See the world's largest Persian carpet...check

See the world's largest chandelier...check.

Hello All,

Made some progress on my "things to see before I die" bucket list by seeing the world's largest Persian carpet and the world's largest chandelier.  Of note, I check both boxes making only one stop...The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, better known as Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi.

The rug weighs 75,000 lbs, took 1200 weavers almost 2 years to complete, has over 2.2 BILLION hand made knots, and reportedly cost $8.5 million.  Size?  60,546 sq ft.  This carpet is bigger then a football field which measures 57,600 sq ft (including end zones).  Pretty impressive.

The claim of the world's largest chandelier could not be verified using the internet but...measures over 33 feet in diameter and 45 feet in height.  It appears to be the "third largest chandelier" in the world.  It too was impressive but "see the world's third largest chandelier" is not on my list.

Turns out that the world's largest chandelier is in Doha, Qatar and measures 41 feet wide and 19 feet tall.  Don't have any trips to Doha on the calendar but people from the command go there on a fairly regular basis.  I'll see if I can jump on one of those trips.

Abu Dhabi was pretty nice and much bigger then Muscat, Oman.  It is a big modern looking city with lots of hussle and bustle.  Abu Dhabi is the location of UAE's central government so there are lots of government agencies located in the city.  They attract a fair number of tourist but I think Dubai has the edge with the vacation seeking types.

The hotel, The Beach Rotana, was very nice and one of two approved by the US embassy.  It was also connected to a 3 story mall.

We met every day at the UAE Armed Forces Officers' Club.  This is a bit misleading because the AFOC is really a very big hotel/conference center complete with gyms, pools, sports fields, pistol range and restaurants.

The best part of the day was lunch.  The cafeteria, if you could call it that, was AWESOME!  It featured an international buffet with soup, salad, and desert bar.  Other stations featured Asian (including sushi), tradition Arab fare, Indian section, and a European section.  All the food was delicious.  I limited myself to small portions but when you sample 20 small portions, you end up pretty full.  I couldn't stop because everything was so good.  I tasted few things I never had before but stuck with the sushi, duck, lamb, and beef for the most part.

I have a funny story about locking myself out on the balcony of my room one morning.  I'll save that for when I see you.

Until then,
Michael

1 trip down, 2 to go.

Hello All,

Returned from my trip to Muscat, Oman, a couple of days ago and now packing for a week long conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Muscat was great.  It was THE cleanest city I have every visited.  The place really sparkled...and I don't use the world "sparkled" often.  It was a very modern looking city and seemed pretty moderate.  It was very different then other cities I have visited in the Middle East.  It is actually some place I would consider going to for a vacation.

Tomorrow, I am off to Abu Dhabi.  I have never been there so I am interested to see what it is all about.    It too is suppose to be very nice.  I will update you when I get back.

Once I return from UAE, I will be in Bahrain for a few days and then flying across the pond to send a couple of weeks back in NC.  I am really looking forward to being home for Christmas!  I know Jodi has a "honey do" list waiting for me but I am not one to sit on a lounge chair reading so that is fine.  She has worked long and hard decorating and I can't wait to see the place.  The kids will have a great Christmas.  We were all apart last year as I was in Djibouti.

That is about it from here.   Today marks the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor...71 years ago.  Pls take a moment to remember the Americans that were killed that day during an unprovoked attack in HI at 12:55 EST.

Michael

Seven days.

Hello All,

Seven days.  That is how many days I am projected to be in Bahrain during the month of December.

The month starts off with a trip to Muscat, the capital city of Oman, for a few days.  I have never been there and those who have, say it is pretty nice.

I will be back in Bahrain for the weekend and then off to Abu Dhabi, UAE.  Abu Dhabi and Dubai are said to be the crown jewels of the Middle East.  Factoid...Dubai is home to the world's largest mall.  It has over 1200 shops and 5.4 MILLION sqft of retail space.  I am not going to Dubai so I will not get to see the world's largest mall.  Too bad since it is on my "places to see before I die" list, much like "see the world's tallest steeple" which I did in 2009.  Well, maybe some other trip will take me to Dubai.

Back to Bahrain after UAE.  Do laundry.  Leave for US for two weeks of R&R.  It will be great to be home for Christmas.  Jodi has been working harder then Santa's elves getting the house decorated and i know it will look great.  Both kids will be with us for the week holiday festivities.  It sure is a great time of year.

Three trips in December equals 2 new stamps in my passport.  Not bad.

The travel doesn't stop in January as I will be off to Cairo again during the later part of the month.  Since I have already been to the Great Pyramids of Giza, I will have to find other old stuff to see.

Not much to report here otherwise.  Things are slowing down a bit as they always during during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.  This happens every year all over the Marine Corps and, I assume, will all the military's branches.  Well, I guess that is ok.  Everyone could use a breather.

Hope all is well in whatever part of the world you find yourselves.

Michael

It's official

x2.

Hello everyone,

Well it's official, x2.

First, Bahrain is the least interesting place I have every spent a significant amount of time in.  The diving sucks and there is really nothing to see.  I struggle to fill the two days a week I have off.  I tend to batten down the hatches Wed-Sun and not venture out much.  If I HAVE to, I will get out on Fri or Sat morning.

The problem with Wed-Sun is that we tend to get a lot of visitors from an adjacent country who treat where I live like a play ground.  The people in question are arrogant with a "me first" attitude.  Muslims from other place then where these people are from say the same thing; that they have a sense of entitlement and that they are better then Arabs from other countries.  It will be tough to grind out another 5 mos here.  I would never come back to the Middle East and don't like it here at all.  I'll just stick to my routine which mostly includes work and a simple after hours life style.

The second thing that is official is that the box of "Cohiba" cigars I bought a couple of months ago are counterfeits.  I had some reservations when I first saw them but a little research tells me that this box of cigars fails on all 15 indicators of authentic Cuban cigars.  Lesson learned (again!), if it seems to good to be true in IS to good to be true.

Well, at least I know that the Cubans I bought in Egypt are the real deal.

Thanksgiving is coming up.  I have an awful lot to be thankful for but will probably spend a quite day by myself in my flat.  I will be thinking of you all!

Cheers,
Michael

Happy 237th!

Hello All,

Time again for the annual trifecta.

Today, 10 Nov, is the birthday of my beloved United States Marine Corps.  237 years ago, the Marine Corps was founded and we promptly started recruiting at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, PA.  I think the signing bonus back then was a free beer.

Here in Bahrain, we had our traditional birthday celebration, the Marine Corps Ball.  As far as MC balls go, it was decent.  A little over priced as always but nice to get together with the gang on a social basis.  I don't have my Dress Blues here so I wore the suit I had made a few months ago.

I think me and Uncle Ed are the only US Marines in the family.  Be sure to tell him "happy birthday".  He will probably pretend he doesn't know what you are talking about but he does and he will appreciate you mentioning it to him.

It is also Veterans' Day weekend.  This is a time when we remember all the veterans out there who made sacrifices (some of them the ultimate sacrifice) so that the rest of society could live under the umbrella of freedom that comes with being an American citizen.

My family has a rich history of military service with members of every generation raising their right hand and swearing to protect and defend the constitution of the United States.  I think everyone of us knows a veteran.  This is the weekend to reach out to them and thank them for their service.

So, to all the vets out there... thank you for all that you have done.  You can probably look back and remember so tough times.  You made it through them and you made a difference.

And the third element of this trifecta week?  My birthday.  Hard to believe that I will be 47.  My generation is now "our parents' age".  Remember when you were a kid and you parents were 40?  It seemed pretty old at the time.  It doesn't feel that old now that I am in my 40s, lol!  Time marches on.

