Ar Rustamiyah

This week, Sam (Squadron Leader Samantha Emmett - Royal Air Force) and I went to Ar Rustamiyah to visit the English Language school for the Army and Air Force. The building to the left is the Iraqi Military Academy Rustamiyah (IMAR) Headquarters. They are responsible for all of the officer cadet training for both the Army and Air Force.







These are the officer cadets (it is only their second week in training) headed to their classroom building. They are lining up getting ready to march. They had to march and call cadence every where they went. It was quite fun to watch - and very loud!




One of the buildings we toured was a newly refurbished barracks (funded by the United States Air Force) that had been completed prior to the cadets arriving. They were the first group to stay in the new building.





We also observed one of the Army classroom lessons on English. There were around 75 cadets in the room with one teacher. It is very different than they way we would teach. Most of the class was in Arabic with only a few English vocabulary words thrown in.






While we were there, Sam and I visited the Iraqi Air Force English Language training facility. It was much more impressive than the Army English Language training. The classrooms only had 15 students in them and they were taught mainly in English with very little Arabic being spoken. Flight Lieutenant Emma Clamp (Royal Air Force), me, and Sam in front of the IAF building.



Emma and Sam - I was behind the camera :-) The flowers are beautiful right now in Iraq since it is springtime. Very soon it will get too hot for them to bloom.







Ar Rustamiyah is a NATO run facility. I thought the sign was interesting because it represented all of the different countries that are present at this location.






I hope everyone is doing well. I understand that you are getting a great deal of rain in East Tennessee right now. We could use a little of that here! It is hot and dry and very, very dusty. I will be glad to see the green hills of Tennessee. Take care and I will see you soon! Less than a month to go!!!

Happy Spring Break

Hello All! Hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing week and enjoying Spring Break! I really look forward to this time of year in Tennessee so get out and enjoy it for me:-) I love to hear the birds singing and see the beautiful tulips and dogwoods blooming. The best part is the smell of freshly cut grass - nothing like it!

We are experiencing Spring in Iraq but it is a little different here due to the climate. It is very dry and dusty but the flowers are in bloom. Not a lot of grass to mow unless you water it on a daily basis. This week, the newly constructed garden that is located next to the Training Center had an official opening. I took some pictures of it to share.


(Entrance into the garden. There is a large water fountain in the middle of the garden.)








(Statue of an Iraqi Soldier saluting the Iraqi Flag. This garden is located directly behind the Ministry of Defense which is responsible for overseeing all branches of the Iraqi Military.)









(Back of the MoD building that faces the new garden.)








(One of the fountains in the garden. The structure in the back is similar to the native houses that used to be built in Iraq. Some of the structures are still used out in the countryside.)






(The side garden located beside the MoD. This is the route I take each day walking back and forth to the MTDC.)








(Some of the first flowers of Spring. Similar to a yellow daisy.)




It is hard to believe that Spring time is here and that we only have 9 weeks of school left. I will be excited to be able to get back in time to share the last few weeks with you. Hope everyone is enjoying their time off and remember to work hard on your studies when you get back to school (Summer is right around the corner:)

Trip to Taji

(First helicopter ride in a UH-60 Blackhawk!)



Hello all! I flew up to an air base located northwest of Baghdad called Taji. It was about a 10 minute flight and my first ride on a Blackhawk. There were four of us that traveled together - two USAF members from Coalition Air Force - Transition Team (CAF-TT) and Sam(antha) and I from MOD-AT. (Sam is a Squadron Commander in the Royal Air Force - British). We went to visit the Iraqi Air Force Training Center where English Language classes are being taught. The flight was uneventful but too short. I really enjoyed the ride.

We spent the first day locating radios that had been purchased for the MI-17 helicopters. The two USAF members that went are from the Acquisitions section so they needed to verify that the radios had arrived. Taji is the main supply depot for all of Iraq. It is a very large base! We also got to tour the helicopter and see it in flight.



(MI-17 helicopter)








(Me "flying" one on the ground:)













The second day, we went to visit the training center. We visited a classroom, the technology lab, and even got to see a Basic Training graduation for new Iraqi Airmen. It was a wonderful experience!



