Just under 2 to go!

As it stands now, I have about 55 days left in this place, and I can't wait to get outta here! The exact date isn't set yet, but I'm counting down anyway. Life has been good the past couple of weeks, no complaints. I have really felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog day lately, only no Sonny and Cher. I have tried to keep it interesting but with so little to do its been tough. Lots of reading, lots of CE, and lots of movies. We are starting to pack things up in the clinic, so we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Lately I have been the only dentist on the base here, which is crazy considering the fact that there are 15-20,000 people here. Fortunately work hasn't been too crazy. My faithful assistant is on his R&R this month, so I have been without my sidekick. SPC Hollins has been my crutch for the past 5 months. Don't know what I would have done without him. The only beef we have had was over who was going to win the VT/Alabama game thats coming up. He's an Alabama boy....born and raised a die hard Crimson Tide fan.........too bad he won't be here when they lose:) We will see.....its too bad our starting tailback is out for the season......

2.5 months left..... I hope

Last week I was asked to represent our unit at the Viper Olympics in Balad, just south of Tikrit. The Battalion that I am assigned to goes by the name "Viper Medics". It was a great week, and a crazy one with barely any sleep. Myself and 4 other people from my unit here flew to Balad on a Chinook. Terrible ride....but can't blame the Army. It was cool (as in fun) for about 10 minutes....thank God I took Dramamine. Terrible weather, dusty and hot. Anyway, we made the trip to Balad and competed against 6 other units from within our Battalion. We smoked em all. Actually we should have, but we didn't. We actually won due to some wonderful tactics, which I can't take credit for. I wish I could. But we walked away after 4 days and a handful of events which included a 4x400 relay, tug of war, 3 on 3 basketball, volleyball and some others. We had a great time and traveled to a from without any real hitches. We didn't get gold medals.....so don't wonder where your tax paying money is going. But we did get a painted wooden plaque. Its real nice.... Anyway, hopefully I have just 2.5 months left!

How the other half lives

It was country come to town this past week. I spent the past week in Balad, just south of where I am located. Balad is home to a much bigger base here in the desert, and this base makes my little COB look pathetic. I actually swam in a swimming pool.....a very nice pool. We don't have a pool in Columbia,SC this nice. I went into a movie theatre, I went into a PX bigger than the one at Fort Jackson, and I had Krispy Kreme donuts.....wow

Technology

Technology has truly changed the deployment experience. With a single internet connection and a router the world is at your fingertips. Unfortunately I have been without that internet connection here for a while and now I know what it was like before all this advancement. The past few days I have sat in line for hours to make a phone call and check my email. With a time limit of 15 minutes, you just hope that everyone is at home. Usually they are not. I haven't met a soldier yet that doesn't have a laptop here. I guess as cheap as they are, you would be a fool not to have one. Its the best 500 bucks you'll every spend. Unfortunately the bandwidth here is owned by a criminal organization and they charge millions to give you the speed of dialup. I pay 100 bucks a month to stay connected. Go figure. I just hope this all doesn't support some terrorist organization. Skype is an amazing program, and its amazing how easy it is to get connected with people 10,000 miles away. An internet connection, a webcam and Skype..... we are truly lucky.

HOT!

This is the cradle of civilization?  You gotta be kidding me.  The weather here is unbelievable.  No wonder the people here are the laziest creatures on earth.  It has been a constant 115 plus everday for the past month.  Thankfully most of my day is inside.   I looked at my calendar the other day and it appears that I have crossed the half way point!  Hopefully my return date is still around the beginning/middle of October.  We will see.  Life is good, no complaints.  Except....for the heat. 

Not much going on these days...

I can't believe that its been almost 3 months here in Iraq.  It feels like 6.  The time was going by very quickly until the last couple of weeks.  Work has been hard to find.  The clinic has slowed down a great deal, and most of my day consists of exams and the occasional chipped tooth.  Still getting lots of requests for bleaching and cleanings.  Still telling them no.  The weather here has gotten crazy hot.  I usually get up around 6 and its already 100 degrees outside.  I don't even have to dry off in the shower, it evaporates off.  By 8 am its a toasty 110 and by noon, you don't want to know.  Its so unbearable that you just stay inside.  Thank God I'm a dentist, so most of my time is in the shade.  If it keeps up like this, I may have to abandon my bike riding and resort to riding in the HUMVEE.  I had an opportunity last week to go to visit Camp Victory for a dental meeting, but the weather here makes it impossible to fly out, so the blackhawks couldn't take us.  I'm hoping to go sometime in the next couple of weeks.   We will see.  Our base is in the middle of the desert, so flying in here is difficult.  We had a crazy sandstorm last week.  It was truly amazing.  One minute I could see a mile in each direction and then in no time I couldn't see five feet in front of me.  It was freaky, like out of the movies.  The sand got into everything.  Except my computer.....thanks to the ole Pelican case.....it was a good investment.   We spent three days putting the desert back where it belongs.... till next time.

