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29 August 2005, 2230 PM

     Hello all.  Since arriving back in Iraq, I have been quite busy.  I spent several weeks in Baghdad assisting with the training, and have since traveled through various parts of the central south of Iraq.

     I have been tasked to the city of Al Kut, which is approx 1-2 hours west of the Iranian border.  I was in Ad Diwaniyah for several days as well.  This region is primarily under the control of Polish and Ukrainian forces.  The cam p we were at in Diwaniyah is a Polish run camp, with very little US presence.  The camp where I am at here in Al Kut is under Ukranian control.  It's a pretty cool little camp.  Definitely a different experience from Baghdad.  

     It's a very small group of us here.  Only 10-15 personnel.  But definitely one of the more active teams in Iraq.  We are constantly going on missions out to the various construction, and reconstruction sites.  All as part of an inspection process that the Army Corps of Engineers are maintaining to ensure that the reconstruction of Iraq continues.  It's a good group of guys down here, and fun to work with.  I should be here until I come home in mid-September, with a slight possibility of shifting over to Ar Karbala or An Najaf for a few days before I leave.

     All in all it's been pretty interesting down here so far, and I am very glad that I have been able to get down here.  I've been to the Iranian border.  I have visited several schools and police stations in the region, that are in various stages of construction.  And I have been able to meet and briefly speak with numerous Iraqi's of the region.

     The relations in general, down here, with the locals is very different than in Baghdad.  In Baghdad, there was always a threat of car bombs, rocket attacks, mortar and small arms attacks, etc.  It created a very "cautious" atmosphere.  Every time you went out on a mission, it became a very high stress type situation.  Kids, though eager to meet you, were still somewhat reserved when around a big Westerner carrying a rifle, as you would expect.  However, here, there interest and friendliness overrides that, and they are quick to smile or try to talk with you.  For the most part, due to the language barrier, you just end up sharing your water, some snacks you've brought out for them, some brief pleasantries, and some smiles.  But it is still worth it all the more.  It is very heartening to experience all this, and to get to see another side besides Baghdad.  It is more reinforcement that there is progress here.  That the locals are happy for it, and that they are willing to work for it.

     This is all the stuff that unfortunately you won't here about on the evening news, or see any footage of.  Of the 3 new schools we went to today.  Schools where there were none previously. And this is in just one small section.  And just the 3 we visited today.  Of the several new forts that were constructed to replace the dilapidated ones on the Iranian border.  Of the Iraqi Police Station we visited today, where it was finally complete, and the police chief proudly escorted our Army Officer about, showing off the work that had finished, and his new officers.

     But I have been able to witness it, and to see it first-hand.  It is just unfortunate that all that the news carries is the info about the latest car bomb, or the Sunni rejection of the new constitution.  All very important occurrences, but so are the openings of new schools.  Schools that will allow kids in these areas opportunities that did not exist before.

     Anyways, not to get all deep or anything.  It has just been very encouraging getting to see all of this.

    But I should be home soon, and then getting ready to travel out to Iowa for Chucky's wedding.  It will be fun, and be a drastic change of scenery.  LOL.  

     I've got to get going now.  It's getting late, and we've got an early day tomorrow.  Off to look at some medical clinics in the city.  Will be interesting.

--Ted

05 June 2005, 2105 PM

     I am now back in Baghdad.  Back in the training and Medical Advisor for the company, in the Green Zone.  The month home went pretty quick.  I apologize to those I did not get to see, or spend much time with.  Was pretty busy just trying to catch up with Colleen, and just spend some time relaxing.  It seemed like there was something to do almost every night I was home.  At the same time I was just trying to relax and enjoy myself, after all, it was supposed to be a vacation from work.

     But now I'm back at it.  I'll be here for a little while. Running the medical training for all the new employees, in the other Medic's absence. Going to be quite a few new hires over the next several months.  Things start picking up pretty good this week.  We have a couple different classes starting this week alone.

     It's starting to get pretty warm here to.  It's pretty much been in the 100's since I got back.  And only getting warmer.  Woo hoo.  The desert rocks.  It's not so bad.  Except when we are out in all our gear running around.  Can't wait to see how many heat casualties we get once the classes pick up..

     Gonna get going for now.  I will hopefully get some more pics up sometime after this week.

See ya.

27 April 2005, 1220 PM

          Well, it’s been a little while since the last update.  I have moved back to Camp Victory.  Been doing medical support and training for the PSD and Iraqi’s out here.  Other than that, there has not been too much going on.  Just getting ready to leave here soon.  I’ll be home for about a month.  Anybody need anything?  Sand?  Sand fleas?  Anything?

