And it ain't in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies

Well, it's certainly been an eventful past few days. I was invited to a prayer luncheon with our Battalion and Brigade Commanders, and the Chaplain from the Third Infantry Division, where the Brigade Commander presented me with another Army Commendation Medal. It was a pretty good barbecue lunch, too.

a bit blurry, but if you look real close, it's me and colonel o'connell

Then, I went back to the Al Faw Palace and attended the 100th Anniversary of the Army Reserve Re-Enlistment ceremony. I was privileged enough to meet and get a picture taken with two very powerful and influential figures: GEN David Petraeus, the Multinational Coalition Forces-Iraq Commanding General; and LTG Jack Stultz, Chief and Commanding General of the Army Reserve. These guys are my top bosses, with the exception of Congress, the Prez and the Joint Chiefs. Those three are more figureheads, though, like a board of directors. These two guys are the CEO's of our little company.

me and "big dave" (got to love my hair...)

"jack" and I share a handshake

All in all, it was a nice ceremony. GEN Petraeus said a few nice words, as did LTG Stultz, and then we had cake and pictures! In addition to the pictures, I also got two more coins and some Army swag, like a nice new backpack and a large tote bag.
In other news, our unit suffered a horrible blow with the Packers' loss to the Giants the other night. A generous percentage of our company is from Green Bay, and they have become completely demoralized and dejected. It was a pitiful sight. I think we may have recruited a few new Pats fans in the process, too.

Never been so easy or so slow

Well, we've moved in to our new digs, and have begun what I call "Phase IV" of our deployment. (Phase I: Mobilization; Phase II: Kuwait; Phase III: Iraq; Phase IV: Tents; and Phase V: Demob at Leonard Wood) It's not quite as pleasant as we could wish, but I guess we can put up with anything for a few weeks. At least these tents, although much, much smaller than the mega-domes in Kuwait, are adequately heated.

my new digs

It's been a several day ordeal, beginning with me trying to get to the post office to mail things home. What was going to begin as two moderately packed foot lockers became, rather quickly, three stuffed footlockers and two cardboard boxes of miscellany. And, to top it all off, I still have to trim some fat before we get out of here. I find it hard to believe that I acquired so much stuff in the course of a year.
After finally getting my things mailed (to the tune of $101.18...), we took another two days to shift everything over to the tents. It's taken us about six total trips to move six people's things in a HMMWV. You really can't fit as much as you would think in one of those. It all went fairly smoothly, all things considered.
We have pretty much quit our missions at this point, and given near complete control over to the new unit. We had our awards ceremony the other day, where I got the first of two of my theater awards (not counting the various service ribbons we'll get). It's called the Army Commendation Medal.

pretty-riffic!

I was also summoned to the Al Faw palace to participate in a 100th Anniversary Ceremony of the Army Reserve with GEN David Petraeus and LTG jack Stultz, the MNCI Commander and Chief of the Army Reserve, respectively. We had a photo-op and rehearsed for our ceremony, which is tomorrow. I'll post up more stuff on that in a few days, when I get my pictures emailed to me from the Public Affairs Office. Here's a few, in the mean time:

al-faw front entrance

i think you can read

here we go, fast and slow, in the big chair!

Talk to you all real soon!

Then onward in my journey I come to understand

Hello everyone! Wow, it's nearly been a month since I last posted. I have a good excuse, however. I've been waking up and going to bed to this new database system that myself and another NCO have been developing for nearly two months now. It finally came to the point of installation, and I traveled up to Camp Taji to do so. Taji is the headquarters of our brigade. I can't go into much detail of what the system does or can do, as it is secret, but I can tell you that it has made a big impact on how the entire brigade conducts its transportation logistics missions. Quite a nice way to wrap up my deployment, I might add. Anyway, we went to Taji around the seventeenth, and came back on Christmas. It was a nice trip. Our accommodations were kind of spartan, but we were technically transients, so we got better housing than most. Usually, transients get stuck in tents.