Not much lined up for Nov.   I will be going to Oman at the end of the month.  I have never been there so it will be another new stamp in my passport.

That it for now.  Have a great week.

Michael

So, what's new in Bahrain?

Hell all,

In short, nothing.  So, if you are pressed for time you can stop reading now, LOL!

This was my first week back after my travels to Egypt, so catching up was the main effort for me at work.

It is hard to believe it is Nov already and I have passed the halfway point of my time here.  I can certainly understand why people take the 2 weeks of R&R around their mid-tour window.  I was lucky to be home in Sept but ready for a break.  Well, 7 more weeks or so and I will be home for Christmas.  After that, only 4 months left.

Historically, we are approaching period when things slow down for the those in the military.  We have 2 long weekends in Nov and the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.  Once Thanksgiving is over, everyone has the end of the year holidays in sight.  With so many people taking time off for Chirstmas, it is hard to get much done for those who are in the office during that time.

I don't have any travel planned for Nov but will be in the United Arab Emirates the second week of Dec just before I travel back to the states.  I've never been to the UAE so it will be a new stamp in my passport.

January is also shaping up to be busy with a couple of weeks of travel.  I will head back to Egypt and maybe back to UAE.

After years of my friends pestering me to get a Facebook acct, I created one around the time I left for Bahrain.  I must say, it IS a great way to stay in touch with everyone and have even reconnected with some people I have not heard from in over 25 years.  Thankfully, I don't have any friends who feel compelled to share with everyone that they had an Eskimo Pie for desert or something ridiculous like that.  

Well, like I said...not much to report from here so I suppose I will close before it gets down to me telling you what I had for desert yesterday.

Cheers,
Michael

So, what was Egypt like?

Hello All,

In a single word, great!

It was an easy 3 hour flight (I was upgraded to business class) and we were met at the airport by the transportation company hired to shuttle everyone to the hotel.

I could not believe how crazy traffic on the highways and streets were!  I saw cars triple parked and cars running 5 wide on the three lane highways.  Whatever money that was spent painting lane dividing   dashed lines was wasted.  All and all, think of New York city with twice the number of people on the streets, 4x and many cars, and 8x the chaos.

We stayed at the JW Marriott which is like an upgraded and much nicer Marriott hotel.  It had a resort fell to it with tennis courts, golf course, nice gym, plenty of restaurants, an indoor pool, outdoor pool, wave pool, and kids water park.  Before everyone starts think that this might constitute "fraud, waste, and abuse" of government funds, it was the only place the embassy would authorize us to stay and we got a very reasonable US government rate.  I must say, the security was very, very good with barriers, working dogs, robust security force, metal detectors at the hotel entrance, and x-ray machines for all the bags being brought in.

The conference itself (for Exercise BRIGHT STAR) went smooth and we made a lot of progress with our Egyptian partners as well as representatives from other nations which are going to take part in the exercise.  We were a little short handed because some of the American planners didn't show up.  I was pressed into service as the working group lead for SOF (Special Operations Forces).

The conference ended Tuesday but we were not flying out until Thursday.  It was important to my command that all 5 of us from Bahrain traveled together and that is the earliest we could get 5 seats on the same flight.  It is a big holiday this weekend and a lot of people are traveling (think along the lines of traveling in the US around Christmas) so we had a free day while awaiting travel.

What did we do with this free time?  Went to the pyramids, of course!

We hired a vehicle, driver, and guide for the day, all for the sum of $25.  It was a great deal and I could not believe how inexpensive it was.  When you consider that a doctor here makes $1000 a month, that sum probably seemed reasonable to the tour company.

The first place we toured was the National Museum.  This is the museum downtown where all the best Egyptian artifacts are displayed.  The place looked like it had not been updated since 1950 but they did have a lot of interesting things on display including a whole floor dedicated to items that belonged to King Tut.   The center piece of the museum had to be the mask of King Tut's mummy.  This is the mask you always see in pictures.  It a work or art made out of solid gold and weights 25 lbs.  It dates back to 1323 BC (3500 years old) and is priceless, needless to say.

After our visit to the museum, we were off to the pyramids.  I can tell you that pictures do not do the Pyramids of Giza justice.  They are really something special.  The guide told us that no, aliens did not build the pyramids but it was a very dedicated effort by tens of thousands of works (I don't think they were union guys!).  Can't imagine how many men it would take to move those 3 ton blocks of granite.

We also went inside the biggest pyramid and climbed up a very steep, 3 1/2 foot tall shaft and into the chamber were the mummy of King Kufu was laid to rest.

The final stop was a short distance away to see the world's largest monolithic statue.  It is 260' long and taller then a 6 story building.  It was really something to see in person.

One other interesting thing I saw in Cairo (a very polluted and dirty city) was the headquarter of former president Mubarak, which is right next to the National Museum.  It was interesting because during the revolution in Jan 2012, it was set on fire.  The current government has prohibited it demolition or even cleaning it up.  It is to serve as a reminder of Mubarak's dictatorship and a symbol of the revolution.

 In a nutshell, I was very happy to see Egypt

Hi Ho, Hi Ho....

It's off to Cairo I go.

Hello everyone,

Jodi update:  Jodi continues to a little better everyday.  She tends to over do it at times which the doctor warned against.  She hasn't had any addition complications since her first week when so fluid was accumulating in the area that the tumor occupied.  So, per my post last week, she is out of the woods for the time being.

As for me, pretty busy week at work.  We have a lot of activity planned for the upcoming 6-12 months which means lots of planning going on now.  Things have quieted down a lot in the region so there was no need to cancel my trip to Cairo.

Don't know how much time I will have for sight seeing but the pyramids are less then 30 minutes from the hotel.  It would be a shame to go to Egypt and not see them as I don't fore see vacationing there, much to the dismay of their tourism board.

Speaking of tourism, I was telling Jodi that there are so many great things to see in the US, we should spend our money keeping OUR countries tourism industry move forward.  Jodi wants to see the QE II in Long Beach, CA, and I would like to see Laguna Seca Raceway in norther CA.  Maybe during a race weekend, what do you say, Honey?  Laguna Seca in the vicinity of San Fran where I would also like to spend a weekend.

Of course, one of our first trips will be a long over due journey to see Jodi's grandmother in KY.   Think we probably owe the kids some sort of fun trip what with as much as I have been gone.  This would hardly be "compensation" but it is always nice to take them someplace where they can enjoy the benefits of just being a kid.

That is about all there is to report from here.  By the time I get back from Egypt, I will be at my 6 month mark of my assignment.

Happy birthday to all the US Navy sailors and former sailors out there!  The USN was founded a month before the USMC and this is their birthday weekend (13 Oct).  So, a thanks goes out to my Uncle Tim who served in the USN as a young man, to my Dad who was in the USN Reserves and to my sister Michele who served on active duty.

Until I see you...
Michael

Out of the woods...sort of

Hello All,

It has been a hectic couple of weeks and I am back in Bahrain.

Even though my emergency leave was not approved, I paid for my own ticket to fly half way around the world to be with my wife during a very difficult time.

Jodi had her surgery on Tues, 25 Sept.  Out of all the things that could have went wrong, none of them did.  I was home for the week until last Sat, when her sister-in-law, Sarah, took over as household assistant.

We were happy to hear that the lab results of the tumor were benign.  Another blessing.

However, there were a couple of disappointments.  The radiologist reading the CAT scan missed a couple of tumors and the surgeon said that some of the cells from the tumor spilled onto the healthy surrounding tissue.

