Deployment Blog

Josh called me this morning to announce that they've finished their training at Fort Polk. They should be heading back to "lovely" Camp Shelby, Mississippi in the coming days. He'll get a few days to "relax" at Camp Shelby before he goes overseas within the next couple of weeks or so. He will eventually end up in Kuwait, where he'll be for several weeks - maybe even more than a month - as he gets stuff ready for when the rest of the Brigade starts coming through on their way to Iraq. I will have little to no contact with him for the weeks he is in Kuwait, which should be the next challenging part of this deployment. He should be able to contact me more regularly once he gets to his FOB (forward operating base) in Iraq. I think that should be around the end of April at the latest, but I could be wrong. I have no information about specific dates and even if I did, I don't think I'd be allowed to share them.

In any case, there is no need to worry. Josh has been joined by one of his buddies this week - Stone Cold the Polar Bear.

He was called up a little later than the rest of the Brigade, but the polar bear is still ready to go. Josh says he will be sure to take pictures of Stone Cold throughout their adventures in Iraq together. For now, check out these photos from the day that Stone Cold left Minnesota - it was sad for the other animals to have to say goodbye, but at least Josh and Stone Cold can keep each other company through the deployment (note - this is a pdf file):

http://www.thesimers.com/kelly/departurephotos.pdf

Also, Josh sent me this email last week to let me know that Stone Cold had arrived at Fort Polk safely and was adapting well to life with the Brigade:

Stone Cold has arrived. Just in time, too. We're going to have him brief Brig-Gen Terry on our plans for Iraq. Thank goodness he has a secret clearance. It was difficult to find all of his references for his background check because the only addresses he gave were "somewhere in the Arctic."

From Kelly | Posted at 12:52 AM | Permalink

So this was an entry in our staff journal from one of the days of this training exercise (I don't remember it word for word, but it was something like this):

"CAS [Close Air Support]: B52 drops 1000lb JDAM munitions at grid XYZ and grid ABC. BDA [Battle Damage Assessment]: 1 Auto rifle."

This was only an exercise, so nobody actually dropped any bombs, but I was just trying to imagine this happening in real life. I picture some Iraqi insurgent telling his story: "So there I was, in the woods, when suddenly this 1000-pound bomb comes flying right at me... and thanks be to Allah, it only hit my rifle, or I could have been killed!"

From Josh | Posted at 8:51 PM | Permalink

After we issue an order from the brigade to the battalions, the battalion staffs sometimes have questions about things in the order that need to be clarified, or questions that were not answered in the order. When this happens, the battalion staff sends up something called an RFI, or Request For Information. It arrives at the brigade headquarters, and an NCO decides who on the brigade staff should answer it, and then forwards the RFI to that individual, who is expected to reply if he can answer the question.

Some of the RFIs we receive are poorly worded. I've had a chance to reply to a few doozies. Here are some examples:

RFI: Where is the MA on FOB (Forward Operating Base) FORGE? Has C company identified?
Response: Unclear which meaning of "MA" you are referring to in the first question. In the second question, the verb "identified" requires a direct object for the meaning of the question to be clear.

RFI: Are we allowed to disperse fuel at the FOBs?
Response: EPA regulations prohibit the dispersal of fuel at FOBs. Fuelers and fuel tanks may be dispersed.

RFI: What is the requirement for refueling with regard to containment barriers?
Response: There is no requirement for you to refuel the containment barriers.

I am no longer allowed to answer RFIs.

From Josh | Posted at 12:49 AM | Permalink

Josh is now at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana. He will have very limited communications while he is training there (almost no email/phone). His unit will spend the next couple of weeks at JRTC before heading back to Camp Shelby. Although some of you may have heard about a departure ceremony in Mississippi for the Minnesota National Guard coming up in March, Josh will not be a part of that ceremony. He will be heading over to Kuwait earlier than most of his Brigade, helping to facilitate the transport of soldiers and equipment overseas. I expect him to be at his base in Iraq sometime in April, although he cannot reveal exact dates and April is only an estimate.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I am now half way through Week 24! I had a doctor's appointment today and all is going well. I only gained a couple pounds this month, but my tummy has already started to drastically change shape. I look like I'm trying to smuggle a cantaloupe under my shirt now. I've had to switch over to maternity clothes for the most part and probably won't be out of them anytime soon (until May or June, I imagine). Luckily, I am still feeling good and although this semester of grad school will be busy, I hope I can make it through the end of the semester and get my classes completed. We'll see!

That's the update for now! Happy Birthday wishes to Ma (Josh's grandma in Florida), my Mom (in North Carolina), and my niece, Kylee (who turns 1 this weekend)!!!

From Kelly | Posted at 5:48 PM | Permalink