Wednesday, February 11, 2004

The start of my journey home

My days being out amongst the Iraqi people interacting with them in a number of different capacities are over for at least this phase of my life. My one-year boots on the ground here in Iraq now in its final stages, as I prepare to return to life in America.

I am now over at the Baghdad International Airport, or BIAP as we affectionately call it, just one more step towards going home. I moved out from my digs over at Camp Victory, where I had been for the last two plus weeks, enjoying life in a tent again, which actually isn’t bad at all. BIAP is like any other military base I have been on and for that matter I could be any where in the world for all I know, with no visible signs that I am still in Iraq.

I am here with my favorite Major, the one I was with at the POW camp down south where I was interrogating all the generals. It was great seeing him again for the first time in 6 months, embracing in a big manly bear hug as we saw each other again. In retrospect my time spent with him was pivotal for the successes I have experienced during my deployment. We have definitely bonded for life, both with shared key life experiences we will never forget.

There are a few of us, from the old gang back home, waiting for a flight out to Kuwait City, where we will be for a couple of weeks. The rest of the group has already made its way south and is waiting to link up with us. We shouldn’t be there longer than a couple of weeks, then off to Fort Carson, Colorado for a week or so, with high hopes that we will be back on home turf the first part of March.

For a change, it is actually nice not to have any responsibilities. We have basically been catching up on some long needed rest, even sleeping in as late as we want. I didn’t realize how tired I have been, hardly stopping before to catch my breath.

We sent off the last of our teams yesterday that, as you can imagine, were full of excitement to begin the trek back to America, with all their war stories of their great adventures. It was great seeing them for the first time in many months. As far as I can tell the whole group of 100 plus soldiers has done extremely well, all having performed above and beyond their call of duty.

We have all definitely made our mark and a difference, no matter how small, in the success of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Thoughts of seeing all of them again and the fun times ahead race through my head, as I contemplate our reunion. It will be a joyous occasion.

I was finally able to get on the Internet for a few minutes yesterday in a make shift roadside Internet Cafe, set up by a few Indian entrepreneurs. All considered, the wireless satellite connection was running at a pretty good speed and not a bad bargain at $3.00 an hour. I took a few pictures so you will know what I mean.

The showers here are hot, the porta-potties are clean, the Major and I have a room with a heater, we have a vehicle for transportation, they have an MWR room with plenty of movies, and the food, in what they call the Bob Hope dining facility, is the best I’ve had while in country. A soldier could do worse.

A big vote of thanks

I would like to take this opportunity, while you are still with me, to thank a few great people.

Matt in Baltimore has been fantastic. He has been our main man handling the warehouse, coordinating all the sorting of your boxes and loading up the containers, also responsible for setting up the Operation Give web site. Words cannot express my deep gratitude for his tireless efforts to help make this happen. Matt I will always be indebted to you. You are a stud, especially while you were recovering from a serious knee injury but kept right on ticking.

Scott back in Orem, Utah, or plunge as you know him, has been such a key factor in making so many things happen. He set up and manages the Chief wiggles blog, fending off any negative email clutter, making sure I respond to your emails, had his own toy drive in Salt Lake City, Utah, filling a large truck that went out to the warehouse, and on and on. All the while he has been suffering from several physical ailments, with surgery pending in the next couple of weeks. He has continually been in pain and heavily medicated, but nothing stopped him. You rock man.

All the great people at FedEx, especially Gary, Jean Ann and Terry, what can I say. You have really stepped up to the plate and delivered (no pun intended), making so much of this happen, bringing joy to so many people, especially all the soldiers on our team whom you really took care of during Christmas. We love all of you.

Baghdaddy, has been there all the way watching my back and making sure I wasn’t getting into too much trouble. On almost every toy drop he was the one in the background, totting the weapon, watching out for me and making sure things didn’t get out of hand. I really needed you there and I appreciate your efforts.

Renda, my interpreter, who has been by my side the whole while, making sure the right message was getting across to the Iraqi people. She was there on every toy drop right from the beginning, shared in all the joy and happiness I experienced, contributed with so many great ideas (like giving the boy an award at his school), felt our sadness for the plight of so many poor people, and traveled around to various communities of needy people to give out school supplies and toys. I couldn’t have done any of this without her. You are totally awesome.

The team of volunteers in Baltimore, especially the Veterans of Foreign Wars and one specific African American, who spent hours sorting all the boxes of donations, re-boxing them up and loading them onto the containers. You have been just wonderful. I am definitely coming out to see all of you.

My team of Iraqis who worked side by side with me before and are now continuing on under my direction, to fulfill the mission of Operation Give. Your assistance has been greatly appreciated and I know you share in my vision to carry this forward. You have all been fantastic. You have helped me during so many difficult times and frustrating situations.

A certain captain that helped us find a warehouse in the green zone to store all the toys.

Another captain in Civil Affairs who hooked up so many orphanages for toy drops.

The people who donated the Baltimore warehouse and now the ones who donated the space in Salt Lake City.

And all of you who have donated so much, sent over so many boxes, contributed so much, through all your efforts, made so much happen. My hat goes off to all of you.

There are just so many people to thank. My heart is full of appreciation, with no idea how I will ever repay you. 

God has truly placed you in our path, for we were meant to meet and you responded to the call to serve and it is all-good.  Keep it up for our journey has just begun.

My Plan:

I have shared with each of my Iraqi team members my vision, along with our Operation Give mission statement, our short and long term goals and objectives and operational guidelines for how I want to see things happen in the future. I have given them strict instructions, with methods and procedures for them to follow, to insure that the right message is conveyed and the right image portrayed. The team will not make any decisions regarding the Operation Give organization, or the contributions with out my input and direction.

There is much to be done and we will do it in the way you would want us to. Please give us as much feedback as you would like to help us down this path. This is your organization. I am here to facilitate your wishes. We are all participating together in this effort to bring joy, hope, and happiness to the children of the world, wherever we can.

In the next week or so I will be posting my overall plan and direction for this organization. I welcome your ideas and thoughts relating to that.

We will win the hearts and minds of the people through the children, breaking down age-old barriers of hatred and distrust towards each other. The American military can be seen in a different light, as the love and kindness of the American people is demonstrated through our efforts to teach, educate, rebuild, and share the abundance we have been blessed with.

We have much yet to do.

Have a great day

Chief Wiggles
Doing it the Wiggles Way