cyclin' the loop...

i hooked up with LTC Hale (14th CSH deputy commander) to ride the biap loop and gettin' an early jump on the 2010 iraqi cycling season. that's a deployed officer good times... ridin' with dudes!

relatively flat, some north/south winds and light traffic made this an decent ride. The road conditions deteriorated in sections... making it paris-roubaix, for sure! this 18-miler finished up in about an hour's time... a decent spin even in Army PTs. passed some riders in sweet cycling gear... i'm so jealous!

an ER doc with plenty of spare $$ stocked the cropper cycle shop... nice gesture!  he's from an earlier tour... the 2006 time frame, i hear.  a dozen very nice mountain bikes, a wall locker full of cycling equipment and maintenance supplies.  Last tour featured a colonel with major wrench skills.  hey, i can change a flat!

looks like we'll hit this ride weekly until the rest of the cropper cycling team returns from mid-tour leave and then things will heat up! how do you like my maillot jaune text?

Major Taylor and Me

Your dad wears a suit to work
My dad wears camouflage

Your dad wears polished shoes
My dad wears combat boots

Your dad carries a briefcase
My dad carries a weapon

Your dad comes home at night
My dad doesn't

Your dad works in your home town
My dad is called to another country that is not protected

You see your dad everyday
I see my dad once a year

Your dad supports his business
My dad supports his country

Your dad is called by Mr.
My dad is called by Major

Your dad is in a business
My dad is in the military

Your dad is a hero to you but...
My dad is a hero to everyone for supporting our country.

sweet poem!
little Red


xoxox

Oatmeal for Breakfast...

I eat oatmeal for breakfast. Made in the DFAC with brown sugar and raisins. I eat it alone in my office. I am aware it is not good to eat oatmeal alone.

Its consistency is such that is better for your mental health if somebody eats it with you. That is why I often think up an imaginary companion to have breakfast with. Possibly it is even worse to eat oatmeal with an imaginary companion. 

Nevertheless, this morning, I ate my oatmeal porridge, as he called it with Dylan Thomas.

Thomas said I was absolutely right to invite him: due to its glutinous texture, gluey lumpishness, hint of slime, and unsual willingness to disintigrate, oatmeal should not be eaten alone. He said that in his opinion, however, it is perfectly OK to eat it with an imaginary companion, and that he himself had enjoyed memorable porridges with Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Even if eating oatmeal with an imaginary companion is not as wholesome as Thomas claims, still, you can learn something from it.

Yesterday morning, for instance, Dylan told me about writing Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. He had a heck of a time finishing it those were his words "Oi 'ad a 'eck of a toime," he said, more or less, speaking through his porridge.

He recited it slowly, with much feeling, and he articulated the words lovingly, and his odd accent sounded sweet. He didn't offer the full story of writing Do Not Go Gentle as I had hoped.

But he did say the sight of a just-harvested oat field started on it for him, and the line, "Their frail deeds might have danced a green bay" came to him while eating oatmeal alone.

An Ignominious Death...

Ali Hassan al-Majid, half brother of Saddam Hussein and better known as "Chemical Ali" was executed in Baghdad yesterday. Ba'athist extremists responded by detonating 3 VBIEDs outside the Green Zone killing 37 people, none American. Caution: GI language... mute young ears!

Sentenced to die by an Iraqi Court, al-Majid was responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurdish Iraqis and Southern Iraqi Shi'a in his campaigns of repression and genocide. He was from the old Tikrit Ba'ath Party and a ruling member of the Saddam regime.

He was my patient.

USO Tours to VBC...

All-girl, tribute band... ThundHerStruck played Camp Stryker this weekend on their annual MWR tour to Iraq and Afghanistan.  These five had some rock 'n roll chops... knew their AC/DC stuff and put on a pretty fun show. I left early (Just how many AC/DC songs does it take to stimulate you intellectually?) to catch the 3rd installment of HBO's House of Saddam at the Cropper DFAC.  That's a made-for-TV mini series about the life and times of the late Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein.


Last month's USO tour featured a montage of celebs--Billy Ray Cyrus, (minus the famous daughter), Dave Attell, Comedy Central's Insomniac, and tennis/model, Anna Kournakova.  They cancelled their Cropper appearance but made it out to the CSH.

A Bite of Baghdad...

The Cropper Clinic gang headed to the Blackhawk Market in Camp Slayer to shop and afterwards ate dinner at the Turkish restaurant down the road. My menu selection was chicken döner and pilav with lavaş and şalgam for $8. That's spit-roasted chicken, rice, flat bread with cold turnip juice. Also included vegetables and hummus.

I've seen huge spits of meat roasting in Korea... classic street food from one vendor in the Itewon shopping district. It makes sense because there are many Middle Eastern folks living in Seoul especially in Itewon. This "rotating roast" is called shawarma (شاورم) in Arabic. When wrapped in bread it is called döner kebab and is the same dish as Grecian gyros or Egyptian falafels.

Warning: You've gotta eat with one hand and shoo flies with the other. Iraqi insects are pesky! 

Our Ugandan Guards...

