It snowed in Iraq?

The swiffers could not have come at a better time! Want to know why?
> well because it snowed. And no, that is not a typo- I am exhausted
> but I 100% mean that it snowed. Some of it even stuck. I think pigs
> were spotted flying at the same time. I am in the middle of Iraq and
> it was snowing. Anyways- following the snow, I discovered a new
> wonderful thing about Iraq. After the snow it was like the light was
> finally turned on, and I was able to understand why there are bridges
> over the drainage ditches, why there is gravel everywhere, why things
> to scrape your feet on are laid into the actual concrete, and why
> little efforts were made to make paved sidewalks inches above the
> ground. This place is a mud pit- a horrible, sucking, pull your boots
> off your feet mud pit that is ten times worse than any mud season that
> Maine has ever seen since the dawn of concrete. It is everywhere,
> caking everything- and it is especially awesome because at night there
> are no lights anywhere so you're pretty much at the mercy of the god
> of puddles and mud pits. Did I mention that it only snowed for about
> 4 hours? And that this is supposedly the beginning of the "rainy
> season". Awesome.
>
> You know what I would really like right now- one of those days where
> you just wake up and know that you have absolutely nothing to do and
> you barely wake up and take a shower- you just watch movies all day
> and go out to dinner. I know you probably haven't had any of those
> since you had us- but still...maybe way back in the way ack machine
> you remember. Actually right now I would settle for sleeping past
> 745AM (if I sleep any later they start cleaning the bathroom and I
> can't get in there and you taught me well...I need to brush my teeth
> every morning)

Check out Lt. Kennedy's latest answers!

1. Do you find out far in advance that you or your men have a mission coming up or do they spring that type of thing on you without an advance warning?
That’s a very good question. A lot of the missions around here are planned to be last minute if that makes sense. There is a thing in the Army called a WARNO, or Warning Order that leaders will receive almost immediately after their boss decides that a mission needs to take place. That mission can take place 30 minutes later, or 30 days later, but you are from that point on supposed to be prepared to execute the mission. It probably seems a little strange, but the beauty of the system is that one way or another the mission has to get done, so it may be a little crazy for a little bit, but somehow you always find a way to do it.

2. Will you get any extra time off at Christmas?
I’m looking to hopefully get the afternoon off and spend it with my soldiers watching some movies and maybe having some pizza. It may not seem like much to you guys, but after two months without more than a few hours truly off to myself…it seems like an awesome proposition. I may even sleep in!

3. What are the seasons like there? Temp. changes, etc? How hot is it in the winter?
Up until about last week it was pretty much hovering around 75 degrees, and all I could think about was how it is going to be incredibly hot in the summer. However, in the past 4 days it has completely dropped off, and is probably around low 50’s, high 40’s. It is cold enough to turn your heater on in your room.

4. What are the circumstances for emergency leave?
Emergency Leave is primarily given in response to a Red Cross message. Those messages come from the Red Cross HQ and can be for the birth of a child, or the death of a loved one.

5.Do you have to take any courses while you are there? Are any advanced educational courses or college credit courses offered there?
They do have an education center here as we are one of the bigger bases in all of Iraq, and soldiers are afforded the ability to take classes or the CLEP or DANTE exams (I don’t know what they stand for, but they basically give you college credit if you complete them with a passing score). Furthering your education is huge in the military amongst all the ranks. As an enlisted soldier, college credits directly correlate to promotion points (to be promoted as an enlisted soldier you must get a certain amount of points and successfully complete a board where you are tested on your knowledge as a soldier). As an officer, it is a requirement to have a Bachelor’s Degree, and once you get higher in the ranks, it is a requirement to have a graduate degree.

