What am I doing here?
OK, more than a few people have asked that question. I could try to answer that philosophically....kind of "why are we here??”…. But I’ll just answer this more simply…what do I do every day and what is my job?
As an aside, as I sit here in a tent typing this we are in the middle of a giant sandstorm. This is the second one that has hit us since we arrived in Kuwait. The first sand storm reminded me of living in the northeastern United States during the first snowfall. The first snowfall every year is an exciting time- a novel and unique experience. Sandstorms seem to be a similar natural occurrence. The first sandstorm was a novel and neat experience- we could see the huge wall of sand coming through the desert- visible from probably twenty miles- it was like a movie with bizarre special effects only it was real- a tan cloud (but of course...it had to be tan) coming towards us. For around ten minutes we watched the cloud approach and then suddenly it enveloped us. When it arrived it was windy and wet with rain. The sand blew against us and sand literally blasted away at our faces. If your face is unprotected it hurts…and if your eyes are unprotected you can’t stay that way for long. The sand gets everywhere, in your eyes, hair, teeth, ears…it is not comfortable.
After the first sandstorm, the whole experience loses its appeal and its novelty. It is just very uncomfortable and inconvenient! Kind of like a snowstorm in March- you just want it to end. The difference is that each year the first snow brings a good feeling. Each year the first sandstorm probably does not…..
So back to "what am I doing here?" In between my three meals a day I work on the job that I will actually be doing in Iraq. My most important role is to know people. There are so many agencies and organizations involved here it is critical to know the players in order to get anything done. I spend most of my time networking. Aside from being able to operate a motor vehicle it is probably my only skill....:) I need to know people from dozens of US agencies, and once in Iraq, I'll need to know countless Iraqi's in both the government and private industry.
My job is not at the top, government level. I will not have interaction with anyone in the top levels of the Iraqi government. That is the role of the US State Department. The US State Department works with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture. That is the macro-level between both of our governments. At the tactical level- the US Army has the Civil Affairs Branch. This group works with the Iraqis in our local areas, helping to identify needs and address them: building roads or schools- whatever the local community needs. My role will be somewhere between the two- at least that is my understanding at this point.
The second largest industry after oil is agriculture. Increasing all trade will be my mission- and since agriculture is such a large industry I will work on this quite a bit. Right now I’m working on a project to get farmers from the US to travel to Iraq to teach “best practices.” They will teach these to the top Iraqi agricultural experts in a “train the trainer” project. It’s called a Mobile Training Team (MTT).
There are countless projects underway at this point like this. It’s important for me to know what projects are underway and how they fit together. Within agriculture there are several that I am aware of: soil testing lab; 4H project; extension project; and date palm project.
I’ll mention the details of just one of these to give you an idea of the scale and scope of these projects.
The Soil Testing Laboratory
One of the first areas identified by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) early on after the fall of Baghdad was the need for a “soil testing lab.” By building a soil testing lab in one location in Iraq and using it as a centralized facility- all of the Iraqi farms could benefit. Until now, the farmers were not using modern science to determine crop rotation, fertilizer content and other concepts that are rudimentary by western standards.
A joint venture was formed with Texas A&M University to build a soil testing lab. This lab is now being built and will benefit all of the farms throughout Iraq. Identifying, prioritizing, and managing projects such as this will be what I hope to accomplish while in Iraq. In this way, we help the Iraqi’s improve without necessarily doing it ourselves. Preferably, we “train the trainer”. Teach the most advanced Iraqis and then they will train future generations of their own people.
There are many project such as this underway. My first project will be the Mobile Training Teams as mentioned above.
Mobile Training Teams
This is my first project. These MTTs will be comprised of farmers from the US that can travel to Iraq to train the Iraqis. This “train the trainer” program will be run on US bases in the safest areas we can provide. Our US farmers can train the Iraqi on all areas of modern farming and can make a major impact over the next few years.
