Things to know about Camp Basra

This post is designed to provide information to my fellow soldiers who will deploy here to Basra in a couple of weeks. This blog was another method to get information to them before they depart.

So unless you are one of them or their spouses this may not be that interesting to you. But if you want to know how we're living, then feel free to read on. Little lengthy though. Otherwise, I'm starting to get some pictures now that I will post soon.

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Good things to know about Camp Basra

1. Internet options.

a. Internet in your CHU. A local Iraqi company provides internet service (hard wired or wireless) in your CHU for $70 per month. I just signed up for this last week and I’d say it works “good enough”. Works fine for e-mail and general web surfing but has limited streaming video capability. Skype works fine and just having that ability to video chat with the family was enough for me to justify paying the money. I will say that sometimes this service is inconsistent. Just isn’t available for hours at a time. I’d say this happens about one night a week for hard wired and about twice a week for wireless. It’s a month to month service though with no contract so you can try it for a month then decide whether to renew for another month.

b. Spawar Internet Café. There is an internet and phone provider called Spawar that has internet and phones at each base camp. Works just like a regular internet café and is free. Walk in, sign the sheet, and you’ll be assigned a computer unless there is a wait (which there only has been once for me and that was Christmas Day). Not sure who provides Spawar but it will be managed by our G-6. Soldiers volunteer to work the desk and issue out phones and computers. Internet speed here is about the same as the one the Iraqi company provides. Some people Skype from here but you won’t have much privacy as you are in a room with probably 25 other people using computers. And generally it’s pretty quiet in there as most people are just e-mailing or surfing the web. So your voice would really be the only one heard as you make little baby talk to your kids or whisper sweet nothings to your wife. But no one really cares as it’s very important to communicate with your family. If you do want to video chat from there they have limited cameras and headset to issue. Otherwise, you’d have to bring your own. This internet café is located right in the middle of the Life Support Area (LSA) where most of us will live.

c. USO Internet Café. The USO is about a month old and is very nice (more about it later). There are probably 30 computers there for use. This place is much cleaner than Spawar and the internet speed is a little faster. It’s also located right across from the Division Main building where we work and next to the dining facility. I use this place if the unclassified internet at work isn’t working well (which most of the time it isn’t) or I may use it if I’m there watching TV, stopping by after a meal, or making a phone call. Oh, also you can use Facebook, blog sites, and other entertainment and social networking sites that are blocked at work for some reason. So I generally updated my blog and Facebook from there before I got internet in my room.

d. Internet at work. This has been the least reliable unclassified internet service I’ve experienced here so far. It’s typically gruelingly slow and times out often. If you use AKO from there you have to use the low bandwidth option just to open mail in a timely manner. I heard there may be some improvements to the bandwidth in the next couple of weeks so maybe this will get better. But the SIPR classified network is the primary method of communication for work related issues (and it works well) so fixing the NIPR unclassified network hasn’t been a priority it seems. But it’s there and will probably work okay by the time you arrive. The internet service at work is far too restrictive right now so you can’t check sports scores, some news sites, and some shopping sites. So that’s why you’ll find yourself going to Spawar, the USO, or get internet in your CHU.

So those are the primary options for internet. One important note is that at Camp Basra there are no wireless internet options. In other words, there isn’t a place like the MWR, Starbucks, or USO where you can take your own laptop and get wireless internet like at some other camps in Iraq and Kuwait. Well, the Basra Air Terminal does have free wireless internet service if you find yourself on that side of post waiting for an aircraft which I’ve actually done several times waiting to fly (for 6 hours yesterday in fact).

I’ve heard there is an Italian company considering opening up another internet service. It’s currently being tested. And I know some soldiers have pitched in to purchase a satellite system then they get about 10 soldiers to cover the costs. These soldiers will leave when 34th leaves so if this is an option for us, some 1ID soldiers would need to purchase their equipment or order their own.