6.Will your family send you Christmas presents?
My mom doesn’t love me, so therefore she is not going to send me any presents…haha- just kidding. My family sent me my Christmas presents almost a month ago and I have had to exercise some serious constraint so that I didn’t open them. I may or may not have cheated a little bit when a “corner of the wrapping paper accidentally ripped off” and I saw that my mom sent me Ratatoiulle and I really wanted to watch it. By the time you get these answers it will probably be after Christmas though so I should be in the clear…

7.Are pets allowed or are there any that have been adopted on the base?
On our base they aren’t allowed because some people were getting sick because of most of them hadn’t gotten their shots. However, I did hear a rumor of a little pup wandering around the other day and someone may or may not have picked him up and given him a home. On other bases there are dogs, and the Army Vets have gone around and given them all their shots.

8.Does all of your mail get checked before you send it out (in case you accidentally tell things you shouldn’t)?
I do not believe that our physical mail is censored, but I would not be surprised. I know that our internet access is monitored, our email may be screened for buzz words, and if you have any pages like MySpace or Facebook, they are monitored by your chain of command to make sure you aren’t putting any information up about ongoing operations or any pictures of battle damage, etc.

9.Have you seen any poisonous snakes, bugs, etc. since you’ve been there?
To date, no. And I hope never to, but I would be highly surprised if I don’t.

10.Can you shoot off fireworks on New Year’s Eve or 4th of July?
I am going to guess no because I think a lot of people would assume we were getting attacked. While it is not a very good possibility where I live, it still would probably ruffle some feathers that do not need to be ruffled…

11. Do you plan on making the military your career or will you get another job after your tour is up? If so, what would you like to do?
I want to begin my answer to this question by saying that you guys ask some very thought provoking questions and a few of you should probably look into investigative reporting. That being said, I honestly have no idea what I want to do at the end of my commitment. I will have almost a year left in the Army when I get back from this tour, and there is a good possibility that I may come back to Iraq for a second tour. So in the short term, that is what I’m planning for. However, in college I was fortunate enough to be able to run some big events and I would really like to manage events for a large hotel or something of that nature. Maybe I’ll become an astronaut…

12. What’s your favorite color?
Midnight Blue

13.What interests you about being the first female Pres.?
The White House throws fabulous parties that I would love to have thrown in my honor. I also really enjoy sleeping in five star accommodations…

14.If you could change three things about the world, what would they be?
- Every kid should be allowed to be a kid during their childhood. I would give them the opportunity to do that.
- I would make sure that every person that works for a living, from the guy that cleans the portapotties, to the President of the United States receives respect for what they do. Every job is valuable to society and every person should have enough pride if they are working an honest job to hold their head up high. They are in turn due respect from the rest of us. Sorry…I’ll get off my soap box. However, I see how hard that people here, and people in Europe work at jobs that we in the United States would traditionally throw our noses up at. Street Cleaners press their uniforms each day and make sure their section of land is spotless because it is important to them to uphold the commitment they made to the job. I take my hat off to those individuals.
- I would make it so money didn’t matter, and your character would be your most valuable object.

15.Is the war over there what you expected?
This war is more about being a police force than being a military force, and that is ultimately the nature of a counterinsurgency. It is an extremely interesting experience and I’m glad that I get to be here to do my part. I’m not sure if its what I expected, but it is what it is.

16.Do you have any information about Iraqi schools? Do all kids attend? Do many women get advanced degrees?
It is at times difficult for all children to get to school. Here in Baghdad it is kind of a different situation because there is in general more money flowing around, and therefore children are not forced to work to help support their families. Boys and girls attend school here, and there are women in college. This is still a Muslim country however, and the acceptance of women in the workplace and higher education ebbs and flows with each leader that stands up from the President of the country, all the way down to the leaders of the Muhalla’s, or neighborhoods. School is not as commonplace and necessary in this society, but is still extremely valued by the population at all levels. There was a detainee the other day that was brought in with his bad brother and he spent an hour lecturing him about how he was an idiot and if he had been smart he wouldn’t have left school and would have found a real job that kept him out of trouble.

