Iraq Deployment Log - MyFishTank.Net Freshwater Saltwater Aquarium Fish Forum

Cichlid-Man · 08-28-2009, 02:43 PM

This is a blog of sorts, to keep my good fish friends informed of my activities and whats going on in places that these great hobbies fail to reach. It will include stories, experiences, and pictures.

I decided to wait until i actually got to my destination to start this. So the first few days will be in one post. Enjoy, hopefully some of you enjoy it and maybe it will give you a different perspective on things that go on over there then the bad news the media brings.

Day 1, August 25th 2009
We started out in Camp Lejeune NC with a goodbye to our loved ones and onto a bus to the air station in the area. Our flight is somewhere around 2ish of the same day. After waiting close to 2-3 hours we board the plane bound for Bangor Maine, out of no where the plane springs a hydrolic leak of some kind so we divert to Baltimore MD where we wait for the leak to get fixed. During that time, the plane's electronic systems suffer a mass failure. Keep in mind all of this is going on while we wait on the plane for the quick fix. The quick fix turns in 6 hours inside of the aircraft on the tarmac, that then turns into an overnight stay in Baltimore. We finally get to our hotel rooms at 2am. What a day.

Day 2, Aug 26th 2009
We wake up hoping for a better day and PRAYING they got us a new aircraft. We arrived at the airport around 8am to find out its the same plane and the flight doesn't leave until about 1pm. We sleep to pass time. Once we finally board and are pushed back from the gate, the captian comes over and says theres another problem but doesn't specify and that the mechanic on board is looking at it. Wow. Now i think i need to change my pants if we are flying this across the Atlantic. We finally start rolling and i'm freaking out. Well, we made it but it was nerve racking. Instead of landing in Maine we just went straight to Leipzig Germany. This is when i lost track of days and times...moving ahead 6, 7, or 8 hours is not easy. Germany was awesome, i'd love to come back and travel as a civilian here.

Day 3, Aug 27th 2009
I guess we were in Germany during this time. After a brief stop over there and a little time to relax we headed off to Kuwait....in the same plane. Germany was at a VERY nice 65 degrees F on this day and it felt amazing. It was a 4 hour flight from Germany to Kuwait and not to bad, went by fast. Kuwait looks like it looks on TV/Movies...barren desert wasteland. We flew into Kuwait City and i was surprised to see the metropolis there. First impressions of Kuwait were not good however. 1 step off of the plane and you get smacked in the face by 120+ degree temperatures, blowing dust, as well as sand. Its rough out there. There is trash everywhere in Kuwait, the roadsides are littered. And other then a few in Kuwait City, the outskirts seemed to be covered with nomadic type people and very unwealthy. Dead sheep were common sights along the roadside. We stayed here for only a night thankfully.

Day 4, Aug 28th 2009
It brings us to today. We wake up bright and early and get ready for a flight out of Kuwait to Iraq at 10-11am. Everything goes smoothly and there was nothing much going on. We fly out to Iraq and arrive an hour later via a nice "combat landing" in a C-17. A combat landing is a controlled crash. Come in fast and hard. That was probably the most exciting thing of the day. Iraq looks MUCH like Kuwait except not as many shrubs, trees, or bushes. The temperature in Iraq felt great compared to Kuwait. First day in Iraq is down in the books, didn't do much just getting settled in. More to come, and here are some pictures.

Will post more when i can and more photos when i get them.

pigpen · 08-29-2009, 12:58 AM

awesome to see the pictures. i did 6 months in kandahar afghanistan.it was a good time and i miss it alot.

Orion · 08-29-2009, 01:08 PM

Dude if that stuff was legal here I would so have you bring me back a bottle

Glad to hear your somewhat settled in after an interesting start. Last time I went to Dallas the flight back was delayed due to hydrolic 'issues'. I was nervous when we took off in the same plane. I called my wife while we were waiting and said one of the wings fell off and they were duct taping it back on, and didn't know she took me serious till I landed. She didn't have very nice things to say to me.

God Speed.

Cichlid-Man · 09-11-2009, 12:38 AM

Still not much happening. I guess that can be a good thing. But nothing happening during a 12 hour night shift can get really really boring. Had a few sandstorms so the Helicopters couldn't fly but usually are decently busy during half of night shift.

Few more pics. We work with 2 Air Force guys so we put this up as a joke to them.