A lot of the security on base is the responsibility of our multi-national partners--gate and building security is the task of the Ugandan People's Defense Force. All military entry and egress falls under their watchful eye... 100% inspection, no exceptions. Check out those serious faces and Kalashnikovs... "Say hello to my li'l friend!"

Sometimes I'll sound off an "Oli-ocha?" That's "How are you?" in Bantu. I fire back a "Gee-indee" when they ask me... "I'm fine, my good bruda!"

Arabic Television...

Our satelite service has 5 AFN channels, a few US channels and some Middle Eastern ones too. We are able to enjoy broadcasts at the apartment on cable and at the office via "VBrick" software on the computer, like this televised interview of Iraqi PM, Nouri al-Maliki about the upcoming national elections.

Al Baghdadia is an Iraqi news agency that moved its headquarters to Cairo, Egypt following several episodes of violence on its staff. One Al Baghdadia reporter, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, became famous for his shoe-tossing assault on President George W. Bush in 2008.  I'd pick "W" for my dodgeball team!

Al Jazeera, (الجزيره) meaning "The Peninsula" is a Middle Eastern news network. Broadcast from Koha, Qatar and was the only station to show live footage of the Iraqi and Afghan Wars and video statements from Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leaders. It is televised in English also.

Dubai One is an ultra-chic channel available in the Middle East and North Africa. The station is based in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates and provides Western entertainment in an Arabic theme. The Channel's parent company, Dubai Media Incorporated, is partnered with Warner Bros and Disney. Dubai One airs TV's most watched series in the world, The Bold and The Beautiful as well as younger favorites like Gossip Girl. Western programs are sometimes edited to keep material consistent with Islamic morals and culture.

BBC Arabic is a news and information channel broadcast to the Middle East by the BBC. Re-launched in 2008, the channel had been operational until it was suddenly closed by its Saudi partners for televising a material that was critical of the Royal Saudi Family in 1996.

Balad Ruck March...

Flew up to Balad Friday night after work and got picked up by the HQ staff then had dinner at the Oasis DFAC in JBB (Joint Base Balad). Roomed with Lt. Crein, 502nd XO, fell asleep by 11 pm. He has a "CHU" (containerized housing unit) all to himself. Very soft bed!

Got up at 0515 on Saturday morning, and geared up for the march which started at 0600. Blueberry Pop-Tarts for breakfast at HQ... toasted! Here we are: Col. Jamison, Major Djaya, Pvt. Villar, Me, Pvt. Melina (the VBC Crew)... ready to march 12 miles with a 35 pound ruck (backpack)!

We went out the first 6 miles at a 15 minute pace for a 1:30 split at the half point. (The EFMB has 3 hour limit so this is a good pace.) Next we ran the second 6 and finished in 2:27. That's a 10 minute mile pace and well under the EFMB standard, which was my goal! (And feet survived... no major blisters!) Had Gatorade and Peanut M&Ms for energy food along the route. Here some of us are with the Commander, COL Eikenberg after the march... Whew! Our return trip was cancelled!  Engine trouble on the C-17 Globemaster III (darn Pratt Whitney engineering!) See how backed up things get when you're on STAND-BY!!

So we ferried to Catfish Air on West Balad for a Blackhawk ride to BIAP... very cool!

We flew along the Tigris, avoided flying over towns (less RPGs that way!) and stopped at Camp War Horse to pick up two passengers and fuel. Lots of farmland along the river... very fertile... Mesopotamia and the Land of Ur. Then hit the city...

 

 

This dentist is having WAY TOO much fun!

Detainee Dentistry...

Camp Cropper has 2 dentists for 3,500 detainee patients. Clinically, we balance "need versus care" by limiting our scope of treatment. A care request is sent from the prisoner...

And it is compiled into a detainee movement request...

We offer only two dental services: Fillings and extractions. Chief on the losing side is definitive endodontic care and the fight against gum disease.

A general finding among our detainees is poor periodontal (gum) health and dental cleanings would help but are too labor-intensive. A sad reality.

We work our craft in simple Arabic: Hedran = numb, Opra = injection, Hashuwah = filling, Ifdah = open, Sid = close, Shway alem = this will hurt a little, Zeein = feeling ok?, Alas = done/finished.

Sometimes a patient will come in wanting cosmetic treatment... to fix chip or whiten a front tooth. We call them, "Rock Stars."  We'll provide the treatment but they're lowest priority--last in line, if time allows.

Sometimes a detainee pauses to thank us and will touch his hand to his heart--a sign of gratitude in the Middle East.  We answer, "Afwan." You're welcome in Arabic.

US Postal Team...

I spent about 30 minutes in the post office line today... not that it was a long line but the process is LONG! Sending packages to the US requires standing in two lines: My Priority Mail box was opened and searched top to bottom and sealed back up--a ten minute procedure. From there I got in line to mail it!

On the bright side, I learned from the lady behind the counter that letter mail sent from Iraq is FREE.  Yep, just write "Free Mail" on the upper right corner!

Gee thanks, Lance!

A Day in the Life...

We work 6 days a week at the Cropper Dental Clinic.  The weekdays are Coalition and Detainee sick-call: 0830-0930 for Multi-National Forces and 0930-1130 and 1300-1500 for Detainees. 1500-1630 is for chart notes, paperwork and follow-up patients.  Saturdays are set aside for scheduled Coalition treatment.

