By Major John Rosnow
Sunday, January 25, 2004 12:08 PM

Time certainly has flown by this past week. We are working more with our replacements which is a good thing.

We had some more rain this week so things are real muddy again.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Week 47

18 January 2004 - I woke up a little after 0800. I heard a mouse under my cot chewing on something. I shook the box, but that only helped for a minute or so and he was back. I could not get back to sleep so I got up and went to the gym. I biked about 25 minutes while reading my PC magazine. Then I did the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. I walked into the theater and they had the news on. There was a large car bomb this morning in Baghdad. 18 Iraqis killed, 22 injured, 4 US Contractors injured and 1 soldier wounded. I just realized I must have made a mistake counting weeks as this is week 47 and I have been doing this since 17 January 2003. Oh well, I will keep the sequence for now. I mailed a couple of boxes today. One to me and one to my brother. I got in to work about 1500. I worked on email, issues and started reading FRAGOs before dinner. Around 1730 I heard a bunch of explosions and gunfire. It sounded like the 4th of July outside. It is now 2034 and I am finishing up reading FRAGOs. I was going to listen to my Peter Gabriel DVD tonight, but the computer up here does not play a DVD. Not sure why not, it has the software for it. I plan to make it an early night tonight. I may watch a movie, but am kind of tired out now. I will probably get a second wind. I am just tired from dinner. We had our usual Sunday evening dinner - Prime Rib (more like roast beef), shrimp, and lobster tail. We have had that for the last few weeks on Sunday night. The beef and shrimp were good tonight but the lobster was overcooked. I was able to cut the shell with my plastic knife. We ate dinner at DFAC 3 and there were a couple of people from KBR there. I have lost a lot of social skills since I have been here. There was a woman sitting across from me and I just started the conversation by asking what she does here. She replied back by introducing herself first, and then letting me know she works for KBR. Then she asked about me. It is strange to carry on a conversation with someone like that, which is probably pretty normal back home when you meet a stranger. She has only been here about a week, so maybe that is why it was strange for her and she said something. I left work about 2330 and went back to the tent and went to sleep. I could hear the helicopters out working the perimeter on my way back to the tent. Sounds like they spotted something.

19 January 2004 - Good day today. I woke up about 0930 and went to use the latrine and shave. I then got ready for work and pulled out the computer. I did some photo editing of a few folks at the office. Tom and I came up to work about noon, left to get mail about 1245 and they were closed by the time Tom and I got there. I came back to work and had some Chef Boy Ardee Lasagna. I did not feel like waiting in line at the DFAC today, plus I have a bunch of food to eat here at the office. I went to the 19th CMMC Training meeting today and got a lot of my questions answered. I came back, got all caught up at work, and then went to dinner with Tom, Travis, and Matt. Lee is now working the 0200 shift so the amoeba has lost a pod. It was the special Martin Luther King Meal tonight. We had BBQ Ribs, BBQ Chicken, Fried Chicken, Ham Hocks, Crab Legs, Candied Yams, Black Eyed Peas, Green Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, cornbread, and sweet potato pie for desert. I had BBQ chicken a ribs, yams, a little macaroni (is was nothing special), some fruit salad, a lettuce salad, a couple of homemade dinner rolls that were still warm, and sweet potato pie with ice cream for desert. They had N/A beer to drink. The meal was great and the pie was still warm. It is now 2130 and I am about all caught up at work. I am going to do a little reading, then go back and watch the movie Original Sin with Antonio Banderas. SFC Candelaria just bought it and gave it to me to watch as he is going to watch SOAP. I feel guilty; I only worked about 9.5 hours today. Oh well, I will get over it. Well I stayed at work until midnight. I helped a few folks with computer items and read a bit of a magazine. I went back to the tent and watched the movie. It was really good. After that I looked at a few pictures and listened to music. I put the computer away and went to sleep about 0400.

20 January 2004 - Good day today. Beautiful, sunny and warm outside. It certainly cools off quick though. I got up about 1100 today and decided to shave and get ready for work. I met several of our replacements at our meeting today. I went to the weekly redeployment meeting at DOL. Nothing really new there. I then stopped over at CIF and I can exchange my boots if I want. The insides of mine are all tore up. I will do that on Wednesday. I came back to work and got all caught up. I was falling asleep before dinner. We went and ate at DFAC 2. I had some curry chicken and ham. The curry chicken was about the size of a Cornish hen. It was good, but I could not taste any curry. The ham was delicious. The mashed potatoes and gravy were not very good though. After dinner I came back to work and was caught up by 2130. I did some visual basic programming in excel. I read about it in one of my PC magazines. It was nothing major, but I learned something new. I helped CW3 Scipio with backing up some files tonight. I then read a bit of my Zymurgy magazine and am just getting ready to edit the CG weekly update reports. Our server is having problems so as soon as they figure that out, I can edit the report and call it a night. CPT H stopped in and I talked to her while waiting for the server to come back up. It was nice to talk with her, but just like the night before, I think I have lost a lot of social skills when it comes to talking with people. I had a cup of double espresso and a diet coke so I am not so tired now. It is almost midnight now. I should be out of here by 0100 tonight and will probably just go to sleep so I can get up and work out in the morning. I am not in the movie mood anyway.

