Living and working as a Paramedic in Iraq.
I heard from my cousin in Jinan, China today- he keeps rubbing in the fact that they have good food and beer and it's cheap.
I would really love to see the moon festival, it sounds pretty awesome. Hopefully when I complete this contract I can head that way for some serious R&R treking.
Well it's late, time to go home.
I don't know how I forgot to mention it but I did- the D-Fac here had raw broccoli last night! I've been lamenting the fact that I haven't been able to get any fresh or raw vegetables over here. Last night I went to the D-Fac got a slice of turkey and an ear of corn then walked to the salad bar to fix a small salad. Usually the salad bar has lettuce, shredded carrots, olives (green and black), sometimes onions and tomatoes, etc. When I've seen broccoli on the salad bar it's been (over)cooked. Last night I glanced at the broccoli and then WOW! I realized it wasn't cooked- raw veggies! I fixed a small salad and then filled one of the sections of my plastic plate with broccoli. I ate it with a little cheese, I ate it with some honey mustard dressing, I ate it raw. The other medic just looked at me funny as I proclaimed how happy I was. I'm going back tonight hoping for more.
I realize how silly this must sound to everyone else reading it, but I am sick of vegetables that have had all of the flavor cooked out of them. I was a happy camper.
On a more serious note, the military called us (the two medics) to assist them last night. They had an unknown number of Iraqis coming in who had tried to run a roadblock somewhere. No idea why they tried, but they each ended up with an extra orifice or two for their troubles. Can't say much more, but they weren't innocent like they proclaimed.
Today was interesting, I had a straight razor on my throat. It was a new sensation and I can't say that the experience was altogether bad- he straightened my goatee for me. Yes that's right boys and girls- I got a haircut. I had been trimming my own hair with an electric clippers, but I didn't bring them with me to Ba'Quba so I figured I'd get a real haircut. The barber is a local national (Iraqi). He did a good job and then asked, well more like signed as his English is all but nonexistent) if I would like my goatee trimmed. He had trimmed Ron's beard just before I sat down with a straight razor and done a nice job so I said sure. He put a fresh blade on the razor and then made sure that all of the hair on my head was nice before turning his attention to my face. Deftly he cleaned up the edges and straightened it up for me. I was really wishing I had brought my camera so that Ron could take a picture of me of me with the razor on my throat. Kinda freaky, but pretty cool too. Total cost- $3 (I gave him $5 since he didn't cut me and he stayed after hours to give me the trim).
I've continued my working out while at C-3. Today I watched a female CO knock out pushups faster than most guys. I'm not talking wimpy, bent knee, girly pushups either-- she had her feet up on the bench and was doing perfect form pushups. I counted thirty, but by the time I started counting she had probably done that many already. Fitness chicks are cool. (I sound quite chauvinist here don't I?).
Not much else going on here- which is a very good thing given this camps record.
I had said something about missing trees and rivers, etc. Well This week I got to do some traveling- I got sent to Baquba to help out. They have three medics here normally, but one had to take emergency leave and one had R&R scheduled. This is an active area and they always want to have two medics at every site so I got voted to go.
I left my base on Tuesday for C-1. The plan was to catch a convoy on Wednesday to C-3, but as with so many things involving the military, it was hurry up and wait. We left Friday. It's about a three hour ride through Indian country. I got to ride in an armored Humvee, but the convoy commander and his driver were like Laurel and Hardy- they argued about everything along the way and were just generally stupid. The driver made one wrong turn because he hadn't been paying attention at the abbreviated briefing (which differed from the ride up where they apparently made every wrong turn they could including going through town twice). The gunner sat up top taking photos. (Note here- normally civilians are not allowed to ride in vehicles with crew served weapons as it negates your "noncombatant" status. Given the volatility of the area, and the fact that the insurgents couldn't care less about who you are, we take the safest ride we can.) We had one Humvee break down and it had to be towed.
The ride down was interesting though, I got to see a lot more of Iraq than I previously had. I got to see more of the Tigres River and irrigation ditches and more of the roadside stands. We passed a lot of roadside stores- kind of an Iraqi strip mall. I got to see lots of houses and service stations as well as a few power relay stations. Small children waved, adults just watched us pass.
Well I'm here now. It's a decent camp, but not mine.
Time to do some work........
Well I'm in a great mood, can't say why really, but I am. I've been in one of my goofy moods where I feel the need to share my extensive collection of trivial factoids stuck in my brain- just call me Cliff Clayburn. What makes it really wacky is I didn't get any e-mail today- none. This usually means that the system glitched and I'll get more tomorrow, but who knows- maybe nobody wrote me today?
