Shortest Day Ever

I spent today farther North than ever before and it is the Winter Solstice (Dec 21) so I saw 6h 58m 38s of sunlight (actually never saw the sun despite being up and outside), officially making it the shortest day of my life. Since we were broken we hopped a train to Glasgow for my first international 24 hour period not in uniform. It was pretty awesome. I really enjoy my crew, spending time with them is always fun. (mom doesn’t allow always and nevers) so I have to caveat that with the fact that on every deployment you hit an irritable wall in which all you require is the most impossible thing to find: time and space alone. Sadly I wasn’t immune to this nasty disease and didn’t always have my party pants on, but I apologized, asked forgiveness and everyone forgave me, so I guess we’re ok.

ANYWAY, Iraq doesn’t get you in the Christmas mood nearly as much as you might think, and that bar is probably already set pretty low, so it was pretty exciting driving to our hotel last night seeing well lit Christmas trees in windows and snow on the ground. The Christmas carnival in the main square today helped too, but hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” in one of the shops is exactly what I needed to set me over the top (so I’m listening while I right this). While we were enjoying some haggis, napes & tatties my AC brought to fact that we weren’t flicking flies off of each other and our food, there wasn’t a constant burning poo smell in the air, and he didn’t have to get dressed last night to walk to the restroom.

Better than the scenic train ride across the highlands was learning that some of the guys had flown the other plane to pick up the spare part and maintenance already changed it out and it was ready to make the hop across the pond. They are pretty amazing, just another advantage of the 130, we can carry our own repair team.

Happy Birthday

The Air Force gave me one of the best birthday presents a guy could ask for: A ride out of a combat zone that will eventually take me home (fingers still crossed). It may have had a slightly delayed T/O for weather at our destination taking it to the 20^th instead, but hey.

It was kinda weird getting ready to leave, suddenly things annoying as sandpaper toilet paper weren’t that bad. One Army Lt we saw often in the gym (on a 15 month deployment) couldn’t believe it. When I told him, he just stood there staring off into the distance repeating “WOW” over and over. He never stopped, I finally had to walk off and leave him in his own world of disbelief. Its funny how quickly you create a bond with TCN’s (third country nationals that work on base, mostly from India) you could easily note the tone of longing for home in their voice as well. We have it very nice in the Air Force, I am extremely thankful.

We hit up the capital of Hungry for a gas stop (geography quiz for the day) on a divert from what was our primary stop due to the same poor weather. Brian sent me an email asking if I was ready to trade blowing sand for blowing snow. I thought he meant Cheyenne/Ft. Collins, little did I know he was psychic and knew we would be sledding down a snow covered taxiway. It was so powdery my head had a hard time convincing my eyes it wasn’t sand. It was odd being inside a clean hard walled/floored building again with restrooms big enough to turn around in. We hit the sky again on our way to our next stop and I quickly became educated in the amazing 20* temp change from the top to bottom litter in the back of the plane (four high bunked cots we snooze on). At one point my face was almost sweating while my feet were going numb. Upon landing we received the best news you can get when trying to make it home for Christmas “Your plane is broken and won’t be able to fly tomorrow, maybe longer since getting the part could take awhile considering the weather and time of year.”

Whoops

I don't know what happened, but I just realized I haven't posted at all in Dec. I guess nothing new or exciting has popped up. We still have over a week here but flying is about to finish up, since we brought in all of our own support we have to take it all back with us. This differs from most deployments where there is a constant 130 asset and we just rotate out as crews, so there are some logistic situations to work out.

The Harlem Globetrotters were here last night, they are hilarious and put on a very entertaining show, I just can't say enough about those who come out here and do show after show for very little pay, for small crowds that are far less than motivated to give positive feed back.

Lastly, I have had several people ask about acronyms they have seen, so here you go:

DFAC = Dining FACility

NVG = Night Vision Goggles

WX = Weather

UAV = Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

ATOC = Air Transportation Operation Center (best guess) the people who give us our cargo/pax

Pax = passengers

if there are any others just let me know and I'll get 'em up here

New Job

We've been flying fairly consistently and am happy to say we put a major dent in the war on terror the other night. AFN (the armed forces network) is the sole source of life here for a lot of people so when our TV went down right before college football saturday the General called out his A-Team. Needless to say it is now up and running, and since we are on a night schedule we've been able to watch a few games.

Since we've been flying more than others, the guys working the office jobs jumped on our flight to stay current, which meant I got to learn more about how the guys in the back operate. It was pretty awesome, dad I'm gonna blow you away with tie-down knowledge. We ran out of seats at one point so Mike & I rode in the hummer which provided one of the softest rides I've had, extra suspension and noise muffling. Thanks to an unfortunate 24 hour bug that has been ravaging its way though our crew I also got to sit in the spotters seat. There have been copious amounts of Imodium passed around and the 50 yard dash to our bathroom has gotten pretty exciting. Luckily the DFac has soup, baked potatoes, and 7up.

Thanksgiving

My first major holiday overseas was a good one. We have made pretty good friends with a Sgt that runs the DFac and we were excited we didn't fly today and got to be there to see all of his hard work. Its amazing how much hard work and how much of a difference individuals can make. He and his battalion are from Hawaii, so his wife sent up some street signs and other decorations to make the place feel at home for them. Half the DFac was Hawaiian, half was traditional thanksgiving, they had ice sculptors (how they did this blows my mind), a cornucopia filled with fruit and lays, a giant mayflower ship they served eggnog from, workers dressed up as indians, pilgrims, elves, and reindeer, a gingerbread city, all the traditional food (which was pretty good), and what blew my mind the most, they had baked several large pieces of bread to the shape of the Hawaiian islands and laid them out on a blue table cloth. Our AC is also from Hawaii so he gave us a geography lesson and showed us where all the cool spots were. It was great to see everyone so happy all from a few individuals hard work. I went with peach cobbler for desert in honor of missing hamburger-ala-foil last night at deer camp.

Great Day topped off with a late night work out and mid-night breakfast, trying to get ourselves adjusted to an evening/night flying schedule.

Dare to Dream

Whenever I was getting tired of flight school I dreamed of days like yesterday, knowing it would be awesome when I got here, it probably tops the previous "best day yet." I started writing a play-by-play and realized it really wasn't that exciting and there wasn't anything specific, but the culmination of a satisfying day of flying knowing we did what we came here to do, did it well, and made it back in time for supper and an Aaron Tippin concert. HA!

