Another Day Down
Wow it’s been quite some time since I’ve written anything here. Well I’m still in Iraq and I’m still at FOB Falcon. Things here have been alright. With each day that passes the more I miss home and my wife. During my downtime I try to find things to occupy my time whether its playing video games, drawing, or watching movies, but sometimes it doesn’t always work. I’m guessing summer is in full swing here or at least it feels like it. I don’t think it can get any hotter, average temp is usually around 115 but it has been about 120 a few times.
It really has been an experience that I am proud of but I think it’s about time for us to pack it up and bring it home. Don’t think I’m not supportive of the war because I am, but in my opinion I believe the Iraqi’s are ready for us to leave. Case in point there was the June 30th withdraw from the cities and I just read that many of the barricades and T-walls that US forces put up for security around Baghdad are coming down per the Iraqi government. What is not in the news is that military convoy’s are only allowed to be on the roads between certain hours of the day and that each vehicle has a sheet of paper explaining who we are in case we’re stopped at in Iraqi checkpoint.
We’re on water restrictions here because of a broken sewer main somewhere in Baghdad so we are only allowed to use the showers between certain times of the day and bathrooms have been converted into Porta Johns…nothing like using one of those in 115 degree weather.
I hope to post more just so I can find an outlet. I’ll leave you with this link of the area:Local Area
And We’re Back
So after months of being absent I’m back. Last time I updated this I was at Camp Shelby, MS. Since then I’ve been to NTC out at Fort Irwin, CA and I revisited Fort Bragg for a few weeks. But right now I’m in Kuwait, I’ve been in Kuwait since the 16th of April and I will be here until who knows. They haven’t given me any sort of time frame of when I will be leaving for Iraq. I sure hope it’s sometime soon though because sleeping on cots and living out of a duffel bag for the lat 3 months is getting old. Have you ever tried to find a pair of socks at the bottom of a duffel bag without unpacking it? It’s not fun you end up grabbing everything else but a pair of socks. Not to say Kuwait is bad there’s a decent gym, a movie theater, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Burger King, a nice PX, and some other great amenities. The time difference of seven hours is something to get use to. I’m saying goodnight to Jen and she’s about to eat lunch. I find myself up until 1230 or even later sometimes. The heat really doesn’t bother me. I actually welcome the heat compared to the biter cold months back in the states.
I do have a lot of pictures from the beginning of my deployment in December and up until now. As I get more pictures I will upload them to the location below. I’m hoping that I can get back into updating my blog so just bear with me.
http://picasaweb.google.com/robert.evansII
Till next time folks.
How Quickly December Will Be Here
Sunday I got done with a long week and long days (5 AM to 9 PM) of training and paperwork to get me ready for deployment. It was only suppose to be Monday through Friday, but in typical Army fashion someone screwed up. Originally my orders were suppose to be till Friday so they just extended my orders till Sunday. Imagine my surprise when they told me this news. Monday through Thursday was SRP days (Solider Readiness Processing). During this time I get screened for my medical (started my HEP B shots), personnel, clothing issues, & briefings (not underwear briefings Jen). This is all in order to get me ready for SRC (Solider Readiness Check) which is about the same thing as an SRP but more in detail. Then Thursday through Sunday we were in the Field doing Warrior Task Training and Battle Drills. Oh lucky me on Wednesday I felt I was getting sick and sure enough Thursday it kicked in, I’m guessing I got it from one of the other 450 soldiers. Needless to say the last few days were miserable, exhausted, not being able to talk, sore throat…and out in 90 plus degree weather. I don’t mind being out in the field doing training, but being sick just makes everything worse.
So Saturday I was just beat from fighting this cold and my NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) told me to get with the medic. So I went and saw the one of NCO Staff members who could contact the medic. I explained my situation to him. He asked me “You wouldn’t be doing this to get out of training would you? I’m just kidding, don’t take it the wrong way.” I chuckled and he chuckled. I knew he was kidding, but I said back “If I wanted to get out of training I would’ve done it on my wife’s birthday”. Anyway I eventually got with the medic, who was useless, told me I had a cold and I need to take some medicine. of course I already knew I had a cold and I was already taking medicine.
Even though the week had it downers it did have some good things. I met some of the people I will be deploying with as well as found out some information on what to expect over in Iraq. So December 1st is when I will be leaving for training and then in April I will be leaving for the Sandbox…Iraq. I can’t believe how quickly August will be over and how quickly December will be here. I will get to come home for Christmas and New Years, but I will be leaving again on January 2nd…yes my birthday. Happy Birthday Bobby you’re going to Mississippi. I’ve heard nothing but bad things about Mississippi. Jen has shared the story of her mom treating to leave her Dad if they did not move from Mississippi. Can’t wait!
Till Next Time.
