Some Pictures

Hedgie in front of the Crossed Sabers (Hands of Victory)
NOTE: The hands are actually of a mold made from Saddam's hands after the war with Iran

Hedgie and I in front of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters in the IZ

(they are in the infamous "Gunner Palace")

Hedgie and I in front of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Headquarters in the IZ

Hedgie and I in the "Gunner Palace"

Hedgie in front of the Award I won for the mission planning I did for FOB Echo

How Erin gets to see me almost everyday, cool huh?

Another Month Down

Howdy All,
So, another month down, another month closer to being home. Thanksgiving was a little hard thinking about how much I miss Erin and how much I miss dad. But, as usual, I sucked it up, and took it for what it was, just another day in Iraq. So, even as the rest of the holidays are right on the door-step, I am pretty sure it will be just like any other day, just a little different menu at the chow hall, and less Soldiers coming into work that day.
The five-month mark is coming up soon and I cannot wait to be a third of the way done. The time seems to go faster the closer it gets to R & R with my loving Erin. Each day is starting to mold more and more into the last.
Life is getting a little better here each day. Even though the mortars and rockets haven’t stopped coming, the situation is getting better. The security here has been improving and less and less Soldiers and people are dying. The Iraqi’s are finally stepping up and taking some of the responsibility for their country. What a concept right?
Okay, I am off to sleep. I am putting some new pictures on the blog for everyone to see. I really appreciate the Thanksgiving pictures from Erin, Jessica, Nathan, Natalie, and Donna. Oh, before I forget, THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU to everyone who has sent the packages. Grandma, my Soldiers and I love the packages you send and the pretzels are gone quickly. I want you all to take care of each other and know I love you all. Erin, I miss you and I love you so much, less than a hundred days until I get to be with you again!


- Paul Adam

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought that we took more pictures on Thanksgiving but a lot of them turned out in massive shadow. Here's the 2 that actually turned out! Of course, they are of Natalie, as she seems to be the focus of every gathering! Mischievious much?


Here's the video that we took for Paul on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately our internet has been down and we couldn't upload until today. Just pretend that you are viewing on Thankgiving!

We wish that you could have been there with us, Paul. We sure do miss you! Jess, Nathan, and Natalie

Awesome

I am so proud of you Sweetie. When Erin says she has only been running for 4 weeks, she is not lying. She would try and run with me when I was home and couldn't do it. Now, she is running 5K, AWESOME!!!. I am so proud, I love you sweetie, and we are over the half way mark to R&R.

-Paul

The Big Race Day!

So, I forget that I need to do the pictures first on here and then type. Oh well, enjoy these pictures then read about our experience at the race!
Here we are being silly. Eating a peanut butter sandwich right before we left.
Sarah and I before the big race! I know this one is sideways, but obviously, me before the race. I made a shirt. It says I love my soldier on the front and CPT Brown on the back with the number 40.
Sarah and I RIGHT before the race. She made a shirt too!
Me with my medal. YES I got a medal. Read on to find out the details!

Well, today was the big race day. I was not nervous until I was driving to Sarah's and all of a sudden realized, "this is a RACE." I think my mind was just thinking I was going to go run, not race. Then when we got there, I really got nervous. There were all these little kids that were just flying by us. There were not as many Christmas lights as I had thought there would be. So, we finished the race. Sarah was 79th place at 34.22 minutes and I finished 82nd place at 34.49 minutes. There were 122 people in the race. That, we thought was really good for our first race, and only have been running for 4 weeks.

After the race they had awards and door prizes. I won a Summer Sausage Holiday Eatings thingy, which I will be sending to Paul. He loves those things!

When they were announcing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each age group they skipped 3rd place in my age group. So when we got done I went up there to ask them about it. I said, "I really just want to know what place I was in my age group. They looked and I was 3rd!!!! There were 8 people in the 20-24 year female group and I was 3rd!!! I got a medal and everything! I am still in shock. We are going to do the December race as well. I think it is called the Jingle Jog.

Here are some pictures from before and after the race.

