Where Have I Been? Where Have You Been?

Alright. My bad. It's been what, over 2 months? Let's catch up. When I last posted, we were winding down the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) missions with the State Department, as they're closing up shop up here in the north. We were waiting to find out whether or not we were going to train the Iraqi Army in the fine art of field artillery. On May 15, I decided since it'd been 8 months since I'd been in the United States, it was time for a little break. On a 12 month deployment, they allow you 15 days of uncharged leave to return for "rest and recuperation," a nice way to say they're getting you out of the suck for a while. There's something to be said about coming off the plane and walking over Terminal D in DFW to hundreds of strangers standing on their feet applauding and cheering. Incredible, really. So, I took my uniform off for 15 days, didn't shave, saw some friends and family, and had a wonderful time. While on leave, I received word that I had been put on orders to Ft Campbell, KY (most of which lies in Tennessee, but the post office is in Kentucky). So, the next chapter of my life involves me leaving the Great State of Texas. It's exciting, but sad at the same time. This was poor timing in just about every way imaginable, but I still enjoyed my time and had one of those "defining moments" in my life after a fortuitous mechanical problem at DFW caused our flight to be delayed for a day...but that is a subject for another blog that I'll likely either never create or create and neglect. Like this one.

So, I got back to Mosul just in time for my birthday and to start training the Iraqis on the M198 (as previously mentioned in my blog somewhere). As I'd said before, we have no prior experience with the weapon, but while I was gone, the guys seemed to pick it up rather quickly. We've had the Iraqis for a week now and they are refreshingly eager to learn, and, quite frankly, fun to have around. It's pretty neat watching them learn the piece and their respective roles on the crew. Though there is a major language barrier, we've managed to bond a little with them and now joke around with them between classes and testing. The idea of them firing without us there to ensure they shoot safely is still a little frightening, but they will undoubtedly nail it, and might just become some pretty good redlegs after a few years of trial and error. The work is exhausting, it just keeps getting hotter, and the soldiers' eyes are beginning to glaze over knowing there's 2 months left, but apparently what we're doing has gotten the attention of those back in Washington and elsewhere:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/with-big-gun-iraqi-soldiers-see-hope/2011/06/16/AGfniObH_story.html <---I'm not what you would call "blog-savvy," so copy and paste that badboy and it should whisk you away to the article I'm referencing. Or one of you readers could tell me how to insert a proper link so I don't look and/or feel so incompetent.

This is a proud moment for our Platoon, knowing that this New Iraq Army Field Artillery will be a lasting legacy for 2nd Platoon, B Battery, 5-82 FA. We literally are standing up nearly the entire branch of artillery for this country. I am filled with pride knowing that "Teacher Duns-by" and the rest of the NCOs in this platoon are ensuring that these Iraqis have the knowledge and training to be the best possible artillerymen in the region, and with time, can impart their knowledge to their peers subordinates. It's exciting times again, folks. We're writing the history.