A Room with a View...

It's a 95 degree day in mid-March and here's a peek at Victory Over America Palace (VOAP)...

Fittingly, Saddam never finished VOAP before the 2003 invasion... in his grand, "Oil-for-Palaces" scheme...

Since this is the second visit for me and my staff, we walked around to the Victory Over Iran Palace (VOIP) side... both palaces are connected by this unfinished wall in the middle...

Here's the front entrance to VOIP not nearly as swank as VOAP side... giving it the appearance of a backdoor...

The VOIP doorway is adorned with helmets taken from dead Iranian soldiers. A bit of a morbid display celebrating Iraq's "victory" over its combative Shi'a neighbor...

As you turn around, this is the view from the VIOP entrance looking over Saddam's exclusive man-made lake and the infamous Perfume Palace off in the distance...

Saddam dedicated VOIP with this inscription, a verse from the Qur'an...

Once inside, we enter a huge, 10-sided rotunda prepared in marble, teak, with various mosaic designs...

There are several doorways about the rotunda... the inscription above this door says, "God is Great" in Arabic...

Since there is not electricity in VOAP, we wander in the dark Indiana Jones-style...

After several turns down a long hallway, we enter a vaulted banquet room...

And climb several flights of stairs up, up, up... without hand rails.  Reminds me of hiking Beacon Rock on the Columbia Gorge! 

To make life easier, Saddam had his own personal elevator...

That took him straight to the top...

To a huge ballroom, over 200 meters in length...

What a great place for a Nerf football game! Dad and the girls versus the boys and Mom... with mandatory girl QB every 2 downs... Two hand touch for the guys and one hand for the girls. Oh... and only the girls can run... Cool? Let's play!

In the middle is a balcony for Saddam to peruse his party guests...

Off to one side we see the aftermath of a computer-guided V-DAM missile...

At either end are several long terraces that wrap around the building and overlook BIAP and Baghdad...

Each terrace is lined with private guest rooms, some rooms are adorned with graffiti... this one says, "Fallujah" in Arabic...

And some are adorned in English... like this one... tagged in the dust on that "Saddam-chic" oak and marble wainscoting...

All the floors at VOAP have been laid out in tile and covered with plastic and cement... kept that way until the final touches were completed... but March 20th of '03 brought an end to Saddam's palace plans...

Finally, the view from this unfinished guest suite... which looks to the southwest - past Flintstone Village toward BIAP and our home in Camp Cropper.

Johnny Ray...

SPC Johnny Ray Rodriguez is an assistant here at the dental clinic in Cropper. He's a good man, very lighthearted and hard working! "Roddy" keeps us entertained with his brilliant playlists--a man of many musical tastes: classic rock, latino, alternative, metal and on.

SPC Rodriquez hails from San Antonio, Texas where he began his Ranger Up-sponsored, MMA career in earnest before deploying to Iraq. He's been featured in Texas Fight News. When he's not training on Muay Thai (มวยไทย) or boxing, he has dedicated his spare time to earning a college degree in Sports Medicine! A very industrious young man, to say the least.Check the mixture of brain, brawn, ink and pure martial artistry:

Young studs and their Under Armour... impressing ladies of ALL ages!

A Husky Celebration...

In a furious back and forth game, Washington holds off Cal to win the Pac-10 Tournament Title! With it comes an AUTOMATIC bid to the NCAA Tournament. Huskies are dancin', baby!

Isaiah Thomas taking it to the hole in the second half for an eventual, 79-75 win over the Bears.

Coach Romars and the game net... draped on the 2010 Pac-10 trophy that's bound for HedEd - Bank of America Arena! What a great win. Memories of B-Roy and the 2005 title... I wish Jon Brockman could have been a part of this.

As Bob Rondeau, the voice of UDub Sports would say, "It's a great day to be Washington Husky!"

We Never Know...

We never know how high we are

Till we are asked to rise;

And then if we are true to plan,

Our statures touch the skies-- 

The Heroism we recite

Would be a normal thing,

Did not ourselves the Cubits warp

For fear to be a King--

His Eminence...

"We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all."

 Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche

1905-1989

"Secret" Perio Patient...

As a rule, we do not do periodontal treatment on the TIF population at Camp Cropper - our clinic would be overwhelmed! However, if we come across a nice patient and we might make an exception. This young prisoner presented with an acute case of moderate-severe periodontitis...

We did 4 quads of D4341 (scale and root planing) under local anesthesia, placed him on antibiotics (pill and rinse), analgesics. He returned for an evaluation 1 week later...

Much better! We refined some areas and filled a couple of cavities. Our patient made us bracelets to show his gratitude with the promise not to tell any of his inmate friends about his treatment!

Corey...

Twenty years later, we remember the life of a young man--one with the heart of a lion. Ironically, it was that same heart which in the end failed him, and us, well before its time.

