I expect that this will be the last post to this blog. I am back in the States and getting ready to get back to Colorado. We arrived back in California on Monday and have been doing out-prossessing and gear turn in. I should be home shortly and will be looking forward to settling down and having some time off. I expect to return to Northrop-Grumman and will begin work in a couple of weeks.
For all those who sent care packages, letters, prayers, support and well wishes thank you. Our team made it home safe and in one piece and healthy. All the best and look forward to catching up with all of you when I get the chance.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Well folks, this is the blog that I have been waiting to write, we are getting ready to leave Iraq for the States!!!! So, this will be the last blog that I will be writing from the Land of the Two Rivers. We will be heading to Kuwait in a couple of days and then after a brief holdover we will be heading back to the States. I expect that we should be back to California in early October and back to Colorado a short week later!
Overall this has been an eye opening experience. I have seen and heard from alot of different Iraqis from many different walks of life. The Iraqi people are in a state of flux trying to decide what they want to do with their future. We are seeing many more standing up to the insurgents and taking control of their situation. This war will have a positive outcome, it might take some time, but the time will come when US forces are out of the country and the Iraqis are governing themselves.
I will have plenty of time to pass on my opinions at a later date about the state of this country and how I think things are going. All we are concerned about now is getting home, having a beer and good food and reconnecting with friends and family. Thanks for all the letters, support and good wishes for me and the team that I worked with in Al Asad. I look forward to seeing everyone again soon. All the best, Dave.
Overall this has been an eye opening experience. I have seen and heard from alot of different Iraqis from many different walks of life. The Iraqi people are in a state of flux trying to decide what they want to do with their future. We are seeing many more standing up to the insurgents and taking control of their situation. This war will have a positive outcome, it might take some time, but the time will come when US forces are out of the country and the Iraqis are governing themselves.
I will have plenty of time to pass on my opinions at a later date about the state of this country and how I think things are going. All we are concerned about now is getting home, having a beer and good food and reconnecting with friends and family. Thanks for all the letters, support and good wishes for me and the team that I worked with in Al Asad. I look forward to seeing everyone again soon. All the best, Dave.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Here it is, already a month since my last posting. It has been busy and we are looking forward to heading back to the states very soon. It continues to be hot, but the nights are more comfortable. Things continue to be quiet in the AO, even with Ramadan coming up. We are expecting, as I am sure the news has said, a spike in the violence. But we are hoping that it is less than it has been in the past.
This part of Iraq, the Anbar Provence, has remained a fairly stable place, with most of the violence happening in Baghdad and the surrounding area. If you listen to the news much of the information is about Baghdad and nothing else. The is not many mentions of previous hot spots such as Ramadi and Fallujah. The Iraqi people are starting to man up and take control of the country. Now the media and the Congress will say that progress is unacceptable and too slow for their liking. But progress is being made throughout the country. 60 Minutes recently did a story about the Kurdish area of Iraq. If you want to see the progress that is being made in some areas look there. In time, the rest of Iraq should be able to mimic their progress.
Enough about my rantings. We are in the midst of a turnover and my email address will be changing in five days. No longer will it be david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil, but rather, david.bennett@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil. So for the last few weeks we are in country that is the best .mil address to drop me a line. You can still use my MSN address to contact me as well. I am looking forward to getting back to the states and having a burger and beer with everyone and seeing the mountains again. Iraq is mostly hot and flat, I want cold and hilly!!! That is all for now. To all those of you who sent cards, packages, emails, had me in your prayers, and support our troops in Iraq I want to say thank you. We could not do what we do without you.
This part of Iraq, the Anbar Provence, has remained a fairly stable place, with most of the violence happening in Baghdad and the surrounding area. If you listen to the news much of the information is about Baghdad and nothing else. The is not many mentions of previous hot spots such as Ramadi and Fallujah. The Iraqi people are starting to man up and take control of the country. Now the media and the Congress will say that progress is unacceptable and too slow for their liking. But progress is being made throughout the country. 60 Minutes recently did a story about the Kurdish area of Iraq. If you want to see the progress that is being made in some areas look there. In time, the rest of Iraq should be able to mimic their progress.
