back to the hole

It's been a fun two weeks, but I've gotta get back to the war. I leave bright and early tomorrow and probably won't have any internet or phone for at least 4 days or so.

I'm glad I got to see as many people as I did, and also missed some people, but will make sure to get with everyone when I return early next year.

Stay tuned to this url. I'll update it as soon as I have a chance.

Lt. Dan - out.

Cabo and I smiling for a picture.

The job

I've had an awesome two weeks of leave. I've gotten to hang out with Julie and the kids a lot, got some stuff done around the house and just been lazy. It's been nice not to have to think about Iraq for a while.

I also was able to go into work and see what, if anything, I'd be doing when I got back. Our department went through some downsizing, as does every department that gets outsourced, so I was concerned that I might not have a job when I got back. It sounded like Perot Systems would be busy enough when I returned so that I would probably have work, so I was happy not to have to look for a job while I was deployed, like a number of other Soldiers are doing.

This afternoon I was excited to hear that Perot stock went up 65%. Wow, I thought, how awesome it is to be a part of this organization. I didn't catch the reason why, but hey, it's probably because they're run so well and the healthcare industry is starting to pick up. And because they have employees like me.

Well later I heard that the reason the stock went up so much is because Dell is buying Perot. So it looks like I'll be working for my third company (4th if you count the Army) in 2 1/2 years. Great. I can hardly wait to pick new insurance, have a skills inventory and basically another job interview, go through hours, if not days, of new hire orientation, blah, blah, blah. Although that said, I'll happily do all of that on a yearly basis if I can keep my job. I'm just a little disappointed because I was looking at staying with Perot for a long time. My longest tenure with an employer is a little over 5 year.

Guess it's time to start over and try again.

Back in the US

Day 3 of my leave. Life is good. I've gotten used to civilian life surprisingly quickly. Sleeping in, drinking a beer whenever, and spending time with the family. Life is good. Plus I don't have all that much time left in Iraq when I get back. The trip back to Iraq will not be fun, but once I get back into my old routine, things will be good, and probably go quickly.

One thing that still blows my mind is that people don't know that we still have troops over in Iraq. One woman asked me as I was walking through the airport, "Is that still going on?"

Another person seemed surprised that we have nearly 130000 troops still over there. I'm not up on current events, but c'mon. It's unfortunate... and I think not uncommon. People just don't know or just don't care, but I can't get enough of "thanks for your service." Thanks for what? Don't thank me for something if you don't even know what you're thanking me for.

what's new??

Hello All,
I haven't posted in a while, mostly because there's not too much exciting happening in Basa right now. I still do my posts for the NW Herald, my local newspaper, so to stay up on events, check www.nwherald.com/blogs, then look for the real Lt. Dan.

Well, I've started my leave and am hanging out in Kuwait for a little while. I was not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. Things seem a little more relaxed here. As I was walking around, I spied the Golden Arches. I didn't actually eat there, but it was a sign that I'm a little closer to home.

Things are going well and I'm looking forward to spending some time with Julie and the kids (and the dogs). When I get back, we'll have a few short months, then pack up and leave this place, hopefully forever.

later!

Checkin In

Hello All,
Haven't written in a while because there's not a whole lot exciting going on here. It's like Groundhog Day...same thing over and over again.

Work continues to go pretty well. We try to have morale events once a week, like cookouts with near beer, volleyball games and stuff like that, so it's not too bad.

The temperature was in the low 80s this morning which felt almost chilly. We could actually see the blue sky, which is a pleasant change from the last couple days where we dealt with a sandstorm and a yellowish brown sky.

Other than the regular stuff, nothing going on.
Hope everyone is doing well. Feel free to drop me a line at

At what cost??

I think my latest post on my local newspaper's website says it all:

http://www.nwherald.com/blogs/reallieutenantdan/

Probably dated 7/19 or 7/20.