Hello for the last time

For those of you still visiting this page, I am happy to let you know that I am finally home and I am loving and living life to it's fullest. Thank you all for your support During the last almost 2 years, it made a big difference to me. I will no longer be keeping this blog going, this will be my last post. I hope to see you all soon.

God Bless,

Charlie

Busy, busy, busy!

We are finally at the point we have been waiting so long for, on the verge of going home. Our replacements are here and we have been working hard to pass all the knowledge we have discovered in the past 15 months on to them. At the same time we are preparing our troops and equipment for redeployment. So I have been working some long hours, and I am not on my computer at work anymore (mainly because it's not my computer anymore!) This is why I haven't been posting anything or responding to many emails lately. Rest assured that we are all in good spirits and are chomping at the bit to get out of here, which I can't say when. However, I will say that if everything goes as planned I will be able to spend this 4th of July on American soil. Which would make me very happy, I still won't be home yet, but one step closer at least.

I'm not sure when my next post will be, it will depend on both access to the Internet and if I am blocked from the website. Thank you all again for your continued support, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

After all this time, I finally got a picture of myself by a palm tree.

What I wouldn't give for a cold shower.

Well, It is that time of year again. When it is so hot that a cool breeze is almost unheard of. Even worse, cold showers are almost non existent too. Which really hurts after I'm done running and I'm trying to cool down. I go to the showers and turn on just the cold knob, but does any cold water come out? No, at first only scorching hot, then it cools down to a bearable temperature. Completely backwards from being home cursing at cold showers when the water heater is acting up, AGAIN.

On another note, I had another reminder as to how long I've been here. Last year in July, we all rushed to the theatre to see the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2'. I remember it was a nice evening and a nice break from the reality that is here. It left us all longing to see the next of the series due to it's cliffhanger ending. Well, little did we know that we would still be here to see the third 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie. We all plan on going at the next show time that fits our schedule. Hopefully it will be the last movie I go to see at our movie theatre here. I suppose that will depend on how hard up I am for entertainment at the end of this when I'm just waiting to leave.

Sarah thinks I look like a dork in this hat, what do you all think?

I want to thank everyone for all the support throughout this never ending tour. Whether it have been thoughts and prayers, emails, letters, care packages, I appreciate it all and I really can't thank you all enough. Some people have been mentioning in emails that they are still planning on sending packages. If you are, please send them soon. I would say by June 1st if possible. Otherwise, if it gets delayed I may not be around to recieve it.

As for those wondering when I'm leaving, when I'll be home, etc. I can honestly say I have no clue. As soon as a plan comes out something changes and it's all back up in the air again. Right now I'm waiting to find out if I can get one of the schools I need for my next promotion. If so, that will dictate both when I leave Iraq and when I'm done and can finally go home.

So at this point I am just trying not to pull my hair out with all the changes, which is pretty much impossible, it's a good thing I keep it short. At least our replacements will be showing up soon, that will be a huge step.

Crazy Weather!

The weather has been absolutely crazy lately. One day it will be blisteringly hot and the next it will be windy, rainy, or just plain hazy. The first picture below is one of the hazy days, we seriously thought we were on Mars. The second two are of the other night, we had a really bad sand storm that snapped a few of our antennas.

Other than the weather, things have been moving along. We are working on getting everything done to get out of here. I can't go into much detail with it all, due to security reasons. Personally, I've been having ups and downs, which is to be expected I suppose. I'm just ready to be done, we all are. I miss you all and can't wait to see you again.

This pic doesn't do justice to how it actually looked.

What a mess.

A couple hours and they were good as new.

This is my HMMWV, there are many like it, but this one is mine...

I realized the other day that I didn't have any pictures of me with my truck yet. Usually a vehicle is the pride and joy of a soldier. I guess it's just not a big deal to me here being that I rarely use it. I mainly loan it out to soldiers that are visiting my base for various reasons. It just goes to show you how far from my usual job I am. I have spent months living in a HMMWV with 2 other guys, during training as a scout. (Talk about cramped quarters... you really have to get along.) Now, I can't tell you the last time I drove that thing.

Something else I realized when I was looking at the picture of the steak in my previous post, I miss real silverware. I don't even think twice anymore about the plastic stuff we get here, it has become so normal. There is one chow hall here that does have the real stuff, but it is a pain to get to from where I live, so we don't go there very often. Just one more thing I'm looking forward to when I get home.

Once again, I will apologize if I haven't been staying in touch as much as I should. I have been in a bit of a funk lately. The time I have left just seems to be forever, even though I know compared to what I've been through it isn't much at all (approximately 92% of my tour is complete) . I'm just thankful that May is going fast, I can't believe it is half gone already. So I just stick with my routine and try not to think about it.

Highly Mobile Multi Wheeled Vehicle...

In case you were wondering what that stood for.

Beef... It's what's for dinner.

The kind people at Mancini's restaurant sent us a whole bunch of steaks which we were obliged to devour. This was by far the best meal I've had here in country. I think I had almost forgotten what a good steak tastes like. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'm gonna have to do some major grilling when I get home. The only thing missing was real beer, grilling is just not quite the same without it.

Things are definitely heating up here. Yesterday it was 101 in the shade, and 124 degrees in the sun. It's getting back to that point when the nights don't cool off anymore. People think I'm crazy for continuing to run in this heat, but I figure it's the only way to get used to it. If I'm to be expected to put on an additional 45lbs. worth of gear and fight a war in this weather, I'd better be able to run a few miles in it. Even though the odds of me doing anything like that in my current position are very slim, I still like to know that I can.

Not much else is new, still enjoying the pool when I can, and still watching the days go by.

SFC Mannz is manning the "Freedom Grill"
Mmmm... Beef!
Isn't that just beautiful?