't be happier for them. Not just because they beat the Red Sox in the ALCS to make it in, but because I do enjoy the underdog story. The Rays, who had never had a winning season in their 11-year existance, beat the defending champs and the Yankees to win the AL East divisional title and have powered their way through the playoffs to get to the World Series against the Phillies, a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1980. A truly exciting World Series to watch, and where will I be? I'll be excited to check the ESPN.com home page every morning to see the scores and highlights.

It rained today.

Yep. It rained. It only rained for about 20 minutes, but it was the only the second time since I've been here. The first was a brief thunderstorm almost a month ago, for a combine total of about .05 inches of rain (unofficially). Its more of a mental thing for me -- it's nice to see clouds in the sky once in a while. I'm hoping that this ushers in the start of rainy season here... Id rather it be wet and muddy than arid and dusty. Our sandstorm a few days got some attention by National Geographic on their website... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081016-sandstorm-video-ap.html?source=rss

Time to meet the neighbors

We've had a chance to meet the neighbors that we're sharing our new office with: several lizards, large ants, and, so far, one large rat. The lizards and ants are not bad to have around -- the lizards eat the insects and the ants clean the floor for us. The rats, on the other hand, are a problem that we're looking to deal with soon. Sealing off the gaps in cubicle walls and the doors going outside should help at least isolate the fellow so we can, um, evict him.

Just finished moving

We moved out of the old office this morning and into our old HR office. HR, ops, finance, and the local national program moved into a building that was just opened up. Logistics moved into the old finance office and the old logistics office became a dormitory for male staff. Force protection is moving into our old office and the force protection office is becoming an MWR (Morale Recreation and Welfare) room. You get all that? Good.

The photo above is one of the driving greens set up on the roof of Al-Faw Palace. Its a platform with a small green on it. The sign says:

Thornal's Range Rules:

1. Ensure you clear range of all personnel and vehicles below prior to hitting
2. Individuals in IBA (Individual Body Armor) or Up Armored Vehicles are fair game!
3. Enjoy yourself and hit 'em straight!

Symmetry

This is a shot I took with my fisheye lens looking straight up at the chandelier. I got it almost perfectly centered... I wish I had taken the time to line the shot up just right. On the edges of the photo you can see the top two floors of the rotunda and their small balconies into main hall and chandelier.

One massive chandelier

The chandelier in the main part of Al-Faw Palace is massive. The photos I've taken don't really convey that as well as I'd hoped, but trust me when I say its large. Master Sergeant Williams told us that the chandelier cost $2million, and that the coalition had found a purchase order attesting to that. The purchase order also says that the chandelier lights are made of plastic, not crystal, a testament to the fact that Iraqi laborers were forced to cut corners because punishment or death was sure to come for construction projects that didn't meet deadlines.

The photo above is the chandelier as seen from the 3rd floor of the palace.

Saddam's Chair at Al-Faw

The chair in the photo above was given to Saddam Hussein by Yasir Arafat. The inscription about the chair reads "In the name of God the merciful and gracious, Glorifies who traveled his servant by night from Mecca to Jeuseralem."

Al-Faw Palace

Today one of our military customers, MSG Williams, gave us a tour of Al-Faw Palace. This was Saddam's main palace and most heavily fortified, so when the Coalition overthrew the government it was converted into the MNF-I (MultiNational Forces - Iraq) Headquarters.

The main entrance of the palace features a large, 3-floor rotunda-type room with a domed ceiling and a massive chandelier that I've been told cost $2million. It also has a throne-type chair that was given to Saddam Hussein by Yasir Arafat... apparantly it is customary to have a photo taken of yourself sitting in the chair, which I did (of course). The whole place has marble, chandeliers, and intricate carvings in the ceilings and great views of the rest of the base from the walkways on the roof.

The photo above is Dardan, Brenden, and me standing outside the palace entrance. Look out for additional palace photos over the next week or so.