Those are shots of the inside of our room, lacking any decoration and only having one bed frame, and of the outside of our trailer. It's hard to see all the wires that are suspended above the walkway. The living area up there is older than that of VBC, so many of the wires aren't buried or hidden like they are here. That, combined with the exposed pipes and sandbags (here, we use twelve foot tall T-wall barriers), made the whole place seem very third-world. It wasn't all bad, however, since we spent most of our time working.


The top picture of the above two is one of my favorites. Clouds are a rarity here, and to catch the wispy cirrus at sunrise above brigade headquarters was kind of cool. Then there's me, in front of the main HQ building. They even gave us our own ride!


Camp Taji is a bit north of the city, and it's much, much quieter. Many of the buildings are hard-stand buildings, and are already wired with electricity. Since the Camp isn't a rag-tag collection of trailers and aluminum buildings, they were much more selective about generator placement. The only noise I really noticed was the UAVs taking off and landing at the nearby airfield. They're pretty loud, given their small size. So anyway, here's a few more Taji pictures for your viewing pleasure:






In other news, we are celebrating down here, as rumor has it that we could be home by the Super Bowl. We've been given notice to begin slimming down our possessions, and we're to move into the tents sometime next week. Hence, I've been packing my trunks and boxes to get sent home! We're looking at just over three weeks, at this point in time, until we're out of Iraq! It seems almost surreal. It's also amazing how much stuff you accumulate over the course of a year, even when you weren't trying. No matter, though, I'll be happy to sort it all out in a month!

Walking through the leaves, falling from the trees (not so much)

In less than nineteen ours, I will begin my final complete month in Iraq. Too bad it has to be one of the ones with thirty-one days!
Anyway, so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been recruited, along with another guy, to create a new database and cargo tracking system for two yards, three transportation battalions and the brigade trans ops. Luckily, we can go off of one basic platform, and just tweak it a little to customize it for each section. That's had me exceedingly busy, and I've been working hard to conjure up all my hidden and locked repositories of Microsoft Access knowledge. With any luck, we should be done soon, then we're off to install it in the many places it's needed. It's gonna be fun!
On another note, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I've certainly got to say that last year's was much better than this year's, but this year's was nice because it means we're almost finished. I didn't do too much for turkey day, but the Army and the nice third-country nationals that help take care of us made quite a to-do over the day. The dining facility was decked out, inasmuch as a dining facility could be, I guess. The best part was all the TCN's hollering out "Happy Thanksgiving!" when, most likely, none of them knew what Thanksgiving was. Check out Dan's blog for some good pics of the DFAC.
Well, thanks to my schedule, I was unable to get a proper Thanksgiving dinner, so I had to settle for a Thanksgiving lunch. It was good nonetheless, for Iraq and all. I avoided the crowds in the dining hall and got my food to-go, took it back to my room and listened to "Alice's Restaurant" while eating. Then, gastronomically and aurally satisfied, I went to sleep.
Well, I also got to meet another General. General Elmo, of the 65th RRC (Puerto Rico) was in theater for a few days. I'm not sure why he came to see us, but I think it had something to do with the fact that we're reservists. We all chatted and had a good time, and he likes to take lots of pictures. I'm still waiting on some good ones to come back, and when I get them, I'll be sure to post them.
In other news, Autumn is now in full swing here in central Iraq. The nighttime lows are dipping into the low forties to high thirties, and daytime highs are now in the sixties or so. The weather is actually quite nice, except for the flies. All of the giant, pesky, kamikaze flies have come back out, and they are everywhere. The other downside is the trees, what few we actually have, don't change color. It's far too dry for that, so they just turn brown and drop the leaves. That just started happening last week, so if I begin collecting all the fallen leaves from every tree I see, I may have a big enough leaf pile to jump into by the time we leave in late January.
Well, I guess the next time we talk will be in December! We'll all be thinking of Christmas and, of course, my birthday! If you want to send me anything, remember to get it in the mail no later than the tenth or so. Mail is going to be extra bogged down on account of Christmas, and our mail cut-off is the twenty-second. Don't forget!