17.What is the protocol for having a civilian get on the base? Can non military personnel get on the base at all?
Yes, local nationals can get on base. Many of them are employed on base to do construction work. However, they must be put into a biometrics tracking system, and guarded one hundred percent of the time that they spend on the base.

18.How many people are on your base? How many men? Women?
I honestly have no idea. My Brigade alone has 3,000 people, and we have been plused up by other battalions. There are upwards of three or four brigades stationed here, one Division Headquarters, and one Corps Headquarters. Not to mention Special Forces elements, and a bunch of civilian contractors from the states that drive around in their SUV’s and wear civilian clothes all day.
19.What are your favorite types of books to read?
All types- one’s with interesting characters? That was a really lame answer. The last book I read was Harry Potter, so I don’t know what that says about me.

20.Do Iraqi women still have to cover their heads and faces? Is it common to see women without them?
Yes, it is a part of their religion. It is possible to see them not cover their faces completely, but a large majority cover their heads at a minimum. They wear the very traditional black Birka that covers pretty much everything. Even our female interpreters cover their heads.
21.Is it common for young people to own guns there?
No. It is actually illegal. Each household is allowed to have 1x AK-47 in their home for ceremonial and protection purposes. All other weapons are illegal to have (handguns, larger machine guns, more than one AK-47, grenades) and will get you some time in prison, no questions asked.

22. When you are on the base, do you use American currency to buy things or Iraqi money?
We use American money. The interesting thing is that instead of actual change, they give us little cardboard pogs. The coins cost too much to ship over here.
23. Why aren’t women allowed in the infantry and other dangerous positions? After all, they receive the same training as men.
We receive the same initial training as the men, but are not allowed to have the same additional training. Every soldier when they enter the Army goes to either Basic Training, or if going the officer route, the equivalent taught in college. However, upon their graduation from Basic, or their commissioning as an officer, that soldier will go to what is called Advanced Individual Training. At AIT soldiers get very specific training regarding their future job, from how to order property and maintain accountability as a 92Y (supply sergeants), or how to fire a weapon a 50cal and conduct advanced assaults in urban environments as 11B’s (Infantrymen). Women are not allowed to participate in Infantry or Armor courses, and are not allowed to attend follow on training to become Sappers (combat engineers), Rangers (advanced infantrymen), or Special Forces.

However, I will say that on the majority of Personal Security Detachments that guard our key leaders, there are women on each one of those details. They just are not traditional combat arms soldiers. The rules are relaxing.

24. Do you miss the snow?
I miss the snow very much. I would love to go skiing right now.

Lt. Kennedy--

I think I need to preface my answers to these questions with something-

1). THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU SENT US! I honestly set the boxes down in the middle of the two places that I work, and all the goods were gone within about twenty minutes. People were playing Frisbee, claiming the Suduko books, and grabbing the Ramen before anyone could say BOO. We’re going to write up something a little nicer for you guys- but just wanted to let you know that it was awesome and we really appreciate it.




1. What is your favorite local food?
I really like these potato pancakes they make at the dining facility.
2. How many palaces are in the area?
There are quite a few- to include the Perfume Palace, and a whole bunch of guest palaces along the lake- I’ll have to ask on this one.
3. What will you do for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving was pretty awesome for over here. The dining facility went all out in trying to get us all our favorite foods- the Sweet Potatoes were personally my favorite. But we had Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce…the works! And the best part was that all of it was served to us by either Colonels or Pocahontas! We had to work pretty much the same as we would have any other day, but it was a nice break all the same.

4. Have you ever been in a combat situation? Does the Army still keep women out of combat situations if they can?
No I have never been directly shot at, and yes, the Army, to a certain extent, keeps women out of positions that are part of the combat arms units. We can’t be in Infantry, Combat Engineers or Armor(tanks) battalions or lower.

