What a great vacation!

I’m sitting here in the Atlanta airport after quite possibly the best vacation I’ve ever taken.  I was able to spend time with just about everyone I wanted to and had a great time doing it.  My trip to Vegas was not very profitable from a monetary standpoint, but I hit the jackpot by getting to spend time with my dad and brother. 

I’m down to a short four months left over there and then I’ll be home.  I think I wrote before about how quickly time is passing, but I am absolutely amazed that I’m down to such a short amount of time.  I think maintaining a positive attitude about my situation is helping a lot.  I just started reading a book by John Maxwell called The Difference Maker.   I’ll be sure to let you all know if it’s worth reading as I get into it more. 

I’ll keep this very short because I need to catch my plane.  I’ll try to write more and on some more diverse topics since my job is pretty much on cruise control right now.  

I want to wish everyone all the best and thank you again for making my vacation so memorable and enjoyable. 

Warmest Regards,

Fred

I can’t believe it’s been four months already!

Good morning!  I hope this entry finds everyone well.  I’m personnally looking forward to a great vacation about 6 weeks from now.  In geologic time, that’s the blink of an eye….so I’m going to keep my geologic calendar up for the time being.   

Well, I’m sorry to say but this has been a trying week.  At the end of the day though everyone is fine and things are moving forward.  We’re working through some of the processes that we need to improve.  Like I said, it’s difficult, but rewarding.  We’re continuing our work and it looks like we’re going to start paving our roads here very soon.  It’s taken quite a while, but it’s still moving forward.

I actually took a night off and went to see a movie with a great friend I’ve met here.   The movie was Jumper.  Decent movie, but not exactly an Oscar winner.  Pretty good special effects and action…. a great suspension of reality for a few hours.  

Speaking of this friend, she decided that she is heading home in a few weeks.  Her orders brought her over here on a 6-month tour and now she’s heading back to the states.  I feel very privileged to have the chance to work with Lorraine and get to know her on a professional and personal level.  I think that is one of the things most people forget about when asking about our experiences over here.  Most people want to know about the work.  I know that I’m most going to remember the people I’ve met and with whom I’ve worked. 

Many of you have asked for my address, so I figured I’d post it here.  Mail takes anywhere from two to six weeks.   If you have friends and would like to gather any mail for “Any Soldier”  please feel free to include it and I’ll pass them along.  We’ve got a lot of young soldiers working on the FOB who would appreciate the mail.   Here’s the address:

MAJ Fred Hockett
DoIA / MNSTC-I
c/o FOB Shield Mayor’s Cell
APO AE 09348

I’ve also been working on what I’ll be doing when I return.   I’ll be returning to Kalamazoo and working with Chris Fisher at Keyser Insurance Group.  He has offered me a position as his Director of Operations and Organizational Development…  I think the acronym is DOOD, so that’s kind of cool j/k.   I’ve got a few other plans as well that will come to fruition a few months after I return.  I’m going to volunteer with the state VA on Veteran’s outreach programs and job placement.  I’m working on a website geared toward this end. 

Thanks again to everyone for all the support and kind words.  It’s great having friends to help you through difficult times.  If any of you need anything, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do to help.  Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

My vacation is fast approaching….

Hello everyone…. Sorry that I haven’t posted in a bit.  Those of you keeping track of things here, know that we’ve been running operations in Northern Baghdad and that has kept us pretty busy recently.  We’re moving in a very positive direction and I’m looking forward to vacation in August.  Dad, Steve and I will be heading to Vegas for a few days.  I’ll also be taking a few days visiting my mom, travelling up north, heading out to K-zoo to attend a friend’s wedding and visiting some friends in Chicago….all that in only 15 days.  I think it will be a bit like a presidential campaign trip.  Here’s my timeline for those of you who may want to get together during the trip:

12 AUG: Travel to Detroit
13-14 AUG: In Detroit
14-17 AUG: In Las Vegas
17-18 AUG: In Chicago
18-19 AUG: Up North
19-21 AUG: In Detroit
22-24 AUG: In Kalamazoo
24-26 AUG: In Detroit
27 AUG: Travel back to Atlanta and then it’s back to Iraq until the middle of January. 

Great story….Last time I went out gambling, I asked four friends for numbers for the Roulette table… I played $25 each.  The first number hit on the first spin the first night ($900)….the second number hit on the second spin the second night ($900)….the third number hit on first spin on the third night ($900).  For those of you wondering, yes I did go on the fourth night, but no luck on the fourth number.  All in all a pretty good trip and I got to spend time a few great friends at the same time.

