For all the folks that listened to the podcast for the past several months I’ve got some good news. I’ve recently signed a deal with The Podcast Network to produce a show based on, well, being an American. The show is called The All American Podcast and episodes are availible now. Check it out and thanks for listening.
Well, I made it back and things have been going well for me. I’ve got a new blog. Clicking on “home” above will take you there. Enjoy and thanks for all the well wishes and interest over the past year.
Yoshi, out!
Well, folks this is it. In the past year I’ve seen hope, violence, heroes, and cowards. It has been a special time but I’m now moving on. The site will sit in its current format for at least the next month as I catch up with my wife and decide what to do next. In the mean time here is the final podcast. Via con Dios everyone…I’ll see you all on the flip side. And just for old times sake….
YOSHI, OUT!!!
So I finally had some down time and figured I owed you all a podcast. Here is the newest one. I talk a little about the Elections and events in Iran. I get on a rant about Bill O’Retard and his “War on Christmas” series. But other than that mostly just Erick and I goofing off on a rather boring night. The direct link is here.
Take care and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Well, this is the site as it will exist until I get bored with it again. I’ve got 30 days or so until I leave Iraq and about 45 until I’m sitting back home in the U.S. I’ve been thinking hard on what to do with this site and the podcast upon my return. I’m thinking that a commentary site offering my unique perspective might be fun. I’m not sure how many people will read it but for my own purposes I thought it’d be real hoot to put on paper what goes on in my brain. If anyone out there is still reading this please let me know what you think. I apoligize for no putting up any new content recently but between work, football, and preparing to get out of here there just hasn’t been much in the way time. To be honest with you I’ve been going through a rough spot here the last couple of weeks. Everyone gets down over here once in a while but I’ve been getting really angry lately. I’ve got a feeling it has to do with just wanting to be done and I keep trying to remind myself of the guys outside the wire that are doing all the heavy-lifting. I have no real reason to complain but it is hard to be in a job that provides little in the way of satisfaction. The one nice thing about the Army is that you get the chance to move every few years and go somewhere new and do something different. I’ve got a feeling I’m really going to like being an instructor. I’m really just looking forward to having a life again. See I believe that families and friends are the truely important things in life. I tend to fall on the side of Working-to-live not Living-to-work. That is part of the reason I’ve been so down. Here all I have is my work and I’m not real happy doing it. On top of that while I’m here my friends and family back in the states are continuing on with their lives. I’ve missed the birth of a neice, the wedding of a good friend, and my wife’s back surgery. These are the things that make life long memories and I wasn’t there for any of them. 30 days.
On a side-note I’ll be putting up a podcast in the next day or two. The feed address will remain the same for those already using it or for those of you that are new you can get the feed by clicking on the RSS link to the right. Thanks for stopping in…Later
This is just about finished. Soon I’ll unveil my madness on the world. The Podcast will continue in someform in the future but the rss address is going to change. I’ll keep everyone updated as this moves along and we’ll get to a point where those that know me will no longer need to even talk to me to be annoyed…They’ll be able to simply log-in.
feed://homepage.mac.com/yoshi187/iblog/rss.xml
To see the blog go to:
http://homepage.mac.com/yoshi187/iblog/
Later and have a nice day…
Day 4 — May 31st
I awaken from my little slumber as the guy across from me on the plane drops his helmet on my foot. I look up and he says we’re about to land. We hit the ground in what is one of the better C-130 landings I’ve experienced. Everyone comes alive as we start gathering up our stuff and the loadmasters stop to prepare to drop the ramp and unload our baggage palate. When everything is unloaded we shuffle off the plane and stand on the tarmac in Kuwait. The Sun is already high in the sky and it feels hot…my watch says it’s 0545. We stand around for about 15 mins while we wait for the buses. Everyones spirits are high since we’ve finally made it out of Iraq. The buses show up and we hop on board. The trip from the air base in Kuwait to Camp Doha takes about 30-45 mins. Kuwait looks alot different than Iraq. Iraq has lots of trees and vegitation and Kuwait is just a big rolling sand dune as far as the eye can see. I make a quick note of this as the bus rolls down the highway. We get to Camp Doha and a guy gets on the bus and starts handing out little tags. He tells us to put these on our body armor and helmets. We take the equipment into a warehouse and hand it off to a another guy that will store the equipment for us while we are on leave. Back on the bus, drop off the bags, go to another room for the briefing.
At the Briefing you fill out the information ,like what airport you want to land at, and get told what the process will be from here on out. The guy says it is a two day process but because of the time that we landed we are already on day two. The whole room erupts in cheers. We make copies and fill out some more paperwork and he tells us where to be and when. Right when we get ready to get up and leave a SGT ask for our attention and says he is sorry but the flights for tonight are full with space for about 20 people. He calls off a list of names and needless to say with about 300 people in the room I not one of the ones selected. A collective sigh goes out accross the room as the rest of us shuffle out of the room and headback to our tempoary housing. After a 20 min rant to anyone who will listen I go to do laundry and hit the PX for something to eat. The rest of the night is just sitting around joking and having fun as best you can. At least waiting here we have beds to sit and sleep on. I go to sleep around 1100 at night and set my alarm for 0600.
Day 5 — 1 June (the day my leave was supposed to start in the U.S.)