5. Do you enjoy being there?
For me, it is not horrible being over here. The most difficult part is being separated from family and friends, and not being able to travel. Otherwise, I’ve got a gym, three pretty sweet meals a day, libraries of free books at my disposal 24-7, and I get to sleep on a mattress. You can’t ask for much more.

6. Are you still allowed to use water boarding as an interrogation technique?
That is complete and total no- and if you hear about anyone doing it, run for the hills. Haha! Interrogation techniques are extremely monitored by the leadership levels that the Army terms “echelons above God,” and do not involve any torture techniques at all. Interrogators are continually monitored and evaluated with spot checks from all different levels of command.

7. What are the limits to interrogating prisoners? How do you know that your soldiers aren’t breaking any of the rules of interrogation?
There are a tremendous amount of limits, so I think it would probably be easier to tell you what we can do, as opposed to what we can’t. We can talk to a detainee using some special techniques, and we can use prison incentives (cigarettes, extra blankets, special food) to get them to talk to us. That unfortunately encompasses the majority of our abilities. The random spot checks keep them honest, as well as video monitoring, and Military Police and medical personnel oversight.
8. Do your soldiers go under cover or use disguises to gather information?
I have some guys that are allowed to, but the majority of them have not. There are three levels of what is called Military Source Operations. Most of my soldiers are certified up to level II, which allows them to run sources on the ground, and to “go sterile” which means they walk around with no rank or nametape. About five of my soldiers have received extra training that allow the to conduct level III, which basically allows them to be a little more James Bond-like and go out disguised.

9. Are there American fast food restaurants off the base?
I very highly doubt it. Baghdad has been a horrible place to live for the past few years, and it is considered a huge victory that kids are back out in the street playing soccer. Maybe some day in the distance future, but there are still a lot of people around here that do not like American Forces in their country, and would not hesitate to destroy something like and American Fast Food restaurant the minute it went up.

10. Are there special operations units in Iraq?
There are quite a few, both Iraqi and American. They are the cool kids that run around on the base with the civilian clothes and the long hair. That is another organization that women cannot join in the traditional sense (they can at times be support personnel for these guys). They are separated into task forces that have a different targeting process than conventional forces, and operate pretty much autonomously throughout the battlespace.

11. Can soldiers drink alcohol or smoke on the base?
General Order #1 prohibits all consumption of alcohol. The Dining facility does provide “near beer” though, which is a drink that tastes like beer but that has no alcohol in it. The Brits however are allowed to drink, and have a bar right down the road on post. Smoking is not prohibited anywhere.

12. Are there curfews for soldiers there if you are off duty? Can you go off base in your free time? If you can, what entertainment is available?
Going off base is not something that anyone particularly wants to do, because it means that you will be going into neighborhoods that do not like you simply because you are an American and are in their country, and chances that you will get shot at are at times, pretty good. There are not any curfews, which is awesome, and there are a bunch of entertainment opportunities around the post. Tomorrow, Carlos Mencia will be at the PX!

13. How many pull ups can you do?
To be perfectly honest, I am completely and totally unable to do a pull up. I have never been able to, no matter how much I practice- so I just decide to kick everyone’s behind at pushups…haha

14. If you go off base, what type of gear do you have to wear and/or carry with you?
90lbs worth of body armor, helmet, weapon, ammunition, and water is the most basic stuff that you will go outside the wire with. Sometimes it feels like you’re a huge marshmallow.

15. What’s YOUR view of the war in Iraq? Do you like President Bush’s philosophies?
My view on the war in Iraq is that I’m here, and that while I am here I will do whatever I can do to make sure that the guys around me are able to come home, and that they have a few smiles along the way. Politics don’t really play into my reality all that much, because either way, I will still be here with my soldiers. Iraq is not a stable country. They are trying to stand on their own two feet, and return to a time when they don’t have to worry about getting caught in a fight every day, but it will take time.