Business as usual

Things have been quiet here at Speicher.  No excitement lately.  Lots of patients with lots of questions about getting their teeth cleaned and getting braces.  At times I have to check and make sure that I'm actually over here because people ask some of the dumbest questions over here.  The optometrist was asked if he did LASIK over here.  Hilarious.  I've been asked if I do ZOOM bleaching, and this is after I told him that I thought ZOOM was a crock.  Thankfully I have a sense of humor, otherwise it would get to me.  I'm trying to make the best of it.  The weather was cool this week, go figure....last week I was in a full chemical suit with a gas mask on in 115 degree heat.  This weeks its been cool.  Ha.  Anyway, the highlight of the week has definitely been the huge package I got from my wife and co-workers.  New tennis shoes.....aahh.  You can tear up some tennis shoes pretty fast over here walking on rocks all day long.  I also got some of my favorite movies.....should tide me over for a while.  Out....

My neice is here!

I'm 2 for 2.  I knew that it would be a girl.  I got home yesterday just in time to find out that my new niece Kathryn Suzanne Kadela was born at 149am!  I am so excited.  I hate that I am not going to be there to join in on the festivities.  I know Buffy and Dave are excited that the big day has finally come!  I was fortunate enough yesterday to catch Buff and Dave in their suite the afternoon after the delivery to give them a congratulations.  They both looked in great spirits despite the long day.  And of course my new niece was right there for me to see.  We can't wait to make the trip down there when I get back! Congratulations Buff and Dave!!!

115 and climbing

What a week! For the most part this past week went by without any real excitement.  Work at the clinic has been very routine, with no real surprises.  This past week was marked by a weeklong preparation for a mass casualty exercise on the base.  The unit I am in is tasked to be responsible for the decontamination of patients in the event that they are hit by some chemical, biological agent out on patrol.  So we had a walk through on Wednesday where we made sure each person knew their job, and we had a simulated exercise on Sat where we donned all our gear and had patients come through our decontamination lane.  Being the unit dentist, my job is the Triage officer and the Officer in Charge.  And I've been here 3 weeks! Anyway, temps got up to around 113 the day of the exercise....and did I mention we were in all of our protective gear.  In the military its called MOP gear, but most people would know it as a big jacket and pants with overboots, gloves and a gas mask.  In a 113 degree heat.  We ran this exercise in the afternoon.  Not too bright.  For the most part everything went well with only a few kinks.  We probably should have weighed ourselves before and after because I swear I lost at least 5-10 pounds.  We were in the gear for 3 hours.  Hopefully we will never have to do it in real life, but that's not a guarantee.  Fingers crossed.  

It has been a while

It has been a while since my last post.  The reason being.....not much has changed.  Things are steady, predictable and too regular for me.  I like to shake it up a bit....everyday.  My wife can attest to that.  Routine is not my middle name, so I am having to adapt.  The past couple of weeks have been good.  I have seen my fair share of patients in the clinic, but have not been too busy. My roommate is taking off this week to head back to the states for some R & R.  I would say that I am jealous, but I would feel guilty.  He's been over here for 7 months and away from home for 10.  He deserves it.  In his absence I will enjoy a room all to myself for a couple of weeks.  If anybody's looking for a party, you know where I'll be.  Unfortunately, most days here are pretty busy for me, so by the time I get home I am ready to hit the sack.  People told me I would have all this downtime, but I haven't found that to be the case.  I get up around 6, I head out for jog, shower, sometimes chat with MP, then I bike over to the dining hall and eat till around 745 then bike to work, I grab a cup of coffee, and I catch up with the people in the clinic.  We open at 830, but most of the time I have found a first patient before then.  The clinic is open until 1200, at which time we go to lunch until 130.  We then open back up and close around 4-430 depending on business. I have some paperwork I do everyday before I leave so I'm usually out around 5.  I bike back to my CHU, and then usually catch up with my roomate for a few minutes and then head to dinner or a spin class or the gym.  I usually am home around 830 or 9 and I shower and finish up the day.  I'm usually in bed watching a movie around 10.  Rough day huh.:)  I can't complain.  

