It's been a while since I've been on here. Mainly because I've been very busy with doctor appointments and too much paperwork, but also because my last post has still held somewhat true. Either way, it's been a long hard road home. Many people, upon hearing that your in the military, can't wait to get their opinions about 'the war' out in the open, while others just say thank you. But I doubt that I've met anyone, who isn't an immediate family member to a military person, that knows that coming home is probably the hardest part of the entire deployment.
The training us soldiers go through to prepare for war and conflict is intense and constant. Once you join the military, your preparation for war never ceases. Rain, snow, sand, or mud, training goes on. What kind of training do we receive for reintegrating back into society? Very little in comparison. We are told to give ourselves time. Watch out for this, that, or the other, because they could be symptoms of bigger problems. Give yourself time. We are told that your not the only one going through what you'll go through. Take it slow. We're given countless pieces of paper filled with information and phone numbers we should call; each one for something different. We sit through power point, after power point telling us what it is going to be like when we get back into life. We leave this 'training' feeling like we know how we are going to respond. Either thinking 'I don't have to worry about that.', or 'Now I know what to look for'.
But the simple truth of the matter is this: NOBODY has ever gone through exactly what you've gone through. And therefore, could never react to it the same way as you. Everyone is different. How we were raised, our experiences in life prior to deployment, our personalities, religious preferences, struggles, skills... etc. All of these things, and more, contribute to an individuals experience during a deployment, and thus changes the individual reaction upon returning home. Almost everything your told at the power point presentations goes out the window the second you get mad on the road, or get frustrated at your spouse/ family/ friends, or can't find the power to get up out of bed by noon, or hold your job, or sit down and take a break from working, or when you get uncomfortable in situations you were comfortable in before you left, or when the decision about what to eat, or even when to eat, is overbearing and stressful, or,... the list goes on.
Everything has changed. Not just this, or that, but everything. EVERYTHING. Conversations with friends that were fun are now pointless. Driving down the road is no longer frivolous and monotonous, but arduous and uncertain. A comment from your spouse was just a comment that you responded to, but now it stirs up irritation and frustration that you either struggle to hold at bay, or lash out unexpectedly and uncontrollably. Loud neighbors aren't just loud, they are purposefully disrespectful. Everything has changed about who I am, how I live, and how I perceive the actions of those around me. The questions that haunt us now are these: How do I fix this? Why am I not able to do what I could before? Why aren't things back to normal? Who am I!?
The fact of the matter is; I'm different. I'm not the same as when I left. Struggles of old may no longer be struggles. While struggles of new may be struggles for years and years down the road.
Many people think that deployment is hard. And at time, it is. But comparatively speaking deployment was easy. It's the road home that is hard... and long.
24 November 2008
17 July 2008
!WARNING!
Attention all humans that may come into contact with SGT Anderson. If he randomly becomes detached, frustrated, angry, annoyed, depressed, reckless, sad, or all of the above, at any given time while around you, do not be offended, it is not your fault. Reintegrating back into society is a tough and stressful time, and emotions can swing at the drop of a word, look, or action. Do not attempt to fix it, and do not worry. He's only been home 2 weeks, so at this stage of integration it is perfectly normal, and may continue for a month or so and gradually get better.
I say again, please do not be offended or become worried. At this early stage of integration it is perfectly normal.
Out.
I say again, please do not be offended or become worried. At this early stage of integration it is perfectly normal.
Out.
11 July 2008
Finally Home
As most of you are probably well aware by now, I am finally home. It's been one week since arriving back home, and we've taken it fairly slow. We will be getting around to see family and friends in time. Right now, though, I'm in a program called CBHCO, which stands for 'Civilian Based Health Care Organization'. This program is what allowed me to come home so soon. Because of different health issues I have, I need to undergo some more treatments, but this program allowed me to get that treatment at home instead of staying down at Ft. Knox.
I went to my first doctor apointment yesterday, and that will get the ball rolling on getting the treatment I need for my issues. I've been pretty busy though because other than starting to go see doctors, I've been working full time. On this CBHCO program I am still on Active Duty Orders (same as when I was in Iraq), which means the Army wants me to pull my own weight since they are still paying me. So I've been working at my Home Unit here in Cambridge! I'm pretty blessed to be working with my home unit, because I know all the guys I'm working with. There were 5 other guys that entered the CBHCO program when I did, and only 1 other guy got to work at his home unit. The others had to work at places they've never been at and don't know anybody. So I'm very greatful for that.
Once Sarah and I get into a groove of how all of this will work, (only having one car with Sarah and I both working different hours and me having doctors apointments in Andover and Blaine) we'll start taking some of our time off to visit people. Hope to see you soon!
I went to my first doctor apointment yesterday, and that will get the ball rolling on getting the treatment I need for my issues. I've been pretty busy though because other than starting to go see doctors, I've been working full time. On this CBHCO program I am still on Active Duty Orders (same as when I was in Iraq), which means the Army wants me to pull my own weight since they are still paying me. So I've been working at my Home Unit here in Cambridge! I'm pretty blessed to be working with my home unit, because I know all the guys I'm working with. There were 5 other guys that entered the CBHCO program when I did, and only 1 other guy got to work at his home unit. The others had to work at places they've never been at and don't know anybody. So I'm very greatful for that.
Once Sarah and I get into a groove of how all of this will work, (only having one car with Sarah and I both working different hours and me having doctors apointments in Andover and Blaine) we'll start taking some of our time off to visit people. Hope to see you soon!
13 June 2008
Freedom!
After 3 full months of needing some form of help to get around, I am finally free from my crutches and moving around on my OWN 2 FEET! Let me tell you this, it sure feels weird wearing a shoe after 3 months! I will be starting physical therapy on monday for my foot, and I will also be seeing a chiropractor for my back and neck. I thought the Army was against chiropractors? I thought so too, but apparently, they have a chiro here. Not too shabby.
I start out-processing from Ft. Knox on the 20th, and I will be flying out of here on the 29th. At that time I will report to Illinois where I will in-process into the program called CBHCO (Civilian Based Health Care Opportunity). This program allows me to get health care while I live at home! I will be done in-processing by that following wednesday, which I think is the 2nd of July, making it so that I'm back home for 4th of July weekend!
Sarah and I, and I'm sure many others, are extremely excited for me to FINALLY be coming home 'for good'! I will, once all of my treatment is done (roughly around 2-3 months), have to go somewhere and out-process from CBHCO, then finish de-mobbing. But I don't have any idea where or when that will be until later, so no worries for now. And even when I do go do that stuff, it shouldn't take more but a few weeks.
See you all soon!
I start out-processing from Ft. Knox on the 20th, and I will be flying out of here on the 29th. At that time I will report to Illinois where I will in-process into the program called CBHCO (Civilian Based Health Care Opportunity). This program allows me to get health care while I live at home! I will be done in-processing by that following wednesday, which I think is the 2nd of July, making it so that I'm back home for 4th of July weekend!
Sarah and I, and I'm sure many others, are extremely excited for me to FINALLY be coming home 'for good'! I will, once all of my treatment is done (roughly around 2-3 months), have to go somewhere and out-process from CBHCO, then finish de-mobbing. But I don't have any idea where or when that will be until later, so no worries for now. And even when I do go do that stuff, it shouldn't take more but a few weeks.
See you all soon!
19 May 2008
Ft. Knox
Hello everyone! Finally got around to some decent time on the computer to pump out an update to everyone. Saw some new people posting comments on the blogs Sarah wrote! Let me give a shout out to cousin Sarah in California... San diego is it? And another shout out to my buddy 'CarWax' from Brown College; You still in Game Design? Anyways, here I am, sittin' in Kentucky, where the weather changes daily - literally. One day it's sunny, the next it's raining, then cold, hot, raining again, sheesh!
Ok, back on track - 'The Foot'! I saw an Orthopedic doctor, one of those foot specialist types, and he looked at the x-rays that Ft. McCoy took once we got back. Basically, as Sarah wrote earlier, he was dumbfounded as to why my foot wasn't healed. He gave a few explainations for a 'possible' reason why. It wasn't because I was walking on it with that cast, but because they let me take it off at night and to let my foot breath. The Doc said I probably should have kept it on because when I took it off, the movement of my foot could've caused my tendons to pull on the broken peice and keep it from healing. The other explaination was that I probably have Osteopenia of the foot... which doesn't make sense to me. I've never had problems with my bones before, and I've had plenty of opporunities where my bones should have broken, and plenty of calcium throughout the years. (Sarah and Mom can attest to BOTH of those statements.)