2. Phone options.

a. At work. Several of the unclassified phones in each section have the ability to dial an AT&T operator within the States so your call is at domestic rates instead of international rates. So if you buy an AT&T card with 550 minutes on it (like I recommend you do) then you are truly getting 550 minutes instead of the old days where you would only get about 150 minutes due to the international rate. Calling at work is easy, just pick up the phone and hit the # button three times and you’ll be connected to an AT&T operator in the U.S. Many soldiers hang around later at work so they can call their families taking into account the 9-hour time difference. If you live on an installation you can also be connected through the local DSN operator and transferred to your house. There is generally a time limit on these calls. Not sure what it is but I think either 15 or 30 minutes.

b. Spawar. Same little rickety building as the internet café, you can also sign in and use a Spawar phone. Your first time using this, you’ll have to sign up through the internet and purchase $25 of phone time and you’ll get about 10 hours. I bought a $25 card a month ago and am just now down to about $18 remaining, and I’d say I call my family probably about 4 times a week from there as it’s near where I live.

c. USO. Cleanest phone place, most reliable, has little privacy booths, and it’s completely free. Just sign in, you’ll generally have to wait 10-15 minutes during peak times, then just pick up the phone and dial the number. There is a 30-minute time limit and it’s enforced as others are usually waiting.

d. Cell phones. There is an option to buy a cell phone and service here. The only possible reason I can think of for someone to get a cell phone is if you needed the ability for your family to call you, instead of you always having to call them. But the cell service in southern Iraq is poor, it’s fairly expensive, and you can’t take your phone into the building where we work.

Those are the phone options. If you’re familiar with Skype you can also make regular phone calls through there. It’s Voice over IP similar to Vonage. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the reasonably priced and convenient phone options here.

3. Living Conditions.

There will be a time during our transition where the base will be a little crowded. We are an 850-person organization transitioning with a 1200-person organization. The good thing is 34th begins sending their main body flights home within the next couple of weeks. Saying that, be prepared to be in a temporary living quarters shared with someone else for a couple of weeks until we are able to move into our permanent quarters (probably somewhere in late January). Permanent quarters will be in a CHU. No idea what CHU stands for but probably something like Container Housing Unit as it’s a little trailer type place surrounded by concrete bunkers.

In keeping with Army tradition, whether you share a CHU with another soldier or have one to yourself depends on rank and position. Most senior enlisted and officers will each have their own CHU. Most lower enlisted will share with another soldier. I’ve shared my temporary quarters for the past month with another Major and it hasn’t been bad (expect for the time it rained so hard it flooded our room but that’s another story). So I’d say be prepared to share temporary quarters and we’re just going to have to wait until the dust settles after 34th ID leaves to see how to best position soldiers for the best quality of life. All that will be DHHB’s call along with their commanders and first sergeants.

The CHU is about 10 x 15, has a vinyl floor, is climate controlled, and has one or two twin beds and one or two wall lockers (depending on whether you are sharing or not). 34th ID is having a big “yard sale” sometime the third week of January. They will be selling small refrigerators, television, DVD players, dressers and shelves and storage type places they have made or acquired, and many other items you can imagine when you leave a place with no use for those items anymore.

You’ll be issued a set of sheets, a pillow, and a bed spread when you arrive. Most soldiers I know immediately turned these back in and bought their own. The bedding they issued looked and smelled like they had been donated by some poor Iraqi camel herder. Maybe those sheets had been used in his family for generations then used to keep camels warm then donated to the Americans for use. They were scratchy, smelly, had holes, had stains, and were probably about a 25 thread count. So yeah, we all made a beeline down to the PX and bought our own. If bedding is important and you like high count sheets then you may want to bring some or mail yourself some, twin sized by the way. Sheets in the PX are okay but not great. My wife mailed me a set from home that I use and when they are in the laundry, I use the ones I bought from the PX.

With the exception of LTCs and above who have a bathroom hooked onto their CHU that they share with the next CHU, soldiers will have to go outside and walk about 100 feet to the nearest bathroom and shower facility.

