Mail Call Redux

The fun of mail call continues here at FOB Enormo, though modified from our adventures back in the U.S.

Deployment in Iraq does had certain advantages, one of which is daily mail delivery. Our unit mail room clerk uses the miracle of modern technology to post a daily list of everyone who has received letters, boxes or insured mail. The level of suspense isn't the same, but it is amusing nonetheless. The list is normally posted around lunchtime which helps provide a little mid-day excitement (in the event we haven't had a recent mortar attack).

Rather than having everyone hike down the street to pick up their mail, most of the individual work sections have appointed one or two soldiers to pick up everyone's mail. I spend my days in an operations center staffed by about 50 officers and NCOs and am treated to the daily sight of piles of packages being delivered. In addition to familiar US Postal Service red, white and blue boxes, I see plenty of Amazon.com boxes and other internet retailers.

One of my favorite books as a youngster told the story of life in the Colditz POW camp during the Second World War. The author (a former prisoner) described how the prisoners would "pool" their Red Cross packages in order to gather supplies for an appropriate Christmas celebration. We treat "care packages" from home in much the same way. NOTHING goes to waste; if there are any items left over, we sit them out in our coffee/break room. Snacks, cookies and other edibles are usually devoured within hours--if not minutes. Magazines and books are read and passed on to others. We even have a sort of informal library whose shelves are well stocked with the many books that are sent to us. Disclosure: I'm a voracious reader and booklover (with a basement full of books back home) so most of the books I get my hands on are shipped back home to my precious Elf, who keeps them in her basement for my return.

The generosity of all of you back home amazes us daily. The Louisville Slugger company sent us a couple of bats, a nice glove and a couple dozen t-shirts after reading an e-mail from one of our soldiers. The Drew Estates cigar company sent nearly 500 cigars and about 100 baseball caps to another of our soldiers who is a part-time cigar sales representative back home.

Friends, family and church groups send food, music and books. Your support keeps us strong and helps us pass the time more comfortably.

Amazing People

I've have the good fortune to meet and serve with some amazing soldiers and civilians during my short time here.

This article (originally published in the Catholic Review-official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore) is about one of those amazing soldiers. who has graced FOB Enormo with his presence during the last few weeks. Unfortunately, his visit was only temporary and he will soon be back out tending to those who need him most: our brave soldiers in the field.

Military chaplains provide much more than just religious services. Especially in these difficult times, they often counsel soldiers as they mourn the loss of their comrades or wrestle with other personal problems. Every chaplain I've known in my career has been there to help soldiers regardless of our faith--or lack of faith, in some cases. Chaplains' important work has been often overlooked, especially in light of recent controversies regarding proselytizing in the military.

Strangely enough, I've run into a heck of a lot of Lutheran chaplains during these past few years in the Army. Our current unit chaplain is Lutheran, a classmate from my Command and Staff College "small group" (Pastor/MAJ Kenneth Homer) is a Lutheran chaplain and Father Woods (subject of the article) is a convert from the Lutheran church. I don't think there's a pattern, just an interesting coincidence.

Little Things That (don't) Mean A Lot

I am constantly amused by the small and strange details of our lives on FOB Enormo. You've probably read a million stories about how well they feed us--especially during the holidays. The Baltimore Sun has a couple of reporters currently in Iraq who are keeping a small blog that has talked about the food (among other things). However, the mess halls have a number of quirks you probably haven't heard about.

Weapons: You can't get IN the mess hall without a weapon unless you are a civilian. This rule is absolute and is enforced by...

African Guards: Most of them are Ugandan, some are Kenyan from what I've been told. These men and women are private security guards that are posted at the entrance to the compound where I work, the mess halls and the PX. Since they are neither American nor in the military, they enforce the rules equally and without regard to rank. I've seen more than a few senior officers denied entry to the mess hall because they forgot their ID cards. The guards are firm but very calm. They are also armed with automatic weapons, which means few people are willing to argue with them.

Hand Washing: The signs are clear...you WILL wash your hands before entering the mess hall. We don't have normal soap. Instead, there are large bottles of what appears to be concentrated dishwashing liquid with brand names like "Fairy" (from Kuwait, I think). Use too much, and you'll hold up the line for the sink while you spend 10 minutes rinsing off all the excess. The paper towels are unlike anything I've seen before. They are more like 12-inch wide rolls of thick toilet paper or Kleenex. You pull a section of "towel" from the dispenser and then tear it off. Very strange, but you get used to it.

Heavy-Handed Servers: In a "normal"military mess hall, you sometimes have to beg to get a decent portion of food. In our mess halls, I routinely find myself begging the servers to reduce the portions. They will serve as much food as you can carry on your tray.

