Cows in the Mist

I got a tour of a really cool aircraft recently. I also found out it isn’t likely I’ll be going back to Balad during this tour. Which (from as far as I can tell) means I am probably going back next week. All joking aside the tour was really cool. I don’t think I mentioned it on this site before now so I thought I’d bring it up. I can’t tell you where I got the tour or when I got the tour. This way I can tell you what I got a tour on. I was with some mucky mucks from the states when I was invited to go along with them to tour an AC-130U (the newest Gunship in the USAF inventory). The enemy already knows we have them, but they may not know where they are based or how many there are (so I’ll skip the details on that). These aircraft are used to penetrate behind enemy lines (which we don’t really have in this modern era of terroristic warfare) and provide air support to troops on the ground or armed surveillence. They have a few large weapons on board with some pretty high-tech targeting systems. During the end of the tour I was asking the Airman giving the tour about the operation of one of the guns. Even though he wasn’t a gunner he did his best to show us how the big one worked. Fortunately I knew enough about rifles to help him close the chamber once we got it opened. I saw the rack of ammo sitting near the gun and (after realizing I knew how to release the restraing bolts and remove a round – they are locked in place due to the high amount of vibration and potential for steep banking) asked if we could take one out. After I was given the go ahead I removed one of the rounds (by this point I could tell the young airmen was more than slightly impressed with the chairborne captain’s knowledge of and ability to work around and with the heavy equipment) and held it up for all to look at. Then I gave it to the highest ranking individual there so he could get his picture taken with the 40 lb bullet. I eventually got a picture as well, but need to track down the gentleman who took it so I can get an electronic copy to post later. Fun was had by all in attendance and some good contacts were made. All in all it was a great ending to a rather blaw day. That is all for know. Have a great day and may God Bless you and keep you safe from harm.

Let’s see, I finally got to sleep this morning after arranging a flight out of the location I will probably tell you about at some point in this message. After a whopping 3 hours of sleep I got up again to get to my plane (another C-17, this one from Charleston, SC). The exciting thing about this flight was that it was used to transport two wounded soldiers to Ali Al Salem as well as the rest of us. The C-17 is designed to carry just about anything (including soldiers on litters). They were not wounded by the enemy as far as I could tell. One was suffering from a hand injury and the other from an upper torso/neck injury. It looked to be the result of an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) accident. If it had been an enemy mortar round they would probably be in worse shape. The good news is there hasn’t been a mortar attack in Balad since the 101st arrived a few days ago. Small arms fire is out of the question as the walls are too high and thick for those to be effective. You may have guessed by now where I was but hopefully have no idea why I was there. All I can say about that, if you really need to know, is I was there for additional training. I am much happier in my familiar surroundings of Kuwait though (I can see for more than a hundred yards in any direction. Balad is a maze of concrete walls, razor wire, security towers, and high tech sensors. I felt like a rat even walking from my tent to the bathroom (turn this way, then that way…). Going to work was even more difficult. I had to pass several entry control points just to get to my office (and it was only half a mile or so away). I will be in Kuwait for the duration of my tour (subject to change without prior notice – or consent). The chow hall at Balad is fantastic though, it’s worth going just for the food and facility. I am back at work now and it is almost 0400 on Sunday (only 4 more hours until Mass and 5 more hours until sleep). I will talk to all of you later, have a fantastic day and keep praying for my family (especially my wife). Thanks. God Bless all of you and keep you from harm.

I’m tired. I have been working nearly non-stop since I left Kuwait (and I was working a lot there). I may be leaving here later tonight (that would be Saturday here) and will find out if it is possible later this morning. It is cold, wet, muddy, and dark here. I rarely see the sun and when I do it is blinding. It feels almost like prison without free time. I have to be escorted everywhere I go with the exception of to and from my tent and work. Basically only when it is chow time, which varies significantly based on the days ops and who I ride with. My bag is still MIA and my future is day to day (as far as my next location) but my morale is still high, although I can see how some may be affected by negative issues and the prison like atmosphere. My co-workers are nice. Today during the daily breifing as different folks were presenting their information to the Col there was some tension in the room based on current events (not to worry everyone is fine). When the weather charts were opened up the screen went black as the computer (pressed for RAM) thought about its next process and I couldn’t help myself. Right before the Colonel said virtually the same thing I blurted out, “As you can see sir it is very dark out there.” The Navy Commander couldn’t stifle his laugh and the Col, having muttered the same comment almost simultaneously looked over at me and grinned as the tension left his face and the room in general. Everyone seemed to relax after that and the breifing continued in a professional but casual manner. That’s all for this night, keep praying for my family, they need it more than me.

