Brett was able to call and we talked for quite a while on Tuesday. I was able to get some answers to questions that you have been asking. The day Brett and I spoke I had seen the temperature was supposed to be 103 degrees. I asked him how bad that was and he said "103 degrees here is still not as bad as a hot irrigating day in Nebraska!" Now does that mean that 103 is tolerable or that he hates irrigating that much?? Knowing Brett, I'm thinking it's the latter. Actually he said if they stay hydrated it really isn't that bad. It's mostly a hot temperature and not so humid.
I had also been asked if they have air conditioning there. Brett said they have lots of air conditioning...even in the tents! He said they do have random power outages and that can certainly warm things up for a while.
Another question had been does he carry a weapon with him at all times. Brett said he is required to have his weapon on him at all times but it isn't as much because of threat as it is about responsibility. Once your weapon has been checked out to you it is to be on your person at all times except for using the restroom, showering or physical training. During those times it is permissable to have it locked up or have a buddy watching over it.
Brett told me his allergies aren't nearly as bad over there. He is taking Zyrtec but that has controlled the nose fairly well. Anyone who has ever been around Brett in the morning realizes the importance of this!!
One thing that he commented is that the bugs over there are pretty bad. He asked if I would send him some ant killer. He said the flies are pretty bad too. One thing that he commented (if you're eating right now you might want to come back to this...) is that they have tall poles and at the top of the poles are buckets with poison for the flies. To lure the flies to the poison he said they have bags hanging underneath the buckets and he didn't know for sure what was in the bags but it smells like "corpse." Now I'm not sure how many corpses Brett has smelled in his lifetime but he swears this is the nastiest thing ever. (He also said cattle manure was like perfume compared to this aroma. Ewwww!)
Brett's job is in the post office system over there. The post office is actually run by a contracting company as is the housing, laundry, chow hall, etc. Brett has to pickup the mail, separate it and put it on the website which notifies the soldiers that they have mail. Brett said everyone is always happy to hear from him because that means they've received something from home and that's very important to them.
Speaking of mail, I'd like to thank all of you that have sent notes to Brett. He has commented how awesome it is to get mail and to hear from home. Our soldiers really need that to get through and know they aren't getting forgotten while they are gone. (If they only realized the amount of time we spend thinking about them!)
On a personal note about the conversation, as I was talking to Brett, all of a sudden I heard LOTS of gunfire in the background. As my heart was pounding in my throat, I asked Brett if gunfire was indeed what I was hearing. He calmly stated that yes I was hearing correctly. I asked if that unnerved him or was of concern to him and he said, "Oh, there's a shooting range just on the other side of this wall that I'm by." He could have spared me the 5 years that were taken off my life if he would have mentioned that first!!
Until next time.....
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Phone Call!
Brett called me! I will give a summary of the conversation:
Brett said they spent a few days in Germany, a few days in Kuwait, and now they are at their post at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Camp Bucca is a detainee prison so that will be their job. Currently they are living in tents but they should be moving into trailers in the future. Right now they are following the unit around that they will be replacing. The base has a small store, Pizza Hut, and a Burger King so it's similar to a small town. While they were in Germany, the USO gave them free phone cards so that was how Brett was calling me. The calling card he used was for 100 minutes but using it from Iraq, it only lasted 20 minutes. He said Wednesday is "Good Food Day" as the military allots more money for their meals on that day. Last Wednesday he had prime rib, baked potato, and corn on the cob. (Really roughing it, huh? He didn't even complain about the quality of the beef!) He said he is very fortunate in that his work schedule is 8 hours per day with one day off per week. He said many of the others are working 12 hour days with no days off. It just depends on their specific job. I asked him what was the most surprising thing thus far and he said the number of American civilians that are employed on the base. He said at times when you are walking around the base, it's like walking at the mall because of the diversity in age of those that are around. He said they are not to leave the base at all and the only time they see children is when they have visitation for the detainees and their families come to visit.
He did mention that he was stuffing his duffel bag and while he was pushing real hard, his hand came back and hit him in the face and broke his new glasses. Right now they are superglued. I told him it's nice to know that even though he is clear across the world, Brett is still Brett!