(Iraqi Air Force Training Center - Main building)








(Sam and I with a few of the Iraqi 1LT students)








(The technology lab - notice the wooden benches)








(Iraqi Air Force basic training graduates)








(The students like having their picture made with Coalition forces)




It was a great experience and I took lots more pictures. I will have to wait and share them when I get home. Hope all is well in Tennessee and have a great weekend!

Iraqi Dinner

On Thursday, Mr. Wa'el took all of the professors from the MTDC to dinner. We went to an Iraqi restaurant, Benatha, for a fish dinner. The fish is cut in half and cooked over an open fire. As the fire dies down, the fish is laid on the coals. It was delicious! We had several side dishes including rice and bread. I ate way too much!



(Picture of the fish)









(Picture of the group of professors. Mr. Wa'el is sitting next to me in the front row.)




We had a wonderful time. The Iraqis eat late because they actually wait to eat lunch when they get off from work around 5:00 pm. They will generally eat dinner between 9:00 and 10:00 pm. Very different from our eating schedule. The weather has warmed up considerably and is now getting very warm during the day. It gets quite hot with all the body armor on. I am thankful that I won't be here during July and August which are the hottest months of the year. It can reach 140 degrees during those months.

Maury Students:
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and made it back to school. I know it is a busy time of year as you prepare for TCAPs and other spring events but remember to study hard and do your best every day! I will be back soon so I want to get a good report on how well all of you have done while I have been gone. Remember to thank your teachers for all the hard work they do. You are extremely blessed to have them! Take care - I miss all of you!!!

Website

Hello! I wanted to send a website link to you for the MNSTC-I public page. I wrote an article about one of the programs that I have been involved in during my time in Iraq. It is located at the following link:http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/. There is also other information on the page about what our Command is doing with the Iraqi Military and Police forces. Thought you might enjoy reading some of the events that are ongoing.

The weather here has been wonderful for the past couple of days. Feels like spring time with cool mornings and warm days. I took pictures of the gardens yesterday and will post them later this week. The flowers are beautiful, especially the roses. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!

Funny Story

I had a fun day earlier this week...or maybe I should say interesting. We had ordered furniture for a new computer lab at the MTDC and when they asked about using a local company I said sure since that would contribute to the local economy. I didn't know what I was getting myself into! I had to go and meet the trucks at the checkpoint (See the pictures below. I took them on the way to the Checkpoint. The road was a narrow strip with the Tigris River on both sides.)

First of all, the delivery trucks sat in line for three hours waiting to get to the checkpoint and be searched. It was quite an operation - electronic x-ray machine and bomb dogs. When we got to the checkpoint, we waited about 2 hours to get all the paperwork approved for them to enter the IZ and then when I saw the trucks I knew we were in trouble. They were flatbeds with side rails and both were stacked to the top and beyond. I don't know how they got so much stuff on that truck! One of the trucks was older and barely moving - the guy at the checkpoint told me to go ahead and get in front and move over out of the way because the truck was going to have to take a running start to get up the hill. We aren't talking a very steep hill just a little incline.

So we headed out and then the truck decided to die in the middle of Baghdad rush hour. Imagine 15 Iraqi men running around in the road, getting behind this truck and pushing it down the road. We got it over to the side and they decided to tow it. So they tied this large truck to the back of a Toyota Corolla. We took off again and made it to the school house but along the way, every time we hit a bump, boxes of paper would fall off the top so one of the Iraqis in the Toyota would hop out, run back, pick up the box and throw it on the other truck. It was like watching "Iraqi's Funniest Home Videos". I just had to laugh. But, we made it safely and only one piece of furniture got damaged. They are replacing it for us next week.

As you can tell, my days are busy. I have so many stories and pictures to share when I return. I can't wait to show them to you. Take care and have a wonderful week!


(New U.S. Embassy - largest US Embassy in the world.)









(Close up picture of the U.S. Embassy - flag flying in the middle.)









(July 14th Bridge - Who can find out why it is called the July 14th Bridge? Research Iraqi history.)