16. Who do you think will win the 08 election? Do you think the US is ready for a female president? Who is your favorite candidate at this point?
I want to be the first female president- so no! And I am embarrassed to say that I couldn’t even tell you who is full fledged running anymore- the only station that is ever on the television in the gym is the sports channel, and most of the reading I do lately is on bad guys.

17. Which holiday traditions will you miss the most?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

18. What is you least favorite part about being a soldier?
Property Accountability…completely and totally. It probably sounds like a really lame answer, and I will tell you that it is, but I hate it. That and physical fitness tests.

19. Can you speak any language other than English?
I am conversational in Spanish.

20. Have you been off base shopping yet?
No, and I think it will be a very long time before I ever do, if I ever do

Next set of answers--Check them out!

1. In boot camp were you yelled at a lot by your superiors?

I did not have to go to boot camp. I did ROTC which basically teaches you the same things they teach brand new Privates over the course of four years. We did however, have to go to a camp to get evaluated our Junior year of college. There was no shortage of yelling there.

2. How do you get promotions in the military?

Depending on what rank you are being promoted to, it depend on time in service, or the amount of time you’ve been the current rank that you are, or on certain job requirements. On Thanksgiving I will be promoted to 1LT, and due to our operational tempo being a deployed Army, it is pretty much now a time thing. However, in 18 months when I come up for promotion to Captain, a packet with basically my resume, and some other things will go in front of a board and they have to pick who makes promotion and who doesn’t.

3. Have you made any friends there? Do you have certain people that you hang out with? Can you hang out with your soldiers or are you required to remain separate? Have you made any Iraqi friends?


I would love to hang out with my soldiers, but they unfortunately all left me over the past few days to join their Infantry or Armor(Tanks) battalions so that they can support them collecting intelligence. Everyone that I’m here with now I’m also stationed with back at Ft. Campbell, KY so most of my friends from that part of my life are here now. I was able to make some friends with the people that are going home over the next week (the unit we’re replacing), but they’re all excited about getting home for Christmas and Thanksgiving and have already started buying Christmas presents so are a little more occupied over the past few days. And all the local nationals (people that work on the base that aren’t American) are very friendly and I enjoy talking with them on occasion. Only problem is that I spend about 17 hours a day in a classified facility so not too many non-US soldiers enter my world- wow I sound like a dork.

4. What’s the consequence for leaking classified information?

Plain and simple, I can go to jail. Depending on how you leak the information, whether its through loss of communications equipment (will shut down the entire base and cease all movement until it is found) or actually handing it over to someone, bit consequences.

5. What is the biggest gun that you have fired?

.50caliber machine gun. They are the ones mounted on the top of HMMWV’s

6. Do you have to train every day? Is there a required physical fitness routine that you have to do?

Yes and no. Back at home we would have to do physical fitness every day as a group. Now it is required that we do as much as we can, when we can. I feel like a slob right now because its been about three days since I’ve had time to work out. In terms of other training, we continue to try to get better at we do even though we do a lot of the tasks a lot more frequently now. Last night we had Gunner and TC (literally means Tank Commander, but means the dude that sits in the right front seat of a humvee) and we’ve had driving under Night Vision Goggles Training and other fun stuff.

7. How many pushups can you do?

74 in 2 minutes was what I scored on my last physical fitness test.

8. How often do you have to do target practice?

We did it right before we left Kuwait. In Baghdad there is not an abundance of open land that we can use to set up ranges, but I hear rumors that we’re going to get one in January.


9. Do you have a vehicle at your disposal or do you walk every place?

I walk to work every day, but it’s pretty much a 10 minute walk. Each team of soldiers that I have (3 people per team) have their own vehicle. They all have the uparmored humvees.

10. Have you ridden in a helicopter since you have been there?

Yes, and it was one of the craziest experiences I’ve had. You have to fly Nap of the Earth which means as low as you can go to avoid anybody trying to take effective fire at you, shoot off flares to throw off heat seeking rounds, and generally just fly all over the place- it was nuts.

