http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/ en Copyright 2007 Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:41:17 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss We woke at 03:45 to prepare to leave Ft. Dix, NJ -- FINALLY. Though there was a winter storm the night before, we rose out of bed, turned in bed linens, received our DD 214's, and cleaned the barracks, determined to go home. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/home.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/home.html Demobilization Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:41:17 -0400 Our stay at Ft. Dix began with the reminder we were still to abide by the first general order -- specifically no alcohol. Even the leadership yearned to let their hair down, as evidenced by its reluctant reminder for compliance. From the beginning the commander worked the issue and brokered a deal allowing us to drink three beers per night at the installation club. The club welcomed the deal as it too suffered under the no alcohol policy - no demand. The deal worked out well for all involved, generating revenue and letting us ease back into civilian life. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/just_let_us_out.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/just_let_us_out.html Demobilization Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:20:47 -0400 Our flight to the US arrived at McGuire AFB, around 05:00, temperatures in the teens, Fahrenheit, and snow was falling. Once in the United States and on the ground I imagined there would be a great relief, but getting off the plane and boarding the buses did not evoke any such feelings or emotions. We were back, but no where near home yet -- we had 10 days worth of demobilization yet to endure. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/on_us_soil_1.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/on_us_soil_1.html Demobilization Fri, 16 Feb 2007 04:43:20 -0400 Camp Virginia, Kuwait is where we spent about nine or ten days just relaxing. The flight companies flew the aircraft down to port and waited for a ride to the United States. All of us had plenty of time to decompress, with a schedule that did not have any formal events on it. We went from a million and one things to do, to nothing to do at all -- quite a shock which left everybody weary. We were weary that we forgot to do something, an uneasy feeling, but in reality there was nothing to do-- but wait. Many of us slept in and got some much needed rest, recovering from the chronic fatigue all the aircrew members suffered during this tour. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/decomposing_in_kuwait_1.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/decomposing_in_kuwait_1.html Demobilization Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:26:55 -0400 With nothing left to do but get to work by 4 am, review our plan out of Iraq one more time, and suit up, we were on our way. All aircrews broke out of the update briefing for their respective aircraft, like a football team breaking from a huddle. The air was crisp during the cold morning, about four degrees Celsius. I walked around my aircraft one more time, inspecting it for any open latches or damage not noticed during our preflight inspections. I found nothing out of the ordinary, threw on my body armor, latched on my survival vest, and jumped into the cockpit with the company commander as my pilot. We began reading the checklist, which details starting the Auxiliary Power Unit(APU), a smaller engine which provides AC power and pneumatic power to start the two main engines. I read the step as the commander flipped the APU http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/out_of_iraq.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/out_of_iraq.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Mon, 12 Feb 2007 05:02:45 -0400 Lacking necessary experience and training for a tour in Iraq, many pilots and crew chiefs of A 2-224th AVN, came here greener than the spring grass we left behind in the US, one year ago. Only time and events cured our novice ineptitude. The experienced staff wanted to test the freshly molded, challenging us to plan, present, and execute the trip from Iraq to Kuwait. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/transitions.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/transitions.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Fri, 09 Feb 2007 08:16:05 -0400 Through our intelligence channels, we received news of the US Army Black Hawk helicopter crash minutes after it happened, on January 20, 2007. Not much was known about the incident except it was not ours. All Punisher (our call sign) aircraft were safely accounted for and we would be going home soon, if only we could make it out of here without any casualties. Our missions continued at the regular fly, eat, sleep pace maintained the whole time we've been here. Many of us started to review the basics of our flight tactics, a result of the news. Our experienced pilots stood up and gave speeches about "making it to the end" and "don't let complacency come into our operations". Because the incident happened outside of the Marine Corps area of responsibility, our internet access was not turned off. This gave all of us the chance to communicate home, "We http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/it_wasnt_us.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/02/it_wasnt_us.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Mon, 05 Feb 2007 06:25:13 -0400 Over the last couple of weeks we've engaged in our normal mission along with preparing for our departure. As the unit movement officer I've been swamped with work, trying to motivate people to pack as much stuff as they can, as early as possible. Some were legitimately concerned of the possibility of our unit getting extended based on the president's troop increase plan, reluctant to pack until it is certain we will be going home -- on time. One additional duty for the new pilots was to do the planning to fly out of Iraq; the beginning of the end. So if we weren't flying, we were packing, and if we weren't packing, we were planning the trip from Iraq to Kuwait. After all of that we find time to rest and eat, but there could be no greater motive than wanting to get out of Iraq to keep people http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/01/busy_as_hell_trying_to_get_out.