            We had one of our teams get hit by a VBIED last week, and got do to some care and treatment for that.  Rendezvoused with them, and took care of one guy.  He’s doing well, but ended up suffering some burns.  It was a pretty good process.  Ended up working with the local Army medical assets to transport him to the local med station.  Then worked with them a little more, before they Medevac’d him out to the CSH in the Green Zone that I talked about in my last entry.  I forgot how bad of a ride those military ambulances are.  Wow.  Especially with a PFC, who’s not to keen on the directions, and he’s got a Sergeant, and some scary looking civilian dude with a big Wookie beard (thanks Blaine) yelling at him from the back. Ha ha.

            Plenty of my days, right now are just occupying time.  Not a whole lot to do right now.  That’s a good sign though, if medical is slow.  Just means no business.  And that is good.  Been pretty much all over this base though.  Running errands, picking up people at the airport.  So it’s cool getting to see the base.  Met some guys from the unit that relieved Kyle’s unit.

            Not too much to write about though.  Sorry.  Like I said, not much going on here.  You hear gunfire and mortars and things, but never anything too close, and you get used to it after a while.  But that’s just everywhere in country.  There are bases that are pretty small, and get mortared every night.  Fortunately, these guys have awful aim, and really don’t seem to have much skill for firing them.  So anything they hit, is really just luck.  A lot of times, they don’t have much time to stage these attacks, and pretty much set everything up pretty hastily, and just hope to get something, whether it’s mortars, rockets, small arms fire, etc.  There are groups out there that are getting more deliberate with their attacks, but we have guys working intelligence on them and coming up with stuff every day.

            Oh well, got to get going.  I should have some more pics up by tomorrow.  See ya.

 --Ted

03 April 2005, 1740 PM

     Well, things have been pretty busy since getting here.  I have certainly had my hands full.  I have conducted medical training for Nepalese Gurkhas, Iraqi Nationals, and foreign expat's (US, UK, South African citizens etc. working in-country) that will be working for this company.

     Also went to the ranges with the above mentioned, and assisted with the marksmanship instruction.  Holy hell.  The nights we take the Iraqi's to the range is definitely an experience.  A scary one.  Some of these guys are just plain awful shots.  70-80 rounds, with not one shot on paper.   Not one.  Almost as bad as my old First Sergeant Martin, USMC, from Reading.  Just kidding.  

     It's a pretty cool experience, getting to teach the other nationalities medical training.  Doing medical lectures with an Iraqi translator and Nepalese translator all at the same time.  The one night, we had a dinner that was cooked with traditional Nepalese cuisine.  They are very gracious people.  Very kind.  But they are very fierce warriors. I have never witnessed it firsthand, but from all accounts of those that have, and have worked with them, this is the case.  

     Yesterday, we managed to get a game of volleyball between the Training wing and K-9 unit.  We got spanked.  The night before that, we had a "movie night".  We took a powerpoint projector, and put a couple of movies up on the wall.  It's a pretty cushy life over here.  Parties, picnics, and nightclubs.  Not.  But we try to make it as accommodating as possible, without forgetting that we are in Baghdad, Iraq.

     Also been doing a lot of liaison work with the Army Combat Support Hospital (CSH) next door.  Have had a few medical cases that I have had to work with them over, as well as just trying to mooch different supplies off of them.  They have been pretty helpful, and are some good men and women.  Even if they are Army (yuck).  Medically speaking, they are doing some amazing things over here, with minimal resources.  There is only so much you can do in a "warzone".  They are seeing things  next door that is amazing, and all with resources that should shame some of our community hospitals about whining the way they do.  They really are doing a phenomenal job there.  They probably have half the staffing of any of the ER's in our area in Berwyn, and are doing ten times the work.  It really is kind of equatable to a modern day "MASH" episode.

     Been doing alot of reading and DVD watching as well.  I want to thank everybody for all of the kind things that have been put into the guestbook.  Even Blaine, I guess.  It means alot.  I had a conversation the other night with Nam and Chucky, and I can't express how grateful I am for this opportunity.  It really is quite an experience.  If I just went by what was put on the news back home, I wouldn't even know half the story.  All we really ever hear about back home are the explosions, and protests, and this person or that was assassinated.  You, on occasion, get to hear about the good things that happen.  But you hear about it far less frequently than the bad.  Firsthand, we get to see all the Iraqi's that are working here, not begging.  All the people that are protesting the insurgents, not the US and Coalition forces.  The stories of the local Iraqi's that are standing up to the insurgents.  Here, just a few blocks from where I sit, Iraq's Parliament gathered to elect a Speaker yesterday.  There are good things happening all over this country every day.  Amazing things.  In the short term picture, some are very minor.  But even the minor ones are huge when looking at the long term effects.  Step by step.  I miss all my friends and family, but am glad to be able to experience this.

     Got to get going now.  Off to the ranges again.