There is no difference in rank structure between the services. The Lt. Col (O-5 USAF) in charge of the Joint Spec Ops Air Det (JSOAD) out ranks the Commander (O-5 Navy) due to his longer duration as an O-5. My immediate supervisor is the Navy Commander (he is an O-5 and I am a lowly O3). I happen to outrank the other dozen or so people in the Operations office of the JSOAD. Rank structure isn’t an issue. A higher rank in one service out ranks a lower rank of any other. When two are of the same rank (like the LtCol and the Commander) the one with an earlier Date of Rank is the ranking individual. This work from E-1 to O-10 regardless of service and regardless of what the Army would prefer (“any soldier outranks any rank of all other services”). The Marines seem to feel the same way. The Navy and the USAF seem to get along much better (no real rivalry there). The Marines are just competitive by nature, the Army has always had a thing against the Navy and developed a thing against the Air Force when the Air Corps left them to become the Air Force (they no longer had control of all air power). So that gives you a better flavor for the situation we are in, although the joint force has been getting better over the years since it was first put into solid practice during Desert Storm. All joking aside,the Army, Navy and USAF folks in this operation seems to be getting along very well with each other.

Day two in the SCL (Secure and Classified Location). To be exact my presence here is not classified nor is the location itself classified, but the reason I am here is, so I cannot divulge too much about that. The plane I rode on to get here is also not classified but in order to maintain good OpSec (Operational Security) we cannot discuss the type or number of aircraft used in our locations in order to not give away minimum or maximum capabilities. On to my current conditions…

My living conditions are good, unless compared to those around me. The tent I am in is an open area with about a dozen guys in it all of whom work and sleep different hours. We are a few hundred yards of rock and mud (that’s right it rains here quite a bit it seems) from the nearest showers and toilets and no where near walking distance from the nearest chow hall. The first meal I had here was an MRE (Beef with mushroom gravy). The door to the tent doesn’t close and requires a few brain cells to operate effectively. In a rather cynical mood this morning after getting only a few hours of sleep I watched as one of the larger built men in the tent attempted to close the door. He grabbed what seems to be the “handle” and pulled the door closed. The door is plywood on hinges in a 2×4 fram at the opening of the tent. The door swung back open. He tried again. The door swung back open. At this point (after I had already invented a way to secure the door from both outside and inside – using a whole 15 seconds of intense problem solving prowess) I thought to myself – it requires a brain cell dude. I don’t want to be mean or non-understanding, but this isn’t the first time he passed through the swinging portal. To his credit he finally discovered a way to keep it closed. I imagine the guy is far better than me at doing what he does (being a commando and all) but he is also a Captain and I figured him for a sharper tack. I suppose he was probably just tired, his job is much more stressful than mine (although it can be more rewarding). The base is tighter and more solid than Fort Knox. The defensive situation here is one that even I might have difficulty breaching without being seen. For those of you who know my full history of entering facilities restricted to me that means something, for those who don’t I won’t divulge it over this unencrypted device – just use your imagination. I look forward to telling you more once this is all over and the OpSec concerns are in the past. Just realize that when I allude to something that I can’t divulge completely, it may not be real exciting, it just can’t be known by our enemies. I’m not CNN reporting, I’m just Capt Russell sharing what I can with those of you back home. No facts twisted and no troop movements revealed from me. May God continue to Bless you and keep you from harm.

