Tried to get out all last night. I am still sitting at the airport. My back hurts from sitting on the concrete all night. July 3 - Still stuck. I made friends at the Airport. In the movie Fight Club, Brad Pitt talks about single serving friends - these are becoming several serving friends. We are all stuck together in a perpetual sleep and eat cycle. The only flight I can get is to Kuwait later tonight. I will have a much better chance of making it out of Kuwait. Keeping my fingers crossed. [View Full Entry]

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Today I was supposed to fly back to Al Asad. When I emerged from my tent I was greeted with a sandstorm. I went to the military passenger terminal and learned that my confirmed flight had been cancelled and now I would need to try to get a standby flight when I weather cleared. I chose to hope on the bus system and explore Baghdad, sandy or not. I rode over to Camp Slayer to see Saddam’s Perfume Palace. Saddam had palaces built all over Iraq. In Baghdad he built the Perfume Palace for his concubines. I really could not find [View Full Entry]

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The reason I traveled to Baghdad was for the Medical Service Corp in-service. It was designed to be for all Medical Service Corp to network and share ideas. The conference was a good experience. I met lots of my counterparts who operate at various bases in theater. I even ran into a LT who I attended officer basic course with three years ago. She taps me on the back and says do you remember me? I couldn’t believe what a small Army it is. Especially considering that she is National Guard and I am Reserve - the Army isn’t even our [View Full Entry]

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Today I left for my trip to Baghdad. The way you travel in theater is quite different than you will travel in the way you would travel in the US. It is a long ever-changing process. You cannot make travel reservations more than 4 days before your intended trip, but not less than 3 days before you plan to leave. Then in order to catch your flight you have to arrive at the airport three hours before your flight. I like to be early but there is nothing to see or do in a military passenger terminal - you would think [View Full Entry]

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Mark and I decided to take another bike ride around the perimeter of the base. We took off about 1800 just as the sun fell below the ridge. We rode all the way to the end of the base before ascending to the top of the ridge. We made good time past the old bunkers and were enjoying the cooler temperature (110). As soon as we got to the halfway point of our ride Mark got a page to return to the hospital. Mark holds the additional duty as a flight nurse. He will hop on the MEDEVAC chopper and treat [View Full Entry]

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My Dad’s care package arrived today. Because of the sandstorm all of our mail was delayed so today there was a huge pile in the mailroom. I goy some really cool stuff. Lots of food and snacks to include my favorites; pistashios, wasabi almonds,splenda, and M&Ms. I couldn’t eat it all before returnng from deployment. I shared with Mark and my staff. The folks I work with were quite excited to see the snacks we had a miniparty. Thanks Dad - everyone sends thir thanks. I my package was a Grundig shortwave radio. I grew up watching my Dad use his [View Full Entry]

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Holy sand batman. Today we encountered the worst sandstorm yet. There has been light sand for the last few days. This morning I got up and gathered my things to go shower and as I opened the door I was greeted with a wall of sand. The sand was so thick that you could not see to the end of the row of CHUs that I live on. I dawned my baclava and wrap around glasses and headed to work only to get covered in sand. It is almost like running out of a grocery store to your car in a [View Full Entry]

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Today my first care package arrived. I was so excited - like a kid at Christmas. Kristen sent me a package with my Army Times (weekly newspaper for the Army), some things I left at home, and Lizzie sent me a Mickey Mouse fan, and Cinderella Postcard. I am sure that my friends think I am a little weird, newspapers and a Cinderella postcard. It made me happy. Everyone who has read my blog knows that I have complained about the poor coffee and lack of sugar in the PX. We had several bags of coffee beans that the other CSH [View Full Entry]

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Father’s Day and my first day off this deployment. I planned to get up, after sleeping in a bit, and go for a bike ride on the ridge of the base. I woke up to the radio (walkie talkie) and thought I was getting a call. It was not for me but since it was the evening at home I decided to get dressed and walk to the hardstand. I called home and talked with my girls. That made my day even though it was 0300 in the morning. I slept until 0800 hoping to go for my bike ride. I [View Full Entry]

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Happy Birthday to the Army. She is 233 today. Since today is Groundhog Day we didn’t know that it was the Army birthday today until we saw the email from the Sergeant Major of the Army. Oh, Happy Birthday we muttered. The excitement came at chow time. When we got to the DFAC (dining facility) there were lots of patriotic decorations. The tables were covered in red, white, and blue table cloths. The ceiling was covered in streamers and the walls had signs with American Flags on them. The decorations were just the beginning - for dinner: Steaks, lobster tail, shrimp, [View Full Entry]

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