The Plot Thickens...

It’s Thanksgiving. Yes, there are some gaps in my blog, but not to worry. I’ll be relating the whole sad sorted tale quite shortly. Incidentally, I’m in Baghdad at Camp Victory. I’ve been here for a whopping two days. If you’ve been keeping up, I was stuck in Balad waaay too fucking long the last time I checked in. Allow me to recount the ordeal lol…

I got tasked to do escort duty. I was voluntold to escort an Indian dude we have working for us in Balad up to COB Speicher. A little background here. We have foreign nationals that work for contracted companies. These persons are known as TCNs or Third Country Nationals. They, in short, seem to do all the shit work. And believe me, there is a lot of it. Due to work requirements, this gentleman’s services were needed at Speicher. The workers in question cannot fly unless someone, such as me, babysits them. And this is why I as stuck in that fucking hell hole. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no problem whatsoever doing what is asked of me. But, when the persons doing the asking have no bloody clue as to regulations, procedures and the like, I tend to take a dim view upon their person. Remember the 7 P’s? Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Well, guess what? The GS-14 in charge of the program I’m involved in did none of the above. In fact, the Keystone Cops should’ve planned this all out. They would’ve done a far better job. Suffice it to say, because of all this, not to mention the higher up involved failed to relate the fact that airlift support would be difficult to obtain from Balad, I got stuck there for 5 days longer that I should’ve been. Did I tell you how much I hate Balad? (Yes, I know hate is a strong word, but it definitely applies in this case) I would rather go throught the Chinese Hell of a Million Paper Cuts and get doused in running alcohol than go back there. Yes, I drank my Haterade this morning.

When I actually did get to COB Speicher, things went pretty well. I got out of there the next day on a CH-47 Chinook down to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) and after a short ride I was at my final destination…lemme rephrase that. Tha makes it sound like I’m going to meet a particularly gruesome demise. I FINALLY GOT TO MY PERMANENT ASSIGNMENT FOR MY DEPLOYMENT. There….aahhhhhhh. Now the fun begins.

I’ll get more of this done in a few hours. I need to do some boredom shopping. That having been said, there are a few observations I’d like to discuss next time. These were some things that I noticed my last time here, but never got around to actually writing them down. Until next time. Happy Thanksgiving. Hello and love to my family and friends. Miss you all.