The location where most 1ID soldiers will live is about a 10 minute walk to work, the USO, the gym and one of the dining facilities. The Spawar café and an MWR area with TVs, couches, and books, etc. is located within the housing area. There is also another dining facility closer to the housing area. And of all things, there is a little Pretzel shop in the middle of the housing area, kind of oddly placed if you ask me. But if you like pretzels then you’re in luck. There is a bus stop near the housing area which can shuttle you to any other location on base.

The electrical sockets are 250 volts. It’s 110 in the States and 220 in Europe. At Basra, it’s a three-prong triangled socket (as opposed to two-pronged like Europe and regular two or three pronged like the U.S.) and you can buy little adapters for about 3 bucks a piece and can use them to power all your stuff as long as they are dual voltage like computers, televisions, radios, etc. Just make sure to check the voltage on whatever you are using to make sure you don’t blow it up. Otherwise, you can buy a converter here for about $30. There will likely be hundreds of little adapters for sale by 34th ID also.

4. Other services on base.

a. Dining facilities. There are two on base, one is right across from the Division Headquarters building and the other is down closer to the housing area. Both are very similar, the food isn’t too bad, and there are numerous flat screen televisions with sports, news, or movies playing. The place is well stocked with cold water, Gatorade, juices, sodas, fruits, and other items you can take back to work or your room. They are open for about 3 hours at a time for each of the three meals and one of them is open at midnight for those working the night shift. Right now they are not open in between meal times for coffee, drinks, and snacks but that is something we hopefully adjust when we get the division here.

b. Post Exchanges. There is one large PX and a couple of shopettes on base. All are stocked pretty well with just about any item you are looking for or might have forgotten to pack. One item that most people forget is shower shoes or flip flops. And I haven’t seen them for sale here (maybe I missed them but I haven’t seen them). They only have Crocs, so if you don’t want to buy Crocs you might want to remember your shower shoes. Actually, I do recall they have the little flimsy 99 cent shower shoes which would probably work for a few days. The PX takes cash, checks, credit, debit, and the Eagle Cash card. If they have cash on hand you can sometimes get cash back. Let’s see, they also sell different sizes of carpets which you will definitely want to purchase unless you like walking around barefoot on dusty nasty floors.

c. Postal Services. There is a full service post office not far from the HQ building. Generally it has been taking about 10-14 days to get mail sent here from the States. Boxes generally arrive before letters do. Most of my time here has been in the holiday season so I’d expect mail transit time to get down to about 8-10 days. I mailed a box back to my wife with stuff I don’t need and it took exactly 7 days. But then I mailed another with some things I bought here and it still hasn’t arrived and that has been about 12 days ago. So you never know. But right now we’re affected by the holiday mail and the fact 34th ID has been sending lots of stuff back home. I’d say a good planning mail transit time to put out is about 8-10 days each way.

d. Religious Services. A new post chapel opened on Christmas Eve and is close to the housing area. There are also other make shift places where services are held. Once our Chaplains get here the options for worship will likely change from the current schedule. But just know there will be options available to worship and time to attend.

e. USO. This USO is state of the art and has only been open about a month. It is very clean (unlike most other places here) and has multiple televisions, couches, tables for cards and board games, drinks and snacks, books, magazines, phone and internet cafes, a room for Guitar Hero, a large area for multiple X-Box systems and televisions, and a movie theater with bean bag chairs. It also has the United Through Reading program rooms there (more on that below). I followed a couple of negative comments about this USO on the DHHB Facebook page a couple of weeks ago and I’ll only say this. This is the only place on base that even partially resembles civilization like we’re used to seeing back home. It’s an opportunity for a soldier to take an hour out of his day or week and just be normal, to play a game, to make a phone call, to send an e-mail, to laugh or goof off, to talk normal talk with co-workers, or to read a book to his or her children. We didn’t ask for it but it’s there. And I’m glad it is there as it keeps the stress levels relatively normal and helps prevent soldiers from going crazy. That leads to more effective work performance and a better and closer relationship with family and friends back home.

