The Ten Percent Solution

I noticed today that I've been away from home for 40 days now. That means I've just broken into double digits, having completed 10% of this deployment. And I haven't even started really working yet! But I have the remaining 90% of my tour to work hard. We finished up our briefings and orientations today with the 3rd Corps Support Command (3 COSCOM) who is in charge of all transportation of all supplies in Iraq. I've learned a lot about the process (very impressive!) as well as all the Army's different classes of supplies. Class I is food, Class III is fuel, Class V is ammunition, etc. I finally figured out why Army bases have a "Class Six" store for the "personal items". Conveniently, Class VI is not a very high priority for the convoys to ship. Go figure. The powers that be have finally decided on my assignment. I will be supporting the staff of the 181st Transportation Battalion here in Balad. Their home station is Mannheim, Germany. They are one of the largest transportation battalions here in Iraq. And they are really looking forward to our arrival. I'll probably start the "real work" on Monday. That gives me one more day to get settled, and perhaps catch this afternoon's screening of "Mission Impossible: 3" at the theater. I've been learning more about the air base each day. It turns out there's about 30,000 people here. 10,000 civilians (most of whom are contractors for KBR (Kellogg, Brown, and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton) who manage the dining, housing, buses, and other facilities), about 5,000 Air Force personnel running the airlift (C-17s, C-130s for the logistics, F-16s for air support) and about 15,000 Army personnel. Oh, and about 30 Navy guys, but that number is growing. While most of the facilities here are still temporary in nature, the base has a much more "completed" feel to it, as it was taken over largely undamaged from the Iraqi Air Force. Unlike Camp Victory in Baghdad, there are lots of (paved) roads, sidewalks, and buildings designed to actually work on an air base. Because of its key location and central logistics point, it will probably be the last base that we (the U.S.) leave as we draw down our forces. Accordingly, there is actual construction in progress, most of it hardening the existing structures to make them safer. The base is large enough that while walking is possible, it's nothing you want to do every day. But there are (KBR-operated) buses that go pretty much everywhere, 24 hours a day, so one of the most important tasks for me over the next few days is to figure out how to get to work, chow, and my "hooch" in the most efficient manner. Off to enjoy one of my last days off for a while...