Four Weeks in Funtown

It seems like yesterday that I set foot in “Funtown,” now—four weeks into the madness—I do not feel any more prepared that I had before. I am not going to lie and will admit that I have learned some new skills and have refreshed others that I have not had the need for in a long time. Albeit the few success stories—we will call them that—I still think that the time spend here is not managed adequately.

Our team is made to help an Iraqi Motor Transportation Regimen (MTR), thus our mission as advisors is going to revolve around teaching them to do logistical convoys to deliver supplies and also to teach them how to train and sustain the soldier skills of their regimen—i.e. weapons training, physical fitness, etc. The training in “Funtown” is not geared to our kind of mission and it is frustrating sometimes to sit through hours of training that is not the main—is mostly remote—mission of our team. There has been other MTRs trained here but it seems like they also did not get the training that would focus on their team mission. Moving on….

My computer was fix and I finally received it…it seem like an eternity and it is kind of funny to think how attached we are to these things. I have been a little calmer and I am trying to keep my cool while I am here. The news of our deployment extension has drained me a little but I am still trying to keep a positive attitude. I mean…they are going to give us an extra day of leave and $1,000 for every extra month that we spend after 12 months…I guess that will make up for me missing another birthday missed and for yet, more time away from my family. Evidently, an exit strategy or an effort to increase recruitement levels is not an option…and yes, after stop loss, deployment extensions, recalling people that have retired or have been inactive, this is not so much of a voluntary Army anymore.

This week, we were trained to be Combat Life Savers (CLS). The training encompass a brief tutorial on how to provide immediate medical care—breathing, circulation and tourniquets—to injured soldiers in the battlefield until they can be transported to a medical facility. The highlight of the training was when had to learn how to administer an IV to each other. I have seen people walk out of the class with huge bruises on their arms because the other person cannot find their veins but luckly the female that did my arm got my vein on her first try.



The news this past week have been concentrating on the killings in VA Tech and although I understand and believe it was a shame, it enrages me to think that other news are being push over by it. It seems that the news media has forgotten that there’s a war going on and that American and innocent Iraqi lives are being lost everyday. I guess their thought process tells them that since we volunteer to joing the Armed Forces of this country we have should not be surprised to hear that we are losing more and more soldiers in a “war” that was declared “accomplished” four years ago. So, if the war is over and our mission is accomplished, why are we still having repeated deployments to Iraq?

My Third Week in “Funtown”

I am back from my Eastern weekend now trying to be calm and deal with all the “training” scheduled for us. A typical day in “Funtown” starts with PT at 6:00am, breakfast and hygiene until 9:00am and the rest of the day varies according to whatever the people in charge of the training decided.

We started the week with what they call drivers training. We sat through classes that emphasized the importance of knowing what the heck you are doing while you are driving in Iraq and also presented a lot of the dangers of the road (i.e. IED, small arms fire, etc). On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to sit inside two roll over simulators—called HEAT trainers. It was quite fun but scary at the same time if one start thinking about the possibility of our vehicle rolling over and the possibility of opening a 450 lbs door while upside down and hurt. After the HEAT trainers, we were taken out to a muddy trail where we had to maneuver through with our vehicle to make sure that we know how to handle a similar situation. It was real fun, much like going four wheeling. Then we came back at night and drove our vehicle for a short stretch of the road on black out operations—all lights off—and wearing our night vision goggles.





Last week we were told that we would be going to Kirkuk which is in the northeastern part of Iraq. The news is better than hearing that we would be going to Baghdad so I was happy to be somewhat up north.




The news channels have broadcasted that Sec. Gates announced all army troops will have their tour extended from 12 months to 15 months. This is a blow to all soldiers and their families since it makes it even more difficult to deal with 15 months of separation from their loved ones—married or unmarried.

As I sit here and observe my fellow soldiers I can’t help but to wonder if the media have asked deployed or soon to deploy soldiers what they think about this extension and if it affected the morale of the troops. I have watched several officers here that are so disgruntled, they have resolved to write editorials in various newspapers indicating the weaknesses of our contemporary Army and the problems we will continue to foresee as a consequence of “the war on terror.”

Visiting Home again...

The nice people of the “Big Red One”—the unit I am a part of right now in Fort Riley—gave us a four day weekend over Easter so—as expected—I bought tickets to go home with the family. It was nice to be able to get away from the place I sometimes call home when I am tired and just want to sleep. It is not home by any chance but it is the closest thing to “my own space” right now.

While I am at my real home, I get to learn about what has been happening since I have been gone. I have to understand that the kids are growing and I have to acknowledge it. I have to notice and accept that—since Trace is the only parent around lately—they always go to Dad when they need something. I have to accept that in some weird way, I am a stranger in my own house. The good thing is that they love me and they remember me. I think it would be unbearable to have to start establishing a relationship with my sons every time I come home. Thankfully, Trace has made sure the kids—especially Vance, my three year old—remember who their Momma is.

