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!)

Called home, everybody seemed to have moved away.

there's always one dude that won't work

Well, there's always one special day in the Army, and that's moving day. There's a few different types of moving, especially when talking about deployments. The most common type of moving is called "clearing the barracks," where someone who has nothing better to do with his (her) time than nitpick over the absolute cleanliness of giant, concrete bays. Keep in mind that most large-scale barracks (ie North Fort Hood) are mainly cinder block and poured concrete. If there is so much as one minuscule speck of dust, the entire bay has to be re-cleaned. The only good thing about the barracks clearing procedure is actually leaving, and knowing you don't have to do it again any time too soon.
Moving day takes on a whole new meaning when deployed. The process of leaving is called RIP/TOA, which stands for Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority. Basically, it's a fancy term for shift change, except the shift is a year long, and you don't get overtime. RIP/TOA begins, typically, about three to four months out, when talks begin with the replacement unit. About two months out, it gets really exciting, because you begin to pack your connex (twenty foot ISO 6346 standard shipping container) for the trip home. At about three to four weeks out, you move completely out of the trailers and into the transient tents. It's amazing what people collect over the time that they're here, and everyone tries to sell it at the end of their tour. The funny thing is that everyone is selling the same things, so if you're a particularly good haggler, you can get away with some good deals.

stuff for sale!

A buddy of mine got two TVs, a table, a rug, and some other good for next to nothing, and ended up giving most of it away. It's a lot like a big garage sale, except it's Iraq, and we don't have garages.

this guy drew the short straw... it might be pleasant, except it's 120 out

People move everything. Of course, they stack whatever vehicles they can find with bags, and some even try to take all their furniture. It's a real circus.

they load it all



unfortunately, you can't take it all

Anyway, today was one of those such days. The 2nd Infantry division is moving out, and being replaced by the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. It's always a bit hectic around here when large units RIP/TOA. Most active duty combat units RIP/TOA at a battalion or higher level, so they come in droves. For about the past two weeks it's been near impossible to get lunch due to the iunflux of several thousand more soldiers. Poor Camp Striker wasn't meant to support so many people. Just the other day I had to wait almost forty minutes to get a haircut! A haircut! Once I sat in the chair, I was out the door in under nine minutes. It was well worth it, I guess. Things are starting to normalize again, though.

And I must leave. And I must leave fast.

Five weeks until I get to come home!! I'm beginning to plan a list of things to do, not the least of which includes trying to catch a Dylan concert. After looking at the dates, he's playing in New York in early October, and I think it would be easy enough to make it to Rochester, Syracuse or Albany. Of course, there's also rumor of him coming as close as Columbus, so if he hits there, I'm definitely going. I also am going to eat a lot. My palate, at this point, would prefer sandpaper drenched in motor oil over Army food. At least it would have some distinguishable flavors. That's a diatribe better reserved for another time, though.
In other news, the weather over here is slowly starting to become more tolerable. The nighttime lows are dipping into the low eighties, which makes for a remarkably pleasant evening, to say the least.
Well, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been kind of busy. I've been taking on some additional duty since a lot of people are on leave right now, and it's been busy as of late. A whole lot of units are redeploying right now, which means they get to go home. Soon enough, that will be us! We still haven't heard any dates for when we get to leave, but we're hoping it is in either December or early January. I've heard rumor that we'll be home by the Super Bowl, which is the first week in February. That would put us out of the US for about a solid year, since we left Hood on Feruary 5.
We have about three weeks until GEN Petraeus has to submit his "progress report" on the surge. That shoudl be interesting, and also to see how the pundits on Capitol Hill react to it. My guess is that it will feature largely ambiguous writing, and there will be little of real value in it. It will make news for about two days, then it will fade away and we'll be back to the same old rhetoric. I read an article the other day that said politics eclipsed Iraq as the top news in 2007 so far, and that's a sad testament to where we're at as a country right now. We've become so disillusioned and disenfranchised with this war that it seems commonplace. That's not entirely unexpected, since we've been living with this conflict longer than any single conflict of the 20th Century, save Vietnam. We'll see.


Album of the week: "The Life Pursuit" by Belle & Sebastian

My dogs are barking, there must be someone around

Well, It's mid-August, and we're well into the dog days of summer. Daytime highs in Baghdad have been reaching a modest 120 to 125 degrees, and, of course, with lots of sweltering summertime sunshine. On the upside, the nights have been getting cooler, dropping to the eighties or so. It's funny, thinking that the mid-to-high eighties would be considered exceedingly "pleasant."
In other news, I think my leave is going to begin on or around the thirtieth of September. That's a little later then I would have initially liked, but there's always an upside. I'll be gone for the better part of October, and when I get back, I'll get infected with a severe case of short-timeritis. Fortunately, it's rarely fatal, and the best cure is coming home, which most doctors prescribe within sixty to seventy-five days of symptoms.
I also recently got recommended for promotion. Like I said some months ago, the Army enlisted promotion system is kind of whacky. I put in a promotion packet, which is kind of a little biography of military and civilian accomplishemts such as education, physical fitness tests, marksmanship and other awards. All of these things are comverted to points. Your personal points are augmented by points from your commander, who assigns a number (sometimes very arbitrarily, I'm sure) of points to you based on how worthy he thinks you are. Lastly, your packet is presented to a promotion board. They also give you points, based on your packet, and either recommend you or disapprove you for promotion. At that point, assuming there was a positive recommendation, the packet is forwarded to the proper order-issuing authority, which is usually the higher major command. In my case, this is the 88th, in Minneapolis. From there, they finalize the packet, and issue promotion orders. After this whole ordeal, you can start wearing the new rank. Hopefully finance got word of the promotion, too, and you start getting paid more. With any luck, my packet should be arriving in Minneapolis any day now, and my orders should be cut by the end of the month. But, this being the United Staes Army, I would be not at all surprised to see myself not getting promoted until December. Merry Christmas!


