Time to eat crow

I finally confronted the former Mayor. I had to talk to him today because it was driving me crazy. I kept biting my tongue all day and could not hold it in any longer. For those of you that know me. You would be amazed as to how long I held it in. But, at around 1630hrs (4:30 PM) I could not stop myself. I knocked on his door, asked to speak to him, closed the door, took a deep breath and began. I am glad I did it. We ironed out a lot of things. I was misjudging him on his actions. I thought he was doing what he was doing, just because he wanted to get under my skin. I was wrong. He was truly looking out for, what he thought was, my best interest. He was afraid that I might be biting off more than I could chew. I did, however, tell him, that although I have been known for doing just that, I am sure I can handle the ramifications of my actions. He apologized and now we are good friends.

I also dealt with the vehicle issue. I reminded him that the vehicle belongs to the Mayor Cell, but, he is welcome to use it when I or my assistants are not doing so. He, at first, tried to “convince” me that I was wrong. That the vehicle in question actually belongs to the Headquarters Company. But, I reminded him that the only reason the Battalion left that vehicle behind with him was because he was the Mayor, not because he was the 1SG and then pointed out that none of the other companies have vehicles for the staff, only the supply section of each company has one. He then conceded that I was right and we moved on to the next topic at hand. I think I am going to like this guy. He seems to try to get over on you, but, if confronted with the facts, he backs down and moves on. I cannot blame the guy for trying. LOL
I also dealt with an irate Lieutenant Colonel today. This one was entirely my fault. We worked a deal between the two of us and I did not come through on my end as he expected. He told me he could get me a bobcat (skid steer) with a bucket loader on it for a day. And in return I would make sure that we spread some rocks out in front of his B-hut so he would not have a mud pit to walk though every time it rained. By the time I finally got the Bobcat, the gravel that I was authorized to get, had been taken away. I was only given a week to make it go away or they would take it and use it elsewhere. It took a week and a half to get the bobcat. There for, I did not have enough gravel to do the job in full and I had to decide whether it was more important to spread the few loads of gravel I had at one B-hut to help one man, or spread it out over a main route and help out that entire section of the camp. He did not like the choice I made. He went all the way up the chain to my Battalion. I had to answer to one of my Majors up there. Luckily I am in good standing with them. Especially since I just built them the wall and door up there. And I was up till 0430hours doing so, because they wanted it done in time for the office to be moved into by the morning shift. I explained to them what had happened and that I would rectify the situation by Close of Business today and problem solved. I went and found some gravel and took the John Deere Gator and a couple of shovels and loaded up the Gator with 2 loads of gravel to spread around the Colonels B-hut. Now we are all happy as can be. I love it when a plan comes together.

Well it is getting late. I will write again soon. Enjoy your freedoms while they last. I hear that they are diminishing rather quickly back home. I just heard that we, the soldiers, are on the terrorist watch list. Gotta love that.

Just call me Bob.

It seems that I have earned myself a new name. I am being called "Bob the Builder" and also "Bob Villa." It looks like I have impressed a few people that had no clue I could make things happen. This is a great place to be for me, right now. At least for the most part.

There is a dark cloud in the sky over me right now. The man that used to do my job here, as Camp Mayor, is back. He tried to go home by pulling some strings back home and getting reassigned. It seems that he does not like the people he has to work for. Well any way, he pulled some strings and went home and the strings got CUT and he was called back in. He is not a happy camper right now. Any way, he is trying to take it out on me. He does not want the job of Camp Mayor, but, he wants all the perks. I am not sure how to handle this one. I know I can leave here anytime I choose. I just need to say the word and I am down range on the front lines doing my job. The one I was trained to do and the one that I was brought back from retirement for. I do not know if I want to pull that trump card just yet. I am kind of enjoying this job.

Here are the issues I have to deal with. 1, since we were told to put the curtains back up in the showers, I decided to have my guys cut the curtains to Knee high. Not a big deal, right? Well he had a cow and ordered my guys not to do it. It seems that he wants to run the Mayor Cell, but, does not want the job of the Mayor. 2, I just found out that he thinks the Mayor Cell vehicle is HIS vehicle. He does not seem to understand that he is no longer the Mayor and is the First Sergeant only, since he did not want to do both jobs. But, the 1SG does not rate a personal vehicle, even though he was using it as such when he was the Mayor. I needed the vehicle for some official business and it seems that he took the keys with him to the hooch since HE does not want people driving HIS vehicle.

Like I said, I am not sure how I am going to deal with this one. It looks like I am going to have to either push against the tide or just step aside and let him have the Mayor cell back and hope he drowns in the work. I know that I have done more in the last 2 weeks as Mayor than he did in the last 3 months. I have received many complements from the local tenants as to how much better the camp looks and how glad they are that someone cares about this camp enough to get things done. The only things that got done before were the things that directly affected his comfort of living.

