airforcedan

Still not home...yet

2005-12-08T16:44:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Just a quick note. I'm still in Qatar. Things popped up, and I wasn't able to leave when I thought I would. The good news is that things are almost resolved, so barring any more unforeseen problems, I should be on the way home soon.

I promise to let you know when as soon as I can.

Take care and I hope to see you soon.

Dan

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T08:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

This has been a terrific Thanksgiving, with a huge dinner with all the trimmings. I'll have the pictures downloaded for you soon.

This year, I'm thankful for the support of all of my family and friends. I'm thankful to have a great group of officers to lead me, and an even better group of men working for me. I'm especially thankful for God's protection for all of my team during this deployment.

I hope you take some time this Thanksgiving, to pray or give thanks for the bravery of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of others.

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving!
-AFD

My daily moment of Zen

2005-11-20T11:40:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

Quick post today, before I watch the Bucs. This little pic is my "daily moment of zen." Before I got hurt, I would drive to the other side of the base to swim some laps in the pool. I was swimming almost every day, so I got this view quite a few times. For about 30 seconds a day, I get this little picture:

I love seeing this little flower in the middle of the desert, right outside of the wire. How's that for a daily pick-me-up??

Two weeks(ish), and counting. See you soon!

Go BUCS!

I'm a Horrible Blogger

2005-11-18T08:43:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's been too long.

I'm back to let you know, I'm alive and well. I wish I could blame my hiatus on too much work. We are prepping for our replacements, but that isn't why I have been delayed so much in posting. I've just been in a shitty mood, and haven't felt like I had much to post.

I've gotten injured twice in the last two weeks, which has really put me in a foul mood. Not to worry, they aren't combat injuries. First, I hurt my foot while running, and it's been tough putting weight on it. It's something in my heel. I've laid off of it for a few days, so it's starting to heal up some. Then, I hurt my shoulder while boxing. That's the real pain in the ass, cause it's a recurring injury. I knew before I left that I'd probably need surgery on it, but I delayed it till after I got back.

What's upset me most is that I set myself the goal of doing a triathlon this summer, which may/may not happen now. Thanks to injuring my foot AND my shoulder, I can't swim, bike or run. Maybe you've heard, but those are kind of important to triathlon.

On to the good news...we're on schedule here and I should be home sometime in the first week in December. In time for Christmas, in time for D's wedding, in time for the after finals parties!

I'll keep ya'll up to date as we firm up our departure dates. I miss you all, and can't wait to see you in 2-3 weeks.

Take care,
AFD

My Baghdad Trip - finale

2005-10-27T07:56:00.000-05:00

It's about time to put this puppy to bed...I've got other things to show ya'll eventually! So I'm gonna post the last batch of pics from the Baghdad area. Well, most of them, I guess. I gotta save some to show ya when I get back home!

This mosque is HUGE. Actually, it's not completed, and may not be for quite some time. This mosque was a project started by Saddam. It's supposed to be the world's biggest mosque, when the Iraqi people complete it. We didn't bomb it, but the ongoing conflict is impeding completion.

I don't have pictures of it, but the one mosque we did bomb to hell was Saddam's "Victory over the U.S." mosque. I guess it's the one he had built to honor his "victory" over the U.S. in the Persian Gulf War. That should give you an idea of how dillusional he was. I'm not sure what strategic significance it posed, but I fully agree with the decision to bomb the crap out of it, just on GP. In fact, I would petition for a continued daily bombing of the site. Just to prove the point.

This is the famous "Swords" monument. More correctly, this is the Iraq-Iran War Monument. There are actually two sets of swords, the ones you can see, and then a second set way far behind, maybe 2 miles back. You can just see the left sword in the distant background in this picture. The left hand is supposedly an exact replica of Saddam's hand, while the right one is an exact replica of the Iranian leader's hand (not to scale).

Proof that, yes, I was actually there. Silencer and all.

Took this picture under the left hand, the one that is supposed to be Saddam's hand. The helmets in the background are from fallen Iranian soldiers. Viewed up close, some of them actually have bullet holes in them. Kind of a vivid way to remember the war.

This is the Iraqi Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The clamshell is representative of the soldier's helmet. In the cube in the background (behind my buddy in the blue shirt) is an actual body of a soldier. His tomb is wrapped in a symbol of the Iraqi flag. The Iraqi generals come here on the Iraqi version of Christmas (I swear, that's what the guides told us. It's their country, I expect they'd know.) The generals pay homage to their lost and unknown soldiers.

