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13 Sep 2009
In Tallil and Grandmother’s Birthday
I’ve now relocated to Tallil, Iraq, with the Brigade Headquarters. My new job for the next month and a half is to help prepare the way for the next phase of this operation, continuing to advise and assist the Iraqi people while concurrently shrinking US forces. This job will largely be borne by our replacements, the 36th Sustainment Brigade, another National Guard unit out of Ft. Hood, Texas.

Speaking of Texas, my grandmother celebrated her 95th birthday in Abilene, Texas! She is a wonderful woman who has accomplished much, including exhaustive documentation on our family ancestry, publishing two books. Most of her friends and family were there to share in the celebration, including my brother Charles and his wife, Mary Kate . For my part, the 287th Sustainment Brigade was nice enough to fly a U.S. Flag in her honor, with a certificate signed by the Brigade Commander. That’s me under the flag pole: Happy Birthday, Grandmother Mary!
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  12:23 | permalink | trackbacks [4018]



11 Sep 2009
Three New, Great Facilities
COB Basra is creating a couple of great things for soldiers and Iraq: first, there’s the Basra Bazaar. The intent is to give soldiers access to local vendors and local vendors access to soldiers! The 34th Infantry Division “Red Bull Report” recently highlighted the new Bazaar in Basra.

The second new thing for soldiers is the growing presence of the USO. The USO opened in July with free phones and Internet PCs, and will soon be expanding to become the largest USO in Southwest Asia! The staff and facilities are fantastic, and I’m sure this alone will put Basra on the map of great COBs in Southwest Asia.

But wait, there’s more! Basra’s big PX is scheduled to open later this month. It promises to be the largest square footage PX in Southwest Asia. By adapting one of the old dining facilities into a military exchange, it will offer not just military retail space, but also shops like a frame shop, Barber, calling center, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and a Green Bean coffee shop. So we’ve come a long way, Basra! From the barely trailer-sized British PX to these three new facilities, there are plenty of opportunities to dispose of your income!
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  04:43 | permalink | trackbacks [3102]



9 Sep 2009
Band o' Bros at Holy Joe's
Desert Ministry: Here in the sands of Basra, Iraq, several members of the 34th Infantry Division have started a “Men’s Bible Study” – but on steroids. We read the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, and meet early Sunday morning to share our experiences and journey into our hearts. The theme is that men are genetically different, created differently by God, for a unique purpose. Common to each man’s purpose are three principles: Man wants a Battle to Fight, an Adventure to Live, and a Beauty to Rescue. We explore these principles and dig further: what wounds are we carrying? How perhaps were we denied validation as young men, what vow did we make to overcome that wound, and how has that wound and vow impacted our adult lives? Through sharing our journey, within a bond of confidentiality and the shared circumstances of war, we have built enduring friendships, explored our hearts, and struggled to piece together how this can make us better husbands and fathers. Our leader is Dr. (LTC) Dave Ronan, and he has done this before. In fact, I was pleased to learn that the Band of Brothers book and accompanying video series is very popular in deployed environments: Kosovo, Afghanistan, as well as previous Iraq deployments.

For me, I mentally weave this with an Army training program: Warrior Resiliency and Thriving. This is a mandatory sequence of training for soldiers after they have BOG (boots on the ground) for a few months. It challenges soldiers to look at their circumstances, the war around them, the stress of combat, and being away from their family. Will your deployment merely be spent counting of the days until you return? Or will you take up the cross, the sword, the opportunities before you to return from deployment a better person? Thus, the thriving: given the stress of what we’re doing, can you rise above it? It’s easier for some than others, and many are in such dangerous circumstances that survival alone is all there’s time for. But by challenging our soldiers to thrive, with a healthy level of stress, they return better people, better leaders, and better adjusted to the stress of combat. And isn’t that why we joined the military? To serve our country and be a better person.


Pictured above at Holy Joe's, L to R, are Commander Joe Dodd, LTC Henry Bass, LTC Dave Ronan, CH (1LT) Mike Lotzer, LTC Eric Andringa, MAJ Mike Feeney, and LTC Travis Voels. Not pictured: MAJ Chris Larson, who is enjoying leave this week.
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  13:13 | permalink | trackbacks [214]



14 Aug 2009
Internet Available in Basra living areas
After 9 months in Basra, I finally have my own Internet connection! The COB has awarded an Iraqi-based company, Al Dalham, with a contract for wireless and wired Internet service. They have several bandwidth options, but the common plan seems to be 128K for $70/month.
Several visits to their office, and lots of trying to connect, revealed there was just too much spectrum interference for me to use wifi. So the manager dispatched these two young men, who quickly set up a receiver, spliced the Cat V cable, and configured my IP addresses to have a wired connection.
I was impressed. But for my readers that are headed to Basra, be patient! It took about 2 weeks of me working with the Al Dalham team, showing them my problems, and patiently returning time after time.
They're on a learning curve, but I'll say this: they're learning fast. I expect it's already twice as good as when I bought in two weeks ago.
There was some give and take, too. I helped proof-read some of their marketing material, and I escorted one of their technicians out to the antenna that was giving me trouble.
So in the big picture, how does this mirror the growth and progress in Iraq? Very well, I think.
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ACI , Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  04:30 | permalink | trackbacks [1283]



29 Jul 2009
Happy Anniversary, Lisa!
Today marks our 20th Anniversary. Lisa and I are enjoying a fantastic marriage, but certainly this deployment will be an interruption we won't forget.

On our 10th anniversary, Ethan was just 5 months old, so we mutually decided to postpone a celebration vacation until our 11th anniversary! So now on our 20th, the decision to postpone a vacation has been made for us.

There were two small things I could do to celebrate my wonderful bride. In Christiansburg, I rented the local flower shop's sign:

I sent her flowers, too, but I couldn't hang those on the sign!

In Basra, I made coordination back in June to fly my own US Flag over the Division Headquarters in honor of the occasion. They have a program for this, and Major General Nash provided a very nice certificate recognizing our anniversary. I coordinated to be the one to hoist it, so my day started at 7am, raising this flag over the 34th Division Headquarters, Coalition Operating Base Basra.

Notice I'm squinting: the sun's up at 4:30am, so by 7am, it's not only bright, but hot!

So, to Lisa,
It has been the best 20 years a guy good hope for- and more. It still feels like the beginning of our marriage, because there's so much more ahead of us. I love you deeply. and I owe you one heck of a great vacation! How about we go someplace with lots of water?
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  05:02 | permalink | trackbacks [387]





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