In order to recruit farmers, I contacted the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. Lt. Governor Dave Heineman is a West Point graduate (Class of ’70) who I was introduced to me by another West Point friend, Shawn Olds (USMA Class of ’94). Lt. Gov Heineman immediately agreed to help and is working to gain Nebraska volunteers to fill these roles.
These farmers will be hired by the US (by USAID) and paid as consultants, as well as having their expenses and travel paid by USAID.
A joint venture like this requires coordination between multiple US agencies: USAID, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Commerce, as well as US military forces.
This project is my highest priority. I find myself working by email and phone with people in the US often. However, due to the time change, if I work business hours, I would write an email one day, hear back the next, and reply the third. That would take many days in what should be a few emails in one day. For this reason I tend to work late at night, on US time zones. I find this is the optimal time to accomplish things by email what would normally take days from here.
We are still in Kuwait. The base that we live on is being readied for Thanksgiving Weekend. The Army has always made a point to get soldiers, no matter where they are in the world, no matter what war is underway, a Turkey Dinner on Thanksgiving Day. The mess hall we have is already decorated with all kinds of Thanksgiving décor.
The walls in the Mess Hall and in the Morale & Welfare Tent (the place where we can watch TV) are covered with “Dear Soldier” letters from kids all over the US. I try to make it a point to read at least one a day. They are often written in crayon. It seems that the teachers will pick a few words like "hero", "patriot", and "american" and have the kids write sentences horizontally next to the letters. They are very creative.
The pundits on TV and in many of the periodicals could probably learn much from the children of America! Their simplicity somehow speaks volumes.
Today I’m looking at letters from Vancouver, Washington. They’re great! They are written in that stationary that has the one inch lines with the dashes in between to help the kids learn to print…I don’t know what grade that would be…maybe second or third? The letter on the wall above my table made me laugh. It’s from Abby.
“Dear Soldier: I am sorry you have to be away from friends and family. I have a guinea pig. She jumps out of my arms. We learned that there are 206 bones in the human body. Abby”
And the one beside it:
“Dear Soldier: Thank you for risking your life to save our country. It would be good if you guys could come home and we could celebrate you winning the war. Emily”
I couldn’t have said it any better Emily!
As an aside, as I sit here in a tent typing this we are in the middle of a giant sandstorm. This is the second one that has hit us since we arrived in Kuwait. The first sand storm reminded me of living in the northeastern United States during the first snowfall. The first snowfall every year is an exciting time- a novel and unique experience. Sandstorms seem to be a similar natural occurrence. The first sandstorm was a novel and neat experience- we could see the huge wall of sand coming through the desert- visible from probably twenty miles- it was like a movie with bizarre special effects only it was real- a tan cloud (but of course...it had to be tan) coming towards us. For around ten minutes we watched the cloud approach and then suddenly it enveloped us. When it arrived it was windy and wet with rain. The sand blew against us and sand literally blasted away at our faces. If your face is unprotected it hurts…and if your eyes are unprotected you can’t stay that way for long. The sand gets everywhere, in your eyes, hair, teeth, ears…it is not comfortable.
After the first sandstorm, the whole experience loses its appeal and its novelty. It is just very uncomfortable and inconvenient! Kind of like a snowstorm in March- you just want it to end. The difference is that each year the first snow brings a good feeling. Each year the first sandstorm probably does not…..
So back to "what am I doing here?" In between my three meals a day I work on the job that I will actually be doing in Iraq. My most important role is to know people. There are so many agencies and organizations involved here it is critical to know the players in order to get anything done. I spend most of my time networking. Aside from being able to operate a motor vehicle it is probably my only skill....:) I need to know people from dozens of US agencies, and once in Iraq, I'll need to know countless Iraqi's in both the government and private industry.
My job is not at the top, government level. I will not have interaction with anyone in the top levels of the Iraqi government. That is the role of the US State Department. The US State Department works with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture. That is the macro-level between both of our governments. At the tactical level- the US Army has the Civil Affairs Branch. This group works with the Iraqis in our local areas, helping to identify needs and address them: building roads or schools- whatever the local community needs. My role will be somewhere between the two- at least that is my understanding at this point.
