It's Official!

I just found out last week that Kristin, Ronan, and I are in fact going to Japan for the next few years.

So this last weekend we are in San Francisco, no business, just hanging out. I have no idea what possessed to book a hotel off of Union Square on the day after Thanksgiving. I don't think I have ever seen so many people in one spot before. In my months of solitude in Baghdad, I must have forgotten the shear power of the consumer dollar in the US. It was amazing to see, and a little frightening as well.

So, as I was saying we're in San Francisco, and we go into a book store and buy a Lonely Planet Travel Guide for Japan. Why not? What place better to start than a guide written by westerners in Japan? After a thoroughly sintillating visit of the Bay area we drove the 6 hours back to Port Hueneme. During this time Kristin read about 50 pages of this book out loud to me. It sounds like it's going to be an interesting time to say the least. We see the language barrier as going to be a problem, and the fact that having a car is cost prohibitive as well as paramount to self induced anxiety. (Driving in downtown SF was a good indicator of Anytown in Japan.)

So we went out to dinner as we drove back into the PH and because of reading all about Japan we had a urge to eat some sushi. (This urge takes us some times.) So we went to this places we have never been to before. It was pretty good, but can you imagine taking a 17 month old to a sushi joint? Ronan surprised us all by eating a couple California rolls and eating a good portion of a Tori nigiri. (piece of tuna on rice.) And this was with wasabi and everything. The boy is a Hoover. If he doesn't eat it at first, just leave it in front of him and eventually he will get bored enough to eat it. I know that this will change at some point, and he will get into the spirit of having a battle of wills. (I can't wait...... )

~josh

Happy Daddy

This is us on Halloween. Ronan had a great day going to the base commander's Halloween party. So rather than wash his costume out (A pumpkin) and take himi around to collect candy that he sure doesn't need, and God knows that Kristin and I don't need, he helped hand out candy to all of the kids that came by.

Living on a military base means that all of the families feel pretty comfortable letting their kids roam about. It was a crazy and pleasant night after hanging out in Baghdad for seven months.

~Josh 

Home again, home again.....

Well folks... It's done. The long deployment to Iraq is finally over. I made it home on October 24th, and it was a wonderful homecoming indeed. Ronan, the little boy that he is didn't have any problems with me, and in fact jumped right into my arms. He didn't start calling me "Daddy" or anything, but he wasn't afraid of me. (I'm told that is a common problem with men who deploy.)

I was able to take the next couple of days off, and then on Friday it was back to work. We are in a new building and on a new computer network, so believe it or not there was quite a bit to do to get those of us who were back early online and get settled into our offices.

The following couple of weeks have been kind of strange with me getting used to having a little boy (vs a baby), and getting used to a regular work week. I have been able to get off of work by 1500 almost everyday now. That's pretty crazy compared to life in Baghdad, in which I was working from 0700 til 2200 on most nights.

It has been an adjustment. I do find myself missing my weapon, just because it was such a steady attachment on my hip. I miss SOME of the people as well. But for the most part I don't miss being gone at all. I do miss seeing the project progress like it was. And I certainly do hope that it continues to progress as our relief gets comfy in their homes for the next 5 months. (they have a shorter deployment.)

As always my thoughts are with those who are still over there. Stay safe Michael.

~Josh

So I'm sitting in my office....

.... eating my breakfast of a Harvet Bar and a cup of coffee, pondering the secrets of the Universe. (Reading the funnies online) And it comes to me that I am going to be home relatively soon. How soon is hard to say as I've been bumped, dumped, resorted, and reprioritized a few times now. But that's not the point. The point is, that I am going to be going home to my beautiful little boy and wife sometime fairly soon.

Of course there are several tons of baggage that go along with that. I am very busy right now (well.... not this instant) with getting things ready for turnover. You know how it is, old guys leave, new guy come, new cusses the existence of the old guy because he forgot to pass some important secret of the job along. It's a tale as old as time itself.
In my case, there is project information to tunr over. There are last minute bills to pay, accounts to balance and get in order, and some last minute new project items to work out for the people who have to stay here. Oh, yeah, the funding justification for the buses too. How I love being the guardian of taxpayer money.

