No Place Like Home

I. Am. Back. I don't know where to start about how good it feels to be back in the U.S. of A, but some how the grass seems greener, the water cleaner and the air fresher. Maybe it's because 1. there is actual grass, 2. the water really IS cleaner and 3. well, I'm not breathing 30% sand when I take a breath of air deep into my lungs! I missed so many things about home while I was in Iraq but honestly after a while of living out there, you just kind of forget about the little things (or you make yourself forget about them so you aren't constantly thinking about what you're missing out on back home). So now that I'm home, I get to revel in all the little things that I missed.

And yes, I did just completely ignore the fact that I haven't written on this blog in almost two months in my intro paragraph. I really have no excuse other than the fact that I was tired. Any time I was laying in my bed (which is normally when I write), I was either sleeping, about to fall asleep, or trying desperately to fall asleep because I knew I needed the sleep. So there was no writing go on. But now that I'm back, I plan to catch all my readers (if I still have any lol) up on my trip. I figure I'll start with my trip home on my next entry and go from there as I see fit! :D


Thank you for all the prayers and support while I was gone. I had an amazing experience out in Iraq and met so many wonderful people whom I am hoping to keep in touch with! Iraq, as strange as it sounds, will always have a special place in my heart after my six month journey to the sand. It was eye opening and heart warming to daily walk along side of these Soldiers who sacrifice and defend our country whenever duty calls! Some of them are still kids, but they man (or woman) up and do what is asked of them to serve our great Nation!


Here are some pics of the Soldiers I worked with while I was there... I miss them already!!

Happy 4th of July from Iraq!!!

This song says it all. You can't let the 4th of July pass without listening to it at least once!!! :D

Thank you to all who have gone before us, are serving now and will serve after. Happy Independence Day, America!

Iraq in all it's glory....

A sand storm. There's really no describing it, especially if you're caught outside in the middle of one. So I will post pictures of the aftermath.... Enjoy.

Michael Jackson...

...died today.  It's one of those things that I think I'll probably remember every moment of the minute I found out.  Not that I was a fanatic until the day he died but he was such an icon of my generations history.  I loved his music that he produced.  He was a showman like no other.  Sure he was weird and misunderstood, and no one quite knows what went on in his private life.   Do you think you wouldn't get driven to crazy if a BILLION people knew your name and felt like it was their right to disect your life and point out every flaw you had?  My guess is we all might be a little "crazy" if we were in Michael's shoes.  I'm not defending or supporting anything about his private life.  Honestly I don't know what he did behind closed doors.  But I do know his music brings so many fond memories to my mind and today I am sad that he is no longer here.  This entry won't be long, I just wanted to jot a little something down to remember the day we lost the King of Pop.  There will never be another quite like him.... he has left some big patent leather shoes to fill.  

I like how.....

....I just had the week from hell....Got back to Speicher exhausted....Went to play basketball after work but the court was closed due to volleyball (VOLLEYBALL?!), so I ran instead and had to walk home from the gym only to get caught in a sandstorm, literally... But can't stop smiling and because I got to see and talk to Mom, Dad, Amy, David, Julie, Beckham, Ainsley and Megan on gmail's video chat tonight :D

That's enough for tonight. I should've been in bed two hours ago... But somethings are worth staying losing sleep over! I love you guys! Thanks for chatting. It made my day!!

Army Navy Fun :D

Yes, I am aware that I had not posted in a month or so and now have posted 3 times in one day... I'm catching you up of the little things that I haven't been able to post over the past chaotic month.....

I found this when I came back to my desk one day.... Do they work??? Who has time to cut all those things out?

Go Navy! BEAT ARMY!!

A Whole Different Level - It's Summer Time in Iraq.

Before I came to Iraq I imagined it to be hotter than I've ever felt but I still wasn't really sure whta that actually felt like. When I arrived in March, I was pleasantly surprised by the temperate weather. I thought to myself, it's beautiful here... For about 3 weeks or so it was in the 70s and 80s, no humidity and just beautiful. I knew the 120's were coming but for some reason the spring weather was clouding my judgement on what that would realistically feel like.