f. United Through Reading Program. If you didn’t take advantage of this at Fort Riley it is offered here at the USO. The rooms are private, the book selection is awesome, and it’s just a great deal. Once you sign up, you choose some books, go into the room and you have up to 20 minutes of time to read books and talk to your family on camera. Once you’re finished, the books and the DVD are mailed back to your family. I did this at Riley and my 14-month old loves hearing my voice. I plan to do this again this week as they just got a new shipment of books in for children of all ages. And I know others that came with me from Ft. Riley have done this once a week since they got here.

g. Gyms. There is a nice large gym located next to the USO building. Has free weights, machines, treadmills, ellipticals, mats, etc. There is also another smaller gym located a little closer to our living area. And when it’s not muddy, there are good running routes on base.

h. Local vendors. There are also numerous little Iraqi shops that sell electronics, jewelry, and local merchandise. There is an Iraqi bazaar that serves local food, has hookah pipes for sell or rental, sells Chai tea, and has opportunities for Camel rides. There is also a little movie shop which sells DVDs of movies that are still in theaters as well as older ones. The quality is pretty good if you don’t mind Arabic subtitles on some of them. I bought all six seasons of the Sopranos for $20 and sent it back to the wife. I watched “The Blind Side” (Sandra Bullock movie) about 5 days after it opened at the theaters in the U.S. And I picked up Alvin and the Chipmunks last night and understand it just came out at theaters in the States. Sure, it’s a little shady as to where these movies come from but hey, they are on post and the shop takes the Eagle Cash card. And that’s good enough for me.

i. Laundry services. There is a 24-hour turnaround on laundry. Keep that in mind when you pack so you don’t bring too many clothes. You should bring a laundry bag with you but you’ll also be issued one they want you to use as it is marked with a device that helps them keep track of your laundry. This is bulk laundry which means they just toss your entire bag into some sort of huge washing machine and dryer with other people’s dirty clothes and call it good. They do fold your clothes at the end and I think the clothes are “generally” clean, or at least a little cleaner than they were (hopefully). But after a year of washing clothes like that I fully anticipate taking all my t-shirts, socks, and underwear and tossing them into a dumpster before I leave this place and just starting over fresh when I get back home.

j. Other food options. If you want a change from the dining facility or you missed a meal, there is a Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, and a Green Bean Coffee place. Seems like I saw a Popeye’s but that might have been at another base camp. In reality, these are just little tiny trailers run by little dudes from India but I hear the food tastes pretty close to the real restaurants in the States. The dining facility is good and these places are expensive so I only ate at Pizza Hut one night when I landed back on the base late and missed dinner. There is also a place called Echo’s, which was opened when the Brits were here for a few years. It’s a sit down restaurant, the food isn’t that great, and it’s extremely expensive (coffee is $1 per little cup with no refills and meals are like $10). But it’s a good comfortable atmosphere and a nice place to meet up with friends or co-workers. By the way, if you follow me on Facebook and know about my stomach virus from this past week, I had eaten at Echo’s earlier that day. So I actually saw my food twice that day. Some people really enjoy eating there though.

k. Beauty salon. I hate to mention this for fear of demonstrating a feminine side but there is a full service spa here. You can get a massage, manicure, pedicure, facial, or a “stylish” haircut. The back and shoulder massage is a popular option. I think it’s about $17 for 30 minutes so that’s not bad. When you’re traveling around wearing a 45-pound armored vest all day I can see where this would be a preferred option. I’ve been wearing mine often this week as I’ve traveled around southern Iraq so maybe that will be a Sunday event for me when I get back to Basra.