Enough about my rantings. We are in the midst of a turnover and my email address will be changing in five days. No longer will it be david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil, but rather, david.bennett@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil. So for the last few weeks we are in country that is the best .mil address to drop me a line. You can still use my MSN address to contact me as well. I am looking forward to getting back to the states and having a burger and beer with everyone and seeing the mountains again. Iraq is mostly hot and flat, I want cold and hilly!!! That is all for now. To all those of you who sent cards, packages, emails, had me in your prayers, and support our troops in Iraq I want to say thank you. We could not do what we do without you.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
While in Iraq there are things that you become disconnected with being so far away from home. Events of this past week has brought those things back into sharp focus. Two events stand out in my mind, one good and one sad. I got the announcement from a friend that I deployed with in 04 that he and his girlfriend have announced a wedding date. They are two great people that will be very happy together. I wanted to pass my congratulations to them and I very much look forward to their upcoming wedding once I get back from Iraq.
The second is one of the sadder events that I have had to deal with. I found out that a former student and fantastic young man passed a week ago. I have been trying to figure out how to express my feelings to his family, and I cannot. I know that he was a great young man, served his country on uniform and was preparing for another deployment to Iraq. It is hard to grasp from such a distance the sadness that is being felt by the community and the people that knew Ted well. My deepest sympathies go to his family and his friends, I wish I could have been there to support all of you.
These types of events remind you of what is important; family, friends and the events that define life. I wish everyone health and healing in the times that cause both sadness and great joy.
The second is one of the sadder events that I have had to deal with. I found out that a former student and fantastic young man passed a week ago. I have been trying to figure out how to express my feelings to his family, and I cannot. I know that he was a great young man, served his country on uniform and was preparing for another deployment to Iraq. It is hard to grasp from such a distance the sadness that is being felt by the community and the people that knew Ted well. My deepest sympathies go to his family and his friends, I wish I could have been there to support all of you.
These types of events remind you of what is important; family, friends and the events that define life. I wish everyone health and healing in the times that cause both sadness and great joy.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Well hello again. It has been a month since my last post, sorry, but time flies when you are having fun. Not to much to report from the sand box. It is hot, 120+ is our daily high, no clouds and a hot wind. It amazes me that 110 can feel comfortable, and at times it does. Things continue to go well for the team and we are beginning to count down the days until we rotate back to the States. We are not exactly sure of our return date yet, or when the Colorado crew will actually get back to CO, but it will be coming soon.
I do want to pass along some incites from my side of the world. I know watching the news it seems like things are not getting better in Iraq. But believe me they are. In the Al Anbar Provence things have changed dramatically. Once considered the deadliest place in Iraq, Anbar has quieted down significantly. The surge here has worked. Public works projects in the cities are in full swing and the infrastructure of the cities is being rebuilt. If you are only able to watch the news it does not seem so, but it is happening.
One of the guys on the team made a great point to me the other day. The way our media reports the war they only talk about the bad things that are happening. His example was a great one. He said: When do you hear about teachers in the media? Only when one does something bad, sleeps with a student or some other form of misconduct. You never hear about the teachers who change kids lives for the positive and do great things for their students. The same is true here in Iraq. What do you hear about in the media? The violence in Baghdad, misconduct by service members or other less than flattering things about the young men and women fighting in this war. You never hear about the medical treatment provided by service members helping the sick, the rebuilding of the schools, the opening of new hospitals, the rebuilding of roads, the fixing of the basic services infrastructure neglected by Saddam while he built palaces for himself and his family with the money meant for the people of Iraq.
Politicians are pandering to the popular opinion of the people who are not willing to listen to the good things that are happening in this county. Is the country perfect? No, and we have a ways to go to get Iraq and the Iraqi people back on their feet. But I have had the chance to talk to Iraqis who are eternally grateful that we entered Iraq, deposed Saddam and are helping to rebuild the country. Many of the Iraqi's that I have spoken with are embarrassed by the conduct of their countrymen who are causing the destruction of the country. They are even more appalled by the outsiders from Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries that are coming to Iraq and killing Iraqis, American and Coalition Forces.
