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GRD officially celebrated Independence Day with a day off on Thursday, 3 July. The best thing about a day off in Iraq is sleeping late. So I decided to plan a game of soccer starting at 0600 to try to beat the heat. On FOB Marez, there is a caged soccer field with an artificial surface. It’s about one fourth the size of a regulation soccer field, fortunately! In the days leading up to the soccer game, Sarah periodically tried to convince me it was a bad idea. She frequently reminded me that the Aegis security personnel are primarily British and actually know how to play soccer. Additionally, she pointed out that they generally play to win, no matter the cost. That’s a pretty good point, since the typical Aegis team member in Mosul is prior service with either the Royal Marines or the Parachute Regiment. Despite all of her misgivings, we had a fun time. I think I put on quite a display for everyone.

We finished soccer at about 0700 and then relaxed for the rest of the day. At about 1800, we got together for a BBQ. Before the BBQ, we took an office picture. For the first attempt at the picture, everyone started arranging themselves on one of the picnic tables. Bad idea. Luckily, no major injuries. Can you imagine having to call home and tell everyone you got injured in Iraq by a picnic table?

The second attempt went much better. Rick came out for the picture in a Steelers jersey, so I had to put on my Cowboys T-Shirt. Sitting in between us is Ronnie. He is the Aegis commander in Mosul. Being from Manchester, he wasn’t willing to settle the Cowboys-Steelers debate.

Rick and Phil took care of the prep for the BBQ, while Nazar, Bill, and Liz handled cooking duties. I stood around and drank a Coke while pretending I wasn’t sore from the soccer game.

All in all, it was a good day. Some of the Aegis guys have asked for a game of basketball. I think they enjoyed seeing me hit the deck playing soccer and want to see some more. I’ve asked Mugs to send some Advil. Once that gets here, I’ll think about scheduling the basketball game.

We have been out and about with my sister and her family since their arrival. We started at Mount Vernon on Saturday. It is a lovely place and I highly recommend it. When we first entered, we got behind a tour group. We didn’t understand much of what the tour guide said. I suspect it was because she was speaking Spanish. We then came upon a replica of the Liberty Bell. Zeke enjoyed ringing it. At Mount Vernon, people dressed in period costumes stand at different locations and repeat the same speech over and over to everyone who walks by. At the replica Liberty Bell, the guy spoke of the tree that provided the wood for the cross brace and then cautioned everyone, “Grab the rope, pull it hand over hand slowly, not too fast or you’ll hurt your ears.” You can usually determine by the sound of the bell whether or not the individual speaks English. I enjoyed looking through the house. The baby crib and the key to Bastille were unique. I suspect that Rich enjoyed looking at the farm. Although he has been an Electrical Engineer for years, I believe he still has a fondness for chicken coops and barns. Marie enjoyed the museum and would not be hurried by her sister who enjoys glancing at a few things while moving forward at a steady pace. All the kids, save Zeke, loved the film about the battle of Yorktown. The seats shook during bombardment and they blew fog and snow at you. It was loud and had a few fight scenes, so Zeke cried throughout most of it. At one point I tried to take my hands off his ears to point to the falling snow, but he screamed and grabbed my hand back. When it was done, all the kids were talking about how great it was and he joined the chorus, informing me that he liked it. I sometimes think I make a great tour guide. Then, I do something like leave Mount Vernon on the wrong road and don’t realize my mistake until I’m about to cross the Potomac River. Note to self: “Just because the road you are on dead ends into Mount Vernon, you can not assume that it is the only road that dead ends into Mount Vernon.” When we left home, I had written my directions down and constantly checked them on the drive there to keep my self on track. My sister thought it a bit unnecessary. I told her that she didn’t understand how easily I can get lost. On our departure from Mount Vernon, she was able to see for herself. The interstate home was at a crawl, so we got on Highway 1 which was also at a crawl, but has the added bonus of a Five Guys and JoJo’s Ice cream stand along the way.

Our next tour consisted of walking the three mile loop of DC monuments. We started at FDR which everyone liked, visited Jefferson, walked past the Washington monument, through the WWII memorial, along the Vietnam wall, up Lincoln’s steps, and past the Korean memorial on the way back. Visiting the memorials on the Mall is the best part of DC. Some, I am incredibly fond of and others not so much, but I love to walk them. Every time someone jogged past me, I would think, “In just over a month, that could be Dale running during his lunch break.” When we lived in Canberra, he loved to run the bridges during lunch and I imagine he’ll pick up the habit again. It will be a bit more scenic of a route than his current tank trail.