So I'll try to make of list of the all the little things that combined into one awesome day:

Tasty omelet w/ everything & biscuit, iced vanilla coffee drink

gotta keep breakfast light on flight days & like to get the hyper energy going early

Briefings, flight prep, and pre-flight were quick & smooth

I guess it doesn't take many repetitions to get to the point where it runs well

Instead of valeting Cols to meetings we were moving actual important stuff. A couple of guys who rode back with us said they had been stuck there with those goods and were gonna get to go home now. Typically we move either people, pallets, or rolling stock: hummers or anything on wheels (which this was) which tend to be the most time consuming. We put some good tunes over the interphone speakers and started rolling like a fluid team, even the FAST team we carry for security pitched in. I don't know why it was so much fun but I was in the best mood, Dad u would've been blown away by the backing skills of this driver (with direction from our loads) and the expert tie down job.

I'm becoming more proficient with my descents and landings which is always exciting

I grabbed a twist ice-cream cone on my way to the Aaron Tippin concert, that dude is awesome, classic red-neck country singer that loves the US and has been doing USO tours since I was born.

Riding the high, we took the bus on a ride around base exploring the far side of the runway. We were back in highschool, cruising and listening to music was a great end to the day, until we found ourselves on a pitch back stretch with no idea where it was going. Everyone got quiet and all at once each person said "umm.... I think we might need to turn around"

Fear

U wanna talk about real fear, there is a flock of ravens that move silently around base stalking weary joggers and unsuspecting hammock loungers. I feel like I'm in a Lord of the Rings movie. I was lounging in our "tanning bed" atop the barriers the other day and I watched their tactics first hand. I've seen them before, but this provided a unique vantage point. There are prolly 45-50 of them and without a sound they leap frog there way across a landscape picking it to pieces. Never fear though, I am ever vigilant with regards to all avian matters.

Still loving flying, still learning tons every sortie, just wish we could do more of it, we were pretty consistent doing every other day there for a week, which was perfect, but it has slowed back down.

Bravo

We have been flying a lot more these past few days. We were "sitting bravo" yesterday. not the primary crew, but supposed to be ready to go within an hours notice of when we are "alerted" A Lt. Col had assured us the previous night there was 0% chance of being alerted, which should of made us more suspicious. Regardless we treated it like a day off: sleeping in, going for a run, watching some office, working out, lounging and enjoying social time at supper. Enjoying my twist cone on the way out the door brought the news it was time to party. It is interesting to see how each person handles the news. Some reply with an indifferent "well I wasn't doing anything anyway" some angry they have to reverse the downhill mental spiral toward bed they had already begun, and some giddy to the point of dropping their ice-cream. Eventually all settle into the professional crew we are, or strive to be each flight, and I think we were tonight.

Apparently the Army REALLY wanted these 15 or so troops moved, there were several higher ranks on board and we held short for 10 minutes or so waiting for a General to decide if he wanted to go or not. On the way back in they had activated some sectors around base allowing the Army copters to do the work they do, combined with visibility below minimums left us circling looking for options. Much preferring our own hooches, we passed on CQ's suggestion to divert and instead took the chance at the low visibility. Once again my AC's experience showed, as he gave us a play by play of what to expect. The sky was perfectly clear with just a finger nail of new moon and the NVGs revealed multiple shooting stars and a blacked out convoy, we could see airfields further out than usual and each town had its own green halo glow from fog. So to say visibility is what would keep us from landing was strange but sure enough right as we touched down everything disappeared and you could barely make out our own wingtips. The fog was ridiculously thick but maybe only 50' deep. Yet another great learning experience and beautiful night flight.

ps: the other night we flew to Kuwait which becomes a highlight when you have enough time to run to the mid-night diner for REAL milk!!!!!! See facebook for pics of that base during the day.

Church was awesome again, the prayers for our tone-defness were much appreciated and felt, either the hymns were more in our range, we brought our A-game, or I wasn't paying attention to it, either way it was a huge blessing.

We've been playing a lot of Risk (the game of global domination) and the testosterone packed competition is about to boil over, Mom we need the Un-game ASAP (not really please don't send that, we'd prolly smash it under the 85 lbs weight) Speaking of, after smashing all kinds of fruit we have been inundated with flies. We each have one of those sticky tapes outside our door, last count we had 83 on ours and the other two look just as full, 15 on the one in the room. When its not ur turn at Risk you are on fly killing duty, we prolly average 75 kills a game.

WX update: desert winter is kicking in, without scientific measurements i'd say the after noon is "broken office air conditioner warm" dry heat in the day to "don't won't to go outside to pee because its too cold" nights.

Also - I have received several very thoughtful comments in response to blogs on here, but in my lack of know how I haven't been able to send thank yous, but please know I really appreciate all the support and would love email addresses to personally thank you.

Another Day Another Cinnamon Roll

This post is going to be pretty boring, more for my own personal memories.

Currently I'm going through several personal philosophical debates: at what water temperature does no shower become worse than a cold shower? although the sound of crickets while you walk to the showers makes it worth it. should I just go ahead shave my head? would it look good with the incoming mustache? these are weighing very heavy on my mind, inputs would be much appreciated.

Food is still the much anticipated highlight of my day, I don't know if I've talked about it yet, but ITS AWESOME. Favorites I'm rotating through include various kinds of fish/shrimp/crab, philly cheese steak, every way you can serve chicken, including buffalo wings, bbq brisket, ceasar salad, choose your own ingredients short order stir fry, kiwi, bread pudding, blue berry cobbler, carrot cake, pecan pie, cookies n cream milkshakes, french toast, short order omelets, the biscuits are good, but the gravy has much to be desired. I have been told by several people that the south DFAC where we eat is the best they've ever seen.

Music is also something that can completely change the day. We are getting more and more proficient so my AC has started letting us put music on over the PA on the plane while we are on/off loading cargo/pax. Its fun searching each other's ipods putting on random songs, today's hits included "I can feel it coming in the air tonight" and "run around sue". And I enjoy runs so much more just as time to get out and listen to any music I want.

