DOIM

I think it’s a universal problem for any corporation that the information technology folks are not well liked.  It’s not much different in the Army.

 

I had my government-issued laptop that I had brought here from Balad, where it had been working fine on the network.  Of course, the Army in its infinite wisdom decided that they would run a different network at a different base.  And although I’m sure that they could simply change appropriate configuration settings, the preferred method of setting up a new computer is to simply re-image the hard drive to a “clone” of one that’s allegedly set up properly for the network.

 

I turned in my computer the day I arrived… 12 days ago, if you’re counting.  I finally got it back today after a series of complaints from various levels of the Department of Information Management (DOIM) that alleged my hard drive was broken.  The story when I got it back was that they managed to “fix it.”  Right.  I’m sure, most likely, they just finally figured out how to access what had been working the whole time.

 

The good news is that they restored all my high-speed drivers that had been wiped out back in Balad in the previous iteration of DOIM-imaging.  So I actually have a smoothly running machine on my desk again.

Inside out, outside in

One of the interesting features of my office is that it's outside. Well, not really... but it is in an area of the building that used to be an outdoor courtyard, but has been turned into a nice, secure indoor room complete with a plywood floor.

The main advantage of such a false floor is that it allows us to do what nobody else can do in the building: have a hole with a cup sunk into it as part of a nice putting green. There are even a collection of golf balls and putters there. I've done my share of practicing (it putts fast). I consistently sink 1 of the 6 putts I try, but the record is six in a row, so I have a long way to go. At least I have a long time left to improve.

I did succeed today in getting internet access wired to my room! Someone a few trailers down has a satellite system that I'm now sharing with 24 people... not bad, really. Slow, but the convenience beats having to hike all the way to the MWR, and I can access all those sites (like my own blog) that the military system blocks.

Eyen Al Asad

This morning I had the opportunity to visit an oasis on the base known as "Abraham's Well." Actually, it's not a well, and clearly not the famous one in Beersheba that Abraham dug. A more accurate name would be "Abraham's Oasis." Actually, the local name is Eyen Al Asad which translates to "Spring of the Lion."

Located near the Euphrates, about halfway between the ancient cities of Ur and Haran, the oasis is mentioned by name in Islamic writings, although no specific stops on Abram's journey are referenced in the Bible or Quran. Still, it's one of the few stops for fresh water in an otherwise barren land, and it's reasonable to believe that Abraham stopped here to drink, bathe, and water his flocks.

There were no permanent settlements here until about 1920, although the site has been frequented by Bedoins for the last 4000 years. The local residents were "evicted" by Saddam in 1985 when he built the air base that the US now uses. Up until early this year, the area was littered with trash from visitors, but local soldiers, sailors, and marines conducted a cleanup of the area.

Standing down by the water, with the wind blowing the rushes, hearing the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds, it was a brief moment of escape from the reality of the air base surrounding it. Too brief a moment, as choppers flew overhead. Still, it was an awesome feeling standing in an area that once may have been visited by the great patriarch.

Every Who in Whoville

One of the interesting differences between Al Asad and my previous base is that they have chosen to name their housing areas. While Balad had H4 and S4 and other letter-number combinations, the creative folks here have "can cities" such as Rock Ridge, Sandlot, and my own little community of Chuville.

Can is local lingo for the trailers we live in, officially called CHUs (Containerized Housing Units), thus the name of our 'town'. At first I thought the five digit number might be a population figure, but it's really just a "building number", something most people ignore. After all, when you're trying to get directions to the finance office to cash your check, knowing the building number does absolutely nothing to help you find the place.

Are you ready for some football?

It's a relatively quiet Sunday here. In commemoration of the first week of NFL football, AFN has been playing football movies all day long. I just finished enjoying the classic "Remember the Titans."

In other football news, Navy is now 2-0, and I have to congratulate my Army bretheren for winning their home opener and increasing to 1-1. Since I'm an Annapolis grad and the Deputy Commander of my unit hails from West Point, we've had fun trading football barbs back and forth. We've already established a wager on this year's Army-Navy game, with the loser having to sing the winner's service song at the morning meeting. I've offered him lyrics so he can practice.

AFN is televising the Denver vs. St. Louis game tonight... live! I definitely will stay up late to watch it. GO BRONCOS!

Inspiration

I'm killing a few minutes at the MWR, unofficially (or perhaps officially) dubbed "The White Elephant" because it is a large, white building, since I am a few minutes early to practice for tomorrow's church service. Although the Balad team misses me, it seems the folks here at Al Asad were in even more desperate circumstances, asking for a drummer, female voices, and a keyboardist. One out of three isn't bad.

Last Sunday some others and I remarked about the beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel. Being new on base, I hadn't realized that they are a new addition. A very new addition, as a matter of fact. It turns out a Navy petty officer (a Seabee, for CB, construction battalion) volunteered the time, and got donations from home, to make these beautiful windows. You can read about it and see a picture of one of the windows here. It's a great addition!

Flies fly when you're having fun

Al Asad is at a slightly higher altitude (I think about 1000 meters, something above 3000 feet) than Balad, and thus the weather seems to be a bit cooler here. Or, it could just be the fact that Summer is drawing to a close. In any case, it has not been unbearably hot here yet.

mosquitoes have not been a problem here yet, but one thing I am learning to contend with are flies. Not that many, really, just one or two at any given time, but they are very persistent little bugs. They aren't even scared when you wave them away, they just dodge and then zoom back in. I wish I had that bug-zapping swatter that I played with in Baghdad... at least there the flies would run away from you.

Mail came in today, and I got the last of the boxes I sent myself from Balad, as well as a nice little note from Mom postmarked a week ago. (Yep, looks like 1 week is still a good prediction for mail delivery times.) Also, I finished figuring out all the information I needed to at least maintain the "status quo" in my current job. I can finally finish the settling in process and get started on doing things bigger and better. Fun, fun, fun!