11. Have you seen any large spiders or other critters that might be scary? How do they keep them out of the tents?

No spiders…lots of ants. My entire room is taped with the equivalent of duct tape to keep them out.

12. Is it hard for you to get respect from male soldiers because you are a female?

I would actually argue for me that it is much easier to get respect from the male soldiers because I am a female. I go out there and kick their behinds on PT tests and then for some reason they like to listen to me. In the Army, at my level- it is more about getting the job done. Either you can or you can’t.

13. Given that you seem to have little time to sleep and there are noises all around you, are you tired all the time?

I pretty much do three things a day at this point, eat, sleep and work and two of those things occur at my desk. But I’m not too tired lately.

14. What is the highest ranked person you have met?

In my career, a 4 Star General, General Schoomaker (or however you spell it). Here a Full Colonel, and they are some pretty awesome guys.

15. Does the fine sand get into everything there? Is it a pain?

Yes, especially the small little parts of your weapon- it is not very enjoyable.

16. Are you a Patriots fan?

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!!!! Does that answer your question…who cares that they’re having an off decade- We’ll be like the Patriots soon.

17. Have you been to any of Saddam’s palaces?

I have not been in any of them yet, but will soon because a variety of headquarters are placed in them. And come to think of it, the British officers club…

18. Will you, in your job, be out among the Iraqi people? How do you collect information from them? How do you know what is true and what isn’t?

Part of my job will take me to work directly with the Iraqi’s, however right now my primary jobs are to analyze the information my soldiers gather from the Iraqi’s, and to manage detainee operations and biometrics for the brigade. My guys however, basically either get walk ins, or literally go out into the streets and find people that are willing to provide information. They report on everything from local happenings, to weapons cache locations, to suspected big name insurgents. They have an amazing responsibility and effect a lot of the things we do on the battlefield.

19. Can you wear jewelry with you uniform?

Nope- just the Air Force can. I sneak in a necklace that my Dad gave me when I graduated college though with all the birthstones of my family.

Lt. Kennedy's Answers

These questions were compiled from all of eighth grade.

1. What kind of food do they serve in the cafeteria?
I honestly have to say the food is almost better here than it was in my university dining hall, and I don’t even have to pay for it! Every night there is the main meal and a short order line where you can get burgers and fries and things. But in addition to that there are sandwich bars, pizza bars, stir fry bars, and my personal favorite, the curry bar, based on the night. There are coolers full of Gatorade and other drinks that you can take as many as you want for the day.

2. When you go out do you have to carry a weapon?
Yes. Every soldier is required to carry some form of a firearm at all times except when you are going conduct physical fitness, to take a shower or use the restroom. This is one to ensure the soldier maintains accountability for the weapon, as well as for protection reasons. Some carry M4’s, others M16’s and others carry handguns.

3. What do you miss about Maine other than your family?
Dairy Corner chocolate dipped soft serve ice cream. I might even miss the ice cream more than my family…but don’t tell them I said that. (Just kidding Mom)

4. What’s living like for soldiers who don’t get an air conditioned trailer? Do you have the trailer all to yourself?
I got very lucky and happen to be on a larger base that has been here for quite a while so I get to live in a trailer. I do have a roommate who is another Lieutenant that works in the same intelligence shop that I do. Due to the surge of soldiers into Baghdad this past summer, there are a lot of soldiers that are currently living in air conditioned tents. They are surrounded by cement barriers to provide them with added security, but they are generally regular tents with hard standing floors that can fit up to 30 people. I believe they have regular mattresses, but they may sleep on regular green army cots. Other soldiers are located on what are called JCOP’s (Joint Company Outposts I believe is what that stands for), that are located in downtown Baghdad. These are much much smaller bases, and usually are basically fortified ex-police stations or the like. It is very difficult to live in these areas and it is usually done on a rotational basis, with soldiers staying at the JCOP for a few days and then coming back to the larger bases for a few days.