This is just my opinion. You may not agree and still want the immediate withdrawal of American and Coalition Forces from this country. But what if we had not helped rebuild Germany and Japan after World War 2 and South Korea after the Korean War? Think about it. It is our responsibility to finish the job we started in Iraq. As long as public opinion and the spineless politicians in Washington bash what we are trying to do they provide the strength for the insurgency and people destroying what we are helping rebuild to continue their fight. Remember, the United States struggled to become a unified nation after we gained our independence from England. Most of the world did not recognize the legitimacy of the US government until after the War of 1812 and we still had to fight a civil war before the US was truly one nation.
Just the thoughts of a service member. Thank you to everyone for your support of me and the Marines that I serve with. I know the American people support the troops and what we are doing. If we all supported the government the same way we would be unbeatable.
I do want to pass along some incites from my side of the world. I know watching the news it seems like things are not getting better in Iraq. But believe me they are. In the Al Anbar Provence things have changed dramatically. Once considered the deadliest place in Iraq, Anbar has quieted down significantly. The surge here has worked. Public works projects in the cities are in full swing and the infrastructure of the cities is being rebuilt. If you are only able to watch the news it does not seem so, but it is happening.
One of the guys on the team made a great point to me the other day. The way our media reports the war they only talk about the bad things that are happening. His example was a great one. He said: When do you hear about teachers in the media? Only when one does something bad, sleeps with a student or some other form of misconduct. You never hear about the teachers who change kids lives for the positive and do great things for their students. The same is true here in Iraq. What do you hear about in the media? The violence in Baghdad, misconduct by service members or other less than flattering things about the young men and women fighting in this war. You never hear about the medical treatment provided by service members helping the sick, the rebuilding of the schools, the opening of new hospitals, the rebuilding of roads, the fixing of the basic services infrastructure neglected by Saddam while he built palaces for himself and his family with the money meant for the people of Iraq.
Politicians are pandering to the popular opinion of the people who are not willing to listen to the good things that are happening in this county. Is the country perfect? No, and we have a ways to go to get Iraq and the Iraqi people back on their feet. But I have had the chance to talk to Iraqis who are eternally grateful that we entered Iraq, deposed Saddam and are helping to rebuild the country. Many of the Iraqi's that I have spoken with are embarrassed by the conduct of their countrymen who are causing the destruction of the country. They are even more appalled by the outsiders from Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries that are coming to Iraq and killing Iraqis, American and Coalition Forces.
This is just my opinion. You may not agree and still want the immediate withdrawal of American and Coalition Forces from this country. But what if we had not helped rebuild Germany and Japan after World War 2 and South Korea after the Korean War? Think about it. It is our responsibility to finish the job we started in Iraq. As long as public opinion and the spineless politicians in Washington bash what we are trying to do they provide the strength for the insurgency and people destroying what we are helping rebuild to continue their fight. Remember, the United States struggled to become a unified nation after we gained our independence from England. Most of the world did not recognize the legitimacy of the US government until after the War of 1812 and we still had to fight a civil war before the US was truly one nation.
Just the thoughts of a service member. Thank you to everyone for your support of me and the Marines that I serve with. I know the American people support the troops and what we are doing. If we all supported the government the same way we would be unbeatable.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
To all at the USOC, thank you very much for the two huge boxes of shirts, hats, pants and all the other goodies included. I have now outfitted the entire team in Olympic and games gear. We kind of look like USOC-Iraq around the compound. The clothing is great and all the people on the team greatly appreciate the generosity!!!! I have included a picture of us in the some of the gear (the second box came two days later). You all are fantastic.
All is going well here. The weather is still hot, the work is consistent and the team is all doing well. I do not have any deep thoughts at this time, but I will say that the Anbar province is much more quiet than it has been in many years. I hope I didn't just jinx us, but the surge has worked in this area. Keep the faith in the troops here, we are winning, slowly, but we are winning!