Okay Okay

I know that its been a couple of days since my last post, so I'm sorry.  I forgot about you.  Life in the desert is good.  The weather is awful right now.  Since my arrival we have had 2 clear days here.  Every other day there has been serious dust storms that make it rather miserable.  I like to be outside, and the dust storms just make that impossible.  Riding my bike to and from work has been a real treat:).  My lungs are probably full of lots of sand, along with the bugs I've swallowed.  I should send you a picture of me in my fashionable baclava. The sand storms are impressive, and create this burnt orange glow, that is overwhelming.  Its so thick that you can't see more than 100 yards.  At first glance it looks like fog.  Needless to say I have another reason to be inside, besides the heat.  The pace in the clinic has picked up a good bit.  Its amazing how the emergencies have changed over here.  It used to be a toothache that brought people to the dentist.  Now its bleaching materials.  And cleanings.  I had a girl yesterday tell me that she need an emergency cleaning....she was serious.  She filed a complaint when we wouldn't do it. Hilarious.  Been doing lots of root canals...and more root canals.  Everybody needs a root canal.  Its makes you guys cringe doesn't it...........oh.. and check out my new bike...

The latest....

I was oh so fortunate to be left many things by my predecessor that make life much better, one of which is a bike.  And like I mentioned in my last post, this bike has some issues.  It is the loudest bike I have ever ridden(no joke). It produces the perfect sound effects for hollywood, I should record it.  It has the most uncomfortable seat ever made, and the brakes are not functional.  Its a Flintstone's stop..... I made alot of jokes around the unit about the fact that the bike was a little unsafe and not road worthy, they were to come look for me if I didn't make it in on time. However, I should have kept my mouth shut.  I lost a back tire today.  The ride to the clinic is about 2 miles.  I made it there and then half way back.  I have never seen a tire fall apart in such a capacity.  The external tread surface came off, the bearings on the inside of the axle fell out, and 3 of the spokes broke.  All in an instant.  I looked REAL cool walking this jacked up bike back to my CHU.  Now I'm on the hunt for a new rear tire.....  

Have you ever seen a construction site?  You know the portable buildings/ aluminum trailers that they use as offices at those sites? That is what I live in......with somebody else.  We call them CHU's (Contanerized Housing Unit) So, its not too bad...it could be a tent like the one in Kuwait.  The trailer is outfitted with a cheap metal or wooden locker and a single bed with an extremely cheap mattress.  (It beats a cot) These trailers are like a magnet for sand/dust, especially the inside of the trailer.  Keeping it clean is impossible.  You can wipe off your desk and before long(5min) its covered in sand again.  Its rediculous.  Thank the lord that I bought a computer case that was dust proof.  And of course, after having my own bathroom for years, I now share a bathroom with 100 other guys.  I haul my stuff to and from this bathroom (about 100yards across a gravel lot) in my shower shoes.  This bathroom is a trailer outfitted with showers sinks and toilets.  Its pretty disgusting, especially when its been a while since they cleaned the place.  Sometimes I just assume wipe down with baby wipes.   I'll be lucky not to acquire some transmittable disease before I get back.:)  But i'm immunized for just about everything so....no worries.  My roomate in my trailer is another provider here in my unit.  Nice guy.  Thankfully we get along, and in truth, I just assume have a roommate.  Otherwise it would get rather lonely.    

Well its official

I finally saw my first patient in the clinic here.  It was good to get back to the chair.  It definitely made the day go by faster!  We see nearly everybody that walks in the door regardless of who they are.  Mostly active duty soldiers, and some contractors, and a few locals.  Most of the work is pretty routine, nothing too exciting.  The clinic is rather nice considering the location, the situation, and considering the fact that I was expecting it to be pretty sketchy.  Very dusty though. You can wipe of the tray table next to you and by the end of the procedure you can see dust(sand) on your instruments and table top.  So much for a sterile field during surgery...but we do our best.  I share the clinic with another doc from California that is with another unit. Nice guy. I have a great assistant. They have or can get just about anything I need so thats a big plus.  I apologize that I don't have pictures, but for some reason the network is really slow at data transfer.  :(  I hope to get some pictures on their some other way.  Its truly amazing how many different countries provide contract labor here at the base.  I've made friends with a guy from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Turkey....and others.  Just no Iraqi's.....yet.  I don't get to go outside the wire, and I don't plan to anytime soon.  Just fine here.....