5. Work environment.

Most soldiers will work in a large complex of a few buildings which is the Division Headquarters or Division Main (D-MAIN) as it’s called here. I’d say a general rule of thumb is if you work in the Division Headquarters at Ft. Riley you’ll work in that building here. And if you work in DHHB or one of the companies you’ll probably work in a different building near the HQ. The G-sections are generally in one huge open area divided by little cubicles. Each desk is L-shaped and has a couple of book shelf areas and drawers. So there is room to tape or place pictures or cards in your area. You can personalize it about as much here as you can with your cubicle at Ft. Riley. You’ll have unclassified and classified computer and telephones. Because of the concrete floors as well as blowing sand this building gets very dusty. So if you bring something in for your work area (pics, radio, those little rotating picture thingies) be prepared for it to accumulate lots of dust and sand over your tour. Your unclass computer will be connected to a color laser printer in most cases. So I’ve seen many people who print off photos their family sends them or they have stored on their computer and tape them up in their work area. That prevents ruining some of your actual pictures due to the dust. I plan to tape up pictures at work and put the actual photos up in my CHU where I can control the dust a little better.

6. Work schedule.

This will obviously vary by staff section and other variables. And the bad guys have a vote in this. But generally, staff sections arrive to work by around 7:30 or 8:00 on average. My particular section (Effects) right now meets at 7:00 for a quick update then we go to breakfast. The middle of the day seems to be the best time to run errands, work out, etc. 1ID might be different but these guys usually have key meetings and are the busiest in the morning then again in the late afternoon. Most folks (myself included) usually eat dinner around 6PM then stop back by the building (as it’s right across the street from the DFAC) just to close things out before heading out for the night around 7:00 or 7:30. Hours will likely be longer for a few weeks after 1ID gets here and gets settled into a good schedule but my goal once we get back on a routine is to maintain that schedule and preserve 2-3 hours each night for myself. Some sections who work 24-hour operations will be on a more predictable 10-12 hour shift.

7. Down time.

The current unit preserves Sunday as a down day. Again, dependent on what’s going on but it’s typically a limited duty day. 1ID plans to do the same thing as I understand. The 34th ID leadership here enforces no activities that day and hopefully 1ID will do the same. My current section here meets at 6PM on Sunday evening just to go over the schedule and priorities for the upcoming week. And I think most staff sections have some sort of similar quick meeting on Sunday afternoon/evening for at least the staff leaders. But that is a day soldiers look forward to and a great opportunity to sleep in, attend worship service, get in a better workout, clean their CHU, visit one of the MWR places, or just rest.

8. Overall comments about Camp Basra.

Most people will probably spend the first 24 hours thinking this is the biggest craphole they have ever seen. If you’re like me, you’ll think that and also wonder in your mind what in the world you’ve gotten yourself into. I won’t sugar coat it, this place ain’t pretty folks. It’s a camp created in what used to be open desert and some crappy old buildings at the Basra International Airport. The Brits didn’t do much to improve it for the 6 years they were here and the majority of the camp improvements have taken place in the past 8 months since 34ID got here. It’s a linear shaped camp (long and narrow) so the layout isn’t that great as the PX isn’t anywhere near the living quarters or HQ, nothing is really that consolidated, and you are constantly surrounded by 15 foot concrete barriers, wire, and gravel.
But I will say that after a few days it started to grow on me. It really does have about all the services you could ask for in a deployment. The shuttle bus is at each stop every 10 minutes or so, the work area is pretty nice, we’ll get to a point where living conditions aren’t bad, and the mission we’re doing here is pretty cool. And the clock ticks fast. I think we’ll also experience numerous other camp improvements during our time here as well.

9. Uniform on Camp Basra.

There are really only two options, duty ACU uniform with weapon and soft cap or Army issue PT uniform with reflector belt and weapon. Keep your reflector belt handy on your way here as the camps in Kuwait require you to wear it even with ACUs during hours of limited visibility. You can wear any type of civilian clothes when you’re in your CHU but anywhere else you must be in one of the two other uniforms. Bring a couple of sets of civilian clothes though as there will be opportunities for soldiers to go to Qatar for a 4-day pass and you can wear civilian clothes back for R&R.