My little excursion into Baghdad was really a once in a lifetime trip. (I promise, Mom. Once. ) It was an awesome experience, and really brought home to me why we're out here. My base is so far away from the cities, that it's kind of easy to forget about all the people, U.S. and Iraqi, who are fighting to forge a future for this country. I got a brief glimpse of life in Baghdad, both inside and outside the "safe zone", and for that I'm truly grateful. I'm also grateful that my men and I made it back to base safely.

Stay safe this Halloween. Send pictures!

Until next time,
AFD

My Baghdad Trip, The Blown Out Palace

2005-10-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

It's the middle of Ramadan, which means a few more mortars for us at Balad. The wimpy ass mortars got me remembering the damage a "real" bomb does, and I remembered I hadn't posted these pics for you yet!

When last I posted, I showed you the hole left in the roof by our "bunker buster." These pictures are from the very top of this palace.

This is the dome, at the top of the palace. All of todays pictures are of this area. We're probably one of only a handfull of folks that were allowed access to the roof.

The dome must have been AMAZING before the bombing. It had a ton of windows, which are now just blown out glass all over the roof, along with other debris.

This is a side angle of the dome. That wagonwheel thing in the center is probably 10 to 12 feet in diameter. The area of the roof I'm taking the picture from was something of a patio area. It had that fake grass carpet that is so popular on the porches of old folks homes in Florida.

This shot just gives you and idea of how much debris was on the roof. The dome took up maybe 1/6th of the entire roof area. The rest of the roof was all twisted metal and crumbled brick/marble.

This is the inside top of the dome. Hard to see, but it was a very intricate ceiling.

More from the inside of what we were calling the "throne room." The floor is covered iostly with ceiling tiles, wood inlays, and furniture, with some marble mixed in there.

And me on "Saddam's Throne". You have to be in awe of the awesome firepower our military owns.

You can barely make it out behind me, but that's some of downtown Baghdad back there. Next post I'll put up some of the pictures we took of the surrounding city.

Till next time,

AFD

Ouch!

2005-10-16T07:45:00.000-05:00

I don't want to talk about it...

Or this...

My Baghdad Trip, pt 3

2005-10-14T03:25:00.000-05:00

Good morning all! Hope everyone is getting ready for a great weekend, and I expect lots of pictures from you ruffians in Gville.

When I last left you, I was leaving the Party Palace, heading to the IZ (International Zone). The IZ is a mish-mash of palaces, new construction and old residential areas, all converted to office spaces and/or living spaces for our forces. Along with US military, there are a lot of contractors, civilian workers, and Coalition forces running around. It is highly guarded. Our trips would take a minimum of 40 mins to drive anywhere because of all the checkpoints.

Falcon Fountain (Falcons are everywhere. Wish I knew why.)

The majority our my worktime was spent on a six-story palace in Camp Prosperity. This palace was, supposedly, one of Uday's palaces. So, of course, we bombed the shit out of it.

It's not easy to tell from the size of this pic, but the tiles are crumbling on the walls here. And not just on the outside, but the insides too. All over the place. Here's why:

That, boys and girls, is the hole a "Bunker Buster" bomb makes in a roof when it hits. The explosion doesn't happen till it's well down into the bunker, several stories below. But the bending of 3/4 inch rebar? That's just cool.

The gratuitous tourist picture.

Tomorrow, you'll see the damage one of those puppies inflicts when it goes off!

Have a great weekend! Go Gators!

-AFD

My Baghdad Trip, pt 2

2005-10-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

When last I left you, I had arrived at the "Party Palace", and was chillin in the pool with my Mai Tai. . . ok, no liquor, but there was a pool.

The best thing about the party palace, besides the pool, was the view. We had some great views of the surrounding area, including some of the smaller palaces. The Party Palace was part of a larger complex of palaces.

This little beauty is what we affectionately called "Lake Hades". Yes, the lake is on fire. A lake on fire, in the middle of Iraq. Symbolic? Maybe. Actually, we're the ones burning the lake. Back in the day, this used to be a nice lake, but it got overgrown with reeds. Now we're trying to get the lake back to it's beautiful self by scraping up the reeds and burning them.

And, of course, that's me in front of Lake Hades.

Me and Finch on the top of the Party Palace. This area is more a suburb of Baghdad, not the downtown area.

This is the Falcon Palace. As you can tell on the left, the palace sits on Lake Hades. The Falcon Palace gets its name from the falcons carved at the entrance. Falcons have some sort of symbology, I'm sure. But all the Falcon Palace stands for is CHOW, now.

And here's Finch, doing his best Saddam impression. "I own that shit, and that palace, and Lake Hades. It's good to be the tyrannical dictator. I think I'll go for a swim."

