Home, Sandy, Home!!

I finally got to my assigned location. I am at Statin 1 at Victory Base. This is the HQ Station for all operations in Iraq. I am getting settled into a routine and getting to know all of the guys here. Seems to be going well so far. The days are long and the nights short right now. As the title suggests it is very sandy and dusty here. I am getting used to it though.

First week in Iraq

This week has been long and tiring. We have been in classes since we got here. We recieved our base assignments and I was one of the lucky few. I got chosen to stay at Camp Victory. Victory is the main HQ for all forward operations. Anything you want you can pretty much find it here. I got stationed at Station 1 here. They run an Engine, Tanker, and Heavy Rescue. The temp is HOT here. Around 115 in the middle of the day. I am getting used to it though much quicker than I imagined. I get to start at the station on Sunday night and get settled into my bunk. Looking forward to that and getting into a routine.

Houston, Texas

This week has been full meetings, briefings, and alot of the military "Hurry up and wait". There are 21 of us here waiting to be deployed. We leave here Sunday and fly to Dubai. We will spend approximately 1 1/2 days there. After that we will fly into Camp Liberty in Baghdad. They are telling us we will be there for about 1 week after that. From there we will all disperse to our individual bases and begin our tours. As a group we have all bonded very quickly and very well. We spend alot of time hanging out by the pool and shooting the breeze. Last night(Thursday) was $1 longneck night at the local dance hall Tumbleweeds. 13 of us loaded up in the hotel shuttle and headed over there for a fun time. A few of us called it quits and came back to the hotel around 11. The rest(single guys) who knows what time they got it. Today we sign our final contracts and get our flight info out of Houston. We will either be flying from houston into London, Amsterdam, or Atlanta. From there we will have a direct flight to Dubai. That is about all we know at this point. So for now we just continue to enjoy the calm before the storm. Hope to see and talk to you all later.

My last week with family

This last week I got to spend time with my family and friends back home in Indiana. I flew home on Monday and spent until Friday there. While I was home I got to see my mom, sisters, grandma, all of Heathers family to include grandma and Cole, and of course my nephew Jackson. He has changed so much and has gained such a personality. Cole has also changed alot since I last saw him.
Also while home, I got to see a few old friends(some of which I haven't seen in a long time.) I went to lunch on Friday with Mike and Amy and to my surprise, Georgeanne also showed up. It has been probably 4 years since I have seen her. It was a very good surprise.
I am now back home and spending my last weekend at home with my wife. Although I am looking forward to getting this whole trip started I really am not looking forward to telling her goodbye. It is going to be very hard on the both of us. We both knew this day was coming but are not looking forward to it.