Recommended reading

One of the things that I had hoped to accomplish, and so far have managed to do, is to get more reading done. I've always been a fan of reading - I had almost all of the Hardy Boys books when I was younger - and in the last 5 years I've been reading more political and historical books.

I just finished Bob Woodward's new book called The War Within: Secret White House History 2006-2008 that just recently came out. Its a long book, but if history and politics is your thing, or if you're interested in the decision-making behind events here in Iraq, I highly recommend picking it up. Two things that I took away from the book that I definitely don't like is the way President Bush runs his National Security Council (NSC) and his delegation of Iraq-related decision-making to his National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley. I always thought that the NSC was a place of debate among advisors to the president, which is depicted quite well in the movie "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban missile crisis. The Secretaries of State and Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all brought dissenting views to President Kennedy about how to handle the crisis, and the president eventually sided with his brother Bobby on the best course of action. At least he had dissenting views and opinions to choose from.

The current president has given Hadley two roles, both of which are incredibly startling to me. Firstly, to get the NSC to fall in line with the presidents view prior to attending NSC briefings so that the presidents time isnt wasted with seemingly useless arguing. Secondly, and perhaps even more shockingly, the president has delegated decision-making regarding the Iraq war to his National Security Advisor. At first I thought to myself that perhaps Mr. Woodward was painting that picture to put the president in a bad light, but there are direct quotes from the president to Mr. Woodward essentially saying "Yep. He knows what I want so I trust him to make the decisions for me." Politics and party affiliation aside, I personally hope that we never again have a president that is so narrow-minded on his views to everything that he surrounds himself with "yes men" and depends on someone not even confirmed to his position by the American people (the president appoints the National Security Advisor directly) to run the most important event of any president's term: war.

R.I.P. Nancy

Yesterday my parents' neighbor and good friend of my mother passed away. It was fairly unexpected... from what I understand she was in fair health but was admitted into the hospital the evening prior with bruising all over her body. Turns out she was having some sort of issue that was causing her blood to coagulate (clump). This unfortunately was not treated fast enough and led her to having a stroke and passing away.

I will always remember Nancy for her always-present smile and words of encouragement that both she and her late husband had for me through some big decisions and hard times in my adult life. She was a good friend to my mother and I know she will be missed by anyone that knew her.

Tonight would have been perfect if...

If I weren't in Baghdad right now. The weather is just right... high about 85, currently 75. Just a tad chilly but you dont even notice it unless you think about it. Im wearing shorts and a t-shirt and feel just fine, if I were going out jeans and a polo would be the attire for the day.

In addition to the temperature, I was walking with a buddy of mine here on the compound and came across the spot where two brick walls blocked out all the lights and the nighttime sky suddenly became clear. I couldve easily spent the night there looking up, not just because I enjoy stargazing but because aside from my time in Thailand I'd never seen some of these stars before -- the southern sky is totally different from the northern sky and I'm just starting to see both where I am. And... I saw a shooting star. It was a slow-mover... green at first and faded to whitish-yellow. First time I'd seen one in some time, and hopefully I'll be able to catch the next big shower in November.

The photo above I took tonight across the street from my building. I'm facing the airport and you can see a bridge in the foreground that crosses the canal. The brick wall separates us from Camp Stryker. There is a dirt road on the other side and when vehicles drive by it kicks up dust and dirt, giving that beautiful look in front of the light. Hopefully I'll get my tripod here and be able to get a crisper shot than I took -- this one was braced up against a sign post.

This is my favorite time of year...

The changing leaves, the cool, crisp weather, getting ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, wondering when I'll be seeing snow for the first time. Earlier sunsets so I can get out and do some photography. This weekend would have been a great one to take a drive out to skyline drive and do some hiking like I did last year with Steve. I'm here, though. The weather is getting cooler... highs this week havent topped 90F and right now its 78 degrees at 1030 at night. Its actually a bit chilly. But I'm still missing some of those things back home that had kinda become tradition for me.

The photo above is Brenden and Phil playing pingpong last night -- our new favorite pasttime.