I have to go back to when I first arrived. Since I was one of the few Soldiers from the Red Bulls to arrive, I had to work with our communication counterparts from 10th Mountain. I was asked to tour the COB with one of their officers who had been in charge of running fiber. I spent two hours looking in man-holes with fiber running through them. I remember after getting back from that excursion thinking I would never be able to get those two hours back in my life. My eyes glaze over when there is talk about networks….good thing I’m a Signal officer!
The man-hole this morning had much to be desired. The pump wasn’t working like it was suppose to and feces had spilt out over the top. NOW, I only wish I had been looking at fiber. The stench was bad and the sight wasn’t pretty. The sergeant, I was with, was going into detail about how to correct the problem and I’m thinking…I’m not a plumber! Next we looked at the ditch where waste water was accumulating. The sergeant was trying to tell me that it was fecal matter but it looked more like algae to me. However, I wasn’t about to get down and have a closer look at the water.
After my ECO duties, I had to follow-up on our Non Tactical Vehicle (NTV) (otherwise known as a truck) at the body shop. The other day my commander came back sweaty, in the heat of the day….the truck had died. It wasn’t turning over so we jumped it and while I was driving it back to our area, it died again. We jumped it a second time and drove it to the shop.
Auge’s How to Prepare for a Deployment:
Rule #4 If your car needs work, bring it to a garage where no one speaks English... Turn over your keys and pray.
When I arrived at the shop, Hider the Iraqi wasn’t there. He speaks the best English out of the bunch so I’m trying to get across to another Iraqi that the battery won’t hold a charge. He grabbed my keys and kept saying, “Tomorrow”. Like the rule, I prayed!
When I went back today to check the situation on the truck, I saw the truck buried behind others that had been brought in. Much to my surprise, the Iraqi started the vehicle and began moving vehicles out of the way for me to leave.
Auge’s How to Prepare for a Deployment.
Rule #5 Trust the people that don’t speak English. They just might surprise you!
One of the hardest things for me on this deployment has been trusting the workers that are inside our walls. Today was a good reminder that the majority of these people are just trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us and have dreams and desires of a better life.
I figured I would share pictures of my lovely morning with you!
The ditch in lovely Iraq.
TiTi
ReplyDeleteIt looks more like S--T to me. Arn't you glad your not the one who has to fix that pump?
Love dad