A Little Catching Up.

Let me take a few minutes and play catch up.

April 2006: I was notified that I would be getting mobilization orders, recalling me to active duty and that I would be deploying to Iraq. My first day back on active duty was May 1st. I wasn't really surprised by the orders, as I had not been recalled during the previous 3 years, making me one of the few reserve officers who had not yet served. The month of April was a whirlwind. Rachel and I moved from our place near the beach in La Jolla to a great but small place just west of Mission Bay. I spent a lot of time wrapping up loose ends in my civilian life and getting ready for the deployment.

For those of you that may not have much experience with the military, let me explain the active duty vs reserve thing. I spent 4 and half years on active, out of college. From there I transferred to the Reserve component. I've continued to serve, train, get paid and get promoted during that time. I've remained in the Marine Corps the entire time, just in a backup role.

May 2006: The first three weeks of May were filled with the inevitable bureaucratic things one must endure when going back into government service and preparing to deploy to war zone. Classes, medical and dental exams, records review, getting my field gear. Another fast and furious three weeks. On May the 22nd, I departed San Diego for Tampa Florida and the Headquarters for U.S. Central Command. I was at once excited about the journey and a little scared. I've developed a healthy fear for and respect of the unknown. And I definitely didn't know what I was getting myself into.

I'm filling what is called an "individual augmentee" billet, or job. There are a bunch of jobs that need to be filled during war time operations that aren't needed when we're not fighting at war. Here in the Iraq, the command where I work, the MultiNational security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) is a unit that was created just for Iraq to help start and train the new Iraqi Army and Police force. I'm filling one of IA position at MNSTCI. My stop in Tampa was to check in with Marine Component of Central Command, the folks who "own" me while I'm in Iraq. That took about a day and half. It would be another 4 days before I departed Tampa.

I have to give a very special thanks to my dear friends Gary Joubert and Emelie Tirre. They housed and fed and entertained me during my brief stay in Tampa. After the chaos of the previous two months, and the emotional roller coaster of leaving my wife and many friends behind, the peace and tranquility and friendship of their home was just what I needed.

I arrived in Kuwait on 28 May and Baghdad on 1 June. I left the IZ (Int'l Zone) on the sixth, for a very interesting helo ride. We left the IZ and went somewhere (it was dark and I had no idea where I was). We got kicked of our helo for some priority passengers, but with a promise to return soon, and they did. We flew a while longer and landed at another strange place that did not look at all like my base had been described to me. Got kicked off again, with a promise of a return. Remember, I've got all my gear with me, 4 big bags of stuff. We spent about 5 hours on the concrete before our helo returned. Turns out this was the night that Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed, hence the strange helo ride. The airspace around Baghdad had been shut down to accommodate that operation