I'm trying to track down, with the help of people from the unit I was deployed with, x-rays that were taken while I was still in Iraq. Hopefully these can help show the condition my foot was in right after the break, and when compared to the x-rays from McCoy, they can help the Doc figure out what might be going on down there. I'm going to be insisting tomorrow that they schedule me for a certain type of bone density scan so I can find out if I really, truly do have Osteopenia, or if the lack of healing is a result of something else. (Like being told I could take off my walking cast at night, or whatever.) I'm really hoping it's not Osteopenia, because Osteoporosis isn't far behind. I'd have to make some big adjustments to ensure it never goes that far. Needless to say, they put me in a hard cast, and now I'm using crutches for EVERYTHING! ARGH! I swear, my arms are going to look like 'the Hulk', or maybe even 'ARNOLD'!
Any-who, just counting down the days that I get to go home for a few days of leave, and the days of which I get my orders to come home for the finishing of all my health care! Hope everyone had a great weekend, and have a great week!
Peace, out.
Ok, back on track - 'The Foot'! I saw an Orthopedic doctor, one of those foot specialist types, and he looked at the x-rays that Ft. McCoy took once we got back. Basically, as Sarah wrote earlier, he was dumbfounded as to why my foot wasn't healed. He gave a few explainations for a 'possible' reason why. It wasn't because I was walking on it with that cast, but because they let me take it off at night and to let my foot breath. The Doc said I probably should have kept it on because when I took it off, the movement of my foot could've caused my tendons to pull on the broken peice and keep it from healing. The other explaination was that I probably have Osteopenia of the foot... which doesn't make sense to me. I've never had problems with my bones before, and I've had plenty of opporunities where my bones should have broken, and plenty of calcium throughout the years. (Sarah and Mom can attest to BOTH of those statements.)
I'm trying to track down, with the help of people from the unit I was deployed with, x-rays that were taken while I was still in Iraq. Hopefully these can help show the condition my foot was in right after the break, and when compared to the x-rays from McCoy, they can help the Doc figure out what might be going on down there. I'm going to be insisting tomorrow that they schedule me for a certain type of bone density scan so I can find out if I really, truly do have Osteopenia, or if the lack of healing is a result of something else. (Like being told I could take off my walking cast at night, or whatever.) I'm really hoping it's not Osteopenia, because Osteoporosis isn't far behind. I'd have to make some big adjustments to ensure it never goes that far. Needless to say, they put me in a hard cast, and now I'm using crutches for EVERYTHING! ARGH! I swear, my arms are going to look like 'the Hulk', or maybe even 'ARNOLD'!
Any-who, just counting down the days that I get to go home for a few days of leave, and the days of which I get my orders to come home for the finishing of all my health care! Hope everyone had a great weekend, and have a great week!
Peace, out.
10 May 2008
HE'S HOME!...sorta
Hey everyone!
Well, as most, if not ALL of you know, Brandon is in the U.S. He is currently stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky on medical hold while his foot is treated. On Friday, he was examined by an Orthopedic doctor, who told him that his foot SHOULD have healed in the walking cast he's been wearing for 7 weeks. However, due to some osteo...something long, his bones don't heal as quickly as they're supposed to. SO, they put him in a hard cast (its black, which he thinks is cool). He'll remain in that for four weeks. He should be coming home in about a week and a half for another short leave (about a week) and then back to do some other outprocesssing and stuff.
If all goes well and he's approved for a special program that he applied for (that would enable him to spend his rehab time at home), he could be back home for good end of the month or early June.
We had a wonderful, yet surreal four days at home before he had to return for further medical processing. He got to be a part of the huge welcome home ceremony in Litchfield, which was AWESOME.
We can hardly wait to get back to life together again. Thank you all for your prayers and support!
PS. That picture at the top if of Brandon and his little sister. Its one of my favorites from the day he came home. Isn't it ADORABLE?!?! They look so bright eyed and happy, which they ARE!
25 April 2008
HE'S IN THE U.S.!
Hey everyone! Just giving the update. I got the phone call at 5:00 am from Brandon. They arrived safely in the U.S. this morning! Over the next couple days, we should be hearing what the plan is with his foot. He will be spending the next few days at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin doing more demobilization. He sounds excited as ever. Pray for continued safe travels and that all would go well with his foot.
Thank you all for your continued prayers!
Thank you all for your continued prayers!
18 April 2008
...waiting...
Hey everyone! I'm sure you are all wondering WHEN is Brandon coming home? Well, the answer is...(drumroll please)...I don't know. What I DO know is that he is now in Kuwait which is the first step. Brandon was in the first shift of soldiers to leave Iraq, the second and final shift is still there, and according to my sources, awaiting a sandstorm to pass before they are able to leave and join the rest of 'em in Kuwait. Once they are all there in Kuwait together, pending available flights, they will fly back to the U.S.
From there they will go to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where they will spend a few days (what I hear is about 5) finishing their final paperwork, etc. Then they will bus them to Litchfield where they should have a brief ceremony and then release the soldiers to their families. What I hear is that day will be somewhere in the last few days of April...hopefully. In the military, you can't count on dates, so I am just excitedly awaiting the return of our soldiers, knowing it will be sometime soon.
Brandon will know more about his foot and what they plan to do about it once he reaches Fort McCoy. We are still unsure if they will keep him at McCoy longer or not, but praying that he will get to come to Litchfield with the rest of 'em.
That's what I know. I am busily preparing for his return and trying to keep my nerves at bay as I anticipate the return of my dear husband.
Thank you all for your prayers and support through this. I know we are all so proud of Brandon and his service to our country.
-Sarah
From there they will go to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin where they will spend a few days (what I hear is about 5) finishing their final paperwork, etc. Then they will bus them to Litchfield where they should have a brief ceremony and then release the soldiers to their families. What I hear is that day will be somewhere in the last few days of April...hopefully. In the military, you can't count on dates, so I am just excitedly awaiting the return of our soldiers, knowing it will be sometime soon.
Brandon will know more about his foot and what they plan to do about it once he reaches Fort McCoy. We are still unsure if they will keep him at McCoy longer or not, but praying that he will get to come to Litchfield with the rest of 'em.
That's what I know. I am busily preparing for his return and trying to keep my nerves at bay as I anticipate the return of my dear husband.
Thank you all for your prayers and support through this. I know we are all so proud of Brandon and his service to our country.
-Sarah
24 March 2008
Oh SNAP!
(The following is a blog from Brandon)
Most of you already know some of this, but for the rest that don't know at all, or know all of the details of what has happened, here it is: I Sprained my left ankle and broke my left foot's 5 metatarsal by falling about 5 feet onto a 2x4. Pretty cool huh? Yeah, right. Anyways, I've been laying around for roughly 2 weeks now. I've been trying to figure out how to type this up without it being extremely negative and depressing, so here we go; finally!
The same night that I fell, I went to a place here on our base, and got a shot of Tordal (some REALLY good stuff for pain; puts Morphine to shame) and they took 2 x-rays. One of the docs there, said that he was 90% sure that it wasn't fractured. He got a second opinion, and he too didn't think so. So, they wrapped me up in an ace bandage, iced it down, gave me more pain meds and some crutches, and sent me to bed. The next day I went to a medical place off of base, and they took about 6 x-rays. That was kind of a funky trip because the guy that drove me didn't have a civilian driver's license, but he had a military one... so needless to say we went like 5 miles an hour the whole time. Anyways, after that, we hoped back in the truck and hauled butt back to base. This time at 7 miles an hour; the guy gained a little confidence. Well, then I went back to our building and I laid around some more... until tomorrow.
The next day, the dudes at the medical place on base got an email with the results for the x-ray. At this point, my foot is officially declared as 'broken'. I have a 'Jones Fracture'. For all of you non-doctors or radiologists, this means that I broke my foot in a specific spot on my 5th Metatarsal.
