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Robert's Time In Iraq | |
To My Family and Friends, January is done...I now only have a few weeks left and then I get to go home. I am really looking forward to see Davina and Corinne. Corinne just melts my heart when she says "Hi Daddy, I love you" on the phone. She has grown three inches and is talking up a storm since I left. The weather has stabilized around 35ºF at night and 62ºF during the day. There were a few rain storms but not as many as they usually have. There was about 2 weeks when it was cold enough during the day to snow...if we only had snow clouds. Last year they did have 1 day of snow. This month we had a visit from the 2-star Admiral that is in charge of the Naval land forces in Iraq. Also, we had many more cook-outs at the office this month since the temperatures were more tolerable and the base store actually had burgers and steaks for us to cook. The sailors working for me decided that they are going to hold a Halo video game tournament next month. So, this month they have been working on setting up the computers and linking them together so teams of players can play each other. The younger sailors are having fun setting this up. This month I also got to fly on a MV-22 Osprey. That is the new tilt rotor |
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aircraft that the Marines purchased. It is a very smooth flight...once you get it in the air. The first day we went to fly we headed Next they proceeded to move us to the back-up bird. They got us on board, seated us, conducted preflight checks, and started the engines. Then a failure light came on for the doors...they then again shut down the engines and told us we would have to try another day. We then returned a few days latter and tried again. This time everything was green and we took-off. It was a very smooth flight...even when they rotated the rotors from straight up and down to horizontal. I have included photos and videos in this months posting. As always, thanks for your support and I will write more next month. God bless and take care, Robert
P.S. Below is a little deployment humor...some of it you may not get if you have not experienced something similar...
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Some Deployment Humor... Top 45 Signs How You Know You've been in Iraq A While 1. Your most successful pick-up line is "I've got a vehicle" 2. You'd trade a month's per-diem for a "good" Whopper 3. All the Air Force people look like glow-in-the-dark Power Rangers with their PT gear 4. They actually give the Air Force weapons 5. You realize AAFES (the base stores) are their own country, and can print their own money 6. The amount of sand in your boots is only surpassed by the amount in your nose 7. A task as simple as taking a shower or going to the bathroom at 2-AM requires preparation equal to the Apollo moon landing 8. The Texas Style Brisket is not from Texas, is not brisket, and has no style 9. You are more worried about your socks showing in PT gear than getting hit by a mortar 10. You are watching a "chick-flick" with 300 guys with machine guns 11. You start sending out care packages to needy friends back home, because you've received too many of them 12. You attend several Services' theme parties but you're always in PT gear or Airman Battle Uniform (ABUs) 13. Your internet connection is twice as slow as your old dial-up connection back home, and you're paying twice as much 14. Your lying under your bed in IBA (body armor) writing to your spouse, "nothing exciting happened today" and you mean it 15. You can buy a vehicle from AAFES, but paper towels are no where to be found 16. You use the term "War is Hell" in the dining facility (DFAC) while watching a movie on a big screen TV and eating steak, lobster, & Baskin Robbins ice cream 17. You know an Army TOA (unit returning home) is really code-word for "hold on to your stuff" 18. You live in a gated community, but your home is still a trailer 19. Your idea of PT is that morning sprint to the Port-a-John 20. You are caught way over the speed limit on base and you are only going 22 MPH 21. Your helmet is referred to as a 'combat cup holder' 22. During Alarm Red someone jumps out of the bunker to tell you to get your hands out of your pockets 23. Your idea of a night on the town is going to a different DFAC 24. The Cadillac you are sitting in is not a car 25. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but you still wouldn't want to be on that side of the fence 26. Dusting the furniture has a whole new meaning 27. "Pimp my Ride" means putting doors on your Hummer 28. Your Cadillac seats are porcelain instead of leather 29. U2 is hitting the charts again 30. You start using Alarm Red as a reason why you didn't call your wife/husband 31. You buy a new PT shirt to update your wardrobe 32. The local community holds fireworks displays everyday in your honor 33. Driving over the curb seems totally natural 34. The outcome of the war hinges on how you wear your reflective belt 35. You see a guy in full battle rattle driving a HUMVEE (armored vehicle) trying not to spill his latte' 36. It feels normal to dry your hands at the DFAC with toilet paper 37. Your idea of a clear day is when you can see the perimeter of the base from where you're at 38. The dust on the dashboard of your vehicle is an inch think, but you don't even notice it 39. You don't even notice the T-walls (concrete barriers) anymore 40. Cold water from the shower is only possible after 1 Oct 41. In the winter in the desert you are praying for hot water 42. Getting all your laundry back from the contractor is a big deal 43. A 105-degree day in the summer actually feels cool 44. It seems you've lived at passenger terminals more than your own CHU (living trailer)/tent sometimes 45. You don't even notice an F-16 taking off anymore
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This site was last updated 01/31/14
out to the first aircraft. After standing next to it for a while they went through all of there preflight checks, started the engines, and then signaled us to board. Once we were on board one of the engine failure lights came on and they shut down the engines. 