We spent two days in this palace before we left for Camp Victory, also known as the "Green Zone". Other than take pictures, swim in the pool, and play cards, there wasn't much to do. Let me tell you, the Party Palace is a crappy place to spend our deployment. Not the worst, but pretty freaking boring, to say the least.

Eventually, after many games of Hearts, we left for the Green Zone, and the first true leg of our Comm mission. Tomorrow, pictures from another palace, and some of the sights around downtown Baghdad!

Thanks to Section 2 for the box full of goodies, and all the cards and well wishes! And especially to Dan and Rob for caring enough to organize the care package in the first place.

-AFD

I'm Back!!

2005-10-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

..and you didn't even know I was gone, did you? I know you missed me!

I'm sorry for having gone so long without posting, but I do have a good reason. I've been gone on mission to Baghdad for the last 12 days, and just got back into town. It's been a long two weeks, but was a very exciting time and I can't wait to show you the pictures I took. I'll start from the beginning, though I'll finish telling the whole story in future posts.

I left Balad two weeks ago on a Chinook (MH-47) helicopter for Baghdad. It was my first helicopter ride, and was (thankfully) a pretty uneventful flight. We landed in Baghdad and stayed the night in Saddam's "Party Palace". . . a beautiful palace at the top of the hill. Our quarters were on the fourth floor, at the top of this huge marble staircase.

Nothing special behind the curtains, just a bunch of guys lying on cots, and a whole lot of snooring!

The Party Palace probably lived up to it's name, back in the day, but not anymore. Other than the marble and some of the tile murals, most everything was looted at the beginning of the war. Now it's mostly work area, sleeping quarters, a ballroom with a big TV. Oh, and an indoor pool! That was the highlight of our loooong trip. Here's some pictures from around the Party Palace.

Something written on the second floor landing

Me and Chris Finch in front of a tile mural

The All-Important Party Palace Pool!

Tomorrow, I'll post installment two of my trip: pics from the top of the Party Palace, and Lake Hades. It's good to be back.

-AFD

Sweet Home Anaconda

2005-09-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

I have to apologize for taking so long to post. It's been a busy week, and it hasn't helped that I've been sick the last five days or so. That, combined with a lack of sleep has kept the motivation low, unfortunately. But I'm on the upswing now! As promised, I have some pictures of my hooch (living quarters).

Those pictures are the outside of my hooch. Think of it as a 20ft shipping container with a door and airconditioning. The concrete is to protect it from mortars. There are more concrete slabs on the backside. The green plywood looking stuff nailed to the sides is actually kevlar. It's an added layer of protection, just in case.

So that's where I live. Technically it's big enough for two people. I just think my camera doesn't capture how big it actually is. And when you're used to sleeping in tents, this is definitely an upgrade.

Thanks to all the family and friends who have sent me emails, cards, and facebook messages. It always sucks being sick, especially when you're deployed, but having reminders of home makes life a lot better. I hope to post again soon. I love you all, and I'll talk with you again soon.

Go Gators!

-AFD

Praise Urban Meyer and eat cake!!

2005-09-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

It's Great

To Be

FLORIDA GATOR!

Tennessee: 7 Florida: 16

GO GATORS!

Two weeks down...

2005-09-15T19:48:00.000-05:00

So, by my count, it's been 2 weeks since I first landed in Iraq. Sounds like prime time for a little Anaconda recap.

In that time, we've had 7 mortars hit base (average of one every two days...pretty good, relatively speaking). I've had 42 meals (haven't missed one yet!), 2 lobster nights, 1 mongolian bbq night (outstanding!), and about 8 boxes of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal. Gotten about 15 mosquito bites. I've shot 60 rounds of 9mm. 10 rounds shot at a target 100m out. Three out of ten hit the target, which ain't too shabby.

I've probably gone through 30 liters of water, not including gatorade and juice and milk. Spent 4 hours on IM. Played four games of cards. I've had zero run-ins with the commander, thank God. And I've gotten two letters from home -- thanks Grandma and Daku!

Oh, and thanks to that little airline fender bender, Southwest sent me one free roundtrip ticket to anywhere they fly. Vegas or Hawaii--who's coming with me?!?!

It's been a good start the deployment. Yes, I will be up at FOUR FREAKING A.M. to watch Florida trounce Tennessee! It's a small price to pay for a dedicated Gator.

Finally -- Happy Birthday Laura! I love you, cuz. Hope you have a great birthday.

GO GATORS!

In Memorial

2005-09-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

Never again!

War Is Hell!