As you can see from the diagram, I broke it in the 'green' area. I added the pink things to show where the ligaments are attached to that bone so that you can see how much this type of break really does suck. As you can see, if you break the diagrams bone on the green, the small piece that is broken off is still attached to it's own tendon. This makes the broken piece move around, making it a high possibility of disunion, that is, where the bones do not join back together. On top of that moving piece of bone, that specific area of the bone that is broken is supplied with less blood then the rest of that entire bone, making the healing time increase substantially.
Now, what do we do about this new development? Well, the med dudes here on base tried calling an Orthopedic surgeon to find out what their recommendation would be. Well, by the time the med dudes got a hold of, and got a response from, this Ortho guy, it had been 5 DAYS of me sitting on a bed, imagining all of the horrible things that are happening to my foot by not doing anything to it. Well, by the end of that INSANELY long amount of time, that just seemed to drag on and on and on and.... yeah, you get the idea. After that, they were told to put me in a boot! So, now I have this giant space agey type boot on. It is big, clumsy, and puts my foot into a position that tends to hurt – a NORMAL position. Fun huh? Well, anyways, now I've been sitting with that on my foot for a little over a week. Oooo, one other piece of funny info: This break is also dubbed the 'Dancer's Fracture' by some medical professionals, because that is the activity that most people are doing when they receive this fracture. However, that is usually a stress type fracture, while mine is an acute fracture from the sudden impact. But needless to say, after all of this is over, I probably won't be hitting the dance floor to hard!
OK, back on track. Now I get to have another appointment, with x-rays and the whole nine yards, 6 weeks from the time of break, which makes it roughly 4 weeks from now. I'm a little worried, probably because I've never broken a bone before and I don't know how long it takes, but I still have some significant swelling, and actually, a significant amount of pain. Once I have that appointment, however, they will determine what happens next. Do I stay in the boot? Am I healed? Do I need to have surgery? Well, to be honest, I'm not very optimistic about being healed. I mean, remember what I told you about this being a 'Jones Fracture' and the increased likely hood of disunion? Yeah, well, if they decide that I need to have surgery, they will more than likely insert a pin into my metatarsal, and then I will need to sit around until that heals. If that doesn't fix it for whatever reason, well, then they would have to do a bone graft, taking stuff from my hip, or possibly some kind of elbow location.... not sure where that one really is... anyways, yeah. Of course, if the bone DID heal, but it healed wrong, they'd have to re-break my bone, and who knows if they would insert the pin then, or see if it would heal on it's own. Of course, after surgery, if I get it, there would need to be rehab, for sure. There might be some rehab that I need to do anyways, but I haven't been told anything yet. This is all stuff I will learn once we are back in the states.
So with all that, it could affect the time in which I return home. Even if I don't end up needing surgery, I might have to stay at our de-mob (de-mobilization) station until my appointment, which could end up being after everyone arrives home. Which would suck, but if it means that I get proper care, then that is what must be done. Other than that, just trying to stay positive, and trust God that He knows what is coming, and that He will take care of Sarah and I as we move into the unknown. I also am praying that nothing gets overlooked, and everything gets taken care of properly and promptly.
Most of you already know some of this, but for the rest that don't know at all, or know all of the details of what has happened, here it is: I Sprained my left ankle and broke my left foot's 5 metatarsal by falling about 5 feet onto a 2x4. Pretty cool huh? Yeah, right. Anyways, I've been laying around for roughly 2 weeks now. I've been trying to figure out how to type this up without it being extremely negative and depressing, so here we go; finally!
The same night that I fell, I went to a place here on our base, and got a shot of Tordal (some REALLY good stuff for pain; puts Morphine to shame) and they took 2 x-rays. One of the docs there, said that he was 90% sure that it wasn't fractured. He got a second opinion, and he too didn't think so. So, they wrapped me up in an ace bandage, iced it down, gave me more pain meds and some crutches, and sent me to bed. The next day I went to a medical place off of base, and they took about 6 x-rays. That was kind of a funky trip because the guy that drove me didn't have a civilian driver's license, but he had a military one... so needless to say we went like 5 miles an hour the whole time. Anyways, after that, we hoped back in the truck and hauled butt back to base. This time at 7 miles an hour; the guy gained a little confidence. Well, then I went back to our building and I laid around some more... until tomorrow.
The next day, the dudes at the medical place on base got an email with the results for the x-ray. At this point, my foot is officially declared as 'broken'. I have a 'Jones Fracture'. For all of you non-doctors or radiologists, this means that I broke my foot in a specific spot on my 5th Metatarsal.
As you can see from the diagram, I broke it in the 'green' area. I added the pink things to show where the ligaments are attached to that bone so that you can see how much this type of break really does suck. As you can see, if you break the diagrams bone on the green, the small piece that is broken off is still attached to it's own tendon. This makes the broken piece move around, making it a high possibility of disunion, that is, where the bones do not join back together. On top of that moving piece of bone, that specific area of the bone that is broken is supplied with less blood then the rest of that entire bone, making the healing time increase substantially.
Now, what do we do about this new development? Well, the med dudes here on base tried calling an Orthopedic surgeon to find out what their recommendation would be. Well, by the time the med dudes got a hold of, and got a response from, this Ortho guy, it had been 5 DAYS of me sitting on a bed, imagining all of the horrible things that are happening to my foot by not doing anything to it. Well, by the end of that INSANELY long amount of time, that just seemed to drag on and on and on and.... yeah, you get the idea. After that, they were told to put me in a boot! So, now I have this giant space agey type boot on. It is big, clumsy, and puts my foot into a position that tends to hurt – a NORMAL position. Fun huh? Well, anyways, now I've been sitting with that on my foot for a little over a week. Oooo, one other piece of funny info: This break is also dubbed the 'Dancer's Fracture' by some medical professionals, because that is the activity that most people are doing when they receive this fracture. However, that is usually a stress type fracture, while mine is an acute fracture from the sudden impact. But needless to say, after all of this is over, I probably won't be hitting the dance floor to hard!
OK, back on track. Now I get to have another appointment, with x-rays and the whole nine yards, 6 weeks from the time of break, which makes it roughly 4 weeks from now. I'm a little worried, probably because I've never broken a bone before and I don't know how long it takes, but I still have some significant swelling, and actually, a significant amount of pain. Once I have that appointment, however, they will determine what happens next. Do I stay in the boot? Am I healed? Do I need to have surgery? Well, to be honest, I'm not very optimistic about being healed. I mean, remember what I told you about this being a 'Jones Fracture' and the increased likely hood of disunion? Yeah, well, if they decide that I need to have surgery, they will more than likely insert a pin into my metatarsal, and then I will need to sit around until that heals. If that doesn't fix it for whatever reason, well, then they would have to do a bone graft, taking stuff from my hip, or possibly some kind of elbow location.... not sure where that one really is... anyways, yeah. Of course, if the bone DID heal, but it healed wrong, they'd have to re-break my bone, and who knows if they would insert the pin then, or see if it would heal on it's own. Of course, after surgery, if I get it, there would need to be rehab, for sure. There might be some rehab that I need to do anyways, but I haven't been told anything yet. This is all stuff I will learn once we are back in the states.
So with all that, it could affect the time in which I return home. Even if I don't end up needing surgery, I might have to stay at our de-mob (de-mobilization) station until my appointment, which could end up being after everyone arrives home. Which would suck, but if it means that I get proper care, then that is what must be done. Other than that, just trying to stay positive, and trust God that He knows what is coming, and that He will take care of Sarah and I as we move into the unknown. I also am praying that nothing gets overlooked, and everything gets taken care of properly and promptly.
12 January 2008
Craziness In Iraq
Who'd of thunk that when Arends and I were joking about snow in Iraq, that it would eventually happen? Yes, you heard me right, snow, in Iraq; Ironic? I think so! On the morning of 11 Jan 08 we're getting ready for a patrol through our AO (Area of Operations). I wake up, throw on my gear, and go to step outside and start prepping our humvee only to find myself running back in to quickly throw some rain gear on. Everything was soaked outside... I mean EVERYTHING. For some weird reason, the Iraqi soil doesn't really like to soak up water, so it just sits on the ground in gigantic puddles of nasty muddy goop. But the mission must go on, so I don my wet weather gear, as right now it is raining, and I trudge out to my truck, careful not to slip and land on my back, or worse yet my face.
