Awesome photo Grant took.

C-17 and two T-3000 Crash trucks.

Chief Brown doing some reading!

I didn't know they still made 3-D glasses. Makes the uh articles more interesting.

Burning out the infield.

Too many birds around the airfield flying into one too many aircraft results in burning out the entire infield in one 12 hour day. Good Times! We have started getting a lot more calls lately. Which is great because we were starting to run out of 'your mama' jokes. C-Webb, a little help here. Well not much longer, I will continue to post till I leave as long as I get some photos or have something half-way interesting to say. . . . . . . . . unlike this post.......hmmm.......OK then........ Oh yeah, thanks Grant for the photos, keep up the fine work huh.

Rappelling off the tower.

Pics. of rappelling off the aircraft control tower. It's almost 200 feet from the very top. Very scary going over the edge on that one. Nice view though. Tomorrow we get to teach the people who work there how to do it in case of emergencies. Should be interesting. 16 days and counting!!! James

Leggett getting even.

Jason finally got even for the foam on his head while he was sleeping. I kinda think he took it a little too personal.

Sen. McCain visit.

We got a chance to briefly meet and greet Sen. John McCain a little while back. Very nice man who took the time to talk to, and shake hands with everyone present. Naval Aviator shot down in Vietnam, and survived 5 and a half years as POW. Amazing......Also in the photo, 4-star General Petraeus. 'The Main Man' over here. Also super nice. Shook hands and took photos with everyone who wanted one.....James

Fishin

Todd Curtis from Reno fishing one evening over by the 'Flinstone's Village'.

Jason McCuskey from Duluth Mn. with his catch.

Easter Egg Hunting.

Yeah, I saw a big ass mud pit and I was in! Say no more. There were over 3000 eggs hidden, but the 'special' ones were rumored to be in the mud. Yeah, real 'special' I managed to find one, and was thrilled to find out what I'd won. A heart shaped tin, with shower gel and a spankin new spongue thingy inside. So I deferred to another basket with shave cream and a razor. A couple of the guys I work with were quite upset though. They really wanted the shower stuff. Hmmmm.......James

Hookah.

Friday night is hookah night. Yep, were wild and crazy over here. Tobacco and non-alcoholic beer, yipeee! Somebody got super crazy and filled the hookahs with Mountain Dew and orange Fanta. The orange was good but not the dew. About four - ish more weeks to go. James

Hair growing back.

Mmmmm, Copenhagen. James

Clouds

• Cool photo of the clouds. James

Controlled Burn?

Here is a great photo that someone else took. Probably Grant Gimpel again. I'm not sure who the guy is. I was not there with them. Great photo though. We were asked to clear a couple fields, looks like it was successful. James

March is gone!

Third one down, one and a half to go! James

Hey Indie..... we have fire too.

Okay Okay, so it was a controlled burn. But as you can see, we have wildland fires too. We had to burn out a bunch of fields to clear them and all the critters made their way to the nearest tents and buildings. Those guys weren't so happy. James

Daniels Lied!

This was the first day we went out to rappell. There's Daniels right above me. He said it was 'fun' to walk your feet up the wall and let go with both hands (after tying off of course) HE LIED - not as much 'fun' as you would think. James

Rappelling.

Self portrait of me rappelling off the building next to the aircraft control tower. Only about 50 feet. We might get a chance to rappell off the tower itself. It's about 190 feet from the top. We will see, I may chicken out. At least I managed to not drop the camera. Nice nostrils huh? James

Grant Gimpel

Photo of Grant Gimpel. He's my new buddy from Duluth Minnesota. He is responsible for many of the nice photos taken while over here. James

He's just taking a break.

Gimpel took a photo of Steve slacking off again. Here he is kicked back in the smoke pit. James

That'll be nice.

Gimpel photo. This is what I'm looking forward too. 50-something days and counting. James

Look closely.

Really cool photo Grant Gimpel took at the Iraqi Fire Station. This is looking out through a bullet hole in the window. The Iraqis have these two dogs that hang out at the station eating handouts. They are wild and won't let you near them unless you are giving them food. The male kinda looks like Benji (spelling?). James

C-Webb, this is as close as you're gonna get.