We’ve been working pretty hard here.  I’m really blessed to have two people working in the Mayor’s Cell who are both incredibly hard working and knowledgeable.  The Army Master Sergeant is a Michigander as well, who’s also a reservist call up for duty here.  He is extremely dedicated and has a tremendous work ethic…typical mid-westerner.  We also have an Air Force Captain who served in the Army before becoming an officer.  Great guy who has taken the bull by the horns and is working very hard every day to make things better for everyone.  I figure we’ll have a golf course on the FOB before he leaves (little Air Force joke there).

Things have really settled into a rhythm and I’m actually able to take a morning off each week.  Considering we’re working 12-14 hour days, 7 days a week a morning off once in a while is a great thing.   All in all it’s a great experience.  

I’ll close for now… Have a great day and I look forward to talking to you all soon.

Fred

 

A few other things…

So yesterday I wrote about the bureaucracy that is the US Army.  Today, I’d like to talk about the parts of the Army that I love with all my heart.  This is not just about the Army though….it’s about what I like to call the “deployment mindset.”  As most of you know, I commanded in Korea.  This was great because we were essentially “on deployment.”  We could train, suppport each other when off duty, and focus on the mission.  I, as a commander, didn’t release everyone to the four winds at the end of the day.  We would get together at the end of the day and wind down as a team.  It was a bonding experience. 

Last night I was invited to a celebration.  It was the celebration of the May Full Moon which commemorates the birth and death of Buddha.  Many of the workers in our Dining Facility are of the Buddhist faith and so they chose to celebrate this holiday.  The thing that always strikes me about the deployment mindset revolves around the idea of a shared hardship.   Everyone celebrating are in the same boat we soldiers are….separated from family and loved ones, working to support the effort here and make a better life for everyone.  This echoed last night.  Several of us were invited to share in their celebration.  We attended, and as with any relationship, we learned more about each other.  The manager of the crew explained some of the important historical perspectives around Buddhism and Buddha.  He also took me on a quick tour of their living area.  I could see the pride on his face as we walked through the rooms and service areas.  It was terrific and it reminded me of the look on a Platoon Leader/Commander’s face when escorting the Battalion Commander through their unit area.  It is confidence and pride that everyone on their team is prepared….they have worked hard and are ready to meet the day’s challenges.  I was very happy and I look forward to our next celebration.

I’m looking forward to my next celebration with everyone at home as well.  Have a great night and I’ll talk to you all in August. 

Warmest…Fred

Thanks to everyone….and a few other things.

I’ve been remiss in not writing for a few days.  We’ve been really busy and I’ve been a bit overcome by events.  The area has had a bit of indirect fire, but nothing too crazy.  We’ve been very lucky. 

I really wanted to take this post to thank everyone for the cards, letters, and emails.  It’s really great to be able to come home (to my room) or wake up and see the little envelop on the screen saying that I’ve got mail.   I also had the opportunity to talk to some family and friends this week using skype.  Great program and it’s completely free to talk to someone else on the network…I’m only paying 2 cents per minute to call cell phones…..  

I suspended my last post because I really wasn’t sure what I was going to write about.  Today I had several topics just land in my lap.  The first topic is that of bureaucracy…..yep you read it right….bureaucracy.  You might ask waht could I possibly have to write about on that topic?  Please remind yourself that I am in the Army…I believe the government perfected the term.  I had two things happen this week.  One is exactly how I believe life should be and an on-going one that if the definition of holding up progress. 

The theater is fielding some new equipment and we are slated to get the equipment.  Here’s how the whole process went: 1) I met the fielding team and we decided we needed the equipment, 2) They emailed me to confirm they could arrive on a given day and 3) they arrived with the equipment….done!  No letters of justification requesting to get a piece of equipment everyone knows we need or no headquarters who told us to buy the equipment and now insists we need to request the money to pay for it through them.  Just an empowered team acting on their mandate.  It was very refreshing and I could not have been happier. 

Then the opposite end occurs!  My Deputy Mayor called to arrange the turn-in of some excess monitors that have never been on the property books.  These monitors are several years old and have reached the end of their life.  He was told that we need to add them to the property book before we can turn them in and have them removed from the property book!  Needless to say, I was floored, but I can’t say it was wholly unexpected. 

