Goodbye to all of this

Last year for his birthday, Ed got a house. (Literally, we closed escrow on his birthday). This year, if the stars align just right, he may get something even better. Better than a house? What could be better than a house (especially our cute little bungalow)? Well, how about a one-way ticket from Tikrit to Kuwait?

The last of the replacement unit arrived last week (after five days of sandstorms kept them grounded in Kuwait). The ConEx (cargo container) is packed and approved for shipping. Just some last minute details to finish up and Iraq will be in the rearview mirror. At least until the next deployment, which will likely come sometime around 2010.

Ed is more than ready to come home. As the date approaches, we thought it might be fun to look back at life at COB Speicher, and reflect on the aspects of his deployment that he might actually miss once he comes home.

COB Speicher
Ed has spent the past nine and a half months at COB Speicher. Named for Michael Scott Speicher, a U.S. Navy pilot whose airplane was shot down over Iraq during Gulf War I, COB Speicher is a former Iraqi army airfield located near of Tikrit, a 2,500 year old city best known as the birthplace of Saladin and, more recently, Saddam Hussein (although, to be accurate, S. Hussein was technically born in a village on the outskirts or Tikrit). Tikrit lies 100 miles north of Baghdad, about five miles from the Tigris River. For those who remember high school World History, the Tigris, along with the Euphrates, was one of the two rivers that formed the Fertile Crescent, one of the earliest locations of “modern civilization.” Today, the proximity to the river means that Speicher is not only hot, like the rest of Iraq, but humid as well.

COB Speicher and Tikrit are also located on the northern tip of Sunni Triangle. We haven’t heard too much about the Sunni Triangle in the past six moths. However, prior to the formation of the Awakening Councils (groups of Sunnis, generally former insurgents, who, fed up with the murders committed by Al Qaeda in Iraq, chose to work with the Americans instead, at least for the time being) it was the center of the armed resistance to the American occupation.

Speicher has been relatively quiet during Ed’s sojourn there. He experienced one rocket attack on his second night here then “nothing ‘til the other day when a mortar landed smack in the middle of one of our transient tent cities. Luckily it was a dud. Tikrit itself isn't exactly quiet though; patrols get blown up or shot at pretty much every day through there. It's just not making the news as much as Mosul or Basra.”

It’s probably safe to say that isn’t anything about the base itself that Ed will miss.

“Home”
Since last August, home, aka Ed’s sleeping quarters, has been a CHU (Containerized Housing Unit). Essentially a shipping container. Similar to housing provided for some Hurricane Katrina refugees (those lucky enough not to get a toxic FEMA trailer). Fortunately for him, the CHU, unlike the homes of most Iraqis, is fully electrified and comes standard with air conditioning.

Ed may actually miss his CHU once he gets home. He and one other officer share 160 sq. ft, which they primarily use for sleeping. When he comes home, he’ll have to share a 100 sq. ft. bedroom not just with Kathy, but also with the two cats. It's possible that he may find himself longing for his spacious room in Iraq.

The Food
Soldiers have grumbled about their food since, well probably since the first army gathered the soldiers together and fed them. Despite doing away with the infamous army cooks (most cooks are third country nationals (TCNs) hired by KBR (a subsidiary of Halliburton); at Speicher most are from Bangladesh) complaints persist. Ed swears the food really isn’t that bad, “meals are edible and generally beat MREs.” However: 1) he has complained about feeling ill after eating the entire time he has been there; 2) his typical meal for the past several weeks has been chicken fingers (which he recently replaced with PB&J); and 3) despite eating, on average, one Zingerman’s coffee cake per month since arriving in Iraq, he has lost 30 pounds. It’s a safe guess that he isn’t going to miss the food.

The Entertainment
Apparently, one of the pluses of being deployed is that soldiers somehow have access to first run movies. Sometimes only 24 hours after they come out in the states. And no, these are generally not seen in movie theaters. Apparently the bootleg DVD market is flourishing in Iraq. In theory, the military bases are dry and porn free – largely out of respect for the “host country’s” values. In reality, both can be found. So how has Ed spent his free time? Well, it seems that he’s seen a lot more new releases this past year than Kathy has. However, according to Ed, most of his free time was spent at the gym (thus the minus 30 lbs), although he recently became addicted to Battlestar Galactica. I know for certain that he is not looking forward to paying $10.00 a head to see a new release.

Maid Service
This will be an interesting adjustment. Ed has, more than once, requested that I not get too upset when he hands me his laundry in a bag and asks to have it back in three days. A plus of living on a base is that there are all sorts of TCNs to do your mundane work for you. Laundry goes out in a bag and comes back clean and folded. Dinner appears on your plate and the plate and utensils go strait in the trash and then to the burn pile (hmmmmm, burning plastic, apparently we are also leaving a legacy of dioxin to the Iraqi people). It will be an interesting adjustment as he learns do his own laundry and dishes again.

The People
There are some people Ed has met over the past year that he will have no regrets about never seeing again (or, at least never working with again). But others, particularly some from the 115, he will likely miss. For example his colleague with whom he spends his days trading Ren and Stimpy quotes. (Or is it South Park?)

He won’t miss the Iraqi people, though. Primarily because he never met any. Having spent most of his time at COB Speicher behind a desk, he never really got to know any Iraqis. Or, as he said, “I could have spent the past year at White Sands missile range in New Mexico, that's how much I've seen/interacted with the locals.”

The Mission
Many soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan have a difficult time re-integrating into civilian life. For some (20-30%) this is due to PTSD, depression, and related issues. But for many others, it is simply because the day-to-day minutia of “normal” life simply can’t compare with the sense of purpose that they find in the service.

As Ed has indicated in past posts, he doesn’t necessarily feel like he made as much of a contribution as he could have. He spent a good part of his time working at the Division Level, “many echelons above reality.” (Team --> squad --> platoon --> company --> battalion --> brigade --> division --> corps --> group). So perhaps he won’t find civilian life quite as meaningless as he might have had he done different work while there.

Ed and the rest of his unit should be heading out any time now. First to Kuwait, then to Fort Lewis and finally back home. Cross your fingers for safe travels home for them, and a smooth readjustment to their lives and their families once they're back on the ground.