G-squared photo. There, that is your scorpion. Hope you enjoy it. Unfortunately, this one lost a fight to a 'squat', some goofy rat/hedgehog hybrid, or something like that. James

Hangin out at the Iraqi's station.

G-squared photo, We were training with the Iraqis again and afterwards, we have lunch and tea at their station. Hoff looks excited, and Daniels is being Daniels. Nappy time. James

See, that is what I was talking about.

Photo from Gimple, He was out taking photos while I was hiding inside. This was back in January, right after we got here. Been pretty nice lately, were at the end of the rainy season, so hopefully no more weeks like that one. James

Iraqi Airlines 737 Eating my Hand.

Another photo from Gimpel, (I promised I would give credit). We did some training with the local firefighters the other day, and I thought this plane looked like a cartoon version from the front. There are several hundred million dollars worth of Iraqi airplanes just sitting on the ground in various conditions. This one just needs a little TLC and she could be flying again.... Oh yeah, some engines, a couple more tires, and maybe some windshields too. James

Better shot of the moon

This photo was taken by my buddy SSgt. Gimpel. He was kind enough to share his photos with us. He has a much nicer camera, and he obviously takes better pictures with it. James

Baby Blue C-130 for Jonny

I thought Jonny would like the color of this plane, probably Austin too. Well we just passed the halfway point and all is good. It's gonna be all downhill from here. Weather is in the mid 70's now almost every day. Pretty nice. Nights are still cool but not too bad. Happy Birthday to Poo-Dog tomorow. (He marked it for me on my calendar before I left, otherwise I would have forgotten.) No scorpions or camel spiders yet (sorry C-Webb) just a bunch of big black ants all over. Almost as big as termites. Mosquitos and flys are showing up too. Good Times. All else is good, looking forward to the twenty something hours on airplanes out of here. I know I'm a sissy, it's only 4 months, and the other services are here for a year or longer. Well, that's about all I've got for now. See you in a few. James

Full moon.

I was walking back to my tent after dinner when I noticed the moon was huge, and bright orange. I got my camera, but when I went to take a photo the batteries were dead. By the time I replaced them it was too dark for a good photo. That's the best one I could get. Too bad - so sad, that's all I've got for now. James

Big ass plane.

Pic. of one of the world's largest planes. Owned and built by the Russians. The crew got off and they were all wearing sandals. The pilot wasn't even wearing a shirt. Pretty strange. I don't know how something this big even gets in the air. They look like they are barely moving. I now see where all the gas is going. James

March 3rd.

Well I don't have any new photos that I can post yet so I will just ramble on for a few minutes. Nothing too exciting here. Still doing shifts on a crash truck, and pulling alarm room duty for another week or so. Breaks up the monotony though. The weeks are flying by. Weather is starting to get warmer. Insects are starting to show up a bit more too. Big-ass ants trying to make homes outside of the tents, hope they choose to stay out there. Still get the occasional rain that turns the ground to nasty mud in a hurry. It dries up for about a week, then starts all over again. I heard it is going to get pretty hot in another month or so. Not sure what's worse, mud or 100 plus temperatures. Almost to the halfway point, will be nice to come home to the beginning of summer in Reno. Julie doesn't like to shovel snow. Late snow again. Steelers cut Joey Porter, but I still love them. Okay, don't know what else to write. I have to go back on guard duty in an hour, so I'll write more when I have something interesting (at least less boring) to write. James

Another one down....

Almost two down, two and a half to go. Right now I wish all months only had 28 days. Been away from home for 53 days now...... but who's keeping track anyway.........James.

Just not the same.

Well, at least they have some decent N.A. beers here. It's still kind-of a cruel joke, I think. The Brits here are allowed to drink the real stuff. One of my guys almost cried the other day when he saw a British soldier pouring out a case of REAL beer on the ground. He asked him what the hell he was doing that for, and the Brit said "because it expired a couple of weeks ago, we've got lot's more fresh beer." If only we had those kind of troubles too...... but noooo, they always offer, but we are not allowed to partake. Probably a good thing.