More to come, hope all is well!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
I wanted to drop a line and tell everyone who sent a package, card or email for my birthday Thank you Thank you Thank you. I cannot tell you all how much I appreciate all the cards, car packages and emails that were sent. It always a huge morale booster to receive mail, but it is even greater when it happens on a birthday. So to everyone, THANK YOU!!!!!! I feel very lucky to have so many people looking out for me while I am here. Thanks especially to all of you who look out for Caroline while I am out of town. It is much easier to deal with the separation here, because I am with other separated people.
So to all of you supporting me and my team from the States, we say Thank You!
So to all of you supporting me and my team from the States, we say Thank You!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Well hello. For those who have been in the military or been around the military you know the expression change one. Well this is change one, I can write on the blog again myself. So Caroline's proof reading to make sure what I am writing is properly done will not be happening. It is getting hot, hot, hot. We have hit the 100's over the past week. But the hot weather is not here yet. We are expecting it to reach into the 130's as the summer progresses.
Work as always is going well. The good days are great and the bad days stink. But that is the way with every job. I look forward to telling you more about what we do when I get back home. I have gotten my first batch of letters from Holly Bass's fourth grade class. It is fun to get the letters from the kids and write back to them.
Caroline is in Hawaii at the wedding of her cousin Christopher and his new wife Jessica. I am sorry to miss the wedding, but happy that Caroline could go and have fun with the rest of the family.
Not too much more from here. Type to you later.
Work as always is going well. The good days are great and the bad days stink. But that is the way with every job. I look forward to telling you more about what we do when I get back home. I have gotten my first batch of letters from Holly Bass's fourth grade class. It is fun to get the letters from the kids and write back to them.
Caroline is in Hawaii at the wedding of her cousin Christopher and his new wife Jessica. I am sorry to miss the wedding, but happy that Caroline could go and have fun with the rest of the family.
Not too much more from here. Type to you later.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Hello again from the land of the Two RiversWork has kept us busy and we are working some long hours. The weather is starting to get hotter. It has been a cool spring (I just jinxed us). The daily highs are now in the mid 80’s and the nights are in the 50’s-60’s, so at this time it is bearable. Like last time, I have gotten to do some building and woodwork. Nothing as elaborate as a roof and a new wing on the building, but some simple desks for our break room and a couple of desks for my room. It was a nice change of pace from the job, but I am enjoying doing what I have been trained to do.
I am excited to be again be adopted by the fourth grade class of Holly Bass. It was a great experience last time I was here and I am looking forward to conversing with a new group of students.
I hope this blog finds everyone doing well. We are good here and looking forward to the time when we are back home.
Attached is a picture of an Iraqi traffic jam taken by a friend of mine on a bridge going over the Euphrates River.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Here it is early Easter Sunday morning in Iraq. All is well on this side of the world. Al Asad has been quiet, except for being at the end of a runway. Unlike last time, we have not had any indirect fire attacks on the base. In fact, I don't think that we have had an indirect fire attack here in over a year. It has gotten much more secure, at least on this end of the war. Work continued to move along, not much different to report there.
Many people have asked what we need here in the way of care packages. Some of the favorite items of the me and the team are: goldfish crackers, Twizzlers, basket style coffee filters (apparently they aren't in Iraq's supply system), coffee mate creamer (French Vanilla and Original), Crystal Lite on the Go drink mixers (all flavors), candy pretty much any kind makes us happy, pringles, and most microwaveable single serve meal type of things.
For personal stuff I am not in need of anything. I live in a comfortable space and really do not plan on collecting too much stuff while I am here. The more I have the more I have to send home. Thank you for the things that people have sent so far, everything sent is greatly appreciated.
All is well for me. Work can be frustrating and rewarding depending on the day. I look forward to more of the rewarding days as time goes on. That is all for now, type to ya later. I will also include more photos at a later date. Sorry for not sending anything deep or philosophical, don't have anything to pass at this time.
Many people have asked what we need here in the way of care packages. Some of the favorite items of the me and the team are: goldfish crackers, Twizzlers, basket style coffee filters (apparently they aren't in Iraq's supply system), coffee mate creamer (French Vanilla and Original), Crystal Lite on the Go drink mixers (all flavors), candy pretty much any kind makes us happy, pringles, and most microwaveable single serve meal type of things.
