Oh The Places I've Been!

12 Days, 11 Flights, 10 Cities, & 5 Countries...but that's only if you count connecting flights...otherwise it's 9 cities! And please don't ask me to count miles and/or time in the air...I'm all about breaking it down Big Bird-Cookie Monster style!

Well...I'm back from some of the most hectic and intense travel I've done since I got this job. And since my sleep pattern is so out of whack, I'm blogging about it at 0630 in the morning because I woke up at 0430 wide awake.

Anyhoo...our journey started last Monday with a short flight to New York which was followed by a 3 hour layover before we boarding our flight to Amman, Jordan. Although we weren't there for very long, it immediately reignited my love for both the middle east and also the history of it as well...more on that later.

We left at about 10pm on Monday and landed at about 4pm on Tuesday. We dropped our stuff at the hotel and then went to dinner. Dinner in this culture is very much a social event and you can usually pencil in at least 2 hours for a good dinner with friends. I had forgotten how much I missed middle eastern food so now I'm dragging Holly to a middle eastern restaurant tonight for dinner.

On Wednesday we toured the King Abudullah II Special Operations Training Center that we (USACE) built for the Jordanians. It was a very, very impressive facility. After the tour, it was off to Queen Alia International Airport for what would eventually be a 4 hour delay (surprisingly only one of two we had) in route to Kuwait City International Airport.

We eventually landed in Kuwait, drove to Ali Al Salem Airbase and immediately took off for our flight to Baghdad. We landed at BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) and took an SUV over to our housing. I very quickly realized how much I miss Iraq. I know it sounds crazy but from my perspective it was my home for a year and I really missed it. And the one thing that I have come to realize is that during my last deployment I wasn't just "deployed" to Iraq. It was my home, I "lived" there. I ate the food, I spoke the language (tried to anyway), lived with their people, etc.

I actually realized this in Jordan when we went out to eat and I ordered a heaping plate of rice & lamb and ate the entire thing with my hands. Our host was shocked and kept mentioning it to his Jordanian friends, "This is Captain Dan. He ate dinner last night with his hands!" And I explained to him that the reason I did so is because I "lived" in Iraq for a year. What a realization!

So my stay in Iraq was also fast and furious as we toured projects all around Baghdad and then flew down south to Talil and visited projects there as well. I would have to say that the Iraq leg of this travel was, by far and away, the best part of my trip. Some of the biggest highlights include seeing Talie Casey, flying over my old Iraqi Army base, and seeing the ziggurat of Ur...but mostly seeing Talie!

The next blog, as soon as I can dig out some old pictures, will detail all the historical places I've been to while in the Army. But as a preview, here they are in the order that I've seen them (as opposed to the order in which they were built)...the Hindu Kush, the citadel of Genghis Khan in Bamiyan, the Buddha statues of Bamiyan, the Tigris River, the Euphrates River, the great mosque of Samarra, Al-Askari Mosque (before and after the explosion), the ziggurats of Ur & Aqar Quf, and of course...Saddam's hole.

Moving right along...we flew back to Kuwait and remained overnight there. Please don't ask me what day it was because I'm not sure I knew at the time when/where I was so even now, I have no idea. In Kuwait, we visited a bunch of Engineer staff and then flew to Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar. I don't have any pictures of Qatar because most of which I saw cannot be photographed, wink-wink, nod-nod.

We remained overnight in Qatar after visiting more Engineer staffs and then took a direct flight from Doha to Dulles. By the by...couple of things for you...Engineering operations in theater have completely gone Joint meaning that the Army doesn't (and can't) do it alone...fascinating to see the view from the top and actually see how quickly our Engineering forces are rapidly evolving...one more thing...Qatari airport security is terrible and they take whatever they want from you and tell you that "it's a threat" but I guess if we have no idea what is actually allowed and what is not allowed than neither do the bad guys.

We landed at Dulles at about 5pm and went into work the next morning for a really, really busy day at the office before we flew to Houston early the evening. Once in Houston, we drove to Galveston, checked in, and passed out. While in Galveston, my eyes were open to the horrendous damages done to this Gulf Coast city by Hurricane Ike and their impressive recovery efforts.

