Husker game

You want to know how soldiers in Iraq take in a Husker game? I figured you would, so I took some pictures of the S-1 crew listening to the NU vs Troy game. We all had to wake up at 3 a.m. in order to listen, but for a diehard Husker fan sleep is a crutch. Enjoy.

I don't know about you all, but when I see look at this picture I don't see SFC Kerchal - I see Tony Soprano. The similarities are striking. Both are leaders of men, in charge of a "crew", carry a 9MM pistol at all times, intimidating, and both have issues keeping hair on their domes. Now if we can just convince our commander to buy us an Escalade to cruise around Anaconda with, we can really pull this off.

Here I am at my battle station, operating the radio feed over the internet and monitoring a live statistical feed, both courtesy of UNL's official Husker site. We have had remarkably good success with the radio feed, considering our location. I'm trying to see if my new Larry the Cable Guy Husker hat can meet "lucky hat that must be worn during Husker game" status. So far so good - we're 1-0 together. Give me a few more wins, and we'll talk.

SSG Tunnison, pictured in the center of this photo, is the master chef of our Husker listening parties. His cheese/hamburger chip dip is outstanding. Notice the score predictions on the white board - we are all very competitive. No one hit the nail on the head with an exact prediction for the Troy game, but SFC Kerchal and I came the closet, so we called it a tie.


SFC Kerchal and I, digging in to the snacks. I'm enjoying some of SSG Tunnison's delicious dip. Cheese dip and n/a beer at 3 a.m. is the definition of Husker football dedication, in my book.

Shout-out

Our Squadron PAO (Public Offairs Officer) is SFC Shultz. He is the editor and man in charge of our bi-monthly newsletter, and runs all public affairs type matters within the Squadron, including covering newsworthy events, interviewing soldiers within the Squadron, taking pictures, and sending news stories and information back and forth between the soldiers here in Iraq and media outlets back home. Yesterday he organized a Husker shout-out with the local PAO officer here at Anaconda. Soldiers volunteered to shoot a short (30 seconds or so) video clip, saying hello to family and friends back home and wishing the Huskers well for this season. The goal is to get these shout-outs played on the HuskerVision screens at a Husker home game some time this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Anyways, just in case you never get a chance to see the video, I had SPC Benes take a picture of me on the set, capturing this magic moment. I have my Larry the Cable Guy hat on in the picture, but I decided against wearing it for my shout-out. Wanted to maintain my militray image and what not.

Larry the Cable Guy

Larry the Cable Guy hails from the state of Nebraska. As we all know, if you are born in NE, you have roughly a .05% chance of not being a Husker football fan. Larry does not fall into the .05 percentile. He is an avid Husker fan, and has recently shown his devotion to NU by investing millions into the program by purchasing his own skybox, and has also made a habit of showing up to Husker practices. Earlier this week we received a care package, courtesy of Larry himself, full of Husker gear. Boxes of woodland camo Husker hats and red "Git-r-done" Husker t-shirts were sent over as gifts to us Husker fans doing our thing over here in the desert. See below for a picture of yours truly, modeling this fine Husker apparel.

Before ... and after

Alrighty folks, sorry about the delay since my last post, but things have been a little busy around here lately and my blog has been forced to suffer the consequences. Since SGT Kane went on leave I've had to take responsibility for some of the things he usually handles, so my plate has been a little fuller over the last week or so. The good news is that Kane should be back in about two weeks. The bad news is that Kane won't be back for another two weeks. Hopefully I can keep the ship afloat until his return. That saying is so true - you don't really know what you got till it's gone.

On a side note, my beloved Cornhuskers are traveling West to take on the mighty Trojans this weekend, one of many mammoth college football matchups slated for this weekend. The good folks at AFN are broadcasting a live telecast of the USC/NU matchup for us to see. What a treat. I will have to make a small sacrifice of sleep, as the game will kick off at 4 a.m. local time, but that is a small price to pay for such an occasion. Go Big Red!

Today's photos will show off a little before/after action. We've been in Iraq for about 6 months now, and we've made a few small changes to our surroundings in that time. I'm working on a project that will give you an even better idea of what Iraq is about than what I've already shown you through this blog. Stay tuned for the details. Here we go...


BEFORE: This a shot of the business end of our office. SFC Kerchal's desk is in the back left, SGT Kane's is the back right and at the time SSG Johnson and I were sharing the desk off to the right.
AFTER: SFC Kerchal and SGT Kane are still in the same spot. SSG Johnson now has his own desk, off to the left, while I'm now all alone at my desk to the right. As you can see, we've put a lot of work and effort into showing our Husker pride to all who visit us.