Well the title sounds more interesting than the reality but the cool thing was I got a ride in a plane (can’t specify what) from Kuwait to Qatar and then on to a very secure facility with a team of commandos. The complete trip took about 6 hours and included a lot of back tracking. I am getting some additional training here and will be back in Kuwait no later than 31 Jan (but hopefully this weekend). It’s just after 0100 local here and I am learning more and more about what is involved in the war against terror, no it is not just in Iraq as many people are led to believe. I’ll tell you more when it’s all over. You’ll probably have to remind me though. I’ve experienced so much in such a short period of time it’s hard to retain it all in my busted RAM chips. I am safe and well protected as are my co-workers. It is strange being one of the highest ranking people around though. The Acquisition world I normally live in has a much different rank structure than the real Air Force. My Commander in this location is actually a Commander (US Navy O-5) and the guys responsible for sorting through the Air Support Requests are Army. There are also a handful of us Air Force dudes here too. This place is much more like camping than Ali Al Saleem, fun, but can be a pain while having to work 15 hours a day and deal with the inconveniences. Gotta go. God Bless you all and keep you from harm. Pray for my family. Thanks.

Out of all the exciting things that have happened over the past 24 hours the only one I can really talk about right now is this… YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A little town tucked away in the NW corner of the country started an NFL franchise in 1976, 30 long up and down years later…
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God Bless all of you and I’ll be watching the Superbowl from the same place in 2 weeks. I love you all and Mom and Dad, thanks for taping the game. I want to watch it again when I get back.

Okay, let me recount the events of the past couple days. When I last wrote I was about to depart Qatar. As Troop Commander it was my job to arrange transportation for my troop to Kuwait. I was told to call in at 2000 Local, so I did. I finally ended up getting an answer on the next available flight at 2230 local. The flight would be departing at 0340 the next day. Realizing I didn’t have much time left before my flight and knowing that the base needed the space I returned to my billet, packed and checked out. I left my bags outside the Billeting office and arranged for a bus pick-up, went to notify my troops, get some last minute chow, and send off a few emails. I returned to billeting at 0000 local (midnight – or 1.5 hours later) and discovered my bags were gone. I had 1 hour to find them before my bus left to the other side of base to get me to the plane with my troops. After searching frantically and filing a report with the Base Police, I was led to a small tent within a stone’s throw of the billeting tent by asking a lot of questions and finally getting some answers. Then at about 0130 I found them in that tent. How and why they got there I no longer cared. I called the Base Police to notify them they could stop their search, got on the bus a few minutes later and rejoined my troops at the Air Mobility Command Terminal at Al Udeid at 0200 local. Once there I got my boarding pass to flight 719YT (Tail number 021104 C-17 from McChord AFB!) checked my personal bag and waited for the next set of instructions.

By 0800 local everyone in the gate was getting pretty anxious. We had no access to food (it was finally brought to us at 1100), running water (even to wash with), or functioning toilets. The ladies had functioning toilets at least. After being cooped up or loading pallets with luggage for 10 hours (by noon local) we were informed it was time to leave (there had been a couple false alarms in the past few hours). After getting on the McChord C-17 it only took about 30 minutes to get air born. After flying north over the Persian Gulf for about an hour we came into Ali Al Salem on a Hot Zone Landing. A Hot Zone Landing is where the aircraft arrives about one mile above the airfield (to avoid any potential small arms fire from the ground outside the base) and spirals steeply downward until pulling the nose up just before touching down on the runway and then comes to a complete stop in very short order. We walked off the C-17, got on two busses, and were taken to another sterile zone to await our luggage. The one I checked at the counter did not show up and I am still waiting to hear where it could be. I filed a claim with the Air Base and they will be contacting me when they find it. No worries though, my unit is assisting me with my most pressing concerns. I finally got to talk to my wife and kids for the first time in 4 days. Now I have my own network connection again and a terminal to write to you from.

From the sterile location we were bussed to the Army compound on the other side of base where I was eventually picked up by one of my roommates (2ndLt. Terrel Tillery) and taken to meet the staff I would be working with. I met my other roommate (1stLt. Jason Brown – the guy I came to replace) and our First Sergeant or “Shirt” (the term we use in the USAF – Master Sergeant Silva) a reservist from the Fort Walton Beach area of Florida. Most of the guys I work with are from Hurlburt Field, FL. We have another operational unit from Mildenhall RAFB, UK (Royal Air Force Base, United Kingdom). There is a Japanese Unit with Security Forces and an Air Lift Squadron). Since being here I have met guys from Australia, UK, Japan, and Kuwait – not to mention the many US personnel from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. There are several other nations housed and operating out here as well.

