Birch checking in

“Birch !

Good to hear from you !

Best Wishes !”

“What a difference a day makes. I finally made it to Bagdhad two days ago and have been stuck in a #&%!$hole tent. I was able to weasel a 2 man room (there are 4 of us so its tight, but whatever)and as a bonus I convinced the motorpool that I needed an SUV for the duration of my visit. So this afternoon I played tourist (with a rifle and grenade launcher) and cruised around to see the sights. I got some sweet pics of one of Saddams palaces on a man made lake and of the building where he was hung. I am gonna milk this for a while. War is hell LOL.”

“So this afternoon I played tourist (with a rifle and grenade launcher)



Awesome quote.”

“I am not even sure how to caption this picture


Me after I scored our explorer

last edited: 8/20/09 6:42:57 AM”

“How's the dust in your shorts?

Hang in there bro'! Bring me home one of them grenade launchers!”

“nice - and i second dayhiker - quote of the year on tt - without doubt.”

“"So this afternoon I played tourist (with a rifle and grenade launcher)"

I just love that quote.

So THAT is where our Explorers are going.”

“Howdy birch”

“*waves hello*”

“That first picture has me thinking Mr. Bean. Our cuddly warrior is on bicycle armed to the max as he trudges through the bright lights, big city of Baghdad. His mission: tourist. What hijinks will he encounter?
last edited: 8/20/09 1:45:15 PM”

“Great "trip report" Stay safe. If you run into Spc Michael Wilson, tell him Tango says hello!”

“Awesome birch! Hey, get me one of those, "My buddy went to Baghdad and I all got was this stupid shemagh" things.”

“So this keeps getting better. We've had some down time waiting for our class to begin. There isnt much to do. I saw a flyer for a 10mile race that is run back home (actually in Flint) and this year they put on the same run in Baghdad. So I conned my 3 buddies to join me.

We got to sleep at 11 last night, I was up at 230 the others at 330. We left by 4 and waited for the start at 5. It was 88* and muggy, not too bad though. They said there was 900 runners but it was probably more like 500. The route took us along a series of canals/rivers and manmade lakes (courtesy of saddam). All along the lakes are saddams palaces, boathouses and his two sons former vacation homes. Some are in great shape, others were bombed to #&%!$. They had live music every few miles, at one point I heard "simple blue persuasion" played by a jazz band and at mile 4 there was a bagpiper. At mile 9 I could hear automatic weapons firing off in the distance.

After the race they introduced some of the brass who ran. They mentioned the theatre Command Sargeant Majors (he is the highest ranking NCO in all of Iraq). I used to work with him in the early 90's. I went to say hey afterwords and he invited me up to his office for coffee and to bull#&%!$ about the good old days. Frickin crazy. So after my nap i'll cruise by his office. This has been one of the most surreal days of my life. I will try to post some pics later.”

“You ran the Crim! Starting in just a few hours here. Congrats! Live music at the Crim route as well - did you get beer and pizza at the end? Hope you have a great afternoon!”

“Good deal Joe! Bagpipes in Baghdad, who'd a thunk it?”

“Thanks for the reports. If you have time Birch, please consider keeping an on-line journal. Sgt. Rock's was a good read and it was great to have a indpendent perspective on a slice of Iraq - and from what you've posted so far, it would be great to see a lot more.”

“Never thought I would ever see the words "Flint" and "Baghdad" in the same sentence!! Creepy! (I went to college in Flint).

Great fun...can't wait for the pics and report on the Sergeant Major.”

“Thanks for keeping us in the loop! It was kinda surreal reading it!”

“Ped, I have thought about the online journal thing. The DoD has a fair bit of oversight on soldiers blogs/journals. There is a process of notification on intent etc... I probably wont end up doing it due to the hassle. There have been issues with soldiers violating operational security.

Phil, my pics are on my facebook page.”

“I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on the thread then. Like they'd say on Hill Street Blues, be careful out there.

And thanks for putting on the line out there. It's because of so many quality folks out there, that we might still get out of this in better shaped than many of us expected a few years back.”

“great to hear from you birch. we all love to get updates. i was thinking of you this week while in michigan. we talked about the ferry across lake michigan and i mentioned how we were planning to paddle across the lake. did i mention i had trained up to 1/3 the distance before the plans caved in? think you might be up for this when you get home? :)

take care my friend and don't ever hesitate to ask if there is ever anything we can do to help while you are out and away from home.”

