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Fort Hood Shooting
Posted by watts on Friday, November 06, 2009 (15:51:34) (32 reads)

Not sure if anyone would come to this site to find info but I noticed that it's difficult to find any phone numbers to Fort Hood to find out if your family is ok. Since a lot of people who would be interested in the site also have ties to the military and, consequently, to Fort Hood, I thought I'd post what I've found.

Family Hotline numbers:

toll free: 866-836-2751
local: 254-288-7570

Rumor has it, the phone circuits are overloaded, and I suspect that's a reasonable conclusion given the circumstances. Cell phone towers will be overloaded as well so if anyone is having difficulty contacting family and friends in the Killeen area, that would probably be the reason. Texting may be a little more reliable but even that will take longer than usual.

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Ok, I've been neglecting this site
Posted by watts on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 (11:44:25) (55 reads)

I know, I've been bad. I haven't updated this site in months, but what is there to say. It's pretty much groundhog's day here. The only reason I'm updating now is that I actually have news. I'm coming home! Of course, I can't say when, but my replacements are here (I have four people doing the job I've been doing), and I'm almost at the point that I can work fewer hours and act as an adviser. I'll be leaving on the first flight out of here and will be in charge of all of the knuckleheads when we get to Fort Bliss....or rather, the middle of the freaking desert. I'll probably end up staying in El Paso until all of my guys get cleared and then I'll be trying to get some medical attention before I head home. I made the mistake last time of trying to get the VA to take care of everything and ended up spending four years and almost as many appeals to get any compensation. I'll got about it differently this time around.

Anyway, that's my update and I'll be home soon.

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A time to mourn
Posted by watts on Sunday, April 19, 2009 (08:51:59) (71 reads)

Troop A has lost one of their own. Sergeant Christopher Loza died on 10 April 2009 at Walter Reed Medical Center. He was promoted to Sergeant prior to his death in a ceremony in his hospital room. His mother and wife were present for the presentation of his awards and combat spurs. Many were praying for his recovery and are now praying for his family during this trying time. Sergeant Loza was a member of my platoon, 2nd Platoon, and he will be missed. As a Platoon Sergeant, you prepare yourself for combat deaths. But the relative safety of an ECP minimizes that possibility. Losing a soldier to illness, let alone an illness with no known cause or treatment, is especially hard. A memorial service was held at Camp Slayer on 17 April 2009.

Funeral information can be found at the following link:

http://elmwoodfuneralhome.com/services.asp?locid=32&page=odetail&id=8709

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Neglectful
Posted by watts on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 (17:13:57) (66 reads)

Given the steady state operations, there just isn't much to write about. I'll try to catch everyone up on the latest happenings in the Troop and the Squadron...though Squadron information is a little sketchy since we're all spread out on different missions and I don't get many opportunities to speak to the other Troops.

Troop A has now taken over all ECP operations in the VBC with much needed help from troopers in HHT. Though it doesn't seem as glamorous as running patrols outside the wire, it has it's moments. Take the recent surprise visit by President Obama. It's always amazing to see Air Force One land, especially against the dust filled skies over Baghdad. And to see his convoy pass by is a pretty interesting sight, especially with the helicopter gunship support flying overhead. We've come to see the local government officials (the Iraqi President, Prime Minister, and various Vice Presidents) as a boring daily occurrence, so a new foreign head of state is a pleasant change in pace.

On a more somber note, please keep Specialist Christopher Loza in your thoughts and prayers. He is a member of my platoon and has become seriously ill...enough to be sent to Walter Reed for treatment. I'm told his wife and mother are there with him and he's stable.

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February Update
Posted by watts on Sunday, February 08, 2009 (05:27:45) (76 reads)

February finds me doing exactly the same thing I've been doing since I got here, but busier. My Platoon Leader is gone on leave so I'm doing his work as well. I've been swamped for the past couple of weeks, catching up and meeting with various people who want to make improvements to my ECP. On top of that, I still make my rounds as the Platoon Sergeant, visiting every place I have people, delivering supplies and mail, trying to make improvements as I go. Now that our Troop is completely devoted to base defense and manning ECPs, the Brigade has a renewed interest in said ECPs. I'm enjoying the extra focus because now I can finally push through the changes I want to make to improve security. On the downside, attacks are increasing throughout Iraq, probably an attempt to discredit the, now in control, government of Iraq. We're following the news closely here, particularly with the new president in office. And the most interesting news would be his promise of a pullout within 16 months. The pullout won't really effect me much but it could mean a faster transition to the Iraqi Armed Forces and I could start seeing them on my ECP. I'm not sure they or we are ready for that. But, I do what the Commander-in-Chief wants.

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January Update
Posted by watts on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 (18:12:43) (85 reads)

So, what has been happening with the Squadron since my last update? I know I promised some articles about the history of this place, but that involves a little research and I haven't had much time to sit down and work on that, let alone an update for this site.

