Seventy-Four Days as a Soldier

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47111708162495642312011-04-22T04:34:01.871+03:00Seventy-Four Days as a SoldierI do not offer insight into the U.S. Military or it's operations in Iraq. I am not privy to any planning or operational information other than what I "need to know". All I offer is the simple perspective of a lower enlisted soldier who wanted to go to war and got there. I speak only for me and my experience and do not claim to know the hearts and/or minds of anyone else. This is my war story.Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-65568546859965907342009-01-18T16:25:00.001+03:002009-01-18T16:25:24.917+03:00Day Eleven

Day Eleven06 August 2007 *YAWN* Oh man that felt like too much sleep. Holy crap, it’s 10:30! Well it’s so late already I guess I’ll just get up, get ready for the day, and grab some lunch before going next door. Today’s goal is to set up a VTC in the DOC conference room and try to finish up the desk wiring. *sigh* It’s hard to think of this as an exciting adventure even as I’m slinging an M4

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-36312119343913711152009-01-18T16:24:00.001+03:002009-01-18T16:24:52.676+03:00Day Ten

Day Ten05 August 2007 There is still a lot of setup work to do as we get started on unpacking the phones around 0900. The phones are pretty easy since all we really have to do is set the network configuration to enable DHCP and plug it in. These switches don’t provide any power so the phones here have to be plugged into the wall too. The desks have built in power outlets (that we did not

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-39798621199658908832007-08-20T01:02:00.000+04:002007-08-20T01:04:02.250+04:00Day Nine

Day Nine04 August 2007Today marks the one year point. Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I looked back at Lauren as I walked across the little field of dying grass to get on the bus. Five hundred twenty five thousand and six hundred minutes since that plane ride that took me eleven thousand miles away from everything I know and love. Give me a minute to reflect…okay, back to work.Our first

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-91188355841742652232007-08-19T00:23:00.000+04:002007-08-19T00:36:24.802+04:00Day Eight

Day Eight03 August 2007Today should be the day the equipment comes in, but by 0930 it’s nowhere in sight. I don’t think I can handle another day like yesterday. *sigh* I can’t keep writing about days like these! You know, I had some exciting times back in training. Like the ruck marches Paul and I went on, or the time I got waaaaayyyy too drunk and missed bed check, or how I went temporarily awol

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-69186377950191746552007-08-19T00:21:00.000+04:002007-08-19T00:23:30.385+04:00Day Seven

…Day Seven02 August 2007Ugh. It’s 0900 and already and I get the feeling that this is going to be another slow day. So when I get next door and find that, though three new lines have been done, there is nothing to do until we get that equipment (which includes a two foot drill bit!).As if having nothing to do wasn’t bad enough, lunch came and made the day worse. A couple meat-like patties formed

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-62953390241609105222007-08-15T13:08:00.001+04:002007-08-15T13:09:45.486+04:00Day Six

…Day Six01 August 2007We're woken up at 0800 to the news that our secure comms are down. No one bothered to let us know until then because, "We just thought it was down for a while." Seriously? Come on people. Okay well, we troubleshoot and with some help from my team back at Spiecher, we have it back up and running by 0830.My team chief will be happy to know that immediately after resolving the

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-19782153488982076822007-08-15T13:05:00.000+04:002007-08-15T13:07:53.470+04:00Day Five

…Day Five31 July 2007I wake up at 0900 and try to stretch through the nasty pain in my back. This hard foam mattress is going to take some getting used to. It's not unbearable or anything but damn it's annoying.We pick up the techs and head next door to link up with the construction guys who will be setting all the conduit for our new cables. We are met by a small team of workers, and when I say

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-55407429628086627332007-08-05T22:17:00.000+04:002007-08-05T22:22:08.052+04:00Day Four

…Day Four30 July 2007I wake up at 0900 and look around the room. It’s just me and the contractor that I can see, and he’s typing away at his computer. So I lie back down and in the blink of an eye it’s 1000. We gotta get going.The contractor, his two techs, and I head next door to start our mission. The first step seems simple enough. Get with the G6 commander and find out what he thinks about

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-7912714789282702392007-08-05T00:12:00.000+04:002007-08-05T00:22:57.516+04:00Day Three

…Day Three29 July 2007The guy who was supposed to wake me up failed to do so, which resulted in a rude awakening at 0630. Luckily, I had pre-packed everything but my pillow and poncho liner (makes a great sheet!) so the mountains were loaded by 0640 and the search for the convoy departure point begins.The directions are straight forward enough. It’s the roads we have trouble with. They don’t

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-3969652410193256472007-08-05T00:10:00.000+04:002007-08-05T00:12:04.972+04:00Day Two

…Day Two28 July 2007Sorry, Sweetheart. I checked my watch at 0107 and with what seemed like the blink of an eye it was 0430. Then 0530. 0700. 0900. And finally, 1130. Too sore to move, I just exist again. My chatty cot isn’t even up for anything as I stare at the towel suspended from the tent’s frame.But now it’s 1530 and I’m going crazy. I’m going to the JNN site. I know it’s late, but I have to

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-55389208455648552612007-08-01T16:49:00.001+04:002007-08-01T16:52:04.309+04:00Day One

…Day One27 July 2007 It’s 0830 and the sergeant is kicking at my cot, “Tanner. Rise and shine, sunshine.” “What??” “I said, rise and shine sunshine.” “Oh. Er…okay” It’s surprisingly cold in the tent as I rustle a fresh uniform from Mt. Ruck. I find myself looking forward to the heat of the day! I get over to the JNN site about 0930 with a light coat of sweat already weighing down my

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4711170816249564231.post-90044131336576630952007-08-01T13:30:00.000+04:002007-08-01T13:35:15.445+04:00Changing the world. One day at a time. Day Zero.

Finally, one step closer to the war I signed up for. It's only taken a year in the background to get here. Though my list of accomplishments through that year is enough to make me proud, it doesn't feel as though I've really done much of anything. Over the coming months, however, I plan to change that.Day Zero26 July 2007 A mountain of rucksack rests beside me as I sit in room C-3,

Z!Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16240808514533314850noreply@blogger.com0