I guess I will have to see what happens tomorrow when I confront him on this vehicle issue. It is going to get pretty ugly. I guess I will write again soon and pass on what came of it.

I have some pictures of some of the project I have done. There is the water point here in the camp and the wall I built in the Battalion office to separate it for a new work space. there are a few more, but, I do not have pictures of them just yet. I will post them as soon as I get them.

Yet another birthday away from home.

Well, I just turned the big 4 0. It was a rather uneventful day, thank goodness. It was just another day at work. I had so much to do that the day went by in a flash. Just the way I like it, out here. It was just brought to my attention that we only have about 6 months left before we pack it up and go home.

They are telling us that we should be out of here in the first or second week of November. (That is the latest estimate). Truth be told, we have had several people say several things and no one will know the truth until it actually happens. All I know is that my orders say I am here until 4 Jan 2010. That is the day I am looking at being sent home. If it happens sooner then so be it. I am not going through the emotional roller coaster of using the November date and then being let down.

Today, I lost my first battle. Those signs I put up in the showers did not deter the culprit. It happened again on the evening of the 17th. So, the curtains were promptly removed from the showers on the 18th. It seems that some Lieutenant had a fit and went to the I G complaining how traumatic it is for soldiers to not have private showers. The end result was that Base Ops., my bosses, gave in and asked me to put the curtains back up. Apparently the health risk is outweighed by the "trauma" of no privacy.

Other than that it has been a rather productive week. I finished building the new water point. We are going to take all the palletized cases of water off the pallets and putting them into the new structure which is set up for it. It is going to clean up that area of the camp a little bit. Make it look a little better so as to have a little more aesthetic appeal.

Today’s project is to build a Gazebo for the back corner of the camp. That is where the Marines reside. Their Major and I worked a deal where if I build them a smoking area, I can have the left over lumber for the other projects that need it. There are several projects in the camp that need to be done and I hope to get them all done before my time here is up. Hopefully we can leave this camp in better shape than when we got it. At least that is my plan. One can only hope.

I still have not heard word on the Language school. The SGM has not been here for a week or so. He has been visiting the different outposts that we have soldiers assigned. He truly cares about his troops and their well being. That is why I do not mind signing another 5 year contract if he gets me into the language school in Monterrey, California. I know that if I do sign up for another 5 years, I will be working for him for most of it.

Well, it is time to go build that Gazebo. I will write again soon.

What a day. What a day indeed.

Today was my first time to go through the paces on getting material for Camp construction. I had to go through layers of red tape. I thought I was going to skip to the top of the chain once I was put on the Signature card. Wow was I wrong. I did get to skip a few links, but, there are more links to this chain then I could have imagined. It took me all morning to get through the approval process just so I could turn in the paper work to the Class IV yard.

The good news is, that I got the lumber package approved. What I did not know was that this was tried and declined twice already. I found this out, when the Major's level of excitement went through the roof once he heard that it was approved. I am guessing that this will make the Colonel very happy. It seems that this was his BABY. He wants to build a break area at the Battalion HQ that will called the Alamo. Just a little something to leave a footprint behind, showing that we were here. Every unit does something, this is as good a thing as any. At least this one is something that is usable. Most of the units do some stupid project that wastes time and money that is just an ego thing. My Colonel, at least, is doing something usefull. Something that helps all the people in that area.

I also ended up helping my Supply Sergeant build a cabinet for his room. The project turned out better than he expected. The only thing missing was a router to finish out the edges. It is done and looking good. Well, not quite done because it started to rain, but, almost done. Did I mention that I love this job. DAMN I LOVE THIS JOB. There is nothing quite like having a task that no one thinks can get done and doing it below budget and ahead of schedule.

Well, it is Easter

It is now Sunday, 12 April. It just worked out that today was my day off. I actually had a great day doing nothing. The guy in the room next to me works for L3 Technologies and he asked me if I wanted a tour of the facilities where he works. He works with the UAVs as a technical expert. Since I already have a Clearance, it was no big deal to get me on the flight line and check out the operation.

It was a real eye opener. I was permitted to take some pictures of the aircraft. Not opened up, of course. Too many classified electronics to be able to do that. But, I did get a few nice close-ups of the airplane with me in next to it. The plane is amazing. It was nice to see where the intel that we get out in the field, originates.

Other than that, I did not do much. I went to the health spa and got a full body massage. It is only $20 an hour out here. It is 1/3 what I pay at home. They are really good at working out the lower back problems I developed from carrying all that weight up and down the mountain. Last time I was here, I had a standing appointment with the massage therapist every Sunday at 4 PM. And always the same one. Luda, she is the only one that knows how to do a really good deep tissue massage. Unfortunately, Olga, the lady I got today, did not do as good a job. She was just going through the motions, for the most part. It felt more like a back rub than a massage. Which is why she only got a $5 tip?