Another highlight has been seeing tons of different army aircraft i never even knew existed, and some I knew about but have never seen, including all the UAVs.

Like I said not much to report, the flight went well: WAIT I forgot, since today was payday we treated ourselves to Cinnabon (ya its rough over here), definitely a noteworthy highlight. Aw man and how could I forget, Mandy's box came with "the office" in it, we all rejoiced and immediately put it in for a couple episodes. We are much in debt, thank you very much.

Ok, so to revisit the previous day which rocked the house (or at least the hooch I live in). I skipped breakfast and slept in but made it to church on time. The base is so large it is divided into 3 sections: North, South, and Main (creative I know) and each section actually has its own gym, DFAC (dining facility), and Chapel. So the South Chapel or "Wings Chapel" since its for all the aviation people, is pretty small. It was a definite security blanket/comfort to be in church and you can tell it is a great relief for individuals with major prayer requests. The Chaplains were very warm and friendly and delivered a great message. Obviously it is a very like minded audience sharing common experiences so the message was very targeted and applicable. It was from Phil 2 and reminded me how important it is for me to be serving the rest of my crew. I know that is why I am here and a major way to show these guys Christ's love, but as with most military crews they are pretty rough and hard to love sometimes, but we are all. The music was more humorous for me. Most everyone took it very serious and you could tell were deep in worship, and the music leaders were doing what they could with what they had, but none of us are the best singers, resulting in a very quiet audience. So I couldn't help but notice the Spanish accent coming through the leader's words and for some reason I wanted to bust out laughing. Regardless it was a much welcome way to start the morning/week.

Later in the afternoon we created a sweet action gladiator game, that looking back at it now is really hard to explain unless you want to come out here and play. Needless to say it was awesome. That evening a much anticipated USO sponsored concert came to town with DJ Scribble (not as good as DJ Juicy J) and Naughty by Nature (an early 90's rap trio with at least 2 songs I know). I think its very respectable of individuals who support the USO with tours like this and I partially feel bad for artists like NbN who back in the day could get an entire stadium on their feet cheering but now struggle to keep the attention of 200+ so I felt it was the least I could do to add to the party. It was difficult to find the balance in representing an AF flying officer but also needing to bring the funk. So I started out bobbing and singing along, waving my hand if told to by NbN, but the next thing I knew I was line dancing with a group of black ladies, I blinked and I was on stage singing "HIP HOP HOORAY, HO, HO, HAY". My crew had a great time, but don't believe I'm from Arkansas anymore. All in All it was an awesome day, better than today because I lost at Global Domination (the game of Risk).

2 even better days

So just when I didn't think it could get any better, Iraq steps it up another notch. Yesterday was an awesome day of flight. I don't think I could ever get tired of showing up, getting briefed on what we supposed to do, and doing it. No lengthy planning and going through excessive lengths to fly. Just show up and get-r-done. The longer we are here the more I'm realizing this is a pretty big deal. Not so much what we are doing but what we are paving the road for, once it is up and running they won't even be using 130s but still. My crew is just another pawn in the massive chess game, but its a pretty cool pawn that all the Generals want to see in action. So we picked up a 2 star in Baghdad who rode with us as we dropped off some rockets and pax (passengers). My AC let me have the plane for a few legs and I got my first 2 combat landings! The general said I did an a great job saving the one he saw, which felt like winning the "most improved" award, who really needs someone telling them they were stunk, but got better. (it was pretty sloppy on the short final but I touched down smooth) either way it was awesome.

Along the way we didn't like the way one of our engine gages was looking so we came back and switched to the spare. It was amazing to see everyone flow together to switch planes so quickly. Maintenance, crew chiefs, ATOC (the guys moving our cargo), another crew, everybody working to get the job done. So we got back out of there and by the end of the day we had our first NVG (night vision goggles) sortie out of the way as well. I never cease to be amazed by the power of NVGs and how beautiful it is. I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before, so I'll just hit the highlights. There are a lot more lights around Iraq than I expected, oil fires can be seen forever and a day away, and more wildlife has been spotted thanks to their help, two jack rabbits (I also just saw to mice outside). I found the big dipper, followed it to the north star, then to the little dipper. Who knew Iraq even copied our stars, those cheaters.

Well I'm getting tired and this post is pretty long so I'll have to write about the previous day tomorrow. I'll throw out a teezer, it included church, gladiatorial games, as well as a Naughty by Nature concert.

Best Day Ever

Today was probably one the best days off to date and definitely deserves chronicling: After sleeping in till 11 I was reminded in Psalms 139:9 that even if I live on the Eastern horizon (which is where this is to me) God's hand will lead me and hold onto me. HCSB

We hit up a lunch for breakfast. While there, the shirt (our first sergeant) found us to drop off some mail - DAD'S HOLSTER ARRIVED - it was much anticipated and filled my afternoon with lots of reconfiguring to find the sexiest way to wear it. On the trek back from lunch we found more wildlife to include ants and a crazy beetle (sounds exciting right? but thats all thats here) WE THOUGHT - someone spotted a lizard and of course we all took off in chase. we encircled our prey and I laid an ambush while Bryson flushed him my way. I scooped him up and luckily Bryson had an empty gatorade bottle to use as a transportation device until we could construct a terrarium in an 9x11 cookie pan complete with swimming pool, dirt field and bouldering center for cover. He seems pretty happy and we supplied him with several flies, some still live after being stunned by rubber-band shots.

Next came canasta in which Bryson & I set a new world team record with a base of 2800 points, THATS RIGHT 2800 base. It was mind blowing, with a high like that I had to go for a sunset run. We finished off the evening with a little Office watching, back & bi's work out, sea food supper, and there was plenty of hot water in the shower.

It was a great day, so busy we didn't even get time to smash all the stuff we had collected!!!

"Mini Herc" Test Period

I was keeping up on my AF news today and as I read this article I thought to myself "Hey self this article is talking about what you are doing" If I haven't given an accurate description of what we are doing, here it is.

"A formal test is taking place from October through December in Iraq to gather information on this new Air Force mission."