The second largest industry after oil is agriculture. Increasing all trade will be my mission- and since agriculture is such a large industry I will work on this quite a bit. Right now I’m working on a project to get farmers from the US to travel to Iraq to teach “best practices.” They will teach these to the top Iraqi agricultural experts in a “train the trainer” project. It’s called a Mobile Training Team (MTT).
There are countless projects underway at this point like this. It’s important for me to know what projects are underway and how they fit together. Within agriculture there are several that I am aware of: soil testing lab; 4H project; extension project; and date palm project.
I’ll mention the details of just one of these to give you an idea of the scale and scope of these projects.
The Soil Testing Laboratory
One of the first areas identified by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) early on after the fall of Baghdad was the need for a “soil testing lab.” By building a soil testing lab in one location in Iraq and using it as a centralized facility- all of the Iraqi farms could benefit. Until now, the farmers were not using modern science to determine crop rotation, fertilizer content and other concepts that are rudimentary by western standards.
A joint venture was formed with Texas A&M University to build a soil testing lab. This lab is now being built and will benefit all of the farms throughout Iraq. Identifying, prioritizing, and managing projects such as this will be what I hope to accomplish while in Iraq. In this way, we help the Iraqi’s improve without necessarily doing it ourselves. Preferably, we “train the trainer”. Teach the most advanced Iraqis and then they will train future generations of their own people.
There are many project such as this underway. My first project will be the Mobile Training Teams as mentioned above.
Mobile Training Teams
This is my first project. These MTTs will be comprised of farmers from the US that can travel to Iraq to train the Iraqis. This “train the trainer” program will be run on US bases in the safest areas we can provide. Our US farmers can train the Iraqi on all areas of modern farming and can make a major impact over the next few years.
In order to recruit farmers, I contacted the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. Lt. Governor Dave Heineman is a West Point graduate (Class of ’70) who I was introduced to me by another West Point friend, Shawn Olds (USMA Class of ’94). Lt. Gov Heineman immediately agreed to help and is working to gain Nebraska volunteers to fill these roles.
These farmers will be hired by the US (by USAID) and paid as consultants, as well as having their expenses and travel paid by USAID.
A joint venture like this requires coordination between multiple US agencies: USAID, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Commerce, as well as US military forces.
This project is my highest priority. I find myself working by email and phone with people in the US often. However, due to the time change, if I work business hours, I would write an email one day, hear back the next, and reply the third. That would take many days in what should be a few emails in one day. For this reason I tend to work late at night, on US time zones. I find this is the optimal time to accomplish things by email what would normally take days from here.
We are still in Kuwait. The base that we live on is being readied for Thanksgiving Weekend. The Army has always made a point to get soldiers, no matter where they are in the world, no matter what war is underway, a Turkey Dinner on Thanksgiving Day. The mess hall we have is already decorated with all kinds of Thanksgiving décor.
The walls in the Mess Hall and in the Morale & Welfare Tent (the place where we can watch TV) are covered with “Dear Soldier” letters from kids all over the US. I try to make it a point to read at least one a day. They are often written in crayon. It seems that the teachers will pick a few words like "hero", "patriot", and "american" and have the kids write sentences horizontally next to the letters. They are very creative.
The pundits on TV and in many of the periodicals could probably learn much from the children of America! Their simplicity somehow speaks volumes.
Today I’m looking at letters from Vancouver, Washington. They’re great! They are written in that stationary that has the one inch lines with the dashes in between to help the kids learn to print…I don’t know what grade that would be…maybe second or third? The letter on the wall above my table made me laugh. It’s from Abby.
“Dear Soldier: I am sorry you have to be away from friends and family. I have a guinea pig. She jumps out of my arms. We learned that there are 206 bones in the human body. Abby”
And the one beside it:
“Dear Soldier: Thank you for risking your life to save our country. It would be good if you guys could come home and we could celebrate you winning the war. Emily”
I couldn’t have said it any better Emily!
posted by Dan at 1:40 AM
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