What this all means is that Jodi is not out of the woods yet.  It is probable that she will need to have this procedure done again.

We have both learned a lot over the last few months, most of all to cherish life and each other.

Thanks Sarah for coming down and thanks to her husband who rearranged his work schedule (a few times) to make it happen.

Yesterday is gone, let it go.  Plan for tomorrow but there are no guarantees.  You have today...don't waste it.

Kids, thank your parents for the sacrifices they made and tell them you love them.  Parents, tell your kids you are proud of them and tell them you love them.  Husbands/Wives, tell you partner you love them and mean it from the bottom of your heart.  If someone you love has been called home, tell them too...they can still hear you.

See you next week (I hope!)
Michael

3 Continents in 3 Weeks...NOT!

Hello All,

3 continents in 3 weeks was the plan, last week.  As most of you know, I had travel planned to Germany (Europe), Jordan (Asia), and the US (North America).

We have a saying in the military...no plan survives first contact.  That certainly was the case here.

The first leg of my trip went ok as I was off to Garmish, Germany, which is in southern Germany on the Austrian boarder just north of Innsbruck.  As always, traveling sucks.  I hate dealing with customs agents, airport personnel, and long flights.  Thankfully, I had a couple of good books and the in flight entertainment system is free so I watched a few new releases.  Also (thankfully), airlines anywhere outside the US treat you like a human being and not like cattle being loading onto a transport.

Leg two of my trip was to Amman, Jordan.  I was looking forward to spending a day of down time in Munich awaiting my flight to Jordan but was contacted mid-week telling me that all non-essential travel to Jordan was to be cancelled by direction of the Ambassador.

Makes sense I guess...people climbing over the walls of an American embassy and burning the American flag does not instill a lot of confidence (embassies are sovereign US territory by the way so this was an act of war).  I would hate to end up like US Marine LtCol William Higgins who was video taped swinging from the end of a rope in Lebanon, Aug of '89.  History repeats itself with the death of Ambassador Stevens and his security team which included at least 2 former Navy SEALs in Libya.

Marine Fleet Anti-terroism Support Teams (FAST) are being rapidly deployed through out the region and I am keeping a low profile here at my current location.

A storm is coming...you will need more than an umbrella.

The third leg of my trip was to hometown USA so I could be by my wife's side as she undergoes a high   risk surgical procedure.  My "family" didn't see this as much of an emergency, so I will be riding it out here.  Trip cancelled.

I love you, Wife!

Hope all is well in your part of the world,
Michael

BETRAYED!

Hello everyone,

I just found out the the top level decision maker here did not accept the recommendation of our Personnel Officer (who studied the Marine Corps Order on emergency leave) or my boss , as well as the attending surgeon, and decided to not approve my emergency leave.

I can't even begin to tell you how angry I am.  My wife is having surgery to remove a tumor from her neck which may or may not be cancerous and this does not constitute an emergency?  I'll bet things would be different if it were his wife.

Did he speak with me personally?  No.  Did he speak with the command's surgeon?  I don't know but I am confident that he did not.

This is now a family problem and there will be a family solution.  This family does not include the Marine Corps.  We don't need their help nor do we want it.

Turns out that "leave no man behind" and "we take care of our own" are nothing more than catchy phrases that we put on posters.

Additionally, all this talk about "how important" families are and "we couldn't do what we do if it were not the family members back home" are nothing more then talking points for Generals briefing congress.

If anyone at work has the gall to ask me how my wife is doing I think I will probably explode.  They have not earned the right to know anything about my wife and they are asking because they think that have to...not because they really care.

I have spent a fair amount of time around men and women from other branches of the service and I think the Army and Air Force do a better job of taking care of their people.

I am very lucky that we have family and friends who are willing to support us during this difficult time.  Thank you to you all.

Michael

For a second week in a row...

I'm drawing a blank.

Hello Everyone,

You know, I sat down last week to blog and after about 5-8 minutes, I determined that I just didn't have anything to say.

And...for a second week in a row, still don't.

I actually had more materiel to work with in Djibouti and lots more in Germany.

Life is very predictable and boring here.  Every day is pretty much like the last.

We did get some Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) sustainment training last week which was the only thing even remotely noteworthy.  Training was pretty basic stuff but not a bad idea to get a refresher every now and again.

The continued civil way in Syria along with the vast stockpiles of chemical weapons there has the entire region on edge.  Refugees are spilling over the boarder into Jordan and Israelites are being issued chemical protective masks (gas masks).  This is all unclassified, open source information in case you think I am divulging some secret information, by the way.

I have decided to carry my mask with me to and from work so I always have it available.  I will also keep protective outer garments here and at the office.  If I see any explosions and then some odd colored smoke, I don't want to have to drive to work to get my gear.  I don't think I could hold my breath that long anyways, lol.  I think we are suppose to be doing some drills are work.  Should be interesting trying to use a computer key board wearing gloves designed to clean up chemical spills.

After the first week of September, I will be on the road the entire month.  The change of scenery will be welcome.  I think I will even have an extra day in Germany and plan on spending it in Munich.

That's about it from this tiny island off the coast of the Saudi Arabian peninsula.

Cheers,
Michael

33%...

Hello All,

33% represents my completion rate of my current tour.  That's right...been here almost exactly 4 months.  The precise date of my 4 month mark coincidently coincides with the 10 year anniversary of my father's death.

Hard to believe it has been ten years.  My dad was a great man.  Few people can say that they made a difference in the world...he did.  Dad ran his own successful business (yes, he did build that), employed people, raised a family along with my mother, mentored 1000s of young people through the church, served the community, served his country, and made his own plum wine (ok, that didn't change the world but I always thought is was pretty cool).  Turns out, he was a good friend too and I miss him.

So, let's celebrate his life and not his death.

So, 4 months gone, 8 months to go.  August is almost over and September seems like it is over but hasn't even started yet.  I will be off the island almost continuously after the first week of September.  I leave on the 9th for a week long conference in Garmish, Germany, which is about an hour and a half outside of Munich (love that city!).  Straight from Germany, I will travel to the capital of Jordan, Amman, for another week long conference.  After that, back to Bahrain for a couple of days before I fly back to Hometown, USA, to be by my wife's side for her procedure.  I will not be back in Bahrain until the 2nd of Oct, at which point I will be 30 days from the half way mark.

Oh, I thought of a couple of more things I like about Bahrain...playing Texas Holdem' every Friday night and smoking a cigar every morning.  I smoke with the guy I sit next to at work who also enjoys cigars.  It is funny that the 3 months between Djibouti and Bahrain, I didn't smoke any.  Once back in the states, I'm sure I will revert back to one a month.  I just don't have anyone to smoke cigars with back home and it is not something I really do by myself.

Well, not much else going on.  Guess that is a good time to close for the week.

School has started or will start soon (depending on where you live).  Watch out for the kids.

Michael

You seem to complain a lot about Bahrain....

What is there to like?

Hello all,

Yes I do complain about Bahrain a lot.  I looked deep within and came up with a few positive things to say.

1.  Most everyone you encounter out in town speaks English unlike Djibouti and Germany.
2.  The base is very secure and has a modern infrastructure with plenty of services.
3.  Manama (capital of Bahrain where I am) is a modern city with many restaurants and malls.  If you want to spend $5000 on a Kate Spade handbag, you can do that here.  Take that Djibouti.
4.  Gas is cheap at $.25 a gallon.
5.  That is really all I could think of.

