The deployment countdown shows that I’m at 100% done with my time in Mosul. Sometime tomorrow I’ll be on a C130 headed to Kuwait. COL Burcham is in Mosul for a command visit, so this evening, we had a mandatory dinner in the VIP room at the DFAC. She agreed to present Sarah’s end of tour award. If you haven’t heard the big news, Sarah is going home to Texas in September. She’s been here in Mosul for the past two years. Before that, she was in Kuwait starting at the end of 2003!
Sarah's Award
After that, COL Burcham presented my end of tour award. It’s always humbling to stand up in front of a group of people while someone else says nice things about you. For my gift from the office, they had a printout of me in my Kurdish uniform framed. This evening everyone signed the picture. Sarah has promised to mail it home for me; it wouldn’t have fit into the footlocker anyway.
After the official business concluded, COL Burcham was treated to another Iraqi custom. Each person wanted to have his picture taken with her. Here she is with Nazar, one of one hundred separate pictures she had to pose for!
For the past 363 days (not that I’m counting), I have been fortunate to work with the personal security detachment from Aegis under the leadership of Ronnie, the Aegis Detachment Commander in Mosul. The Aegis team members in Mosul are true professionals in every way. One thing has always stuck in my mind. Before every mission outside the wire, the Aegis team leader for the move gives a pre-mission brief to the clients just before loading the vehicles. As part of the standard briefing, the team leader says “In the unlikely event of an incident…” That phrase, spoken in the proper Queen’s English, is burned into my mind, thanks to Andy H.
At the barbeque, the night before Rick left, one of the Aegis teams presented us each with a hand carved eagle. In our thanks, both Rick and I expressed the same sentiment. We and our families are extremely grateful for the care and concern demonstrated by the Mosul Aegis teams on each and every mission. Every time I left the wire, I trusted Aegis with my life without hesitation.
I’m also thankful that they presented the eagle carving before I mailed my footlockers!
Aegis Gifts
I took my last trip to Dahuk and Erbil this week. Originally, I planned a 3-day trip with Rob, my replacement. But as the days got closer, I realized that we didn’t have the luxury of spending that much time on the road. So I cut the trip down to one full day. We left Mosul at 0600 and returned around 1830. At the end of the day (just for you, Mugs), I was worn out and slept well that night.
While in Dahuk, I received a traditional Peshmerga uniform, like the one COL Pfenning received in Erbil. The Engineers in Dahuk got quite a kick out of me dressed as a Pesh! After getting fully decked out, I walked around with Rob as he was taken on a tour of the neighborhood. If I must say so myself (which I do), I believe I look quite dashing!
Dale as Peshmerga
Here’s a closeup picture.
Peshmerga Closeup
My replacement, LTC Rob Hynes, arrived today along with Rick’s replacement, MAJ John Nufable. They hit the ground in Kuwait in the wee hours of the morning, rested for a few hours, then jumped on a C17 and flew to Mosul. Rick and I picked them up at the airfield about midday. We brought them back to the USACE compound, dropped off their bags, then walked over to the DFAC for lunch.
After lunch, we took care of the most important business first, computer paperwork. I had them go through the various IT policies and briefings so that they can get their computer accounts as soon as possible! I’m looking forward to sending an email that says “Please add LTC Rob Hynes to all emails for the MAO OIC”. After that, I launched into the Mosul Area Office briefing. It made me feel like I was back at West Point teaching cadets again. Imagine this. You’ve flown halfway around the world to a timezone with a 7 hour difference. You haven’t slept in a couple of days. It’s 115 F outside. You just ate lunch. You’re sitting in an air-conditioned office. Now some guy is droning on and on giving a PowerPoint presentation. I think they look pretty good considering my 3 hours of briefing torture!
I cleaned out my room today and moved into one of the visitor rooms. My replacement, LTC Rob Hynes should be in Kuwait soon. This will give the crew a chance to get the room cleaned and ready for LTC Hynes’ arrival. When he arrives, he’ll be able to move right in. In the process of cleaning, I picked up loose change in various locations and stuck it in my pocket. I also collected pogs I had received from the PX. At the PX, they give cardboard pogs as change instead of coins. The pogs have face values the same as coins, so you can spend them in any AAFES store. By the end of the day, I had $7.04 in change and pogs in my pocket along with other items.
Pocket Change
I promise I’ll spend it all in Kuwait on coffee!