(Baghdad Hotel across the Tigris River)








(One of Saddam's former Palaces located along the Tigris)

Tennessee Visitor

Good morning all! It is Sunday and I am at the MTDC this morning. We have an Advisor Training Course in progress that will finish up today. On Tuesday of this week, we had a Tennessee visitor at Phoenix Base - US Representative Steven Cohen. I met him, along with four other fellow Tennesseans, and we had lunch together. He represents West Tennessee (Memphis area) but it was nice to hear a fellow Tennessee accent!







We have been experiencing more sand storms this week. I took a couple of pictures. What looks like fog is actually small dust particles. The sun became a little, glowing ball since their was so much dust in the air. Very unusual experience for me.



(Picture of the sun - little spot in the middle of the picture)









(The dust has been so thick that it looked like fog. You could feel it in your mouth.)



Other than the sand storms, everything is going well. I am on the countdown (approximately 60 days and counting) and looking forward to returning home. Hope everyone is having a good weekend and looking forward to Spring in Tennessee. Take care.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello All! Hope everyone is having a great Valentine's Weekend. Since school is out on Friday and Monday, I would guess that the students are enjoying it. I have had a very busy week. One of my bosses is on leave so I have a few additional duties to attend to in his absence. The picture above is of the MOD-AT section that I am assigned to at MNSTC-I. I know it is difficult to see but I wanted to give you an idea of the number of people I work with on a daily basis. (If you click on the picture, you may be able to view a larger version of it.) There are around 50 people assigned to our section now - most of them are acting as Advisors to the Government of Iraq. There are very few of us in military status. It is mostly contractors or government civilians from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Very interesting mix.

For Valentine's Day, I went to an Iraqi dinner that was hosted at the Blackhawk Conference Center on Thursday evening. They served lamb (it is cooked and served over rice as one piece of meat on a large tray) and Iraqi bread along with several delicious side dishes. I have enjoyed their food and the desserts are wonderful! Of course, anything made with lots of sugar is good:)

The weather is continuing to warm up and the days are getting longer. It feels like late March already with the warm days and cool nights. I envy the snow you all have had this winter - even though it has been cold there. I can't believe the number of snow days you have had and I missed them! Well, I guess there is always next year.

Better get back to work. Hope everyone has a great Valentine's and I will be in touch soon!

This picture was taken this week in front of the MNSTC-I sign. COL Combs is my boss (Chief of Staff for MOD-AT) and Mr. David King is his boss (Director of MOD-AT). COL Combs is US Army and Mr. King is a British Civil Servant SES 1 (same as a 1-star general).


Hello everyone! What a busy week! It is hard to believe it is February already. I understand that you all are having bad weather and that it is keeping the schools closed. I would say that the students think this is good weather since they get to use their snow days:) The weather has warmed up here over the past couple of weeks. The evenings are still cool but the days get warm. It is very warm when I have to wear my body armor which weighs 25 pounds. We are required to wear it back and forth to work and when we travel on the bus.

We had a quiet weekend here even though the first provincial elections were held in Iraq. National elections are planned for later this year. The feedback from the results has been good - very few incidences of violence. This is a great accomplishment for the Government of Iraq. I hope we are on the right track to helping them become a sovereign nation. So many of the things we take for granted are now being experienced here. They are very excited about the future of their country.

Well, I had better get back to work. I am missing everyone and look forward to returning soon. I have less than 80 days to go. Sounds like a lot of days but it will go quickly. I hope everyone is enjoying the snow and the snow days. It will be warm soon so enjoy it while you can! Take care.

Guest Performance at MNSTC-I

Hope everyone is doing well! I was able to attend a USO event this week. They brought in David Cook to perform along with his "band". He was the 2008 winner of American Idol. I am not an Idol fan but I know several of you are so I will share some photos with you. He performed for about an hour in our Dining Facility. His band consisted of two other guys on guitars. All three were very talented musicians and the concert was a nice break from the routine. I did not get there early enough to get me photo made with him (Sorry Ms Andrea and Ms Bev) but I took some pictures during the concert. Enjoy!

Tuesday

Hello everyone! I can't believe that we are over halfway through the month of January. By the end of this month, I will be halfway through my tour. Yeah!! It is hard to believe. I apologize for not adding to my blog on a regular basis but it has been very hectic. I am at work by 0730 and it is after 2000 (8:00 pm) before I leave. This makes for long days but the time is going quickly!