Here at last

Well its been a while since my last post....but I made it.  Finally.  I arrived here in country on Saturday morning at 0300 and have since been trying to catch up on many things, the most important being sleep.  I am thankful that from here on out I should have only one roomate and so far he doesn't snore....either that or the AC's drowning him out.  First impressions were not so good of Camp Speicher, but I was tired and in the dark its hard to really to see anything.  So I can say after being here a couple of days now that things will be just fine.  I hope.  The unit I am with seems to be really squared away, and they seem to be very motivated.  Something I am not used to.  I ask for something and boom its done.  I get to hit the clinic on Monday, so I am excited.  Its been a while(4 weeks) since my last patient, so hopefully I won't have the shakes.  Feel sorry for the first guy.....JK:).  Anyway, its gonna be difficult to post pics it seems....the network is slow....and expensive!  They rip you off here! I thought Time Warner cable was bad.  Anyway, the food is good, and so far the weather is nice.  Be in touch.....

Patience.....is a virtue....I may lose over here

Well if your expectations are low then you can't get be disappointed right? Wrong! Well I was told on Tuesday night that I needed to be up at 4 am so that I could be bussed back to Ali Al Salem for my flight out of here. I had assumed that everything was going to go as planned. Wrong! There was no flight, never was a flight and I was misinformed. So.....I am stuck here in paradise....far from it. I'm in another tent....with a bunch of random people.....and there is less to do here. This must have been where Laura was. I was told that I would have to wait here until the next flight to where I am going. Who knows when that will be. FYI... I have some good pictures, but I can't hook anything up to the USB ports here....so I will post them later. I hate using these PC's anyway. The keys are sticky and it take for ever for the pages to load. Its like dial-up....if you can even remember how slow that was. I Can't wait to get back to the mac. I wish norm and murphy were here....lots of places to dig.....sand and rocks

Another day in the desert

I could get really spoiled over here with all this food. I am so bad about not eating breakfast back home and now I find myself perturbed if I miss it. The food is pretty good and there is plenty of it. So don't send food.....The past day or so we have had some additional training, we went to the range and fired our weapons...five times....that was it. That was the highlight of the day. I definitely have some pretty cool and pretty interesting people around me, and that makes for some good conversations. Some guys have been here before, so they are a big help, and some guys are green like me. Most are MD's, so the other dentist and I get ragged alot. Everybody has a tooth problem.....I guess that they think that that's all we have in common. The days go by extremely slow....so I will be grateful to be back in the clinic next week... I hope to fly out of here Wed.....

Kuwait

Why anyone would want to live here I have no idea.... So much for weather....There is only one weather...hot,dry and the sun is always shining. Like a heat lamp, and like a flashlight in your eyes. Well not that bad. But you get my drift. After a long day of traveling, Sunday I awoke in a strange place. This is the desert. You pretty much have to wear sunglasses and a hat all the time during the day, and you should pretty much carry water everywhere you go. Its not too hot yet. Around 85. We have had a couple of training briefs which were extremely boring, but other than that I have spent most of my time trekking from the tent I'm in, to the dining facility(DFAC), and to the USO where they have Tv's, computers and phones. I'm actually living well, considering the situation. No complaints. Except that Laura was right....its hard to sleep. Pictures to come.....

The flight i was dreading

Well the flight wasn't too bad. It was long....15 hours, but fortunately we got to stop in Ireland for a much needed break. Didn't get to do a pub crawl or anything, had to stay in the airport which was the size of GSP it seemed like. Would have bought some gifts for the family but everything in there you could buy in the U.S. All made in china. I didn't even have to take a Dramamine at all on the flight, I can't believe it. We arrived in Kuwait on Saturday afternoon at around 4 after leaving the states at 5pm on friday. One heck of a time change. We were bussed to Ali Al Salem a camp nearby and were stuck there for a few hours. After scanning our Id's to officially start my deployment we got our gear from a bunch of trucks and were bussed to another base nearby. We got in there around 2pm and were given our tent assignments around 3. I crashed. Didn't wake up until 11am. I promise there will be pictures to come......

Boarding for Kuwait!

