So I thought I would tell you all a little about my job here in Iraq. Currently we have three week rotations. The first three weeks is what we call QRF (Quick Reaction Force). Since I am stationed in Scania which is basically right in the middle of Iraq, my base is a big truck stop and major fuel point for the smaller trucks traveling MSR Tampa. (MSR=Main Suppy Route). So if they need help or find something along the road that they suspect, they call us to come out and help them out. Its pretty cool so far, smaller base, better hours, less hassel from higher up.
The second three weeks I will be in the office helping with Logistics. Because I'm the Platoon Leaders driver, I basically dont have a truck crew on these second three weeks. This is awesome because the others in the platoon have 'grey water' which is a horrible stinky job that I wont go into. They have Entry Control Point which is hours of watching camera monitors at the ECP shack. They also have tower duty. Tower duty is where you go man a tower around the base and look over the wall for hours searching for anything threatening. So, me being posted inside the office is a good thing :)
I went out on my first mission the other day for a route recon (basically checking out the route and check points to see if anything looks out of the ordinary). It was a success :) Trying to avoid pot holes is going to be tricky though haha, I think I hit more trying to avoid the ones I saw than if I had just hit the ones I saw. Its very difficult.
I wrecked my truck the first day I got it, even before we left base. It was at night before we left Talill to come to Scania. There was a 6X6 foot sewer hole with a 2 foot tall concrete barrier around it on top. Now, its dark, I'm nervous about my first mission, I have a very large wrecker in front of me causing all sorts of dust. I go for the left turn, take it too tight and hit this very oddly placed concrete box. Now my truck is huge and it felt more like a speed bump until I realized I couldnt move. I was wedged on top of this darn thing. I get out, realize I'm see sawing on top of it, get back in and back off of it. I try to drive off and realize I cant turn right. My front tires were unable to turn right because I had busted the leaf springs and some how pushed them so far to the right that my wheels were perminantly turned left. :) Hey, if you are going to set a standard, do it first and do it right :)
So one of my buddies hit a dumpster yesterday and they called it "He pulled a Jackson". Awesome!
Anyways, I miss home like crazy.... I hope everyone is well!