After being in Galveston for less than 24 hours, we flew to New Orleans. New Orleans was New Orleans and I'll leave it at that. However, I will say that while there I did manage to eat some turtle soup...this is proof positive that they will eat anything down there. I called Holly my last night there and caught her half asleep and I told her I had eaten turtle soup with dinner to which she replied..."aww...poor turtle..." Then she went back to sleep. :)

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of Galveston and/or New Orleans but I forgot my camera at home for this trip and trust me, you're not missing much.

So I'm back in town for at least another two weeks...exhale. Our next trip isn't until 16 November unless something comes up but I'll certainly keep you posted (no pun intended). Hooray for being home!

What A Week!

This is Dan again...I know, trust me, I don't plan on making this a habit but everyone wants to hear about my travels so here you go! And it's easier on Holly since I'm not nitpicking her grammar. ;)

After getting home from France on 16 October, I got a whole day off and had to head back out on the road on the 18th. We flew into New Orleans late Sunday night for a conference with plans to go to Wilmington, NC a few days later.

Just in case you've been in a cave for the past 5 years or don't have a clue, as a result Hurricane Katrina the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was given the daunting task to provide a 100-year level risk reduction for southeast Louisiana in 2011 through its Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS). The HSDRRS seeks to upgrade existing flood protection features (such as levees and floodwalls) and introduce new features authorized by Congress and deemed necessary to complete the system.

We had the good fortune of being able to tour one of the key projects that the Corps is working on in order to complete this mission. It's called the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Surge Barrier (Click Me!). And again, without getting into specifics, we're putting in a big giant wall in some very forgiving (which is not good when you're trying to stabilize a giant concrete wall) marsh. I put the map in here so you can see the scope of it all. Not to confuse anyone but the purple line is the actual barrier itself.

After New Orleans, we flew to Wilmington, NC, rested overnight (for about 4 hours) and then flew in a UH-60 up the entire coast of North Carolina. It was overcast and rainy but because we were flying so low the visibility was still fantastic. We landed at the Corps' Coastal Engineering Research Center in the northern part of the Outer Banks commonly referred to as the Duck Pier. We have a really dedicated team of about 12 or so depending on summer interns, etc. who do nothing but study the coast. We toured their facilities and it was absolutely fascinating. If anyone is ever in that part of the Outer Banks, I highly recommend walking up to the pier and asking for a tour. They'll drop everything they're doing to teach. Below is a picture of my boss and I at the end of the pier. The waves were fantastic that day. The guy standing there with us grew up in California (LA to be exact) but moved to the east coast because he said they had better beaches there! Take that USC!

After Duck, we flew back and it was back in the office for two days of prep work for our next trip overseas. However, before we leave, we had the absolute honor and privilege, albeit a very solemn one, of repatriating 3 fallen heroes from Afghanistan. It's a very solemn and very simple ceremony that occurs any time of day or night, rain or shine and with little to no fanfare. The dignified transfer of remains is one of the least publicized ceremonies in the military (mostly because the press was not allowed to witness it until just recently) and one which I was extremely humbled of which to be a part. I hope you understand why I don't have pictures of it. We were out on the tarmac in the absolute pouring rain and wind till about 2200 last night and could not have been happier to do it...certainly one of the biggest perks of my job. Please pray for our Soldiers and their safety every day so I never have to do it again.

And now...it's off to Jordan!!

Back from France!

Bonjour! For once, this is actually Dan who is updated the blog...not Holly updating it with me standing over her shoulder correcting her. :)

So I left for France last Sunday right after the Army Ten Miler (I ran on a completely empty tank and my time certainly showed it). After a 6 hour flight, I landed at Charles de Gaulle in Paris and bought a bus ticket to the Opera section of Paris. Traffic was terrible but nothing I wasn't used to and I wanted to sleep on the bus but was afraid I'd miss something. Turns out that the only thing I would've missed was a couple of near death experiences and lots and lots of French graffiti.

So we got to the bus stop and got kicked off the bus. So here I am in the middle of Paris with no knowledge of where I was or where I had to go...a map would've been helpful. I wandered around the twisted and completely uncoordinated streets of Paris (in the rain...dragging my bags) until I decided to man up and ask for directions. After a spirited game of charades and some high school French, I figured out where I was and where I had to go. Now...how to get there. Lucky for me the French metro is everywhere and is just as easy to use (to include dependable) as the metro here in DC. After about an hour, I arrived at my hotel, freshened up and wandered back out into the rain. Coming from Washington and only having one day, there was no way I was going to let the rain stop me!