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/01/busy_as_hell_trying_to_get_out.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:59:27 -0400 2007 came without our even noticing, as we still fly, eat, sleep and repeat. A few changes have started to show in our routine; mainly the discussions of what we need to pack, when. Most of us are packed up and more than ready for 2007 to take us home, until we read the newspapers and see the hype of expanding the troop levels in this conflict. We are all anxious in one way or another about getting ready to leave or about the very faint possibility of our staying. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/01/anxiously_looking_home.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2007/01/anxiously_looking_home.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:14:31 -0400 Weary of Christmas woes, mostly a result of being away from family, I woke for an early Christmas dinner, expecting to be part of a few close knit people in the unit who agreed to eat dinner together. To my surprise when I emerged from the concrete castle-like fortress, known as home, I found almost all of the assigned unit assembled. Only a handful of were not in attendance, creating a scene as our herd of soldiers migrated to chow. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/christmas_raises_spirits_at_tq.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/christmas_raises_spirits_at_tq.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:03:58 -0400 (written while observing the 'cease' order) Due to my unit's schedule, we were unable to take advantage of the Marine Corps 231st Birthday, two-beer celebration until we had a down day, about a week and a half later. It happened to fall at the beginning of the end, as we were organizing our personal gear for shipment home. The two events could not have been better timed. We spent two hours packing up before drinking our celebratory beer, which honestly felt more like a celebration of our own milestone than that of the Marine Corps. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/marine_corps_birthday_2_beers.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/marine_corps_birthday_2_beers.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Thu, 14 Dec 2006 07:00:30 -0400 (written while observing the 'cease' order) On November 10, the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its 231st birthday. Since we work directly with Marines, we were included in the celebration, which included ceremonies and even an Iraq version of the Marine Corps Marathon, held at Al Asad. Additionally, the Marine Corps allowed two beers for each member in the command, but as an aviation unit we had to defer the beer until a later date (more on the that in a coming post). Though we were employed throughout the birthday, a result of falling under the Marine Corps chain of command, we were able to celebrate our brethren. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/celebrating_the_marine_corps_b.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/celebrating_the_marine_corps_b.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Sun, 10 Dec 2006 07:00:14 -0400 Most in the unit have returned to Iraq after their two-week leave, a hiatus granted to each soldier, spread out over the year to maximize productivity. Some chose to go home to family, while others vacationed in foreign countries. All agreed that the leave provided a needed break from the conditions here in Iraq. Most also thought they were the shortest two weeks of this deployment -- they wished their lives away in anticipation of leave, and prayed time would stop during it. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/leave_rotations_end.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/leave_rotations_end.html Al Asad, Iraq Fri, 08 Dec 2006 07:00:38 -0400 On the eve of Thanksgiving, some of us decided we should gather together for dinner. Normally, we eat in day and night shifts, but we wanted to try to combine both for the holiday. Getting everyone to feast on turkey with stuffing at the same hour was virtually impossible, but we set a time anyway -- 14:15 -- recognizing that some would still have to work. It would be a late meal for the day crew and an early one for the night crew. It promised to be better than foregoing the meal altogether: At least we were doing something to celebrate. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/thanksgiving_deployed.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/12/thanksgiving_deployed.html Al Taqaddum, Iraq Mon, 04 Dec 2006 07:00:10 -0400 It's been a month since I last published, and I can now explain my online absence. Briefly, I was following an order to cease blogging -- an order that is no longer in effect. To my command, thank you for your time and your backing for reinstating this blog. I assure you that it is not remotely similar to the blogs coming from theater that use minimal, if any, judgment in respecting the demands of operational security. To those of you who have followed what I have written, thank you for your patience. During the month when I was offline, many things have happened here and at home that should make this forum an interesting one for some time to come. If you'd like to know more about the issues that arose around my blogging, here's the text of a letter I was prepared to send to friends if I'd http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/11/im_back.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/reportingforduty/2006/11/im_back.html Chain of Command Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:49:11 -0400