correction......

Sorry its "transfer of authority".....(RIP/TOA)!!

1 Month DOWN.....

Hello and Sorry for taking so long to update! I have finally made it to Kirkuk and its was an interesting trip. It took us 2 days to get here and two overnights in random places with all of our bags!! Anyway we made it here and its been nothing but work work work.......
We are doing a "relief in place" and a "transfer of command" (RIP/TOA) and its alot of info!!
I am the personnel officer and the driver of one of the MRAPS. This does not include our advisor duty to the Iraqi soldiers! SO there is a lot to cover from the out going MiTT team to us!
There have been some fun times since we have been here.....the team that is leaving actually has a few runners on it so I have had running buddies, YEAH!! Also there are some pets here.....there are TWO Donkeys, that are very cute (named Fungston & Bobby)! And a cat that we are pretty sure just had kittens under the con ex. Cats are good cause they keep away the mice! Also there is a dog names Goldie, well he has a lot of names! In my next update I will explain more about where we are staying and how this whole thing works but for right now I must go to bed.....I need some sleep after our first convoy!!
Much LOVE to everyone......
Mickey
P.S. I would love for everyone to send me pics!!! I have a wall in my room that I want to cover with the faces of people I care about!!

Near Beer!!

Ok so its a day late but Happy St. Patricks day everyone!! So I decided that for my own sanity (and my job) I will be enforcing the celebration of every Holiday that I can come up with while deployed!! My job on the team is accountability for all personnel AND to be the party planner!! I am MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) for the team! So on St. Patty's day everyone had to run the St. Patty's day 5K here! Ofcourse my running ablity was the talk of the town leading up to the race....I tried to tell them that running was my thing but they did not listen! So I had a few guys to run with for the first 1K then it was just me : ( ! It was a fun race even though my groin is still strained from my fall from the horse at Mahlon's before I left........
Anyway the second part of our St. Patricks day fun was to get some food coloring to dye the "near" beer GREEN (near beer is beer without any alcohol....hence the "near")!! ok getting food coloring from the Iraqi's in the DFAC (dining facility) is not as easy as it sounds! BUT I made it happen and we had our green beer. I have alot of pictures from this joyous day that I will put up when I get some wireless internet......

Hope everyone is well!

Much Love,

Mickey

reality.....

Ok so here comes a little seriousness......
not my usual MO but sometimes it comes out in me!
I was feeling just a little bothered today about heading up north for our real mission.
At first I thought it was because of the 6 coalition personnel that were
killed in that area this morning but it is a bit more then that........I am being sent to do a mission and no matter how well I do my mission my safety does not increase as my days pass.....I am no less likely to have my convoy struck with an IED the 1st day then I am on the last day!!! It is a harsh realization that is very unsettling! I can hope that the area calms down and that the attacks become less likely but that is out of my control.......I will not let this burden me BUT I will do all that is in my power to keep myself and my team safe!! I am not sharing this information to make people worry any more then they already do......I just wanted to share my feelings and the reality......
Much Love to Everyone and prayers out to the families all those who have fallen.......

Finally I am a part of the "real" army....

A few days ago I had a defining moment as a member in the military......
There is this saying that goes around in the army about what a small world it is and I had never actually experienced it. Because of my specific job up to this point my exposure to other military members was actually very limited. So I could never actually share the sentiment!! UNTIL.....I was leaving the DFAC (Dining Facility) in Kuwait. I was there with two of the other girls from my team and a LT from Ft. Riley. We decided to get a picture together since we would not be seeing the LT again. We asked the next two people who came out of the DFAC if they could take the pic for us. After they were done the one soldier turned to me and asked me if I used to be SPC Kelly.....I was in shock!! It was a soldier that I had gone to AIT (Advanaced Individual Training) with when I was enlisted (in like 2004)!!! Finally I got to share the sentiment of what a small army this is!!
Much Love,
Mickey

P.S. I must give a shout out to Lizzy.....HAPPY 21st......wish I could have been there to celebrate with you!!!

Helicopter ride.....

So my chinook ride did not look anything like that BUT it was super cool! It was at night and I was advised to sit in the back because that is where you have the best view!! I was so excited on the flight line that everyone was making fun of me cause it was my first time flying on a chinook. I have never experienced the feeling of being lifted straight up off the ground!!! The Chinook is the fastest helicopter that the US military has which is a bit suprising for its size! The only downside to this trip was the loading and unloading of ALL the bags from the chinook!! I nearly got blown over with two huge duffles on me when the chinook took off again.....

So I just wanted to give an update on my amazing chinook ride. I will write again soon and put in my two cents on how I feel about the mission that I am being sent on and my role in this "war". It will surely be interesting.........

I really hope that everyone is well and please if you have any questions or want to know anything specific just ask !

Love Mickey

BTW I have to insert pics from the internet because we are never allowed to take any photos : (

more pics.....

Jill and I at the range.......

The range as we watched the sun rise......

Me, Jill and Leslie, not so happy to be in the sand.......

My cot......yup its really confortable.......

PIC's!!

The white camel......

more cute camels.....
Me, CPT Meyer and CPT Shipp with camels behind us........
We wanted to go pet them but we were not allowed to cross the road!!

Camels and .50 CAL's.....

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog BUT we were "out in the field".....yup I said it....."out in the field!!" I didn't know that when you are deployed you actually go "out in the field" cause technically you are in the field!! 

SO we finished up with MRAP training earlier this week and I got a BUNCH of pics of the camels....even a pic WITH the camels!! I learned a lot from the MRAP training and feel much better about the vehicle that I will be driving in Iraq. Then we were given Humvee's (yea I dont get it either) for our range and convoy training. I zeroed in my M4 (the updated M16) and shot the 240B (Machine Gun). We did not have a medic on the range therefore we could not fire the .50cal....BOO!!! We stayed "out in the field" over night and got up early this am for our simulation training. We were doing convoy training with simulated enemy contact and IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices). I was a driver which meant I didn't get to be a gunner and shoot up everything but I had a very important job of searching for disturbances in the terrain that could be IED's and of course driving. I took the liberty of going off road in my Humvee when we were finished so that I could "get used to driving in the sand". My TC did not think this training was necessary and promptly told me to pull over. Now I am back and in my cot getting prepared for ONE last day of training here in KUWAIT!!  YEAH!! next stop IRAQ.....we shall see what kind of adventures await me there!!!

Take care everyone and I will write again soon.

Mickey

Oh and I will add pics tommorrow..... 

Drivers Training

Here is a pic from the internet of the MRAP (I am not allowed to take pics of our vehicles). It is a MINE RESISTANT AMBUSH PROTECTED vehicle. When we get into Iraq these are the vehicles that we will be driving. We have spent the last 2 days doing hands on training on this vehicle and drivers training. It is nothing like driving a humvee (HMMWV).....it is more like driving a dump truck. It will be my job as the operator to do all the "PMCS" (preventative maintenance checks and service) so I have been learning a lot.  I am tired from driving all day so I will write more soon.....Hope everyone is well!!