C-Webb's Burlesque show!

There! .....Now you're famous!

Christmas 200?

My chin's don't look like that anymore. Robby and Jonny sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

View from the top.

Here's a picture of $@%&!*# International Airport from the top of the air traffic control tower. It's about 120 feet up. Nice view all the way around. You can see downtown in the distance. You can also see what we were told is The Tower of Babel. I didn't quite trust the catwalk and railing, so I did a quick 360 around it and went back inside. James

Too tired, more later.

That is where I am laying down right now, in my 8' X 8' slice of heaven. Nappy time. James

Uncle Sugar wants You!

Yes, even over here, we are always looking for some volunteers. Anybody interested? C-Webb not included. They still have minimum height requirements. I am finally able to access internet again, went down for a few days. More rain, and lot's more mud. Julie starts new job in a few days, very happy for her. Got herself one of those sweet gov't gigs. But unlike Austin, she will actually have to do something instead of just taking time off. Mikey should be down in Texas running his marathon right about now. Please leave some puke on their soil in my honor. Hope all is well, try and get a little bit more snow in the mountains if you can though. Kristen, I want to go swimming too. Scotty, when is the rafting trip? Jonny, watch where you step. Pink, sue Tedd. Tedd, sue Pink. POO, change the oil in your bug. Kris, Go Pack. Melisa, keep an eye on Scotty, I think he's up to something. Laura, tell your students 'don't be a fool, stay in school'. Greens, win... or start a fight with the other team. Rob, take some time to get to know yourself better. C-Webb, eat 3! Mike and Elsa, tell Chris the German to lay off the roids, I'm a little jealous. Jay, what's up...seen Paul? J-Boob, pace yourself. Shane, good luck with the business. Erin, wipe the puke off Mikey's chin. Yell, your on! Lori and Kevin, thank you! Mom and Dad, I love you, thanks for all the support. Stan and Kathy, I love you too, how was Hawaii? Kelli, how's your little princess' ...thank Travis for hitting J-Boob in the knee for me. Doris and Steve, How's the warm weather....HA. Heather and Deric, thanks for the blog help, try not to kill each-other. SFD, save the fires for my return please, and not just the park on O'Callahan (spelling) Indy, quit being so cocky about the 'ponies'. Elorza, smack Sully for me, I won't even get into 'The Jones'. Thanks for all your efforts Barry. Eddie, don't break a rib on your sled. Andy, thanks for the help with my pay. Palmers, thanks for helping Roscoe to lose some weight too. Fran, thanks for the prayers and getting that heathen wife of mine to church. Oatley, I want Patron when I get back. Roscoe, be good, no digging. Julie, I love you more than I could ever express!!! Thanks for being so damn strong! You are MY Hero. Anyone I missed, sorry, mud on the brain,james

Flinstone's Village

Found a better pic. of the "Flinstone's Village." Might be a pretty cool place in a different part of the world. I got moved back to station 1, so I'm trying to get used to sleeping with turbine engine noise so close again. Not any mountains around us as you can see. I guess the elevation is something like 130 ft. You can always see the nice plumes of smoke in the distance though. James

Honor Guard

Honor Guard flying the flag. It's nice to see it flown at full staff. We can almost feel it getting a little bit warmer every day here. Should be nice and hot just about the time were supposed to leave. Sunday afternoon in the desert, think I'll go take a shower.....hope the water is fixed. James

Sun is shining.