Many of you probably still can't get your head around a 1 year assignment and being away from family that long.  Many people I work with are regular active duty Marines and for them, this is a "permanent change of station" or PCS for them.  The active duty types get ship somewhere about every three years.  You may find yourself at Camp Lejeune for 3 years and then moved to the deserts of California.  They don't really have much of a choice where they go....needs of the Marine Corps are the first priority.

Why am I telling you this.  Well, active duty Marines can choose to come here for 2 years and bring their family or they can choose 1 year orders and come here by myself.  Most choose the latter so my situation is no different then many of my peers.

Honestly, if I were active duty and had to make the choice, I would not want my family out here.  Germany...absolutely.  Here...absolutely not.  There is just nothing here.  Its hot, there is no history like in Europe, no cultural things like art museums, no sports like soccer or F1 (they do host an F1 race here but nobody goes to it) and the landscape is pretty barren.  There I go complaining again...

The kids would be miserable here as would Jodi.  Jodi would be much happier tooling around Stuttgart on her Vespa.

The first time I was in Djibouti, I said I never ever wanted to go back.  Well, I did and the second time was a pretty darn good tour.  Bahrain is my new favorite place to never ever want to come back to.

Thankfully, I have a routine throughout the week that keeps me focused and busy.  The time is going fast and the environment that surrounds me is of little consequence.

Until next week...
Michael

What the hell??

Hello All,

So, I was at the small base grocery store this weekend and I needed some fish.  I grabbed a bag of frozen salmon and checked that package to see if it was farm raised or wild caught.  On the back of the package it read: "Alaskan Salmon, wild caught, processed in China."  I thought to myself, "what the hell, we catch salmon in Alaska and send it to China to be cleaned and packaged?"  That just doesn't seem right.  Guess it must be cheaper for the company that processes the fish.  Probably one of those deals that it is work that "Americans don't want to do".

At any rate, I have decided to take a hard look at where the things I buy are made.  I am happy to say that the guns and bourbon I buy are all made in America.  Moving forward, I am going to try to buy American made products.  So, do the economy a favor and buy a gun made by Colt, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, or Winchester.  I will probably stick with the Germans for my autos, though.

We have also received a very, very large shipment of Girl Scout cookies on base.  There are cases of them everywhere for the taking.  If you ever ask the Girl Scout selling cookies if you can just donate money to have cookies sent to US service people, I can tell you that yes you can and they do get shipped out to us.

I also believe that I am cursed.  I cannot sleep past 5:30 AM.  I don't even have to get up until at least 6 AM.  I wish I could sleep in on the weekends but it is just not happening for me.  Probably a combination of the construction of starting around that time and the fact I usually go to bed by 9 PM.  By 5:30, I have already gotten 8 1/2 hours of sleep.

Work is going well and my new job keeps me busy the whole day.  I was a little under tasked with my last billet which made for some long, so what empty days.  I am also taking Arabic language classes on Tues and Thurs during lunch.  Will probably lean enough to say a few friendly phrases.  I have never been good at learning new languages and this is one of the hardest ones out there.

Lots of talk about Syria and Iran in these parts.  This region of the world has long been a powder keg looking for a match.

Until next time,
Michael

A promotion of sorts...

Hello all,

Well another exciting week in the records books.  My new boss is getting settled and las week was my first full week with him.  I like him a lot and he is everything the last guy wasn't.  Morale is high and everyone is upbeat.

The last guy made a real mess with our organizational chart and the new guy is making inroads to fixing it.  One of his fixes was to but the people with the proper rank and experience in some of the key billets.  I have been promoted (not in rank but position) and am now serving as the Future Operations Officer, one of the key billets within our plans & ops division.  In future ops section is exercises, theater security cooperation (like small scale exercises), and civil affairs (military people who deal with displaced civilians or civilians on the battlefield).

I also got a great deal on a suit and some dress shirts.  Get this...custom made, silk lined suit with trousers and vest plus 3 custom made shirts for $200 USD.  The suit was $110, the vest $10, silk lining $10, and the shirts were $20 each.  I don't think you can go to Wall Mart and buy a dress shirt for $20.

Nothing in Ali's shop is made until a customer orders it.  He has 150 bolts of material on the shelves for shirts and 75 bolts for suits.  Suit material varies from wool, wool/silk and, wool/cashmere.  You go in, get measured, pick out fabrics, and fit a picture in one of his many catalogs for a suit style.  The suit was ready a few days after I ordered it and fits/looks great.

Too bad Jodi is not here because he has a dress maker on this staff also.

Ramadan is in full swing but it has not really impacted me at all.  We were told to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts has been about the extent of it.  There are also heavy fines if you are stopped for eating or drinking in public during daylight hours.  I never really saw many people eating or drinking in public anyways now that I think about it...maybe drinking coffee on the patio of a coffee shop.

Everyplace that serves food is closed between sun up and sun down also.  There again, I don't go out to eat much so no impact on me.  Sometimes if I am out and about on Sat I might stop somewhere for lunch but now big deal.  All the nightclubs are closed for the month and I think that the places that would normally serve alcohol don't serve it during Ramadan.

If you observe Ramadan, I don't think you are even suppose to swallow your our saliva so you see people spitting a lot more.

That's about it from here.  It is hot as hell here.  At 115 degrees,  it is even hotter the Djibouti would typically get.

Michael

An early Christmas gift...

Hello Everyone,

As you know, I have been on the road this past week and returned late Saturday night.

My early Christmas gift was getting to see my 8 year old daughter for 5 1/2 hours on Saturday afternoon as I passed through Dulles International Airport outside of D.C.  It was a wonderful feeling to be able to kiss , hug, and hold her again.  It is really impossible to describe...

Sarah has spent the last week with her Aunt and Uncle, who live in Northern Virginia, and is off to see Jodi and Chase in North Carolina today for a week long stay.  I know she is very excited to see Chase.  They get along so well and seem connected the way a brother and sister would be.

As an added bonus, I also got to visit with relatives Thursday night and bought some nice hand rolled in Tampa cigars.

As for my trip, it was great to be in Tampa but is a big investment in time to get there as I spent almost 30 hours sitting on a plane or in an airport.  On my return trip, I was routed through Amsterdam and I have never been there.

I went to Tampa for an exercise planning conference for an exercise which will take place in Egypt in Sept 2013.  We accomplished much more then I expected and have a good foundation to build on.  Bright Star has been an annual exercise in Egypt ever since I have been in the Marine Corps but it was not held last year because of the revolution.  I have never been to Cairo but will go there this upcoming Oct to continue the planning effort.

Ramadan is in full swing here but I haven't been in town to notice any big changes other then traffic was horrible last night as I was returning from the airport.  This is actually the first week of Ramadan so I think a lot of people were celebrating the "breaking of the fast" by going out for dinner late at night and just taking to the streets.

Well, back to the boring life of a staff officer...

Cheers,
Michael

Pack your bags, Pinky. We are hitting the road.

Hello All,

Packing my bags and getting ready to travel to Tampa.  Will leave in about 6 hours for my 1:40 am flight.

Pinky, by the way, is a little stuffed pink elephant Sarah made and gave to me to keep me company on my deployment.  I take Pinky to all the exciting places I go.  Needless to say, she will be traveling to the US with me.

Looking forward to being back in the US but dreading the -7 hour time change.  Midnight on the East Coast is 7 am here in Bahrain.  By the time my body gets adjusted, it will be time to return to the Middle East.

Sarah is starting a two week trip to the East Coast today also.  She will spend a week in N. Va. with her Aunt/Uncle/cousins and then down to NC for a week with Jodi and Chase.   Her Aunt lives 15 minutes away from Dulles Int Airport and I am trying to get my flight back to Bahrain rerouted through there.  That means I would get to see Sarah.  Wouldn't that be something!