But I'll slog through this and press on as I always do. My ears will redden as the people who come to replce me curse my name and say what a worthless piece of jackal crap I am. But I don't think I will mind all that much. I am going home soon. Thay have a wonderful 6 months of Iraq to look forward too.

~Josh

Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper

Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper

Read this Blog, it is hilarious. :-)

Rebecca's Blog

Rebecca's Blog
Check this blog out. My sister rocks!!!!

The court was not exactly sand, and it wasn't all that soft. It hurt pretty badly the next day. 

Saturday night volleyball. There were about 80 people at this cookout/volleyball tournement. 

Kristin's Blog

Kristin's Blog

This is an interesting shrapnel pattern in the roof over my back door. This happened long ago, probably back during the war, but I see the sun streaming through it sometimes, and I think how interesting it looks. 

This is the view from my back door. As you can see I have a little dirt garden going. I thought this particular morning was bright, clear, and cool. So I took a picture. 

New comment posting procedure

I have just had my first run in with comment spammers, so I am turning on an option that BlogSpot has made available, and that is to make people who are posting a comment to verify they are actually a person and not some spambot.  This is done by simply typing in a series of letters that the system will show you.  Simple.  Sorry for this additional step to post, but we don’t need to see comments about someone’s Penis Pill site.  LOL
~Josh

Volleyball in a K-span Building. Fun was had by all. 

Extension Celebration Picnic

In light of the news that we have been extended to support our brother and sister Seabees in Gulfport in this difficult time, we decided to throw a party. So using one of the newly finished buildings that we built, we played volleyball and cooked hamburger, hotdogs, and chicken. I think a good time was had by all. Of course we couldn't break out the beer, but what can you do?
~Josh

Extended.....

We just found out to day that we are going to get extended on our deployment by 28 days or so. The troops weren't to surprised by this move, as we were warned about the possibility. But it's kind of a disappointment as we are SOOOO looking forward to going home.

But when you think about the hardships our sister Battalion, NMCB-133 is going through right now, its not a big deal. They have 80 members who do not have homes right now, and they are aiding in the storm clean up in Gulfport. So they haven't had the time they need to prepare for their mission here and other places. If they came right away they would not have a successful deployment.

This is me and my family's contribution to the hurricane relief effort. It is the least we can do for our brothers and sister in Gulfport.

~Josh

This is the famed camel spider. Not really a spider at all. It's not even poisonous. 

Running

I actually ran out side today for the first time in a couple of months.  I think we are through the worst of the summer heat over here.  I have been noticing that my walk to the gym in the morning has been accompanied with a slight feeling of chill.  So last week, I decided that I would start running outside again.
Of course I haven’t been running at all in the gym.  There are three treadmills, but alas, all we have here is the Iraqi gym, or rather the shared gym.  And with the Iraqi soldiers using the treadmills, they do not last that long.  Of course the fact that they were probably factory seconds, or what we would call seconds in the states doesn’t help anything.  So the last of three treadmills gave up the ghost last month sometime.  So I have been doing my thing on the elliptical.  Sure you can burn some calories on those things, but it’s easier for some reason than running.
So I went outside this morning, and it was comfortably cool outside.  The air had the typical Baghdad malaise in it, but the birds were chirping away cheerfully. (You have to love the birds)
I ran for a grand total of 26 minutes.  I little more actually.  My knees are not going to thank me later today.  I think they actually rebel.  We’ll see though.  
A couple of the Iraqi platoons were having their morning football match out behind the HLZ like they always do, and there were a couple other American soldiers running the .6 mile running look with me.
I didn’t turn an ankle, or otherwise hurt myself, so I’m glad for that.
The morning was beautiful, and blue, and hazy, so I guessing that day is going to be ever so hot and scorching.