Well, I know now. It's been getting hot here for the past month or so but yesterday, whew, yesterday is when I realized that I am glad I didn't live here in Jesus' time. It is freakin' hot! And when I say that, there really are no words to describe it. We picked up a band in Balad yesterday morning and it actually started off eerily cool (and by cool I mean in the upper 80s, lower 90's). I thought to myself, "we may get a break from the heat today..thank God b/c we're going to 3 different FOBs and we have an afternoon show outside (why I don't know)." Little did I know that with in the next 3 hours the temperature would go up at least 20 degrees and get to just about blistering by the time we were unloading and setting things up for the first show. perfect. It was hot enough that I didn't even ask "What's the temp today?" I didn't want to know. I knew that it was hot enough that there wasn't an inch of my clothing that wasn't sweated through, dried and then sweated through again. I thought our poor entertainers (The Effects) were going to pass out on stage... We went through a 24 pack of Gatorade and about the same amount of waters with in 2.5 hours.

The "breeze" that they like to call it here is not a breeze at all. It's what I would imagine a breeze from Hell to be. It's hotter than a blowdrier being blown all over your body. Honestly, you feel like you're sitting inside a convection oven (yes, mom I know what that is, aren't you proud of your me?!). Oh, and don't forget to add when we're on the Birds to travel around, we get to sit in the "breeze" WITH our kevlar and flac vests on. I thought it was hot a few weeks ago, but I realized I didn't know what hot was until yesterday. And it's only June. When people say "it's hotter than Hell outside," I don't really think I've ever grasped that cliche.... until yesterday. It's stifling and miserable and almost feels like torture.

On a brighter note, The Effects were great last night. They performed the second show at FOB Grizzly and it was amazing to me that they had even more energy than they did the first show! They are more of a classic rock group can really jam. One of their songs, "Desert Rain" couldn't have come at a better time in the show. Joel introduced the song as one of their own and literally as he was talking a few rain drops fell out of the sky almost as if it were planned ahead of time. It rained for that one song. And that one song only. It was too perfect! The Soldiers had a great time and were thankful we brought them to here. Grizzly has become a home away from home for me here in Iraq. It's one of the smaller FOBs so I've gotten to know a lot of the people here (although one unit just went home, so there's new people I don't know yet) and they are so hospitable. Of course for some reason, as the weather would have it, I'm stuck here today... again. Hopefully we'll get out soon because our next tour starts tomorrow, in Kirkuk ironically enough. The other place I almost ALWAYS get stuck! Well I'm off for now... gonna go check on the weather and see if there's a window of green weather for us to fly out and bake on those Birds! Til next time... (hopefully it won't be another month) :D

More than overdue - I believe this was my "1 month in Iraq update"

I wrote this and meant to post it over a month ago... I am so bad at making time for this out here! So this was from 26 April.. If you're on my email list you got this already but I wanted to put it on here too :D

I know it's been a while since I've emailed or blogged but I have been CR-AAAA-ZZY busy! I can't believe I've been in country for over a month! Where has the time gone? I've gotten my legs under me here and feel like a vet at this Iraq thing.... kind of. I could do without the sand/dust storms (which at this time of year seem to happen at least once a week here in Tikrit), but other than the weather I can't complain! Do you remember what it felt like your first day of middle school or maybe even at a new school? You were so excited to start something new. Then you walk through the doors of your new school and you meet hundreds of new people, need a map to get to the bathroom, feel out of place, maybe even a little akward and aren't really even sure how to open your locker. The excitement starts to fade as you realize you aren't "home" anymore and you're having to adjust to this new life at your new school. Suddenly getting to change classes doesn't seem as cool as it once did b/c you dont' know how to get from the c-pod to the a-pod without being a nerd and asking a teacher for help....b/c you can't ask an 8th grader, then they'd know you're a SEVIE (what a term for 7th graders). All that to say, things are overwhelming and not really what you expected them to be at all. But eventually you start to settle in and actually start to enjoy your new school rather than dread it. You know where you're going and even have time to hang out in b/w with some of the friends you've made in your new classes b/c you instead of taking 5 wrong turns you only made one wrong turn and that has cut your travel time considerably. So that's kind of what I felt like my first couple weeks. There was a lot of things to learn and get under my belt... I wasn't sure my belt was big enough at first. But yesterday when I was at the DFAC (dinning facility) waiting in line, I saw a now familiar face and it dawned on me. I'm not the new kid anymore and I feel at home (as much as possible) here on Speicher.

I am loving my job, the people I meet and the opportunities God is walking me through. There have been some challenges but I don't mind, it makes life interesting! I meet some of the most amazing people out here. And I'm talking more about the Soldiers than the entertainers (but they have been amazing people too). The thing that has hit me the hardest is how YOUNG some of them are (yes, I sound like an old fuddy duddy right now). They all have different stories of why they joined the Army but when it comes down to it, they are sacrificing. For you, for me, for their families and our country. Some of them are on their second or third tours and are will choose to come again. wow. if that doesn't humble you, I dont' know what will. I absolutely love that I get to serve these Soldiers by bringing them the entertainment we are assigned. Most of them thank us repeatedly while we are on their base but even IF they never uttered a single word, I would know. The smiles that break through their normally grave faces tell me over and over again. And that's all the thanks I need! I love my mission out here! This is someting I won't soon forget!

