Jul 16 2008
Aski Mosul Visit
Mike Miller and I went to Aski Mosul yesterday to visit an ongoing project to repair a drinking water drinking plant. Aski Mosul is a small town northwest of Mosul on the Tigris River. Yesterday’s trip took two hours to get to the site. We spent about 15 minutes on the site. Then we took about 1 1/2 hours to get back to FOB Marez. Trips like that can be very frustrating especially when you see that the contractor hasn’t made any progress since the last visit.
This project started in November 2005 and was supposed to last 6 months. Almost 3 years later, we expect the contractor to finish sometime early next month. I’m sure you’re wondering why it has taken so long. So am I! Throughout the life of this contract, there has been a lot of interference by the provincial government. Representatives from the water department have directed the contractor to change pieces of work without getting the proper approvals from our contracting office. So every time that happened, we had to stop all work and get the proper approved modifications in place. I’ll be glad when this one is done. I hope we can finish it before I leave, so I don’t leave the mess for my replacement to fix! In the tradition of the Army, for the first 60 days after he replaces me, he can blame all of the bad stuff on me. After that, he owns it.
Over the course of the last year you have moved from “no worries” and “she’ll be right” to “getting the proper approvals” and “he owns it.” I think it’s time for you to step away from the Corps of Engineers, come home, and return to the maps you love…and the wife you love, hopefully, even when she makes fun of you.
I think I might have a bright future with the Corps of Engineers as a civilian. Although, some here may disagree!
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 07/17/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
http://thunderrun.blogspot.com/2008/07/from-front-07172008.html