--Ted

14 March 2005, 1102 AM

     Things have changed again, for a little while.  I have been requested to come back to the headquarters in the Green Zone, to fill in for the Medic that is stationed here.  He will be going on Leave for a month, and I will be filling in, covering all of the medical training and needs for personnel reporting in-country, and staff already here.

     This week has been an interesting one.  I went out with the PSD teams a couple of times.  We went to a neighborhood in Central Baghdad, to scout out one of the Medical Universities.  Saturday was a long day.  We were in a 4 vehicle escort, with myself driving the 3rd vehicle.  We went from Camp Victory to the US Embassy, where we had to drop 3 VIP's off.  We then headed East, to Camp Patriot to pick up another VIP.  Camp Patriot is located in the eastern part of Baghdad, just south of the Al Sadr District.  We picked our VIP up there, and then headed out to Camp Fallujah, in Al Fallujah.  Spent a little time there, and then came back to Camp Victory.

     It was a pretty cool trip.  Driving vehicles over here is pretty interesting.  It's hard to explain on the internet, but it is actually a pretty choreographed exercise.  For our transit, the VIP/S were located in the second vehicle.  The entire trip consists of making sure that the VIP vehicle has a "bubble" of safety, so to speak.  The three remaining vehicles drive around, speeding up, braking, cutting other road accesses off, and just generally ensuring that no other cars get within an unsafe distance to the VIP vehicle by whatever means.  This is needed due to the suicide bombers (on foot and by vehicle), roadside IED's (Improvised Explosive Device), and just any insurgents waiting to attempt an ambush.  It's alot of hard driving.  The vehicles we are pretty heavily armored though.  There have been one or two incidents where VBIED's (Vehicle Borne Improvised Exlposive Device) have detonated in the area of the armored vehicles.  There was some pretty good damage to the outside skin of the vehicle, but the interior passenger compartment area was completely intact, w/ no damage.  The occupants got out and walked away.  So these things are pretty heavily armored.

     Now I'm back in the office at headquarters, and will be taking over the Medical Department for the next month.  The thing that is nice about being here again is the fact that everything is within walking distance.  Camp Victory is a huge base.  It is actually several camps, put together, and commonly referred to as Camp Victory.  It consists of Camp Victory, Camp Liberty North, Camp Liberty South, Camp Slayer, Camp Striker, and Camp Deutsch.  It would be at least a 15 minute drive for us to get to the main chow hall.  15-20 minutes to get to our offices.  And at least 20 minutes to get to the PX.  You had to drive everywhere.  And when you only have 4 vehicles, amongst 11 guys, and can get pretty old.

     Things should be cool here, and I will be home in the beginning of May.  I have got to get going for now and will write again later.  There are some new pics posted as well.

--Ted

01 March 2005, 1708 PM

     Well, I am now onboard Camp Victory, and getting settled in.  Those of you familiar with Kyle Kmetetz, will recognize it as the same base that he was on.

     I am finally starting to get myself sorted out here.  My responsibilities will include conducting advanced medical training for the PSD personnel here, as well as the rest of the support staff.    I have to teach them IV therapy, intubation, needle thoracentesis, amd cricothyroidotomy.  As well, move into the realm of suturing, intraosseous lines, and some other procedures.  I also go out with the security teams, as the medic, on occasion.

     Most of my time to date has been spent accumulating medical supplies from any resource I can.  Just like being in the Service again.  Going to a couple of the Army med units, bartering for supplies, as well as other PSD Medics.  It's pretty cool networking like that.  Getting to meet some good people.  

     Out of the 40-50 some odd personnel, here at Camp Victory, I am only one of 2 Americans.  It is mostly British and South African personnel out here.  To the opposite, there is a much more even cross-section of nationalities with the personnel stationed at the Palace, in the Green Zone.

     So far, I have accompanied the PSD Team on 2 missions.

     The first one the beginning of last week.  We went with some representatives from the US Army into the Mansour District of Baghdad.  The tasking was to scout out a potential future site of a medical clinic.  We went into a primarily residential section, in an unsecured part of the city.  I will have some pictures up in the photos section.

     The second one was later in the week.  We had to transport an armored vehicle, and some Military personnel up to the city of Ar Ramahdi.  During the trip we passed several points of interest.  We passed Abu Gharaib Prison, as well as the cities of Al Fallujah and Al Habbaniyah.  Our final destination in Ramahdi was Camp Blue Diamond, a US Marine Corps Installation.

     This was a nice little change, to be back onboard a USMC installation, after being surrounded by a bunch of Army Soldiers for the past few weeks.  I like my Army brethren, but there is just no comparison.  It was definitely a more comfortable atmosphere.  What made it even better, was running into an old friend from my unit in Reading.  While in the Mess hall, I ran into Staff Sergeant Reulan.  He was part of the Communications Staff with my Artillery Battery back in Reading.  It was a brief, but valued reunion.  He is currently over here with 4th Civil Affairs, out of Washington D.C.