Being in the Middle East is starting to wear me down already.  The Arabs are awful drivers and the Indian and Pakistan workers do whatever they want on the roads, rarely stopping at stop signs.  They are really starting to piss me off.  Additionally, I can't understand much of what they say even though they are speaking English.  I swore I would never buy another Dell computer when they moved their call center to India for that very reason.

There are 5 construction sites that I can see from my balcony.  I am not sure who is going to live in all these apartments they are building.  Jodi always complained about the construction hours in our sub-division which begins at 7 am during the week.  Out here construction starts every day at 5 - 5:30 am making sleeping past then a little challenging.

I also hate when US ships make port calls here, as is the case this weekend.  I am sure it is great for those on the ship but sucks for those of us who live here.  There are long lines in all the places there are not normally lines and throngs of people everywhere.  These port calls also unleash a special kind of stupid amongst a certain percentage of those coming ashore.  Excessive drinking and bad behavior out in town create problems that those who live here are tasked with fixing, especially repairing the damaged public's perception of US service people.

As I had mentioned previously, the living conditions here are great compared to Djibouti but there are a lot of things I miss about Djibouti, believe it or not.

Ramadan starts the day I return from the US.  I was in the PX today and they had several racks of "Ramadan approved clothing" (had a placard that said so).  For 30 days starting 20 Jul, no shorts for anyone, knees of women must be covered as well as shoulders.  You can also be stopped by the police if you are seen eating or drinking in public during daylight hours and be given a ticket with the fine due on the spot. I think it is the equivalent of $100 USD.

Anyone who wants to bad mouth living in the US needs to spend a few months in the Middle East especially women who are second class citizens here at best.  Sorry ladies.  You're not in Kansas any more.  

Cheers,
Michael

Sacked!

Hello Everyone,

It has been a pretty interesting week which was officially only one day long.  We worked this past Sunday, had Mon/Tues/Wed off for 4th of Jul, and back on Thurs which is the last day of our work week.

We came in Thurs morning to find out that the Commanding General canned my boss, the director of plans and operations as well as the senior enlisted Marine (Operations Chief).

I had come to the conclusion after my first week in Bahrain that these two were trouble.   My boss was a mean spirited vindictive bully and his Ops Chief, cloaked in our bosses authority, thought he could get away with anything and was untouchable.

The Ops Chief was on a plane back to Tampa within 24 hours pending an investigation surrounding the circumstances which got him in trouble.  He got reported for doing something he has probably been getting away with for years and the institution has no tolerance for.  I believe that my boss was relieved for creating the caustic work environment which continued to enable the Ops Chief to do this.  That is all I will say about that.

Needless to say, the office went from a "keep your head down and don't make eye contact" to one of smiles and relief.  I hope they both get what they deserve.

Additionally, we recently had our Deputy Commander report aboard, have a new Commanding General as of yesterday (the previous Commanding General has been here for 2 years and it was his normal time to rotate out), my shop will be getting a new boss soon, and we have a great Chief of Staff.  Things are looking up.

I managed to get my trip to Oman rescheduled and don't expect any changes in my trip to Tampa which is scheduled for 15-20 Jul.  I will see relatives while I am there and might even get to see my daughter, assuming I will have a layover in Dulles.  Sarah is starting a 2 week adventure to the east coast and will be with her Aunt who lives 15 minutes from the airport.  During her second week of travel, she will be headed south to spend some time with Jodi and Chase.

This past 4th of Jul was the second one that I have spent on foreign soil in the trailing 4 years.  I can tell you that I certainly appreciate what the 4th of Jul means living in the Middle East.  Many ideas outlined in the Declaration of Independence don't apply here.

Until next time,
Michael

Crystal Clear

Hello All,

My clear as mud situation is now crystal clear.  I am not going to Abu Dhabi (UAE).

I was told a couple of days ago that I am not going to UAE and will continue my work in Bahrain. The command that was responsible to fill the personnel requirement has come up with a name so my trip is off.

The worst part is getting whipsawed back and forth.  I was packing and getting ready to ship stuff to myself so now I have to undo all of that.  I was looking forward to going but staying here is not the end of the world.  Diving was going to be better there which I was looking forward to.

Just as well, I suppose.  I recently bought a package of individually wrapped slices of American cheese.  If I had to leave, that would have all gone to waste.

There are worse places to be for sure like Afghanistan or Djibouti, so I can't complain.

I can tolerate all of this because I know this is often how things work in this business.  I also say, "believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you see".

I will have some time off here next week for the 4th of July holiday.  Not sure what I am going to do but will probably play around with Facebook, which I just signed up for.  Maybe it will help their stock price, lol.

A short post this week but, like Djibouti, not much changes here on a week to week basis.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer.  I would say it is getting hot here, which it is, but I see it is pretty hot back in the states too.

Cheers,
Michael

Clear as mud

Hello Everyone,

Once the word spread that I was taking a new assignment in UAE, it was as if I died.  Emails are down to a trickle as people remove me from their distro list and they even assigned my desk to someone else!  No meeting invites, no phone calls, no emails....just biding my time until my visa gets approved.

There is also some mixed signals on what I will be doing in UAE.  It seemed pretty solid that I would be working with the Presidential Guard.  Now I am hearing that I may be working out of the US embassy.  No one at my command really knows and my emails to points of contact at the embassy go unanswered.

This doesn't surprise me.  My experience has been that Dept of State people don't like those in the military.  Not really sure why.  Many I have met seem a little smug and condescending.  I'm sure I can win them over with my pleasant disposition and helpful nature!  Actually,  Jodi says people are a little standoffish because I am "mean looking".  I will have try to be less "mean looking".

One thing I have been told is that I am going to UAE.  Probably best to just stop asking questions at this point.  I will figure it out when I get there.

My visa might be done this week but if it isn't then after the 4th of July for sure.  This will be my second 4th of July in a foreign country.  Back in '09 I spent the 4th in France.  This year will be a location in the Middle East peninsula.  I can tell you I will be enjoying some traditional fare like a hotdog and it will be 100% beef.  No pork out here, thank you very much.

Other then that, it has been a typical week.  Well, better go do some packing.

Cheers,
Michael

So long, Bahrain

I hardly knew ya.

Hello Everyone,

As you can probably infer from the title of this week's blog.  I will be leaving Bahrain shortly and not coming back from what I am told.

A higher priority mission has a requirement for a combat arms LtCol and I am the guy going to fill it.

The United Arab Emirates recently established a new unit called "The Presidential Guard" designed to be an elite strike force.  When the President of UAE (there are 7 emirates or regions which have united and elected a president unlike other middle eastern countries which are kingdoms) was asked who he wanted to train this newly formed elite unit, he responded, "I want the best in the world to train this unit...the United States Marine Corps."

High praise indeed.

So, I will be leaving as soon as my visa to entry the country has been processed which will take a couple of weeks.  I will be serving as the Recon Group OIC (Officer in Charge) and will advise/assist a Col from the Emirates.  Sounds interesting enough and I am honored to be part of the small group carrying out this important mission.

The UAE is the crown jewel of the middle east and I am looking forward to setting up shop there.  Specifically, I will be in the capital city of Abu-Dabi.

Not sure where I will be living yet but I think everyone is living in hotels.  Not the Holiday Inn Express mind you.  My quarters there should be better then where I am now, as nice as that is.  I should be in a 3 bedroom suite so I should have more square footage then my 2 bedroom flat.