I am just going to focus on the fielding team and know that that’s how it should be!  I’ll write about my other topic tomorrow night when I also talk about the great trip my dad, brother and I will be taking to glamorous Las Vegas in August.

Have a great night and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Fred

 

Today is a special day….

Today is a very special day…. other than being cinco-de-mayo, today is the 21st anniversary of the day I put my right hand in the air and joined the US Army.  As I’m sitting here in my room, I can’t help but think back to some of the highlights of the last 21 years….graduation from Basic Training, selection to the USMA Prep School, graduation from West Point, my three years in Korea, the friends I made throughout the years, and now serving here in Iraq with such an outstanding team.  I would much prefer being home, but if I can’t be home I can’t think of a better group of people to serve alongside.  The people here are really doing some serious heavy lifting… they are working to stand up a successful government, restore order, and build a lasting peace.  Can anyone think of a more noble effort than what the men and women in this command are working toward every day.

I also had the opportunity to celebrate another special event over here… my birthday.  Thank you to everyone who sent me cards and emails.  It really made my day….a few friends and I went to dinner and then I watched a movie…Dan in Real Life.   Terrific movie.  I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.  Steve Carell stars in it….It’s no Taladega Nights, but it’s pretty good.

I’m going to keep this post really short, but on this milestone, I wanted to say thank you to all my friends and family who have been with me along the way.  Best wishes to everyone and have a great night. 

Fred

It’s like playing in a sand box….

The only thing is that the sand is all around you….We’re having a crazy sand storm that came in out of no where.  It can be pretty tough breathing and visibility is really impacted.  At least it’s tolerable.  It could be worse.  It could be over 100 degrees… oh wait it was.  the temperature hit 107 today and, as they say, it’s only getting better.  The temperature here will shoot up to about 140 during August so we’re starting the climb now.  Overall, the start of the summer (to those of you in the Midwest, yes I said Summer) hasn’t been too bad.  We’ve had a few storms, but realtively little rain.  The place turns to a mud hole when it rains even a little bit.  

Enough about the weather and other such things.  I had a terrific week.  We’re focusing on our construction projects and building up our infrastructure.  It’s a great challenge.  I’ve got about 17 projects worth about $15M in the works right now.  I’m really focusing trying to get these projects done because I didn’t realize how long it can take for certain construction projects to be completed.   It’s a pretty cumbersome process, but as with any project,  the key is aggressive follow-up. 

Just to let everyone know, I’ll be home on August 12th and I’ll spend two weeks there before coming back.  I also found out my rotation date will be January 19th, so I should be home by the first week in February.  While I’m home, I’ll spend the first part with Family and friends in Detroit and then I’ll be spending a few days in Kzoo and Chicago visiting friends there.  Hopefully, I can make it around to see everyone while I’m in town. 

Here are a few pics so you can see what what it looks like over here.

  I’ll work to add more along the way.  I’ve really been spending too much time on the FOB and hopefully I can get out some time soon. 

Everyone have a great night.  It’s about 8pm and I need to do another hours worth of work.  Talk to you all soon.

Fred

 

Another week down…

It’s really amazing how time is flying here.  The unofficial slogan is “The days are long, but the months are short.”  I’m going on week 7 in theater and it has gone by incredibly fast.    I appreciate all the calls and emails from everyone and hope that this finds you all well. 

I had the opportunity this week to be the first person to light the ceremonial candle celebrating the Hindu New Year…. It was quite an honor.  Our dining facility has about 150 people from Sri Lanka and India, so we celebrated in grand style with a breakfast of traditional food and sweets.  I was stuffed!  These guys are really good cooks and do an amazing job feeding everyone.  Not only that, they are probably some of the most polite people you’ll meet.  Our pastry cook has been working overtime to create some new desserts that are delicious and have a bit of flair to them.  It’s not just the same apple and cherry pie.  We had chocolate creme puffs a few nights ago.  Another really great dessert.   It can get old working with the “28-day menu” but they have been able to spice things up quite a bit. 

My week is end up behind the desk.  I’ve got a ton of paperwork to do today and I’ll spend most of the day completing that.  My supply sergeant just went home so it’s just the two of us working in the Mayor’s Cell while the Deputy mayor is on pass until tomorrow.  In a way it’s fun, but I’m much happier out interacting with people on the FOB all day.  I guess these are my dues for spending time outside the office. 

