Ride of the Valkyries

COS Kalsu, Iraq. It's cooler here than in BIAP or Camp Liberty. Which while isn’t saying much, speaks volumes. Camp Liberty was humid. There was moisture around in little canals everywhere. Our LT, who was there in 04, said Camp Liberty is located in the former hunting preserve of Saddam Hussein. He irrigated the whole area, making the vegetation lush and beautiful so his flunkies and he could hunt wild exotic game. Everything from antelope to lions. The flight from Kuwait was uneventful. Taking off was like leaving John Wayne Airport on a normal day, and the landing was like coming in to John Wayne during the Santa Ana winds. STEEP, needless to say. We rode (flew? Rode? Same difference really?) in a C-17 Globemaster jet. I’ve seen these built and flown in and out of Long Beach Airport, but it’s totally different and quite surreal to be in full gear, walking up the loading ramp of a HUGE transport jet, past 2 giant pallets of duffle bags, only to sit in normal airline seats. The military doesn’t care if you buckle your seatbelt, listen to your iPod while you take off or land. Basically, the FAA doesn’t exist with these cats. As I was walking up to the plane, off to my left were 2 bunker/hangars. US munitions made short work of these during Desert Storm. Strange to see them still bombed out 20 years later and not recycled yet or rebuilt. The interior of a C-17 is amazingly stripped down, wires and hoses and fluid lines going every which way in a chaotically organized manner. Running down the length of the fuselage on either side are cables, the manual cable back up controls to the hydraulic and redundant hydraulic flight control systems.  While I tried to find an appropriate song to listen to on my iPhone while taxiing and taking off and finally settling on Fortunate Son, my buddy nudged me and showed me his selection: Ride of the Valkyries. One-upped. So while spending just over 24 hours in Camp Liberty, once again it was time to get moving. Too bad I wasn’t racking up frequent flier miles, because July would have been a goldmine! Getting to the airport, we wait at the convoy loading area. A list of names are read off and bummed, 11 others and myself have not heard our names meaning we’d have to wait 3 hours until the convoy came BACK from Kalsu. Sergeant takes us aside and says “You 12 are lucky. You get the Chinook ride!” SCORE!! So at 2145, we load up on 2 Chinooks and head south. I got the best seat in the house, aside from the tail gunner or pilot. Tail gunner sits in a chair on the edge of the tail ramp and chills out while scanning for threats. I got to share in this view. What is a 1.5-5 hour (depending on traffic and route safety) convoy ride in a cramped MRAP, turned into a 20-30 min (MAX) ride over the country side? Thinking back to my flight from Kuwait, those 2 songs both immediately came to mind. Makes me wonder how soldiers back in 1965-1975 felt staring out the tail ramp of a Chinook or the doors of a Huey flying across the rice patties of Viet Nam. Up there, in relative safety, above the tripwires and makeshift bombs and booby traps of an enemy that didn’t fight fair, didn’t fight using traditional and accepted Western tactics. Up in the air, you feel invincible, safe, and unbeatable. Still, in the back of your head, you know you’re not. So you soldier up and disembark your chopper to await the unknown as you settle into a country side that you know doesn’t like you and wait.

I'm not delivery! I'm DiJourno!!

In "Good Morning Viet Nam", at the very beginning when Eddie Garlick picks up Adrian Cronauer, he says "You'll get used to the heat, sir!" Adrian's response is "Hot? This isn't hot, this is the setting for London Broil!" Today, my friends, is one of those days. Its not much hotter than Phoenix or Death Valley, and there's no humidity, which is good. But at the same time, it seems more intense. Maybe because when you look at a globe, Kuwait is at roughly 27 degrees North Latitude, and Phoenix is at 33 degrees North Latitude. Therefore, while temperature is the same, I'm closer to the sun here in Kuwait. Think of it as a giant oven. The whole oven maybe 350 degrees, but if you put your pizza on the bottom rack, its gonna take longer to cook than on the top rack. Thusly, the 125 here feels more intense. I don't think anyone TRULY acclimates to these temperatures unless they live here, and even then i'm not sure. When you're cold, you can layer up. but when you're hot, you tend to run out of layers and then you're naked and still sweating your tail off. I'm starting to feel like a brisket. Low heat, long time in the smoker. I'm stuck in Kuwait for a few more days, marinating at 125. Throw on some BBQ sauce or a dry rub and I'm pretty sure I'd take first place at the Texas State Fair.