The only downside is that I don't' think I will have any place to cook but should at least have a small refrigerator.  The last thing I can afford to do is to get off track with my eating habits.  I'm sure I will have a gym available so I will be able to keep up my daily gym routine.  Think I have lost about 30 lbs since I reported to Djibouti in Aug 2011.

It looks like the diving in UAE is a lot better the Bahrain so I can jump start that effort also.  There will be  Formula 1 race there in Nov so I hope to take that in too.

That's it from here.  Getting pretty hot here and predicted to reach almost 110 degrees this week.  Unfortunately, it is just as hot in UAE!

Cheers,
Michael

So, what else do you see in Jordan?

Well, we have seen the pictures from your last post including large quantities of roasted meats, some Middle Eastern pipe thing.  What else did you see?

Last weeks post was actually the second half of my trip.  In addition to my day job, I also took on the role of cultural ambassador from the US.  Because of my charming personality, cultural awareness, and pleasant disposition, I was especially well suited for my additional duties after hours.

The first portion of my trip was spent down in southern Jordan at a small outpost near the Saudi border.  The first two weekends featured reduced operating hours so folks could take advantage of "cultural days".    The command set up a different trip for each weekend.  The purpose of cultural days are so that Jordanians can be exposed to Americans (and vice versa), we put a little money into the economy, and see something interesting at the same time.

One trip was to the Dead Sea and to a spot on Jordan River where it is said Jesus was baptized.  This would have been a cool trip but I missed it because I had already been sent to another training area 2 hours north.

The other trip was to the ancient city of Petra.  Petra is one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.  It was really something to see the rather well preserved ruins of this city which dates back to 100 BC or so.  I think the oldest thing I have seen to date was weapons and armor from the 1100's when I was in Germany back in 2009.  So, this is now the oldest thing seen to date.

Jodi has been to China so she has seen things probably from 4000 BC.

Anyway, Petra is a city that has largely been carved into the cliffs.  You enter the city by walking down a passageway flanked by cliffs several hundred feet high.  It was really pretty breath taking and hard to capture in words or pictures.

You exit this 1200m passageway at the treasury, past a 7000 seat coliseum, through the old city, and then climb 900 stairs stretching over a mile and finish the journey at the monastery.

the coliseum

ancient cogs

the monestary



the high walled entrance to Petra


My cultural trip was the highlight of Jordan and I am happy to say I have been to such a historic site.

Not much else going on here.  We normally work Sunday through Thurs.  Those who went to Exercise Eager Lion were given an extra day off last week and this week.  This being Sunday, I would normally be working instead of typing out a blog entry.

The extra day off has got some downside to it.  Turns out I am pretty bored on days I don't work. Bahrain is a small island and you can only walk around the mall so many times.  Honestly, Djibouti had more going for it as far as filling downtime.  Hard to believe I am saying that.  Of course, the living conditions are much better here but everyone does their own thing when not at work.  At Djibouti, we were all kind of trapped there so there was more camaraderie.

Well, that is about it for now.  I think I am supposed to go to Oman at the end of this upcoming week so that will be a new stamp in my passport.

Jodi is doing great running the house by herself and I miss her dearly!

Until next time,
Michael

Back from Jordan

Hello All,

Large quantities of roasted meat, yum!

Hittin' the shisha pipe.



Enjoying tea and new friends




Our last meal at the compound


Wish I could have come up with a better title for this post but nothing really worked.

At any rate, I am back from Jordan after having been gone for most of the month.  We were in a pretty interesting spot from a geographical standpoint.  The small outpost we occupied was in the very southern portion of Jordan probably a mile from the Saudi border.  Across the Red Sea was Egypt (about 12 miles away but we had a really good view) and you could see a little slice of Israel from our vantage point.

The reason I was in Jordan was for an exercise called Eager Lion 12.  It is an annual exercise but this one was a little bigger then normal....12,000 troops from 19 different countries.

I had only been in Bahrain a short time when I was told I was going with most of everyone else on this exercise.  Trouble is that no one really gave it much thought beyond that.  I hit the ground running but really didn't have a job.  Sounds like fun?  No.  Try filling an entire day with no real mission.  You can only be helpful for so long before you start getting in the way.

After about 5 days of "helping".  I was given a new task.  I would travel 2 hours north to the main training area and assist the Jordanian HQ with their planning efforts and provide a critical comm link back to my command, which happened to be the higher headquarters of a large USMC unit and the Jordanian brigade.

I was issued a satellite phone, a laptop computer, and a device about the size of a bathroom scale which would provide for a satellite uplink for the computer.

Once I arrived to their headquarters compound, I was greeted like I was a rockstar.  A few of the soldiers carried my bags in and I was promptly brought some chai tea.  Turns out that we would be drinking A LOT of chai over the course of the next couple of weeks.

The Jordanians are structured much like the Brits probably were many years ago.  The Jordanian commanding officer, also a LtCol like me, has 2 full time porters whenever he is awake.  These guys clean his office and room, wash and press his uniforms, bring him water to wash with in the morning and prepare and serve his food.  The 6 other officers have a couple of porters themselves but they mostly served the officers tea and food.

I thought this was kinda weird at first but quickly got used to it.  I was the guest of the commanding officer so I was treated much the same as he was although they didn't do my laundry.

Turns out that the Jordanians as a society are very welcoming and friendly people.  Everywhere I went, I received an invitation for tea, coffee, lunch, or dinner.  Even a stop for 30 seconds of info would often turn into a 30 minute meeting, most of it socializing.

As I had previously learned, this is the way you do business in the Middle East.  It is not "right down to business" as Americans are accustomed to.  First you have tea, ask about family, share a little info about yourself, where you are from, etc.  As that is winding down, move on to the purpose of your visit.

I was meeting with the "Sahara Police" (desert police) to address a problem we were having with nomads stealing our targets.  After finishing that meeting, my vehicle needed gas so I stopped at a gas station down the road.  After the attendant finished pumping gas, guess what he did....invited us in for tea!  I really got a kick out of that.  I was in my uniform along with a couple of Jordanian officers.  They told me that to entertain a US officer would be a great honor for the man.  It was rare that I turned down an invite which is seen as very rude, but the Jordanians said we had to get back. We apologized to the man and told him that we hoped there would be another time to sit with him.

My time there ended after the counter-attack against a national enemy.  There were many distinguished visitors including the US 4 star General in charge of US military operations in that region and His Majesty, the King of Jordan.  The King was very pleased with how everything went so we all considered it a success.

It was an awfully long trip but I was glad I went.  I made several new friends, was immersed in Middle Eastern culture (you would be surprised how quickly I mastered eating with only my right hand and you probably remember what the left one is reserved for), and got a new stamp in my passport.

Until next time,
Michael

Sidetrip to Jordan

Hello everyone!  Michael asked that I post to his blog and let all of you know that he is currently in Jordan.  He was sent for a side mission and the internet is not reliable enough for him to post while he is there.  He should be back in Bahrain in about a week. 

Michael, I know you are out there somewhere in the Jordanian desert and I just wanted to say that I love you and miss you very much.  Home just isn't home without you. 

Jodi Kasprzyk

Saudi women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia...

But there is nothing stopping them from doing it in Bahrain!  I can tell you that they don't do it very well.  I doubt there is much training involved.  They have seen the men do it and it looks pretty easy from the back seat, I guess.  Nothing like driving OJT in a 5000 lb SUV.

Driving in Bahrain is a mixed bag.  It is pretty much in the middle ground between the US and Djibouti.  Everyone stops at a red light but I have never seen anyone come to a complete stop at a stop sign.  People pull out in front of you, change lanes without looking to see that I am already there, proceed when they should yield, etc.