The guard unit I am here with is one of those getting the C-27 and we are working out the kinks with the C-130 until then.

http://www.military.com/news/article/air-force-news/mini-herc-set-to-join-air-force-fleet.html?ESRC=airforce-a.nl

Day to Day

Well the day to day pace is starting to set in as things get squared away and everyone settles in to their job. We've flown a couple of times, I love it, everything about it, hopefully its not just the newness of it all. All of the annoying things you usually have to back home is taken care of by someone else. All we do is show up, get briefed and do our thing. We moved some troops around base hopping all over northern Iraq with a pallet or two thrown in every now and then. Its revolutionary to these guys how quickly we can get them down the road, which is hilarious. We are the red-headed step child of the AF, the tortuous in a race of hares that don't nap. But when you are at an army base with nothing but Helos and convoys you become Speed Racer.

I'm feeling a lot more confident with my job with every minute but always have more to learn than I already know. My AC (aircraft commander) is probably the most experienced guy here, not the most flight hours, but the most hours here in the past 4 years, so I'm pretty set. He gives us a play by play of what to expect and look for at each stop, as well as his thought process for every decision, which is really making up for the below average flight time we're getting.

I'm having a good time, but learning down time while waiting to be alerted is much more dangerous than de-pantsing a big army guy. We found an 85 lbs dumbbell and started dropping it from our "tanning bed" onto stuff we scavenged up, which escalated through rocks, water bottles, shaken up cokes, bananas, insect spray bottles and a bike helmet, but were called off when we picked up the fire extinguisher. Then we had balancing competitions on our makeshift ladder.

Halloween was uneventful since we had to go to bed early for an early flight. I did go for a run right after dark, road lit from a full moon, and the massive burn pit which with the addition of choppers whooping overhead gave a pretty good halloween mood. Don't worry, apparently there are no ware-jackels...

Alert

We were sitting around watching the office, u know the usual, when the load popped his head through the door "WE'RE ALERTED" The higher ups usually give you a time window the day prior when to expect to be alerted and you have to be at the squadron an hour later ready to do business. I hooped n hollered, the other guys just wanted to finish the episode, but we eventually made our way to the squadron as lightning thundered overhead (one of many mental pictures I tried to take today). We were the first crew to get to fly so it was very high visibility, everyone was anxious to see all their hard work pay off. Awesome to see what had previously been an abandoned hole in the ground turn into a functional work area over night, complete with tactics, intel, life support, command post, briefing room, break room, and of course projector for Halo 3. Side note: we noticed the briefing room's door frame was kicked in and there were 3 black blast marks on the ceiling... I wonder how we obtained this hole?

Each team gave us there support: brief of our mission, binders containing info on all our stops, local intel updates, contingency plans, NVGs, and lunches of course. I was starting to get a big head with all this attention then I remembered all this wasn't being done for me but rather for the person who needed whatever we will be hauling, we are all just another wheel in the great cog that is our military super train. You are either the one kicking in doors putting blast marks on ceilings or the one supporting them, fortunately my support contains perks such as cloud surfing.

Our support today came in the form of an empty dry run just to check the functionality of this new plan, which was highly beneficial for a rookie like myself, but a bit of an annoyance for old pros. I'm glad to say it was uneventful and the Cols back at command post with their eyes glued to the scope only had one moment of worry when they saw us double back on our path (due to weather, our dust bowl is now a swimming hole, your were right Michael) Felt good to be back in the saddle, even if just as a ginny pig.

Iraqi Deer Camp, Gird Ur Loins

I feel as though I owe an apology to the Iraqi tourism department, in a previous post I wasn’t very friendly with regard to the landscape. I do have to admit the temperature this time of year is really nice. While there are a couple hours of actual heat “it is a dry heat” and there is always a nice breeze if you get out in the open or in our tanning bed atop the barrier. (See new pic on facebook) And the dust isolates the sun’s glow as it sets (which picked up today into a mild dust storm), and actually as I’m writing this, the guys came inside to play cards because it started raining, we’re expected to get .04” of rain today. As for flora and fauna, I found a tiny pink flowering plant out in the middle of nowhere (which could be everywhere here) and am going to go back for it with a pot to keep in our room, the army guys across the way have a plant they’ve been nursing which has larger white blooms. I have also seen a few Jackals at night and hope (kinda hope not) to see some of the deadly snakes that I wouldn’t ever see back home. This was all brought to mind by Job 37 this morning, I love the references to nature and God’s power in Job. Interesting we had lightning tonight after reading this, this morning. I can’t imagine what it would be like for God to say “Now prepare yourself like a man.”

Since we are starting up something new it’s been really slow going while they get everything set up. As a result this has turned into an Iraqi deer camp. We are supposed to be flying (hunting) but instead we stay up late playing canasta and since we sealed off our window and door with black out curtains to keep out dust it also seals out any sunlight (much like our tent), so then sleep in with no idea of how late it is. We did have all our intel/local area indoc briefings today so we should be moving some stuff pretty soon. I promise I won’t completely waste all your money…

I put a few pics on facebook...

We flew along the Tigris on the way down (see picture, actually it won't let me, so never mind) and landed at what looked like the only populated area for miles and miles, there is nothing out here and for good reason. We touched down and pretty much pulled off the side of the road (as far as large aircraft go) As in Scotland I immediately remembered the smell when we stepped off the plane, this time it was like football practice in early September when it was really hot, and there was no grass on the field, and you were face down in a ton of dirt with eight sweaty dudes on top of you. I don’t know why they call it the sand box, I haven’t seen a grain of sand yet, its more like dirty gold bond powder with rocks mixed in here and there. (side note on this: I have come to a fork, this stuff gets everywhere and there is no way to defeat it, I can either drive myself crazy trying to clean, or just act like I’m backpacking or in highschool and not care about me or my stuff having a light powder coat of dirt) I also don’t see how anything could live here, plant or animal. I have however seen a few birds around a water pit, and a hole I believe to be dug by a lizard. There are a few “trees” planted along some of the roads that used to be watered, but they are fading pretty dang fast.