21 January 2004 - Good day today. Sunny and warm again today, clear sky tonight. Today I got up about 1000, after falling back to sleep at 0800 and 0900. I went for about a 4 mile run out to where tent city is. It is now trailer park city. I suppose the next thing we will have is tornadoes J. (For those of you not from the Midwest, tornadoes always take out the trailer park). After my run, I shaved and took a shower. Work was good today. I was busy as always. I did some work with my replacement, updated reports, and reviewed FRAGOs (Fragmentary Orders = instructions). I went and exchanged two pair of boots today. My feet hurt. I am thinking maybe I should not have exchanged both pair, as now I have to break them in. Oh well, it will not be too bad. I would have to break them in anyway. The insides were all torn up on both pair, and the treads were almost gone. I checked my NIPR email and found out that my friend Chuck is getting married. He asked me to be his best man. The wedding will be in the Spring of 2005 in PA. I have emailed him to get as many details as possible. I spotted a satellite tonight when we were outside. It is now 0045 and I am done with work. I am not sure if I want to go back and pull out the computer or stay hear and read a bit. It is kind of late for a movie if I want to get up early. CW3 Scipio wants me to do some photo enhancements for her and they are much easier to do when it is light outside so I think I will read a bit, then get up early. CW3 Young from the MMC asked me if I ever sleep as she seen me here earlier today. She is not the same one from before. She is with the new unit. Well time to read a bit and then off to bed.

22 January 2004 - I worked with Rich tonight on TOA tasks. My feet really hurt. I should not have traded in the boots. I have blisters on both ankles. I went back to the tent about 2330 as it was starting to rain and I was done with work. I did not want to get soaked so I left when I did. I just got a few drops on me. I was not real tired, but had drank a lot of water so thought I better try and get some sleep so I did not have to get up and go out in the rain to use the latrine. I managed to sleep until 0330 and then had to walk out and use the latrine. I just wore my shorts, T-shirt and flip flops. I put my gortex parka on to keep the rain off, and cover up the fact that I did not have a uniform on. Nobody around to check though. It will be nice to not have to get dressed and walk a few hundred feet to the bathroom.

23 January 2004 - Well I am not going to write a lot. It is really 0238 on the 24th already and I am just finishing up and going to get some sleep. I slept until a little after 0900 this morning. I was going to work out, but it started raining again and the gym was closed. I created a few pictures on my computer, and then came to work. I just got done reconfirming my vacation week in Montana. For some reason it cancelled. It turned out OK though as I got the same week, and I was able to use my one bedroom from this year, rather than trading my 2005 week. Very busy day today. I worked on some AAR briefings, then worked on the YTG, YTB, and YTC. I am almost finished, but want to get a fresh look at it on Saturday. The week has flown by.

24 January 2004 - Good day today. I woke up to many explosions. It sounded like incoming, but no big voice went off so I stayed in bed. It was not very close. Close enough for the ground to shake, but not close enough to get out of bed. It is almost midnight as I sit to write this. I completed as much as I could with the YTG, YTB, and YTC and sent it to CPT Sherwood for some things he needs to add. No rain today, but it was overcast. I put a bandage on my one ankle today as it was an open blister. Both heels really hurt today. They got a little better by dinner, but are sore again now. CPT Toro is the new class I officer. He was in the training management course with me at Fort McCoy before we left. He was individually mobilized from his unit in Puerto Rico. He will also be the mortuary affairs officer. I also met with the new chief and deputy and the rest of the class I section about reefers. We want to get that closed out as part of the TOA (Transfer of Authority). I think I may read a bit, then go to bed. I am kind of tired. I just ate a box of fudge popcorn. It was good, but I shouldn't have at the whole box. I ended up writing a few letters before I left. I got back to the tent about 0200 and Travis and I heard some explosions. It sounded like outgoing though. After that, I went to sleep.

MAJ John F. Rosnow, 1837
3rd COSCOM/19th Support Center
APO AE  09391
john.rosnow@us.army.mil
GSO:  DNVT 302-558-2240, DSN 318-829-1011
Class I:  DSN 318-829-1018