There are also a lot of speed bumps on the side streets.  They don't seem very effective because everyone drives around them!  In some places they are unavoidable but in other areas it is just dirt lots on both sides of the road.

The bottom line is that you have to have your head on a swivel and expect the unexpected.  I just chill out while I drive and let the craziness unfold around me.

So, what is the deal with all these protests in Bahrain that you probably don't even know about. Typical Muslim stuff, I'm afraid.  The Royal Family and many of the policy makers are Sunnis and they are a minority.  The majority of the population is Shiite.  There is a small student/youth movement protesting the government.  Seems many of them went off and got college degrees and are not getting the jobs they feel they are qualified for (sound familiar?).

So, at the edges of the Shiite enclaves someone will light tires or a garbage dumpster on fire.  It is funny that I am made aware of where the protests are by my command via text message.  Really not a big deal but the Shiite movement isn't getting any US press coverage which is pissing them off.

It is the equivalent of our "Occupy Wall Street" I suppose.

Well, just finished up my second week.  I am starting to figure out where my puzzle piece fits into the big picture and who does what.

I am off to Jordan this Sunday and I will be there until the end of the month.  I will be near a port city on the northern tip of the Red Sea.  We are going so we can participate in a joint exercise with the Jordanian military.  I will be serving as the Assistant Operations Officer and working for the Operations Officer who is a Marine Col.  I think I will be plenty busy keeping this thing pointed in the right direction and it will be a great opportunity to shine early in my tour.

Also got my camera so I will be posting pics.  I will have internet there so I will also be posting weekly updates.

Correction on gas.  It is .10 BD which is .25 USD.  That means a gallon of gas is around a dollar.

From the 9th floor,
Michael

Traveling Trilogy....The Final Chapter

Hello Friends,

Germany '09.  Africa '11.  Middle East '12.  It has been quite a journey.

As many of you know, I have recently deployed to Bahrain to serve as the Lead Exercise Planner with a focus on joint and multi-national exercises.  The command I am assigned to is US Marines Central Command (MARCENT) which is the Marine component of Central Command aka CENTCOM.

My hat is off to my ever lovin' wife, Jodi.  She is doing all the hard work back at home.  Thank you Jodi for being the woman you are.  YELH.

I call this the final chapter because this will be my last deployment in all likelihood.  Once I return, I will have 17 years of active duty.  If I hit 18 years, the Marine Corps has to keep me for 2 more years and I would then retire with a regular military retirement (50% pay for the rest of your life which is a pretty good deal).  The institution (USMC) is, shall I say, philosophically opposed to this. They will not bring me on because that pushes me a little to close to the edge of the cliff so they will want a 1 year buffer as a safety zone.  Yeah, I know it sucks and doesn't seem right, but that is the way it is.

After attending a conference in Tampa, headquarters of CENTCOM, I was off to the Saudi Arabian peninsula where the small island nation is located.  The big leg of my trip was from Dulles to Kuwait City.  We were in the air almost 13 hours.  Thankfully, the flight was at night and I managed to sleep most of the way.

I arrived Sunday night and one of my peers met me at the airport and got me to my lodging.

First, let me tell you that this is no Djibouti.  I live in a very well appointed 2 bedroom flat (apartment) on the 9th floor.  Most of the lights are controlled by a central touch pad or remote.  The living room is more glass than walls so the view is nice.  Gym is on the 22nd floor along with a sauna and a pool on the roof.  Maid service comes twice a week and the door to the flat is controlled by a pass card.  Forgot your pass card?  No problem, place your right index finger on a small biometric scanner which reads your fingerprint and the door lock pops open!

Bahrain is a large modern city.  You can tell you are in the middle east though.  There is a road by the base front gate called "America Alley" which features KFC, McDs, Starbucks, Macaroni Grill, and other American fast food joints.  I live near a Bennigans and TGI Fridays.  Kinda funny and not what I expected.  Thank you to all of them for keeping Americans fat wherever they may find themselves.

I work on a small piece of property leased to the US Navy.  There are about 5000 US service people here along with government works and contractors and I live about 8 minutes away.  The people at work are great and number around 160.  I just found out last week that I will be going to Jordan near the Israeli border for 3 weeks.  Never been so it will be nice to get another stamp in my passport.

Work seems like it will be pretty predictable with hours of 7:30 am until 4:30-5:00 pm.  The days we work are Sunday through Thursday in keeping with the Muslim holy days (Fri and Sat, much like the Jewish faith).

After eating nothing but Cliff Bars and beef jerky for a couple of days, I was eager to get some real food at the commissary (military grocery store).  People told me that food was expensive here and I got a real shock at the store.  While many things were a little more expensive then I was used to paying, some things were triple of their normal price.  1 qt Silk brand soy milk was $5.50 and a 10oz package of Sara Lee sliced turkey for sandwiches was $7.29!

Ironically enough, liquor is much cheaper then you would expect.  Back in NC, 1L of Jim Beam will set me back $17.95.  Out here, I pay the same for a 1.75L bottle.  Seems like you would want the food cheap and the booze expensive.  Deploy people to the middle east and sell booze really cheap, great idea!

Additionally, since liquor/beer/wine is fairly scarce in this area outside of hotels and clubs, we have a ration card just like we had in Germany.  I think there are a couple of liquor stores out in town and I can only imagine that it is pretty expensive.

Speaking of cheap, 1 gallon of gas in the US is around $4.00.  Bahrain: $.40.  That's right, 40 cents. It is actually a little cheaper than that at 10 cents a liter.  Now that is a number I can get behind!  I have a subcompact rental car and it costs around $3.50 to fill it up.

I live around the corner from a grocery store where people who live here would shop.  I checked it out and will shop there for produce and meats/fish.  They even have camel sausages.  I am definitely going to check that out.  People I knew in DJ tried camel and said it was pretty good.  The port of DJ routinely ships camels down the coast where they are slaughtered and used for food.  Like the bathroom butt sprayers in DJ (and here), when in Rome....

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share with you right now.  My old computer didn't make it and I bought an Apple MacBook Pro.  My camera has pc based software and will not work with an Apple.  I tried to download the correct drivers but they are not available.  I have a new camera being shipped to me as we speak.

Looks like I will be able to continue to dive out here also which is great.  Research indicates that it is not as good as the Horn of Africa but it is something to do on the weekends.  I had a winning formula out in DJ and look forward to keeping on the same track here.  Exercise, work, eat low fat foods, and find something rewarding to do with whatever free time you have.

Anyway, I promise to post once a week and it looks like I will have a little more material to work with out here.

Cheers,
Michael

What could there possibly be to dislike in Djibouti?

Hello All,

"Djibouti sounds like a great place",  you are saying to yourself.  What could anyone possibly dislike?

Well, here you go...

1. Weather.  As much as it is pleasent in DJ now, the weather really sucks in the summer.  Think high humidity and high temps, i.e. 115 degrees with 90% humidity.  It is really brutal.  Even after just a short walk to work in the summer, I am drenched in sweat.  Yuck.

2.  The chow hall.  Yeah, they get some good raw ingredients but most everything is over cooked and dry.  They also offer way too much fried food and can't even get the oatmeal right.  How had is it to prepare oatmeal?  The menu is also very redundant.  Taco Tuesday, carving station on Thursday, seafood Friday, and a really horrible brunch on Sat and Sun morning.

3.  Walking on rocks.  There is only a very small section of camp that is paved or has cement sidewalks.  Most of the area is covered with crushed rocks.  This rock is not the little pea sized rock which would be perfect.  The rock they put down is fairly large and you can't really get traction on it.  It is a real pain in the ass to walk on. 