This is definitely an Army base and we stand out like sore thumbs in our flight suits and blue PT gear. I heard the population of the base varies from 5 to 10 thousand at any given time, so they have awesome gymS and awesome chow hallS, which serve much better food than I would ever fix and in much larger quantities, you combine these two with an abundance of down time until we get operations set up and I’m gonna see how much weight I can gain in two months. That’s right I said two months, its like a long vacation. We talked to a helo pirate who was here for 15 months, and is now back for 12 (at least that is what they tell him, I wouldn’t be surprised if they extended him longer). My room is nice, it’s a 3 room modular long house on blocks, with two to a room, so my crew has a unit. We have internet and AC with a modular bath house down the way. I have more than everything I could want and anything I don’t have I could get at one of the bases’ BXs. Everything is staffed by TCNs (third country nationals) they can come over and work for $25 a day room and board paid with no vacations. Once they choose to leave they can’t come back. They are all very friendly (speaking extremely basic English) but smile constantly and do whatever they can to help.

Yesterday we toured the base adopting the Army mentality that if you see it, and it doesn’t look like anyone else is using it, you can take it. We’re fixing our place up quite nicely, we’re bored boy scouts looking for screws and pallets.

This morning we started cleaning and setting up what will be our operations HQ in an underground bunker, again very stereotypical of what you would think an Iraqi military station would look like. Also stereotypical of Iraqi AF hangers, they each have a single large patched up hole in the top, precisely put there by some of my brethren in 2003. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be flying for awhile, and as you can tell from the length of this blog we have lots of down time… I have lots of pics to put up tomorrow.

Written on the Plane

My first stay in a former Soviet block country makes me question how bad communism was and if we need government regulation at all. Apparently the smoking age is much lower as we saw, what had to have been a 5-6 year old smoking in the streets after 10:00. Parking is much less regulated as well, every sidewalk and front yard doubled as a free lot. Littering appeared to be legal, and dogs were encouraged to roam at will. (I just entered the combat zone for the first time12:38Z, 22 Oct 09!!! Mike just activated the defense systems and flak vests are being donned, just a precaution mom, I’m sitting on the bunk for this one, the Lt Col wanted to fly in for the first one since he won’t be flying the rest of the trip) We circled the block and found an Italian restaurant, we elected to stay away from local stuff this time. Romania was a pretty stereotypical Eastern European country like I would expect in movies. The hotel was nice though, right on the black sea, which is not black and might as well be an ocean.

We flew over it this morning and entered Turkey airspace being careful not to stray too far east or west to avoid Syria and Iran. As we approached the border almost all at once our radios and raw navigational equipment started buggin out, I don’t know what that was about. We’re starting down now, I’ll finish this on the ground in Iraqistan!!!

While I’m told St. John’s is a beautiful place when the weather is nice, rain and snow hold the majority of the climate. I’m also told on a summer weekend night the party street is out of control, but on a nasty late fall Monday night that’s not the case. And thus was our 16 hours on the ground in Newfoundland, cold and wet, not a sole to be seen on the streets except sailors who looked they were fresh off the filming of deadliest catch. I did however have another spacious room to myself with a nice view of the harbor, (which was pretty cool) but it was dark the whole time so I didn’t really see anything of interest. Apparently every non-mid-air-refuelable prop plane has to use St. John’s as a launching point across the Atlantic, so there were several interesting planes there.

I got to fly the Atlantic leg, well I got to sit in the seat, my duties included but were not limited to: making position reports every 5 degrees of longitude (since there is no radar control over the ocean) backing up our flight plans coordinates, informing the engineer if the right wing was icing up, monitoring the radios, and continually getting quizzed by more experienced crew members, exciting right (thumbs down). It was really cool though, definitely the longest single flight I’ve ever flown, but we still whipped Columbus’ time record. They had sub sandwiches for us before we left so we used the oven to toast them and heat up our cookies, we plugged the ipod into one of the extra headphone jacks so we had tunes playing in the background, I got to get up to stretch or use the little boys room at will, so it was better than riding in the back with the pax (passengers) and cargo, which really isn’t too bad, we have some litters up (usually for medical pax) but utilized for naps, and as always the ocean and clouds were amazing.

Prestwick Scotland was our next stop; once again dark almost our entire stay, but the smell of money (or cow manure) filled the air on my first steps across the Atlantic. The weather was nice so we found time to wander around Ayr, taking in the old buildings and flirting with the only girl at the only open bar converted from an old church, which held 9 other patrons all males in their mid 60s. We almost talked her in to giving us a ride to Edinbrough or Glasgow… I love the accents. The sunrise revealed we were only three blocks from the coast with a striking bluff just down the way, and the ride back to the airport provided a little sight seeing, all of the city, which was really interesting. Hopefully I’ll get some more time to hang out here in the future, I think with any more time we could’ve gotten that ride.

OH

Tonight I find myself in the Buckeye state, alone in a hotel room with 2 beds, free wireless & cable, expecting a nice complimentary breakfast in the morning. Its a rough life, and I venture to say my dad will draw a stark contrast against his first overseas military experience for the rest of my chronicles (I like using that word). It is beautiful here, when driving to our hotel one person commented "I feel like we've gone back in time" another "Is this where home and garden takes all their photos" The hardwoods are in the height of there change, the air is crisp, rich green lawns, rolling hills with various crops ready for harvest and small barns filled with pumpkins. It does a nice job of curbing the frustration of taking so long to get somewhere in the Herk, we left cheyenne, I should be in Iraqistan, i'm just too anxious...

This morning was a different beautiful, the eastern horizon was turning deep red when I left and the western snowcapped peaks were being lit before all else, not a cloud in the sky letting me watch them the entire ride up (since I didn't drive, my nav's girlfriend drove to say goodbye) No one rode up for me, but the buffalo were closer to the rode than I had ever seen them, literally pushing on the fence, and I'm 98% sure they did that for me. One of the load's (we have 2 loadmasters with us) parents came to see him off and of course his mom's eyes were getting red even though this is his 4th deployment. My AC (aircraft commander) didn't inform me of this but he was/is supposed to be getting married 2 Jan in Hawaii (we don't think we'll be back by Christmas) (a testament to his attitude, not once has he shown disappointment or frustration about this deployment) Needless to say his eyes were red too when he stepped in the passenger seat of the crew bus, I acted like I hadn't noticed and stared straight ahead as I drove. Its funny to juxtapose the emotions I see to my own, those being of pure anticipation of what will happen next. Then juxtapose that to my AC, this being his eighth deployment, nothing is new to him and he laughs at my excitement over the smallest events; loading the pallet with our bags, arriving at a new base, doing everything together as a crew - which at present is turning into one of my favorite things, it feels like I'm in a gang. I'm sure I'll talk more about them later, I'm writing more up front than I'm sure anyone cares to read but expect this to quickly wane as things become standard.

