Unfinised Palace

Unfinised Palace, Saddam's "monument to his defeat of the west." Guess he didn't finish, originally uploaded by kmpatrick.

Officers of Fox Det

Officers of Fox Det, originally uploaded by kmpatrick.

Here are the three officers of Foxtrot Detachment! The best command group in Iraq!

Cut

Cut, originally uploaded by kmpatrick.

Hey all, I know it's taken a long time to get it on the blog, but here it is! Tada, my new haircut!

me in front of palace

me in front of palace, originally uploaded by kmpatrick.

Al Faw Palace!

29 March 2005

Ok, well I guess it's been a few days since I posted. Things have once again been a little crazy out here. It was good to talk to everyone on Easter though. I am surprised how fast Easter has come. Thank goodness. I am already counting down the days until I get to redeploy.

Looks like I won't be staying in Iraq though. I know many of you are happy to hear that, but alas, I'm not too happy about it. It's funny you know; most people are afraid that they're going to get deployed to Iraq, but hell, I tried to volunteer to go, and I can't even stay here. It's a little upsetting. Oh well, I think that I've definately gotten a good taste of what it's like to be out here. Kuwait will be nice though. I get to wear civilian clothes when I'm not on duty, so that's pretty sweet. I have a pair of grey pajama pants that I can't wait to sleep in. I've been sleeping in Army PT's since I've been out here.

Well, I'd love to hear from everyone. I got a box from Mom yesterday; thanks! Also, if anyone is going to send me a package, please wait until I get my address in Kuwait, because if not, it will just have to get forwarded to me down there anyway. It is very exciting to get packages and letters!

Paradise

Just another day here in paradise.  I think that that the days here just seem to mesh into one long day.  I was writing to a friend today, and I commented that sometimes I just feel like this is a big dream that I’m going to wake up from.  Then comes the 2am mortar alert, and I’m back in reality. No worries about that, that’s for sure.  It’s crazy because I can sleep through F15’s flying right overhead, but the second that alert goes off, bam! I’m wide awake.  Nothing like a big blasting siren telling you that there’s incoming to wake you up at 2am!  And people say that this is easy. Not quite. 

 

I went into the CSH (hospital) for the first time today.  I’m setting up a blood drive for the Battalion, and you have to pass 2 ICU’s and 2 wards on the way there.  Talk about another sobering experience.  Although, sometimes you can find the most beautiful things in a place with so much sadness.  As I was walking out of the hospital today I saw two small Iraqi children.  They were adorable.  There was a little girl with two pigtails in wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  She had beautiful green eyes, and when I looked at her she smiled and waved.  For a moment I was in shock, but I smiled really big and waved right back to her, and her brother.   Her mom picked her up and carried her out, and he mom smiled too.  It was like a moment of peace and humanism in world with body armor and M16s.  It was like I was taken out of the reality I’ve been living in, and transposed to the real world again.  It took me a few minutes to realize those were the first children I have seen since I left the U.S.  It really made me realize how calming and beautiful children can be.  It really made me thank God for them, and for that moment of peace.  God bless, everyone.

 

News Reports

You know we get Fox News out here. I remember watching it before I left, and how mad I would get at the people, and how riled up it would get me. Like this woman in Florida. It's weird, being back at home, I was listening for news out here, and now being here, I'm listening for news back at home. This case is the perfect example. I know that if I were back at home still I would have deep feelings about this case. Now that I'm out here though, it seems so trivial. Knowing that when you wake up in the morning you thank god for everyday that you have, things like that just don't matter anymore. I'm forgetting to understand why people get so enmeshed in the way others are living their lives, and so angry about it, and how they forget to live their own life. The farther that I get away from that the more I realize that I've been forgetting to live my own life, and forgetting to define my own morals and ethics. It was so easy for me to tell someone else that what they were doing was wrong, by could I define for myself what was wrong without being prompted?

I'm so happy that I have this chance to grow and learn about life, and everyday is a new experience, and you become closer to yourself and your conscience. Life is more clear, and what's important is more clear. Who is important is more clear. I'm glad to say that when I get home, I'll be a changed woman.