Frost Ya' Fanny

Tomorrow my friend, Sarah, and I are running a 5K race. It is called "Frost Ya' Fanny," although I don't think it is suppose to be very cold. We made t-shirts for the race showing that we support our soldiers. I will post pictures later this weekend. I'm kind of scared because I am still not great at running. As long as I finish I will be happy! I know that sounds pathetic, but I have only been running for about 5-6 weeks. That is not long enough for me to run 5K straight!
Paul finally got back into the trailer. He is in a room with one other guy this time.
I can not believe it is almost Thanksgiving. Even though the holidays will be tough without Paul here to celebrate, I am grateful for them because it makes the time go fast. It is after R&R that I am worried about. Not a whole lot going on those last 7 months!
It is past midnight and I should get some good sleep for the big race tomorrow! Wish me luck!
~Erin

Wicked

hey, i am soooo siked for january - ( thank you sooooo much doc i cannot thank you enough ) i get to do something that i have wanted to do for a while - i am going to Chicago yo see Wicked . Has anyone seen the play - if so what do you think . xoxxo - love you uncle paul - PEACE OUT :) - Rachael

I Have More To Follow

Another Helo Ride, this time to FOB Delta

Mr Hedgehog Came Along Of Course

The Soldier Sitting Next To Me Fell Out Of The Bird And Onto Concrete, So I Did My CLS Stuff And Patched Him Up.

Had To Get This Picture

(This Is Where I Was At During The Rocket Attack That Was All Over The News)

Getting My Army Achievement Medal For A Mission I Did Supporting GEN P's Mission

Here Is What Came In The Box I Got From Eastern Michigan!

Its Been A While

Howdy All,
Let me first say I am sorry that I have not been making post recently, but I bet most of you will understand I have been a little bit busy. Things have been a little busy at work. My team and I have been working hard to get more and more Soldiers and civilian contractors off the road. So far we are succeeding. I won’t be able to tell all the numbers for a little bit still, but they are rather impressive.
Recently, things have been very busy around here. I was luckily not around when the major attack happened that was all over the news. I was down at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delta seeing one of my CPT buddies take command of Bravo Company. I did another convoy to the International Zone the other day to look at some facilities and some other logistical reconnaissance. Another exciting thing is the recent rocket attack on our facility. After the all clear sounded, I took off for the impact sites with the medic bag, but luckily, no-one was injured. The attack made it very real again to those who were not taking the situation seriously.
Quality of life here continues to have its ups and downs. Some of us (me) are still living in tents and have a quarter of a mile walk to work and the chow hall each day. The silver lining to the situation is the fact that some of the Soldiers that were in the tent with me have moved out and I have a bunch of room now. One thing I look forward to getting each day though is an email from the orderly room saying I have mail (and wow, that email comes nearly every two days) to pick up. I really appreciate everything you all have been sending. Grandma, the Pretzels made it and they are AWESOME!!! I had to hold myself back from eating them all at once. Jessica, the beef jerky was great and all the Soldiers loved it. Tanya, thank you for brining a bit of home back with each newspaper and I love the soap. Aunt Gail, KONA COFFEE, what else do I have to say but thank you. By the way, one of the Non-Commissioned Officers that works for me is from Hawaii, and she almost tackled me when se saw all that Kona. Erin, you know how much I love getting boxes from you (even when half of it is Army stuff I needed), but I love your notes and keep them with me all the time. I just love getting a box and so do my Soldiers cause as much as I get out of it, they do to.
So the time is going by fast and I am making the best of it personally. I have lost 35lbs since I left Fort Sill and have about 15 more to go. I have also been running and rebuilding my endurance and strength in my legs since the surgery last year. Also, I have been doing a lot of self-reflection and changing some of my attitude and not letting the little dumb things get to me anymore. I guess being in a place with such a high risk makes you no longer “sweat-the-small-stuff” anymore.
Okay, now that I have written a book on here, I will get back to work. I miss you all and cannot wait to be home. As it stands right now I have ~341 more days, but who is counting. Erin, I love you and miss you greatly and cannot wait to be home with you and little Trotsky.


CPT Brown