Hopped back on the metro (getting really good at it)...first stop: la musee de louvre. Went inside The Louvre but didn't look around because my time was limited and the lines were long. Sat down to rest my tired feet on a bench outside the gift shop and dozed off for what seemed like an eternity...I was asleep for about 45 seconds.

Next stop: Pont Neuf...the bridge was constructed in 1578! Quick math...that's 400 years before the year I was born! Then I was off to Notre Dame Cathedral. While in route, I was taken for 5 euros by some gypsies. Oh well, it's only money. At this point it's still pouring rain and I am soaked. I had every inclination to go back to the hotel and dry off (and ultimately fall asleep) but decided to duck into a cafe across the street from Notre Dame, grabbed some chow, and kept walking.

Some more gypsies tried again but this time I pretended to not speak English...used a combination of French and Arabic that made them look at me funny until they walked away...fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

The rain calmed down a little bit so I decided to head to L'Arc de Triomphe. Climbed the ridiculously long spiral staircase to the top and took a bunch of pictures from one of the best vantage points in Paris. The Eiffel Tower was engulfed in some fog...as you can see but L'Arc still made for some great sites.

Then it was on to La Tour itself and I decided to take some rest on a park bench at the bottom and gave Holly a call while laughing at the ducks. By the time I hung up the phone I was really tired but since the rain had stopped, I decided to swing by the Louvre one more time and crossed Pont Neuf again.

I returned to my hotel and got a good night's sleep and caught a train down to Angers for the NATO Senior Joint Engineer Conference. Angers was a lot of fun because it was just a small little French town with a lots of history. The conference was pretty good if only because I got exposure to military engineering leadership at the highest levels from all around the world...very cool. The conference was held at the French Engineer School and I got a tour of their museum which was AWESOME but probably just because I'm such a geek about that stuff. But just so you know, the first Chief of Engineers for the US Army was a Frenchman who was responsible for the fortifications at Yorktown which is ultimately why we won the war. And did you know that the US Army Corps of Engineers designed all of and built most of Washington DC? Yep...designed by Pierre L'Enfant...a French engineer.

When not at the conference, I got to wander around Angers with it's cozey yet magnificent parks and gardens. I even got to have dinner at a small local restaurant called "Chez Remi" and if you've ever seen "Ratatouille"...no, this Remi was not a rat!

As part of the conference, we got a tour of the chateau in Angers which housed a 700 year old tapestry. Unbelievable. We also visited the cathedral which was amazing. Having not been inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (didn't have time), I was completely blown away. And last but not least, my final night was spent at an Irish Pub...the beer was Irish and the food was French...everybody wins!

Army Ten Miler

This weekend we had a very eventful series of events. Sunday was the annual Army Ten Miler race in Washington D.C. Our friends Eric and Chelsea Brumfield came into town for the race. On Saturday afternoon we met up with them and Daniel & Arlah Canchola (all friends from ROTC) for lunch in the city.

That night Dan and I went to the Army Engineers Officer's Wives' Club cocktail party at the Chief of Engineers' house. He lives at "Quarters 9" which has housed the Chief of Engineers for a very long time (over 100 years? I think?). We were definitely the youngest couple there, and there was a lot of history even just in the people that attended. The weather was beautiful, and their house is right on the Potomac River with a view of D.C. It was a fun time meeting all the Generals that Dan works with.

(Traditional post-race self portrait)

Then on Sunday Dan and I ran in the Army Ten Miler race. We didn't start the race together because we had different bib colors but we ended up running about the same time. It was a great run for both of us, and we're definitely going to do it again next year.

(I'd look happier if I hadn't just run 10 miles)

An awesome part of the day was the fact that we met up with a friend of mine who was injured on Aug 11th in Afghanistan. Joe and I were Lieutenants together in 8-1 CAV and he was one of the first from the unit to get injured. He lost both of his legs in an attack, but he is now at Walter Reed and doing very well in recovery. He even participated in the 10-miler riding a hand-bike! He completed it in 56 mins and was in the top 3 of bikers. That's really awesome!! Great job Joe!!!

Dan is in Paris right now and will be in Angers, France for a few more days this week. Look forward to seeing his pictures! :)