I finally got some pictures that I ordered off of O-foto. Some from my the marathon. One with Andy holding up a bottle of wine and his credit card, with a stunned look on his face. Thanks Andy, anytime I need some cheering up, I just look up at it, and it gives me a laugh.

I'm sure you can tell that I have a lot on my mind today. It's been a while since I posted, and this last week in Kuwait has taught me a lot. I was really thrown in the middle of a power struggle way over my head, but I'm learning to manage it and make the best of a bad situation. I'm actually learning that very quickly. I really can't wait to get home and see everyone again. I don't know if everyone knows, but I get 30 straight days off 2 weeks after I get home. Mom, Andy, Steve and I are going to Disney, but after that I'm off, so I can't wait to travel around to see everyone. I'm selling my car and bike, so who knows what I'll travel with, but I'm sure I'll find something. You can actually buy cars here tax free, so we'll see. I really don't think I want another new car. It's so far away anyway. Although, it's already almost April. Wow, this year is going by pretty fast. Okay, I think I've rambled enough. Oh, and thanks for the card Marybeth!! And thanks for the book, Mom!!

23 March 2005

So I made it to Kuwait safe and sound. Remind me to tell you guys about the flight when I get home. It was more than interesting. You sometimes you get so mixed up in your own life, and worried about where you are going, who you are going with, that sometimes you forget that there are so many things that are so much more important that you and your sill worries. You would think that wouldn't happen to someone in a combat zone, but I am sorry to admit it does. It made me feel almost selfish to be upset about going to Kuwait. I know I am part of the lucky few that have it half way decent out here, and I promise not to complain about my situation anymore.

I should be flying home on Friday morning (saturday night for you) and hopefully I'll be able to make some calls when I get home. I want to call everyone on Easter, so if you guys could give me a good time to call, that would be great. I miss you all, I have to get to work now.

21 March 2005

Well here I am again in a terminal awaiting a flight to Kuwait. It's about 0930 right now, and I'm leaving at about 0100. It's not to bad of a wait, I think I'm going to take a little nap. I'm so tired. I spent most of the day running around all around here trying to get signatures again. I think we finally got them all in. We got done around 3pm, and then....

I GOT MY HAIR CUT!

Yes, ladies and genlemen, Kate's hair is short once again! I think I really like it, we'll have to see if I like it when I style it myself though. I brought a hair straitener with me, and hopefully I will be able to do it myself. I will definately post a picture as soon as I can. Right now, I don't think I'm going to be able to post anything any earlier than Friday. We'll see.

I think I'm really getting ready to settle in here. I got two letter from Steve's mom the other day; thanks's Mrs. Belford!! I can't wait to start getting more mail, I never knew how exciting mail could be. Thanks guys. I really do miss you, but I know that I'm doing something worthwhile out here. I know that I'm completing a mission out here that matters, and you guys help me get through it. Thanks. Well, hopefully I'll get on a flight soon. I'll keep you all up to date! Talk to you soon!

20 March 2005

Hey all, sorry it's been so long since my last post. It's been a crazy couple of days. I'm leaving for Kuwait tomorrow morning, but I'll only be there for the week. Then I'll have to come back report on what I think, and then they'll decide if I go to Kuwait or not. I dunno, the more I think about it the better Kuwait seems. We'll see how it works out.

Anyway, things here haven't been too bad. I really like my new room, its cozy and I have my own TV, with AFN (armed forces network). It's about six channels, and a lot of the time there's nothing on, but hey, I'm not complaining. It's a great set up. Much better than I ever thought.

Oh, and I've decided to get my hair cut! I've been thinking about it for ages, but I was trying to hold out and not do it. However, pulling my hair up everyday is really getting to me. It's definitely too tight, and half the time it doesn't stay up. So as soon as I get it cut, I'll send a picture to my blog as soon as I can. It's definitely a hard choice, but I think it'll look good, and I'll be better off. Miss you all!

18 March 2005

Well it looks like I'll definitely be going to Kuwait. Oh well, given some time I can make the best of a bad situation. At least I won't have to lug my weapon around everywhere I go. I'll be doing to meet and greet sort of a thing too. So, that will be interesting.