Anyway I finally got to sleep after the Shirt took me to dinner, to the PX (Post Exchange) to stock up and needed items lost in the flight, to get some name tapes ordered for my replacement uniforms, back to the ESOG (Expeditionary Special Ops Group) to call my wife, and then to my room where I was able to take a shower, brush my teeth (my wife knows how much I like to brush my teeth – I’m the tooth brushing Nazi at my house), and put on CLEAN clothes. Then I slept for 14 hours with one break when I woke up at 0540 local to finish my laundry and go back to sleep. I got up just before 1300 local and felt great, but hungry again, just like the Very Hungry Caterpillar. But I ate a lot more than it did.

Last night I finished work around 0700 local and headed to the gym with Lt. Brown. We put in a good work out returned to the room and crashed. We were awakened at 1100 local by the sound of a Back-Ho scraping the rock ground right behind our building. The walls were shaking and it became rather irritating rather fast. I walked to the Chapel this morning and discovered that I can attend Mass at the Chapel at 0800 local on Sundays (which is far better than not at all). The good news is we don’t have a 1700 staff meeting on Sundays like we do every other day, so I don’t have to be at work until 1800 on Sunday. Lots of great news in the Iraqi stabalization effort, it might be reported in the mass media in the next few days. Well I need to get back to the grind. I’ll be able to communicate more frequently now so I’ll talk to you later. God Bless all of you and I hope all is well. Please pray for my family back home in Utah. Thanks.

Something really funny happened this morning. I was trying to fall asleep (after 42 hours w/o I think my body forgot how) and I had finally gotten a room (around 0800 today) when all of a sudden someone walks in. After the briefing we got real early this morning (around 0200) it seemed rather odd that this would happen. Apparently members of the opposite sex are not allowed to be in dorm rooms at the same time (go figure). In other words when I got a room I could allow no women inside. I thought, wow, that’ll be an easy rule to follow. WRONG! It is much harder to keep them out if they have a key. Apparently she was staying in the room the night before and checking out this morning but hadn’t left yet. So as I was laying there on the top bunk attempting to go to sleep she comes in and turns on the light not even realizing I was there. I don’t know which of us was more surprised. Anyway she was heading out so she finished packing her bag and asked if she could come by to pick it up after she finished breakfast. It was a big bag and the chow hall is all the way across the base (not a short walk). I was too tired to care, so I said sure. Then I said, “I won’t tell if you won’t tell”. She smiled and said she was about to say the same thing. I doubt the base commander could get too upset since we were given keys to the same room and there was no chance of inappropriate behavior. Anyway I must have been totally out when she returned because when I woke up at 1400 (0400 MST) she and the bag were gone. I do hope they figure out what they are doing and give me male roomates from now on though. I am trying to stay up as late as possible because I will be working all night and sleeping in the day by Friday, I hope. I have to call tonight and see when my troop’s flight is leaving for Kuwait. I hope it is soon. I don’t like being homeless. The bathroom and showers are in another building about 100 yards from my room. I can’t complain though, others are worse off. I did get a new hat from the BX. Now all I need is the rank insignia that goes with it. All of us (about 300 on our 500 person flight) are tired and sick of being transients. Everyone I talk to shares the same disgruntled feelings. But we all agree, it could be worse. We are in a very calm and peaceful penninsula. All of the locals are extremely happy to have us (and our money) here. We provide hundreds of jobs for them and millions of dollars are pumped into their local and national government because we are here. Their standard of living has improved greatly since we arrived a few years back. That’s all I can share for now. I did break my sleep deprivation record and number of sunrises w/o sleep. Not something I normally shoot for. May God Bless you all and keep you safe from all harm. I’ll let you know as soon as I can on when my flight goes to Kuwait.