For personal stuff I am not in need of anything. I live in a comfortable space and really do not plan on collecting too much stuff while I am here. The more I have the more I have to send home. Thank you for the things that people have sent so far, everything sent is greatly appreciated.
All is well for me. Work can be frustrating and rewarding depending on the day. I look forward to more of the rewarding days as time goes on. That is all for now, type to ya later. I will also include more photos at a later date. Sorry for not sending anything deep or philosophical, don't have anything to pass at this time.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Well, here we are a couple of weeks in and ground hog day has started. The flow of our day is starting to get tough, but at least I am getting to do the job that I am trained for. I have a great team all the way around, so I feel quite lucky. The Lt. takes good care of us and the team is a good hardworking group.
The weather is still fairly nice. But the days are getting hotter and the nights are getting shorter. All that means is summer will be here soon, and the hot weather will follow. You wouldn't believe how Al Asad has changed. The main side of the basis huge and it has all the amenities. To include but not limited to a coffee shop, Burger King and a Pizza Hut. I am lucky, in a way, to be on the other side if the base an not to close to temptation. But having those things available is nice. It makes it seem more like we are not in a "war zone".
For those that are wondering what you can send to make life more like home I will let you know later in the week. We are finally getting settled in to our living spaces and we do not have the grand list yet. I will also try to send some photos of me and the team, but here is one of me and Nate in our fancy clothes, ie battle rattle.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Hello from Iraq! We have arrived in country and have started our work here. We are still turning over with the team that is leaving and getting ourselves settled into a routine. The address that I posted earlier is correct, good thing because I sent myself a package and it arrived. It takes about 11 days from CA to our area. The weather is kind of cold right now. The days are getting up into the low to mid 80's (when the sand and wind are not blowing) and the nights are into the 40 and 50's (with blowing wind). But we know it will be getting good and hot soon.
My email addresses are as follows:
NIPR david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil
SIPR david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.smil.mil
So for those of you that have a SIPR account you can shoot me mail on the high side.
Things are going well and we are getting ready to get into our schedule for work. I will keep everyone updated as time allows about life in the Iraq. Hope all finds everyone well.
My email addresses are as follows:
NIPR david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil
SIPR david.bennett@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.smil.mil
So for those of you that have a SIPR account you can shoot me mail on the high side.
Things are going well and we are getting ready to get into our schedule for work. I will keep everyone updated as time allows about life in the Iraq. Hope all finds everyone well.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Hello from Kuwait. We have arrived here and are awaiting our movement up to Iraq. It is a good time of the year to arrive as the temperature is not nearly as hot as it was last time. We should hit in the low 90's today rather than the 135 that greeted us in 2004. Overall the trip here was uneventful. We traveled for about 29 hours and stopped in Colorado Springs (unfortunately no chance to see Caroline), Bangor Maine, Hahn Germany and finally Kuwait.
Prior to leaving I had the chance to return to CO for 10 days of leave. Caroline had a gathering of friends at the Elbow Room (a bar in the Springs). It was great to get together with everyone there for the evening. Once I have the pictures I will post them to the blog. We then spent four great days in the mountains with Matt and Wendy (from Ann Arbor) skiing and having a great time hanging out. I also got to meet the newest addition to the family, Jackson the cat. I had a good time laughing at his antics and spending time with Caroline and friends before returning to CA. Caroline was able to come out to California for the last weekend and we had a lot of time top just hang out. Her time in CA was the only time that I made it down to the beach, which was nice. She got the opportunity to meet a couple of the guys on my team (besides the ones that she already knew) and their wives. As with all leave blocks and weekends both ended too early and we had to part ways. I also got to spend time with Caroline's aunt Doloris, Uncle Tom and Cousin Chris and his fiance Jessica. It was great to see them and hang out prior to getting out the door to Kuwait.
I also got to catch up with my parents and Dan in Virginia Beach for a weekend in February. I was attending a class in Myock NC (just over the VA/NC border) and got to extend my stay a day to see the family. It was a short but fun visit and it is always good to catch up when you can.
Not too much happening right now. My .mil email address is going to change, so do not send anything to the one I posted earlier. Once we are in Iraq and getting started with our mission I will update everyone with what we are doing. Hope all is well with everyone and I'll type to you again soon.