2005-09-07T23:32:00.000-05:00

What a war zone...talk about substandard living conditions! I have to walk over 100 meters to get to my Slurpee machine. Intolerable!!

I'm slowly getting everything here set up the way I want it. The good thing is that I can get online pretty much anytime I want to. And since I own the comm equipment, I can do most anything I want with it too.

As soon as I clean out my room, I'll send you some pictures of that too.

I assume command!

2005-09-07T02:41:00.000-05:00

It's official...my guys have taken control of the mission, and we're prepped for success. I'm very excited, cause it looks like some really cool stuff is going to be happening in the next few weeks. I'll keep you updated with unclassified stuff as I can.

We got our inprocessing brief today. One of the items on there was blogs; apparently some idiots have posted things on their blogs that they shouldn't, and have gotten in trouble. We call it Operations Security, and it's really easy to take care of. So don't expect classified pictures and whatnot.

Finally, I get to move into my own room today. I'm sick of listening to the snoring in the tents, so this couldn't have come sooner.

Pics coming soon, I promise!

I have arrived...

2005-09-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

...and I am alive and well.

No thanks to the terrific start of our trip, I landed here at Balad Air Base in Iraq 2 days ago. The jetlag is still killing me, but other than that life is great. We are so well taken care of here in our compound, that it's almost easy to get complacent if it wasn't so new to me.

Right now we are finishing the turnover from the unit we are replacing...Mike Turpiano and his crew are treating us so well that we almost feel spoiled. Not to jinx anything, but these three months should go smooth as silk.

I wasn't able to see the Gators on TV, but it was only the first game anyway, and not all that important. It'd be great to get a copy of the next game, if anyone is taping it.

Oh, I have a mailing address now, for those of you who were asking before I left. Please don't send too much junk food...I'm working out a lot and we're pretty well fed. But any sort of magazines, pictures from home/school/parties, workout stuff, etc would be great. Don't use rank when mailing me. The address is:

Dan McKillop
Box 5
APO AE 09391

I promise to post some pictures soon. I'm still living in a tent, but I should move into a hardened billet in the next few days. I get a room all to my self...that's unheard of!

I love you all and I miss you a ton. Talk with you again soon.

Love,
AFD

Off We Go....

2005-09-01T05:38:00.000-05:00

I only have a few minutes to update you all while I sit in Frankfurt, Germany. Sorry if this is a bit rushed.

I started my first leg of my deployment today (well, yesterday, to be precise). You know what's the worst way to start a 24 hour trek across the world? With an aircraft accident!

So there we were, sitting at the end of the runway at Tampa International. The captain comes on to tell us we're the next jet to take off. I'm not generally a fan of take-offs, so I close my eyes and wait. And then our plane vibrates akwardly and we hear a crunching noise. Apparently we were in the equivalent of an airplane fender-bender! The plane behind us ran into our tail. We had to deplane and wait for another plane and crew to take us to Baltimore. We just barely made our connecting flight, practically running across the ticket area at BWI.

So I'm about halfway through with the travelling for the day. I have acouple more stops in a very cramped jet before I get assigned a bed for the night.

When I get set up, I'll post some pictures for you all. Talk to you soon.

-AFD

What I wanted to say....

2005-08-18T21:49:00.000-05:00

"Ms Sheehan,

Shut the hell up.

Love,
Dan"

For the record, I want to lay this out. No matter how you feel about the war, whatever your personal feelings, please do me one small favor: if I happen to get hurt, or even killed, never EVER use my name in an anti-war or anti-Bush protest. Not authorized.

On a lighter note, we will be drinking to excess this weekend in Gainesville! It's my last weekend, so I hope ya'll can make it out. Call me...you know the number.

I really want to see all of my friends before I leave. I hope to see you out.

AFD

What I said...

2005-08-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, Cindy Sheehan has a blog and has posted a quaint little message of ignorance. You can find her blog at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-sheehan/memo-to-drudge-et-al-it_b_5868.html

Here's my response, in case it doesn't make print...

Ms Sheehan,

First, let me offer you my sypmathies. Only a mother can truly understand what you have had to endure. Your son's death is a tragedy that I wish no mother would ever have to endure.

I am adding my voice to the rest of this divided country. Please stop protesting the war. Please stop weakening our country's image abroad. Please let our President do the job he was elected to do.