10. Most likely threat.

So...this information paper has primarily focused on quality of life on base. But the reality is we are in a combat zone and though most of the local Iraqis in the area are friendly to us, there are bad guys in the area who would like to hurt us. It’s no secret the most likely threat to us while we’re on base is indirect fire, a rocket launched onto the base. We were last hit on December 21st. Two rockets landed on base but fortunately they landed in a remote part and did no damage. Everyone will be briefed on what to do when we are under attack and where to go. But it will happen and will likely happen again between now and when you arrive. It’s just an assumption that is accepted here. Without going into detail I’ll just say I feel like the active and passive measures taken on base make me feel safe wherever I am. It won’t be something you’ll worry about but is something you’ll be prepared for when it happens.

MAJ Mike Essary
Deputy G-7, 1ID
Camp Basra, Iraq

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas from Basra! Well, this is my 5th deployment (2 x Bosnia, 3 x Iraq) but the first time I’ve spent Christmas away from home. I think the military does a pretty good job of ensuring holiday cheer is evident here in a combat zone. Thanks to many generous and thoughtful people in the States, we have numerous Christmas trees throughout our headquarters. There are also many strands of lights and Christmas stockings hung around the building. So all things considered, the place looks pretty nice. And I hear the meal tonight will be a great one, complete with 26 different kinds of pies. I didn’t even know there were 26 different kinds of pies.

Yesterday, a group of soldiers donned Santa hats and walked around our building caroling. Since we don’t have a radio station here I really haven’t heard Christmas songs this year so it was nice to listen to them sing some familiar songs. Last evening, an armored security vehicle normally used for combat patrols was decked out with loud speakers. It rolled slowly through the base camp playing Christmas tunes. And there literally hundreds of cards and posters lining our walls sent from schools and other organizations within the States. Santa even walked through a few minutes ago handing out little bags of goodies.

There are a few televisions set up in our two dining facilities. Each TV was playing a different Christmas movie last night. Some I noticed playing were “Home Alone”, “Elf”, “Christmas Vacation”, and “It’s a Wonderful Life”. It was nice to watch a few minutes of a Christmas movie and be reminded of our own holiday traditions with our families back home.

I set my alarm for 2:30 AM this morning because I had a planned time of 6:00 PM Oklahoma time (3:00 AM Iraq time) to video chat with my family. So even though it was the middle of the night for me it was worth it to see my wife, little boy, parents, sisters, nieces, cousins, and aunts and uncles for a few minutes. Christmas Eve is probably one of my favorite days of the year as it’s the time when we traditionally get together for a nice meal and to open presents. So even though I would rather have been there in person it was nice to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to see them enjoying their evening.

I can tell you from a Soldier’s prospective that it is difficult to be away from home during the holidays. I think people are in good spirits today and I’ve enjoyed talking with my co-workers and telling stories about what we normally do during the holidays. The war doesn’t stop for the holidays so today is sort of a work day. Each of us have been in the building some just working on a few issues and keeping up with tasks. But we also will take some time off this afternoon. I can tell my looking at Soldiers sometimes that they are in thought about their families and their homes. It’s just all part of the deal and everyone will be back focused on the job at hand tomorrow.

I also know it is extremely tough on the families who are at home. My wife looked so pretty last night on video and my little boy was dressed in a red Santa type outfit, complete with a black belt and gold buckle. It’s so nice to see them but makes the walk back to my little trailer a tough one. But they are in place surrounded by love and I know they had a good time eating and opening presents. And we know that next year I’ll be right there with them.

I truly hope anyone reading this has an enjoyable holiday season filled with joy and thankfulness. Hug your family and extra time for me today. And thanks for all the great support to all those serving abroad and our families back home.

Mike
Basra, Iraq

Back in Iraq

Well, here I am back in the Middle East. Spent a few days training in Kuwait before arriving in Basra, Iraq a few days ago. Actually, I’m back in Kuwait today preparing to fly to Baghdad tomorrow for a few days. Flew here this morning from Basra.