We've had some exciting visitors to our basecamp over the holidays, culminating in a visit by Governor Rick Perry, who wanted to come to Iraq to see his Guardsmen at work. Kid Rock, Zac Brown, Kelly Pickler, Lewis Black and a few other comedians visited in mid December to put on a great comedy and music filled show. I have a few pictures from that and even some video that I need to shrink and convert for streaming. Expect to see those in the near future. Granger Smith spent Christmas Day in Baghdad and put on a great show as well. Governor Perry visited Camp Slayer and said hello to HHT and Troop A. Photo ops were abundant and the Governor spent time talking to the soldiers of 1st Squad, 1st Platoon, Troop A prior to their rolling out on a combat patrol. Six soldiers from HHT and Troop A were selected to be pinned with the Iraq Campaign Medal and all received a Governor of Texas coin. The Governor also posed with the Aggies in the Squadron for a photo that will be published in a future issue of Texas Aggie Magazine.

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Savannah Pictures
Posted by watts on Tuesday, December 02, 2008 (17:50:29) (104 reads)

I have uploaded the pictures from my pass in Savannah. I'm trying to get some pictures from Iraq and Kuwait uploaded but am having issues with my internet connection.

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Finally, another update
Posted by watts on Sunday, November 30, 2008 (21:02:51) (83 reads)

I can finally say that the entire Squadron has made it, or more importantly, my entire platoon is here. We've been here for a little while now and have learned our job. I can't get into too much of the specifics, but needless to say, we hate it. We're essentially gate guards, though the gate we're guarding is pretty important. The other platoon got the patrol mission and given the complexity of my mission, we probably won't be rotating. I'm going to try to get my guys some time outside of the wire with the other platoon's patrols once we've established a routine but I'm not very optimistic. The advantage of my platoon's particular mission is that we can establish a routine and it's pretty decent hours. Not to mention the accommodations. The guys we're replacing have finally left and my guys can move completely into their lake houses. The saws and hammers were making some noise today as the guys were making new beds and shelves for themselves. The Fabuloso came in so the scent of lavender has been wafting through the air as we've been scrubbing the filth out. I don't think the guys who lived in my house before ever cleaned their bathroom. The golf balls are here too and we've been embarrassing ourselves with our lack of skill behind the club. Thankfully, there are plenty of balls to help me get back into the swing of things. And, thankfully, my shoulder and back have been holding up so far. My fishing pole also arrived so I've been fishing a little each morning before heading off to work. At least, I call it fishing. It's more like casting and reeling. I haven't had a bite yet. I need to figure out what will help with the asp. I really don't want to catch a carp. My poor little pole can't handle the size. I inherited a larger pole but the reel is in bad condition and I need some stronger fishing line.

I'm a little stressed, but it's not because the mission is bad. I won't get into it here because it really isn't appropriate. I'm doing my best to make sure my guys are getting taken care of, despite the obstacles. Otherwise, I'm just peachy.

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New Address and an update
Posted by watts on Monday, November 17, 2008 (18:28:56) (109 reads)

Here's my address in Iraq:

SFC Wyatt, James
Troop A, 1-124th Cavalry
Camp Slayer
APO AE 09342-1400

On my wish list:

- Golf balls (old beat up ones from the driving range so I can hit them into the lake)
- Fabuloso deodorizing cleaner (the purple one. It smells nice and plumbing here is terrible so it tends to stink up the houses)

I really don't need much of anything else. I have a truck that I can drive around on the camp and eating snack foods is just going to make me fat. I'll add to the wish list once I've moved in and figured out what my platoon will need.

Did I mention I'm living in a lake house? I managed to get my entire platoon to fit into four lake houses. I wouldn't call them the greatest houses in the world. They may have been at one time but five years worth of soldiers living in them has pretty much torn them up. We're trying to acquire lumber to build shelves and beds because the beds we have are falling apart. Unfortunately, with everything under contract, it's expensive to get lumber, much less anything else. The markup is ridiculous on everything here and we can't really do any of our own work without breaking the contract. The catch-22 is that the only things in our houses under contract are the electrical (another nightmare) and the plumbing. Everything else is basically whatever we can scrounge up either by dumpster diving or "re-appropriating" from elsewhere. I'm trying to work some magic with the civilians to get what we need. While on the subject of civilians, they outnumber us on Camp Slayer. And they think they can get away with everything. The Platoon Sergeant I'm replacing explained their attitude well. On other, more remote basecamps, civilians realize that the military is there to protect them because there are bad guys out there. In Baghdad, they forget that there are people out there trying to kill them and their only defense is the military. On Camp Slayer, that's us. We're their protection but they don't appreciate it. It became an issue with the previous unit and I'm sure it will continue to be an issue with us.

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Are we there yet?
Posted by watts on Monday, November 17, 2008 (04:49:15) (103 reads)

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