Dave
Prior to leaving I had the chance to return to CO for 10 days of leave. Caroline had a gathering of friends at the Elbow Room (a bar in the Springs). It was great to get together with everyone there for the evening. Once I have the pictures I will post them to the blog. We then spent four great days in the mountains with Matt and Wendy (from Ann Arbor) skiing and having a great time hanging out. I also got to meet the newest addition to the family, Jackson the cat. I had a good time laughing at his antics and spending time with Caroline and friends before returning to CA. Caroline was able to come out to California for the last weekend and we had a lot of time top just hang out. Her time in CA was the only time that I made it down to the beach, which was nice. She got the opportunity to meet a couple of the guys on my team (besides the ones that she already knew) and their wives. As with all leave blocks and weekends both ended too early and we had to part ways. I also got to spend time with Caroline's aunt Doloris, Uncle Tom and Cousin Chris and his fiance Jessica. It was great to see them and hang out prior to getting out the door to Kuwait.
I also got to catch up with my parents and Dan in Virginia Beach for a weekend in February. I was attending a class in Myock NC (just over the VA/NC border) and got to extend my stay a day to see the family. It was a short but fun visit and it is always good to catch up when you can.
Not too much happening right now. My .mil email address is going to change, so do not send anything to the one I posted earlier. Once we are in Iraq and getting started with our mission I will update everyone with what we are doing. Hope all is well with everyone and I'll type to you again soon.
Dave
Friday, February 16, 2007
Hello all,
Just a quick post. We have our address in Al Asad:
SSgt Dave Bennett
RCT-2 HQ Co S-2 HET-10
Unit 73910
FPO AE 09509-3910
That should get anything you send to me. Also my .mil email address is:
david.m.bennett@usmc.mil
That might change so I will be sure to keep you updated. Our leave block starts tomorrow, back to the cold of Colorado, let me tell you I can't wait.
Just a quick post. We have our address in Al Asad:
SSgt Dave Bennett
RCT-2 HQ Co S-2 HET-10
Unit 73910
FPO AE 09509-3910
That should get anything you send to me. Also my .mil email address is:
david.m.bennett@usmc.mil
That might change so I will be sure to keep you updated. Our leave block starts tomorrow, back to the cold of Colorado, let me tell you I can't wait.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Another week down and continuing to conduct training in preparation for leaving. The last week was our the Battalion Field Exercise, basically a week of us wearing all of our gear and running around. For the most part it was good training and gave us knowledge about things we might not have known. It was also week of early mornings and late nights, which added some realism with the level of fatigue that we were dealing with. We practiced MOUT operations (Military operations in urban terrain) and got the opportunely to shoot some of the bigger guns that Marines shoot (Mark 19 grenade launcher, 240-G machine gun and a 50 Cal machine gun), so that was fun. We finished on Friday with a run in our combat gear (or battle rattle) and we got a CS gas attack while we ran. The gas attack wasn't too bad and the run was only 1 1/2 miles. The attached photos show some of the things that we were doing and the members of our team.
Monday, January 08, 2007
We have arrived in California! The Colorado Team flew in on the 6th and will be operating here for the next few months. We will be conducting training and pre-deployment preparations. Right now we are checking into the unit in Pendleton and getting settled. Today was getting together with our team that we will deploy with and got in a good 5.2 mile run. The run included the 7 steps, a good 500 ft elevation gain in a 1/4 mile clime, not the incline but a definite lung buster.
For the next few months we are living in the Marriott Residence Inn in Carlsbad. Nice accommodations and comfortable living. Ate at In-n-Out for the first time and have decided to make it a weekly stop.
Not much else in the way of excitement happening right now. But as we know more and I have some photos of our training and what we are doing I will post them for you all to see.
For the next few months we are living in the Marriott Residence Inn in Carlsbad. Nice accommodations and comfortable living. Ate at In-n-Out for the first time and have decided to make it a weekly stop.
Not much else in the way of excitement happening right now. But as we know more and I have some photos of our training and what we are doing I will post them for you all to see.
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