They say you don't get over a child dying, you get through it. I'm still not through it.

The time you won your town the race

We chaired you through the market-place;

Man and boy stood cheering by,

And home we brought you shoulder-high.

Today, the road all runners come,

Shoulder-high we bring you home,

And set you at your threshold down,

Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away

From fields where glory does not stay

And early though the laurel grows

It withers quicker than the rose.

Now you will not swell the rout

Of lads that wore their honours out,

Runners whom renown outran

And the name died before the man.

Early Parliamentary Vote Today...

Polls opened today for early voting in Iraq's upcoming Parliamentary election. The early session was set aside for those unable to make Sunday's election day. This would include Iraqi expats, military and police personnel, hospital patients and detainees.

The UN Assistance Mission to Iraq estimated some 700-950k people will participate today.  Iraqi voters dip their index fingers in ink indicating they've finished the voting process. In the first election in 2005, this became known as the Purple Revolution.

As a result, we did not treat detainees on Thursday. Instead, inmates lined up to vote inside the TIF. Those with sentences of 5 years or less were allowed to cast their ballots.

Vying for Iraq's 19 million registered voters are some 6,000 candidates from 90 different parties. All 18 Iraqi provinces will participate on Sunday's elections. Though violence from some of Iraq's factionalized groups is occurring, the word on the street is that most Iraqis will vote Sunday.

Come Friday, I will check our detainee patients: I want to see a lot of Husky Purple in clinic tomorrow!

A Bite of Baghdad...

The Cropper team trucked over to Camp Victory's Mediterranean Restaurant for dinner the other night.  We were joined up by the team from Liberty Dental Clinic.

Here is my serving of tepsi baytinijan, an eggplant and meatball dish served with timn, and vegetable biryani. It was delicious and $13.95--not Korean prices by any stretch AND the reason I eat at the DFAC!

Our main purpose for this soiree was to celebrate a soldier's promotion... Private First Class Jason Villar advances to the rank of Specialist. I had the honor of officiating as his clinic OIC.

Specialist Villar is one cool cat... keeping it light with the staff and patients, sharp on clinical skills, a very dedicated soldier.  Less than two years in the military and an E-4 nine full months before his 20th birthday, this dude's is on his way to bigger and better things! (I think I hear Special Forces calling his name... )

Add to that his suave style and debonair demeanor and you have a tiny glimpse into the complex person we know as "Mr. JV--The Man, The Myth."

Trip to Al Taji...

Our dental command, the 502nd back in Balad, sponsored 9 runners to join the Fallen Soldier Half Marathon held in Camp Taji last weekend. It was a great and inspiring event!

With a wink from SPC Jason Villar, in the chopper we go on an early Friday morning flight. Notice the pavement? Forecast says... get ready for lots of wet stuff!

A quick glance south, on the way out, to check BIAP and its commercial runways. The raindrops are starting to accumulate...

 

We land, safe and sound, in Camp Taji only 30 miles north of Baghdad. A 7 minute flight is all it took!

Here's my new digs for the weekend, my very own CHU (containerized housing unit). Nicely sandbagged on all sides, just in case! Here's another view from inside... quite roomy!

 

The bathroom is conveniently located across the gravel road... with stalls, sinks and showers. One-stop shopping for the basic 3-S's.

After a tasty pre-race spaghetti dinner on Friday night, runners all need a small dessert to tide them over for the evening. Two kind souls--SPC Anderson and PFC Costly from Taji's CSM Sam Cooke Dining Facility--offered an entire box of "Black Cherry Almond" Clif Bars to munch on!

 

On Saturday morning, the opening FSHM ceremony memorialized our recent OIF fallen and comments were broadcast live from Vancouver Winter Games by former US Alpine coach and NBC sports commentator, Robi Powers. BG Kevin Mangum, Deputy Commanding General was Grand Marshall.

 

With ceremonies over at 0700 it was go-time for some 400 strong! Ready for the rain, wind, mud... and pain. Remembering with each stride as race organizer, CPT Brent Lindley put it, "Our fallen never quit and neither will we!"

 

I dedicated my run to the memory of a close family friend, SGT Bravie Soto who died on September 5, 1967 in Ap Binh Son, South Vietman.

 

Here's the post-race 502nd contingent... me, LTC Kalish, SPC Villar, SGT Marinez, SPC Diehl, PFC Simpson, SSG Severa, SSG Castillo, and CPT Bannion. We went out hard and finished strong, DENTAL WARRIOR STRONG! Hoo-ah!!

 

 

 

 

One more wink from Villar says, "There's no place like home!"

For the record, my goal was to run a BQ pace or 1:46. Ran my first 9 miles at 8 minute pace and the last 4 at 7 minute for a 1:41.15. Despite the wind and mud, I felt really good. But could I do another 13.1 is the question now...