Update #3
Hello everyone, ready for the next installment of “Gumbies go to Iraq?” Well, ready or not, here goes.
Lets see, where do I begin….“Camp Bud,” or perhaps the “First Church of Al,” no, I’ve got it we should start with “Col in a box!”
So what’s “Col in box?” Well, after much delay, the boss was finally assigned to DV (that’s Distinguished Visitor for our civilian friends) quarters last week. We have been tromping across Vatican City for nearly a month all the time wondering why our beloved 0-6 didn’t rate one of those fancy two room trailers, much like one’s you’ll find strewn across some of the finer mobile home parks across our great nation. Then it finally happened, some lucky soul finally got to go home and Col Fischer got the call, “sir, your DV quarters are ready for you to move in!” We were all very excited for the boss, not because he was moving out of the “hooch” but because he has done his time, earned the rank and deserves to be housed in “upscale” digs. Please remember that “upscale” is a relative term in Iraq! So, off went the boss to pick up the key.
When he returned with a somewhat sheepish grin, we could tell something was amiss. Seems that the trailer he was expecting to be assigned was still full, so he was assigned a DV “crackerbox” instead. The crackerbox is somewhat difficult to describe. Picture this: an aluminum container approximately 10’ long, 6’ wide and 7’ high. Swipe a door and a couple windows off a submarine and bolt them in. Put in a bed, a table, a wall locker and a lay-z-boy, add our boss and you’ve got yourself a Tallil AB DV Suite or as we now refer to it…“Gumby in a box!”
Well, the boss moved in with a smile on his face and after a couple hours of that personal touch, he’s got a new home. We sure miss him in the hooch, but he visits almost every night. Besides, the TV they gave him in the box only has VHS, we’ve still got the DVD player, and room to spread out! I think the real reason he moved was for the secret access to the DV latrines, cause we sure have more room in the hooch! Plus, now we have a spare bed in the hooch so we can have visitors. The next time you’re at Tallil, please stop by…“We’ll leave the light on for ya!”
Now, back to the top of the list…”Camp Bud.” Affectionately named after our own Major John “Bud” Plisich. Camp Bud as we call it is the first bed down area for the new trailer camps that are replacing the tattered and worn tents that the Army troops have been living in for the past year. The entire project includes 969 trailers and will house almost 5000 troops. Bud was assigned as the trailer Czar from day one. He has attacked the project with such tenacity and vigor that George W. himself has agreed to naming the first site, “Camp Bud.” The amazing thing is that Bud has re-planned the entire bed down without the use of most of his beloved pubs still lost somewhere in Qatar!
We’ve been kidding Bud a lot about this project but the reality is he’s done an amazing job and his persistence will ensure that these trailers get put in correctly and provide much better living conditions for the troops for years to come. The primary emphasis has been to raise the grade at this site by some 3 feet. For those that aren’t civil engineers, let me try to put this perspective. The area we’re talking about here is about the size of 4 football fields laid side by side. Imagine how much dirt it would take to raise that area by 3 feet. Well, the dump trucks and graders have been working almost non-stop for two weeks and they are maybe 1/3 of the way done. It is absolutely amazing. So, we will have an amazing Camp Bud when this is done, the bonus is that in the northwest corner of the base we’ll also have Lake Bud once the rains come and fill in the hole they’re digging!
Well, most of us never thought it possible, but Big Al has found religion here at Tallil. Granted, he found it in a manila folder marked “Chapel Project” but at least he found it! Al’s been working tirelessly for the past 4 weeks to get the construction of the new base chapel underway. Since the chapel here serves many different religions we were searching for just the right name, and then it hit us, “First Church of Al!” Has a nice ring to it we think, and since at least some religions use wine in the services, we figured it met Al’s “gotta have booze” principle of life!
So today was the day we officially broke ground. AL was like a kid in a candy store this morning. He proudly mounted his steed (he took the gator!) and headed off to the VCC to meet “his contractor.” We all stood by and wished him well; fully knowing he was embarking on a journey fraught with peaks and valleys. Around noon, we asked…”anybody seen Al?” But Al had not been seen. We figured he was fine, probably out with the gator on Perimeter Road again pretending he’s Dale Jr.! Well, by 3:30 we were starting to get worried. A few of us had been by the site and also out to the visitor center but hadn’t seen him. So, we sent out a search party.