~Josh

Time Keeps On Slipping

Can you believe it. I am inside the 8 weeks mark to coming home finally. I don't want to take anything away from my Army friends, who have to do 12 month deployments by the way, but it's almost been a half a year since I left Port Hueneme that dark April morning.

Everyday brings me closer to my beautiful wife, and unbearably cute little boy.
My family is going to be getting together this week in Portland to visit and see each other, and I am very jealous because of all the good time I am going to miss with these great people who happen to be family.

I just thought I would share this wonderful revelation with everyone.

~Josh

This is a great picture of a monstrous 'Super Mousque" that is being built in downtown Baghdad. As you can see I was "on the road" again. 

Red Skys All Around

Well, I know I said I would post a picture a day thing. I guess that's either to much work for my schedule, or I just don't have what it takes to be a daily poster. Lately its been taking a long time to look at anything having to do with the internet. I'm guessing it has something to do with the weather. Last night sometime, a nice north-westerly wind blew in and brought its friend, the dust with it.
As you can see from this picture, which was taken at 0830 this morning, the day did not dawn bright and cheerful. I have not messed with the color of this picture at all either. It was kind of like being on Mars or something.
That's it for now.

~Josh

A picture of a village that we flew over. If you look closely you can see people still sleeping on the roofs. They do this because they don't have a consistent power supply for their AC's. 

Looking out over Baghdad on a sunny morning. Approximately 8 million people live here. 

Yet another picture from my flight. You can see two children on the bank of the river near the bottom. They were waving at us. 

And Time Passes

The previous several posts have been pictures kind of chronicling a recent trip I took. It was an early morning flight, and besides some sort of oil misting my face, it was a great ride. (I really don't care if I get a little bit of hydraulic fluid in my face, but it got on my camera lens too.)

The scenes were spectacular though. From flying over the desert, to the approach to Baghdad where things start to get green again. The temperatures also vary widely. One minute it's nice and cool, and then the next minute you are sweating profusely because it's 20 degrees warmer.
This picture in my post here is a great picture of one of the many palaces in Baghdad. It's interesting to see that most of the people in Iraq live in such abject poverty, and then the Hussein family lived like this. And like I said, this is one of hundreds, yes I said hundreds of such residences.

Enjoy my friends.

~Josh

What looks to be a fairly decent neighborhood in Baghdad. 

The mighty Tigris River outside Baghdad. Beautiful from this altitude. 

Watching the sun come up from a high vantage point, with the reminder that there is still constant danger in the air. 

A picture of the farm lands of Iraq as the sun peeks through the dust clouds in the morning. 

Happy Birthday Wishes

In this post I want to recognize my younger brother, Free Michael, for it is his birthday today. He is turning a well seasoned 29 years old today. This last year we haven't talked nearly as much as I would have liked to, especially living relatively close to each as we do. (I'm in the good old PH, and he's in Phoenix.)

So Happy birthday Bro! I hope you have a good one. I'd drink a toast to you if I could, but I can't, so I'll have a NA beer in your honor today at dinner. ;-)

~Josh

Getting set up for our 4th of July Picnic. 

Lovely form work for afore mentioned Pumping Station. 

A Post, at long last!!!!

Damn, but it's been awhile since I have posted anything. It hard to think about what to write about when I post, because there is that delicate line you don't want to cross between when you can say and what you can't say about work. In the sporatic instances when I talk to Kristin she is constantly reminding me about things I mabe shouldn't be telling her, which in my case is very hard because of the fact that I typically tell her everything that goes on at home. It's yet another work dynamic that I just have to get used to.

I can talk about the basic work that I am doing, so I will vent just a little bit. We are over here helping the Iraqi people. I work with, and supervise several of them, and I feel that I have gotten to know the ones I work with pretty well. That being said, there is a strong trend of apathy from 75% of the people I work with over here. (The locals)

I know that is truly dismal outlook, but at times it gets pretty frustrating. All I can say is that the work around here is never dull. Too exciting at times, but never dull.