PS. I didn't make the above comments out of self pity, b/r interesting observations, i have received more than enough well wishes to last the short 2 months. Best coming from Meg & Ben before bed tonight.

Well I'm leaving, On a Jet Plane, Don't know when I'll be back again...

Thats not entirely true, its a turbo prop, and I have a rough idea when i'm getting back. BUT I am finally getting to play in the big sand box with the other kids. Its only taken me 7 years since highschool but I found out last Thursday I was getting picked up for an assignment I volunteered for to go fly for the army. Thats about all they told me other than to be ready to leave in a week. Since then several hypotheses have been thrown around as to what we'll be doing and where we'll be stationed, but one thing is for sure I'm leaving in the morning. The mighty Hercules is many things but it definitely isn't fast or long legged, which means we'll be making several stops on our way over and won't be in Iraqistan for another week. I'm gonna use this as my chronicler for all the cool stuff that happens, I'll also try to let anyone know who reads this when I expect to be online next in case they want to chat. Laterz Taterz, JLT

Nature More

I don't know why I haven't posted this yet, but over the past couple months I have been on some amazing trips to the Mountains. I don't know why but I love it there. I've skinny dipped in a lake that forms directly from snow melt, had several moose stare me in the eyes after rubbing off their velvet, watched elk do things I didn't even know existed all in the name of impressing a mate, been blinded by golden aspens, summited rocky peaks just to get a better vantage point to un-lost myself, had 3 inches of snow last weekend, to hike in shorts and sandals this. It makes me think of a poem:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods
There is a rapture on the lonely shore
There is society, where none intrudes
By the deep sea, and music in its roar
I love not man the less, but Nature more…
- Lord Byron

But more importantly I've had good friends (and made new ones) to share these experences with, which brings up another quote:

Happiness Only Real When Shared
- Chris McCandless

Simple Obedience

In the process of trying to find a church I've had the principle of simple obedience reinforced. Last Sunday I visited a local Baptist church and it was as stereotypically Baptist I almost laughed out loud a few times during the service. All suits and no emotion, I could guess every word coming next from my Baptist playbook for a good service. To their credit the people were very friendly and the message was definitely more scripturally solid than the large box church I visited that had awesome worship and could provide not only a college/career ministry, but also a young singles as well as a young professionals group. I didn't really think I would be much more impressed with First Baptist but wanted to give it a try out of respect for my father's wishes as well as the fact that a majority of men I have respected and learned from throughout life (and want to continue to surround myself with) have been active in the Baptist church.
I don't think I have ever felt as instantly comfortable in the setting of a church. It was just like goldie lox and the three bears, a great balance of worship style that I feel free in. (I know praise and worship isn't about myself and how I feel b/r about praising and worshiping Him, but a style that I feel comfortable in is much more conducive to me doing that) The message was topical and easy to apply but was pulled directly from scripture and more than just "good words to live by" It looked at the simple obedience of the disciples in John 21, and afterward I realized that through simple obedience to honoring your father/mother I think I may have found a church I feel in place, where I can grow and be put to work for His purpose. I'm pretty excited.
an audio copy of the sermon will probably be at the following link in a couple of days:
http://www.fbcfortcollins.org/index.cfm/pageid/575

Long's Peak

Yesterday I completed the most intimidating hike of my life, 14,255' Long's Peak. I hate to say it but there were actually a couple places I stopped to think "is this right, should we be doing this?" I don't think I saw these pictures from 14ers.com which describes routes in detail before the trip. In the first, the trail navigates along the side of this ledge, over the knifes edge and down the other side. In the second you climb (or descend) hand over foot in any of the cracks which best suits your fancy. Looking back I have been in more life threatening situations, but I think my fear of heights and inexperience on REAL mountains escalated my need to rug a rock more than necessary. And on the descent I was back to my usual jumping w/o hesitation, and I guess experience is really the only real way to gain confidence and skills for the future. So I can check that box. Drew (a buddy from work) and I left my place at 01:40, were on the trail by 03:10, summited around 10:20, and were back to the trailhead at 16:00. The 15 mile 10,000 foot (5 up 5 down) hike made quite an impression on my quads, but other than that it wasn't too bad. We stopped once we cleared the tree line to take in the Denver lights as well as more stars I have ever seen at one time. Zero cloud cover, zero moon, and 10,000' less atomosphere really makes a difference, its not even worth trying to describe, but definitely one of the most awe inspiring panoramas ever. We took another break a little before 6 to set up in a good spot to eat breakfast and watch the sun-rise over the great plains. Long's is significantly higher than the surrounding peaks so it is much more dramatic of a view than Elberts, and with a very large summit provided a great place for a nap. We treated ourselves to some Estes Park health smoothies for the ride home (we felt a little gay in the shop, noticing we were the only guys w/o girls there) but they were tastey. Awesome, exhausting day

bike ride

Just wanted to share that as much as I disdain hippies, we have a lot in common, and I appreciate their efforts to keep Fort Collins the way it is. There are natural areas all throughout town with paved bike/running trails interconnecting all parts. Most roads have bike lanes and the trails have under-passes to avoid crossing major roads. The other day on a ride literally in the middle of town I saw 7 deer, 4 of which had the largest racks of any deer I've seen in person. I dropped into the grass to hide and see if they would forget about me, but I guess they don't get big by being dumb and eventually graissed off in the other direction, after I scared a couple of other bikers. There are several lines of ridges increasing in height west of FoCo (fort collins) and as rain moves in you can judge its distance as the ridges disappear. Only problem is as you head up the nearest one you lose sight of those in the distance and not realizing this didn't see the rain that day, where as I usually do when running. A metallica song came on my ipod so I fought my way up the ridge through the rain and wind to be rewarded with an awesome vista over-looking the city accompanied by a double rainbow. I thought of this line (I don't know where I got it cuz i've never seen the Count of Monte Cristo, but it fits).

Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Albert Mondego, the man!
-Edmund Dontes-The Count of Monte Cristo.

