[Chat] It's almost the 4th of July at the Palace - 6 months left

william.schlegel at us.army.mil william.schlegel at us.army.mil
Tue Jul 1 00:02:36 EDT 2003


HOOAH!  This is the word we use to indicate agreement with most comments made to us in group by our commanders.  It kind-of is like a big OK!!  Also like a group cheer. Anyway, I thought I would have found time before now to write, but I have been working very hard keeping track of the “knuckleheads” still running around this country.  Knuckleheads go by many names and have various political affiliations, but their common goal is to disrupt our efforts to bring order and stability to Iraq.  Our goal is to find them and put them out of business, kill them if necessary!  As you know by now, we have lost many soldiers over the past month, the recent kidnapped ones being one of the sadder stories.  We must bring the perps to justice or our ability to succeed with other ventures is seriously diminished.  On a positive note, the Baghdad Airport should open by the end of July to international flights, so you can all come and visit.

On July 4th, we plan to have lots of stuff going on.  Arnold Schwartzenegger is to visit and premier Terminator 3; there is a talent show (I may sing in a future one, but not in this one); we will have our first “class-A” meal (nothing pre-cooked); there is a 5K race – (I am not running); and rumor has fireworks happening at night.  More on this in my next newsletter.

Once again, I will be moving, both for work and sleeping.  My work area moves to a smaller building (where our PX – Post Exchange was until a few weeks ago) which is close to where I am now sleeping.  At the same time, we are moving our sleeping quarters to pre-fab buildings of some sort, complete with AC and showers.  I imagine we will also get new outhouses.  Of course this new sleeping area will be closer to where I am working now and probably a mile from our new work location.  They call this progress.  In the meantime, we have an uninstalled 36,000 BTU AC unit sitting on the ground outside the window – it only needs a generator with the proper 3-phase power supply.  Supposedly one exists, but who knows where.  Isn’t the Army fun??  We do at least have three fans now!  

Daytime temperatures are approaching 113 degrees now and nights are in the low 80’s.  I now have two bug nets, and plenty of bug repellant, though the insects have taken a siesta for the time being.  The Crystal Light is really good, especially with the ice-cold water now have – courtesy of the chest freezer the unit bought.  Someone actually put a whole watermelon in the bottom to keep it cold – but I believe it has frozen.  The water does not freeze, unless left in for several days, because of the 40 or so bottles in the freezer.  It sits right outside the “warrant ward”, so it is very convenient. 

One of my pet peeves is the lack of attention to the green vegetation.  It makes me very sad that all the trees and flowers will probably die due to lack of water.  When we arrived all was green, but now most of the palm trees (some loaded with dates) are turning brown, along with the locust trees.  The designers of the grounds provided lots of irrigation ditches and berms, along with a water system - using lake water.  Unfortunately, very little of that is working and probably will not be repaired in time to save the vegetation -= a real loss for the place and the future users.

My latest spiritual adventure has taken me to attend classes on the origin and meaning of the Catholic mass – which in turn helps me better understand the Lutheran mass.  The priest is originally from the Philippines and is sometimes hard to understand.  We have met for the past three Thursdays from 7:30-9:00pm – right before I go to work.  We have covered the aspects of God’s covenant with the Abraham in Genesis, the various types of sacrifice and offering as described in Genesis – Leviticus, and the role that sacrifice plays in the celebration of the mass and of course how this all ties in to Christ’s death on the cross.  Last week we ended with the start of the discussion of how the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ during the celebration of the mass and how genuflection is only proper when the consecrated host is present in the sanctuary (when the sanctuary lamp is lit).  There is a lot more I could write about, but my fingers are getting tired at


 this point.

I have been receiving mail quite regularly and truly appreciate all the letters and packages.  If I do not have your e-mail address, please send it to me at:
william.schlegel at us.army.mil.   I actually received a package today (June 30) that had been mailed on June 21 – a record for speed.

We are being told we might leave by  12/23/03, but I never believe anything until it actually happens.  As always, I will let you know the details as soon as I do.


A friend of mine has designed a website where you can find pictures and other items of interest regarding my tour over here.  The address is:
http://home.earthlink.net/~wbsphotos/ I also recommend my HQ website at http://www.vcorps.army.mil/www/default.htm.

Well, that is all for now.   I still hope I'm home by early January.  I want to go skiing in Cortina at the end of February and golf at Myrtle Beach in mid-March (providing I'm home from Italy in time).  Also please forward this to other people who might enjoy reading it.



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