5. What do you do in your spare time?
In the week and a half that I have been here, I have played football, read a few books, and watched some movies that people brought from home. I just watched Chuck and Larry with some of my soldiers-

6. What is your daily routine like?
Right now I’m not in a fully established routine as we are still completing the handover process with the unit that has be in this area for the past 15 months. Usually I’ve been waking up about 6AM, doing physical fitness and then I go to work about 0830 and work until about 8PM doing research on my area and the major groups operating within it, and setting up my soldiers for the time when they go to work for the front line units in a few weeks.

7. Do you get to watch the World Series? Go Red Sox! Do you like the Red Sox?
I got to watch a few innings on the tv’s in the gym and dining facility in the morning (we are 8 hours ahead of you guys). The good sport in me has to say, “good game Boston”- however I am a New York Yankee’s fan and this post season just did not get my stamp of approval. The good news is that we are now tied again for first place, so game on!

8. How do you do routine things like getting clothes washed?
Things are quite different here in terms of taking showers, washing clothes, etc. There are only two authorized uniforms here, one is our physical fitness uniform and the other is our regular Army Combat Uniform (or ACU’s- our new camouflage)- so even if I go to get into bed in the great pair of civilian shorts that I stole from my little brother before I left, I have to change so that I can go to the trailer with the showers and toilets. The only way to get laundry done is to give it to the laundry service. We turn in our laundry bags to a place near our dining facility, and 72 hours later they come back. They even fold my underwear. Please pass that fact on to my mother, because I know she never did that for me as a kid!

9. What’s the weather like?
It’s been pretty warm here, in the 80’s and 90’s. It is a desert climate however, and at night it gets pretty chilly so that when we get up in the morning it is pretty nice to do PT and hang out outside. It honestly is pretty comparable to what I experienced in Arizona last year. Kuwait on the other hand was extremely hot and at times very humid. Kuwait is like the movies you see set in the deserts- blinding white sand, camels running all over the place, etc.

10. How long will you be there?
I will be here for 15 months and am scheduled to come home in February of 2009.

11. What is the one thing that you like the least there? Is there anything that you like there?
There isn’t anything here yet that has really gotten me to dislike it. I have to say that the food is better here, and having the shower trailer and work so close to where I’m living allows me to sleep a lot more than I could in Kentucky- go figure.

12. How long did it take to get there? What forms of transportation did you use?
We left the United States at about 1PM central time on Monday, and arrived in Kuwait at 7PM on Tuesday. So a total of 22 hours. We flew in a commercial jet from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky and made stops in Iceland and Germany before arriving in Kuwait. We then were bussed around in Kuwait until it was time to leave for Iraq. My flight to Baghdad was on a C-130 aircraft that is operated by the Air Force (they are the big military planes). Landing in a C-130 in a combat zone is quite an experience with the evasive maneuvers they are required to use on each trip in and out of Baghdad. Think a medium level roller coaster.

13. How much free time do you have?
Right now, more than I probably will for the rest of the deployment.

14. What is life like for the average Iraqi?
Militant and criminal activity is at an all time low in our area due to a variety of reasons, and it seems as life seems to be coming back to the Iraqi people in the area. They are able to freely walk the streets, and are making concerted efforts to redevelop their neighborhoods economically and socially. That being said, the lives they lead are extremely different than those that we lead in the United States as they do live in an active war zone.

15. What are schools like there?
That is a good question and I’ll try to find out more about it.

16. Is there a gym there to work out in?
We actually have two gyms in walking distance as working out is one of the soldiers favorite past times.

17. Are dogs used to sniff bombs or in any other capacity?
There are dogs that are hear that work both with our explosive teams, as well as with our Military Police.

18. What exactly is your job?
I am the HUMINT(Human Intelligence) Platoon Leader. I am in charge of 17 guys that conduct interrogations in our detention facility, and source operations (basically going out on the streets of Baghdad and meeting people that want to become informants). I will be managing their actions and also conducting analysis on the intelligence the collect as my primary military job is general intelligence analysis.