     On the other side of things, our living quarters aren't too bad.  They have me billeted with the PSD team out of a "villa" on one of the man-made lakes that Saddam had built.  The villa's we are staying in were used as vacation retreats for Saddam's top officers.  The view off the back patio is pretty nice, and makes a nice setting for some good barbecues, and fires.  The buildings are in a certain state of disrepair, and won't be too suitable for living for too long.  They are in the process of constructing the new residences for us, and they should be done within the next month or two.

     All in all, it has been a cool experience.  Kind of what I miss from my time on Active Duty.  Getting to go to a different part of the world.  Interact with some very interesting people, locals and expatriates.  And just see things with my own eyes, and not only what you see on the evening news.  It has been a rewarding experience so far, and I am glad for it.  I miss my family and friends back home, but I will be back soon enough.

     I apologize for the time it has been since my last update.  But, as Colleen can attest to with all the difficulties we have been having with our communications, the Internet service in our offices tends to be sluggish.  That's when it's bothering to work.  For the same reason, I apologize if I haven't answered anybody's e-mail, or took a while to respond.

I have got to get going now though, and will write again when I can.

So know that I am in good spirits, and enjoying my experiences over here.  As some of the guestbook entries have said, I truly am getting to witness, and help shape, history firsthand.  And I am glad of it.

--Ted

16 February 2005, 1115 AM

     Indoc Training has finished.  We had the training at the Crossed Swords (see here) as well as plenty of time at the firing range. 

     It was a very interesting class, in which I had a dual role.  I was one of the students, but I was also the Medical Instructor as well.  The Medic normally here in Baghdad, was away on Leave, and that left me to fill in.  That was fine.  I had been here for a week before the class had even started, so had had time to acclimate myself to the items needed to be taught (basic first aid, as well as some advanced theory, i.e. indicators, contra-indicators, pros and cons, of things like IV's, surgical airways, chest decompressions, etc).  These are things that the guys will be picking up at their next station.  Some are going to Basrah, Mosul, Ramahdi, Tikrit, etc.

    We did alot of driving.  Alot.  It was alot of aggressive type driving.  Doing things that involved alot of squealing and screeching tires, and spinning cars (not flipping).  Pretty fun, actually.

     We had to familiarize and qualify with the Glock 17 (9mm pistol), AK-47 rifle, and M-4 rifle.  Lots of drills and maneuvers with them.  And at range time, I took top pistol score, surprisingly, woo-hoo.

     Now, I am just getting my stuff ready for the move up to Camp Victory tomorrow (17th).  Doing some laundry, updating the website, and packing up my things.

     That's all I have time for now.  Got to get going.  See ya.

08 February 2005, 0920 AM

     Well I have finally started to get myself situated here in Baghdad.  I landed here last Thursday, on the morning of the 3rd.  

    Currently, myself and another Medic (from Africa) are taking charge of the Medical wing of the Baghdad Office, while awaiting our Indoc Training.  We are responsible for providing medical support for training missions, as well as admin stuff (i.e. supplies, and storeroom, training plans, etc.).  

     Our Indoc Training will begin on Thursday, and should last approximately 5 days.  After that point I should be getting moved out to Camp Victory, which is situated next to the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP).  There I will be working as the Regional Medic/ Senior Medical Advisor for the Security Teams based out of that Camp.  I will be responsible for the medical Training of all the Teams, and acting as the Medical Liaison between the security teams and the US Army.  I will supplement any of the security teams as well, with medical support.

     For now, I get to stay in a "tent" structure on the Presidential Palace grounds.  It's pretty amazing.  The size and splendor of this place is just amazing.  I will try to get some pics up in the next couple of days.  It's pretty cool.  Every night, they show a movie, in what was once Saddam's personal theater.  Bunch of GI's and contractors sitting in Saddam's 4 or 5 row private theater.  

     Hundreds of US and foreign militaries walking the halls that Saddam once ruled.  There is a huge dining area in what was once one of his Grand Halls.  The room you would always see on the news, that had the big painting of the huge missiles that were launching into the sky with the Iraqi flag painted on them (intentionally aimed towards Israel), is now being used for offices as well as a free internet and phone area for the troops over here.  I will try to get pictures posted in the next couple of days.

PFC Kyle Kmetetz receives the Purple Heart Medal for injuries sustained while serving his Country in Iraq.

(PFC Kmetetz is pictured--back row, 3rd from the left)

Soldier receives 2 Purple Hearts, 16 others earn 1

Countdown to "The" Big Day, May 13, 2006