Wow, what a day

Well, I had a day from hell. I loved it for the most part. Just had one incident that totally boggled the mind. I was approached by one of the camp tenants and informed that "someone" had shat in the shower stall. It seems that some of the local national that live here (cat 1 interpreters) are not adjusting to the modern way of life, all that well. I found out that this is not the first time for this. In fact, it is somewhere around the 15th or 16th time in recent months. So, I got to pondering the situation and a few of us came up with a solution. I posted a sign in all the shower cells' entrances that said if it happened again, I would remove all the shower curtains from all the shower stalls for a month. I sure hope I do not have to do that. But, I will if I have to.

On the brighter side. I did have a great day today. I convinced the commander to put me on the Signature card at the Class IV yard. The class 4 yard is where you get all the building material. This means that I do not have to go through the typical red tape to get things. It eliminates a few of the middle men in the process. I can pretty much skip all the people between me and the top. I LOVE IT.

The first major project at hand is to paint the outside of all the B-Huts. I just ordered 15 of the 5 gallon buckets of Tan Exterior Latex. Then, some small projects that are going to be done for individuals B-Huts. Like Shelving for storage of personal things. I am doing those on a case by case basis, as time allows.

Since most of you do not know, I will describe the typical living accommodations out here. The typical B-hut is 17 feet wide by 36 feet long. There is a door in the middle of each end that goes into a hallway. On each side of the hall way, there are 4 rooms. Each room is 6 1/2 feet by 7 1/2 feet. That is all you get. Not much room for things. In my room, I have the bed on stilts so as to be able to store my Tuff Boxes under the bed, that way they are out of my way. I am still working on getting some shelving in here for more storage.

So in closing, I am happy to say, I think I found my niche in life. I like this type of work. I look forward to getting to work in the morning and seeing what the next challenge is going to bring. But, most of all, I like seeing progress. I like to see things get done. Something I can put a check mark by and move to the next item on the list. There is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing to it that things get accomplished.

The first challenge has come and gone

Well, I was expecting a relatively uneventful day today and I am happy to say it was not the case. The day started off really well. I walked the camp and looked at all the things that needed my attention. There was no shortage of things needing repair. I was pretty pleased that there are a lot of things that I can improve upon. I met with the KBR representative for turning in the work orders as well as the service representative for the Service orders. The first is for things that need doing, the second is for things that need fixing. All of that, went well. Most of them are from Serbia or other former soviet nations and are eager to work as well. Unlike most of the American KBR, where you have to hope to get one that is willing to do anything. They think that work is beneath them or something.

Then came my first TEST, the challenge. Remember I said I have a vehicle that belongs to the Mayor Cell? Well the Company Commander and I had a pissing contest over "WHOSE vehicle is it anyway?" I played politics on this one. I know, I know, those of you who know me are thinking "no way, who is this, writing this blog?" But, I did, and it payed off. I just told him the facts and said "but I am not sure, it is just what I was briefed by HIGHER, Sir." and he later came to me in a much humbled tone and said he does not want to start off on the wrong foot, so he just wants us to SHARE the vehicle. I guess I did OK on this one. I did not bow up to him and so he did not lose face and thus we both got what we wanted. I guess I am getting soft in my old age. LOL

Anyway, we are going to have our next challenge when it comes to occupying the building that we are in. It seems that he wants to take over the entire office and half of the area where people come in to conduct Camp Business. That is the Mayor Cell Building and the previous mayor let him move in to half of the back office because he was not using it and now he is starting to expand into my area. I, yet again, am going to have to plant my feet and start to PUSH against the forces of Nature. I am, however, going to try to parlay this in to a new facility that I want to build not far from the existing one. I am hoping that if I offer to build it myself the facilities manager will let me do it. The lumber is plentifully, it is the cost of labor that we are tightly budgeting.

Well it is time for me to get busy with some on line registration. I am going to sign up for some college classes in order to better utilize my time here. I will write again soon.

The good news just keeps a coming

I was just named the Camp Mayor. It looks like I am going to be staying here at Bagram for a while. From what I have been told thus far, I am going to like this new position. I am good at stepping on toes if I need to, to get things done. I have always believed in "soldiers first" and that is not what was happening here before. I have been told that the last Mayor did a lot of the "what's in it for me" kind of dealings.

One of the most attractive benefits for me is that now I have a vehicle to drive. I got a Ford Everest as the mayor's vehicle. For those of you back home, who have never heard of a Ford Everest, it is basically an Explorer except a little smaller and has a 4 cylinder diesel engine with 5 speed manual. The only thing is with that is that the speed limit here on post is 15 miles an hour. For those of you who know me well, know that this is trouble just waiting to happen.

