Spring has arrived!

Yay!! Spring has sprung.

The daffodils are here! The daffodils are here!

The grass along the highways is beginning to bloom yellow.

You know what that means?

Not much longer until Jack Bauer comes home.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Good News from Iraq: 28 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, MND-C Soldiers conduct air assault, destroy weapons cache.

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Center soldiers from 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, conducted an air assault mission near al-Lej to gain additional information on terrorist activity near the town, southeast of Baghdad, March 24.

Soldiers secured four buildings, finding two buried refrigerators and one large hole that may have been used by terrorists to store munitions. Company leadership directed attack aviation helicopters from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, to a possible cache site that could not be safely cleared by soldiers on the ground. Aviators then engaged and destroyed the potential cache site with no injuries to Coalition forces or civilians.

In the search, soldiers discovered Sunni terrorist training literature containing depictions of Coalition force vehicles and aircraft.

How tired you ask?

So tired that I keep trying to push up my glasses.

I haven't worn glasses in over 14 months.

That's tired.

Been working waaaaayyyyyyyy too much.

Thus, light blogging.

Good News from Iraq: 27 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, ISF, local citizens join forces to capture senior AQI leader in Ta’ Mim province.

KIRKUK, Iraq – Iraqi security forces collaborated with local Iraqi citizens to capture a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader March 24.

The senior leader and five other suspected terrorists were stopped while traveling on a road southwest of Kirkuk. This capture follows the capture of al-Qaeda’s “top emir” in Kirkuk March 20.

The suspected terrorists are believed to have conducted numerous acts of intimidation against innocent Iraqi citizens. The senior leader is believed to be linked to militant operations in the Ta’ Mim province. These acts have resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians as well as disrupting efforts to improve the lives of the citizens of Kirkuk.

“You can run but you cannot hide from us, the Iraqi Police force, the Iraqi Army, or the citizens of this province,” said Col. David Paschal, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. “We are committed to hunt down those who want to disrupt the reconciliation and rebuilding efforts here and bring them to justice. Time is limited. I urge those who want to reconcile to do so, soon.”

Good News from iraq: 26 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, MND-C Soldiers discover large weapons cache near Lutifiyah.

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Center Soldiers discovered a weapons cache near Lutifiyah, Iraq, March 25.

The cache contained 225 60 mm mortar rounds, 50 57 mm anti-aircraft rounds, 10 120 mm rounds, four 155 mm rounds and one 105 mm round.

MND-C Soldiers turned over the cache to the Iraqi Army.

Dear Doggy Daddy

Moo and Bear couldn't sleep the other night so they got into my stash of postcards to Jack Bauer and wrote him a note. I was kind enough to mail it yesterday. Here's what they had to say:

Dear Daddy,

We can't wait any longer for you to get home. Mommy only gave us each one special treat for Easter! Although Moo did help herself to a 1/2 can of fat-free refried beans!

Love,
Moo and Bear

What a silly bunch of doggies. We are all so excited for Jack to be home soon.

(Note: Bear would love to play in that much snow. He wouldn't know what to do with himself!)

Good News from Iraq: 25 Mar 2008

From Michael Totten, The Liberation of Karmah, Part I.

KARMAH, IRAQ – Just beyond the outskirts of Fallujah lies the terror-wracked city of Karmah. While you may not have heard of this small city of 35,000 people, American soldiers and Marines who served in Anbar Province know it as a terrifying place of oppression, death, and destruction. “It was much worse than Fallujah” said more than a dozen Marines who were themselves based in Fallujah.

“Karmah was so important to the insurgency because we've got Baghdad right there,” Lieutenant Andrew Macak told me. “This is part of the periphery of Baghdad. At the same time, it is part of the periphery of Fallujah.” ...

Al Qaeda in Iraq waged a vicious murder and intimidation campaign all across Anbar Province as though they were an army of arsonists and serial killers. ...

