I went down to COB Speicher in Tikrit this week to see the GRN Change of Command. COL Michael Pfenning completed his 1 year command of GRN and was replaced by COL Margaret Burcham on 18 Jul 08. I was scheduled to fly down on Wednesday with Liz, 16 Jul, but the flight was cancelled due to dust storms in Tikrit. So instead, we went down with a SET the next morning. It was a nice, quiet ride without any incidents along the way.
Since we arrived the day before the ceremony, I had some time to kill. This gave me the opportunity to hang out with the two other OICs in GRN. LTC Mario Trevino is the OIC for the Kirkuk Area Office, and Lt Col Pat Kelly is the OIC for the Balad Area Office. Pat is Air Force, hence the different abbreviation for Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col vs LTC). Basically we sat around and griped to each other. Officers are just like privates; you get two or more of us together, and we gripe. I also had a chance to see Glenn. He’s filling in at the Tikrit Resident Office this month. Next month, he moves to the Baqubah Resident Office permanently.
The Change of Command ceremony on Friday was hosted by BG Dorko, the GRD Commanding General. MG Hertling, the MNF-I Commanding General also attended. The heart of the ceremony is the passing of the colors. The unit’s CSM (the senior enlisted member) hands the colors (unit flag) to the outgoing commander. The outgoing commander passes the colors to the commander of the higher unit. This symbolizes the outgoing commander relinquishing command. The higher commander then passes the colors to the ingoing commander, signifying the assumption of command. The incoming commander then returns the colors to the CSM for safe keeping. In the picture below, COL Burcham is receiving the colors from BG Dorko, while CSM Seitner observes.
COL Pfenning’s new assignment is the Executive Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. His office will be in the Pentagon, so I may run into him while I’m assigned there making coffee for all of the Colonels and Generals!
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.
A new Chaplain spoke at church on Sunday. This was the first week that Chaplain (CPT) Rodgers led the service. I was a couple of minutes late for the service and did not hear what unit he is with. I did not recognize his unit patch. Mugs would point out that I could actually talk to him and ask him that information. But as Mike Miller says, “that’s just the way we roll in MAO”.
Chaplain Rodgers spoke from Matthew 10, so I was reminded once again that the very hairs on my head are all numbered. At the end of the service he announced that a soldier had accepted Christ as his Savior recently and wanted to be baptized as a public profession of his faith. What do you do when you don’t have a baptistry and you can’t get to the river? You improvise. Soldiers are well known for finding field expedient methods for solving problems. I’m sure the Chaplain’s Assistant was given the mission of finding somewhere to conduct the baptism. All he needed was a bathtub and a little wood.
After lunch today, I stopped by Pop’s and Omar’s to get a haircut. Every time I go there, I experience something new. Today the barber was harassing me because of my receding hairline. I had asked to have my hair cut close on the sides and back with a little bit off the top. He had no problem with the taper on the sides and back. But when it came time to trim the top, he didn’t look happy. He turned my head this way and that, pulled at my hair, and finally grew a little exasperated. At that point, he told me he couldn’t really take much off from the front because I didn’t have enough to start with. He even used his fingers to trace my receding hairline in case I didn’t understand his point. After that, he gave a few quick snips with his scissors and called it quits. Once again, he washed my hair; it must be the new thing at Pop’s and Omar’s because he did it two weeks ago for the first time. To finish, instead of a head massage, he cracked my neck. I was a little shocked. I guess he thought I was tense. I never know what to expect at Pop’s and Omar’s!
Today was a day like most others I’ve see during the past 9 1/2 months. Now that I think about it, there was one big difference, I went for a morning run. At about 0555, I headed out the door to hit the road for my run in the nice cool (70F) morning. One security team was lined up ready to go on a trip to the Erbil office. I stopped and talked to Andy the team leader for just a minute, then we both hit the road. My trip lasted about 45 minutes, while his wouldn’t end until about 6 hours later.
Just like any other day, I spent too much time on the computer. I tried to get things on my to-do list checked off. It seems to take me twice as long to accomplish anything here than anywhere else I’ve been. Maybe I need to get a pill organizer and put a daily dose of ginkgo biloba in it!
For dinner this evening, I went to the DFAC on Diamondback with Mike F., Sarah, Tiffany and Alda. Tiffany complained that she would have to watch her language since she was eating with “Saint Manry”. Sarah commented that she had better watch what she said because it might end up as a blog post for the next day. I guess she was right. Tiffany is due to go home in July. She says it’s time because her 3-year old son has started calling her “Tiff”. Here’s a picture of me, Tiffany, and COL Pfenning from last month. Apparently, COL Pfenning and I didn’t realize that we were supposed to strike a pose!
I think it’s appropriate that today, Memorial Day, was like every other day. We shouldn’t let a single day pass where we don’t remember those that have paid for our freedom with their lives. Every day should be Memorial Day.