Well I made it to Friday!  The day we get to fly out of country.  I'm definitely excited that we are gonna get this show on the road.  My deployment doesn't truly start until I get to Kuwait so I'm ready to clock in!  Woke up at 4 am and had to turn in my linens, draw my weapon, pack my bags (2 duffles and my backpack) and of course....get some breakfast!  Love me some breakfast.  Had a formation with all of our gear at 530 and we did some final checks, turned our bags in and we were whisked away on buses to the terminal.  AKA "Freedom Hall".  Looks like a convention hall.  This is where we wait until we fly.  No news on when we go or anything yet.  So right now I'm sitting in a recliner.......will post later.....

Pictures to come

Well today was the day I've been waiting for....the range!!!  Had to be up early to draw my weapon from the weapons room.  Had some breakfast(MP I could get use to this breakfast thing).  Had a formation at 0630 and off we went to the range.  Had an hour long briefing on how to use, and clean our 9mm.  Then we lined up one by one and went to the range.  Got to shoot fifty rounds or so at various targets.  Had to hit half of them to pass.  Very difficult to do with your body armor and kevlar(helmet for the lay)  and ballistic shades on.  Especially since I only had the tinted ones and it was 7 in the morning.  If you want to be in a safe place.....stand in front of me with my 9mm... I'd miss you from 6 feet out...  I think its my weapon.  Anyway... I passed....barely.  And back we went to the CRC.  Done for the day.   Whew!  This time off is killing me.   

Day 5

Today was a killer....I had a wonderful breakfast....Followed by a formation at 530.  Then hopped on a bus at 7 and had a briefing from 8-10 on IED's and terrorists.  Since I had a special badge(given to Health Care Providers) I was done for the day!  Got out of some First Aid Training and some combat life support training.  I went back to the CRC and had the rest of the day off.  It is impossible to find anything to do in this place.  Thank You for the internet!

Day 4

Well today was truly a test.....Had to be up at 630 which wasn't bad, but after 3 hours of sleep (couldn't sleep) I was no happy camper.  Drank 3 cups of coffee in the dining hall in about 5 minutes, because I was late getting up.  I ran to formation and from there we went to personnel, legal, finance, chaplain, and to the warehouse again to pick up even more gear.  Body armor-the brand new IOTV, 9mm, and lots of goodies.  Lugging all of it around was a bear.  After that it was back to the CRC and lunch and then we were given instruction on how to disassemble our body armor.  It would be a bad joke to disassemble somebody's armor.  What a pain in the rear it is to get back together- but kind of cool to see how it works.  At 2 we were done for the day.  I am really loving all of this down time.  Went to the gym and dinner and that was a wrap.   

All on my own

What crappy weather we woke up to....at 4am.  Had to be in really early on mine and mp's  last day together.  But like always, Mp was right there with me making it happen.  And she says she's not a morning person:) I thought I could make it without shedding a tear....nice try though.  Mp watched me walk away and then off she went back to the Capitol City.  I miss you already.  Today was a busy day until 9am.  Lots of medical/dental in-processing.  I was done in 10 minutes, but had to wait 4 hours.  Thankfully I hadn't gotten alot of sleep during the night, so I had something I could catch up on.  At 9 we went to a large warehouse and I got lots of gear.  Expensive gear.  And there isn't a single thing I was issued/given that I will even take with me....... Best not lose any of it... Back to the CRC and that was  a wrap at 10.....am......Time to Kill..................

Day 2

Day 2 came quick and unfortunately it happened to be Easter Sunday.  Probably the first Easter MP and I didn't get to wear our finest at church.  Sorry Mp, I will make it up to you.:(  Had to be in around 7am and upon arrival we were told to be back at 8... so much for that hour of sleep!  At 8 we were briefed and given lots of paperwork... isn't this the digital age?  Big government....go figure.. 30 pages of "fill out your name and SSN at the top, list your favorite color, height, weight and mom's maiden name" .  We had 10 briefings on everything from the map of the CRC (where we are staying for the week) to lessons on why we shouldn't drink and dial.  After that 8 hours (that truly could have taken 30 minutes) of torture we were done and Mp had to put up with my crappy disposition.  Thanks MP:(.   Back to the hotel for our last night together.  

Getting Started..

Well I finally made it to the CRC (Conus Replacment Center) on Saturday morning.  This will be my home before my deployment for the next week.  This day has been on my mind for some time.... I am glad it is finally here and we are finally getting the ball rolling.  I had my better half with me the whole time so she made the day great!  Checked in at 10am.  First impression...not too bad at all.  I  didn't have to be back until later in the afternoon so we enjoyed a Red Robin birthday for MP's 30th!  I returned around 2 for a briefing about the week and then was done around 5pm.  We headed to dinner and a good nights sleep.