Well the sun has been back out the last couple of days. In-between rainshowers for a while I hope. Been about 62 degrees last few days. Nights are still kinda cold. Not like home though, so I'm not complaining. Work is good, getting allot done. Almost done inspecting all the buildings on base. Been a lot more 'peacefull' lately, but I guess everything goes in waves here. Hope it keeps up. Looking forward to camping this summer in a tent built for 2 instead of 8. Everything is dusty. Good thing I brought a cheap camera. Think I'm just gonna burn all the things I brought with me that I don't need when I get home. That or throw them away here so I don't have to carry six bags on the way home. Julie, stock up on socks for me please, mine are all turning brown, (even the black ones). Funny story, have you ever been in the middle of a shower, soap from head too toe, when the water pressure goes completely away?...... yeah me neither, until today. Let me tell you how much fun it is to have to walk from the shower naked with soap in my eyes to the sinks. Yes others were busy shaving and brushing there teeth with the now-trickle of water still coming out of the faucets. All kinds of fun to rinse off by hand from a sink. I don't think I'll ever take a shower for granted again. Cold water would have been better than none. ..........Good Times! Anywho my hands are cramping up, I hate typing. More later, James

My mistake

Apparently I was wrong about last post of Route Irish. 'Steve' - ? put me in my place by letting me know that my photo was not of Route Irish, but a tunnel under a road feeding into Route Irish. I never intend to make people think that I am in any more danger than what we are. I don't get my kicks by people worrying about me. I don't want to post anything that is not accurate or that could offend someone, so I have deleted it. I have been straightforward with what my job is here and respect those who have MUCH more dangerous jobs than my own. This blog was intended as a way for me to keep in touch with family, friends, and co-workers. Others obviously may read as well, so I am now going to double check anything I post. James

Station 2 Pranks

That is my buddy Jason, here with me from Reno. This is what we do to entertain ourselves when somedody falls asleep in the middle of the day. It's foaming alcohol hand cleaner. The pile on his head grew over the course of an hour, and he never flinched. He finally woke up after it started dripping down his neck. What a good sport, he didn't come up swinging or anything. But we are all afraid to sleep now.

Sand Storm

Enough Said!

I miss Roscoe

Yes I obviously miss Julie so much, but I didn't have a photo of her on my computer when I left. But I did have a couple of Roscoe. So Roscoe, if you are reading this, go give Julie a hug and a kiss for me. James

Not sure what the building is, but it looks nice.

Here's another photo of a building near the pallaces. Not sure if it's religous or what, but I know it was left pretty much undamaged by the coalition forces. That is one of the man-made lakes. There are a couple of them. Water looks pretty nasty though. We saw a couple of people fishing in them, but I seriously doubt they ate their catch. It is rumored that Saddam had people assassinated and thrown in the water, although it's never been dredged or drained to find out. They have catfish, carp, and a specially bred 'Saddam's bass' living in them. I wish I had my own fish too!

Ready to go shopping!

The other day we went to check out the other bases to see some palaces and do a little shopping. We have to get geared up whenever we leave our compound so we snapped a couple photos. The building in the background is nicknames the 'glass house. I think it was one of Saddam's offices. My base is on his private airport. Still private, just not for him any longer.

Expeditionary Firemen.

Here's the 447th. Expeditionary Fire and Emergency Services group. Three different home units mixed together to make this fine group. P.S. the guy wearing the hat is doing so because he's embarassed about the big scab on his forehead. He got it the night before by walking into one of those 13 foot high concrete walls. Flashlights are a good thing.

Everyone wants a camel spider.

Sorry, haven't seen any yet....well allive. Saw a 4 inch one that the entomology (bug killers) guys stuck in a freezer for a few hours. We do have a mascot at the firehouse though. A 4 inch black scorpian that was abandoned by the last group here. Still allive and fiesty even though it's been in an aquarium for a couple months. The guys throw in stink-beetles and geckos for it to play with, but the geckos always get out. Silly scorpion just keeps on living. He doesn't like to be petted much, must be bitter about the box he's in. No C-Webb you can't have it. I know you asked for one, but your just not worthy. Flies, sand-fleas, mosquitos, camel spiders, mice, and rats should be showing up in a few weeks. OH - JOY!!! Already caught a few mice in tents. Co-worker found a nest in bottom of his wall-locker with 4 baby mice in it. Another guy found mouse on shelf in wall-locker about three feet from floor. These mice 'got up's.' I think I'll be keeping my snacky treats in a tupperware box on top shelf from now on.

Like sand in an hourglass....

At least it's almost Feb. Not like I care or anything............ come on May! Hurry Up, damn it!!!