We get to see every sunrise and sunset on night shift. Here are a few of those.

And here is my M16, always have at least 28 rounds on me at all times.

ram man · 09-12-2009, 02:03 PM

The Absinth is beautiful matt

Quote:

120+ degree temperatures

come to az sometime in august, you would love it same idea.

I was watching jarhead and it reminded me of you so I thought I'd see if you posted anything about your stay there. Have fun dude, and be safe.

Cichlid-Man · 09-17-2009, 01:27 AM

I don't want to fuel the hype but the rumor mill keeps blowing something about us being home by December.

Which makes sense with the pullout plan and what we've been told by the Army but who knows....its still rumors at this point. Would be nice, but would cut me out of some nice money hehe. Oh well, we shall see.

Having some big dust storms lately, makes for boring days as it grounds most of the rotary wing aircraft, which means i'm also out of work for the day. Also starting to see all the critters come out, its getting cooler here now so they are venturing out. Found a couple scorpions the other night, wish i could of gotten pictures of them, and also a camel spider.

Lol Alex. Arizona is dry air. Kuwait is surprisingly quite humid. Here have a Coke, Sprite "Light", or Pepsi on me.

This is how we keep sane, and how we spread some cheer to the pilots on night shift. They seem to enjoy it. You can't help but smile when you see this.

tom91970 · 09-22-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cichlid-Man

What's the range on these? Are they semi- or fully automatic?

They need some water balloons (aka "grenades").

KyleBradley · 09-22-2009, 01:29 PM

Awesome thread.. The waterguns is funny as hell!

f8fan · 09-22-2009, 06:14 PM

Nice thread! If you do happen to go home in December, and your flight plan is the opposite (bringing you into Bangor Maine International) you better let me know cos I'll meet you at the airport if you have any layover time!

Can't wait to read more, and to see your awesome photography

Stay safe Matt.

YahooFishKeeper · 11-02-2009, 04:40 PM

since the dont ask dont tell policy is up are you a little more wary in the showers?

in all seriousness though, dont get shot. it would suck a lot.

08-28-2009, 02:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cichlid-Man MFT Staff Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 8,799	Iraq Deployment Log This is a blog of sorts, to keep my good fish friends informed of my activities and whats going on in places that these great hobbies fail to reach. It will include stories, experiences, and pictures. I decided to wait until i actually got to my destination to start this. So the first few days will be in one post. Enjoy, hopefully some of you enjoy it and maybe it will give you a different perspective on things that go on over there then the bad news the media brings. Day 1, August 25th 2009 We started out in Camp Lejeune NC with a goodbye to our loved ones and onto a bus to the air station in the area. Our flight is somewhere around 2ish of the same day. After waiting close to 2-3 hours we board the plane bound for Bangor Maine, out of no where the plane springs a hydrolic leak of some kind so we divert to Baltimore MD where we wait for the leak to get fixed. During that time, the plane's electronic systems suffer a mass failure. Keep in mind all of this is going on while we wait on the plane for the quick fix. The quick fix turns in 6 hours inside of the aircraft on the tarmac, that then turns into an overnight stay in Baltimore. We finally get to our hotel rooms at 2am. What a day. Day 2, Aug 26th 2009 We wake up hoping for a better day and PRAYING they got us a new aircraft. We arrived at the airport around 8am to find out its the same plane and the flight doesn't leave until about 1pm. We sleep to pass time. Once we finally board and are pushed back from the gate, the captian comes over and says theres another problem but doesn't specify and that the mechanic on board is looking at it. Wow. Now i think i need to change my pants if we are flying this across the Atlantic. We finally start rolling and i'm freaking out. Well, we made it but it was nerve racking. Instead of landing in Maine we just went straight to Leipzig Germany. This is when i lost track of days and times...moving ahead 6, 7, or 8 hours is not easy. Germany was awesome, i'd love to come back and travel as a civilian here. Day 3, Aug 27th 2009 I guess we were in Germany during this time. After a brief stop over there and a little time to relax we headed off to Kuwait....in the same plane. Germany was at a VERY nice 65 degrees F on this day and it felt amazing. It was a 4 hour flight from Germany to Kuwait and not to bad, went by fast. Kuwait looks like it looks on TV/Movies...barren desert wasteland. We flew into Kuwait City and i was surprised to see the metropolis there. First impressions of Kuwait were not good however. 1 step off of the plane and you get smacked in the face by 120+ degree temperatures, blowing dust, as well as sand. Its rough out there. There is trash everywhere in Kuwait, the roadsides are littered. And other then a few in Kuwait City, the outskirts seemed to be covered with nomadic type people and very unwealthy. Dead sheep were common sights along the roadside. We stayed here for only a night thankfully. Day 4, Aug 28th 2009 It brings us to today. We wake up bright and early and get ready for a flight out of Kuwait to Iraq at 10-11am. Everything goes smoothly and there was nothing much going on. We fly out to Iraq and arrive an hour later via a nice "combat landing" in a C-17. A combat landing is a controlled crash. Come in fast and hard. That was probably the most exciting thing of the day. Iraq looks MUCH like Kuwait except not as many shrubs, trees, or bushes. The temperature in Iraq felt great compared to Kuwait. First day in Iraq is down in the books, didn't do much just getting settled in. More to come, and here are some pictures. Will post more when i can and more photos when i get them. __________________