Historically, Cropper Prison and Hospital replaced the fiasco of Abu Grhaib.  Moved 10 km from West Baghdad to the BIAP area in 2006 by the 21st CSH, Camp Cropper enjoys a long and illustrious history--some odd, and some shady.  Our clinic resides in a network of prefab medical trailers hooked into a 10, 000 square foot complex and hidden by big concrete T-walls... all on the north side of camp.

As you can see, our dental clinic is in the SW side of the CSH... a nice, quiet corner.  Close to the rear door makes for easy access and egress for our detainee patients, some 30 to 40 come to see us each and every day.

Here's our "Neck of the Woods." The dental clinic is off to the left and the NCOIC/OIC office on the right...

Here's our "Three Chair Den of Dental Delight."  On the left are two of our dental staff... preparing the room for treatment for the day.  You are looking at the highest producing clinic in Iraq. We fly here especially when we are doing Detainee work. This is not your father's dental clinic... more like finely-tuned, NASCAR pit crew!

Note - Though Saddam Hussein was a resident of Camp Cropper there is no evidence that he spent anytime within our clinic walls... too bad they can't speak.

The Only Lefty in the Hall...

Ten years after his retirement, Steve Young is still remembered for his unique style of play.  The NFL moments and memories he crafted were one of a kind.  The inspiration of a Bill Walsh trade in 1987, Young ended up in 1999 as one of the best quarterbacks in league history. Let's take a peek at three of my all-time favorite Steve Young moments:

January 29, 1995 - Super Bowl XXIX "MVP"

October 30, 1988 - Minnesota at Candlestick Park "The Run"

January 3, 1999 - NFC Wild Card "The Catch II"

The Free Table...

In various buildings around base are "free tables."  This is a designated spot where folks can share their leftover things typically from care packages... books, magazines, candy, food, etc.  Since most of us are space limited on travel some people either ship their extra stuff or give it away.

There are three free tables that I'm aware of: Two are in our apartment and the other is at the hospital.  It's fun to see what shows up from day to day. Shall we take a look... ?

Oh, my... someone sent a lot of Girl Scout cookies to the 14th CSH.  I heard my favorite, The Samoans, got snatched up fast and I didn't get a single cookie.  Sob, sob... !!

Now here's a nice stock pile of coffee and various blends of tea from some generous soul in the hospital.  Since I'm not a big tea or coffee drinker I'll pass on that...

At the apartment table upstairs we find an assortment of candy and brand new toothbrushes and floss.  Mixed dental message but good combination nonetheless.  See any Tootsie Rolls in that box??

Lastly back at the CSH, M&M's cookies... by the box load!  I tried a bag of these... Dr. Jex, our orthopedic surgeon, was the source of these goodies.

Look what I found on the first floor free table at our apartment... Tootsie Rolls!  It's brand-new and unopened... Major Score!!

My Dirty Laundry...

No service person does their own laundry in Theater.  Enter KBR... to the rescue!  From my apartment it is a 50 meter walk to the laundry shack.  Very convenient because it's on the way to work.  It's on the way to the DFAC, PX, MWR and the gym too... for that matter.

The Cropper Laundry Service is open from 0730 to 1930... (7:30 am to 7:30 pm on civilian clocks) daily.  Just bring your hamper bag, fill out a slip, DONE.

Be very careful to empty out all your pockets before you leave your room... look at what the sign says:

The friendly Cropper Laundry staff headed by Jimmy, the suave gent on the left, will have your duds--clean and folded--the next day. (A throwback to those college girlfriend days... )  It's that easy.

Note - That's a Kurt Cobain photo above Jimmy... 26 million Nevermind fans can't all be wrong!

Saved By A Blimp...

Looking east from Commo Hill (last week's visit to Camp Liberty) you'll see an Iraqi sunrise, Baghdad suburbia and a very important speck called, "Eye in the Sky." That's a blimp or "RAID," Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment by Raytheon. Click on the pic for a closer view... see it?

Inside each unmanned balloon are cameras and infrared sensors used for battlefield surveillance and military base security. Identifying and neurtralizing oncoming threats in real time is the name of the game.

If a gun fires or a mortar is detonated in our camp's perimeter, these airborne guards are supposed to detect hostile activities, focus in from 500 feet up and relay data to command centers.

I'd like a blimp with some preemptive capabilities, say: A bunch of insurgents hook up and one says, "Let's shoot Americans." The machine detects that and ZAPS them on the spot. Now that's useful!

So we're going with "Spirit of Cropper" 'cuz no news is good news in the security business...

Full Moon Over Baghdad...

The last sunset of 2009... a gorgeous sky! This is looking westward over Camp Cropper and the TIF. They say the Iraqi yellow haze makes for vivid sunsets... thanks to tiny sand particles that scatter red and orange wavelengths of light in the sky.

Later that night, after our Holiday mortar alert and accountability, we stepped out into a 2010 evening... and the New Year! December's blue moon has turned into a January full moon over the eastern skyline of central Baghdad.