Soda/Drink Cans: Ahh.....this is my favorite mess hall quirk! The mess halls serve "brand name" soft drinks (Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, etc) in cans, but the production and canning takes place overseas. I can't read the labels, but I am guessing that a lot of it is canned in either Kuwait or Turkey. Since these countries aren't quite as environmentally friendly as the U.S., the Coke/Sprite products often have pull tabs on the top of the cans. Wow!!!!! I don't think I had seen a pull tab in 20 years until I got here. It is a great reminder of the past, and I make a special point of trying to consume only those soft drinks that are equipped with the pull tabs. I don't know why, but I get a big smile on my face when I pull that tab . It is like being a kid again. I then stuff the tab inside the full soft drink can--something I would not have done while growing up, but something I saw plenty of beer drinkers do while I was growing up. I am sure my mother is cringing while she reads this...trust me, Mom. I haven't swallowed a tab yet!

Combat Patch

Another tradition we have in the Army is the wearing of the "combat patch." The regulations officially refer to it as "Shoulder Sleeve Insignia - Former Wartime Service (SSI-FWTS)," which is a pretty unwieldly name for a piece of embroidered cloth. My college and ROTC classmate (I'll call him WH) refers to it as the "varsity patch."

Army personnel wear a patch on the left sleeve of their uniform that represents the unit to which they are currently assigned. If you have served with a unit in a combat zone, you are authorized to wear that unit patch on the right sleeve of your uniform...hence the name "combat patch." It is becoming rarer and rarer to find anyone in the Army - Regular Army, National Guard or Reserve - who DOESN'T have that familiar right shoulder patch since nearly everyone who has spent time in uniform since 9-11 has spent time in Iraq, Afghanistan or some other locale.

In the recent past, units most often donned their combat patch in a ceremony approximately 6 months after arriving in the war zone. The patch ceremony was a rite of passage for those on their first combat tour and also represented the halfway mark in the unit's deployment.

The Army recently changed its regulations so that even one day of service in a combat zone qualified a soldier or officer to wear a combat patch. That particular change made me very uncomfortable, mainly because it created the opportunity for indviduals to make short jaunts into Iraq or Afghanistan, "punch their ticket" and spend the rest of their career wearing a "combat patch" while having spent little time in the danger area. I haven't seen examples that this is happening - yet - but I am still bothered by the possibility.

I was just as bothered when word spread that my unit would hold a "patch ceremony" and beginning wearing combat patches after only a month in Iraq. I dutifully attended the ceremony, stuck my Velcro-laden patch to my sleeve and promptly removed it. Wearing a combat patch after only a month in Iraq just didn't feel right. I am also a bit superstitious and can't help feeling that wearing a combat patch with 11 months left on my tour will bring me bad luck. A few folks have asked me why I'm not wearing the patch and I am happy to tell them.

The combat patch I was issued for the ceremony now sits in a box under my bed. Unless otherwise directed, I'll dust it off on January 16, 2008--6 months in country, halfway home.

Labor Day

Wow. I can't believe that summer has passed so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that I found myself back on active in chilly Western Pennsylvania. I only hope that the rest of my tour passes as quickly as these first 6 months.

Labor Day came and went here with little fanfare. The biggest excitement of the weekend was the start of college football season. There was plenty of trash talk around the office on Friday and Saturday, and more than a few humbled fans on Sunday--especially among the Notre Dame and Michigan alumni. The Army gave me a Labor Day present on Friday--my third Anthrax vaccination--and we attempted to have a small social event on Sunday. The event was intended to be a Labor Day picnic, though it was not much more than mess hall food (chicken, ribs, baked beans) delivered and served stand-up style on our office compound. We refer to these events as "forced fun" and more than a few declined to attend in favor of a normal meal in the mess hall with tables, chairs and a greater variety of drinks and dessert.

I was satisfied to see the day pass with only a few reminders of the holiday. Mondays are just another work day around here. Many of us consoled ourselves with a bit of dark soldier humor, telling each other "Great job, go ahead and take the rest of the day off" (spoken on Sunday night at about 9:00 PM). If nothing else, every new Monday means one more week closer to returning home.

With the end of summer, the weather has also started to cool. High temperatures most days average around 113, rather than 117-120 as we experienced in July.

We continue to settle into a routine here and I am slowly finding that I am able to get a decent night's sleep and even do a little reading. Finding time (and privacy) to respond to personal e-mails is still a challenge but I am slowly getting around to replying to the notes I've gotten from many of you. Our communications/computer folks have stated that there is a plan to offer wireless internet on FOB Enormo in early 2008, so I might be fortunate enough to have 'Net access in my room...but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Happy Labor Day to all of you back home from all of us!