I mentioned earlier that I have been tasked to help develop a new training program for advisors. (There are approximately 250 advisors that work here.) We wrote the curriculum and held the first course on 26 & 27 December and then a second one on 09 & 10 January. It went very well and the Commanding General (an Army 3-star) was very pleased with the course. He decided that all of the current and new advisors to MNSTC-I should attend the training. His decision doubled our work load this past month to get the course up and running to his specifications.



(LTG Helmick, CG of MNSTC-I, presented me with a Commander's Coin at the end of the course.)






Advisors at MNSTC-I work directly with the Government of Iraq, advising them on decisions and implementation of their strategic plan. Our hope is to get to the point that the government can function independently. There is much work to be done but the advisor training helps quicken the induction process as new advisors arrive. They are able to learn about the Iraqi culture, customs, and language in order to deal more effectively with their Iraqi counterpart.


(LTG Helmick shakes hands with the Director of the MTDC, Mr. Wa'el. Mr. Wa'el is who I am responsible for advising at the Center.)


Another part of the advisor training was to develop a website. Due to my background in technology, I am the advisor portal administrator. We are using a program I have not used before called SharePoint. I am having to teach myself the program as I go. It has been challenging but interesting work for me. I am becoming proficient with it and continue to build the site. I set up a blog on the portal for the advisors to use and I am currently building a wiki site as well. Lots of technology terms:)

I understand that you all are getting snow and some very cold temperatures. It has warmed up in Iraq and feels like spring time in Tennessee. The winter season is very short here - one month out of the year is cold. The rest of the year is very warm. I will miss the hot part of the year (August and September) when the average temperatures reach 140 degrees. It is very much a desert climate. Hope all of you have a wonderful and safe week and I will write again soon. Stay warm!

Monday Morning

Hi all. I am at the Ministerial Training and Development Center (MTDC) this morning. Classes have resumed after the holidays and we are at capacity with students and courses. It is exciting to hear as I walk through the halls. Very much like being back at Maury. The only difference is that the instructors speak Arabic so I have to take a translator with me in order to understand what is being said.

Yesterday, we had heavy rains. I took a couple of pictures outside my office building. As you can see, the rain does not soak into the ground very quickly. It is generally dry most of the year and the rainy season is in January and February. We got so much rain that it was up to our door - about 2 feet deep. It continued to rain throughout the night but most of the standing water was gone by this morning. The temperature is cool but it warms up during the day. I spent the weekend (Friday and Saturday) on the Advisor Training Course and will try to post a blog about what I am doing with it by the end of the week. I took some pictures of it so I will share them soon. Hope everyone has a great week and, MMS students, study hard and do your best. Take advantage of the opportunities you have to learn! You are very fortunate.

Happy New Year!

(Ministerial Training and Development Center)


Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a wonderful and restful week. It is hard to believe it is 2009 already. Amazing how time flies! I have been very busy for the last two weeks. I worked on developing a new training program for incoming advisors and we presented the course last weekend. It went very well but as with any new training, we spent the week refining it. We will offer it again this coming weekend on 9 & 10 January. I am really enjoying my work and getting an opportunity to contribute to the success of the coalition force.

This is a picture of the English language class in the Ministerial Training and Development Center (MTDC) where I am working. We currently have three English classes that are being taught. One of the classes is offered to future Iraqi Air Force pilots. They must score a 70 on the exit exam in order to qualify for pilot training. This may sound like a low score but considering that most of these students start without knowing any English at all, it is pretty good. They learn the very basics, starting with the English alphabet. I took pictures of their alphabet line that is posted around the room. I think it is ironic that in Iraq, the letter "H" stands for Hostage and the letter "K" stands for Kidnap. This says a great deal about what they have been through over the past few years.








I hope everyone has a wonderful and exciting New Year and I will see you later this year:) Take care.

December 27

Hello all! Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. It has been extremely busy here. The Director introduced a reorganization at the Training Center last week and it has taken a great deal of my time. The employees were very concerned about the reorganization (change is difficult sometimes) so I met with them individually for several days to answer questions, confirm their position in the reoranization, and determine the training needs for each person. There has been very little technology use over the past years so there is a great need for the basics - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. We just hired a new IT Professor from Eqypt that is fluent in Arabic so I anticipate that we will get started on the needed training after the first of the year. Their second request was for English Language Courses so we will begin to look at expanding the number of courses offered in basic English skills. They are so eager to learn!