When the Iraqi soil gets wet, it takes forever for it to soak up the water, but it does get pretty sloppy for at least the first few inches... which stick to the bottom of your boots and weigh your feet down. Seriously, the soil becomes more like the consistency of peanut butter, and you are walking on 4 inch stilts at times because of all the mud you just keep collecting, and collecting, and... yeah, you get the picture. There is still dry ground outside though! But I'm not just talking about the stuff under the humvee, I'm talking about after you peel the mud up off the ground, revealing perfectly dry, dusty Iraqi soot.
Well, here we are, trying to get the humvees going, water dripping off the sides of the humvees onto our boots, soaking our feet, which weigh a ton. We get them all set up and head off to the DFAC (Dining Facility) so that we can meet up with our other guys and eat some chow. We get there and notice something in the air that isn't rain... it is sleeting now. Lovely. Soaked feet, freezing cold air, with water and now ice falling from the sky on top of you. At least the humvees heater worked. We then get notified that we need to meet with the other half of our guys over at their building, which has a large common area everyone can gather in, instead of standing outside. Well, we get there, do our meeting, then head back to the DFAC to eat chow. We eat and everyone starts heading back outside, bracing for water and ice but getting something unexpected; HUGE clumps of snow!
Well, I know that we could have had limited visibility because of dust, but never would I have imagined that we would have limited visibility with snow! Everyone actually had a pretty good time, despite how freezing cold it was. The snow would melt right when it touched the ground, so you can imagine how the roads would just get wetter and wetter. Well, the drivers really had a fun time with that, peeling out, flinging mud all over the place, it was pretty fun! We only had one mission that day, so everyone was glad to get back, warm up, and dry off. Once we got back to our tower, we all decided we were going to watch a movie... Blazing Saddles to be exact. Well, while cleaning our weapons, and having the movie go through it's opening credits, something drastic happens.
The power goes out. You can imagine all of our disappointment; freezing cold, dirty weapons, just trying to relax and clean and all of us are now sitting in the dark, which is starting to get cold fast because the heaters are out. I don't know if it is just the the storms in the US are that much more efficient that the power goes out WITH the storm, but it seems to us that Iraqi storms are less efficient by taking the power out AFTER the storm is well gone. Anyways, we didn't get power back for at least 6 hours, I totally lost track of time, but I can say for sure it was longer than 6 hours. Something about some generator blowing out or something. I had to go replace one of our humvees with another one, and I tried taking the normal route back to the tower, but they had the generator pulled out INTO the road, with 8 trucks, all with flasher and brights shining on this thing and the area it was pulled from; talk about a task!
Anyways, that is what is happening here! I'll try to gather up some pics, from people that DIDN'T forget their camera that day, so that people can see what it was like. Hope everyone is enjoying your weather, and the new year, and I will see you all fairly soon!
When the Iraqi soil gets wet, it takes forever for it to soak up the water, but it does get pretty sloppy for at least the first few inches... which stick to the bottom of your boots and weigh your feet down. Seriously, the soil becomes more like the consistency of peanut butter, and you are walking on 4 inch stilts at times because of all the mud you just keep collecting, and collecting, and... yeah, you get the picture. There is still dry ground outside though! But I'm not just talking about the stuff under the humvee, I'm talking about after you peel the mud up off the ground, revealing perfectly dry, dusty Iraqi soot.
Well, here we are, trying to get the humvees going, water dripping off the sides of the humvees onto our boots, soaking our feet, which weigh a ton. We get them all set up and head off to the DFAC (Dining Facility) so that we can meet up with our other guys and eat some chow. We get there and notice something in the air that isn't rain... it is sleeting now. Lovely. Soaked feet, freezing cold air, with water and now ice falling from the sky on top of you. At least the humvees heater worked. We then get notified that we need to meet with the other half of our guys over at their building, which has a large common area everyone can gather in, instead of standing outside. Well, we get there, do our meeting, then head back to the DFAC to eat chow. We eat and everyone starts heading back outside, bracing for water and ice but getting something unexpected; HUGE clumps of snow!
Well, I know that we could have had limited visibility because of dust, but never would I have imagined that we would have limited visibility with snow! Everyone actually had a pretty good time, despite how freezing cold it was. The snow would melt right when it touched the ground, so you can imagine how the roads would just get wetter and wetter. Well, the drivers really had a fun time with that, peeling out, flinging mud all over the place, it was pretty fun! We only had one mission that day, so everyone was glad to get back, warm up, and dry off. Once we got back to our tower, we all decided we were going to watch a movie... Blazing Saddles to be exact. Well, while cleaning our weapons, and having the movie go through it's opening credits, something drastic happens.
The power goes out. You can imagine all of our disappointment; freezing cold, dirty weapons, just trying to relax and clean and all of us are now sitting in the dark, which is starting to get cold fast because the heaters are out. I don't know if it is just the the storms in the US are that much more efficient that the power goes out WITH the storm, but it seems to us that Iraqi storms are less efficient by taking the power out AFTER the storm is well gone. Anyways, we didn't get power back for at least 6 hours, I totally lost track of time, but I can say for sure it was longer than 6 hours. Something about some generator blowing out or something. I had to go replace one of our humvees with another one, and I tried taking the normal route back to the tower, but they had the generator pulled out INTO the road, with 8 trucks, all with flasher and brights shining on this thing and the area it was pulled from; talk about a task!
Anyways, that is what is happening here! I'll try to gather up some pics, from people that DIDN'T forget their camera that day, so that people can see what it was like. Hope everyone is enjoying your weather, and the new year, and I will see you all fairly soon!
07 January 2008
Happy Birthday Sarah!
Yesterday was the day that my amazingly, awesomely, fantastically, righteously superb wife was born! Yay for 22 years of life!
05 January 2008
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a fantastic new year! I know I did - nobody got hurt, nothing went wrong during patrols, everything went as normal on our internal posts, and things here are starting afresh! We are starting NCODP's (Non Commissioned Officer Developmental Program) through our First Sergeant! Which is something that Sgt Harcey, and I have been pushing for. There was one point 'last year' (hehe) that our Platoon Sergeant tried to get it going, but it fizzled out after the first one. Our First Sergeant has now caught wind of it, which he also has been learning about all the other communication issues among other problems, and he is taking the initiative this new year to get things moving!
What NCODP's are is a chance for the junior leadership (me) to be taught from our senior leadership (First Sergeant) about how to properly discipline, counsel, uphold standards, etc. I'm really excited, because of how things have been going here, with our platoons getting split in half and not really interacting with half our leadership, it has really put a strain on things, and now we have a chance to learn from those mistakes, develop ways to deal with these issues, and become better leaders. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, this keeps going, and things continue to get better, because, frankly, things have been fairly de-motivating. Which isn't good because my soldier pick up on that attitude and portray it themselves.
But hopefully, because this is a new year, it will motivate our leaders to do away with the old and bring in the new. I hope everyone has had a fantastic winter thus far. Keep warm, lift with your legs not with your back (in regards to shoveling), and throw a snowball or 2 for me!
Brandon
What NCODP's are is a chance for the junior leadership (me) to be taught from our senior leadership (First Sergeant) about how to properly discipline, counsel, uphold standards, etc. I'm really excited, because of how things have been going here, with our platoons getting split in half and not really interacting with half our leadership, it has really put a strain on things, and now we have a chance to learn from those mistakes, develop ways to deal with these issues, and become better leaders. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, this keeps going, and things continue to get better, because, frankly, things have been fairly de-motivating. Which isn't good because my soldier pick up on that attitude and portray it themselves.
But hopefully, because this is a new year, it will motivate our leaders to do away with the old and bring in the new. I hope everyone has had a fantastic winter thus far. Keep warm, lift with your legs not with your back (in regards to shoveling), and throw a snowball or 2 for me!