A few friends and I are planning a pass to Qatar… looks like we’ve slipped those to the first week in June.  It’s a bit challenging coordinating four schedules for people who work in four different areas. Yikes!!!  I’ll be sure to send pictures from the trip.

I’m going to sign off for now.  I hope everyone has a great day and please let me know if you have any questions I can answer.  Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon.

Fred

 

Settling in…

I want to apologize for it being so long since my lst post, but to be honest it’s been kind of boring here. I’ve been working like a dog and getting a ton done, but nothing really worth writing about. I start my day with a huddle of the leaders in the Mayor’s cell and then it’s off to get the work of the day going. While we have priorities, at this point we end up putting out a lot of fires. Both Master Sergeant Swartz and I are working to get some long term systems in place so we don’t have to deal with all the emergencies… wish us luck!

I think the best part of this week is that I’m really starting to meet many of the people on the FOB and getting to know them on more than a superficial level. We have a great group of contractors and military people here from around the world and it’s great to see such a diverse work force all pitching in to help everyone. Whether it’s volunteering in our little PX or helping move equipment after a long day of work, everyone stands ready to assist. That’s the great thing about a small FOB, the team work is aparent in everything we do.

We had our first Dining Facility Council meeting this week and it was great to see the positive feedback about the team in the Dining Facility. I think they do a terrific job and our meals are top notch. We’re working to bring them up to an even greater level in the coming months.

I wish everyone at home a great night. I’ve got a new book on order with some questions to ask. Talk to you all very soon. As our Navy brethren here say… “Fair winds and Following seas” which basically means “I wish you the best.”

Fred

One month down…

   Good morning!  As we start April, I realized that I’ve been in theater for 1 month already.  The time has really flown by and this past week has been incredibly fast with all the “excitement” going on around us.  Luckily everyone here is safe and secure and we continue about our days.   You’ve probably all heard about the curfew in effect and that the Green Zone has been a big target.  I had two friends in the IZ wounded this week, but both are going to be fine.  We also took a few rounds around the installation, but luckily nothing inside and no one from our FOB was hurt.  I was in the middle of a meeting during the first attack and then having lunch during the second… getting between me and food is not a good thing, but the good thing was that it did shorten the meeting

   I thought that I’d let everyone know about the mission we’re doing here and how important it is to the overall war effort.  Our unit is responsible for coaching, teaching, and mentoring the Iraqi National Police and Provincial Police departments.  This includes everything from recruiting the officers to training them to equipping them to supporting them on the streets as they patrol.  We work with the Iraqi leadership to allow them to take the lead in these efforts.  If we are successful, then we can all come home.  I’m incredibly proud of the people of the people I work with…They are from all branches of service and nearly all the coalition countries.  My staff and I support them so they can go about their business not worry about things other than their work. 

   This week, I also made the PX run across the city.  It was very uneventful.  The great thing was that I got to drive.  While most of the time we drive through the IZ (secured area), we need to spend time on the roads in the Red Zone.  It can be pretty stressful, because in addition to driving and looking for pot holes, you have to look for other obstacles, like IEDs and people wanting to shoot at you.  Although, the traffic is much lighter than other places,  which makes for easier driving.  The bottom line is that I’ve completed two trips and both have been uneventful.  Although they are a relatively “routine” patrol, we still do everything required: Intel briefing, mission briefing, rehearsals of actions on contact, vehicle breakdown plans, etc. 

All in all, a great week and a great month.  A few of us are planning to head to Qatar for vacation, just not sure when yet.  

More questions answered:

These are all Yes or No….with a few commentaries

Keep a diary?  I guess this counts…. Yes.
Like to cook?  Absolutely
Exercise regularly? Just back into it more.
Sketch while you are on the phone?  Not really
Read a book in the past month?  Yes. I’m reading a book on terrorism right now.
Replace the toilet paper roll immediately? Yes
Like crossword puzzles? Hate them
Visited the Eiffel Tower? No
Secret never shared with anyone? Who doesn’t…Yes.
Wait until the last minute to fill car with gas? No
Snore?  How do I now?  I’m asleep.
Read in the bathroom?  Yep
A naked photo of ome exists?  I think there’s this one on a rug as a baby
Avoid paying full price? Not really
Like hiking?  When not done with a 120lb rucksack and a rifle, yes.

Everyone have a great day and be safe….. I’m thinking about all of you!

Fred