Buffiniraq

We're having a Shriia (sand storm) with 50 MPH winds, hail and all the "clean" rainwater you could imagine. The pics really don't do it justice but take my word for it, it's indescribable...I'm sitting in my office here at the base trying to teach my Iraqi engineers how to do organize themselves to maximize their time and the place is rockin... I figured I'd share the experience with ya....

Just heard from a few of my high school buddies after 47 years!!! Can't believe they even remembered me after all this time...LOL Anyway, Redman, JR, Robbie, Brian, the Muffer this one's for yall. Glad to hear yall are OK and takin care of the homefront for me. Sounds like yall have your hands full back there tryin to figure out what this is all about as sometimes it gets confusing seein and hearin what our peers in the media are sayin nowadays...Allow me to try and explain in "BUFFINEZE"....LOL Most of them have never worn the uniform and even less have ever had their "feet in the sand" so it's kinda hard for them to get a perspective on the "rest of the story" ...LOL It's really very simple: there are folks in this world who are determined to break up "our thing" (some might call it "cosa nostra"..LOL) "Our thing" in the U.S. is freedom and peaceful "co-existence" for all people in all countries. You remember I'm sure, Coach used to say it's a dream some of our ancestors had a few hundred years ago that all human beings are born with certain "inalienable rites" endowed from our Creator.( "endowed means 'given' Buffy, capisce" as Coach tapped me on the head in History class to be sure I understood him) Soooooooo, along comes a few hundred thousand predominantly Christian soldiers tryin to help some 50 million folks in Afganistan and Iraq have a chance at exercising those rites. By doing their thing over here, our guys are keepin some of radical folks from comin back to Stamford and driving a car loaded with explosives into St Basil's just because it's a Christian center of hope and love!!! Somebody back there figured we better go meet these "radical folks" where they live and fester and root them out so most of the other 50 million people who just want a chance to "find their own way to the grave" can do so in peace - just like the rest of us. Soooooo, while some of these Christian soldiers clean out some these "radical resting places", some others of us go out and about the countryside (the size of Montana) to build schools, electrical plants, bring fresh water to their homes and build roads so they can find their way around this special place. In order to control this many people with a few hundred thousand of his radical brethren, Saddam shut the fresh water off, frightened off or killed many of the teachers, shut off the electricity and in general, kept the masses literally "in the dark", illiterate and cut off from the rest of the world!. Just take my word guys, when it's all said and done one day, this was not even a choice for the U.S. to have made. We either do the things we are doin now or we're destined to have this brawl in Stamford. Some of these folks have not the slightest clue what LOVE is and I'm afraid to say, won't learn it in this lifetime. Many of them believe with every fibre of their beings that if they destroy us "lovers of life and liberty" they're gonna have "72 virgins" at the end of the day!!! Go figure...Reminds me of a song from our day, "Just a Dream"...LOL Just know the Buffer has chosen to help in some small way the remaining 50 million folks "face east" daily in peace over here so we all aren't "forced" to face east at home - besides, I don't think Monsignor Babak would have liked the idea do you? And so now you know "the rest of the story"...in BUFFINEZE! Sure am glad to hear from ya after all these years. Enjoy the re-union and be sure to have a few for the Buffer. I'll be with yall in spirit and one day, good Lord willin, we'll "break bread" again like we did every Friday at St Basil's God bless P.S. The pics are of me receiving backpacks from from my son's Cub pack for me to deliver to Iraqi kids at a school you all had the Corps of Engineers "bring back to life". I'll deliver them with pride...

Just a quick note to yall...another school comes into being...I know it doesn't look like much by our standards but around these parts, it's like how we felt when we watched our astronauts landing on the moon in '69!!! Take my word for it (those of you too young to remember or not even with us yet), it is a huge deal to these folks. The parents of the kids goin to this school were denied an education by our buddie Saddam but these same parents with tears in their eyes for dam sure are so thankful their kids will have the opportunity - thanks to yall!!! Rest easy, it's scores of schools, water plants, electric sub stations etc etc etc being completed every month around the country which are ever so slowly makin a difference to these folks...

Here we are in April and it's been more than a month since I left Greenville. Time flies here when you're busy from 6 AM till 7, 8 or 9 PM daily. One of my Army Civil Engineers here at the FOB is leaving us over the weekend after 1 year in country. He's headed to Penn State at State Park PA to complete his Masters degree and I'll miss him. He was responsible for designing a permanent hospital for the base here and through his efforts, Ananconda will have real hospital instead of our field hospital which is made up long semi cirled tents over a concrete floor. Quite a compelx and is made up of some really dedicated doctors and nurses as you can imagine. It's really awesome to see what these folks can do under these conditions. Anyway, Capt M is leaving us and he'll be missed but like I told him: "you can go with your head held high soldier because you made a difference and you will continue to make a difference throughout your career". He's in the center of the 3 good lookin guys in the pic...LOL , yeh, right Doc as they tell me...Gotta go...