tiawuKnIm'I: The Final Chapter

Well, I have begun the demobing process.

The three of us left Scania around 2am Wednesday morning. We hit Tallil around 6am and left Tallil for Ali Al Salem around 1:30pm. We finally got all checked in and in our tent around 5pm Wednesday.

So now I am just hanging out here until Sunday at around 0200 when we begin our trip to Ft Bliss in El Paso.

The flight in to Tallil was "interesting". Very windy and turbulent. When we landed, the pilot apologized to us. I likened the Sherpa to the airborne version of an old Humvee driving fast on a winding, rough and wet road. A couple of passengers (of which I was not one) went for the airbags but didn't have to make use of them. Thankfully.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post pics of Ali once I get back to Austin.

The Light at the End of a 14 Month Tunnel

Of the four of us here at Scania ending our contract at the end of May, one guy was scheduled to leave a week earlier than the rest. He left here early on the 16th and safely arrived at Tallil, down south.

I mailed my first footlocker home on Monday and will mail the other one plus a folding chair and box on Saturday. I should then be leaving the following Monday or Tuesday.

Not long now. 7 or 8 days left at Scania. 12 days until I leave Kuwait. 17 days until I arrive in Austin.

Good thing, too. Its starting to get a wee bit on the warm side: highs around 105-110.

Hooray, It's May!

Cool! It's already the 2nd of May!

30 days and I should be back in Austin. I am scheduled to leave Kuwait on the 27th so as long as I get there by the 26th, I'm good to go.

Almost all of the Georgia soldiers from the 1/108th AR are gone. The few that are left should be gone by the end of the week.

We're topping out around 100 now.

Now I start putting together all of the stuff I'll be shipping home and start looking, in earnest, for employment, post ITT.

That's all for now.

Minnesota's Here!

Well, over the last 10 days or so, most of the Minnesota troops have arrived.

Our contingent is the 1-125 Strike Battalion, which is under the 1/34th Brigade Combat Team.
LTC John Kolb will be Scania's Commander once Georgia transfers command.

Here's a link to some info about the 1-125 Strike FA: http://www.dma.state.mn.us/redbull/DIVARTY/1125fa/125fa.htm
http://www.redbullweb.com/23.html

Over the next 3 weeks or so, the transition will be complete and the 1/108th group from Georgia will get a much anticipated break from all the "fun" here as they make their way back home.

Speaking of home, it looks like about 30 or so days and I'll be outta here!

Short-timer?!? Who, me???

A Flower Grows in Iraq

I took a picture to prove it.

It is finally hitting the low 90's with some regularity and looks like by the end of April we'll be hitting the low 100's.

As of this posting I am about 40 days away from Leaving Scania and demobilizing via Fort Bliss. Interesting to think that it was about a year ago that I was at Ft. Bliss and going through all of that mess.

Well, enjoy the picture.

On my way back to Iraq

Aka: Tiawuknimi.

Here's a brief synopsis of my time on leave:

Left a flashlight in Talill.
Left an iPod in Arifjan. (Since recovered!)
Had my flight cancelled by Kuwait Airways because I didn't call them 72 hours before my flight to tell them I was STILL planning to fly with them. What the???
With a lot of help from ITT's T3 group, I was able to get tickets via United/Lufthansa at the last minute and left Kuwait a day later than initially planned.
Left my seat pad on a Lufthansa flight to Wash. Dulles.
Got my Xicar cigar cutter confiscated at Frankfurt. (Forgot to move it to checked baggage before travelling.)
Had my baggage arrive 2 days late when I laded at Austin.
Spent 2 great weeks with my family in Georgetown, Texas.
Dismantled our deck. (With much help from my wife, nephews, father-in-law, etc.)

Had my baggage arrive at least 1 day late upon arriving in Kuwait. I say, "at least" because I find out in about 10 minutes whether or not it arrived tonight. I am currently at the KWI Kinkos using a PC with internet connection.

I will follow up with some action pictures of my time on leave once I get to Scania. Should be 3 or 4 days, I would guess.

Milestone Reached

Well, this was the first day since late October that I really needed to wear shorts. It hit 80F in the shade. In the sun, it felt more like upper 80's.

I am trying to go home on leave from Mar 5 - Mar 21 but so far have not yet received my tickets. For some reason we couldn't do eTickets so I had to have my physical tickets shipped to me. They were shipped on the 10th and I am scheduled to leave Scania on the 1st. You'd think that would be enough time. You'd think. I still haven't received a couple of packages that were sent on the 6th, so who knows.

Apparently I can, assuming none of the flights legs are full-booked, go to the Kuwait airport and purchase another set of tickets and then submit an LTA (Lost Ticket [something]), and get either the price of the first tickets, or the second refunded. Not sure which.

Hopefully the original tickets will come in before the 1st. I should get Friday's, Monday's and maybe Wednesday's mail before I leave. The other possible factor is the Shiite/Sunni tensions and related road closures. Could delay mail delivery as well.

We'll see what this next week brings.