Anyway, I really don't have a lot to talk about; at least nothing too interesting. You would think that life out here would be all kinds of exciting, but sorry to disappoint. I spend most of my time trying to get supplies for my soldiers. Like today I am trying to get fiber ran to our building. That's been an ongoing process. I will be more than happy to get it ran once we get it all straightened out. We could really use that. Yesterday, we finally got our e-mail up, it had been down for an entire day. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but we're a paper unit. Most of our work gets done with paper and e-mail. So you could imagine what happens if our e-mail goes down.

17 March 2005

Well today has been more than interesting. You know sometimes you’re just going about your day, and BAM! Something just blindsides you. Like Battalion trying to send me to Kuwait. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it earlier, but they had talked about sending me to Kuwait a little earlier to work out there for the remainder of my tour. Well now it looks like I’ll definitely be going. While I’m sure many of you are happy that I’ll be out of a combat zone for the next few months, I’m a little upset. I know most of you know that I’ve been trying to get to this detachment since August, and now I’ve been here for a month, and I have to leave. Okay, enough with me getting upset, I suppose I just need to vent.

I’m not sure what exactly I’ll be doing in Kuwait either, well see. I know that I have some great people back home to support me though, and I can get through anything with you guys behind me. I know that I don’t always have a ton of time to talk, or to write, but that’s why I do this. So I can keep in touch with everyone, and if you want to talk I’m usually on e-mail or AKO. Oh, and I put the AKO link on the right margin, right next to Stephanie’s Marykay site! Great makeup by the way, Steph! Thanks.

Anyway, Sunday will be my first full month in country! It’s so crazy to think that I’ve been here for a whole month already. Only 9 more months, and I’m home. I am glad to be out here though, even if I keep getting moved from one place to another. I’m sure that I’ll eventually settle in one place or another. I always have some hope, because without that, what is there? I know I am continually becoming a better person, and everyday here I learn something new about myself, about life, about other people, and especially about how important family and friends are. Have a good night everyone.

16 March 2005

Just so everyone knows, I've been having a hard time posting to my blog lately. So if I don't post everyday- have no fear! I will post again as soon as possible.

I've been trying to organize the company in the past few days. Getting all the vechicles situated, keys in order, all that fun stuff. I'm on and off busy. Did you ever have those days where you thought you didn't have a lot to do, and then you go out to do it, and find out you have more than you ever thought? It seems like that happens more often than not. Like today, I sat at my desk thinking, "Hey, I only have to write a few memos." I ended up not getting off work until like 8pm.

So I sent out my first letters the other day. I don't have a lot of your address anymore, so if you could e-mail it to me that would be great! I can't wait to hear from you guys, and I'm glad you're here reading this. I'm glad I can share my experiences with you guys! Miss you tons!

15 March 2005

I heard someone say the other day that every day here is like groundhog day. I think that I'm finally beginning to understand the meaning of that. I want to write about the new things that I'm doing, or how my day went, but not really much happened. I went back to put in some work orders, and tried to get
some new internet lines in here. Not really much else.

I am however beginning to see how fast my time can go by here. I'm already going on my first full month here, and I can't believe it. Time really does go by pretty fast. I told a friend that sometimes I think it's harder for you guys back at home than it is for me here. I stay super busy here, and work like 13 hours a day. Even though it leaves me totally ehxausted, as least the day is over when I'm done, and on to the next. It's harder for me when I have down time to think, and hang out. At least there are movies around here. I went to see hitch, it wasn't that bad, definitely canned movie. I've tried
going to Constantine twice, and both times they've cancelled the movie. I also tried to go see man of the house today, but that also didn't work out. Anyway, I'm going to get to bed. It's late.

14 March 2005

You know they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I never really understood the true meaning of that until I came here. You know today was just turning out to be a crappy day. Things just seemed not to be going my way. Then I talked to my better half (Steve), and things just seemed to turn around. I don't know what it was exaclty. Maybe it was just hearing a voice from home, maybe it was hearing "I love you," I'm not really sure, but it really made me feel so much better. I just want to let you all know that you all do that for me with every e-mail, card, comment, post, and care package you send. The Army really teaches you to appreciate the little things in life. And the little things, somehow become big important things, like an e-mail from a friend in the middle of a hectic day. I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you. When they say "support your troops," I know you take that all to heart, and I want you to know that it really helps me get through the days. I am really thankful for every one of you, and I just want to take this opportunity to say "thank you" for everything. Thank you for supporting me, it really does help.