I did learn that it is pretty sure now that I will not be going home on leave in August. That is not a big deal since I would feel guilty going home in place of another soldier who might be down range and not living as nicely as those of us who are on established bases. To my friends and family who were expecting me home in a few months, I am sorry.

I will post some pictures of this area for you guys to see, once I get my stuff unpacked and organized and get my camera out. I will probably not write as often here now that there really is not much to write about. This post is rather well established and there is not much excitement around here. We do have a lot of activities here on base to keep us busy during our off times. I am going to be signing up for some college classes here in a few days to help pass the evening time. But, other than that, there is not much going on here. I will write again later and post some pics as I get them.

Some good news

Today, I received some rather good news from my Commander. As it turns out, I impressed him with some of the repair work that I have done since I have been here. It seems that he wants me to take over as the Camp Mayor of the camp that we are in right now. I would be in charge of assigning the soldiers a room and taking care of all the repairs that need doing. Not actually doing all the repairs myself, just getting the work orders in and making sure that they are done on time.

This is right up my alley. I love doing this kind of stuff. And actually, I would probably do most of the repair work myself just so it is done right. I also now have my own room and have just gotten Internet run to my room. I am now sitting on my bed typing this blog and loving it. All I need now is a TV and a Phone and I will be right at home.

The TV is rather easy. I can get cable for only $25 a month. I can also do the VOIP if I want to but there is a hell of a delay. The last time I had it, it was around 6 seconds. Most people hung up thinking that there was no one there, before my voice made it to their end. It was rather difficult to talk even if I got through. Well any way, it is getting late here and I am going to have to get up early tomorrow.

I will write again as soon as I know whether I am going to stay here or not.

Still at Bagram

Well it is now the 5th of April and I am still at Bagram. It looks like I am going to be here for a while. This reorganization is going to take a while to get ironed out. Thus, as soon as they know where I am going to be going, I will be told. As is stands right now, no one knows what the Battalion structure is going to look like. We have our Colonel fighting for his idea of what his organization should look like. And we have a few Generals wanting their individual ideas of what they want us to do, and thus it is all up in the air.

I am, however, enjoying this time I have been granted. I do keep busy with office work, but, I also have time to do things that I want to do. I am staying away from the Bazaar and the "Haji shops" because I do not want to be tempted to spend any more money. My goal is to be debt free by the time I get back, and it is looking like it is going to happen. Minus the two houses, of course. I have that laid out on a five year plan.

I weighed myself the other day while in the Mayor Cell Office. They happened to have scale there in the hall way. I was surprised to find out that I weigh 189 with my uniform on and my side arm w/ammo and boots on. Oh, and all the stuff in all my pockets. I figure that all that stuff is around 18 Lbs. so I am now down in the 170's. Not bad considering I left home weighing just under 200 Lbs. I guess that is what happens when you eat One MRE per day for few weeks and do a lot of physical work at the same time.

I will be starting to go to the gym here, if I do not get out of here soon. The food here is really good and I do not want to gain that weight back.

It looks like I am not going to be going home in Aug like I was told I would be doing. I might not be able to go home at all during this deployment as it looks right now. It appears that Battalion does not have enough slots to get us all home for our leaves and thus the higher ranking individuals will not be getting leave. Of course, if you are high ranking and work here in Bagram, where you have connections, that does not apply. But, for those of us who are down range, we get hosed.

Well I have to go. My computer number was just called and my time is up. I will write again soon.

I am back at the beginning.

I just arrived at Bagram Air Field. (BAF) This is were we started our journey, back on the 30th of January. We were supposed to get on a flight at around 10PM last night, but, the CH-47 did not get there until around 3:30 AM. We finally arrived here at BAF at around 5:00 AM and I ended up going to sleep around 7:00 AM. I got up at 9 and started my day. I am now taking a little time to do somethings on line and decided to post this so you guys know what is going on.

I still have not been told where I am going. It looks like I might be able to just stay here at BAF as the company admin clerk. I would much rather do that then go out and do the mission they were talking about.

There is a lot of crap to put up with here at BAF. Like for example, at night, you have to wear a reflective belt when outside. IF you do not have one on you and visible, you get arrested and hauled down to the PMO (Provost Marshals Office) and your commander has to come bail you out and you are fined $75. That is just the most ludicrous one. there are more that I will not go into at this time.

The upside to this place is the Massage parlor, the Burger King, the Pizza Hut (and they deliver), the Subway, the Dairy Queen, and there are more. not to mention the college opportunities that are available. I hope I can stay here. We will see. I am going to try to convince my Commander that I would be a great asset here and hope he lets me stay.

Any way, for those of you that I have been calling via my sat phone. I no longer have one of those fancy little doohickeys and thus, until I get another means of Com's, I will have to just E-mail you on occasion. I will try to get another way to contact you guys as soon as possible. If I get to stay, I will get an Internet connection in my room and get a VOIP phone. I hear that they are pretty cheap.