Photos

Here are some funny photos from around the theater. None are made up, and all are enforced...deadly enforced.

All is well over here, there are things brewing aside from coffee, and I hope to be posting a few more regular posts (is that syntactically correct?).

War and Famine,

Joe

Quick Update

Hey all,

I am sorry about the delay between posts, but things have been fairly busy over here. I have been on the road quite a bit, but things are going well. I should be free to give a lengthy update (With Pictures!!!) in a little while. Until then, I just wanted to let my eight loyal followers know that the team is doing well and are very excited to be out accomplishing our mission. We look forward to hearing from you all, so keep the letters coming. again, our address is:

Last Name, First Name
48th MHD
OPS/KMO
Unit 117
APO AE 09374

Out for now.

Semper Iratius!

Finally a computer that lets me log into the blog!

Sorry this update is so late in reaching everyone. I think that I have found a way to upload some crap, so this should be sporadic but more complete than usual.

To date, I have been busy as heck, but we have a turtle pond here so I spend a few moments each day checking on the turtles and pondering trying to get into that gig the next time around. Seriously, how cool would it be to be a turtle? Personally, I think that it would be awesome. I mean the five we have here are pretty cool. they spend the day sunning themselves then take a dip in the pond when things get too hot. Life at its finest!

Other than that, I am trying to work my way through a book titled Quicksilver I would love to tell you all what it is about, but I honestly have no clue. Once I figure it out, I will definitely let you know. So far it is about Sir Issac Newton's sidekick.

Next time I will have more entries, till then enjoy the attached photo of Saddam's toilet (I pooped in it!)

Mojo

02/13/2010

Well, there was the trip to Baghdad that spurred some interest. Then there was the trip back to Basrah. That sucked. A journey of a few hundred miles by air took nearly a day of standing and waiting…and waiting… and waiting for the plane, helicopter, bus, etc to arrive. Once we landed in Basrah, three busses passed us buy before I went to the curb, flashed some calf, and got one of the transports to stop long enough for us to load up and finally get back to the room.

After being sealed for three days, the room’s funk had taken on a visceral consistency and I literally had to chop my way through the sheer funk of ass and sweat that had embedded into the very fabric of reality within the four metal walls. The window was thrown open, and the fan turned to high which, four hours later, has afforded us some measure of comfort. Still, I will need to redouble our supply of Lysol and disinfectants.

I miss you all terribly, and my thoughts drift in and out of home to the tune of my iPod shuffle. Memories rise to the surface like familiar scents, recreating the times I have shared with each and every one of you. The trips down side streets choked with incense and paved with cobbled stone and foreign accents. They lead through meadows and fields of tobacco haze and riffing chords. The choke of bodies moving to the rhythm of a back country band or a fresh local trio brings tears of nostalgia to my mind. So raise a bottle of PBR or Red Dog, or Licher for me and toast to the good times past and those sure to come. It is my nightly prayer that I will live them as fondly as I remember them in the days to come.

Mojo out.

Forward the Craziness!!!!

I think we now have most of the meet and greets done. Tomorrow we meet with the theater historians to get their guidance. I am tired, sick of flying, and starting to wonder how much longer I can keep up this pace. We have been moving non-stop since our arrival in theater. Soon, the meat and potatoes of the mission will begin and it will pick up that much more. I am still trying to work out as time permits, but time is a precious commodity lately. I hope to have some newer pictures up on the net soon.

thanks for the support.

Joe

Whew! Finally got some net time

Hey all,

Looks like I made it to a computer with net access finally. I hope that you all are doing well. So far, things could not be going better for me in country. The Division I am attached to is very supportive, and they have been going out of their way to set us up for success. Hopefully, here in a few days, I can get out on a mission or two to start the collection process. I have a ton of leads and should be getting my plan in place soon.

It looks as though there will be a Super Bowl party here as well, and rumor has it that adult beverages may be served. Rumors. Can't live with them, and you have nothing to look forward to with out them.

I am staying safe thus far, and I want to say thanks for everyone's support. Things will get exciting soon, so stay tuned for the super-happy-fun-times!

Joe

Finally Here

Hey all!

I know that it has been a little while since my last post, but I have been in transit for the past couple of weeks.
I finally arrived at my destination, and I am working with my team to get things set up. We are looking forward to working on our mission and have been receiving some great support from our hosts here.
Here are a few trip highlights:

• I was able to ride in the cockpit of the plane that brought us from Kuwait to Iraq, it was amazing being able to see everything from above. My Major has a few connections as is great at working with 'Smoke & Mirrors' as he puts it. Should offer to be interesting.
• The DFAC, Dining Facility, here is ok, and should at least keep me well fed. There is a nice Gym, and so far, the support ha been great. We should have offices soon (Pics to come once I have a way to upload them).
• Got to spend a couple of hours in a bunker last night. Not really fun, but I was able to make some good contacts. It is amazing the conversations one can have when hiding inside a 4x6 concrete dome.

Oh, and my mailing address:

Niesen, Joseph
48th Military History Detachment
Unit 117
APO AE 09374

Send some letters already! I promise to respond to anything that is sent.

Peace out home-slices!

SFC Joe Niesen

The Saga Begins

So, the rodeo has officially started. The TSA was the first contestant to try and wrangle the goats as they attempted to herd them through three checkpoints located at various inconvienient locations throughout the Atlanta international airport. First, they had to weigh all of their bags to make sure that they were under 100lbs, then they had to race to the opposite end of the airport where 'officials' from the TSA rummaged through all of their baggage to make sure they were not carrying anything. In the process, they were able to completely ruin the fine packing job that had been done the night before.
Finally, they were crammed into a small shelter area where they were offered refreshments in prepariation for the days trip to the international rodeo.

yee-haw!

btw...now that I have had my temp taken twice, I can confirm that I am Swine Flu free!

Joe