Jordan - Email Update #4 and #5

Family,

Wow, only a few days left.  Good news - we are winning the war. 

I have been off the base two days now.  Once to go through Amman to visit a refugee camp and take a drive to Jeresh and the second time to drive to Jeresh and actually go in.

Amman reminds me of driving through the Bronx on the way to Manhattan.  Hulks of cars, shops with roller gate fronts selling everything from tires to KFC (really, KFC).  The people look very Blue Collar.  It's a dirty and congested mess. Once you get into Amman the building are much nicer, the store fronts are more exotic, and the people are more urban.  Women are in all states of dress, some without burkas, some with head scarfs and some with the full black coverage.  We drove past a Christian church which reminds us all that religions can actually coexist here.  However, the traffic was insane. Drivers take an aggressive posture and I, as a passenger, stepped on the imaginary brakes more than once and closed my eyes on several occasions.

The refugee camp was NOT a Syrian camp.  It was a Palestinian camp that was 25 years old.  It was clean, robust, and not what people imagine with the words, "refugee" and "camp".

The next day we went to Jeresh, a Roman city from 75AD.  These are the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Rome. On the way we "called and audible" and detoured to Ajloun Castle, an Arab Castle from the Crusades located further north. Getting there was interesting because the road was steep and winding. The towns were congested (it was a weekend) with pedestrians and cars.  The castle was amazingly large with rooms upon rooms and anterooms off of it. It looked like a set to Game of Thrones. Of course there were little to no safety guideline and kids we climbing everywhere. I could only imagine TJ and Grant on the loose in there.  (I will post pics on FB when I get back).  We ate in a small town - 18 American Soldiers - we clearly stood out. The young Soldiers didn't like being stared at and felt out of place.

We drove to Jeresh and I spent 3 hours walking and climbing ruins.  There are four distinct cultures in Jeresh, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Arab. I visited an early Christian church, the Temple of Zeus and Artemitis as well as the colonnade, city wall, Hadrian's Gate, hippodrome, market place...wow, it just went on and on.  (Look for pics on FB soon). The trip back was just as harrowing as the trip there. The most surreal thing of the day was standing in the ancient Roman amphitheater and watching three Arab men - in fully Arab clothing - play "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes.  Seriously. When they broke into "Yankee Doodle Dandy" I lost it.  You. Can't. Make. This. Up.  So I took video.

I returned to the base where the people who have been cooking our food put on a dinner in our honor. Falafel, Shwarma, rich desserts, hummus, breads - it was awesome.  It was a great way to end the day; with a full belly, tired legs, and a waiting bed. Weather has been amazing, clear skies, warm (not hot), and low humidity. 

All is well.

Me at Jeresh

The Temple of Zeus

Hadrian's Gate

The Oval Colonnade

A colonnade

The Temple of Artemetis

Ajlun/Ajloun Castle

A few days later...


Well, shit.

A perfect thirteen hour flight from Amman to Chicago on a 787 Dreamliner.  Two meals, snacks, three beverage services, and at least five movies; The Heart of the Sea, The 5th Wave, The Edge of Tomorrow, Queen of the Desert (very appropriate), and Creed (very good).

Got through Customs in a flash, got my bag transferred in less than two minutes, and had enough time to spare for a burger and a beer.

Then a wall of water moved across the runways in a torrential downpour of rain, wind, and lightning. What I thought was just a passing storm turned out to be a freaking nightmare of domestic air travel as flights were delayed and then cancelled. Of course, not cancelled right away at 6:30pm when I was supposed to leave. No, it was cancelled two hours later. The rush on the counters to reassign flights was cray-cray. I had been up for almost 24 hours and I was about to lose my patience.

I rebooked and went to the USO for a nap. Now, we don't own a recliner, but last night the recliner in the USO was my friend. There may be one in my future.

So now it's 4:19am CST. I have a 7:15am flight through Charlotte because everything that was direct into RDU was full.

Looking forward to that final flight!

[and that's it. I made it home the next day a little sore from sleeping in a Lay Z Boy but none the worse for wear]

Jordan - Email Update #3

Groundhog Day

With so little to see and do the exercise is a little like the movie "Groundhog Day" - that movie where Bill Murray replays the same day over and over until he gets it right.

I wake up around 6.  Walk about 299 steps to the bathroom trailer.  Walk 20 steps to the shower trailer.  Shower. Walk back to the tent.  Walk 311 steps to the dining tent.  Eat.  Walk to work (stopped counting).  The day consists of checking emails, sending emails, watching the game play, watching how people react to the game play, taking notes and then heading to lunch.  After lunch the whole cycle repeats itself so you get the effect of working two days in one.  At 4:45ish I get dressed for a run into the hills outside of the living area.  When I get back I shower, change into Khakis and a shirt and head to dinner.  After that I may return to the gameplay just to see what's going on.  Either way I am back in the tent by 8 and in bed by 9.  And the day repeats the next morning.

I have met some good people here.  Being a "Full Bird" Colonel puts people off at first.  Colonels fall into two types (or so I am learning).  The first group are those who think that they were bestowed with this rank by the great warrior gods themselves and as such are entitled to be total assholes to the people around them.  "What do you mean we only have instant coffee here?!  Goddammit Soldier go find me some real brewed coffee!  Now! How do you expect me to make General if I can't think clearly without some caffeine!" The other type believe that they earned their rank through their own hard work and the teamwork of others and try to keep the ego from getting too inflated.  I am in the latter group.  I try to be easy going and talk to people.  It seems to working so far.

Anyway.

