Robert's Time In Iraq

To My Family and Friends,

Three months down and about 3 1/2 months left!  The routine here changes enough weekly to keep things from getting monotonous here.  And as much as I hate to sound like a cliché...the weather is nice.  It is just amazing how one place can have temperatures ranging from 124ºF to 40ºF, go from clear skies to sandstorms, and go from bone dry to floods.  Yes, a flood in the desert...the ground is so hard and dry here that when we get a hard heavy ran storm it all runs off and floods the low spot on base.  The Marine Marathon had to be cancelled because the runners were running in waist high water.  We had one bridge and two third country national guards washed away...the guards were rescued.  Now the temperatures are a high of 72ºF and lows of 52ºF...and because of where we started I am freezing at night.  I am not looking forward to winter temps when I go back to Germany...though I am anxious to get home to Davina and Corinne.

Weather aside, things are going fine down here.  The new Navy sailors working for me have rolled up their sleeves, learned their jobs, and have taken charge of their mission.  I am proud to be working with them. 

We had several DV visits in October to include our general officer wing commander from Balad Air Base.  I am sure November will bring many more DVs with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming. 

The sunsets are wonderful down here over the desert and make me look forward to going home to take walks with my family.  For Corinne I put together a DVD of me reading eight books...I had fun putting it together.  However, it gave me good reason to procrastinate and to not work on my Professional Military Education...now I am a little behind schedule. 

I had the privilege to walk through the Oasis that Abraham was said to have stopped at several times...just down the road of the air base that Saddam built.  It really makes you realize the amount of history that is in this area.  Next month I signed up for a History of Al Asad class at the chapel that will discuss the local history from Bible times to recent times...it should be interesting. 

I have included some more photos of life at Al Asad for the month of October and they can be viewed by clicking here.

As always, thanks for your support and I will write more next month.

God bless and take care,

Robert