Today Karmah is no more violent than Fallujah – which is to say, hardly violent at all. ...

Read the whole thing here.

THE last coffee shipment

I did it. And I am done.

Yesterday, I sent out the last shipment of coffee to Jack Bauer.

Now, I am officially retiring from the care package business.

Well, at least for this deployment go round anyway.

Enjoy, Jack Bauer. You've got 5 pounds of Highlander Grogg coming at you.

Good News from Iraq: 23 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, Soldiers Continue Work to Maintain Security Gains in East Mosul.

MOSUL — Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, are working the latest phase of the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) by living among Iraqi citizens at Combat Outpost Knight in eastern Mosul, and gaining their trust by constant patrolling and interaction.

“We conduct atmospherics gathering, talk to the local populace and see what their needs are, what their security level is,” said 1st Lt. Larry Gwinn, of Richmond, W. Va., a platoon leader with Delta Company, 1- 8 Inf. Regt. “We are working toward the next phase of operations where we bring projects into the local community and help legitimize the local government.”

Gwinn also stated that sanitation workers had already been hired through the local government and were making a difference in the community. In addition, he noted several other contracts were in the bidding process for community improvements.

“It’s about hearts and minds. We check and see how many schools are around, doctors, retired Iraqi Army, people that want to help us help them,” added Spc. Jamel Staton of Brooklyn, N.Y., also assigned to Delta Co., 1-8 Inf. Regt.

This requires frequent patrols that originate from COP Knight. The COP is a small fortified base that allows Soldiers to stay close to the surrounding neighborhoods and act as a quick response force for citizens if needed.

The 1-8 Inf. Regt. Soldiers, based out of Fort Carson, Colo., rotate into COP Knight every four days. While at the COP, Soldiers complete required duties that ensure the functionality and security of the COP.

The rhythm of COP life goes on relentlessly for the Soldiers as they move from patrols to the COP and back to patrols. The cycle only breaks on the end of the fourth day when they return to Forward Operating Base Marez, the main Coalition base in Mosul.

A return to the FOB does not mean a break from missions for the Soldiers from 1-8 Inf. Regt. It merely changes their location for a different but still busy schedule. The fight against AQI does not take four-day breaks, or any time off, for that matter.

“We pull PMCS (Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services) on all our vehicles; tanks, MRAPs and Humvees, get those fueled up and greased down, order parts if we need to.” said Staton. “We also run missions from FOB Marez, usually just into a different sector.”

Staton added that he and his fellow platoon members could accomplish whatever was required, regardless of the condition or mission, “We are always going to make do … we are Soldiers first and foremost.”

Good News from Iraq: 22 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, National Police Find Weapons Cache in Eastern Baghdad.

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi National Police seized a substantial weapons cache March 18 in eastern Baghdad.

National Police from 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st NP Division, received a tip from a concerned citizen in the area on a large amount of weapons being stockpiled.

The NPs acted on the tip and found 34 107 mm rockets, 44 60 mm mortar rounds, 18 81 mm mortar rounds, 10 rocket-propelled grenades, 38 107 mm rocket fuses, 10 completed rocket sleds and another four partially constructed sleds, three RPG launchers, one 82 mm mortar tube, one 60 mm mortar tube, two RPK machine guns, one Dragonov sniper rifle, numerous 7.62 ammunition rounds, four washing machine timers, four electronic boxes, a large bag of wire and miscellaneous types of batteries.

An explosive ordnance disposal team from Multi-National Division – Baghdad secured the cache and safely transported the weapons to a MND-B operating base.

“Areas in eastern and southern Baghdad have seen an increase in indirect fire attacks, and the confiscation of the rockets and mortars will deplete terrorist and extremist elements of weapons to conduct attacks against innocent civilians and Coalition Forces,” said Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, deputy commanding general for MND-B and the 4th Infantry Division.