My intent is to use this blog to journal my thoughts during this deployment as well as provide friends and family an idea of what I’m doing and how life is in Iraq. While I plan to keep it entertaining as in the past I also want to share with you the raw emotions a soldier and family go through during a long deployment like this. So sometimes it will seem like I’m feeling sorry for myself and others it will seem like I’m having the time of my life. Just part of the emotional roller coaster associated with a long separation.

I’d like to take the opportunity during this first entry to discuss my last few weeks and days prior to leaving my family for a year.

Without a doubt, walking out the door of my house at 4:20 AM on December 2nd, 2009 was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. No matter how much notice you have the actual departure is almost unbearable on your heart and that last hug is brutal on your emotions and inner being. Shelly and I have known I was deploying for over a year now. I think we took advantage of our time though and really enjoyed ourselves as a family. In an odd way, that contributes to the painful departure. Not that I would trade any of my time together with Shelly and Anderson. Because that quality time has provided me hours and hours of great memories and hundreds of pictures.

Our plan for the last few weeks prior to my deployment was to spend as much time together as possible, to keep things light, and to maximize our time with our family and friends. And I think we did a good job at that. We had a nice Caribbean vacation, spent several days at each of our parents’ house, and spent lots of time doing family activities. But no matter how happy things were and how much fun we were having the looming thought of separation was always in the back of my thoughts. Maybe it’s my own cruel mind, but I would find myself during happy times thinking about how short lived that feeling would be since I would be leaving soon. That contributed to lots of anxiety for the last few weeks.

So anyway, I love my wife and son more than anything. I thank God for blessing me with such a strong, close, and loving family. No matter how bad my day might have been, just knowing that when I walk into the door of my house I would be met by my little boy running and jumping into my arms made things all better. He’s just so much fun and the highlight of my day every day was to spend time with Shelly and him.

The night before I left I gave him a bath like I do every night I’m home then I read his books to him before bed like Shelly normally does. Just the feeling of knowing I was holding him for the last time caused an almost hyperventilation feeling. I tried to read the books but found myself just holding him with tears running down my cheeks onto his pajamas. I laid him down in his bed and kissed him goodnight. Then I walked with a numb feeling into the other room. I think I just stood there for a minute staring into space before finding Shelly and just letting her embrace me for a few minutes. We sat and talked about our feelings and about how we need to be strong and just get through this.

Since my bags were packed and by the door, we decided to get some sleep since I had to get up at 3:30 AM. Surprisingly, I slept pretty well. I think in some ways a weight was beginning to lift off my shoulders. I was finally going to get the clock started so I could focus on returning safely to my family. After I was up and ready to leave, we decided we would get Anderson up for a few minutes so I could say goodbye to him one last time. That feeling of hugging Anderson and Shelly at the same time at 4:10 AM is indescribable. I wasn’t going to see my two best friends for a long time. Shelly wept softly as she watched me hold my baby boy for the last few moments. With tears streaming down my face I gave him back to her so she could lay him back down in his bed.

I’m choosing to show the picture below because I think it captures some of the emotions of that moment.Soldiers cry too. There are certainly many opportunities during a soldier’s career to shed a tear. I could tell once I met up with my fellow soldiers for deployment they had similar mornings.

I think Shelly and I were both mentally drained as we walked to the door. All my bags were in my Jeep and we just held each other, said our “I love you’s” then I walked out the door. “Silent Night” was playing softly on the radio as I drove down my dark street. I was extremely sad but started thinking of all the Christmas mornings we will have as a family in our lifetime. Then I smiled and swelled with pride of how lucky I am to have a family like I do.

May God watch over us all and may our family’s strength sustain us until we re-unite.

So there you have it. Don’t worry, I’ll blog soon about what I’m doing and post some pictures. My job here is very interesting and rewarding. I look forward to making a difference.