We got more new Iraqi police cars today- we've got quite the collection at this point. Brand new Mitsubishi Galants, Mitsubishi crew cab pickups, some small Chrysler sedan, and Cruisers- yep, brand new Toyota Land Cruisers! I went and looked at them (hey their Cruisers I had to!). All of the Japanese vehicles have a sticker on the dash that says "From the People of Japan". I suppose they were all donated. I'm thinking that they should give me a Land Cruiser since they'll probably get blown up anyways; plus I've seen the way these guys drive. Every Iraqi vehicle on the roads has at least one dent it seems.
Tonight's lobster was the best I've had yet over here. You could still tell it was previously frozen, but it wasn't overcooked and given my normal dinners I always look forward to Sundays. They didn't have shrimp tonight, but they're fried anyways so I rarely eat them. I had my usual lobster tail, two crab legs, and an overcooked half a corn cob. I really wanted dessert but I passed. One of our D-Fac workers is Filipino and loves to makes desserts. He's really good at it too; before he came we had the usual canned pudding, dry cakes, etc. He decided to start making fresh desserts and everybody loves them, especially this fruit dish he makes with a sweet crunchy crust on the top.
Oh, I got pictures of Chop and KK's boys playing T-ball. For anyone who hasn't seen little kids in batting helmets and toting bats before it's hilarious. Cute kids guys!
Well it's after 9PM......
Enough politics for a while.
We've got a fast moving flu bug moving through the camp. About a quarter of the people have it to some degree. It hit me the other night- I was a little congested and then Wham! I felt like I had been kicked int he head. I went back to the ol hooch a little after 7PM, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and din't wake up until 5:15 the next morning. Of course I felt much better so I can't complain. We've got about a half dozen people on antibiotics now trying to kick it; they're feeling really bad with coughs, sinus infection, etc.
Oh the joys.
And for all of you thinking things are bad- It's the weekend! (At least for you). Have a beer for me.
I ask for questions and I've gotten some good ones. I was talking to one of the guys from the Full Moon Bus Club and we got to talking a little politics.
Let me clarify a few things first:
That said, we have been having some intelligent conversations from both sides of the picture. While we will probably never see eye to eye on the issue of this war or the upcoming presidential elections, we are congenial about our differences and there is no name calling or irrational emotion attached to either of our posts. We could still sit down, buy each other a beer, and tell lies by the campfire. This, my friends, is what America should be about!
The art of the argument seems to have been lost over the years. People nowadays attach too much emotion to their comments and as he has noted, are becoming more polarized- the middle ground seems to be shrinking. This isn't a good thing- all of life is compromise. As long as there are differences of opinion, and there always has been and always will be, we will have to give up something to get something else. In simple terms- it's give and take.
I have some ideas for America- maybe I should run for president now that I'm old enough.
-I think that the first thing we need to do is realize that we are all Americans- I may not like someone else, but as long as they are a citizen, they have a right to be here (there, as the case is).
-Secondly, realizing that we are all American, we need to stop this ridiculous practice of hyphenating everything. If you are an American than by definition you are part of a melting pot. I may have English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, but I'm no more European than the next guy- I was born and raised in America! I'm proud of my ancestors and what they accomplished, but I'm me, not them.
-Thirdly, a return to acceptance of creating one's own destiny. Our environment may influence our decisions, but we still know that such things as killing and stealing are wrong. Every religion has had some form of the "Golden Rule". Honestly, it's just common sense- I know I get mad when someone does something bad to me so why should I want to do something bad to them. Labeling every little problem as a disease is not going to help it and putting everybody on pills isn't going to make them all better. A sociopath is a sociopath. Bad is bad.
-Flat out lying is bad. Bush needs to admit that we went to war because of problems with Saudi Arabia and wacko zealots and Kerry needs to admit that there is no way he will be able to pull troops out of this country without destabilizing the whole region and that socialized healthcare is bad (ask Canada). When you've got people at the top who get on TV and lie before the public it's no wonder everybody below them feels it's OK for them to lie too. Why not just say that we, as a country, have made decisions that as new information comes available, have proven to be bad decisions. It happens all of the time in all areas of life but you have to make a decision based on the best info that you have at the time.
-That said, making a mistake because you're dumb is excusable, making a mistake because you're ignorant is not. Everyone is not equal intellectually but you can try to make an intelligent decision based on research of available data.
