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Five years ago, when we headed overseas to live in Hawaii, our pets did not travel with us.  At the time, the quarantine was long.  Our Siberian Husky, Czar was 12 1/2 and Hawaii would have been a torture for him, so he was given to a friend and ridiculously spoiled for the last year of his life.  Our Ragdoll cat, Magnolia also decided she loved the good life lavished on her by a dear friend.  So, for close to 5 years, we have had no pets.  When you must live as a renter, it is very difficult to keep pets.  It severely limits your choice of places to live.  So, we told the kids that when we returned to the States and owned our home, we would once again get pets.  Dale’s deployment delayed the fulfillment of the promise, but now that I’ve started, there’s no stopping.  Dale went with the children to choose fish.  They happily named them which I discovered was probably not a good idea after some fish died and had to be replaced.  I had somehow missed the time worn advice of “Never Name Fish!”  However, fish were not enough.  On Saturday, we will be bringing home a Golden Retriever puppy.  I have spent the last several months reading dog breed, dog training, dog care, and dog cleanup books.  The kids and I watched multiple episodes of the Dog Whisperer and on Saturday, we wandered lost through the aisles of the pet store choosing brushes, dishes, toys, leashes, etc.  Before Dale brought home Czar, our first dog, there was no preparation, no research, and no plan.  Reading all these books and watching all these shows, I have concluded that we did everything wrong with him.  Czar was never completely housebroken, he chewed up everything, and ran away every chance he got.  We loved him dearly, but here’s hoping I can do it right this time.  For the last month, I have felt like I am preparing for a baby.  Instead of nursing/formula, crib, and diaper brand decisions; I must now decide which dog food, kennel, and brushes are the best.  Dog food is very complicated now.  There is endless research on dog food nutritional value and endless personal reviews that alternate between “this food is excellent” and “this is rubbish, it made my dog sick”.  For now, I am going to feed him the food the breeder uses as well as a dog vitamin.  Yes, a dog vitamin.  In the midst of debating how much I’m willing to pay to ensure my dog has the proper nutrition, I’m feeding my children waffles with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and syrup for dinner.  And no, I didn’t give them a vitamin.

Muhsan is a 77-year old Kurdish gentlemen who lives in Amadiyah, Dahuk Province, Iraq. Amadiyah, also called Amadi, is approximately 10 miles south of Turkey. Muhsan is the most influential person in Amadiyah; he is also highly regarded and respected throughout the entire province of Dahuk. He spent most of his life as a Freedom Fighter fighting for the Kurdish people. At one point in his life, he was a Member of Parliament for Kurdistan. I had the privilege of meeting Muhsan during my recent visit to Dahuk. Gee was able to arrange the meeting because of his family ties. Muhsan is the uncle of Ravina, Gee’s wife. I visited with Muhsan at the KDP Headquarters building in Amadiyah where his son, Muhammad, works as the KDP leader for the region. It turned into quite an event. After spending a couple of hours in discussions, we had lunch at Muhammad’s house with his father and some of his brothers. In the photo, seated on the orange couch are Muhammad and Glenn. Kneeling in the front is Saleh, Muhsan’s son who is running their farm and tending the livestock. Kneeling in the back is Muhsan’s son Hakar. He is the head of the Special Forces group that provides security at PM Barzani’s ranch. Standing is Ahmad, the son of Muhsan’s daughter. Ahmad’s father was killed by Saddam’s forces in the early 80s. Next is Gee. After Gee is Hashe, Muhsan’s youngest son and personal driver. Hashe’s daughter is in the picture, but I didn’t get her name. The last one standing is Rebin, Hakar’s son. I am seated on the couch next to Muhsan, the patriarch.

After lunch, Muhsan took us into the mountains to see the snow. He is very proud of a road construction project that will provide access for some of the isolated mountain villages and wanted us to see it. We drove along the finished portion of the road and parked at the end. Then we began walking further into the mountains on the unfinished portion. He is extremely fit for a 77-year old man. As he said, he spent most of his life living and fighting in the same mountains. At the crest of one hill, we spotted a Kurdistan flag flying. It had been left by the construction crew when they stopped work for the winter.

At 1500 on 1 November 2007, I received word that one of my RLTs had been hit by an IED. The devastating results were 1 KIA and 2 WIA. The lead vehicle apparently drove over a pressure detonated IED buried in the road. The blast blew through the bottom of the vehicle directly under the front passenger seat. That is where Andy was sitting. He was the Team Leader for this RLT; a man that I and everyone else that knew him greatly admired. His team had just completed reconnaissance of some of my project sites and was on its way back to the FOB. They were about 10 kilometers south of Mosul when they hit the IED. Smudge, the Assistant Team Leader, took charge immediately, secured the area, and called in the QRF from the supporting US Army unit. After the blast, there was no other attack. Apparently the IED had been left to indiscriminately kill whomever happened by. Andy and the 2 WIAs were evacuated by helicopter to the Combat Support Hospital on FOB Diamondback; their vehicle was completely destroyed by the IED.