Brandon
22 December 2007
Our First Frost
Merry Christmas everyone! Well, not quite yet, but none the less. Well, today it is 0100 of the 23rd, all of you are in the 22nd still. So your probably curious about my title there huh? Well, it's all true! Except that we don't really get a 'frost' here, it is more like a freeze; we have no moisture in the air, so you don't get dew, therefore, no frost. But anyways, it was pretty wild. My buddy Arends and I were working at the ECP (Entry Control Point), freezing our butts off, but minding our own business. Here comes this car, wipers flying across it's windshield, working feverishly to rid their windshield of slush.... wait, SLUSH!? Yes, slush. "Ok," we thought, "maybe that was a fluke of some sort."
So we continue to roast our water bottles over our heater, and put them inside our jackets to help keep us warm. Sipping on hot chocolate and tea from the same type of roasted water, another truck approaches, wipers going like crazy as well. "Hmmm, this truck looks funny." I thought, "It's almost like it's windshield is all fogged up. What in the world would he be using his wipers for if it is fogged up?" Well, as he got closer, it wasn't fog at all, but a nice layer of ice across the entire windshield! The truck passes us, the driver waving and smiling about his frozen windshield, and here we are, hands raised in an attempt to wave, but 'frozen' starring at his frozen windshield.... we bust out in laughter thinking about ICE in the DESERT!
Well, then the jimmy jon pooper suckers come to clean them out and wash them down. They usually come the same time we are delivered breakfast, so you can imagine the mixture of smells on top of a hungry stomach... yeah. Anyways, they suck 'em out and spray them down, soap sliding down the sides, and they drive on. We don't really pay any attention to the jimmy jons, because were trying not to gag while eating, but the pooper dudes drive back by us, and point at the crappers, smiling and laughing. "Hmmm, what could they be thinking?" I then look over at them and notice that the soap they sprayed is no longer sliding down the sides. I yell over to Arends, "Hey, did the jons freeze!?" I stroll towards them, cradling a hot water bottle in my jacket, moving quickly so I can get back to the heater as soon as possible. Once I got close enough to them, I felt like I went back in time to the ice age; the water they sprayed the jons down with froze completely, over the entire thing from top to bottom! It seriously looked like something from the ice age; a jimmy jon just chiseled out of a frozen glacier!
Not only that, but once I sat back down behind the heater, taking my bottle out to 'recharge' the warmth and sipping my hot chocolate, SGT Harcey comes over the radio and says that there is ice on the lake in areas! Arends and I started joking around about calling our wives and having them send us ice skates! Arends says, "Hey, wouldn't that be awesome if we got some snow on Christmas?" Sure, were just joking, but hey, it could happen! I mean, it is cold enough, all we need is some precipitation during this cold stuff and BAM! SNOW! We'll just have to wait and see though.
Hope everyone is able to dig themselves out of the snow there fairly easily, and don't worry, my boogers haven't frozen across my face like 'dumb and dumber' yet, so it's all good! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Brandon
So we continue to roast our water bottles over our heater, and put them inside our jackets to help keep us warm. Sipping on hot chocolate and tea from the same type of roasted water, another truck approaches, wipers going like crazy as well. "Hmmm, this truck looks funny." I thought, "It's almost like it's windshield is all fogged up. What in the world would he be using his wipers for if it is fogged up?" Well, as he got closer, it wasn't fog at all, but a nice layer of ice across the entire windshield! The truck passes us, the driver waving and smiling about his frozen windshield, and here we are, hands raised in an attempt to wave, but 'frozen' starring at his frozen windshield.... we bust out in laughter thinking about ICE in the DESERT!
Well, then the jimmy jon pooper suckers come to clean them out and wash them down. They usually come the same time we are delivered breakfast, so you can imagine the mixture of smells on top of a hungry stomach... yeah. Anyways, they suck 'em out and spray them down, soap sliding down the sides, and they drive on. We don't really pay any attention to the jimmy jons, because were trying not to gag while eating, but the pooper dudes drive back by us, and point at the crappers, smiling and laughing. "Hmmm, what could they be thinking?" I then look over at them and notice that the soap they sprayed is no longer sliding down the sides. I yell over to Arends, "Hey, did the jons freeze!?" I stroll towards them, cradling a hot water bottle in my jacket, moving quickly so I can get back to the heater as soon as possible. Once I got close enough to them, I felt like I went back in time to the ice age; the water they sprayed the jons down with froze completely, over the entire thing from top to bottom! It seriously looked like something from the ice age; a jimmy jon just chiseled out of a frozen glacier!
Not only that, but once I sat back down behind the heater, taking my bottle out to 'recharge' the warmth and sipping my hot chocolate, SGT Harcey comes over the radio and says that there is ice on the lake in areas! Arends and I started joking around about calling our wives and having them send us ice skates! Arends says, "Hey, wouldn't that be awesome if we got some snow on Christmas?" Sure, were just joking, but hey, it could happen! I mean, it is cold enough, all we need is some precipitation during this cold stuff and BAM! SNOW! We'll just have to wait and see though.
Hope everyone is able to dig themselves out of the snow there fairly easily, and don't worry, my boogers haven't frozen across my face like 'dumb and dumber' yet, so it's all good! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Brandon
26 November 2007
Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
Well, Thanksgiving is over, everyone's stuffed stomachs have now shrank back to normal size by now, and that last bit of left overs are probably getting finished up. I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving, that the food was good, and that time with family was fun and as stress free as the holiday times allow. I'm finally off of that 2 week detail in the 'Green Zone' in down town Baghdad, and I have to say, the end of that COULD have come sooner! One thing that was a bummer was that I was there for Thanksgiving, and the food was so bad it is almost funny! The mashed potatoes, oh my gosh, were so devoid of flavor that it almost hurt my tongue! I put two of those single serving butter things into it, a load of salt and pepper and I STILL could not taste anything... yeah, weird. The Gatorade was good though! Then again, it does get shipped over here, so it is impossible for the cooks over here to screw that up.
I also have some very good news for everyone! Now, this is subject to change, as is everything in regards to the military, but none the less, they said that we could tell this to people. That fact alone leads me to believe that this is more than likely going to happen more than it wouldn't. Ok, so I'm sure the suspense is killing everyone, so here it is: We got word that we will be leaving about an entire month early! That puts us traveling back to the states around.... late April, early May, roughly. I obviously couldn't tell anyone the exact date, even if I did know which I don't, but because of that fantastic thing called OPSEC! But either way, I've just jumped one month closer to home! I'M OVER HALF WAY DONE!
At first I was thinking, you've got to be kidding right? Well, the reason for this 'change in orders' was because someone, either in Washington or a high up Military official, was concerned that we would go over our 400 day total deployment. Why the concern? Well, because we are the first National Guard group to get deployed in this brand new 400 day deployment length. It would look pretty bad if they screwed up with the first group that went over, even if that was what all of us was expecting. To be honest, I was expecting to get extended a bunch of times. Not nearly as much as the last group from Minnesota that was here for 22 months, but still getting extended closer to the standard deployment length of 15 months.
So that's the news here! Pretty good stuff too, I might add! I'm definitely excited. Oh yeah, and it gets down to around mid 40's here at night! Man, I though that getting down to the 60's was cold, it feels like the dead of winter here! I'm sure everyone knows what that is like right about now, 20's as the low? NASTY! I never was one for the cold to begin with. How that ever happened to me being born and raised in Minnesota I will never know, but I like it a little warmer... ok, quite a bit warmer than 20 degrees! Well, I'll talk to everyone later; peace out.
Brandon
PS - JOHN BOWERS! You must email me or post your email! I never got your email. I tried to get either Pat or Doug to get everyone's emails together for me so I could keep in touch, but I never got them, whatever the reason is I don't really care. I don't even know if they are still at Brown or not! It would be really cool to touch base through an email; I'm itching to find out who's still there (obviously you still are!... right?), how everyone is, and what you guys have been doing! My email should still be up on the side of my blog somewhere... and if not, I will put it back up!