TMD's

In THIS desert, there are no tumbleweeds. Kind of disappointing. Guess that means there won't be Tumbleweeds of Mass Destruction, or TMDs. residents of the desert in CA, AZ, NM and TX understand what these are. They aren't so much heavy, but HUGE. Hit one in your car and you risk being crippled on the side of a desolate highway with a busted radiator, punctured tire or one totally messed up paint job. In the states, TMD's are more dangerous to the road warrior than coyotes. Not as bad as deer, but they're up there. They are pretty benign when it comes to structural damage, unless it hits your screen door, then you are in for it. But in the desert here, TMD's would, theoretically, pose a risk to structures more than vehicles. Our up-armored Humvee's and MRAPs have been expertly designed to mitigate the threat of even the largest tumbleweed! The tents however, remain vulnerable, like a newborn fawn in a meadow. These TMDs are equipped with razor sharp spines and shred most cloth materials. Kevlar tents are a no-go here. The risk doesn't justify the necessity.

Needless to say, we're thankful for no TMDs here in the Middle East, just remember to protect yourself on the highways of the Southwestern US.

Moses and the Nomads

Sitting a chow tonight, i was discussing my thoughts on being in Mesopotamia with my battalion chaplain. He too was marveling at the region that we are in, how culturally and religiously significant to us this area has been. We saw nomads while on our way from the airport. Couple trailers, a tent and some camels. Modern day nomads! how they live out here is truly beyond my comprehension.

Reflecting with Chaplain Cobb, we realized that in 40 years, roughly 1 million Hebrews AND their gear AND their livestock roamed the Arabian Peninsula. He was reading Joshua and recounting the kings he conquered as they moved into the Promised Land. The army has a hard time logistically in MODERN times with GPS, computers etc, tracking and following gear and personnel. How Moses was able to maneuver and coordinate the movement of ALL those people, without modern tech, is mind boggling. and 1,000,000 people can cover a lot of ground in a day, 365 days/year, for 40 years!! not accounting for death, birth and injury to both person and beast, that is a HUGE amount of distance. imagine the swath of people! Figure the average person takes up say 4 square feet. They walk 2 miles in an hour, and figure they walked roughly 10 hours a day. So, mathematically, that's 422,400 square feet covered by each person, PER DAY. multiplied out, in 40 years, ONE person would log roughly 1,168,000 square MILES. That's the equivalent of them walking the ENTIRE Arabian Peninsula by them self.  Now you factor in the number of the hebrew nation, estimated by myself and the chaplain at possibly 1,000,000 people. if they stood still, not counting livestock or equipment, the amount of land they occupied STATIONARY is 758 square miles!

Needless to say, i'm pretty sure people saw the same landmarks, over and over. Chaplain Cobb wondered if it was possibly cooler then. I thought about it and determined that the 40 years of wandering was a punishment by God for the Hebrew's disobedience. I guess making each person walk 1.1 times the surface area of the Arabian Peninsula is pretty intense punishment, but i think God would not necessarily alter the temperature to make this endeavour any easier. he may have cranked the heat, there-by when they were finally allowed to enter the Promised Land, there would an even greater appreciation for the Lord and His guidance.  It wasnt to inconvenience them, like making it halfway to Texas from California only to turn around because your neighbor said you left the house wide open and they couldn't lock it up for you. No, this was about showing who was and IS ultimately in control. The Lord does things for very specific reasons and the stories of his wrath AND grace are passed to us as a guide of what to do and what not to do. Why then do we complain when we do exactly what our ancestors have done and get the same reaction from God?