4.  City dump.  The city dump is only a few miles away from camp and it is often on fire.  In fact, everyone gets a statement put in their medical records saying you were in DJ breathing this stuff in.  It is just the worst when animal carcasses are set ablaze. 

5.  The uniform policy.  Everyone on camp wears a military uniform during the day and are allowed to wear appropriate civilian attire after hours.  Not the Marines.  Marines have to wear their military uniform at all times during the week except when they are working out (PT - physical training).  We are allowed to wear civilian attire from Sat night through Sun night.  Ok...I look great in my uniform but how about we loosen up a little bit.  It is not like we are at some remote forward operating base in Afghanistan. 

Well, I really shouldn't complain much.  There are far worst places to be deployed to.  It was actually a pretty good tour.  Met a lot of great people, smoked cigars, lost some weight, and work was pretty predictable. 

I actually thought of more things I "like" about DJ then "dislike".  Looks like we have a winner. 

Thanks to everyone who supported me and my family while I was away.  Your willingness to help is what allows me to do what I do. 

It is great to be back!

Until next time,
Michael

Final Thoughts...

Friends,

It is hard to believe I have been in Djibouti 6 months already.  Unlike last time, most of my time was actually spent in the Horn of Africa and it certainly has given me a new perspective on Djibouti.

As you can imagine, I have had some pretty good experiences here but have also grown tired of camp life.

LIKES:

1.  Driving in Djibouti.  I love driving in Djibouti as much as I like driving in Germany but for the polar opposite reason.  In Germany, it is very orderly and everyone follows the rules.  In Djibouti, the rules are really just guidelines.  Here, everywhere is a passing zone.  The city streets are 4 lines wide and all dotted lines.  I have seen cars running 3 wide moving in my direction.  Stop signs mean stop unless you think you can keep going and not get rear ended.  This morning on the way to the fishing port where we meet our dive boats, traffic stopped to allow 6 camels to cross the road.  In short, there are no rules which is my kind of place.  Oddly enough, you don't see all that many auto mishaps here. 

2.  Weather.  The weather in the winter months is great!  Lows in the mid-70s and high in the mid-80s.  I announced to Jodi we were going to buy a house here for the winter months.

3.  Cigars and Texas Hold'em.  Smoking cigars by yourself sucks.  Tues and Sat night the poker club gets together and I have plenty of people to smoke cigars with!  Sunday night, a small group of us cigar smokers get together to light up.  I made some new aquaitanances and been introduced to some brands I have not previously tried.  My poker play has improved a lot too.

4.  SCUBA Diving.  I deployed and gained a new hobby.  Not bad.  I have seen a lot of interesting things underwater and meet some really good people.  Turns out that I am a pretty good diver too.

5.  Old West Town character of Camp Lemonnier.  Hard to describe in words.  This place is like a small old west town with a cantina, barber shop and general store.

6.  Chow Hall.  The food?  Really?  Well, the do offer a wide variety on their salad bar and the fresh fruit selection is also very good.  The chow hall is also blessed with some very good cuts of steaks, lobster tails, crab legs, lamb chops, and fish such as trout, halibut, and salmon (probably farm raised but still good).  They also serve made to order eggs/omlettes every morning.  The chow also lists grams of fat per serving of everthing available.  By eating a low fat, low carb diet, I have lost about 12-15 pounds.  An hour of vigorous excercise also was big factor.  Now, I just need to bring those good habits back with me. 

7.  Djibouti.  This place has a really raw feel to it.  Maybe this is what Europe and, increasing, America needs.  What I mean is that it is every man for himself here.  There are no safety nets.  No handouts.  No bailouts.  You eat, you stave, you live, you die.  In the end, people figure it out for themselves.  We need to be more self relient. 

8.  Djiboutians.  Last time I left this place in Nov '09.  I really had a bad taste about the local populace.  Having spent a solid 6 months here, I have a totally different perspective.  The Djiboutians I have meet have all been friendly and have a great deal of pride in their country.  Most of them know 2 or 3 different languages. 

Next up...what do I dislike about this place?

Until then,
Michael

1-2-3+1 and 156

Greetings all,

Lots of numbers with significance this past week or so.

This has been an untimely deployment as I have missed most of the "good" holidays and well as events of personal importance.  I have been here through Labor Day, Halloween (Sarah visited NC), Veterns' Day, Marine Corps Birthday, my birthday, Chanukah, Christmas, New Year's Eve, my wedding aniversary, and Sarah's birthday.

So what does 1-2-3+1 have to do with anything.  It is how I remember the what day Jodi and I got married.  I originally decided on Jan 23 (1-2-3, who could screw that up?) but for some reason, that date was not was not going to work.  So, we went with Jan 24th.  Easy huh? 

Coincidently, Sarah's birthday is 2-3-04. 

Furthermore, Lincoln was killed in the Kennedy Theather while Kennedy was killed in a Lincoln.  Crazy stuff for sure. 

156 represents my new personal deepest dive.  156' which far surpasses my previous 136'.  20' may not sound like much unless you body is being subjected to a pressure 6x normal atmosphic pressure and you are 30' beyond PADI recommend limit for recreational diving.  We didn't stay down there but a few minutes but I could feel the effects of excess nitrogen building up in my body (nitrogen narcocis).  Nitrogen narcocis makes you fell slightly euphoric or mildly intoxicated. 

Before my wife goes flyin' off the hinges, it should be noted that my dive partner had previously done a 180' dive (not that particular day) and the record depth for a SCUBA diver is a little over 1000'. 

What else....what else?

Well, I should be leaving on 12 Feb and back in the states on the 15th.  I have always said that Camp Lemonnier isn't so bad but now that I am getting close to leaving, all the little things I don't like are starting to add up.   There are some things I will miss but I will save that for next week.

Mentally, I am already starting to check out and look forward to getting back to NC.

Michael

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?

Hello All,

With 3 weeks having passed, you would think I would have something to write about.

Christmas and New Year's Day both fell on a Sunday this year, which is normally a day off for us, so we got Monday off as an extra day of observance.  There wasn't much taking place on base other then religious services and special holiday meal at the chow hall.  As you can probably imagaine, I took this opportunity to go SCUBA diving. 

The week between Christmas and New Year's was fairly busy, but not from a work standpoint.  Our higher headquarter in Stuttgart was largely closed which always makes for a light work week.  Many of our projects on the continent had finished up before the holidays and new ones were not started until the new year which was another reason for the lull. 

We had a big staff turnover with a lot of our folks leaving so we had a "Hail and Fairwell" gathering.  This is a social event where we say goodbye to those departing and welcome those who are replacing them.  Of course, I always play poker on Saturday but also had a cigar event to go to on Friday.  Some generous manufactures sent some of their product asking for nothing in return other then some snap shoots of guys in uniform smoke the cigars they sent. 

I also went to a wedding/wedding reception on that same Friday, of all things!  A wedding here on camp is a first as far as I know.  One of the guys deployed here (reserve unit from Kanasas) whom I also dive with married a girl who works as a dive instructor for the company we dive with.  They make a great couple and are headed down to a diving resort in Honduras where they will both work as dive instructors.  I wish them as much happiness as I have found in my marriage!

What is REALLY hard to believe is that I will be departing in about 6 weeks (we call it redeploying in the military).  There were times when I never thought it would end but once I got into a routine, the time really went by fast.  It has been a much better tour then I ever thought it would be.

As you probably recall, my last experience with Djibouti was not that great.  I was here a total of 3 times covering 21 days or so.  I am happy to say that my time here was enjoyable and my perception of the country and its people is very favorable. 

Until next time...
Michael