So, the daffodils and the tulips are in full bloom and all the other flowers are making their way out. Spring in Washington State is beautiful, green, luscious and full of color. Our garden looks beautiful and our lawn is as green as it can be. I saw my two beautiful golden retrievers—Cashion and Tracker—and they are healthy and a lot fatter than the last time I saw them. My older son is playing “mad” guitar and practicing to enter a talent show; my middle son is learning to play percussion and playing baseball and my little son is watching his older brothers grow while trying to catch my attention by telling me: “you have beautiful eyes!”

I feel weird when they ask me about what I have been doing. I don’t think that I should expand on all the dangers of my future job but I also think that it is absolutely unfair to not let them know at least the big picture.

I had to sit down with my husband and talk about the things that I wanted to happen if I was to be gone. We talked about things that are as morbid as anyone can imagine but yet, so necessary at this point of time.

Everyday that I wake up, I think about what I have done the day before, what I am going to do that day and how I can make it better. Everyday, I wish that I have been fair and hope that I have been forgiven by all the people that I have hurt intentionally or unintentionally; everyday scrutinize my life and try to make it better for me. I hope that will be the lesson learned from this experience, I hope my life only becomes better after this lovely storm.

Ft. Riley, my Chrysalis

I have been in Ft. Riley, Kansas since March 3, 2007. The post is located near a couple of small towns; Junction City—crappy place with no real attractions and Manhattan—not great but a lot better than the former one. Manhattan is small but its tolerable since is has the Kansas State University campus within it thus having the main necessities near by.

I have been provided with a small twin bed—bottom bunk—and three wall-lockers that are approximately 12 inches wide; quite exciting considering that I can barely fit my clothes in my closet at home. I share my room with 4 other females and we have to share the bathroom and showers with the rest of females in the building—the number varies depending on the classes present at the time. We have the military mess hall for our breakfast, lunch and dinner but you can always choose to skip the disappointment and either eat somewhere else or starve yourself to death. The people in Camp Funston—also called “Funtown” or “Kansistan—thinks is pretty humorous that you can sometimes find hairs and other foreign objects in your food. Thank goodness I haven’t had that experience yet!

Part of the training is to understand the Iraqi culture and to learn at least the basics of their language. As a female officer, it is quite difficult to tolerate the fact that part of their culture is to think that women do not have the same societal status than men. We were warned not go get offended if the Iraqi leader that we will advice does not want to shake our hand or talk directly to us. I honestly do not think I am going to be too broken hearted about that. The Iraqi nationals that are working for the military in Ft. Riley to help train us cooked us a traditional—as traditional as it was possible—dinner. They made us dress up as Iraqi women and sit in a table by ourselves but we too joined in the eating with our bare hands instead of using silverware. I was surprised with the food, it was tasty and not bad at all but then again…that was just one meal.

Before I left for Ft. Riley, I was determined that I will get a new tattoo. For reasons that I cannot explain in this blog, I decided to tattoo a butterfly on my right shoulder. I can only say that it signifies the many changes I have went through for the last 6 months or so since I found out that I will be going to Iraq. Ever since then, I have an eerie feeling that shouts “LIVE YOUR LIFE!!!” Feelings that tell me to make sure I do not keep to myself the feelings that are revolting inside of me; feelings that are forcing me to look at myself in a different light, a light that sometimes reveals things I rather not think of. So, this butterfly marks a time in my life where I have changed, grown and discovered what’s important for me…

Since the time I moved to “Funtown,” I have been going through some rough changes and discovering parts of me that I never thought reside in me. That’s why I call Ft. Riley “my Chrysalis.” I feel like I am in a cocoon waiting to come out, waiting to see the world in a whole different way and waiting to re-learn all the things that I thought I knew about myself and others. I am not sure what my meconium—leftover wing pigments and unneeded tissues from the butterfly's wing formation— is going to leave behind or exactly how my “showers of blood”—product left behind by a butterfly after going through metamorphosis—are going to affect my future but I am anxious to finally be able to look back at this time and comprehend why I had to endure it all and carry on adapting to a new me, for better or for worse.

My Days in Washington...

I have spent 36 days at home in Yelm, WA trying to make up in 36 days for a whole year of being physically absent from their lives.

As the days ticked by, I often wonder if I was doing enough to be remembered; am I going to leave trademarks of my love, my tenderness; is my two year old going to remember who I am by the time I am allowed to come back home. It is unfeasible to predict the future, especially when I am going to have little to no control of my fate therefore all I can do is hope and pray that I have done enough to always be in their hearts and minds as a loving mother that sacrificed everything for their wellbeing.

During my bonding time with my family, I have been trying to keep a positive attitude on all the things that are currently happening in our country. One cannot escape the arguments being thrown back and forth about the surge of troops in Iraq, who’s with it and who’s against it. I sit at home and I wonder what the right answer could be but it is so difficult to make an unbiased assessment when my life is being affected by this war to the point that I will be right in the middle of it.

I guess the right answer for me is to go to Iraq and do my job with the highest level of proficiency within me. Maybe my opinion will change once I have the ultimate experience but then again…maybe not.