The Latest...

I'm headed to Kuwait for 4 months this fall.

-Damien

As of right now....

I'm going nowhere fast. I've had a buddy of mine tell me over and over to come down and apply at his base... Which would be a great first step and a foot in the door so now I am seriously considering it. More details when things start looking promising..

-Damien

not sure what's up anymore...

so Baghdad is now off, as was Curacao earlier last month... I was asked if i would go anywhere in January with a group of guys and i said yeah.. so I am going somewhere.. yet to be determined...

-Damien

I'm going back...

I'd become bored of the routine i am running here, So i am headed back over to the sandbox.. I'll be back at Sather Airbase, in Baghdad, Iraq by mid February 2009

-Damien

i know things have been quiet.. things have been kinda busy around here with work. I am now safely back in the states... I do have one more story to post here, but it's taking a little longer to finish writing than i expected.

-Damien

Cruise Control

I, by no stretch of the imagination, am no virgin to deployed holidays. After joining the Navy in 1997 as an undesignated airman e-nothing stationed in Japan, deployments had become second nature. Almost always away from home, and many times away from homeport, I had gotten used to being away from those I care about while serving my country. This year is no different being half way around the world and still eating the same processed roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing and salty turkey gravy. Back then, it was tolerable as I was away with my coworkers.. Men and women I'd gained a working relationship with over many many hours of sweat, blood and tears. Nowadays, being the only deployed member of my beloved 148^th Fighter Wing Civil Engineering Fire Department leaves me a lot of time to myself.. I don't seem to fit in well with everyone.. I like to stay separated from the cliques that seem to form between the other units here.. Active guys hang with active guys.. philly guys with philly guys and so on and so forth… it's like trying to fit in on a baseball team.. You've got guys that have worked with each other for years.. I feel like an outsider.. I feel like I don't belong, like I'm the little brother who's just tagging along. Don't get me wrong… I'm not depressed, just on cruise control.

-Damien

There’s always one

You know this person… You've worked with them before.. There's always one of them around.. The one that snaps your head off when you say good morning, or the one that finds their rank empowering and therefore finds you nothing, or the one that reeks of arrogance and ignores you when you address them. I'm sick of this shit. I'm tired of the attitude. How much longer will I take the abuse that comes with biting my tongue? I've come to believe that I had been raised well. Taught about respect, honesty, trust and integrity, yet the harder I bite, the more I want to lash out. People are just getting antsy to get out of here.. stuck with the same people for 4 months, with no alcohol and.. well I won't say anymore..

 

-Damien

Crazy Life…

So.. I am on my way outta here very soon… Things are happening at lightning pace and we are all anxiously waiting for our reliefs to arrive. Things have been busy getting the last little bit of stuff done… I just finished my Mobile Water supply CDC and tested and scored a 94%. This now almost officially makes me a 5 level.. I just have to do the practical.. I've done it a number of times already including being the attack Pumper/Tanker for a live burn earlier this week with my supervisors carefully monitoring me from a distance. They said I did very well and may take that as experience for my practical.. they also said that the learning on the trucks never stops, so keep working with the trucks as much as I can and get as much experience as I can. I also just got licensed on the P-24 Pumper and am working on getting my P-18 Mobile Water Supply license as well..

Pictures… pictures have been a pain in the rear here… I can only upload them to Photobucket or some other photo service, but I can only do that on the civilian internet account.. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.. Internet can be a pain in the rear here as it's wireless… I don't have a strong signal in my tent so I have to walk about 2 blocks to get to a decent antenna and sit out in the cold for an hour and a half before my battery dies.. On top of this, I pay $70 for 100 hours of internet service. I think I'll just worry about pictures when I get home.

That's about all I got.. I'll be looking to drink in Baltimore when I get in so come find me, call me, shoot me an e-mail or do some sort of smoke signal.. E-Mail or message me for my cell phone # and I'll shoot ya a call next month and we'll have a beer.

-Damien

Pictures!

 

So.. most of the new pictures are from my tech course… This last picture is a picture taken by one of the other firefighters here.. taken of my new station.. station 1

Enjoy!

 

-Damien

I’m rockin with Hawkin

So I am sitting here bored.. planning my escape.. I head back home in about a month and am already working on the plans for when I get into Baltimore… Got an idea, keep me in mind.. comment or e-mail me.. you know the address..

-Damien

so when i said i was done...

I wasn't really.. All the paperwork was done..

today we are now officially done... we did our practicals... hands on fixing stuff... It wasn't hot out today so it wasn't a greenhouse in the suit..

darn.. pictures were being uploaded and now they aren't.. Pics to come!