19. Are there a lot of combat noises around?
Blackhawk helicopters fly so close to the ground that it shakes my bed, random police sirens go off at times, and there have been a few mortar and rocket attacks on other parts of the complex. It’s a pretty good thing that I’m a deep sleeper.

20. Do you participate in any “fun” sporting events on base?
I played football this morning- I was the quarterback, but we’re not going to talk about who won or lost. They also have some volleyball courts around the base, and sponsor runs that coincide with some of the more famous marathons and 10K’s in the United States.

21. What is the biggest change you have encountered?
Honestly, things are not that shockingly different yet. I am, however, in a relatively secure location and have not formally started my job yet or “gone outside the wire.” Ask me this again in about a month and I’ll probably have a pretty good answer for you.

22. As a female have you had to change your attire when you are in public areas?
Other than wearing a uniform at all times with correct eye protection, no. Even when women operate amongst the Iraqi people, they have come to accept that our women have different standards than their own and gain legitimacy in their actions because they are an American soldier instead of being rejected because they are women. Female interpreters have been known to cover their heads in keeping with their Muslim faith. I would venture a guess that many of these women do not come from Iraq, or are American-Iraqi’s.

23. What is the most high tech piece of equipment that you have used?
Haha…I could tell you but then I would have to kill you. The lame answer is that the new up-armored hmmwv’s are pretty cool, as are some of the magnifying optics that you can put on your M4. Working with intelligence just gives you the ability to play with some very cool toys.

24. Do you spend all of your time on base?
As of right now, yes.

25. What are the ages of people that you work with? Where are they from?
Age 18 to about 50. I have soldiers from Louisiana, Cleveland, Buffalo, Vermont, California, Tennessee, and a whole bunch of other places. I, unfortunately, am the only one from the great State of Maine.

Remember when Lt. Kennedy spoke to us at the beginning of the year? Well she is now in Iraq and here is an email that she sent to Mrs. Kennedy, her mom. After you read this, what are some questions you have of her? I plan on taking your questions and sending them to her.


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Hey mom-

I just got internet in my room- yeah I know- living the rough life. i have not located a phone yet in my area that will let me call you for less than 50 dollars a minute, but I'm still working on it. Just started working with my counterpart from the unit that we are replacing, trying to figure out all the final plans before my soldiers get up here. I was really flattered today because one of my newer soldiers wants me to reenlist him when he comes up- pretty cool.

I have to say- its pretty surreal being here- its kind of like i"m in a documentary- it seems as if the army has happened to send me to be in the nicest place they could in Iraq. Can you say 15mins away from Saddam's Palace complex, living in a trailer with an air conditioner and internet access and a dining facility in which I was able to get curry for dinner? And I haven't even headed up to division headquarters yet- haha. This is the best army living I've ever had- I mean there are obvious signs of war around, and it is definitely not anywhere, U.S.A. I stood on a hill overlooking the entire city of baghdad yesterday- everything looked so peaceful on first glance...and
then you look a little closer and see some fires burning and hear some
gunfire- drive by gorgeous palaces that look like they should be amongst those you'd see in europe where you'd pay 20 bucks for admission, and then you look closer and see the soldiers standing out front on guard, all the windows covered by sandbags like you would have seen in a world war II film. They have a PX and stuff- I haven't gone to it yet because its a two mile walk away, I don't really need anything, and I hear the lines are ridiculous. But the experience so far has been completely and totally eye opening, with only promises of it getting more so. I hope I;ll be able to explain it with justice.

I did just get a new address but I have to verify one part- I'll send it to you once I have it completely down.

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Favorite Movie/Favorite Book

I would say my favorite movie is "Ice Age". My favorite book would be "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown. What are your favorites?

Mr. Hand