“(i am preparing to get smacked by sassafras for bringing this up)”

“No smacks. As long as he comes home I don't care what he does, providing I can tag along!!”

“You da man Birch!”

“ "As long as he comes home I don't care what he does..."
- Sassafras



I suggest you print this out and keep it in your wallet, birch.

How many husbands have guaranteed free reign for life?”

“Lol!”

“I agree with Violin, but would also suggest laminating it for safety's sake. Documents of such import must be preserved.

Glad things are well with you.”

“The quote is not complete!”

“i LOVE the mustache! mustaches are HOT!
Dizzy

Beards are even hotter.
That's why I only grow a beard in the winter.

Take good care of yourself, Big Daddy.”

“Sounds like you're having fun, sleeping 3 hours then running races, can't wait to see more pics. Take care over there.”

“Even the trolls are supporting you, Birch. LOL
Thanks for your service, and stay safe.”

“you're a good man mister birch, take care and get home safely”

“more fun in the sun...

Its finally cooling off. The days are still hotter than hell but its getting better. I was actually cold the last two nights, it was probably in the low 70's. the mtns here are amazing, big and rugged but amazing views. For a few I forgot i was on duty, it was like hiking. I did a sweet ascent of 3200ft gain in 1.2 miles. thats where the first pick was taken. the second was on a lower hilltop.



”

“Glad to hear from you and glad you're okay! Nice pics thanks!”

“Mountains in I-effing-raq? When did they get those?”

“a few million years ago. ;)”

“what a great way to wake up today. I was went up stairs (I am staying underground currently in an old bunker) and I could smell something different and it was still kinda dark out at 1015am, it took a minute to realize what it was but it was RAIN!!! sweet sweet rain, not a ton but enough to feel cold drops of water on my head and to smell something besides the awful stench of burnt trash, garbage and peep (a mix of pee and poop). its gonna be a good day!!!

nigal, bust out the old testament and read about nineveh, thats where I am rollin these days. there is a HUGE amount of biblical and pre-biblical history here. the crazy thing is that the mtns are covered with tons of seashells from waaaaaay back. Crazy.”

“Birch, tha'ts a nice thought :)
I guess you forget the little things when we are tucked in our safe beds..
I know your wife and family are taking good care of you. But what about other guys in your outfit? is that what you call them?

do they need anything? books? CD's? special food like candy bars? you get the idea
let me know. please email here, not on TT

nseptoff@aol.com”

“THe photos don't show up for me, but thanks for the update. Funny exchange and nice zinger Sass.”

“dayhiker right click and select view image”

“or right click, then click on properties. from there, you can copy, then paste the url. or just go to his facebook album

keep being a bad-ass, joe.”

“The DoD has a fair bit of oversight on soldiers blogs/journals. There is a process of notification on intent etc... I probably wont end up doing it due to the hassle. There have been issues with soldiers violating operational security.

what about pictures? wouldnt you have the same hassle with pictures you post?”

“Mapleleaf,

He can use backpacking meals (MREs kinda suck), Redman golden blend, jerky, candy that doesn't melt like starburst, paydays, twizzlers. sardines in mustard sauce, fig newtons, pop tarts, gold bond foot powder, no doze, any little happy meal type toys you might have laying around, nuts or trail mix in small packages or sent w/ ziplocks to repackage....typical stuff we would want on backpacking trips, but minimal cooking...boil water only stuff. Just keep in mind it's still high temps so stuff spoils/melts. Flat rate boxes are the cheapest way to mail (pick one up along w/ a customs form at the PO for free take it home and load it up) and take 7-10 days to arrive. Email me if you'd like his address at joymharvey@gmail.com or send me a facebook message.

Thank you for asking!”

“I think I'm not getting the images because I'm not on facebook. I tried both methods before I posted. The properties one didn't work since I'm not a facebook member.”

“I am on facebook, but I also can't see the images.”

“regarding the images crash, they are generic enough that no one would have an idea of my whereabouts etc. the problem is that when people blog they tend to reveal small bits that when properly put together (from a variety of sources/blogs) they create a larger picture with much more information than its individual components.

I will fix the pics when I have a chance....”

“Birch, I get a facebook "content not found" message when I try to view the images.”

“thats what i figured, birch

i get red x's here, but have no problem seeing them on fb. weird.”

“



last edited: 9/20/09 12:45:48 PM”

“I still think birch looks like George Cloony a little bit. The first photo could be a poster for his new movie Sand Oceans 11.”