Mike
Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait

Anderson's 1st Birthday Party

My brutal work schedule lately has really interfered with my blogging. So...trying to catch up now. Here are a few pics from Anderson's first birthday party in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.It was the first time he had eaten cake so he was a little leary at first.But as you can see, he quickly got into it. Some of it actually made it into his mouth.Dad took us all for a hayride to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon.While there he got to walk around a pick out a pumpkin.Grandma and Grandpa Deutscher made the trip with us, their first trip to my parents' house in Porter, OK.Papa Essary helps him in the pumpkin patchLooking a little embarrassed her as he makes his appearance before church.We all had a great time! Back at the house, here he is enjoying some of the things he got for his birthday.
Mike
Fort Riley, KS

Riding in style

Since he's approaching the ripe old age of 1 year and a total weight soaking wet of 23 pounds we decided to go ahead and get him a new car seat, the Britax Marathon CS.

I think we threw him off by letting him try out his new seat with his pajamas on. Here he looks disappointed and probably thinks he's going somewhere instead of going to bed.Very confused here, not sure why he's in his car seat in the house. He looks at me as if he's waiting on me to explain it to him.This doesn't look too comfortable but he laid in this basket for quite a while playing with his toys.He finally managed to get himself out.Then he realized it was more fun to just dump all the toys out onto the living room floor.He's become quite the hugger. So to all of you who will see him this weekend in Oklahoma, be ready. This is typically the last sight you see before he launches himself into your arms.Looking at a face like this, it's easy to practice hugging with him all day.
Mike
Fort Riley, KS

Oral hygiene time

Since the boy now has six teeth, we figured it's about time to start brushing them. He eventually liked it and enjoyed watching himself in the mirror.He wasn't quite so sure at first though. It was a face similar to the one we saw when he first tried peas.This is what happens when you get him undressed for his bath and tell him to meet you in the bathroom. Guess he got a little disoriented and ended up in the kitchen.As we close in on him he makes a run for it, trying to make it to the laundry room.Although exhausted, we eventually caught up with him and plopped him into the tub.These were taken Sunday before church.Ready for winter, he tries out one of his hoodies.He and Daphne spent a lot of time each day looking out the window at neighbors and other dogs.We're all excited about his 1st birthday party next weekend in Oklahoma!

Mike
Fort Riley, KS

75% of us are walking now

At the spunky young age of 10 1/2 months our little boy is officially a walker now. He started off about a month ago walking a few feet between Shelly and me. Then all of the sudden last weekend he decided he would just walk all over the house.But the day he started walking is the day Shelly had foot surgery. So we still haven't gotten to the point where all four of us (including Daphne) are walking at the same time.Shelly got fitted with a walking boot a couple of days ago so she's a little more mobile now.Now that he's more mobile we really have to keep an eye on him. Usually, he either heads straight into the laundry room and tries to eat Daphne's dog food, or he heads into the middle bathroom and tries to put his hand into the toilet, or he goes into the kitchen and gets into the same cabinet every time trying to pull out cookie sheets, or he opens the dishwasher and tries to pull out the silverware, or he goes into the master bathroom and sits in our shower, or he goes into the spare bedroom and drags all the picture frames into the hallway, or he goes into the living room and changes the TV station with the remote, or he goes into our bedroom and hides in the closet. You get the idea.

But the place he goes most consistently is back in his bedroom. Once there he goes immediately to his changing table where he gets into a basket and drags out the baby lotion, diaper rash cream, and anything else in there. Here he is in action. He doesn't know I've snuck up behind him or he would turn around with a guilty look.Once he gets busted he tries to make a run for it.But I must admit his mischievous behavior all evens out because he's just so darn cute and such a great little boy every other time.In this picture he jams out on the keyboard (and he's very proud of himself by the way).When he gets shy, like when a cute girl oohs and aahs over him when we're out or when the camera is on him, he puts his hand in his mouth. You might have seen him do this before when he first sees you.And finally, we've retired many of his "baby" toys but we weren't sure how long he would want to use his exer-saucer. As you can see by this video, we should probably retire this before he breaks out of it.

Mike
Manhattan, KS