Prov 16:9

This post is a recap of where I am and how I got here, most of you already know this, but I need to keep reminding myself of how awesome this is and how little I had to do with it.
So as of 15 Aug I am living in Fort Collins CO with and adventure wonderland out my window (literally) flying the most rewarding mission in the AF in my dream aircraft whose home is... u guessed it, Arkansas. I decided to do an entire post dedicated to the Herc cuz I started digressing. So how did I get to this point you ask, you have to ask cuz I did a bad job of updating my blog, i just checked and there is a huge hole from T-6s to T-1s and then another hole to now.

You have 4 checkrides in T-6s, I successfully hooked every one of them. When I tell people that they usually aren't paying attention and it takes a second for it to sink in, then they turn there head swint there eyes and say "i didn't think you could graduate if you did that" its pretty funny to watch. God's hand has been all over my training. The commander told me the previous policy had been such, but his was different, considering my bout with airsickness, my last failed ride being fairly commical and my flight commander had nothing but positives about me, he let it slide. Needless to say I didn't get my first choice of the fast track to C-130's after T-6s and instead went to fly the T-1 which typically leads to another cargo or tanker. T-1s went much better for me, nothing steller, but I didn't hook any of the 3 checkrides and once again I had positive critiques. Toward the end of T-1s we recieved a list of what aircraft would be available to our class. We rank our choices and our flight commander ranks us. The first person getting their first choice, the second gets their choice of whats left and so on down the rankings. Much to my disappointment I didn't see a C-130 on our list and wasn't really surprised, it had been 3 years since the last C-130 was handed out, so I ranked FAIPing high on my list. First Assignment Instructor Pilots stay at the shcool house to instruct right after training and recieve their actual assignments later down the road. I thought if I could do this I would have another chance at picking up a C-130. Assignment night came, and rumors had been flying for the past 3 weeks about who would be FAIPed, one of us wanted it and two were being threatened with it. They make a big party out recieving your assignments and they put up funny slides making fun of you, then present your assignment in front of the full banquet room. They had gone through the entire class except the three of us, everyone knowing the FAIP position still lingered. Then there were 2, my roomate and good friend Joe & were all that remained. He knew I really wanted to FAIP everybody there did, and we all knew Joe would make the best of it, but really wanted something else, and he deserved it, he had done the best throughout the program. BUT they need the best to stay and teach others to fly, and the room fell silent as he was FAIPed. I didn't really care what happened after that, I knew what was left, and I too would make the most of what I didn't want, and when they said "Lt Tharel in which aircraft will you be singing the praises of AR next?" i was indifferent to turn around to see the slide, but I felt a collective gasp from the crowd I turned to see what I thought was a cruel joke (my hands are shakeing a little as i type this). I looked at my flight commander who knew what I was thinking and smiled reaffirming he wasn't kidding. My flight partner through T-1s picked me up and spun me around like we were married (I owe a lot to him, we are complete opposites, but he did more to help me through and pass those rides than anyone, he was more excited to hear my first checkride score than his own and more excited to see my assignment than his own.) I don't know if it really hit the entire evening all I remember is repeating "I can't believe it" the rest of the night.

This is an extremely long post to say I had an idea of what was going to happen when I started flight school, resulting in me getting C-130s to fly around the mountains. Everytime my plan was squashed I adjusted and came up with another plan, and everytime it didn't work (mom says not to use always and never so this is prolly an exageration) but it sure happened a lot and in every area of my life including relationships. But God knew what he was doing and was able to make me happy in the end, and I can thankfully say I DID learn His lesson to be content in every situation and know that what ever the result, it will be better than you planned. So here I am living the dream...

adventure weekend

7 - 9 Aug This past weekend may possibly be the most action packed weekend of my life. Friday for work I drove out to the drop zone to catch sandbags from the herks and chase antelope (always a good time) while there I got a call informing me I needed hurry back from work to make the Rockies game in Denver. I met up with a friend from college who had visitors from back east along with other friends (all new to me). The game was a lot of fun, home team won, big philly cheese steak sandwich, almost got a foul ball, good times, great oldies. Afterward, to avoid traffic we went to a lounge downtown which turned out to be more of a small dance club since they were under renovation. It was our group and a large group of cougars celebrating a birthday. Never being the shy one on the dance floor, i figured we might as well combine the two groups. The night continued with an action packed game of go-fish until we finally conceded to sleep around 4:30. 4 hours later we departed for the head waters of the Arkansas river for some white water rafting. Our killer team was selected by the head raft guide because he knew we would dominate, look at us, who wouldn't. It was a lot of fun, but I seriously think I could've canoed most of what we did (with a couple exceptions). By the end we had mastered the art of spinning while traversing the rapids. Colorado camping in the short tree plains is quite different from woodland arkansas camping, but smores remain the ever sturdy foundation to any good campout. The next day brought a 6 hour accent up my first 14er, it took the rest of our party 3 hours up, but someone has to be the gentlemen who stays with the lady for her safety (i know most of u are prolly thinking i'm just a biggo flirt/lady's man and must have been a little smitten, tomato tomoto) Either way, the weather held off and we were able to take our time and have the summit of the highest point in CO (2nd highest in the contiguous US) to ourselves... and a mountain beave. The weekend was topped off by a burger n shake for the long drive home, bed by 2:30, worthless the next day.

random thoughts on nature inspired by a 3 year old

This is an email I sent mandy the other day after Meg called to ask why God made bugs, and she asked me to put it up here, it is a pretty good insight the randomness that goes through my mind:

Hey, ever since meg asked why God made bugs I've been remembering how complex and wonderfully made nature is. My first instinct was bugs are only there to be part of the food chain and to break down matter, they are like tiny natural recycling units, pretty unimpressive, but I couldn't really explain that to her. Its amazing how everything ties together for His purpose and glory. The colors of the trees, the shade they provide, even more important the oxygen, all come from soil made from other trees that have been broken down by bugs, same with flowers their scents and colors, mostly pollinated by flying bugs from one flower to the other. Bugs are the food for fish that provide so much entertainment and food for us (and bears). Then when I went for a run a raccoon ran in front of me to the creek, which reminded me they eat grasshoppers and other bugs, and then my mind jumped to birds! Everyone loves their colors and sounds and they eat bugs. Then today I stopped to watch a herd of antelope that had settled down next to the road, the first thing you notice is how big their eyes are and long their eyelashes are. They live on the plains where there is no cover to hide and the wind is constantly blowing dust & snow. Their defense is eyesight and speed they can see something around 10 X's ours and those lashes allow them to sit and watch through the harshest winds. Anyway you can tell I really love nature and all God's attention to detail, it just amazes me how many things tie together in an eco-system and how vast his perfection is. sorry this email doesn't really have a point, but you can thank meg for reminding me how awesome God is - love ya, jobo