I hope everything back in the States is well with all of you! I do miss you and think of you often! I will try and post pictures when I have time to download from my camera! Feel free to write anytime... I love hearing how everything is going and catching up with my people from back home! Til next time!!! :D

Honoring Those Who Serve - KingBilly

I know I haven't been posting much, but there are days I'm so busy I don't have time to think about anything but what's right in front of me and needs to be done at that moment. Bare with me as I try to catch you up with some pics over the next few days recognizing the entertainers who are taking time to honor those who serve.

This first collage is from KingBilly, an amazing Country/Rock (bluegrass) band that came to Iraq at the beginning of May. These guys were a blast from start to finish and were incredibly talented musicians. We ended up getting stuck at FOB Grizzly for 3 days so they made the best out of an almost bad situation and did their main show the first night and then two acoustic shows the next two nights. The Soldiers absolutely loved interacting with them, some of them even got up and sung with them on the last two nights. It was something I don't think anyone who was there will forget and I would bet money that it will be one of the fondest memories some of these Soldiers have from their deployment. Thank you, KingBilly :D

Husker Nation....

.....Even in Iraq! I walked into a brief in Ashraf and this colorful reminder of home caught my eye! Mom, I had to take a picture for you! They still don't hold a candle to your love for the BIG RED... but I knew you'd appreciate their loyalty!! GO BIG RED! :D

Stuck in Kirkuk

I have been stuck here going on 4 days now. Apparently air travel in Iraq is not very reliable....at all. I showed up this morning to get on a Fixed Wing Aircraft (which is supposed to be more reliable than a Rotary Wing) for them to tell me the flight was delayed until XXXXhours tomorrow morning... she may have well said cancelled.

Sgt Bostic just came and tapped me on the shoulder asking me how I'd like to go out at 1300 today!? duh... When and where!? I'm there. I don't know what happened, but I'm signing off so I can catch my flight!! Wish me luck!!!


UPDATE.... flight was delayed and in turn I was going to miss the connection to Speicher. I'm still here. overjoyed.

Update - Iraq

I've been touring around the MND-North with a tribute band called No Duh (obviously a tribute to No Doubt) for the last few days. Yesterday I was supposed to get to Balad and pick up our new set of entertainers, Catchpenny. Weather wouldn't allow that to happen so we pushed the tour back and picked them up today! I'm now on Caldwell and will be back at Speicher with Catchpenny at some point tomorrow. Both groups have been a lot of fun so far. Very different, but a lot of fun. Catchpenny is a rock/pop group of guys that was the reciepient of the Armed Forces Entertainers of the year this past year. They are a great group of guys who really want to give back to the Soldiers/Marines out here serving and protecting our country. They are so low maintence and really down to earth guys from Minnesota. Well, I gott get back to them for now... I'll write more about later but we've got a sound check to get to!


ps- I promise I will get some pics downloaded eventually. Don't have my camera cord yet and internet is slow as far as picture uploads and stuff. Alright, gotta go just wanted to give you a quick update on my where abouts... and why it's been hard for me to call at a normal hour! :D

The Journey Has Begun... Take it all in :D

I am in the morale section of our office building where people can use computers to check email/facebook/blog, whatever they like on break. There are four computers and two phones that we can use for "morale." How AWESOME is that?! Way more than I expected and I am so thankful for the provision. The only problem is, I'm sitting here writing and all of the sudden it reeks!!! There is a guy two computers away from me and I KNOW he just farted and it is rank!!! ugh. Seriously?!? I guess he didn't have enough break time to check his email AND go to the bathroom. No apology, no regret, nothing. He's sitting there like nothing happened, while I sit here trying to take short breaths through my mouth (which grosses me out too but at least I don't have to smell the awful stench) so I don't gag! The smell is starting to fade so I digress.....