PSS - I'M COMING HOME A MONTH EARLIER! WOOT! (that's a gamer term, hehe)
I also have some very good news for everyone! Now, this is subject to change, as is everything in regards to the military, but none the less, they said that we could tell this to people. That fact alone leads me to believe that this is more than likely going to happen more than it wouldn't. Ok, so I'm sure the suspense is killing everyone, so here it is: We got word that we will be leaving about an entire month early! That puts us traveling back to the states around.... late April, early May, roughly. I obviously couldn't tell anyone the exact date, even if I did know which I don't, but because of that fantastic thing called OPSEC! But either way, I've just jumped one month closer to home! I'M OVER HALF WAY DONE!
At first I was thinking, you've got to be kidding right? Well, the reason for this 'change in orders' was because someone, either in Washington or a high up Military official, was concerned that we would go over our 400 day total deployment. Why the concern? Well, because we are the first National Guard group to get deployed in this brand new 400 day deployment length. It would look pretty bad if they screwed up with the first group that went over, even if that was what all of us was expecting. To be honest, I was expecting to get extended a bunch of times. Not nearly as much as the last group from Minnesota that was here for 22 months, but still getting extended closer to the standard deployment length of 15 months.
So that's the news here! Pretty good stuff too, I might add! I'm definitely excited. Oh yeah, and it gets down to around mid 40's here at night! Man, I though that getting down to the 60's was cold, it feels like the dead of winter here! I'm sure everyone knows what that is like right about now, 20's as the low? NASTY! I never was one for the cold to begin with. How that ever happened to me being born and raised in Minnesota I will never know, but I like it a little warmer... ok, quite a bit warmer than 20 degrees! Well, I'll talk to everyone later; peace out.
Brandon
PS - JOHN BOWERS! You must email me or post your email! I never got your email. I tried to get either Pat or Doug to get everyone's emails together for me so I could keep in touch, but I never got them, whatever the reason is I don't really care. I don't even know if they are still at Brown or not! It would be really cool to touch base through an email; I'm itching to find out who's still there (obviously you still are!... right?), how everyone is, and what you guys have been doing! My email should still be up on the side of my blog somewhere... and if not, I will put it back up!
PSS - I'M COMING HOME A MONTH EARLIER! WOOT! (that's a gamer term, hehe)
18 November 2007
A Long Time Coming
It has almost been an entire MONTH since my last update, and for that I apologize. I've had good intention on updating readily, but for me, there just hasn't been things that seem that noteworthy. I'm going to try and change my approach since everyone probably doesn't need a huge long post to know that I'm doing fine. But today, however, I've actually got some stuff to talk about. So let's get started.
Well, for many of you, this part probably won't make much sense, but for a handful of you, it will probably come as a sigh of relief. About 8 days ago, or so, I was sent on a special mission. The location of this place that I was going to is a place where soldiers go to 'get away' from 'stresses' of war, like an IED attack, death of a fellow soldier, etc. What exactly my mission entailed, I had no idea. Through the grapevine, however, there was word that I might have been sent on this detail because I had gone through one of those things and was dealing with the 'stress' of war.
This is by no means an attack on anyone, or pointing any fingers at anyone, but I would just like to relieve any built up tensions over these possibilities. Any information that I give out to anyone, in regards to what I do over here, is not false information to preserve OPSEC (OPeration SECurity). Everything I share with anyone is the truth, whether it is good or bad news. If there are things that I do not tell, it is because of OPSEC, but I will never say something false, I'll just say that I can't say anything about it. With that said, I was sent on this detail strictly to perform a security task for this area that other soldiers go to to de-stress. So have no fear, Anderson is... (what rhymes with fear that is good)... SUPER DUPER FANTASTIC! (ok, so that doesn't rhyme, but it conveys my intent!)
I've been basically sitting behind a desk, checking people in, checking people out (of their rooms! so John, don't get any ideas!), overeating on junk food, and getting way too much sleep. I have, however, been able to get some personal work done! Many of you know that I was going to college for 'Interactive Multimedia' (ok, so that isn't the 'real' name, but OPSEC wins this one). Anyways, I've had, for quite a while, many different ideas for games. One of which I was forced into creating by one of my teachers (a teacher who I really respect, and game idea that turned out to not be half bad). We had to create a huge paper, called a 'Design Document'! Actually, it wasn't a real design document because mine was only 10 pages. Real design docs are sometimes hundreds of pages!
Well, through my time sitting behind this boring desk, I figured it was as good a time as ever to do some work on these 'ideas' that I've had floating around up there. I've begun re-writing my previous design doc, the one for that class at college, and I am proud to say that I am currently up to around 34 pages! So, this is probably annoying boring for some of you, but for me, it is exciting! I love working through all the different scenarios that it takes to create a game. Like how will the player accomplish this task, what makes this game better than the others, how will this gameplay aspect be executed effectively to convince the player of realism, etc.
This will probably be news to everybody, but I have resumed working with SourceForts; a game MOD (modification) of a very popular computer game that a group of people across the globe are working together to create. Members everywhere from Germany to England to the US are all bringing their skills together to make a game; and I'm a concept artist for them! I'm one of the guys who's main purpose on the team is to come up with different ideas for things needed in the game like characters, weapons, landscapes, architecture, etc., and then draw them so that people can use them as references while 'building' them in different software programs. So, while sitting behind this boring desk, I have been thinking and drawing up multiple character sketches, building templates of human poses to build numerous character outfits off of, researching different artistically expressive techniques to help create the aesthetics that will define our MOD and catch the attention of gamers as a game to play!
So, needless to say, I am busy working while I'm 'working'! I hope that everyone is doing good, and people are staying healthy and as stress free as life will allow!
Brandon
Well, for many of you, this part probably won't make much sense, but for a handful of you, it will probably come as a sigh of relief. About 8 days ago, or so, I was sent on a special mission. The location of this place that I was going to is a place where soldiers go to 'get away' from 'stresses' of war, like an IED attack, death of a fellow soldier, etc. What exactly my mission entailed, I had no idea. Through the grapevine, however, there was word that I might have been sent on this detail because I had gone through one of those things and was dealing with the 'stress' of war.
This is by no means an attack on anyone, or pointing any fingers at anyone, but I would just like to relieve any built up tensions over these possibilities. Any information that I give out to anyone, in regards to what I do over here, is not false information to preserve OPSEC (OPeration SECurity). Everything I share with anyone is the truth, whether it is good or bad news. If there are things that I do not tell, it is because of OPSEC, but I will never say something false, I'll just say that I can't say anything about it. With that said, I was sent on this detail strictly to perform a security task for this area that other soldiers go to to de-stress. So have no fear, Anderson is... (what rhymes with fear that is good)... SUPER DUPER FANTASTIC! (ok, so that doesn't rhyme, but it conveys my intent!)
I've been basically sitting behind a desk, checking people in, checking people out (of their rooms! so John, don't get any ideas!), overeating on junk food, and getting way too much sleep. I have, however, been able to get some personal work done! Many of you know that I was going to college for 'Interactive Multimedia' (ok, so that isn't the 'real' name, but OPSEC wins this one). Anyways, I've had, for quite a while, many different ideas for games. One of which I was forced into creating by one of my teachers (a teacher who I really respect, and game idea that turned out to not be half bad). We had to create a huge paper, called a 'Design Document'! Actually, it wasn't a real design document because mine was only 10 pages. Real design docs are sometimes hundreds of pages!
Well, through my time sitting behind this boring desk, I figured it was as good a time as ever to do some work on these 'ideas' that I've had floating around up there. I've begun re-writing my previous design doc, the one for that class at college, and I am proud to say that I am currently up to around 34 pages! So, this is probably annoying boring for some of you, but for me, it is exciting! I love working through all the different scenarios that it takes to create a game. Like how will the player accomplish this task, what makes this game better than the others, how will this gameplay aspect be executed effectively to convince the player of realism, etc.
This will probably be news to everybody, but I have resumed working with SourceForts; a game MOD (modification) of a very popular computer game that a group of people across the globe are working together to create. Members everywhere from Germany to England to the US are all bringing their skills together to make a game; and I'm a concept artist for them! I'm one of the guys who's main purpose on the team is to come up with different ideas for things needed in the game like characters, weapons, landscapes, architecture, etc., and then draw them so that people can use them as references while 'building' them in different software programs. So, while sitting behind this boring desk, I have been thinking and drawing up multiple character sketches, building templates of human poses to build numerous character outfits off of, researching different artistically expressive techniques to help create the aesthetics that will define our MOD and catch the attention of gamers as a game to play!