I started writing this one when I first moved out here, so it should be back dated to July 15.
I guess since i moved to a different state I DO need to keep this a little more up to date for my niece and nephews who I'm sure will be reading every word (although ben did get X & O on the barbie letter ID game, maybe he's been writing too many love letters to girls... whatta playa) Anyway the move to Fort Collins was fairly uneventful, God has little blessings everywhere in many different forms which will be listed in the following. I hate packing (and am not very good at it) luckily Lincoln is bossy enough to make john and I get a majority boxed up on Thursday, and Patrick was good enough to finish off the minority along with loading the uhaul on Friday. Saturday highlights included farewell crackerbarrel breakfast with the Harris's (Laura is that possesive or plural) seeing Buffalo just outside of Booneville (which Megan says is good luck) after picking up some huge Walnut boards saved from the new city lake (thanks Mr. Watts) which will hopefully become a blanket chest to match my walnut head board (thanks mom&dad from when they moved to CO). Saturday was one last tour around Fayetteville/UofA reminiscing on all the things that "haven't always been there" with a Penguin Ed's dinner (thanks Mandy&Brian). As if the days could keep getting better, Sunday brought Eli's dedication (how awesome to be present and able to commit to pray for all of my niece/nephews as they grow in the Lord) followed by a lunch with the whole family then off to Tulsa to hang out with a great friend and use her place as base camp before the long haul on monday (thanks kari). Wes wussed out on driving the big rig, i guess it takes a real bearcat, but he made the 1000 mile 6.5MPG journey exciting with an unplanned detour through Enid, at least I have now seen 2 of the 3 UPT bases. (sidenote: we accidently got Premium gas once and got 9MPG) Kansas is cool for 5 minutes, but once we got into western Colorado i felt like I was in Lonesome Dove. We pulled into our campground just in time to see the brightest double rainbow (thanks for your promises God).

For realz

11 Aug Tuesday morning I had my first flight at my permanent base (Cheyenne WY), new planes, new terrain, new crews, great morning. I rode up with another co-pilot, and along the way the sun started peeking over the distant horizon on the open plains. As we crested one hill the orange beams started breaking through, down the ravine it disappeared, then up the opposite side to find a half full sunrise lighting up the buffalo herd bedded down near the water of the next valley.

I got to the squadron to find 3 crews in their desert flight suits loading up there deployment bags and going over last minute checks to make sure they were ready to head out. I had forgotten today was the day we sent the third rotation over to swap out crews. To everyone else it was something they saw every other month, but for the first time guys I work with were going to do this stuff for realz. It was pretty exciting, and at the same time brought me to the reality that I'm not just training for the fun of flying around anymore. I'm not trying to add any undo drama to the situation, but it was pretty awesome.

The flight was amazing, the H3 model of the C-130 (what I am in now) is light years ahead of the old E models flown for training in Little Rock. It has a "glass cockpit" and flight director/auto pilot similar to that of the T-1 I flew in Columbus, very nice. We flew over the plains to the drop zone, further over some foothills & hogbacks to Laramie to do some tough-n-gos. Coming off the runway we chased some antelope which are as numerous as chiggers back home, and about as annoying to the locals. My instructor gave me a tour over northern Colorado's mountains and across his ranch. Again the difference between training in school and preparation for deployment could be seen in the discussion that followed the illumination of a "check engine light" and general techniques handed out. I can't think of any aspect of my job I'm not excited about (maybe the computer based lessons on information assurance). Life if good.

ye of little faith

13 Aug Thursday evening after work I booked it home to join the local kayak club on the Cache La Poudre river just outside of town. Luckily earlier this year I had a run in with a tree (post for later) that resulted in my purchase of a "slighty" used canoe, but more importantly an awesome friendship with a former river ranger that taught me how to handle a large canoe better than most posers with a little sporty kayak. When I pulled up with my canoe I was being stared at like a hippie in boone-town, and everyone was pretty standoffish, but not bashful with constant comments on how "technical" this float was going to be and how many rocks were exposed, i guess their friendly way of showing doubt. The stares continued through the subsequent rapids as they prepared each time to have to throw me a rope and catch my boat, but they quickly turned into stares of pure amazement as they realized I still hadn't flipped and many of them had. They started cheering as I squeezed tar-baby (my canoe's name due to the black patch on the bow) around bolders and into eddies that could I barely fit in. So they opened up and let me in as one of the cool kids. I guess I should've let them know up front that I 1) am from arkansas, and everyone knows arkansans have jedi like domination over water ways 2) was trained by one of the best canoers ever (seriously he has his own documentary, well kinda). Its also funny to note how people become a lot more friendly and talkative when they find out you fly planes, which I noticed on another float trip 2 weekends earlier where the same group suggested I do a section further down with 2 other older gentlemen. I love just telling them i'm in the AF and let the trip go longer until they reask what exactly I do, and note the differences. Its ridiculous. Anyway the float WAS one of the most difficult ones I've done, but it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about the differences of the rivers out here vs. back home. And to the groups defense they had no idea what my background was, there have been people lost on this stretch, and it is a ridiculously large canoe for that river.

Natural State vs. Natural City

15 Aug This morning while eating waffles I looked out my window to see my neighbor the red fox (click attached photo and zoom in) then a buddy and I went for a short hike on the edge of town where we saw over 50 prairie dogs, a vulture sitting on a dead tree like the ones on Jungle book, some deer, and a BIG-o rattle snake (see fuzzy photo from my phone). We had just seen one of those informative displays for snakes, and I wasn't sure if it was real or part of the display, but upon closer inspection from its 6 the big daddy awoke with a lightning fast spin around to me and rattled, my heart stopped for a few seconds and every brezze in the leaves I heard the rest of the day was another snake in my mind. When we came back by he was joined by two smaller rattlers, I decided to assume they were real as well without closer inspection. It was pretty awesome for a morning IN TOWN.