At 0300 this morning, I participated in a Ramp Ceremony for Andy along with all of the other security detachment personnel and the leadership from MAO (MAJ Rick Biddle and MSG Curt Kaseman). The attendees formed two lines coming out from the ramp at the back of the waiting C130 Hercules aircraft. At the front of the line, I waited along with a Chaplain and Billy, Andy’s supervisor. When the ambulance pulled up, 4 personnel from the security detachment served as pallbearers and removed Andy’s casket. Those assembled saluted while we led the pallbearers to the ramp of the C130. At the foot of the ramp, the Chaplain said some words. I was so numb at the time that I can’t remember what he said. Then a member of Andy’s team said a few words as well. That was the end of our short ceremony.

Later this afternoon, I sat at my computer to put together a few thoughts for a condolence letter. Andy is survived by his Mother and Father who live in Chesire, UK. As I finished putting my thoughts in an email to send to my boss, the numbness started to wear off. I walked back to my trailer and called Mugs to ask for prayer. I spent some time crying for Andy. Mugs’ words comforted me and allowed me to not be overcome by grief.

This evening at 1830, I conducted a memorial service for Andy. Everyone from MAO attended along with all of Andy’s colleagues from the personal security detachment teams. I started off by reading Ecclesiastes 9:10-12, which says:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
For man also does not know his time; like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.

A few people shared thoughts about Andy, then we honored him with a minute of silence. Margaret, the senior USACE engineer in Mosul, closed the service with a prayer.

Andy believed in what we are doing. He cared for the Iraqis and felt strongly about developing personal relationships with the locals. On every project visit he made, Andy would grab his interpreter and talk to the local residents. He knew that these relationships are the key to success. I believe in Andy’s vision. In Ecclesiastes 9, the Preacher goes on to say in verse 18:

Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.

Rest in Peace, Andy Dancaster.

For the last couple weeks, I have been waiting for Daylight Savings Time to arrive. It has always been in October, but this year it is the first Sunday in November. I love Fall Daylight Savings Time because I get an extra hour to be lazy and sleep in. The Sunday of Daylight Savings Time is always a boon for Sunday School teachers as church attenders who forget, show up expecting church, but get to attend Sunday School instead. I may not have experienced the change to Daylight Savings Time, but I have moved from Manry Standard Time to Meloch Standard Time. Dale and I had friends in Germany who would arrive at events well after the start. When people would mention how late they were, they replied that they operated on Klinner Standard Time. I liked the concept and have observed many families who operate on their own personal time schedule. In Hawaii, people operated on Aloha Time and apparently in Iraq, Dale is experiencing Kurdish minutes. Our Aussie friend, Jed, calls the time in between starting to leave and actually departing, “the void”. Jed spends a lot of time in the void. Meloch Standard Time has many parts. There is Thrift Center Day, Prayer Meeting, and various episodes of Law and Order. Within the first 48 hours of my Moms arrival, my cabinets are rearranged, the laundry is washed, and something is broken. But the most important component to Meloch Standard Time is dinner at 5:30pm. Before my parents arrived, I told the kids that we would soon have 3 1/2 weeks of dinner at 5:30pm. To which Josiah replied, “and 3 1/2 weeks of the toilet seat being up.” When Dale and I first married, my Mom tried to tell me that Dale would expect dinner at 5:30pm. Dale was never even home at 5:30pm, and was either personally thankful that I bothered to make dinner even if we ate between 7:00pm and 8:00pm, or figured he better not comment and push his luck. In Meloch Standard Time, not only must dinner be eaten at 5:30pm, but planning for dinner must take place well in advance. Last week, my Mom and I spent the morning working in the yard. We were both tired and dirty when we stopped for lunch. As we walked into the house, my Mom asked me when I was going to start dinner. I had been planning on eating lunch, but soon found myself cutting up potatoes and browning a pot roast to put in the crock pot. I ate my lunch afterwards, I was on Meloch Standard time after all.

In the comments for a post, Janice asks “What is it like when you go to a job site with your security?” To answer her question, I’d like to describe USACE’s approach to construction management in Iraq. As I’ve mentioned previously, I never leave the wire without my personal security detachment (PSD). I have two types of teams that work for me. The team that takes me to site visits is a security escort team (SET). As the name suggests, the SET’s mission is to escort USACE personnel on missions outside the wire. The other type I haven’t mentioned before is called a reconstruction liaison team (RLT). The RLT visits sites without taking USACE personnel with them. They check out the security situation at a project site to see if it is safe for me to visit. More importantly, the RLT also attempts to establish a relationship with the locals that live near the projects as well as with the contractors working on the projects.

You may not realize it, but the contractors working on my projects are not Americans. As much as possible, we hire Iraqi construction firms to build Iraqi construction projects. While this is the right thing to do for the local economy, it does make communication with the contractors very difficult. On the RLT, I have interpreters. They are a key asset.

For the Al Shura site visit I posted previously, first I sent an RLT to the site to check out the area. When I received the RLT report, it said that the area was safe, but it also mentioned that the water treatment plant operator had some questions about the project. So I planned a site visit with my SET and requested to have the RLT team leader and interpreter on the visit as well. Since they had been there and talked to the operator, I knew they would be a big help on my site visit. For a site visit, when we arrive on site, the SET members get out and secure the perimeter. Once they establish that there are no immediate threats, then the USACE Engineers are able to get out of the vehicles to conduct any necessary project inspections.

In the picture below, Gene, the Project Engineer, is talking to the water treatment plant operator with the help of the RLT interpreter. A SET member is providing security in the background.

The key to success on a site visit is constant communication. I hope this answers Janice’s question!