I have a contractor who is working on building a gray water pumping station for us. He catagorically refused to use my suggestion of using a precast concrete vault. He said he couldn't control the quality of concrete, and then the plant might mess up the pour and they would have to redo the structure. So he builds this brick outer jacket down in the hole, which is 4 meters deep. Then he ties his rebar, and builds his forms, and then orders concrete from the same batch plant that could have precast the thing in the forst place. LOL... The first trip the truck made out to the site, the contractor didn't have a vibrator. A whole load of concrete wasted. The next day everything was set. The truck came out and they poured, and whoops, there was a little failure of the forms. The boards started to bulge and break near the bottom of the structure.

That is a typical contractor here. They think they can do everything better and cheaper.
That's it for now.

~Josh

Friends from the Desert. We will build!!!! 

Weird looking room mate. He didn't last that much longer though. 

Pervasive proof that Kawasaki is still taking over the world. ;-) 

Update

I know it's been quite some time since I last updated everyone on my adventures in Iraq. We we are moving into summer. The tempuratures continue to rise and our AC's struggle to keep up. We have had several ineresting dust storms. It's like a fog, the dust moves in and settles on everything and stays in the air. It harkens back to when Mt. St Helens blew up and the resulting ash fallout.

I think our warmest day so far has been 115 F, which is plenty hot.

Work is progressing nicely. I have settled into the challenging yet rewarding job of being the Construction Engineer for the whole project. Right now that amounts to about $19M in projects. I am enjoying the challenge of dealing with the local contractors, many of which are trying to pull the wool over our eyes by charging way to much for sub-standard construction. But we march on.

That's about it for right now. I'll post a couple pictures in the coming days. So stay tuned.

~Josh

Seabee Warriors all, both Army and Navy!

Another Happy Mother's day Wish. Can you guess which tiny figure is me?

Communications

Hey everyone,
As you can see from the previous post Mother's Day has been on my mind. Not only for the fact that I want to recognize my own mother for the joyous fact that she my mother, but more so this year for my wife, who is now a mother soon to enjoy her first Mother's Day. This is very important to her, and rightly so. She gets to celebrate the fact that now, she too is a mother.

So I salute you Mothers out there, but most of all I salute my wife, who is everything I could ever dream of and more, as the woman of my dreams, and the mother of our son, and my best friend.

Now for a quick update. It has actually been cold here the last couple of nights. Of course cold is relative, and 47 is pretty cold here. Since the last little update I have had the chance to get off base and see some of the countryside. It's not as desolate as I thought it would be here. There is a tremendous amount of agriculture from central Iraq northward.

That's about it. Mom, I did get your little message. If your email is messed up, but you still have access to the internet, signup for a Yahoo account. Free, simple, and easy.

Have a good one everyone.

Love,
Josh

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!! 

Sunday Night Dinner

Hello folks,
I just wanted to fill you in on a little Sunday night tradition we have here in *********. (Censored for your and my protection. ;-)) On Sunday nights we close up shop at about 1730. (That's 5:30 pm in civilianese.) Anyway we close up shop and drive to the to the other side of the base. Of course I spend much of my day driving so that's nothing special, but we go to the chow hall right behind the 3rd Infantry Division HQ. (very BIG Head Shed.) There we walk into the show hall and grab our plate and plastic forks and whatnot. Then we approach the food line. The first thing you see is the carving station. "Prime rib, medium well please." (Mike Guzzi gets about 2 pounds.) On down the line you see Alaskan King crab legs. Not these little dainty things, but these 20 inch long monster crab legs. "Can I have two, pretty please?!?!?!" They gesture for my tray... one crab leg, two crab leg, three crab leg, four crab leg...... I'm starting to get alarmed. I'm doubting whether or not I am sufficiently hungry, so I wave off the the fifth crab leg being piled onto my tray. Then it's onto the salad bar for a salad of fresh romaine, not so fresh cucumbers, and all the other fixings.
The walls of this place are covered with college flags from everywhere. Oh, there's Georgia Tech, right up there in front. There are large plasma screen TV's hanging from every wall. And the sound of live music drifts through a set of exit doors.
So after pondering such things as drink choice, whether or not I should get desert now or later, speaking of which, what am I going to eat for desert? There is the pastry display with all manner of cakes, cookies, and pies. There is a Baskin & Robbins Ice Cream counter. There's even a deli sandwich counter for those who know they need a midnight snack, or lunch the next day.
So I wonder outside, and what do I see? Patio seating, with a small stage and a band of army guys playing Jazz. There are palm trees and a shade structure under which many tables are placed.
I'm thinking, "What's going on here? Is this a war zone? Or did I just step into the TwilightZone?
So this is going to be our Sunday night thing. We, Mike and I, are going to knock off early and go to dinner to sit, relax, and eat like pigs, errr I meant soldiers.
So I beg of you, please keep me in your thoughts as I endure the hardships of a long and arduous deployment in a wartorn country.