Different Shades of Sun

The Middle East. The cradle of civilization. A toaster oven locked on "broil" setting. All in all, not a bad place, if you are in Kuwait. Yes its hot, the devil would be more at home here than Georgia, but the Kuwaiti's are nice and accommodating. Muslim culture, as i found in West Africa, is a very hospitable culture, requiring followers to give to others, so none shall want. The golden rule is practiced often, with exception to fanatical fringe groups. For breakfast, i had bacon with and IN my omelet. Not that odd, until you remember I'm in the heart of Islamic culture! Yet, us Americans, infidels, love our pork, and so the Kuwaiti cooks serve it up in huge batches. Looking past the walls and the berm and the wire, i see sand. LOTS of sand. our base is literally in the middle of nowhere. The sun rises here about 5am, and sets at 1900 (7pm). yet, by 10am, its hotter than AZ at high noon. In fact, at noon, its Higher Noon. Sunrises and sunsets (for those who are in the know, I'm a total sucker for them) are some of the most gorgeous I've laid my eyes on. That's saying a lot having been all over the world. Sunsets in West Africa were similar to Cali, but had more gold and sparkle in the air and water. Silhouettes were bolder. Here, they're softer. not a quick jump to twilight and then its gone and dark. No, here it seems as though a sunset should last an hour, filtering through the blown sand. the sky is filled with pinks, purples, a slight haze. The beauty of God's 1st creation being savored in the land where he ultimately made Man. Its incrdible to watch. the sunrise, on the otherhand is not as luxuriously slow. its not harsh, in your face. its steady, methodical, bold. While the sunset is like a lingering goodnight kiss at the end of a date, where you keep kissing, trying to leave only to run back to the porch for one last peck, over and over, the sunrise is its antithesis. boldly grabbing you. Dawn approcahes quickly with pink, orange then the sun leaps over the horizon and starts baking like Paula Dean. And yes, she would call for more butter. the moment the sun is over the horizon, its bright and hot. not gradually increasing in temperature through blowing sand and dust. Nay, the sunrise says "I'm here, baby!".

So while this will take some getting used to, it is enlightening to think that i'm staring at the same sunrises and sunsets as Adam & Eve, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joshua, Elija, David, Daniel, Jesus and His 12 Apostles. While some of them were say 600 miles west of me, its the same region. And to cap it off, this is where God said "Let there be light!" and the sun  rose, and the Lord said "It is good!" That would explain the intensity of the sunrise. God commanded the sun into the sky, and ever since, the sun has done just that. Lept out of its slumber and illuminated the world. And the Lord looks down on me and says "It is good!"

Pre-deployment Jitters (Originally written 9July2011)

Gotta mixed bag of feelings as i get ready to head overseas on my first deployment. I've been to West Africa, and seen first hand human suffering at the hands of a corrupt and pagan government, torn by war. I've suffered through 115 degree heat under a cloudless and windless sky. I've even been held at gunpoint and robbed by uniformed national soldiers with an AK47 as an unarmed civilian, all while not even the adult age of 21. Yet here i am, 11 years later. I'm older and wiser, having done more than most men my age, with a wonderful and beautiful and loving and supportive girlfriend, who will one day be my wife, at home waiting for me. And yet, I am a little nervous. Nervous at the unknown, the unfamiliar, the danger that awaits me half a world away. These feelings don't make me less of a man. In fact, they make me HU-MAN. They let me know that I'm alive, have a shred of saneness, am normal. I should be more fearful of NOT having said feelings and doubts and anxiety.

I know my purpose in life. I was made a healer. Its a gift and a job I've been doing for the last 10 years. And now i take another stride in my journey. Led by men, and by God. Some call it deja vu, others prophetic visions. All i know is since I've joined the Army, they have increased in vividness and number. All this points to the fact that i am right where the Lord wants me, and am best suited to do His will. I will strive to maintain honor, integrity, courage and resolve in the face of an unknown and, at times, unidentifiable enemy. I will do my job and any other tasks assigned to me to the best of my human abilities, not striving for earthly honor or glory, but that people will catch a glimpse of God's hands in my actions and life. I will be in the cradle of civilization, mere steps from where God formed man from the dust and breathed life into his body, and said "It is good!" I pray that after my tour is up, God will once again say "it is good!" I pray for His covering and protection and guidance in my journey, so that i may return safely to my family, and to my future wife.

A verse jumped out to me today as i was reading in the Bible some passages given to me by my father.
Psalm 64:
1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
   protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
 2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
   from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
   and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
   they shoot suddenly, without fear.
 5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
   they talk about hiding their snares;
   they say, “Who will see it?”
6 They plot injustice and say,
   “We have devised a perfect plan!”
   Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
 7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
   they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
   and bring them to ruin;
   all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All people will fear;
   they will proclaim the works of God
   and ponder what he has done.
 10 The righteous will rejoice in the LORD
   and take refuge in him;
   all the upright in heart will glory in him!