Unofficialbmw.com

[patrick66]

Anyone hear if markf made it out to Iraq yet?? I remember him mentioning he was supposed to head out aroung 6 June or so. Hadn't seen him post anything lately, so I'm assuming he has left.

One year in-country, with an option for a year extension...I assume the money was just too good to pass up! An acquaintance of ours got offered a truck-driving position over there for a year @ about $90K, plus bonuses, first class travel over and back, and all tax-free...He's thinking about it very carefully!

Me, I'm quite happy here at home. I've done enough of the Middle East over 20 years that my curiousity has been quite satisfied, thank you! My nephew has about 10 months left on his tour there as an Army field medic attached to the Marine battalion in Tikrit. That's one too many of the family over there!

[TnSlim]

We exchanged PMs last week. He told me he was leaving for Tikrit last Friday, 4 June.

[kyshadetreebmw]

Goodfreakin luck and best wishes to him!

[markf]

Hey all..!
Im in El Paso, TX.
Just completed processing at the Fort Bliss Processing Center. One week of grueling paper work and examinations, vaccinations, and a lot of standing in line. All you Army folks know exactly what Im talking about.

I cant tell you when the flight is.
Thats classified.
But my next post will be from Iraq.
I'll post more pictures.

Im getting flown into Anaconda airbase, in Taji.. on my leg up to Tikrit.
my colleague wrote me yesterday. the airstrip was shelled twice last week. No fatalities.
I just wanna get over there and get busy. Im sick of all the stories, and rumors. They dont help, when your sitting around waiting to go.

Ciao for now.

Mark-

[Greenhornet84]

Mark,
Godspeed.
Mark

[Kyzee]

Good luck and take care man.

[markf]

kuwait City/Camp Wolverine & the Tent City

125 degrees.
No vegitation.
No animal life.
The entire camp tools to the sound of
generators and airconditioners.
Roaring Globe Masters come and go from the colorless sky. The airstrip seems deserted aside from the volume of air traffic.
A gritty powder covers near everything, and the smell of oil blends with the exhaust fumes of military air traffic. Razor wire, concrete blockades, observation towers with heavy squad weapons at the ready, Chow halls, PX's, internet cafe's, video arcades, even a burger king.. all under canvas roofs.
Its all 24/7, and somewhat surreal..
but the heat... ever present.
As if its waiting to kill you.

[ 06-14-2004: Message edited by: markf ]

[donaldan]

From the paradise of Puget Sound to the desert of Kuwait. Wow! That is some sacrifice! All Our Best.

[JRS]

quote:

---

Originally posted by markf:
..
125 degrees.
No vegitation.
No animal life.
The entire camp tools to the sound of
generators and airconditioners...
Its all 24/7, and somewhat surreal..
but the heat... ever present.
..[ 06-14-2004: Message edited by: markf ]

---

Kinda sounds like Texas in late-July.

But seriously... take care over there... And try to stay the heck away from those Camel Spiders...

JRS

[markf]

...eeek!

[MattB]

Mark... I'd tell you to go to the beach, but the beach looks like a sea of liquid brown sewage and when you can see anything, it's a nasty jellyfish or a sea snake.

Take care over there... keep chugging that water, even when you take 2 gallons and still don't have to pee.

Drop us a line now and then.
Best of luck.

Matt

[patrick66]

[kyshadetreebmw]

Seriously do try to talk to us regularly. I really appreciate the discussion of your environment. Here in Central Kentucky it is raining a bit every day with some ass-kicker thunderstorms sweeping through the region. 90plus degrees with 90 percent humidity.
If it becomes necessary, lay a piece of 2x4 or rebar up the side of some Al-Queda mf for us. Peace, Ron

[markf]

Well... I made it. It was quite a trip. I was at Anaconda Air strip
for 2 days, in the middle of military operations. I was staying in a large tent alongside the runway. Fighter jets were taking off every 10 minutes, and those enormous globe master transport planes came and went continually.
We had special forces guys coming and going out on patrol. They would come in the tent right from patrol, covered in dust, unload their weapons, drop their vests and helmets, and near collapse from exhaustion.

My first day there, I was coming in on a C-130 transport. We were on approach to the runway when suddenly we vered off to the west, sharply, and started gaining altitude. We began spiraling upward for a minute or two, then leveled off. the loadmaster began yelling (over the sound of the engines) that the base was under attack, and that F-15's were inbound to deal with the mortor crews who were shelling the strip.