After the monuments, I drove home and the Wiitas went to the Air and Space museum. They touched the moon rock, looked at the pictures of the Hubble Telescope, and wandered amidst all the planes and rockets. On Tuesday, we attended our official tours of the Capitol and Library of Congress that Marie had arranged through her Minnesota Senator. We started in the Senate office building and we were escorted by an Intern who was on break from University. He was a very nice, engaged the kids, pointed things out, but kept us moving. We got to ride the train that runs underground between the Senate offices and the Capitol. Zeke and I thought that was great fun. I had ridden on it when I visited DC during high school and was just as thrilled about it 20+ years later. We stared in amazement at the columns and statues and paintings. We saw King Kamehameha’s statue in the corner and thought fondly of the Wiita visit to Hawaii. After our tour, we ate in the Senate Cafeteria. There was a time not long ago, when I avoided cafeterias at all cost, but I was actually happy to pick up my tray and push it along the stainless steel track. I’m afraid there may be no going back and I’ll end up like my Father who I kept thinking would love the place. After lunch, we walked through the Botanic Gardens which were a small bit of peaceful beauty in the midst of the busy city where drivers like me unintentionally view the Capitol from all directions. It was all going so well.

Then, our tour luck ran out at the Library of Congress. I do not have a fondness for tours, unless my tour guide moves quickly and tells me a few interesting tidbits I don’t know. We were the dividing line for two separate groups and my sister tried to signal me that it would be better if we stayed with the final group. I have had 41 years to learn that my sister is always right, and have spent 41 years defying her decisions. I led us all into the middle group. From the minute our tour guide started speaking, I once again was forced to acknowledge that my sister is always right. He talked on and on and on and on and on and on about the architecture and art of the building. He pointed out every Roman goddess, explained every cherub, talked about statue size, told us of every paint color, and type of marble used. He had a script in his head and there was no stopping him. The question asking people were answered with a part of the script even if it didn’t apply at all. “Books!” I wanted to scream. “The Library of Congress is about books!” “Why won’t you tell us anything about books?” As a painful hour went by, I began plotting how to extract 11 people from a tour group of 25 without getting noticed. When we finally got up into the main Reading Room overlook, people collapsed onto the floor and put their heads into their hands. Never take the tour of the Library of Congress. Walk in, look around yourself, and walk out in an hour. When you see the tour group standing with a glazed look in their eyes, pass quickly by lest you get entrapped listening to the occupations of each and every cherub on the staircase.

Today I visited one of our current projects rebuilding the police headquarters near the town of Makhmur. The original site was devasted by an SVBIED (car bomb) in May 2007. The project includes two buildings, the police headquarters building and a traffic police station building. The project is managed out of the Erbil Resident Office, where Gary York is the Resident Engineer running the office.

Gary has been with USACE in Erbil since March 2005. We farewelled Tiffany in Mosul on Friday night. I sent out a picture of Tiffany with her embroidered Engineer flag, our standard departure gift. Gary replied to the email saying he liked the flag and that he was jealous. I told him he could get one of his own if he ever actually left Iraq!

On the way to the project, I snapped a picture of a field of sunflowers. I know it’s blurry, but I didn’t think the security team would like it if I asked to stop to take a picture of some flowers.

The project engineer, Engineer Nawzad, gave me a tour of the ongoing construction, along with Gary. In the photo below, I am leading, followed by Engineer Nawzad and Gary. We are in the courtyard of the main police headquarters building. From the look of the photo, I appear to be saying something really insightful like “Look at that dirt”.

The quality of the construction and the professionalism of the contractors are very high in Erbil and Dahuk. I always appreciate the opportunity to visit their projects. Earlier this week, I went to a new project in the Sommer neighborhood of Mosul. We went early in the morning before the contractor had arrived to get a look at the foundation work. After we returned to FOB Marez, the contractor called Nazar, the project engineer, to tell him that the Iraqi Army wouldn’t let him work on the site that day. We had to make numerous calls to get things cleared up for the contractor to get back to work.

That’s why it’s so nice to visit Erbil and Dahuk. We generally don’t encounter the security problems there. But on the other hand, we do have to worry about picking out paint colors.

