2007

Well another year is now upon us. We are now on the 'back nine' and you can tell. We are starting to see a bit of short timers in some of the guys, the command has already started sending out information on the turnover (with the battalion that is going to relieve us) I can't believe that it has been almost five months since I left home.

I received an e-mail from my oldest son and it read, "Dad, don't leave us again. We know that you love being a Seabee but we want you to retire." Sergio is not one to open up too much so for him to take the time to do this tells me a whole lot and to be honest, it makes me second guess, again, the reasons why I did not put up much of a fight to come out here. Unlike active duty, the reserves have a couple of clauses that if one wanted to, one could avoid being called up. I did not want to go that route. I made a commitment that I would serve my country in time of peace and if needed, in time of war. So here I am. Dealing with the things that need to be dealt with and e-mails such as the one that he sent me is something to add to that. Does it hurt to read that? Of course, but it also helps me to stay focused on the job at hand. I've been asked, "Why did you stay in the reserves with the war still going on?" I do not support the war. It's not about me wanting to be a hero. I have known many of the guys in this battalion for over 8 years. It's about being there for one another. What about my wife, my kids and my family? It's hard to explain and I don't even know if I can explain it but it is about the guy standing next to me. We are out here working, supporting the kid outside of the wire, standing the watch, patroling the streets, sleeping outside in the cold. I watch these guys gear up, jump in their vehicles and head off base. They do this every day. Many of them joined after 9/11 knowing that more than likely they were going to be sent out here. 9/11 happened and since then I have been wanting to get out here and do something. Is it in me to go out there and be ground pounder, a grunt? Yes, but because of my family and my commitment to them, I did not go that route.
I miss my family, my kids, my wife, my family and my friends but I have no regrets about doing the work that I am doing.

December 14

Good morning.
We have just crossed over to double digits. Which means that we have less than 100 days to go before we start to head back to the states. If we stay true to form we will have our official turnover with the next battalion in March and we will be stateside around that time as well. I will not be release from active duty for another month or so after that but as long as I am in the states and able to fly or drive home, I will be more than happy.
Anyway, the weather out here is unreal. We got hit by a nasty cold front that stuck around for a week or so. The temps were dropping into the twenties but I am certain that we went down into the teens. The mornings were almost unbearable. Since I am an operator, I spend all day outside, operating. Anyway, some, most of our equipment is old or has not been maintained very well so the heating coils do not work. It is like riding around on top of an open ice chest with the windows down. Anything that is exposed goes numb and stays numb until the sun warms things up which is normally around 2 in the afternoon. Understand that being from El Paso, and although it can get real cold in West Texas, I work in an office.
I was working with my buddy Marty and I looked over and kept staring at him with a smirk on my face.
"What the hell is that look for?!"
"Just wondering how long you are going to let that glob of snot hang from the tip of your nose." (HAHAHA)
"You mean like the one on your nose!" (HAHAHAHA!)
Crap.

Call(ask) before you dig..

Good morning everyone. Well, some yahoo decided to dig a ditch and cut right into the main comm line. Since we, the Seabees, are manning up a variety of projects around the base, guess who got blamed for it? The cool thing is that the command knows who did it so we are still feelings welcomed out here.
Alot has happened since the last time that I updated this site...
Just over a week ago we were rocked by an RPG. It hit about 200 meteres from our hooch. I heard the rattling noise that their rockets make but since we are not seasoned in the art of telling the difference between the sound of an incoming rocket and a a broken AC valve we could not react in time to take cover. I was sitting on the edge of my rack when I heard the sound whoosh and rattle over our hooch. No sooner had I said to myself, "Self, was that a...." BOOM!!!!!!!! The walls shook and the guy that was in the hooch with me was at the door in a flash he looked back at me. See , yours truly has the reaction time of a very nimble sloth. Not that it would make any difference. The marines have since explained to us that if you can hear the rocket coming in then you are good to go, if you can't, well..."You don't have anything to worry about it. You'l be in a world of hurt or dead. But hey, either way, you'll be on your way home." Ah, Jarhead humor. And just yesterday, right at cut off time, I was standing with a group of Seabees when we heard another boom. We looked at eachother and then around the base and saw "a pretty cloud"(not me) just outside the wire. "That is too close to be us and not far enough to be on the range. Take cover." We made it back to our hooch and threw on our OTV and brain bucket (flak vest and kevlar helmet). We sat in our hooch waiting for the "all clear" I have to tell you that although this gear is designed to keep us alive, it fits real snug and it is not designed for comfort. Personally, when I wear it, I feel like a burrito with the beans spilling out of it.
Although the bombs served as a reminder that we are not just on another buidling project, we are at war. We are all in good spirits and now that our comms are back up, morale is picking up as well. Take care...