The Desert Excursion: 365 days in Iraq - a 24/7 Soldier Medic

Friday, March 31, 2006

Well, they didn't lie about the sand. . .

Ok, so I have arrived safely overseas and have managed yet again to get on a computer with internet.

The weather is hot and sunny, with daylight actually being only a sliver of the day. Everything is filtered so I can't really say where I am but I will be moving again soon so you don't need to know anyways. The trip went without incidents and we are just basically jet lagged for the most part; there is a nine hour difference here.

The food. If I could say one thing that is absolutely awesome about being here thus far it is the food. The first dinner I had included the following: crab legs, shrimp, t-bone steak, potatoes, cheese cake and Baskin Robbins Ice Cream. If the food is this good where I am going I think I will make it through the year without complaint.

We started to do a few classes and mandatory briefs but nothing signigicant thus far has happened. Our mission has been changing slightly, but for the most part we will be doing what we expected and will be going where we expected.

I have to get a phone card to get calls made, but I probably won't be calling until I get where we will be stationed.

Enjoying the food,
Nick

Saturday, March 25, 2006

A parting post

Well the time has come and now I must post my final thoughts before I leave the United States.

In just a few short days I will be leaving for Iraq and some of you may be wondering "what is going through his head?"

Well. . .

1. I am not as anxious to go as I thought I would be
2. I do not harbor fear nor anger nor sadness
3. I feel prepared for the long road ahead, both physically and mentally

The past few days I have been quite lackadaisical, playing with my new computer, updating pictures on the website, and spending time reading a book. It seems as though tomorrow is just another day and the next and the next and so on. I know in my mind that we are going to war but I don't have any emotions or feelings that would lead you to believe that is where I am headed.

Anyways. Contact will be limited for the next month or so and by that I mean very little if anything. As soon as I can hop unto the internet I will update. If I can somehow call in a post I will also try to do that.

I want to thank everyone for keeping in touch via the blog site. At last check I have had over 3,100 visits to the site since I set it up on September 19th.

I send my to love to everyone back home, don't worry I will be home soon!
Love you Mom, Dad, Bryan, Kathy, and Kristi.

Goodbye Mississippi, United States, and hello sunny sand beaches of Iraq!

-Nick-

-Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. -Psalm 23:4

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

FYI

I added a few pictures to My Photos at yahoo (the link on the right) under the folder listed as Pensacola.


Carrie and I at McGuire's Irish Pub and Brewery in Pensacola Posted by Picasa


My Mother and I Posted by Picasa

Monday, March 20, 2006

A lot to tell

Wow, I have a lot to tell everyone but I will try to keep it short.

The day before the departure ceremony my mother and I spent the day together here at the camp enjoying the food that came down from Minnesota. If you didn't see it on the news Mancinis and two other restaurants from St Paul along with Schells brewery came down to feed the soldiers and their families a going away steak dinner. Governor Pawlenty was there along with the house rep and the senate majority leader from MN. Later that night I went to a nice dinner with both my parents.

The ceremony went good on the 16th minus the pouring rain and the fact that I was sun burnt from the rehearsal the day before. I said goodbye to my dad after the ceremony for the last time and then went to dinner wearing civilian clothes for the first time! The next day I went to pick up Carrie who missed her flight in Memphis but managed to catch a lift with another couple who missed the same flight. After having dinner together with my mother we drove to Jackson to drop off mom for for her flight the next day. I know it was really hard for her, but who wouldn't find it difficult to see their youngest son off to war.

Carrie and I spent the first night in Hattiesburg then went to Pensacola the next day to meet up with some other soldiers on pass. We returned the next day and spent a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying each others company. I undesirably dropped her off at the airport this morning and returned the rental car before coming back to base.

I have a lot of pictures from the past week and I will try and put them up tomorrow if I can. I had a great time but now it must come to and end and with just a week or so left I have to start saying goodbye.

Nick

Saturday, March 11, 2006

On the brighter side

Hello everyone,

I didn't really mean for my last post to come out so seriously and for that I apoligize. It is now the eleventh of March. I for the first time since I got here know the date that I will be leaving. Unfortunately I can't tell you, but it will be by the end of this month. There is a departure ceremony that is being held here on the sixteenth and I am excited because both of my parents will be in attendance, which is a rare event to say the least. Half of the brigade is on pass this weekend so it seems awfully more desolate here than usual. I have BN CQ tonight so I guess I won't be sleeping, but that is okay with me I will just have to waste time somehow.

Have you ever wondered about what dirt is made up of? Most people really don't look around their world very often and think about what everything is made of, the physical elements, molecules, atoms, protons/electrons, bosons and quarks. They all come together to make everything we see, feel, touch, hear, and smell. . . including us. Have you ever studied so hard and long that you wake up in a sweat seeing only atoms of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen swirling around you? It is a completely different world when you start to look around with something more than your eyes. Being able to understand what you see seems to me to be the most quintessential purpose in life. Of course this pretty much explains my distinct interests at school when I all seem to be taking is chemistry, biology, phsics and Latin (I don't know where the Latin came from). Try taking a look at the world sometime through another persons eyes, I wouldn't suggest mine because you may just get bored but maybe someone a little more interesting ;-) .

I hope that everyone is doing well and I wish you a happy weekend. I am brainstorming how I will keep up to date with this world while I am over there because I haven't seen the news in five months and I can only imagine what will happen while I'm gone. Let me know what you are up to everyone, it is always good to know that life still exists in Minnesota.

Nick

P.S.- You won't know if you don't like something, unless you try it

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Awaiting what lies ahead. . .

"You are not going on a deployment, let me make that clear. You are going to War" - Chaplain Morris

It has been an interesting week with a lot of random things going on, notably the two day course I had on critical incident stress debriefings.

The course that we had was geared towards medical personnel but also included other job specialties. The course was intended to give us some knowledge on how to hold what they call a "defusing" after a critical event (ie: loss of a fellow soldier or killing of an Iraqi insurgent/civilian). The Army is attempting to reduce the amount of PTSD and other mental health related issues for this war. Soldiers sometimes need to talk about critical events that occur and hopefully this will reduce the mental side affects of war.

I think that I actually gained a lot of insight from this course, more so than I have from any other class or training event. Chaplain Morris, who was a special forces intel officer in Iraq, shed a lot of insight into what to expect and what the mentality of the insurgents is. Few people in our company have really been to war, this is where we are going. As soldiers of the US Army we have a lot of weight to bear, including the reality that we may have to kill someone to protect the innocent. Our enemy believes we are the infidels and we have invaded their land, we are evil and they are fighting for what they believe is true. I watched a recruiting video by a terrorist group caught off the internet by an intel officer and it really makes you step back a bit. Clips are shown of US soldiers being murdered, Americans killing insurgents, and of course the twin towers falling as they laugh in the background. Do you know where this was made? England. The terrorists have an unlimited pool of people willing to sacrifice themselves to kill me, a US soldier.

As medical personnel we not only have to take lives, but save them. This is as personal as you can come to another human being. Our goal is to help heal the people of Iraq and bring everyone home alive.

Nick

P.S.- Since I will be leaving soon, stop sending mail to the Mississippi address. I will get an APO soon and I will give that as soon as I know it.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

this is an audio post - click to play