2008.09.25
21-24SEP08--Construction Days
For the past four days, our team has gone to work with our 'Bob the Builder' hats on for long hours. Our new patrol base is really coming along.
Four things that I have learned in the past few days:
2008.09.22
Care Packages Connect Soldiers to Home
The days in Iraq are long and sweaty. Of course, the worse part is that the days never really end. We do not go home and come back the next day. A cot and some time to yourself can be relaxing, but nothing brings a smile on a deployed Soldier’s face like a getting mail, especially a care package.
Lately, folks have asked me what to send troops who are deployed. While the Army provides for all of a Soldier’s needs, there are four general categories of items that Soldiers value highly in care packages: hygiene products, snacks, entertainment, and a feeling of home.
2008.09.20
20SEP08--Casualty Support Hospital
Today, my team escorted cranes to the site of our new home, but the highlight of the day was our first trip through Baghdad proper in order to go to the hospital.
2008.09.17
17SEP08--Long Day
Today was a long day on the road with the Iraqi Army from 0900 until 2145. Tomorrow, we will do it all again at 0800.
2008.09.16
16SEP08--Dust and Stitches
Today was the third day with dust in the air so dense that the sky looked like orange fog. The dust may settle tonight. Also, the day was the first day of recovery after a mishap last night that resulted in stitches for a member of my team.
2008.09.15
Meeting with General Petraeus
Recently, General David Petraeus, Commanding General Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), met with my team and a few other teams to discuss the current status of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the importance of our mission. Though the majority of the briefing was classified, I would like to share with the readers of the Roanoke Valley what I can.
2008.09.14
14SEP08--Sand Inhalation
Today, I looked out the window to a view that reminded me of being on a stage with bright orange lights shining on me and a fog machine working overtime.
A warning message was put out about running outside—sand inhalation.
Below are pictures to bring the view to life, but they do not do conditions justice.
12SEP08--Just Pictures
12 pictures from our visit with the Iraqis the other day.
2008.09.09
09SEP08--Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
We spent the day with our Iraqi Army counterparts. While our main focus was on reviewing requests and receipts in order to provide special funding, we continued to build rapport through every observation and conversation. Oddly, by the end of the day, I was left remembering old black and white clips of the forced integration of Alabama public schools.
2008.09.08
08SEP08--Preparation for Firsts
The team that we replaced left days ago, and my team has really settled into our roles. We left U.S. soil over a month ago, and I am looking forward to seeing my family in about five months.
About this blog
Rich Connaroe graduated from Northside High School in 2000 and VMI in 2004. Now a Captain in the U.S. Army, Connaroe begins a one-year deployment to Iraq in August. During that time, he plans to make regular blog posts that he hopes will connect readers of the The Roanoke Times to U.S. soldiers who are deployed in Iraq.