08-29-2009, 12:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
pigpen Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 29	awesome to see the pictures. i did 6 months in kandahar afghanistan.it was a good time and i miss it alot. __________________ 33 gallon fry tank 50 to 60 new additions 133 gallon Bala shark-2 inch 2 ID shark- 3 inch and 2.5 inch Common pleco-4 inch Weather loach-4 inch female sailfin molly 2 tinfoil barbs-2 inches each sun catfish-3 inches Pictus cat

08-29-2009, 01:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
Orion Moderator Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,649	Dude if that stuff was legal here I would so have you bring me back a bottle Glad to hear your somewhat settled in after an interesting start. Last time I went to Dallas the flight back was delayed due to hydrolic 'issues'. I was nervous when we took off in the same plane. I called my wife while we were waiting and said one of the wings fell off and they were duct taping it back on, and didn't know she took me serious till I landed. She didn't have very nice things to say to me. God Speed. __________________ I am Species 5618: Coffee Based life form Join us in the MFT.net chatroom!

09-11-2009, 12:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cichlid-Man MFT Staff Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 8,799	Still not much happening. I guess that can be a good thing. But nothing happening during a 12 hour night shift can get really really boring. Had a few sandstorms so the Helicopters couldn't fly but usually are decently busy during half of night shift. Few more pics. We work with 2 Air Force guys so we put this up as a joke to them. We get to see every sunrise and sunset on night shift. Here are a few of those. And here is my M16, always have at least 28 rounds on me at all times. __________________

09-17-2009, 01:27 AM	#6 (permalink)
Cichlid-Man MFT Staff Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 8,799	I don't want to fuel the hype but the rumor mill keeps blowing something about us being home by December. Which makes sense with the pullout plan and what we've been told by the Army but who knows....its still rumors at this point. Would be nice, but would cut me out of some nice money hehe. Oh well, we shall see. Having some big dust storms lately, makes for boring days as it grounds most of the rotary wing aircraft, which means i'm also out of work for the day. Also starting to see all the critters come out, its getting cooler here now so they are venturing out. Found a couple scorpions the other night, wish i could of gotten pictures of them, and also a camel spider. Lol Alex. Arizona is dry air. Kuwait is surprisingly quite humid. Here have a Coke, Sprite "Light", or Pepsi on me. This is how we keep sane, and how we spread some cheer to the pilots on night shift. They seem to enjoy it. You can't help but smile when you see this. __________________

09-22-2009, 01:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
KyleBradley Little Fish Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 143	Awesome thread.. The waterguns is funny as hell! __________________ 20-gallon hex 37-gallon High-top http://winchenchronicles.proboards.c...lay&thread=732

09-22-2009, 06:14 PM	#9 (permalink)
f8fan MFT Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangor, Maine Posts: 1,761	Nice thread! If you do happen to go home in December, and your flight plan is the opposite (bringing you into Bangor Maine International) you better let me know cos I'll meet you at the airport if you have any layover time! Can't wait to read more, and to see your awesome photography Stay safe Matt. __________________ Kelly 2009 MFT Picture Of The Month Contest! Vote for MFT every day - click here! Please spay or neuter your pet!

11-02-2009, 04:40 PM	#10 (permalink)
YahooFishKeeper Super Fish Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: A little town outside Kansas City, Kansas Posts: 2,177	since the dont ask dont tell policy is up are you a little more wary in the showers? in all seriousness though, dont get shot. it would suck a lot.