So, needless to say, I am busy working while I'm 'working'! I hope that everyone is doing good, and people are staying healthy and as stress free as life will allow!
Brandon
20 October 2007
Good Morning!
Hello everyone!
This morning I was woken up TWICE before my alarm by one of my guys yelling at his computer because he was outbid by $1 on EBay! Go figure! Anyways, I appreciate all the letters and stuff from people! I'm a little excited this morning. If you couldn't tell by all the exclamation points so far! 'Why' Your asking? Well, I rediscovered ChristianRock.net! It is a Christian Rock radio station that is online! So now, since there is no REAL radio over here that plays Christian music, I can get my fill of my style of Christian music whenever I'm in my room!
Well, some of you might already know this, most of you might not. I've had some interaction with the Iraqi kids. Which means that I have been 'driving around'. But, I'm having a hard time dealing with the kids. They are extremely selfish and deceiving in nature. I can't even begin to explain how many children I told that 'no, you can't have my pen, I need that.', and I told each kid that at least 10 times in a row! The only reason they stopped asking for my pen was either they started asking for something else, or I walked to an area where they were not allowed to go, or got back in the vehicle! Even if I got in the vehicle, they would chase after them like it is some sort of parade. We haven't been told we CAN'T give these kids anything, but you really can't because you would just get mobbed! It is also very hard to figure out how to deal with them the way that Jesus would deal with them, especially since these kids are not my mission, and I'm not there to teach them how to be respectful and give them something without worrying about them getting beaten up by the bigger kids who will then steal it from them. So yeah, that is the newest difficulties presenting themselves.
Otherwise everything is going pretty well. Today is my last day off for... almost 2 weeks? Yeah, kinda bites, but I won't need to work 12 hour days! At least for a little while. It has been getting pretty cold here; lower 60's! I know it is nowhere NEAR how cold it has been in Minnesota (or Iowa), I mean, lower 60's might even be a warm day for you peeps! But my mom told me that the weather thingy she looked at said that Baghdad would only get in the 80's for 3 days! Yikes! Winter is coming! HA! I never though that I would say that about 80 degrees, or even 60 degrees. But I guess when your body is acclimated to a different climate, weird things happen...
Well, I hope everyone stays warm!
Brandon
This morning I was woken up TWICE before my alarm by one of my guys yelling at his computer because he was outbid by $1 on EBay! Go figure! Anyways, I appreciate all the letters and stuff from people! I'm a little excited this morning. If you couldn't tell by all the exclamation points so far! 'Why' Your asking? Well, I rediscovered ChristianRock.net! It is a Christian Rock radio station that is online! So now, since there is no REAL radio over here that plays Christian music, I can get my fill of my style of Christian music whenever I'm in my room!
Well, some of you might already know this, most of you might not. I've had some interaction with the Iraqi kids. Which means that I have been 'driving around'. But, I'm having a hard time dealing with the kids. They are extremely selfish and deceiving in nature. I can't even begin to explain how many children I told that 'no, you can't have my pen, I need that.', and I told each kid that at least 10 times in a row! The only reason they stopped asking for my pen was either they started asking for something else, or I walked to an area where they were not allowed to go, or got back in the vehicle! Even if I got in the vehicle, they would chase after them like it is some sort of parade. We haven't been told we CAN'T give these kids anything, but you really can't because you would just get mobbed! It is also very hard to figure out how to deal with them the way that Jesus would deal with them, especially since these kids are not my mission, and I'm not there to teach them how to be respectful and give them something without worrying about them getting beaten up by the bigger kids who will then steal it from them. So yeah, that is the newest difficulties presenting themselves.
Otherwise everything is going pretty well. Today is my last day off for... almost 2 weeks? Yeah, kinda bites, but I won't need to work 12 hour days! At least for a little while. It has been getting pretty cold here; lower 60's! I know it is nowhere NEAR how cold it has been in Minnesota (or Iowa), I mean, lower 60's might even be a warm day for you peeps! But my mom told me that the weather thingy she looked at said that Baghdad would only get in the 80's for 3 days! Yikes! Winter is coming! HA! I never though that I would say that about 80 degrees, or even 60 degrees. But I guess when your body is acclimated to a different climate, weird things happen...
Well, I hope everyone stays warm!
Brandon
07 October 2007
07 Oct 07
Hello everyone, I want to first start off by saying thank you for all the emails that I have been getting! It is really nice to hear from people, a real morale booster, even if I haven't been able to email back. For that I would like to apologize, however, there really isn't much I can do about that one as most of my time is spent either working where I can't use my computer, or sleeping.
Well, today is the 3rd day in a row where we have had a slight drizzle and overcast cloud cover for most/ part of the day! The drizzle isn't anything like a Minnesota drizzle, where everything gets a little wet, this drizzle is evaporated before you could grab your camera and take a picture of it! The cloud cover is really nice. It keeps the morning/ afternoon temperatures down into the upper 90's, which make for some really nice relaxing evenings when I start work! Other than these last 3 days, the last time I saw a cloud was in Mississippi! Soon the temperatures will drop to, well, cold. Last night was supposed to get around 65 or so, but with the asphalt that I work on, it didn't drop below 74... roughly. My ears still got a slight chill to them, but overall I was good.
Last night I saw 2 baby scorpions! One was black, which I think are king scorpions, and really little, we first mistook it for a really large ant! Which they have plenty of around here. It looked like it had gotten into a fight because it's stinger tail thingy wasn't working properly, and one of the pinchers was not working. The second scorpion was kind of a pail red-ish tan color. It was really cool watching it walk along with it's tail in the air. I poked at the thing with my knife, and it would spread out his pinchers like he was going to bear hug someone, and he arched his tail as high into the air as possible, it was pretty cool!
Other than those 2 things, there isn't much going on. Pretty much just doing the same job, day in and day out, kinda like work back at home. Actually, I'm doing roughly the same thing here as I was when I worked security; check ID badges to ensure that personnel entering our facility are authorized to be there, and if they are not, that they have a legitimate point of contact so they can get on, otherwise they are not allowed on. Just, for work, you would substitute the word 'on' for 'in'! It makes me kind of laugh thinking about it... but then my laugh trails off into a groan. Oh well, I am safe, have a roof over my head, and contact with my family, so everything is good. Right? Right!
Well, I'm off to sleep now. It's about 0638 back in Minnesota when I posted this, but it is really 1438 for me! I get to wake up in 5 hours, yay!
Brandon
Well, today is the 3rd day in a row where we have had a slight drizzle and overcast cloud cover for most/ part of the day! The drizzle isn't anything like a Minnesota drizzle, where everything gets a little wet, this drizzle is evaporated before you could grab your camera and take a picture of it! The cloud cover is really nice. It keeps the morning/ afternoon temperatures down into the upper 90's, which make for some really nice relaxing evenings when I start work! Other than these last 3 days, the last time I saw a cloud was in Mississippi! Soon the temperatures will drop to, well, cold. Last night was supposed to get around 65 or so, but with the asphalt that I work on, it didn't drop below 74... roughly. My ears still got a slight chill to them, but overall I was good.
Last night I saw 2 baby scorpions! One was black, which I think are king scorpions, and really little, we first mistook it for a really large ant! Which they have plenty of around here. It looked like it had gotten into a fight because it's stinger tail thingy wasn't working properly, and one of the pinchers was not working. The second scorpion was kind of a pail red-ish tan color. It was really cool watching it walk along with it's tail in the air. I poked at the thing with my knife, and it would spread out his pinchers like he was going to bear hug someone, and he arched his tail as high into the air as possible, it was pretty cool!
Other than those 2 things, there isn't much going on. Pretty much just doing the same job, day in and day out, kinda like work back at home. Actually, I'm doing roughly the same thing here as I was when I worked security; check ID badges to ensure that personnel entering our facility are authorized to be there, and if they are not, that they have a legitimate point of contact so they can get on, otherwise they are not allowed on. Just, for work, you would substitute the word 'on' for 'in'! It makes me kind of laugh thinking about it... but then my laugh trails off into a groan. Oh well, I am safe, have a roof over my head, and contact with my family, so everything is good. Right? Right!