Album of the week: "Armed Forces" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

keep on keepin' on like a bird that flew

Well! I guess it's been just over two weeks since my last post... sorry for the delay! There have been a few things going on, but we should be getting to the cool part of my IZ trip: the flight.
Above, you'll see the sign for the Washington LZ, which is the heliport in the IZ. We showed up there, and kindly asked to get on a bird, and they obliged! Cool!
Like everything in the Army, we were forced to wait for several hours awaiting our flight. I took a nap. Soon, though, we were roused from our sleep, and marshalled onto the flight line, ready and eager to take to the skies. Our craft for the day would be a Sikorsky S-70, otherwise known as a UH-60 Black Hawk.
The seats are little, and you buckle in using a four-point harness with a rotary buckle in the center.

I was lucky enough to secure a "window" seat. I emphasize window, since there wasn't one. They had removed all glass with the exception of the cockpit. That's my buddy Billingsley, by the way. He's from my old unit in Cincinnati.
After takeoff, we flew up and over the IZ on our way back to Liberty. There were lots of cool sights, which I'll take you through now!

Some of the streets of Baghdad.

This is the Iraqi Monument to the Unknown Soldier. I have a short clip of us driving by it, but I haven't figured out a way to post movies yet. It's a neat monument. Really cool architecture.

I have no idea what this building in the foreground is, but it's pretty cool. My intent in the photo was to catch the construction in the background. This is the site of the old Baghdad Airport. You can still vaguely see the remains of a runway stretching off into the upper left. Anyway, the construction is for the "Saddam the Great" mosque, which, if it ever gets completed, will be the largest in the world. I don't think it will get completed, at least not without being renamed.

This is the outskitrs of downtown Baghdad. We're staring to come out of the central districts, near the Tigris, and into more of the suburban sprawl.

No idea. It was a neat looking building with a spiral Iraqi flag.

This is one of my favorite pictures. This is the al Rahman mosque, which is only slightly smaller than the Saddam the Great mosque. I hope they finish this one, simply because it's already so grand.

Here's another shot of the al Rahman mosque. I think it gives a bit of perspective to the size of it all. The foreground buildings are all about two stories tall.

More of the streets of Baghdad. It's a fairly ordinary city. It's very comparable to suburban America in the fact that nothing really exceeds two stories, with the exception of government structures and the city center.


This is one of those quintissential "Army at War" pictures. I had to get a couple of shot of the Black Hawks flying, and this was one of them!


This is Camp Victory. Note the al-Faw Palace on the left, and far in the background is the Victory Over Iran palace, on Camp Slayer. We hit that with a cruise missile on the opening night of the war, thinking that Saddam was there. It hasn't been repaired.

This is our helicopter!


And, lastly, me and Billingsley after our ride. I was excited, and he was his usual stoic self. Now all we had to do was find a way home to Striker...

I'll take you where the green grass grows

Hey everybody! Welcome to day two of the IZ adventure!

After we woke up the following morning, we decided to begin taking a look around. We gathered up our equipment, and journeyed off in search of breakfast. After turning in our linens and asking where the DFAC was, we headed in the right direction and stumbled upon a pool! It's fantastic!

This was one of Saddam's pools, of course. It's pretty lavish. Kind of kidney-shaped, it boasts twin diving platforms and a well-appointed pool house.

We're going swimming when we go back, needless to say.

Anyway, after marvelling at the pool, we moved over to the DFAC (which is the large white building at the back of the first pool picture) just in time to get a quick bite to eat. It seems as though the food is even better here that at Striker or Liberty. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat in the really nice room you saw in the last posting.

After that, we decided we'd better get a move on looking for the Consulate's Office so we could get our passports processed.

The Republican Palace, as I said before, was Saddam's largest. It was where he did most of his business, his office was there, it overlooks the Tigris, and now it is the home of the US Mission in Iraq. We wandered around the grounds for a spell, taking in a few photo ops as we went along.

one of many palace entrances

me at the palace!!

We wandered around the palace for a while, and it seemed as though no one knew where the Chancery of the Consulate was. It turns out that it's actually in another building, about a mile and a half away. Not knowing really how to get there, we started walking.

There are some neat sights along the way, like this bombed out building that I imagine was hit by a cruise missile. You can only partially see it in the background.

We walked a little farther, and continued toward the Chancery. We passed Ibn Sina Hospital, where they filmed Baghdad ER, and another cool building.

ibn sina hospital grounds

not exactly sure what it is, but it's kinda cool

There's also a whole lot of arches built in the city. I'm not too sure why, but they are really neat.

cool arch

this one's next to the building hit by a missile

Finally, after going through many gates and seeing many guards, we arrived at the Chancery! And, of course, what we imagined to be a day full of beauracracy and paperwork, was merely fifteen minutes to sign a form and be on our way.

There's actually quite a lavish garden next to the building, but they don't allow pictures of it. I don't see how photographing a garden could be seen as a possible terror act, but I guess it is.
Soon after, we walked back toward the embassy, and caught a bus to take us on a tour of the IZ.

See for yourself!

new construction (and a stryker)

nice bathrooms at the consulate

the new us embassy...590 million big ones

more of mr crocker's estate


14th of July square...that's Iraqi independence day


the Baghdad clock tower


blown up!

the tigris at the 14th of july bridge