This place..

Let me see if I can give you an idea of what being out here is like.
On our first night here, we arrived at 0100, the base was pitch black. All that we could see were the barriers that surround every building on the base. Every parking lot or open lot is surrounded by concerntina wire or some form of man made barrier. Understand that before we even made it to Kuwait the rumor mill was in over drive so we heard stories about how base security were finding IED's ON THE BASE and how although no one had been injured the possibilities that more IED's were out there was very possible. So after our first night in our 40 man tents we made it out and about. Well, with the rumors still bouncing around, we had it in our minds that every rock and piece of trash could be a trigger for an IED so there was not a whole of wandering around. That went on for a few hours until we received an official brief. The rumors were a form of initiation. Ha-freakin'-Ha!
The insurgents have been known to take a chance and launch a mortar or two our way but they do so without aiming. They set the mortar, usually on a timer or with ice (it melts and the trigger goes off) and then run away. So when you here about a incident involving one of the good guys, it is about as random a hit as you can get. It sucks. Anyway, the base has not been attacked in almost a year. The Marines and Soldiers keep pushing our perimeter out further so unless we need to go outside the wire, we are fairly safe.
Now, the base is swarming with foreigners, some of them are Iraqis. Needless to say there is not whole lot of trust floating around. I am sure that the majority of them are good people and they are just here to make a living but still, the fact that they are locals just adds to the tension. We eat in the same galleys, chow/mess halls as they do so you alot of sideways looks going on. What can you do? It's very strange. In order for any foreigner to work here, they have to go through a background check and 0nce they are hired on they cannot leave the base for the duration of their contract. But still...
Anyway...more later.
Take care y'all.

LCPL Seals: He gave his life securing a FOB for us. RIP my friend.

Updates...

Well, we are slowly getting into the swing of things. We have started on our projects and although I can't get into any details, I can tell you that we are all over the place. Our battalions is represented in just about every base/compound throughout the country. It is a great time to be associated with the Seabees. Our "CAN DO" spirit is being redefined at every turn. As for me, I will more than likely be doing my thing helping out with the convoy teams. So Bruce, go ahead and brush up with your Smokey and The Bandit, Cannonball Run movie trivia/quotes. And Ricco, don't listen to these fools bro, you are out here with us, but you look more like the locals than ever before!!!

FINALLY

Howdy! Well, it looks like I managed to get back onto my blog site. I will not be able to post any photographs but maybe that will change in a couple of weeks. Life in Iraq is not as bad as I had imagined it would be. Granted, we just got here so my opinion may change. For right my sole responsibility is guard duty. I have to monitor traffic in and out of the Seabee compound for 8 hours a day. It is monotonous but we all have to do our part out here. I am looking forward to getting back to work with my company. That is when the 'fun' will begin for me. I just want to get involved with some actual project work. By the looks of the base and the surrounding areas, there is plenty of work to go around for all of the Seabees out here.
The base is much bigger than I thougt it would be. It sits in the middle of nowhere so really, we are very safe out here. We are working hand in hand with all of the branches of the military so that in itself makes things real interesting. The lingo that each branch has is something that takes time to get used to.
The food in the galley is outrageous. I say that because the menu is endless. A mescun can gain some serious weight out here. But since the wife has me on a diet, that is not going to happen. The heat is not going anywhere for a while although at night it does cool down to the mid 80's. Let's see, ohm the water is not treated the way that we Americans are used to. You can smell the water and if you are real lucky you can actually shower in water that has a funny shade of beige/brown to it. It is so bad that even the folks in Tijuana won't touch it.
We live in "cans", which are two conex boxes, the storage bins that you see on freight liners. They fuse them together and bingo, military double wides. We have 5 guys in mine so it's a bit cozy. Go ahead with the Brokeback jokes.
All in all, life could be much worse. Feel free to e-mail me at wacatex@yahoo.com or szamora@gimail.af.mil

TAKE CARE and keep the prayers and love coming...