OK – I got in the hummer and went to try and find him. Sure enough, just as I approached the chapel site, I spotted a cloud of dust behind a gator that had just cut off road and ducked behind the religious activities center…it was Al. I pulled up behind him and asked where he’d been. Just as you would expect, Al had a big smile and pointed to two small piles of dirt off to the side of the site. He said, “You see those piles?” I said, “yes I do Al?” He said, “that’s 7 hours work right there!” I said, “I’m not hanging around here for the ribbon cutting ceremony!” Well, needless to say, Al had a big day, but never gave up, and the project did get started, even if it was a slow start. I’m sure the pace will drastically accelerate, as the contractor gets more familiar with the base clearing processes. Before we know it, Big Al will be cutting the ribbon and thousands of troops will have a wonderful new chapel to worship in. And although George W. has bought off on “Camp Bud,” the jury is still out on the “First Church of Al.” Regardless, it’s got our vote and will always be known as such in the wonderful world of Gumbies!
So what about the rest of the team? We’re all staying busy.
Dave is taking life in the electrical world here one day at a time. If he didn’t do that I think he’d go mad!!! For some reason, he can’t seem to figure out why the local contractor would install a 200 amp breaker in a 100 amp panel? Dave’s having nightmares about melting wires! The challenges are many, but one thing we’re all sure of, the power supply will be in much better shape when we leave thanks to Dave.
Scott and Jeff are fighting the daily battle of finding people to “escort” the local contractors. They are overseeing the contractors on base that are doing all of the renovation/construction jobs. They’ve taken a young Army Staff Sergeant under their wing, and they are running around the base from one end to the other 10 hours a day. Every local contractor must be escorted the entire time they are on base. US soldiers are assigned to “escort duty” on a rotational basis to do this task (which they absolutely love to do by the way...NOT!). The process is really something else. The contractors show up at the front gate every morning where they are met by their escort. The escort stays with them every minute until they leave the base in the afternoon. Sounds simple right? Well, throw in the fact that roughly 2000 locals are trying to come on base at roughly the same time every morning, some escorts don’t show up or aren’t sure what to do, the contractors trucks must be searched top to bottom, etc. etc. What you end up with is Scott and Jeff pulling their hair out on a daily basis just trying to get contractors to the job site so they can get to work. When I saw them at lunch today, I thought they actually had pulled all their hair out, but turns out they both went for the “0” buzz cut.
But, despite the challenges, Scott and Jeff have made a fantastic team and are getting the job done like no one thought possible. I think the Command Sergeant Major is going to adopt both of them!
The 235th forward officially adopted three new Gumbies here last weekend. Our EA team arrived. We screamed loud enough and the good folks at CENTAF (Shaw AFB) diverted a 3 person engineer assistant team that was destined for Balad (up north) down to us here at Tallil. TSgt Mark Hixson, SSgt Mille Nordman and SRA Brian Dwyer arrived last Saturday morning at 3:30am! After a day or two of rest and acclimation, they hit the ground running on Monday and are doing great. They are all active duty stationed with the 355th CES at Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona. Although they will only be here for 90 days, we’re glad they’re here and have adopted them as honorary Gumbies.
So I guess that leaves me (Mike). Well, just like the rest of the gang, I’ve been busy working on the Master Plan with the boss, trying to make some headway managing 5 new construction projects that are being designed by the Corps of Engineers and trying to assist the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) folks with getting the NIA (New Iraqi Army) compound project off the ground. I actually took my first ACSC (Air Command & Staff College) test this week as well so I’m working hard on the PME (Professional Military Education) so hopefully I can make 0-5 sometime soon! OK, my paragraph wins the acronym award!
Lastly, the Col, Bud and Jeff went on the first team over night field trip up to our northern most base we’re responsible for, Scania. They had a great trip and were able to take a few hours and tour ancient Babylon. I know the boss took a bunch of pictures and I’ll keep on him to make sure he gets a posting up to let you all know about that trip and see some of the sites.
That’s about the run down on the Gumbies for now. Thank goodness we haven’t had any knife or gun incidents. We all remain happy, healthy and counting down the days. We officially hit the 20% mark today according to the famed “donut of misery!” By the way, it’s 179 steps to the latrine!
Click HERE to see some photos that will highlight some of the things I mentioned in this update. Love to all of our friends and relatives, we miss you all terribly and can’t wait to get back home.
Love – The Fighting Gumbies!
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