January 21, 2008

It’s been a good couple days. Friday was a busy day. Briefed the General in the morning for my second Friday briefing, then later in the afternoon I had my first actually, in person sighting of General Petraeus. We went to a military ceremony called a Change of Command for the Joint Contracting Office. The Air Force General that retired is going to be the second in charge at the organization that I am currently working at in DC and the Navy female Admiral that relieved him is a Navy Supply Corps Officer – which is what I do in the reserves, so it was very interesting. All the main guys were present - of course I really didn’t know any of them except the guy I’m working for right now. He is a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation which means he must be appointed by the President to have his position. The Ambassador for the State Department was there and that’s the first I’ve heard of him as well. So, it was a star studded event.

Friday afternoon we went over to the other base called Camp Victory. That is where we flew into originally, it’s right near the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). It is where the majority of the military troops are, where all the operations originate from. We departed here in a big grey, armored, RV looking thing called a Rhino. It is accompanied by an entourage of humvees. I thought we were really heading out into Iraq – to the “red zone”, but we went down this road called Route Irish (not sure why) which is about 6 miles to Camp Victory. Just recently it has become very safe, but some time ago, it was very dangerous and the place where a lot of IED’s have been set off. So, it was a good trip – uneventful. We spent one night and ½ of Saturday touring around and checking out the place. It is a totally different atmosphere over there. Thousands of military personnel and most of the operations are done out of either trailers or this Palace that we have taken over, called Al Faw Palace. It is a beautiful building with a moat all the way around it. Unlike the Palace in the IZ we could take tons of pictures, so I am working on getting them downloaded.

Last night was our first night off since we’ve been here. A lot of the bosses are out, so it is not as hectic although there is a ton to do, we are able to get it done quicker without all the interruptions.

The last few days have been beautiful here as far as the weather, cool but sunny. Today was a bit gloomy, but still not freezing. It gets pretty cold during the night though, still making the middle of the night trips out to the unheated bathroom – but at least there is a hot shower. After hearing that the troops in Camp Victory just got out of tents and into trailers since being here, I have nothing to complain about.

We went to this bizarre on the compound today and bought a ton of movies, so hopefully we will get to watch one tonight. The next few days are going to be very busy as we prepare to come back home.