-This brings me to another point, the Republicans and the Democrats need to quit blaming each other for the countries problems. Here's news guys, you both make some good decisions and you both make some real stupid ones. The issue of jobs is a good example here- both parties are killing the American job market, but the American people are doing it faster than either of them. NAFTA and other trade agreements that let cheap foreign goods come into the country definitely hurt the American market- I'm from SC where a big chunk of our economy was textiles. The American consumer has hurt it even more- how? By demanding cheaper goods and higher wages. When you demand $20/hr to put bolt A into hole B then the manufacturer must increase his final cost to cover this expense (are you listening union workers?). Now, when we as consumers go to the store to buy an item and we pick up the less expensive model that's made overseas what have we done? We've made a decision to not support American jobs. I, as the American plant owner, now have two choices- I can continue to go about business as usual and go out of business (which puts my workers out of work) or I can move my plant overseas where labor is cheaper and continue to be in business (which still puts the American worker out). Are you seeing a pattern here?
Oh there's more to say, but I need to get back to work. I'll work on my platform more later. :)
I woke up the other morning to the smell of something burning. This in and of itself isn't unusual, but this was a stronger smell than normal. I made sure it wasn't me, got dressed, and went outside to meet Chris to go to the MWR (moral, welfare, recreation- the gym). As it was still dark, we didn't see anything out of the ordinary and went to work out. When we came out, the eastern sky looked like it was going to get a downpour, the rest of the sky was clear. So that's were the smell is coming from- the idiots blow up the oil pipeline again.
Now correct me if my logic is flawed, but what do these guys expect to do for profit if they were to take over the country- sell sand? They either don't think that far ahead (they don't) or they really don't think that they can win.
It goes back to logic and reasoning.
A car bomb disables a Bradley, the crew escapes, and the local morons think it will be cool to dance on a burning vehicle. Once again they don't think ahead. It's a military vehicle with military hardware, we're going to either recover it (which means we'll bring in a lot more troops and equipment to get it) or we'll destroy it. I just can't feel any sympathy for the guys that got smoked. What makes it even funnier (for lack of a better word) is that the smoke from the burning armor is toxic; similar to the coating on the stealth planes.
This same reasoning, or lack thereof, shows up time and time again. The recent bombing of the police recruits is somehow the American's fault. The scary thing is that there are Americans who follow the same thought process- gun control being a primary example (I was reading about the assault weapons ban expiring). "We should ban them because they kill people". Yeah, they just grew a set of legs, walked over and shot someone.
I was thinking about some of the problems here and the current administrations admittance that they didn't expect such an influx of insurgents. I think that one of the other big problems is that the existing infrastructure was in such poor shape before we got here. A lot of the equipment is obsolete, much is poorly maintained, parts are non- existent, etc. Much of the population is uneducated and even more are illiterate. The US budgeted a lot of money to rebuild, but it's getting sucked up by other projects brought about by insurgent activity- uparmoring Humvees, increased security, etc.
Enough with the negative waves.............
The weather has definitely changed a bit. Last week we were over 130 at the hottest part of the day, yesterday was only 112. Two mornings ago it was 60 degrees and that was actually chilly with the wind.
I'm still working out every day and running every other day. I take one day a week off from lifting. I ran two and a half miles today; I'm very proud of myself!
Yesterday was a good mail day too! I received my headphones, more food, and some magazines. I also discovered that if I put the camera on self timer and put it on the dashboard of the truck I can take self portraits- I've got some really goofy pictures of me now.
Speaking of the truck, I got it stuck the other day. What makes it so bad was that I got it stuck in exactly the same spot that Chris got it stuck in before. I was watching for the gazelles and had planned to avoid the ruts but I guess I came up on them faster than I expected. The sand and dust here is almost fluid-like in some areas, it settles into low lying areas. I drove into the ruts and it looked like I hit a land mine- dust went everywhere and the truck went Thunk! I goosed it and nothing happened so I shut it off and called Chris. Luckily there was a Humvee not far behind me who stopped and got his tow strap out. Chris showed up with Juan and Duane who promptly began making jokes. The differentials were hung up on the center of the rut but Humvees are geared really low so pulling it out was no trouble.
Well kids I need to get back to work.
Seems I get more e-mails when I don't add an entry for a while. I know the writing isn't so interesting so it must be curiosity about whether I'm still alive. I am.
In my continuing effort to spur questions therefore giving me topics for discussion I have been asked about how well the media is doing reporting the truth. This is a bit of a tricky question that requires a great deal of tact. I am forbidden to talk to the media and under that clause I don't feel it is my place to comment publicly about certain subjects. Operational security demands that I not give out certain info that I may be privy to also.
I watch the news when I am in the D-Fac; the AFN varies between CNN, Fox, MSN/NBC, etc. I also hit several different websites throughout the day including some Arab sites. I think that you get a pretty decent picture if you check out several different sites, but there's still a lot of info that doesn't seem to make it out. Overall, they downplay or neglect the good things that are going on in favor of reporting death and destruction.