It is another fine day here.  The heat passed a few days ago bringing much cooler weather and strong winds.  Big wisps of dust lift off the ground and head east.  Because we live in tents the whipping wind creates a drumming effect on the fabric - except there isn't a steady beat.

There are feral dogs all over this place.  And they are nocturnal.  They avoid human contact (and it is well advised we avoid theirs) but remain on the fringes of humanity in order to raid a trash can or other scraps.  They are flea ridden and mangy.  Perhaps because of the weather, they lay low during the day and come out night to - PARTY.  Holy smokes - the barking is incessant from dusk to dawn.  I can't believe that no one from the JAF hasn't gone out to eliminate these animals a pestilence since they are clearly not pets.

My free time is spent reading.  There's not enough bandwidth to stream shows - maybe youtube stuff.  I've read two books so far and found copies of "Their Finest Hours" and the real life story about the ship that Moby Dick is based. 

The exercise rolls along. 

I went for a run further out into the desert last night - far enough to feel the isolation and desolation of this region.  However - I hope to get off the base in a day or two and see another side of the country.  We'll see.

Jordan - Email Update #2

All,

The exercise begins today.  Think of the exercise like a role playing game like Dungeons and Dragons (not that any of you played - but you get the idea).  There is a group of Controllers who have developed a massive computer based simulation with a specific storyline that centers around a conflict between several regional countries; Goodland, Badland, Neutralland, and other bad guys from Terroristland - no real nation states are used.  All of these Controllers are in a 200' x 40' building with multiple computers, screens, and phones.  Five hundred feet away is the Training Audience (the players) who must react to the inputs from the Controllers.  However, they are dozens of miles away in the game, so they cannot walk over to the Controllers building to ask for help or clarification. The TA is in a massive Army tent system with hexagonal Hubs and straight Connectors - from the air it might look like the chemical symbol for H2O. 

The scenario has a base storyline but the Controllers can send inputs that alter how the story unfolds.  If the TA does X instead of Y then the Controllers can either let X unfold or send another input to try to bring out a different reaction. 

The weather is getting hotter.  Nothing horrible because there is no humidity but you can feel it through your clothes.  There is a small dust storm that is turning the horizon a shade of tan haze. Or maybe it's just smog that is hanging over Amman. Another thing about the weather is the strong winds that blow across the landscape. They pick up dust and dirt that add to the overall suckiness of a hot day. The wind also flaps on the tent fabric making a thumping sound when the tent material slaps against the metal frame. Its like living in a drum.

I met up with Ian McKenna. He is the father of Cooper McKenna, who played with TJ on the Grasshoppers Baseball team. He's a fun guy who enjoys running. We have been able to run in the late afternoon.  There is a four mile course and a three mile course with significant hills.  The course is off the main base so you have the feeling of running in the middle of nowhere.  There are two minor hills which are near the halfway mark, so right after you run up them once you turn around and head back to the base

The area where we live, shower, eat, and work out are all temporary structures. After this exercise it will all come down and go away. This also means that there is very little to do and see.  The tents create an orange glow in the daylight; an eerie, Mars-like appearance in a similar landscape. I found a place here where they offer free books to Soldiers. I read every night until my eyelids get heavy and I roll over for some sleep.  Again - two weeks is fine - anything longer than that would be miserable.  

Jordan - Email Update #1

[What follows is an edited version of a family email]

Hey there - all of you.

The flights were okay with long (unnecessary) layovers.  I'm sure I could have gotten to Jordan sooner. I had a bulkhead on the flight to London so I could stretch my legs, thanks to a nice American Airlines attendant who saw my military ID.  The hop to France was uneventful because of the thick, low clouds.  There was a huge rain storm in Paris - a hard, hard rain that you could hear on the roof of the airport.  I did see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  Most of the customer service people spoke enough English that I was able to order food and coffee.  In return I did my best, Merci, Bon Jour, etc. I found an ubiquitous Starbucks (tastes the same) and a Disneyland Paris Store (same merchandise) in the international terminal.

The flight on Royal Jordanian Airlines from Paris to Amman was just okay but the little meal of Curry Chicken was good. The flight path took us over the Alps, which I did get to see, and the Mediterranean Ocean.

I arrived in Amman and the airport was as empty as it should be at 10:15pm.  I whisked through Customs without a second glance and headed to luggage pick up.  My bag looked different when it rolled off the conveyor belt.  It was wet.  Remember the rain in Paris?  Yep.  Pillow - soaked.  Towel - drenched.  Some clothes too.  The nice thing about being in the desert?  The arid desert?  It was all dry by the morning.

We drove in a Suburban - just two plain clothed Soldiers and another passenger.  No weapons, no convoy, no armor - it was a weird feeling - like being exposed.  It was hard to see the city at but I got the sense of it; concrete, traffic (even at night), and trash. We ended up about 20 minutes away from the capital on the outskirts of the desert. Immediately there was a familiarity to this place similar to the other Central Asian places I've been to.  Not as dirty or smelly - but definitely familiar. 

My first impressions are that this a small (postage stamp) sized base with just enough life support to keep everything going.  Our part of the base is only set up for the exercise so everything is a temporary as it looks. I can do two weeks here but wouldn't want to do more.  There is a coffee shop, PX, two gyms, and good, locally prepared food.  I am staying in a tent with other Colonels.  No private room. Rank does not have it's privileges unless you are a General.

Lisa, I opened my first card this morning - thank you. Your cards help lift my spirits when I open them and when I see there are more to keep me going throughout this trip.

BTW - I am most likely NOT staying the extra day(s).  More to follow.