“Iraqi Security Forces continue to successfully hunt down and attack al-Qaeda in Iraq and extremists operating with the intention of harming innocent Iraqis,” he said. “By informing the ISF of these weapons, the local Iraqi undoubtedly saved lives by his actions.”

"Me" Day

I am taking the day off from work, well day job work anyway. I am heading off to the spa for some much needed pampering. A pedicure, a massage, and a facial. After that, assuming that I haven't been relaxed into a coma, I might, well, I am not sure what I might do, but I will try to keep it easy for a little while.

Good News from Iraq: 21 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces recover large weapons cache (Hawijah).

BALAD, Iraq – The 4th Iraqi Division Army, advised by U.S. Special Forces, recovered a large weapons cache linked to al Qaeda in Iraq during an operation in Hawijah, Kirkuk province, March 16.

Acting on intelligence reports, Iraqi Scouts and U.S. SF conducted a combined patrol where a cache was reported to be hidden.

This operation led to approximately 150 munitions and explosive devices being uncovered, along with more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a large amount of AQI propaganda.

Also recovered were several pamphlets on improvised explosive device construction. The propaganda, comprised of DVDs, cassette tapes and pamphlets, and other documents linked the cache to AQI and foreign fighters traveling from Syria into Iraq.

The cache included four suicide vests, 24 rocket propelled grenades, 61 60mm mortar rounds, nine 120mm mortar rounds, 45 81mm mortar rounds, two 155mm artillery rounds, five grenades, two pressure wire initiation systems, six RPG launchers, two machine guns, a 60mm mortar system, 100 feet of detonation cord, blasting caps, several cell phones and radios for initiating IEDs, and more than 100 pieces of material used for constructing IEDs and their initiation systems.

Another step closer to the end

Another measure that it is getting close to the end of this deployment thing ... the end of the Super Hero stamps.

I have been using Super Hero stamps to send cards to Jack Bauer. First, USPS came out with DC stamps and now they been using Marvel series. I love the idea of using super hero stamps to send cards to my hero. :D

But I am just about out of them. In fact, I will use up my last one tomorrow.

So who is the last super hero to be sent to Jack? Why Captain America, of course. :D

Good News from Iraq: 20 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, MND-N Soldiers Take Mosul’s Pulse.

MOSUL — Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment in Mosul are working to assess and help improve services for basic needs such as schools, healthcare and security.

“Essentially we go out and speak with key people at schools, neighborhood healthcare clinics, shopkeepers and local leaders,” said 1st Lt. Larry Gwinn, a platoon leader with the Regiment. “We get to know the people and what their needs are; this will help up us as we enter the rebuilding phase.”

Gwinn said sanitation workers were already hired through the local government and were making a difference in the community. Several other contracts are also in the bidding process for community improvements.

“The Soldiers on the ground are fighting the enemy on several different levels. This phase of the fight helps the citizens, and helps the Iraqi Security and Coalition forces through mutual cooperation,” said Capt. Melody Faulkenberry, spokesperson for Multi National Division – North.

What happened to the mattress?

So the other night, Moo dog decided she really didn't want all the candy wrappers she had eaten, so she decided to, um, deposit them on the bed. After they had been in her stomach for two days. Nice. So thoughtful of her. And always fun for me to wash my only mattress pad at 8:30 PM. Hmmm. (Yeah, I really should get another mattress pad.)

But as I was standing at Jack Bauer's side of the bed ripping the sheets off, I noticed something. My side of the bed was much lower than his. I thought that was really odd. Then it hit me. My side of the bed has seen two more years of sleep than his side has. Whoa! That was an eye-opener. It's one thing to talk about what two years has done to me, but it is another thing to see it sagging there.

Quick frankly, it is Moo's fault. My side of the bed is her favorite for sleeping. And apparently Jack's side is for, well, other activities. :D

Good News from Iraq: 19 Mar 2008

From AP, General goes shopping to highlight calm.

ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq - The top U.S. commander south of Baghdad stepped across a pile of trash to talk to an Iraqi man. "What do you need?" asked Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch.

Mohammed Ahmed smiled back and gave his wish list: better public services, smoother streets, more electricity.

"And security?" Lynch replied.

"Security is good," the man explained, pointing out that he got his chickens from Hillah, about 30 miles to the south along a highway that was prowled by bandits and killers a year ago.

Lynch's stroll last week through Iskandariyah — once part of the notorious "triangle of death" south of Baghdad — was most noticeable for its nonchalance.

Lynch took off his helmet, smoked a cigar and meandered through a marketplace on a visit intended to showcase the dramatic drop in violence in the former Sunni insurgent belt.

The trip also sought to tap into the same upbeat tone expressed in Baghdad on Monday by Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee. Both cited the drop in attacks — in areas such as Lynch's zone — as evidence that the insurgency is weakened and internal rivalries are being worked out.

But bloodshed in southern Iraq brought a different message. A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite worshippers Monday near a mosque in the holy city Karbala, killing more than three dozen people.

"The enemy is still out there. We never said they left ... But it's not the same," Lynch said on Saturday in Iskandariyah, about 30 miles south of Baghdad. "I'm very comfortable walking down the street. That is how you get a sense of what is going on. You need to get on your feet and you need to move."

Children ran around their legs as chicken vendor waved at Lynch — who lost five soldiers to a suicide bomber last week on a Baghdad street corner within a couple of miles from where Cheney and McCain met with the Iraqi leadership.

"We have a lot less problems than we had even three or four months ago," Iraqi police Col. Ali al-Zahami said.

As recently as Christmas Day, one of the U.S. Army captains accompanying Lynch last week was sitting in a ring of Bradley fighting vehicles a nearby field still smoldering from a fight with insurgents. For a visiting reporter familiar with the area's violent days, the easygoing market scene had a surreal tinge to it — something would have seemed an impossibility.

"It's not OK yet, but it is improving," Lynch said of the security as he examined some cherry red tomatoes.

Earlier, he walked by an intersection where a suicide bomber on Feb. 25 killed at least 40 Shiite pilgrims heading to Karbala.

"We still had almost nine million people walk on that pilgrimage. What does that tell you?" Lynch said.

Violence has dropped nearly 80 percent from a year ago in the area Lynch controls, about the size of West Virginia. Many of the former insurgents and militiamen are now part of U.S.-funded Sunni and Shiite groups — called the Sons of Iraq or Awakening Councils.

Now, some Iraqis are looking ahead to a day when U.S. forces will scale down their influence.

"We are a rich country and are now selling oil for more than $100 a barrel. We have to get our government to help," Sabbah al-Khaffaji, a city council leader and local plant manager, told a meeting of the group as he pointed to Lynch.

Lynch walked unannounced into the meeting comprising both Shiite and Sunni leaders. Their main topic of discussion: repairing a local Sunni mosque.

What a supportive husband

Warning: Girl talk ahead. And probably TMI.

So I have been complaining to just about anyone who will listen about how I am getting old and my cycles are changing. More cramping, etc. I was complaining -- OK, mentioned in passing -- to Jack Bauer this last weekend about this while we were chatting. Topic changes, we move on in the conversation. Then seemingly out of the blue, he says ...

Just think you only have one more "cycle" to go through alonethen I will be there for you to be grouchy with

:)

:P

:*

;)

Well, that is definitely a way to mark time that I have not considered. So I guess next month, I'll have a Happy Period, with e-cards and everything. Yes, e-cards!

So more girly stuff. A little bird recommended Bust magazine to me. I checked it out and found these totally cool panties!

Good News from Iraq: 18 Mar 2008

From Badgers Forward, Five Years Burning Down the Road.