I have also been working on developing a two-day Advisor Induction Training Program. Currently, when new advisors arrive at MNSTC-I, they receive little to no information about the local customs, culture, language, and government. The two-day course will occur within the first two weeks of their arrival and will hopefully help them to make the transition easier. We offered the first course yesterday and today. Between this and work at the Center, I have had some long days but the time is flying! Only 118 days to go! (but who's counting:)

Over the past week, I have received numerous Christmas cards and care packages. Thanks to all of you for sending them. I would take them back to my room at night to read and they definitely brought a smile to my face! (and occassionally a tear) A special thanks to Mrs. Radcliffe for sending all the cards from Maury students; to Mrs. McGaha's classes for the cards and goodie box - I especially enjoyed the chocolate; to Mrs. Missy and the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class at New Union Baptist Church for the cards and care package. I even received a picture of Maury's Santa Claus (Mr. Day) that is priceless. Thanks to the MMS office staff for the recorded card! All of these and more made my Christmas special even though I am far away from home. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your families and all the best in 2009! I promise to post more pictures soon! Once I get through the Advisor Training today, I will have more time to add to the blog. Take care and stay safe!

Blue Christmas!

(Office area at MNSTC-I)

(Blue velvet walls in my office area)

It is Sunday morning and the Iraqi instructors and students have returned. Most of them seemed to enjoy their week off. My translator says that she spent her week with her family, eating and sleeping late. I told her, "That is the same thing we do in America during our holidays!" I am including a couple of pictures of the blue velvet walls in my office area.

A friend from Jefferson City sent the silver tree and blue balls. It was a perfect match to the walls. I put it in the area where the professors have their desks at MNSTC-I. The second tree and decorations were sent to me by my sister. Since I hate to put up and take down decorations, I was very glad when the translators offered to decorate. They did a much better job than I would have done!

This morning I sat in on a Basic English class. The instructor is Iraqi and she is working with a class of future Iraqi Air Force pilots. They are required to be proficient in English prior to pilot training since a lot of the radio communication is in English. I also attended a course on Women's Rights in Iraq. The instructor is an Iraqi female lawyer. This is the first class she has taught so I tried to provide some moral support. She had seven students in the class, five women and two men. There was some very lively discussion during the class. My translator had trouble keeping up with the conversation!

The days will go much quicker now that I am busy! I will try to get some pictures of the instructors, classes, and students at the Center during the next couple of weeks. We currently have 11 courses being taught that will lead up to the end of the year. I don't expect to get any snow days this year since I am surrounded by sunshine and palm trees! Take care.

IMCO

On Thursday, I went with some of the other MTDC staff to conduct a site survey at the Iraqi Mine & UXO Clearance Organization (IMCO) at the RONCO Corporation compound. IMCO is a State Department funded organization that focuses on humanitarian mine action, unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, and small arms and light weapons (SALW) destruction. They've cleared over 150,000 mines/UXO and 18,000 SALW in Iraq so far, and have a "certified" destruction facility where these activities can be performed safely and securely. Iraq is currently the most contaminated country in the world for land mines and UXOs.

A display of some of the items that have been found throughout Iraq.

The purpose of the meeting was to encourage the cooperation between IMCO and MTDC. The Training Center will have IMCO do information briefings in a number of courses -- ranging from International Law (focusing on the Ottawa Treaty -- which bans the production, stockpiling, and use of anti-personnel landmines) to International Relations.

We were able to view the SALW cutting process and the scrap metal heaps and bins as well.

Some of the pieces are being turned into artwork. Currently there are three artists that create structures like these.

This week, I will be working on developing a reorganization chart for the MTDC along with job descriptions for the positions that currently exist. That should take most of the week. The challenge will be in getting the individuals to tell me what they do on a daily basis. I will hold meetings with them next week when they return from Eids. Hope everyone has a wonderful week. I am sure it is getting exciting there as the semester comes to a close. Take care!