-Damien

So it's starting to slow down... 40 plus days left and i'll be headed home... a few cool beers and a real bed are waiting for me.

My vollie department back home had a few calls over Thanksgiving... a Drowning and a few rollovers... the victim of the drowning was the father of 2 sons that died in a confined space poisoning.. a total of 3 died in the condined space emergency.. i can only imagine the grief this man delt with.. though i do not condone suicide., it's sad to hear of the great loss to the family. I hope they all rest in peace.

Rollovers on Thanksgiving were nothing more than speed+ice=disaster.

Out here on the other side of the world.. it's been quiet.. no calls on my shift.. my only irritation is a little something i've picked up on my arms from what i thought was heat rash, but now i'm starting to wonder what the heck it is.. i've gone to the doctor to have it looked at and he gave me some ointment to slather on 3 times daily.. hopefully this heals soon.

As you may or may not have picked up in my comments or on a few of the forums i frequent.. i completed my Haz-Mat Technician course.. I'm officially a part of the mop and glow legion.. I also just finished up my Pumper Driver/Operator certs and will test out of Mobile Water Supply this week sometime... that will complete my 5 level certification and hopefully that will make me eligible for putting on my next rank; Staff Sergeant.. on top of this, this also makes me eligible to compete for a state firefighting job at almost any state run fire department. Next Air Force certification will be Instructor I, but i think i would like to concentrate on getting my EMT-B certification..

Anyways.. i hate to bore y`all with my rambling.. just been a ton on the docket and just finished up a big portion of my time killer so i thought i would pass on the latest. Hope all has been well in your neck of the woods!

Stay Low..

-Damien

Yeah.. i'm alive....

So yeah.. it's been a busy couple months... Working on certifications and working with the Iraqis training them to be Firefighters.. We did a live burn the other day and got one good picture out of it... Check it out... The guys i work with are in silver helmets, Iraqis in Red and yellow helmets.. Been working on all my certifications, and it's kept me busy.. hopefully it will lead to a state job soon.. and it's quite possible i will put on E-5 in the very near future.

Anyways.. i'm still alive. I'll be home mid to late January..

-Damien

I am so tired...

It is about noon here in Leipzig, Germany.. i have been sleeping a bit on the plane but not too much.. weather is crappy.. mainly drizzle. I have to go.. just about to board the plane. Take care yall...

-Damien

Battle scars.... and i haven't left the country yet....

the wound.. and the knife that did it... I deploy Saturday.

-Damien

headed out...

My deployment manager called today..

She said i am due to leave Saturday morning.. from here i will go to Norfolk, and after that, i have no idea..

should be fun.. my leg hurts like hell..

-Damien

my dumb ass....

So i was a dumbass today and did what so many suggest not doing...

let me start out.. i was just getting some stuff together for my deployment... a small webcam, a headlamp, and a cable lock for my laptop.. I was using my knife to open the tamper proof packaging on the cable lock when the knife slipped and i was suddenly looking at a knife buried in my leg and my best jeans soaking up the blood streaming out of the wound. Blood doesn't affect me the way it does some, so i quickly pulled the knife out, pulled my pants down to survey the wound, ran downstairs, got some paper towels to control the serious bleeding, and called 911. After spending an hour in the ER waiting on a doctor, i finally got my stitches... here's the damage....

1 2.5cm by 1.5cm wound, inside right leg, just above the knee..
3 stitches
bill from hell.. :(

luckily no ligiments were involved, but the doctor suggested i talk to the orthopaedic doctor and see if i damaged my knee joint. He said it didn't look like i did but it was deep enough to do it. otherwise.. i have lortab for the pain and really don' need it yet.. we'll see how i do tonight...

here's to a peaceful night of rest!

-Damien

crazy....

The next 2 weeks are going to be a crazy blur of my civilian job, and prep work for the deployment. The back of my car is filled with uniforms, chem warfare stuff and gas mask, new boots, firefighting gear, and all the crap that makes me operate efficiently over there. I have too much crap!.. lol.

I just finished up my medical and dental requirements, and just have a little bit left in regards to my orders and a final bit of paperwork. I'm not worried really about what i'm up against.

-Damien

Just an update....

Latest word is a Sept 10 departure.

Welcome

how corny is this?

I just got my marching orders the other day and i thought i would start a blog so others can keep up on my wacky misadventures as a firefighter serving in Iraq with the US Air Force. I leave in September and will be back sometime in January. enjoy!