It took me two and a half days to get to Camp Speicher but I have arrived! I was in Balad for a couple days, which really got me spoiled (as mentioned in my previous blog). But Speicher is nice and I am getting settled in just fine! My helicopter ride in was awesome. It was about 1:45 -2:00am by the time I finally got on a flight Wed night/Thurs morning, which ever you consider it. They put me on a Chinook (big helicopter). I was the first on from our group although there were already people on the "bird" sitting in their seats. One of the crew told me to come with him (I totally thought he was going to tell me I had too many bags and had to wait until the next flight). I followed and he started signaling something to me. What, I had no clue at first. I thought he was saying he was going to sit up in this seat next to the pilots and I motioned, ok and went back to what I thought was my seat. As I turned to sit down, I saw he had followed me and motioned to come back. I walked back over with him as he tried to scream over the roaring of the helicopter blades and engine turning in the background. I heard nothing but again thought he was saying he was going to sit up front. I yelled OK with a big thumbs up. He held out his hand as if to help me into that seat. "OOOOOH, you want me to sit there??" He sighed in relief and nodded his head. It was obvious I was not going to be able to talk this one out with him and explain that I am scared of heights and a nervous flyer. So I complied and climbed up to the front with the pilots.... very reluctantly.

I sat there after I put on my seat belt and made SURE that it was secure and wondered how does this stuff happen to me. And then I said "Katie, if you don't die this is going to be an unforgettable ride, so ignore your fears and take it all in!" It took me a while but we made 2 stops before Speicher so by the last one, I was able to let go of the bars in front of me and talk with the pilots. They had given me a head set after the first stop because they noticed I was, well, frantic. Have you ever been in a Chinook while taking off ... to me it felt like the God was lifting us up by the tail with a string, so the nose (where I was sitting) is looking straight at the ground. Almost like Drop Zone at Kings Dominion but you're looking down at the ground. Probably fun for people that dont' wonder how however many TONS of metal can fly through the air with no problem. But for us laymen, who are scared of heights. Not my idea of a "quick flight" to Speicher! Maybe God is teaching me trust ;) But all in all, it was an awesome experience. I talked with the pilots the rest of the flight and by the end of it I was enjoying the ride..... Until they thought it'd be funny to jerk my chain a little. Here's how it went:

Pilot 1 "There's a strong cross wind out tonight, could be a rough landing."
a few seconds later
Pilot 2 "UH OH!! Oh Crap!!"
I shut my eyes, grasped the bar in front of me and stopped talking so they could concentrate on keeping us alive. All of the sudden I hear them laughing and I could tell they had huge grins underneath their masks. I pressed my little talk button "You all are NOT funny." The chuckled a little more and then said that everything was fine and we'd be on the ground in 20 seconds. If they hadn't been flying the helicopter I would've hit 'em both in the back of the head.

That ride will be one I won't soon forget! I have more stories and pics but I left my camera cord at Victory and have to wait for them to send it to me so I can download them to my computer. So for now, I'm signing off and getting back to work!!!!

The Journey Begins - I'm Ready To Go!!!

Well, it's almost time for me to get on the plane... we leave tomorrow at some point and then starts the adventure. I'm not sure I can give tons of details about our flight, partially because they don't tell us anything (security purposes?) and I know almost nothing myself! This past week has been extremely long. I'm up at the crack of dawn to hurry up and get to formation (those of you that know me, know I don't do mornings) and then start a full day of rushing to get to places to either stand in line and wait to fill out paper work or sit in a classroom and listen to briefings ALL DAY LONG!

The group of people that are in-processing with me are a very eclectic group of people. We have military, some linguists, Civilians, Red-Cross, and other contractors (which include a million different jobs). I've made friends with the MWR people, some auditors, linguists and a couple military folks since the time I've been down here. It makes me laugh as we have to "march," if you can even call it that, in between our barracks and training. If you could only see this motley crew TRYING to march. People are all out of step, out of line, falling behind (we have some older and some out of shape people...just to give you a visual), and whatever else you can think of that would seem to be the exact opposite of what an Army unit would look like marching.

All I know is I'm ready to be done with this week and thank God that for the most part it's over. We have one more brief later tonight and then we're off tomorrow!! I've packed my 3 duffle bags that I'm allowed to bring (by the way... they issued us A LOT of crap and I'm pretty proud of the fact that I got that stuff PLUS the stuff I brought smushed into them!!) and am hoping the butlers here will help me get them to and from the airports....oh wait, we don't have those here. I guess I'll be luggin' those things in between myself, huh. Well, it's time to knuckle up and get my hands dirty I guess!

I'm not really sure what to expect or even if I'm ready for everything that's about to happen. But I have confidence that God is in control and that I have a lot of amazing people praying for my safety and the journey that's about to start in my life!! Thanks to all of you!! I will keep you all posted as often as I can. I will miss everything back here but am ready to go and hopefully bring some joy with me! :D

Here's a picture of me trying on my gear they issued us! Nevermind the helmet cover being on backwards!!