Letter From Iraq #22

Another week has passed and the next has started and here I sit finding that I have forgotten to write this letter and I need to get it done today so I can get it sent out.  Depending on how you look at it though I guess forgetting to write this letter could be a good thing.  It may mean that the last week has gone by a lot quicker than I expected it to and so there wasn’t enough time to fit everything in.  On the other hand though, it could be bad because it could mean that my brain is slipping and just doesn’t want to remind me to do things.

Weather-wise this has been an interesting week.  Since we arrived here everyone has told us how bad the “rainy season” is around here.  They would tell us that it would rain for days and weeks straight and the mud would get really bad.  Well we managed to make it all the way through the end of the year and the rain that we did see was minimal.  We made it most of the way through January and the rain still hadn’t picked up and people were starting to get worried.  Well the rainy season has finally arrived.  This coming week alone we are looking at 5 days of rain.  The only problem is that the amount of rain that we are expecting these last couple days of January will not bring us anywhere near the amount of rain that we are supposed to have.  With that news, the drought continues.

Other than the obvious change in weather there has been very little excitement around here.  We are getting so close to use leaving that it has become time for me to start looking for replacements for some of the different volunteer things that I do.  Most of the volunteer jobs that I have are all at church here and so it is important to find people to fill the spots.  The one thing that I have discovered as I find replacements is that it is really nice to not have as many jobs.  It allows me to relax a little more on Sundays rather than trying to do too many things all at one time.

Actually, as I think about the approaching week when I leave it reminds me of all of the preparations that we have to go through in order to deploy.  There is a lot more to it than just getting a whole bunch of gear together and then hopping on a plane.  Before we are allowed to deploy we must make a visit to our doctor to make sure that we are in the proper physical condition that will hopefully prevent us from getting sick or injured while we are deployed and possibly need to be shipped to a big hospital like the one at Lanshtul, Germany.  We are also required to seek the professional opinion of our dentist in order to prevent problems like cavities and other problems.  After all of that we are required to see the Personnel Office to make sure that all of our paperwork is in order.  This is to ensure that we don’t run into problems with our enlistment, which can cause unneeded stress.

Next we head off to the legal office.  While we are at the legal office they can advise you on everything from writing up a living will to power of attorneys.  The military, in the hopes of preventing such atrocities as sexual assault, require that we also attend a class with the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator.  The military is also increasingly concerned about suicides within the military and so they also require that we attend classes that revolve around knowing what some of the signs of suicide are and also what to do if we thing that one of our brothers or sisters in arms is contemplating suicide.  Many times in the military it is thought be worse to lose some one due to a preventable suicide or even worse to lose someone in the fight from an assault from someone on our own team, but sadly it does happen and in order to prevent this type of loss the military trains us in ways to counteract this.

Of course as this deployment comes to an end I am also thinking of all of the things that I want to do when I get home.  I can’t wait to get home and start getting caught up with all of my friends.  No matter how easy it is to email back and forth these days, it is no comparison to seeing people and being able to hold a conversation with them face to face.  I can’t wait to get back into my apartment and to start cooking again.  Right now a big bowl of Knoephla Soup sounds really good.  In my extra time that I have around here I have been able to find a lot of good sounding food that I am excited to try, but I will have to invite a lot of people out to help eat it all.  On the subject of food I am also looking forward to getting back to all of my favorite restaurants and even discovering new ones.  But above all I am looking forward to getting back home to my girlfriend (and our new cat Moo) so that we can try to get our lives back to normal.

I recently received an email from someone who was wondering if I was planning on being in New Salem for the Anniversary Celebration this coming summer.  I am excited to say that the plans at the time being consist of me being in the area during that weekend, but I won’t be traveling by myself.  My girlfriend, Megan, will be traveling with me and this will be not only her first real trip to North Dakota, but also her first experience with a 38 foot high, 50 foot long fiberglass cow.  The only problem that we are having during the planning of this trip is that neither of us is really sure when the Anniversary is.  If someone could share that with me I would greatly appreciate it and I will pass it along so that we can finish planning our trip.

Well my clock is telling me that it is time to sign off and start getting ready for bed.  Tomorrow is another day and I’m sure the weather will keep it interesting.  I hope that you all have a great week.

I am looking for your suggestions and questions.  Is there something that you want to know about being deployed?  If you do please feel free to email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com, or you can write to me via the post office at the address below.

SSgt Ferderer, John B.

F Co. 5-158 AVN (AF Weather)

FOB Diamondback

APO, AE 09334

Until we meet again, Have A Great Air Force Day!