Training at Fort Dix

(Betsy writing for Vince)
Vince just finished about 10 days of army training. He's crawled through snow and mud returning fire, practiced combat first aid, used night vision goggles and had 2 confirmed 'kills' on the 'paintball' range (Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT)). He's tired, but learned a lot in class and out in the field. He also says he's become pretty fast at cleaning his rifle :-)

We've missed him and are thankful he will be home with us for Christmas. Youngest boy does think it's VERY cool that Daddy got to use night vision goggles ("Can he bring them home?") and got to crawl through the snow ("Lucky!") Older boys just want to know if Dad is one of the older guys. Yes, actually one of the oldEST guys. But like the shirt one of them got him recently says, "Old Guys Rule!"

This is one of my favorite pictures capturing the hopes and promises of a new Iraq. Norris Jones photographed the girls going to one of the new classrooms built by the Gulf Region Division. I have a link to the full article in the lower right hand corner.

Vince's Job

Vince was selected to be the lead Program Manager for the Facilities and Transporation Sector. To improve their infrastructure, there are four primary industries that are being rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) (and Air Force): 1) Oil Prodution, 2) Electrical Distribution, 3) Water and Sewer, & 4) Facilities and Transportation.

The Facilities and Transportation area coordinates schedule and funding with several Iraqi Ministries (like Ministry of Health or Ministry of Education, etc) and with COE offices around the country that are actually doing the design and construction.

When you visit the Gulf Region Division (GRD) website (see link lower right hand corner), look for projects like health care clinics, hospitals, universities, schools, roads, bridges, communications (internet, phones, etc), sea ports, police stations and court houses.

Although the size of the staff may change as the program changes, currently the Facilities and Transportation Sector has a staff of 33 personnel including U.S. government (military and civilian), Iraqis and contractors.

Revised training schedule

Good news! Vince no longer has to train for the entire month of December. He will have training for a week in November and 2 weeks in December. The kids are excited because he will definitely be home for Christmas.

He is scheduled to leave the United States the third week in January.

FAQ's

We are creating the blog as a way for Vince to let us all know what he's doing and how things are going while he's in Iraq. Through the comments section it will also be easy for us to leave him messages. He'll also be able to post pictures so the rest of us can see what it's really like.

Current FAQ's:
· When does he leave? The Sunday after Thanksgiving for a month of training. Right now it looks like he will be home for Christmas and then leave for Iraq mid-January.
· How long will he be there? 6 months. He will probably be home by the end of July.
· Where will he be? In the Green Zone in Baghdad. He will live in a trailer within walking distance of work, the dining hall, etc.
· What kind of contact will he have? We don’t know about phone service right now (although I know lots of servicemen use phone cards.) We're assuming he'll have email, and he'll have this blog! I'm sure he won't mind receiving mail either :-)