Brett said they spent a few days in Germany, a few days in Kuwait, and now they are at their post at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Camp Bucca is a detainee prison so that will be their job. Currently they are living in tents but they should be moving into trailers in the future. Right now they are following the unit around that they will be replacing. The base has a small store, Pizza Hut, and a Burger King so it's similar to a small town. While they were in Germany, the USO gave them free phone cards so that was how Brett was calling me. The calling card he used was for 100 minutes but using it from Iraq, it only lasted 20 minutes. He said Wednesday is "Good Food Day" as the military allots more money for their meals on that day. Last Wednesday he had prime rib, baked potato, and corn on the cob. (Really roughing it, huh? He didn't even complain about the quality of the beef!) He said he is very fortunate in that his work schedule is 8 hours per day with one day off per week. He said many of the others are working 12 hour days with no days off. It just depends on their specific job. I asked him what was the most surprising thing thus far and he said the number of American civilians that are employed on the base. He said at times when you are walking around the base, it's like walking at the mall because of the diversity in age of those that are around. He said they are not to leave the base at all and the only time they see children is when they have visitation for the detainees and their families come to visit.
He did mention that he was stuffing his duffel bag and while he was pushing real hard, his hand came back and hit him in the face and broke his new glasses. Right now they are superglued. I told him it's nice to know that even though he is clear across the world, Brett is still Brett!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
And the Fun Begins....
Well, I haven't been on for a while so it is certainly time for an update. Brett was able to come home for Easter which was really nice. I think he returned quite tired though as he spent as much time with family and friends as possible.
He was under the assumption that when he returned the deployment would take place within 72 hours. I told him to be sure and call when his flight returned to El Paso since we knew it would be somewhat close on the time schedule to report back to his base. Particularly if the flights were delayed as they were on his way home. However, I haven't heard a word from him since!!
God bless Sherie Peterson who is the liason between the unit and the families. Her husband is also in the unit and he reports to her and then the info is e-mailed to us. She has kept us informed to the fact that the unit returned to a "pack and run" order so she wasn't surprised that Brett hadn't contacted us but that all members of the unit are fine. They were first sent to Germany and had to wait there for a couple of days before continuing on to Iraq. They have now reached their location and are settling in. She said they are staying in tents at the moment but will be moved to more permanent quarters shortly.
I'm very anxious to hear from Brett but I will keep a "no news is good news" perspective and just keep the prayers going. I promise to keep everyone posted on this blog. Sometimes it just gets a little difficult to find ways to report when we have been told that confidentiality and safety are a must when we report to others about the soldiers.
Brett's new address to use is:
SPC Dibbern, Brett
530th MP BN
APO AE 09375
Please don't hesitate to drop him a line even if it's short. From everyone I have talked with, mail is a very big deal to the soldiers!
He was under the assumption that when he returned the deployment would take place within 72 hours. I told him to be sure and call when his flight returned to El Paso since we knew it would be somewhat close on the time schedule to report back to his base. Particularly if the flights were delayed as they were on his way home. However, I haven't heard a word from him since!!
God bless Sherie Peterson who is the liason between the unit and the families. Her husband is also in the unit and he reports to her and then the info is e-mailed to us. She has kept us informed to the fact that the unit returned to a "pack and run" order so she wasn't surprised that Brett hadn't contacted us but that all members of the unit are fine. They were first sent to Germany and had to wait there for a couple of days before continuing on to Iraq. They have now reached their location and are settling in. She said they are staying in tents at the moment but will be moved to more permanent quarters shortly.
I'm very anxious to hear from Brett but I will keep a "no news is good news" perspective and just keep the prayers going. I promise to keep everyone posted on this blog. Sometimes it just gets a little difficult to find ways to report when we have been told that confidentiality and safety are a must when we report to others about the soldiers.
Brett's new address to use is:
SPC Dibbern, Brett
530th MP BN
APO AE 09375
Please don't hesitate to drop him a line even if it's short. From everyone I have talked with, mail is a very big deal to the soldiers!
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