Well, I'm off to sleep now. It's about 0638 back in Minnesota when I posted this, but it is really 1438 for me! I get to wake up in 5 hours, yay!
Brandon
24 September 2007
Marhaba!
Well, I'm finally moved into my permanent residence, and as you can see, I finally have some internet access. I must say though, that up until the time of writing this, the internet has been so extremely slow that I have been contemplating the thought of quite possibly canceling my subscription. Although, it is actually moving with some decent speed... so maybe it will work out after all? Hopefully it all works out, because this is my main avenue of communication. I gets hot here, around 110 or so, in the afternoon time and into the evening, but then it cools off to the point that my ears fingers and nose get cold! It might only be like 70 some outide, but brrr!
I've been working long hours, as Sarah said earlier, 12 hour shifts right through the night! I work at what is called an ECP - entry control point. This is where vehicles come in and out of the base. There is also an LSF - legion security force ECP located just in front of ours. This is where 2 Iraqi's work. It is pretty fun being able to talk to all of those guys. It's kind of weird, for many different reasons. First of all, I've never come in close contact with people of such a different culture before! The left hand is considered the 'dirty' hand, so you don't point, shake, or wave with this hand. The 'thumbs up' symbol is horribly offensive here, along with the 'OK' symbol. Another thing that makes it weird, is that in order to communicate, you have to speak all broken up. You pretty much drop all words of the English language except for the important verbs and adjectives. Then, to fill in the blanks, you use a whole crap load of hand gestures.
Well, Sarah sent me the camcorder, so I hope to take a small video tour of my living area so that everyone can see what it is that I live in. I have to say though, that for this being my first deployment, I am getting extremely spoiled at this base. It is a very nice place, with lots of food, and enough space so that you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the ECP area, and still be a few minutes drive away from the DFAC - dining facility or the GYM!
I hope to keep in touch a lot more! Especially if this internet keeps up! And thank you to everyone for all your prayers and continued support for my wife as she battles civilian life back home.
P.S. - The title of this post is the Arabic word for 'hello', and I spelled it how it should be pronounced phonetically.
I've been working long hours, as Sarah said earlier, 12 hour shifts right through the night! I work at what is called an ECP - entry control point. This is where vehicles come in and out of the base. There is also an LSF - legion security force ECP located just in front of ours. This is where 2 Iraqi's work. It is pretty fun being able to talk to all of those guys. It's kind of weird, for many different reasons. First of all, I've never come in close contact with people of such a different culture before! The left hand is considered the 'dirty' hand, so you don't point, shake, or wave with this hand. The 'thumbs up' symbol is horribly offensive here, along with the 'OK' symbol. Another thing that makes it weird, is that in order to communicate, you have to speak all broken up. You pretty much drop all words of the English language except for the important verbs and adjectives. Then, to fill in the blanks, you use a whole crap load of hand gestures.
Well, Sarah sent me the camcorder, so I hope to take a small video tour of my living area so that everyone can see what it is that I live in. I have to say though, that for this being my first deployment, I am getting extremely spoiled at this base. It is a very nice place, with lots of food, and enough space so that you can get away from the hustle and bustle of the ECP area, and still be a few minutes drive away from the DFAC - dining facility or the GYM!
I hope to keep in touch a lot more! Especially if this internet keeps up! And thank you to everyone for all your prayers and continued support for my wife as she battles civilian life back home.
P.S. - The title of this post is the Arabic word for 'hello', and I spelled it how it should be pronounced phonetically.
19 September 2007
2 a.m.
Last night, around 5:00pm, I was lying in bed with the latest sickness going around, a cold. I had a headache and my nose was stuffy. I was tired. It had been a week since I'd heard from Brandon, and he was heavy on my mind.
The phone rang.
I checked the number...it was HIM!
"Hello?" I said. A few seconds passed. There was a short delay between lines.
"Hi," he said.
Relief and warm fuzzies washed over me as we began our third conversation since he's been in Iraq. It was 2:00am over there.
He's been doing 12-hour overnight security shifts for the past couple weeks. He's not in his permanent location yet, but his address will remain the same when he DOES relocate.
He bought a TV from a guy over there who is leaving soon. Now, when he has the chance, he'll be able to watch movies and play games. There is a place there where he can purchase movies cheaply.
His health is good, and he's been spending some time working out at the gym. The food is apparently better than what he ate in Mississippi and Kuwait. Its really hot over there, like 120 degrees during the day, but its dry heat, so its tolerable (if you can call it that).
He bought a pellet gun and some pellets and has been shooting at rats. Hehe. He's learned, through observation, that the rats (size of his foot) are attracted to pop-tart crumbs so when he gets more pellets, he's going to bait the rats with crumbs and then get em! Haha. That is so like him to do that. It brought us a lot of laughs.
Although our conversations are limited as far as details of his mission and such, we are able to connect in other ways, talking about our thoughts, and dreams and you know, heart stuff.
We talked for over an hour and it was wonderful. He still can't think of anything he needs yet, but feel free to write him. When he relocates to his permanent location, he'll have internet access.
He'd like prayer for the ability and patience to deal with those who are leading his platoon. The bible instructs us to pray for those in authority. I ask that you do this also, pray that they will give wise instruction for the troops that is in the best interest of the soldiers and the mission.
-Sarah
The phone rang.
I checked the number...it was HIM!
"Hello?" I said. A few seconds passed. There was a short delay between lines.
"Hi," he said.
Relief and warm fuzzies washed over me as we began our third conversation since he's been in Iraq. It was 2:00am over there.
He's been doing 12-hour overnight security shifts for the past couple weeks. He's not in his permanent location yet, but his address will remain the same when he DOES relocate.
He bought a TV from a guy over there who is leaving soon. Now, when he has the chance, he'll be able to watch movies and play games. There is a place there where he can purchase movies cheaply.
His health is good, and he's been spending some time working out at the gym. The food is apparently better than what he ate in Mississippi and Kuwait. Its really hot over there, like 120 degrees during the day, but its dry heat, so its tolerable (if you can call it that).
He bought a pellet gun and some pellets and has been shooting at rats. Hehe. He's learned, through observation, that the rats (size of his foot) are attracted to pop-tart crumbs so when he gets more pellets, he's going to bait the rats with crumbs and then get em! Haha. That is so like him to do that. It brought us a lot of laughs.
Although our conversations are limited as far as details of his mission and such, we are able to connect in other ways, talking about our thoughts, and dreams and you know, heart stuff.
We talked for over an hour and it was wonderful. He still can't think of anything he needs yet, but feel free to write him. When he relocates to his permanent location, he'll have internet access.
He'd like prayer for the ability and patience to deal with those who are leading his platoon. The bible instructs us to pray for those in authority. I ask that you do this also, pray that they will give wise instruction for the troops that is in the best interest of the soldiers and the mission.
-Sarah
18 September 2007
Us
I haven't updated this in a little while, so I thought I'd share what I know. Brandon is in Iraq now, although not in his permanent location just yet. I talked to him early last week. He is unable to share details, for security purposes. When I asked, he couldn't think of anything he needed or wanted presently, but said he'd keep me posted. He thinks he will have internet access at some point, just not yet. I'm sure he would appreciate letters, though. His current address is posted on the right.
As for me, I'm doing well. Its raining today and I absolutely LOVE rain. God has blessed me incredibly and although this is the toughest thing I've ever gone through, by God's grace, I'm growing. Even on the really hard days, I never regret this decision. I have faced so many challenges over the past four and a half weeks since saying goodbye to Brandon, and with each one, I remember the face of my Bran and ask God for strength and push through.
I'm so proud of my husband. Bran, if you read this, know that I love you!
As for me, I'm doing well. Its raining today and I absolutely LOVE rain. God has blessed me incredibly and although this is the toughest thing I've ever gone through, by God's grace, I'm growing. Even on the really hard days, I never regret this decision. I have faced so many challenges over the past four and a half weeks since saying goodbye to Brandon, and with each one, I remember the face of my Bran and ask God for strength and push through.
I'm so proud of my husband. Bran, if you read this, know that I love you!
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