If you really want to read some funny news, check out some of the Arab news. They like to call the US an "occupying force" and then talk about them as a "guerilla force" that conducts hit and run operations in the next sentence. So which is is guys- either we've overrun the country and have superior forces in most towns (we do) or we're hiding in the outskirts just to swoop in and kill people. Some of the these same newspapers talk about how the US has killed 750,000 children through UN sanctions, destruction of water purification plants and other infrastructure, and direct action. They then compare this to how the former regime only killed maybe 25,000 children. Never mind that is the US military and contractors that are trying like hell to get electrical and water plants back on line- a daunting job when you are talking about old, worn out, third rate equipment in a lot of cases.
One of the other problems is the media's reports of over 1000 deaths in Iraq. Yes, there have been a lot of deaths, but you need to look at how many of these are actual combat deaths. I don't have the specific numbers, but the last info I saw had less than half of those as combat deaths, the rest were training accidents, etc. Flipping your Humvee over while engaged in a firefight is not the same as flipping your Humvee over while driving too fast. A suicide is not a combat death. Getting crushed by a piece of falling equipment is not a combat death. Training accidents occur within the military system all over the world every year- it's a dangerous job. There are over 125,000 troops here in a rugged country- accidents are going to occur. Think about how many people die every day in Anytown, USA from natural causes, car accidents, etc. Any American death is tragic, but it's going to happen.
Do I still think that we are justified in being over here? I would have to say yes. I think that at least some of the people protesting would change their minds if they actually had the guts to come over here and see what's going on for themselves. It's pretty disgusting to to see musicians and others blindly decrying something that they know so little about. It's worse to see America's young people jumping on the bandwagon without gathering enough information to make a reasonable choice; each blathering the same uninformed rhetoric. All of our reasons may not have been noble, but I think that this country will benefit greatly in the long run if they will take charge of their own destiny and stop the radical element from destroying everyone else's future.
Next time you're sitting around thinking about how bad your life is I, want you to think about something- you didn't leave your home and family, travel several thousand miles away to a war torn country where part of the population would love to cut your head off, the weather is hot and dusty as hell, and you live in a small camp in crowded quarters, just so you can clean PortaJons for 12 hours a day! We have people from Macedonia who have done just that for a couple hundred dollars a month. The crazy thing is that every time you see them, they say hello and are smiling; they do a very good job too. Their English is broken at best, but they try hard to converse and have been very thankful when we've seen them at the clinic.
I'm still mad about the Nepalese getting killed. The ones working on our site are scared and upset about their countrymen. I've been reading where mosque have been torched in Nepal and the government is warning Muslims to stay inside. Blaming their government for not doing enough to try and rescue them is not going to solve anything- the Nepalese government has already forbidden them to work in Iraq, they slip out and do it anyways. Again, we have a people who are willing to risk everything to be able to send money to their families- what does this say about radical Islam and family values?
Hang in the SPK- I've got faith in you in finishing school (even if you're 50 by the time you get done ;) ). Remember, my calculator was as old as some of the other students in my physics class- now that's embarrassing.
Y para mi primo en China, Buenes Dias!
I'm pissed, I admit it. Murdering a bunch of unarmed Nepalese workers is over the line.
(http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,130709,00.html)
If I really stretch my imagination, I can understand why they kill American civilians, but people who are coming from a very poor country just to work? Come on, that's pathetic! These extremist are just plain stupid- I really don't think that they think about what they're doing and have little to no ability to conceptialize the future.
-What point does it serve to plunge a country into total chaos?
-What's the point of killing your own citizens as they try to get work to feed their families?
-Doesn't your religeon teach that you should take care of your family?
-If the country stabilizes, don't you think America will leave sooner?
-Without oil sales, what is your country going to produce to put on the world market?
-The US is the leading consumer of oil (I'm not going to debate that right now); given the quantity that we buy, it stands to reason that Iraq could make huge sums of money.
-If the country is making money, then everyone will profit at least in some way.
-Do you really want a country run by religeous figures? It's worked really well for Iran and Afghanistan hasn't it?
I hate to admit it, but I think at this time they ought to quit trying to be politically correct and turn the Marines, the Brits, and the ROKs loose and let them do what they've been trained to do. Each militant they kill should be sewn into a pig's skin and buried upside down. Take pictures of the process and send it to each of the militant groups- this is what will happen to you if you don't lay down your arms. If you take away these fellows chances of getting into heaven with the virgins is he really still going to want to fight? I know full well that the panty waisted whiners in the US and everywhere else would complain about our cultural insensitivity, but there has to be a point at which you admit that this is a different culture and reasoning in a western mindset doesn't work- plain and simple.
Lest you think I'm catagorizing all muslims or arabs in this way, I'm not. Most that I've met are just trying to make enough money to live. Many of these realize that we are here to help stabilize the country and want us here. But these religeous zealots, that's another story...........