As I write this, I am less than two weeks away from leading a team of guardsmen to Iraq. We are a group of committed volunteers, like your son, serving a country and a President we believe in. We, like your son, know the dangers we face, and are still willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Your protest endangers the lives of thousands of sons and daughters, including my men. You endanger us because your protest is based on a false premises. Our President has not "ignored" the harsh realities of this war. The war in Iraq has not made our country less secure. And, finally, you have not paid the ultimate sacrifice in this war; your son did. The longer you protest, the more you promote ignorance among the nation. If, God forbid, your movement does grow legs, you risk undermining the morale and welfare of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

Perhaps most troubling, Ms Sheehan, is the title or this post: "It's not about me, it's about the war." I would have hoped that this protest would have ultimately been about neither you nor the war, but about your son. I would agree that the President has a duty to meet with any parent who has lost a child in the war in Iraq. And he did have a meeting with you. If you were unhappy about the sincerity of your discussion, you should use your son's name in that context only, to protest the way you felt you were treated. Any continued use of your sons name only tarnishes him. He will never be remembered in America as a man who sacrificed his life to protect our country and to bring democracy to Iraq. Instead, America will remember him as the son who's wacko mom protested outside the President's ranch for a while.

One day, Iraq will build a monument to men like your son. That is the honor that he, and the others who have died in this war, deserve. When your protest is over, go to the Vietnam memorial...that is how fallen heroes should be remembered.

Thankfully, I trust that the public understands the necessity of finishing the rebuilding in Iraq, and ensure the stability of its democracy. My brothers and sisters-in-arms and I will continue to deploy in order to preserve your freedom, along with the freedom of millions of others around the world. I hope one day you can get off of your high horse, and support those of us who need it the most.

Feel free to take your time, and respond to my blog if you feel the urge. http://airforcedan.blogspot.com/

May God grant you peace in your time of sorrow.

AFD
"I am that which others did not want to be..."

Happy Birthday to Jaden!

2005-08-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

How cool is this kid?

Answer: He's 5 years of awesome! This is Jaden at his 5th birthday party. Jaden's my first nephew, and the apple of all our family's eyes. Future NFL quarterback and President of the United States. Wanna bet me?

The good news? I'm still in the US! The bad news? I'm not sure how long till I leave. Yup, that's right...no idea. Wish I was kidding. Don't get your hopes up, crumpet...I'm still going. Just unsure when.

In the meantime, I had a great time in Gainesville, although I didn't really go out much. At least not too much...just the right amount. :) But next weekend? I plan on going out too much. And you're all invited. Bring your mom, too!

Oh, and if you missed it, HOUSE MD was on tonight. Fox - Tuesdays - 9pm. Don't miss it next week. I mean it...bad things will happen if you don't watch HOUSE next week. I expect a full report.

P.S. - Camera phones rule!
(when they work)

The Fun Begins!

2005-08-03T19:03:00.000-05:00

Hey there!

So it's day two into my activation, and I'm already beat. The guys in my unit did a pretty bang up job setting us up before we came in, but there's still so much to do. I will probably get my anthrax and smallpox shots tomorrow, along with a couple other innoculations, I'd bet. If there's enough requests, I might even post the pics!

The good news is that I convinced my commander to let the guys off of duty this weekend (it was scheduled to be a drill weekend), so I'll likely be in Gainesville Friday night and Sarasota on Sunday. This Friday is Jaden's 5th birthday! I can't believe that it was only five years ago I visited Liz in the hospital. Chuck-E-Cheese, son!

My unit set me up in La Quinta in, right off of Gandy, for the next month or so...God, I love the Air Force! Now way I'd get it this plush in the Army, that's for sure. Ya'll give me a call if you're in Tampa this month.

Thanks for all the well wishes, friends. I'll post more soon.

AFD

My First True Post

2005-07-31T19:35:00.000-05:00

Hello family and friends!

I'm setting up this blog as a way to keep in touch with everyone I love while I'm deployed, and hopefully beyond. For those that don't know, I will be taking a semester of school off this fall to deploy to Iraq. Not to worry, Levin Highschoolers! I'll be back in the spring!

This Tuesday I start full-time at MacDill for training. I'll be in Tampa full-time during the week, and either in Gainesville or Sarasota on the weekend. So those of you used to stumbling around with me in G-ville will have to wait for one of those weekends!

If ya'll hadn't seen, I jumped my first mental hurdle back towards the military lifestyle this weekend...I finally got my high and tight! I have to thank the soon-to-be married Sumemr Pepsin for hooking me up with a great fade. If you're in Sarasota and you need a great do, I'll hook you up with her number. I'll post a pic with the new and improved head soon.

Keep checking in, boys and girls. I'll be updating as often as I've got something worth talking about. Feedback and well wishes are always welcome!

Much love,
AFD

2005-07-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

This is me

Day One

2005-07-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

This is a test post to my blog. I don't know how this will look, so don't judge me.