Have a great Seabee day!
~Josh

Life continues in Baghdad

We are now on our own as far as doing our jobs. The guys that we relieved are on their way home. Godspeed and safe journey to them. (We are actually kind of glad that they are gone.)

The food here is pretty good. There are many different chow halls around the base, and it's all you can eat with pastry service stations, icecream stations (with real Baskin & Robbins icecream), and even carving stations here and there.

There's a radio station for the base which play the stupidest commercials. (Everything from Practice good OpSec, to buckle your seat belt when you drive.) But hey, it's music. And they have the heaviest armed morning show on the air. That's gotta be worth something.

The job is picking up speed. I must be personally responsible the deforestation of several mountainsides. I have my own copier on my desk to give you an idea of the amount of paper I go through. O'well, anything so I don't make a mistake and go to jail.

That's about it. O'yeah, here's my mailing address.

ENS Josh Perry
NMCB-5 Det 10
Task Force Pioneer
FOB Central Control
APO AE 09322

Don't ask me what all of those things mean, but a lot of different activities are over us. The only thing I would ask that you not send is alcohol. General Order #1, "Thou shalt not consume any alcohol in Iraq!" On a side note, as much as I would like to have some chocolate, I doubt it would survive the trip in this heat.

It also rained today. I thought that was worth mentioning for some reason.
Later people!

~Josh

I am here!

Well everyone, I am here. Finally. I have actually been here for the last couple of days, but I have been busy learning how to do my job and getting the lay of the land. As far as where I am, I am allowed to say that I am in Baghdad. It's not all that bad here. Things have really setled down and everything seems pretty quiet. It's still like the wild west in a frontier type setting. Everyone still carries a loaded weapon and there is still a lot of stuff still going on out there.

I am living in a old building that leaves a lot to be desired, but I have a few days to use the Seabees that we have here before we goto work on Monday.

My email is still jperry13@adelphia.net so feel free to drop me a line.

That's about it for right now.

-Josh

Leaving on a jet plane.

Well the time has come folks. I am leaving this very morning. Whew! It's been a long and laborious wait. Kristin can atest to the fact that everyone in the Battalion has been ramping up in anticipation of this moment. It's like one of those rev up toys, that you rev and rev and rev on the floor thinking one more time and you'll get a little more speed out of the thing. But no matter how many more times you rev, it just doesn't get any faster.
I can tell you all with no hesitation that we are ready for our mission and any more time sitting here in Port Hueneme will just begin to break the toy by over-revving.

So this is it for the next two weeks or so. I will be back online sometime in the middle of April. As my mother would say, "Angels around all of you.", and think you all so much for making this last week great. Especially you Kristin and Ronan. I love you both so much.

-Josh

Blue Eyes

This is our blue eyed baby boy.

The Happiest Family

This is a picture of all of us. Kristin, Ronan, and myself. Taken at Point Mugu Beach, March 25th, 2005.