BEFORE: This was the desk that SSG Johnson and I were sharing. This setup, combined with our shared living quarters, was just a little more time together than any two soldiers should have to share.

AFTER: I still have the second chair, but now it's just for guests who come to bask in the glory of my brilliance. Or at least that's what I tell myself. I've used the extra space to expand my empire somewhat, and I enjoy my hidden spot in the office.

Anaconda in pictures - odds & ends

Today's pictures won't cover any one thing in particular, but rather a couple of odds & ends that didn't merit their own post. Enjoy.

Here is our our chow hall. Food is not too shabby, but tends to get repitive. I hope to take some inside shots in the future.

The entrance to the beloved swimming pool.

Photo from my trip to the pool last week. Fairly busy lately, but the hot hot hot summer weather is starting to die down, and now we're just dealing with hot, which isn't too bad.
There is an outdoor basketball court and sand volleyball court outside of the gym. I've never used either one, but I've seen some folks using them from time to time.

Anaconda in pictures - movie theater

Today's segment of Anaconda in pictures takes us to Sustainer Theater, the movie theater here at Anaconda. Next to the gym, the theater has to be my favorite thing about Anaconda - possibly better than the swimming pool. The cost is nice (free) and the location is swell too - only about 2 blocks away from my trailer. They also do a surprisingly good job on the movie selection - we're usually fortunate enough to get plenty of first run movies. Usually we get movies here about 2-4 weeks after they arrive in theaters back in the States. On some occasions, we've even gotten them the same weekend (as was the case with the new Will Ferrell flick) or in some rare cases, we've even gotten movies before they were out in the states (as was the case with Superman). The theater itself isn't too bad. Seats leave something to be desired, and the technology of the screen and audio is dated, but all things considered we are very lucky to have such a nice place to kill time here in the desert.

Sustainer theater, in all it's brick and mortar glory. The building has held up well. I'm not sure how old the place actually is. Their is a Subway restaurant upstairs, but I've never eaten there. Supposedly the food isn't quite the same as you would get back home, and the DFAC puts together really good sandwiches - for free - so I haven't really had much desire to check out Subway.
The concessions bar at the theater. Baskin Robbins has as stand here selling the basics - shakes, sundaes, cones, etc. They will also sell you normal movie theater stuff (popcorn, candy, pop) along with some things you might not get at theaters back home (full-size pizzas, n/a beer, etc.) This is the only portion of the theater experience that has a price tag. Admission, as I mentioned above, is always free.
A shot of the stairs leading up to the Subway restaurant and the balcony section of the theater. Balcony seats are usually highly sought after, and Generals and other higher ranking folks tend to suck up a lot of the best seats. We usually sit on the floor level - our way of sticking it to the man, so to speak.
The theater does a good job of looking and feeling just like any ol movie theater back home. A little dated, but still the tried and true movie theater experience. On this night SGT Kane, SPC Benes and I were checking out the new Disney flick, Invincible. Good film - we all enjoyed it. This was last Saturday night, before the Husker game came on the radio at 11:30 p.m. We got pumped up at Invincible, then rolled back to the office to listen to the Huskers steamroll LA Tech. Good times.

Anaconda in pictures - the neighborhood

Today's pictures will give you a visual of the housing area that I live in along with some of the surrounding points of interest.

Also, have to mention that the Huskers romped yesterday, and I was able to listen to the game in it's entirety, thanks to the kind folks at Huskers.com who provide free streaming radio broadcasts of every Husker game. Go Big Red!

Behind those concrete walls (referred to as t-walls over here) is my housing area. It's quite a protective fortress that they have built for us. The idea is if mortar rounds or other enemy fire enters the area the t-walls will protect our trailers. I'd like to see them put in a moat and draw bridge type set-up to complete the whole castle effect, but I'm guessing that won't happen anytime soon.

Here is a shot of the street that runs right next to our housing area, which you can see in the top right corner of the picture. Our work area is to the right of the picture - you can't see it here. Off to the left is the restroom/shower trailers. You can see it's a bit of a walk from where I live to the showers. Not really what I'm used to, considering the last two apartments I've lived in I've had a master bedroom with bathroom five feet from my bed. One thing I will look forward to when I get home is having the ability to wake up in the morning and walk to the bathroom, without worrying about getting fully dressed, putting shoes on, etc.

Possibly the #1 thing I will not miss about Iraq - port-a-potties. They are everywhere, and unavoidable in most cases. Most mornings I end up making this my first stop when I wake up. Not a pleasant way to start you day, to say the least.

This is what the housing area looks like inside the t-walls. Between the t-walls and the sandbags, they protect our trailers fairly well. To really take the protection to the next level though, I really think we need to seriously consider the moat idea. I'll keep you updated.