As I travel down life's pathway, Know not what the years may hold.

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's already been a year. One year ago Thursday, I packed by suitcase, said goodbye, and got on a plane to begin this crazy journey. Since then, I've spent over three (complete) days in an airplane spanning six US States, four countries and eleven time zones. I've endured temperatures from -20 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. A lot has changed.
My life, of course, is no longer the same as it was. To some degree, we've been institutionalized. I have not, as Dad and Jenny so aptly put it, worked my "hunter-gatherer" skills for quite some time. If I need something to eat, I know exactly when and where I can get a hot plate. I barely remember how to write a check, and if it wasn't for spell checker, I don't think I could spell "rent." I haven't had to worry (much) about transportation. Anywhere I want or need to go, there's a ride waiting. If I need a light bulb changed, I have a legion of Iraqis and third-country nationals to come and do it. I haven't really paid any bills or had any wants in a year. That's a long time.
It's hard to imagine what independence will be like again. I got a taste of it on leave, but still, all my wants were met. (I was staying at my parents' house, of course all my wants were met!) Being "free" again is both a frightening spectre and an exciting prospect. In less than eighty days I should be there again. No more coffee with Generals, no more gunfire at dawn, no more mortars and rockets; just me, alone in my fantastic urban apartment with two cats and a cup of coffee. Not to mention a fridge full of Guinness. I can't wait.

Somewheres in this universe there's a place that you can call home

Hi everyone!! Just so you all know, I'm back in Iraq after my leave. It was pretty good, all things considered. I saw two Bob Dylan shows, which were both fantastic.
leave all started by me going to Kuwait to catch a charter to Atlanta. We flew a USAF C-130 from Iraq to Kuwait, which is extremely uncomfortable, if you've never ridden in cargo net seats before. We're also packed in like sardines, so it's doubly uncomfortable.
Afer landing in Kuwait, we were taken to the Army base within the airbase, and got all of our necessary briefings and itineraries, and were released. I, personally, went and watched a couple of movies at the MWR and relaxed a bit. The next day we prepared to go home.
In order to go home, you have to pass through customs here in Kuwait, which is run by the Navy. It's good to see that they're making such a notable contribution to the war, by not letting us take anything cool home. They line everyone up, and make you x-ray your bags, then dump them. After they rummage through your stuff for a bit, they make you repack it, and then they x-ray your carry-on one more time. Then you can chill, in a sterile security zone, of course. They call it the "Freedom Zone."


It's kind of ironic, since when you turn around, you see this:


It's like a prison! Freedom? Not! Anyway, it's just for a few hours, and they have movies and drinks and a Pizza Hut.

everyone lined up for customs

Next. they herd everyone onto a bus, and you ride to the airport to get on a plane home, which is very similar to the rickety old MD-11 that we rode here to begin with.

Anyway, I made it to Atlanta, and then to Cincinnati, where mom and I went to lunch and I had my first beer in nine months. It was fantastic!
I also found a new apartment when I was home, so I'll show everybody some of the pictures I took of it. Keep in mind that I am going to repaint, and the previous tenants left some junk in there. They left in a whirlwind, a la the Browns in '96. Here you go:


That's the entrance hall. The corner rail on the left is the wall that leads to the bathroom, and there's a coat closet behind me and to the left. The first door on the right is the bedroom, and the second is the kitchen. the first on the left is the living room, and the second is the dining room. It's a pretty good size place.


This is the bedroom. That is a Rookwood fireplace. Since the building was built in the twenties, Rookwood decorations are quite prevalent. I hate that brown color. I am leaning toward a blue, and none of that furniture will be there. You can't see it, but out those windows and downstairs is a cool little courtyard, good for grilling, except the food has to be carried up three stories. No big deal, stairs are good for you!