It was pretty exciting to say the least.
After some time, we dived on the runway. I mean, we were coming down at an extremely alarming angle. At the last minute the pilot pulled up, and our brains went into our stomachs. This landing method is called 'pancaking'. It limits the amount of time that the plane's belly is exposed to arms fire. We also deployed counter measures to throw off Stinger missles that might be fired at us. (although I couldnt see them)

they look like fire balls falling from the plane, and the missles go after them instead of us. (hopefully)

When the doors of the plane opened we ran for the shelter of a 'hardened' building. As we did, I heard an Enormous blast to my right. I dont know what it was but it shook the earth as we ran, and was quite startling.

After things calmed down, we heard a mortar had hit the PX. we had 5 dead, and 21 wounded. 8 rounds were fired in all, but one was a dud.

We had no news on the status of the attackers. Needless to say, we all had to dawn the dreaded Kevlar armored vests, and helmets, for the duration.. now you might think thats a logical thing to do, but consider that the 2 items weigh around 60 pounds together, and the temperature is 125 degrees, and there is no shade. So.. you have to decide between heat exhaustion, or the chance of being killed in a blast. Heat exhaustion is a certainty. Mortars are not.

The base is rather large, so the chance of a round landing within lethal range of you is remote. Nevertheless.. there is that chance, and there have been an armful of unlucky ones in the last few weeks at the Anaconda air base... like tuesdays 5 young shoppers.

There are so many americans here, and the militery is in such force, that there isn't a chance in hell of these insurgents getting a single concession. This in mind, it makes any death's they inflict, simply murder.

I was supposed to catch a Black Hawk Helicopter up to Camp Danger, which is only 20 miles from 'Buckmaster', which is my duty station. When my chopper came in, I was bumped by a squad of special forces guys who had an urgent date at an undisclosed location. So I was stuck again for an unspecified amount of time, waiting for another Black Hawk which would being heading north. After so long, I called Mike, and he said he would send the cavalry for me. A few hours later, 2 armored vehicles showed up loaded with men all carrying an impresswive array of fully-automatic weapons. (all loaded with armor piercing ammuntion)

A driver got out and readjusted his side arm, looked at me and said, "Are you Mark F. ?". I confirmed his assumtion, and he said they were there to get me safely to buckmaster. I looked around at all these guys and their machine guns and side arms and said "all you guys just for me? Wow.. you guys are so sweet".. and they are a great bunch of guys.. really.

The ride ensued, and Im here to tell you (barely) that it was laughable.
We took the lead, and the crew cab truck brought up the rear, with weapons sticking out of every window. AND in the bed of the truck, was a fixed mount machine-gun, with belted ammo feed. Ferocious.

We were running people off the road left and right. I found the whole thing quite humorous, and cant wait to do it again. We had to stop for water, and when we did, the truck pulled up beside us in a cloud of dust, and all but the driver dismounted and immediatly formed a circle aroung our SUV.. one even running out into the middle of the road, and pointing his weapon at approaching vehicles which is a universal stop sign. They stopped.. and a good distance away at that. Had they not, I have no doubt that the entire team would have lit them up.

the rest all scanned the surrounding terrain for threats, while our man riding shotgun, added water to the SUV.
Anyway.. it was very exciting and I really enjoyed it. We came across 2 tank convoys along the way.. there is a sign we give, and can be seen for a short distance, (which I cant share with you), which allows the military to know who we are, on approach, so we dont get our asses shot off.

Shortly after getting into Buckmaster, I witnessed my first Ordanance detonation. It was only 10 tons of explosives, but it was absolutely spectacular. There were 6 Blasts, back to back less than a second apart.

Each blast pulled at your lungs, and split you ears, and left 6 mushroom clouds rolling upwards into a colorless sky.
It was GREAT! Men like to blow stuff up.. Im no different in that.

I could go on and on about my journey, and about what Ive seen here in the last day or so.. but I'll save that for my next E-novel.. hehehe!.

I know that the day will come, when I will feel otherwise, but for now, ...I love it here.

Mark.
PS
OH MY GAWD.. you should have seen the Milky Way here, last night.
Never in my life have I ever seen it so big and bright. I could pick out 6 Messier objects with the naked eye.. including the andromeda galaxy (clear as a bell) In fact, I could see the Andromeda galaxy better with my unaided eye, here, than I could with binoculars at home. You can actually see the billows in the dust rings.

For me, it was a religious experience.

More as it develops.





[ 06-21-2004: Message edited by: markf ]

[markf]

Oh, Yea.. Lots more of my pics here: Marks Iraq Picture Depoistory

I'll be adding new pics every other day or so.. and I'll post a couple of my favorites.