Update from the Field (Desert)

Hello to everyone. Life in the desert is cruising along as the summer heat bids us goodbye and the rainy season commences. I am not sure how much rain is expected in the rainy season in Iraq, but it seems to me to be less than what a normal Pennsylvanian would expect during March and April. It has rained hard here and for a good bit of time, but still never for days straight or consistent downpours or steady rain. This area had its greatest amount of rain right in the middle of the Marine Corp Marathon...so much that they had to cancel the race in the middle. My CHU (containerized housing unit) is located in the middle of a stretch of CHU's that happens to be situated at the lowest portion of a field and there is an embankment that is directly behind it. So, you have already guessed what happens when it rains here.......the area surrounding my CHU gets flooded.














As you can plainly see in the pictures, when this flood occurs there is no place to go. All the drains in the area were clogged and the water did not go away for most of the day so in order to get to lunch or dinner I had to put on my chemical suit water proof boots and walk really slowly until I was out of the lake. I received many strange looks as I arrived at the cafeteria (DFAC), and it was obvious to me that the majority of soldiers were not stranded in a lake in the middle of the desert. I carried on, because, I rarely am swayed by peolples' looks or thoughts about what I look like or what I am doing. Lunch was a success and I returned to my CHU without incident. I found out that many of my stranded colleagues had rolled up their pants and waded through the cesspool in their bare feet..Yuck! It was pretty nasty and I was glad that I had my boots. Now, what I did not tell you was that at about 5am in the morning I was awakened to the sound of Drip, Drip, Drip. My room was dark but I could tell that the dripping was coming from somewhere very close to my bed. I dashed to the light switch and sure enough there was a leak in the ceiling dripping down right on my sleeping bag and bed. Great! I exclaimed and hurried to move my bedding and bed out of the way. I then had to run down the CHUway to get a bucket to catch the water that was beginning to flow into my CHU. After I got the bucket down I had to completely rearrange my room and essentially clear out the back half of it because of all the water that was in the area. I had some worries because the water was coming in through an electrical box of all things...yeah an electrical box. It ended up that I had no issues and thank heaven that nothing shorted out and no one was shocked or electrocuted. I can just imagine the headline..."Military Doctor Electrocuted in Living Space...First Death at Al Asad in Months".


Here are a few shots of the leak and the bucket on the floor. Eventually the rain and the leak stopped and I was able to get everything cleaned up. I then spoke with the assistant Mayor (the person who is in charge of the CHU area and any issues therein) and he basically informed me that no one was going to do anything about the leak and that I would have to keep a bucket under the area if it rains again. I guess I was not to excited about that but I couldn't do anything else so that's what I did.
A couple of days later I saw some workmen walking through the paths in front of the CHUway that had caulking in their bucket. I stopped them and asked if they were sealing CHUs with the caulk and they indicated in the affirmative so I informed them of my CHU and they let me know that my CHU was their first stop and it had already been sealed. They also said that there was a large crack in the seal that was up there and everything should be dry from here on out. I was pleased and went to my CHU to find that the box had commenced leaking again. Now it has since stopped and I have had no other leaks and thoroughly expect none from now on.



I have had the opportunity to ride a mountain bike a lot here at AL Asad as a way of Physical Training. There are some really great views here as well. I'll include a few pictures of the rides and some others (like my Halloween Costume....Thanks Shana) for your personal enjoyment.


The scorpion is one that stung a worker here and was then captured and brought to the EMT (ER). It was given the name "Kitty" and identified to be an arachnid that is not too dangerous. The reason that it looks so cool is that it is being held next to a black light and it is fluorescing. The other picture of the palm trees and the sun is near an area called Abraham's Well. Just plain beautiful.
Send me an email, or if you're feeling adventurous, send me a package of goodies and say hello. I hope all Y'all are doing well and have enjoyed a little info about Al Asad. The war is going very well, so well in fact that there is hardly any surgery to be done. I am grateful for that fact. It appears that one third of the deployment is already accomplished, just two thirds to go (probably 2 months). I hope to hear from you soon. Take great care and choose the right.