12 March 2005

Well yesterday was very tiring, and I actually did write, but somehow it didn't post. You have to love the internet over here. Every once in a while it will just go down for the hell of it. It's okay though, we deal with it, and just wait. It took me nearly 2 hours just to send out one e-mail. That's okay though. I'm trying to post some pictures, but it looks like I may need to just mail them home. Start looking in the mail, Mom!

So it's been about 3 months since I've gotten any mail, so I'm pretty excited to be getting some soon. I've been back and forth between where I'm staying, but now it looks like I'll be here for quite a while. I'm pumped though, I've already gotten to know a lot about living in a combat zone. And, at least when I get back to garrison I'll feel so spoiled! Right now I'm on a 24/7 work schedule, so it will definately be nice when I get back to a normal schedule.

I'm moving into our building tomorrow, it's a small room, but after our building gets renovated, I'll be moving into a bigger one. I feel bad that I have to force an NCO out of her room, but it's not good for me to stay in the tent for an extended period of time. It will be nice not to have to walk 2 blocks to get to the bathroom! Not to mention when we have alerts I won't have to get all dressed up and carry all my crap inside. It's something I deeply appreciate. As long as I get to redeploy with this unit, I honestly don't care what they put me through in the next 9 months.

Well in the last two days I've done a lot. Mostly I've been working to get our building in better shape. A big ol' vehicle keeps driving over our sidewalk, and tears it up. So I've been getting barriers for that. We're also moving around a bit, so I'm trying to get supplies for that. Anyway, it's about time I get to bed. Or at least out of DCU's and get some down time. Night! Oh, and please post comments! I'd love to hear from everyone!

Thursday 10 March 2005

Well another day down. Today went by really fast. I woke up and started moving right away. We're moving part of our operation, so I've been running around all over trying to get supplies. Man, gravel here is like gold! I am also trying to get some sidewalk replaced, so hoplefully that will work.

I found out today that I will definiately be staying in Balad for at least another 6 months. Nothing I'm too upset about. It's nice here, and I'm finally moving into the building this Sunday. It's not too big of a room, but our building is getting renovated in about a month, and we have to move out. Then a month from there we'll move back in. I'm excited because the phone lines, power, and internet will be a lot better off.

It's been raining here for about three days, and man I've never seen so much mud. It's absolutely everywere. It's not too bad, but when there's a little puddle there is usually a big mama to follow it. Anyway, I hope everyone is okay! Miss you all!

Here's my tent! It's so cozy!

9 March 2005

Well it took forever to get onto a flight to Balad last night, but we finally got there. It's a nice flight. I never thought that Iraq could look that beautiful, but even at night is a really nice view. Baghdad is huge, I guess I never really imagined it being that big.

Well we got to go to the palace while we were there, and I have a picture here of me sitting in Saddam's chair! Haha, bet he never saw that one coming, sucker! The palace is huge, and really pretty, I have a bunch more pics, but I'll have to mail a cd home, because I don't have a very good internet connection here. I'm going to put up a few pictures if I can though.

Being back in Balad isn't too bad though. We're still going through rain season, so it gets really muddy, and if it's not muddy it's really dusty. So either way, it's rough, but if that's the worst then I'm not complaining. Anyway, off to dinner!

Tuesday 8 March 2005

So here I am waiting in BIAP(Baghdad International Airport) for a flight back to Balad. We've been here since Sunday checking out our mission here. We do manifesting for soldiers going on R&R and pass to Qatar. It's a great mission, and you get to meet a lot of great soldiers. It's also really really quiet here. In Balad we have alerts from mortars all the time, and here they never get them. The only downside is that everyone lives in tents, and the latrines are a good 100m away, which at 2am is not fun I can guarantee you.

Otherwise things aren't too bad. It looks like I'll be staying in Balad for a while, which is totally ok with me. There's plenty to keep me busy, and I love the job I have. Going into a combat zone at a 2nd lieutenant really is a steep learning curve! I have learned more in the two or so weeks I've been here, than I could have ever imagined. Anyway, I hope everyone can keep checking up on this, and I'll keep you all updated on how life is in Iraq!