I ... receive[d] an email from the Army Office of Public Affairs asking me to share the following information. Now normally when publishing information like this I would post a link to document it, however the Office of Public Affairs did not provide one to an official site. I checked the Gulf Region Division Press Releases and could not find one that listed this, so my assumption is that I get to be the primary resource for this data.

The U.S. Army released its latest figures on the relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, in the lead up to the five-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

-- The U.S. Army has rehabilitated and constructed nearly 1,100 schools, providing classrooms for more than 324,000 students.

-- By early 2009, Army projects will have completed 137 new primary healthcare centers that will serve a population of 5 to 6.5 million Iraqis.

-- A strong emphasis is placed on training and education to better prepare the Iraqi people to manage and sustain their infrastructure.

-- An estimated 4.1 million more Iraqis now have access to clean, drinkable water that they didn't have before.

-- Cities like Fallujah have their first sewage treatment plant. Before 2003, raw sewage in most of Iraq was discharged into rivers and waterways.

The nation-building programs are having a real impact on the lives of Iraqis by helping to jumpstart the country in several critical areas including education, healthcare, security, infrastructure, democracy programs and training.

Check out this downloadable video for an inside look at these efforts to strengthen and rebuild the country.

What a day

A few weeks ago I had a really bad day. Jack Bauer asked me to postpone blogging about it and for the sake of OPSEC, some facts have been altered. Otherwise, this is the post I wrote at that time, including my standard beginning of "yesterday."


Yesterday, well, it was just not my day. Started off with having to "deal" with a difficult person via e-mail, then got into a tense discussion on a sensitive subject with friend, all before I got out of my pajamas. So I started the day on edge.

I finally made it to work, late. Started e-mailing with Jack Bauer, when he sends a message saying they just had a rocket attack close to where he was; casualties unknown.

And then nothing for 25 minutes. He comes back with a short message that there were only minor injuries.

And then again nothing for about an hour. I cried for that hour. I cried so much that 10 hours later my eyes were still hurting from crying.

Jack was alright. But this is not all that dissimilar to the incident that happened in the fall. Back then, I complained I couldn't cry about it. This time I cried and cried. This difference this time I think has to do with the fact that I do not think of him as being in all that dangerous of place, well, at least compare to where he was. At his last assignment, I think I had an enormous barrier in place to deal with this kind of thing. But once he took the new assignment, and I settled in to the day-to-day officeness of it all, I let that wall down.

More stressful work-related stuff came at me later in the day. I did what I could and left early.

On my drive home, I reflected on what a tough day it had been. Then I realized I was sitting in my very comfortable, warm car having just left the grocery store where I didn't worry about whether I had enough money to buy what I needed and I was heading home to be greeted like a rock star by two wonderful doggies who were inside my warm and safe house filled with so much abundance. And you know what, the day didn't seem that bad after all.

Good News from Iraq: 17 Mar 2008

From MNF-I, Girls’ School Gets Computers, Furnished Internet Center.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — While the school’s infrastructure may be behind the times, students’ education has been thrust into the modern era.

The Al Kut Girls Secondary School received an Internet center complete with 10 computers and furniture. The school, established in 1932, educates 1,000 females, grades 10 to 12.

The center will be used by female students throughout the province, said the school manager, Zahrah Aljdrey. Students will now be able to do research and work on projects. The center will also allow the girls to complete exams they would otherwise have to travel to Baghdad to take.

Aljdrey said the computers will help students get a better education and will give them the opportunity to learn about different cultures.

For Sgt. Amanda Timmer, the Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team head of women’s initiative and program manager, the project provided her with a feeling of satisfaction.

“It was great especially after talking with the girls and seeing how optimistic and energetic they were,” Timmer said. “It was as if they could sense that the world was at their fingertips. Like they knew they were the future of Iraq.”

“They already had the initiative, but this gives them the tools to help accomplish their initiatives and ambitions,” she said.

The project was a cooperative effort between the Wasit PRT, the Wasit provincial council and the Iraqi Director General of Education.