I wake up the next morning, shower, eat, and get my bags repacked for the final leg of the travel. At 1100 we head out to the customs briefing. We pass through customs. The customs inspection is 100% all bags dumped. This is important to remember. We also get scanned with a metal detector. From there you throw your bags into a baggage truck that will take the checked baggage over to the airport to get loaded on the plane and you go into a holding area. The holding area has a few T.V.’s lots of snacks. For the next several hours you just sit and wait. Finally you get called up to grab your stuff and head out to more buses that will take you to Kuwait International Airport. The bus ride take about 40 mins and we get to the flight line and load up on the plane.
Day 6 — 2 June
From here on out it is a pretty normal trip. It becomes June 2nd while we are in the air. Another day of my wifes leave is ticking and I’m still not there. We stop in Germany to refuel and some people get off the plane. A chaplain and some personnel people are there to give you a quick briefing and you wait for about an hour while they get everything done with the plane. The flight and the process go smoothly until we get to Atlanta…But that is another story for another day…Phase II complete. Tommorow phase III and the final destination.
Yoshi..Out
Day 3 — May 30
We started early since we had to be at the airport at 0800. We got on the bus and headed over to the airport at 0600. At this point we’re old hands at the process and wind up gathering a group of Soldiers that just arrived at Camp Stryker for their R&R. After arriving at the airport SFC GG heads into to the HQ and gets told to just be at the formation at 0800. He explains what has happened the other 2 days and ask if we are on the manifest. The SSG behind the counter checks the computer and finds our names. SFC GG comes back outside and tells us we’re good. Our names are on the manifest and we are on the 1st flight at 2130 that night. At 0800 the SSG comes out and forms up all the R&R Soldiers and starts calling off names. Sure enough we are on the first flight and we break away from the main group into a seperate formation. The Manifest SGT takes our ID cards and gives us some instructions. She returns about an hour later and gives us our ID cards, tells us we need to be back at 1830, and that we can’t stay on the tarmac. We go back to Camp Styker and get a cot for a few hours of rest. We get up at 1600 and head back to the airport. We check back in and all that’s left to do is wait for the flight to arrive.
2100 — Almost time. SFC GG goes and ask if we should be getting our bags together. The SGT tells us that the flight will call at 20 mins out.
2110 — 20 mins out. No call from the flight.
2120 — The flight due to leave 10 mins after us is called to form up. We go in and ask what has happened and get told that our flight has been canceled! We get told to stand-by.
2145 — The SGT comes out and tells us she has a flight that can take us at 0030.
1150 — The SGT comes out and gets us all formed up. She says the plane is on it’s way and we’ll have to move quick when it arrives. We can hear the plane overhead and we’re all smiles.
1210 — May 31st (Day 4) — We hear the plane still overhead and listen as it seems to get further and further away.
1220 — No plane noises and we’ve all dropped our bags and laid down on the tarmac still in formation.
1235 — The Manifest SGT comes out and says “Your plane did not land. When it does that it goes back to its homebase and doesn’t come back. I don’t know why it does that. I don’t know what else to tell you.” No kidding those were her actual words. She wandered back into her office and we all stood around. Just staring off into space and not knowing how to react. We weren’t angry or dissapointed. We just stood there stunned.
1250 — The SGT comes back out and tells us that there is one last flight she can get us on at 0500 in the morning. She tells anyone that wants to can go back to Camp Stryker to use the Chow hall. About half of the group goes to eat the rest of us just try to sleep.
1330 — The SGT comes running out and tells those of us who didn’t go to eat to grab our bags. She says we need to go and pull our other bags off the palate that holds the Check-Baggage. We ask about the others that went to eat and she says she’ll get them out on the next flight but she thinks she can get us on one that’s leaving in 10 mins. We rush to move all the bags and run around like lost lemmings looking for a cliff to jump off. The whole time we’re thinking “man it sucks that the other guys aren’t going to make it…But we’re getting out of here!”
1350 — The SGT comes out and says that she tried but we can’t get on the plane. That we’ll just have to wait until the morning flight. At this point I reslove myself to sleep.
A quick note. If you remember from yesterdays entry I told you all about Star Wars getting shown at the PX on Camp Liberty. At some point that night the terrorist took advantage of the fact that there were a bunch of people sitting out in the open and fired a rocket into the camp. A couple of people were killed and around 100 injured. It’s just a little reminder that nowhere in Iraq is 100% safe.
0430 — I awaken in the middle of the Tarmac as they start calling us to form up get ready to get on our flight. Everyone has returned from chow. The flight is already in the air and has to stop at BIAP to drop off a load of Soldiers returning from R&R. We get all our stuff together.
0445 — We head out onto the flight line, up the ramp on the back of the C-130, wait for them to load the palate and close up the ramp. The plane starts to taxi. And we’re off the ground. We’re on our way and finally starting our trip home. I fall asleep to the droning of the engines.
Tomorrow…I’ll go into Phase II of the trip. That’s right 4 days after I left the Green Zone we’ve only just gotten to Phase II of the trip home. Will our hero ever find his way home? What will become of the baggage? Where does it all end? For the answers to these and other questions tune in tomorrow. Same R&R time, Same R&R channel…
Yoshi…out