This is the living room. I am going to put my giant TV in the bay recess, and get dome good drapes to limit glare. This room, and the dining room, is on the western side of the building, so it gets good afternoon sun. It's about 4:45 PM in early October in these shots, so I should have good sun all winter long, when the sun decides to shine in Cincinnati.


This is the living room again, looking into the dining room. (That's mom and Kris, the property manager) Note the pocket doors. Cool, huh?


Here's more of the dining room. Nothing to special about it, it's just a big square-ish room. Another fireplace, but neither of them are operational.


And lastly, the kitchen. It's big enough to eat in. There's a good size pantry, and I might take the door off, for ease of access, but I'll see how that plays out after I've gotten some cook-time in. it's actually even big enough for me to put my kitchen work table/butcher block in as an island, and still have a table off to one side, by the windows (behind me and to my right). Establishing a good work triangle is important in a kitchen (storage, range, and workspace). I plan on doing some entertaining. If you noticed, there are trees outside the windows in the living and dining room. That's Washington park, which is the only thing that separates me from Cincinnati Music Hall, home of the Symphony, Pops and Opera. I am also a block from Ensemble Theatre, four blocks from Shakespeare, and six blocks from work. Findlay Market is five blocks or so to the north, and I can ride the bus for free to school. I only plan on driving my car on rare occasions. Did I mention there's a YMCA two blocks away, and the Tower Place gym is six blocks away? It's fantastic! Anyway, my address will be as follows:

Michael Muntifering
1202 Race St #7
Cincinnati, OH 45202

The first party will probably be in late February or early March, when I have a housewarming gala. I'll keep you all posted. I'm under ninety days left!

He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor

getting ready for the show-check out those stripes!

Wow! Apparently I haven't posted in almost twenty days! Sorry, all, but I've been terribly busy. In good news (which is one reason I am so busy lately), I got promoted! After putting my packet together in April, submitting it for May, and having to wait until the end of July for the board, my orders finally came through and I was promoted as of September 1. Of course, it means a jump in pay, but it also means a tremendous jump in responsibility. I am now no longer a junior enlisted soldier, but a noncommissioned officer in the Army. We had a nice little ceremony at the Camp Liberty Field House.
There were three soldiers from my company that got promoted, but only two of us went to the ceremony, since the third was on leave. Of course one was me, and the other was good ol' Simmons. You may remember him from earlier in the blog, when we were in Montana. He's a unique character, and fun to have around, sometimes.
At any rate, we actually got "pinned" around the twelfth or so, so we were officially Sergeants, but the active duty Army, in all of it's heraldric glory, likes to mark every occasion with plenty of pomp and circumstance.
The ceremony, as I mentioned before, was at the Camp Liberty Field House. Plenty of big wigs were there, including the brigade Command Sergeant Major, the battalion Commander and Command Sergeant Major, all of the company First Sergeants in the battalion, and lots of guests.
We began the ceremony lined up in formation in the back of the hall, and were inspected as such. The colors were presented, and the national anthem was sung (by no other than the 192nd's own SPC Elliot, who also sang via satellite at the Cleveland Indians home opener this season). We were then marched to the front of the hall, and we took our seats. There was a speech by SGM Joseph, the 15th Sustainment Brigade's CSM, and some small presentations by other soldiers, including a recitation of the NCO Creed and a brief history of NCO induction.
Finally, we were called to our feet by CSM Bennet, the 68th CSSB CSM, and given the NCO Charge, which is akin to an oath of office. After that, we were called by name to cross under a symbolic archway to shake the hands of CSMs Joseph and Bennet, and all four Company First Sergeants, and to sign and receive our certificates. We reformed at the back of the room, cased the colors, and sang the Army Song! Then we got cake. Yaay!

certified inductee!

"top" and I after the ceremony

Well, everybody, it looks as though I'll be home on leave very, very soon. I'll make sure to let everyone know when I'm getting in, and I look forward to seeing you all soon! (and having a nice, tall, cold Guinness!)