My sister and her family arrived today. Although I was behind schedule as usual, they had traffic delays from a flooded Interstate and an accident. So, I thought I would pull it off and have dinner on the table the minute they walked in the door. Really, this goal is impossible for all save my Mother, who greets you with an apron on and a hot meal ready. The lasagna was in the oven and I was upstairs putting clean sheets on the bed when Gabe came running in the room. “Blaze ate Zeke’s sock!”, he proclaimed. I immediately googled “dog ate sock” and discovered it is not a rare occurrence. Experience said wait it out or give the dog hydrogen peroxide to cause vomiting. Off I dashed to the pharmacy (chemist). (I haven’t done that in a while and quite miss it.) There is a pharmacy near me where everyone is unhelpful. I usually drive to the one farther away, but I was in a hurry. As usual, everyone was unhelpful and it took me quite awhile to find hydrogen peroxide. While I was wandering the aisles of the pharmacy, my sister and her family arrived at my house. Gabe held open the door, Abby and Josiah stood quietly, and Zeke was asleep. Without their obnoxious Mother to run outside and yell welcome, they were at a loss as to what to do. They had made the welcome sign, at least. Initial greetings have not been very positive in my family lately. Upon my brother Howie’s arrival at my brother Rob’s house last week, Rob told me he couldn’t talk on the phone. He had to deal with a car seat covered in vomit. Anyway, I returned home and greeted my guests, but was soon outside with Blaze giving him a dose. Meanwhile, Marie and Rich had to serve the dinner and get themselves settled in their rooms. I was now on sock watch, but Blaze was not cooperating. He did not vomit. So, I gave him another dose. Still, he did not vomit. Instead, he ran around like a nut. For fear of poisoning my dog, I stopped. So, now I wait and I watch to see which way the sock will come out. My husky Czar ate all kind of things and I never worried about him becoming ill. When he was sick, I would tell him, “It’s your fault for eating that.” He got no sympathy. Czar was not crated. Instead, he was given the guest room to destroy. One day, I arrived home to discover him laying on top of the mattress with stuffing covering the room. The room appeared covered in snow. Czar looked up at me with a mouth full of stuffing. He looked like Santa Claus. If I wasn’t so mad, I would have laughed. Czar also pulled out the dresser drawers and ate the rollers off the tracks. He pulled the screens out of the windows and chewed them to bits. He ate the cord of an alarm clock. Never did I rush out and try to get something to help him. “Serves you right for eating that.”, I’d say. But with Blaze, here I am up at O dark thirty, worrying. Somewhere along the way, I’ve gotten soft.

Earlier this week, I visited a new project near the town of Hamman Al Alil with Mike Fellenz, the Project Engineer. Hamman Al Alil is a small town about 15 miles south of Mosul. The drive there was relatively pleasant and took a little less than 30 minutes. At Hamman Al Alil is an Iraqi Army Training Center. New Iraqi Privates, Jondis, attend a 5-week basic training course in Hamman Al Alil. The Iraqi Army also conducts advanced MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) training in Hamman Al Alil. When we arrived on site, a group of trainees was working on camouflage. Can you find the Jondis in the picture below?

There is an 8-person US Army Military Transition Team (MiTT) living on Hamman Al Alil. They have a secure compound in the midst of the Iraqi base. This is generally referred to as a FOB within a FOB. The MiTT is our customer for this project, so we went to link up with them. When we arrived at approximately 0900, the gate to the MiTT compound was locked. Chris, my Security Team Leader for the day, pounded on the gate and waited. The instructor with the camouflaging Jondis told our interpreter to keep pounding and the MiTT would show up eventually. He was right.

Once inside the MiTT compound, I was informed that the MiTT Team Leader (an Army Major) had been called on the radio and was on his way. Jokingly, I told Mike that they were probably waking the Major up, telling him some LTC was looking for him. He showed up about 5 minutes later in PT uniform. He explained that he had been working out, but from my observation, he must have been working out in a nice air-conditioned room with a soft pillow! I’ll let the Major remain anonymous.

He gave us a tour of the training base, and we were able to see several other groups of trainees. It does not appear that the Iraqi Army is having a difficult time recruiting right now. His translator says the soldiers get paid about $500 (US) per month. Another group of Jondis was busily washing blankets and hanging them out to dry. The Major explained that there had been some bedbug issues recently.

$500 a month and bedbugs. What more do you need?