Two Schofield Barracks soldiers were killed this week while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

29-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger of Kimberly, Idaho and 24-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott III of Jacksonville, Fla., died November 8, 2009 in Tikrit.

The men sustained injuries when their OH-58D helicopter crashed.

They were assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

(Posted by Wendy Osher)

Wow, I’m a bit tired.

I got up last night before midnight, in order to go and meet the forklift guy and the truck guys. One 10k forklift and two eighteen-wheeler trucks in tow, we went out to IBOL World HQ and Warehouse, and loaded the six pallets onto the trucks. Loaded, the trucks rolled away and headed to the container yard, where they’ll likely hang out for a few days before moving on. The hour was late, the dust was blowing, so I broke out a disposable camera someone had sent me a while ago, and took a few pictures; it’ll be weeks before I can get them developed and posted.

I have, more or less, figured out how to distribute 3445 bundles. I never thought that would happen, folks.

This week, those six pallets, representing around 1500 bundles and about 12,000 pounds of love, will head to Kirkuk City (map). Five of the pallets will stay there, with one of our combat brigades, and the sixth will get cross-loaded and head further on into the Kurdish region to Sulaymaniyah (map).

So, about 2000 bundles made their way our into my neck of the woods, and the rest are headed to Kirkuk. This might not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to me.

Saddam Hussein is from these parts of the woods. Part of what had me thinking about this whole IBOL thing was wanting to make some kind of a positive impact on this area. Thank you — there are two thousand bundles coursing their way through this area. Which is pretty fantastic.

And if you watch the news as much as I do, or maybe even a fraction of what I watch and read, you’ll know that Kirkuk is… interesting. It’s disputed. It’s debated. It’s seemingly tied to most every other topic here in Iraq. At times it’s been led by Turks, Arabs and Kurds. It’s rich history, diverse people and mixed cultures makes it a land, a city, a community in need of some, well, love.

My year here is almost up. I’m working with the unit replacing mine. My kids are counting the days until I leave Iraq, for what may well be the last time. When I was young, Iraq was a re-emerging leader in the Arab world, but faltered and spiraled downwards under Saddam Hussein. But even during the darkest of times, when this land was being ravaged by war or hate or strife, I’ve held out hope that I’d be able to help do something to move this country closer to not just peace but the greatness it is capable of. I never would have guessed it would be this — almost 3500 boxes, packed by some amazing and great people, distributed here, there, and everywhere in northern Iraq.

So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I have two more things to do. Well, okay, three. I’ll be in touch with the folks that have these last 1500 or so, and I’ll see what I can get from them to share here on the website. I also know that there’s a small snippet on IBOL in our own unit magazine, if I can every get my hands on the digital version of it.

The second thing is to see what if anything will carry on after I leave here. The warehouse is still there. CSM Flores and his crew think their replacements will support is being used the same way — if someone does something crazy like this. I need to find that someone, I guess. I’d like to leave here with a name and an address, and to be able to tell you to send what you want, when you want – I have no idea if I’ll be able to put that together.

And lastly, I need to look back at this whole thing, and do some writing. For my unit, for the Army, I need to capture what this was, why it worked, and what can be used again. This IBOL thing was pretty powerful; I’d hate for the Army to not learn something from this little undertaking. I’d like some crazy dreamer out there to have that crazy dream, and not have to start from complete scratch like I sometimes felt I did. Why think tens when you can think thousands. Writing about this, teaching the Army about this, is my Phase 3.

Two last things, before I call it a day and go to sleep. Who saw my wife’s quilt in Houston, and who took a photo that they can send me?

And who is going to be near either Eugene or Beaverton, Oregon, before Thanksgiving? The IBOL Guy Family World Tour will be kicking off then, with stops in Oregon and the mountains east of San Bernardino, CA. Coffee’s going to be on me, and the locations will be small fabric and / or yarn places.

Sorry Blog. I haven’t written or posted anything on you for a while. Maybe I can make it up?

Hum… let start with how excited I am about Halloween! (Which I am not really celebrating…) But our office has been sent LOTS and LOTS of goodies to keep us entertained!

Too much free time?

Hehe!

I also got a Halloween Package from my bestest buddy! She sent the hat, colored teeth, a pumpkin light, a calvin and hobbes book and a cool pirate lego thingy!

Wednesday we handed out candy to the Iraqi Orphans that came to our Base! We also gave four mini bundles my mom’s friend gave to us!

There were so many kids running and goofing around- I think the sewing kits will be put into good use sewing up patches in the knees of their pants!

This little girl was so cute! I asked her if I could take her picture and she turned and posed! She just got finished potato sack racing (I caught someone in mid-hop in the background)

Iraqi kids LOVE pictures!

This little boy was SO funny! He would wonder around and come back to us for more candy!

Here he was playing with the ‘potato sack’ <that was actually a laundry bag>

O this was funny- The Iraqi kids were dancing and made everyone do a ’stomp congo line’-type dance- Its amazing how little rhythm army people actually have!

I look stupid in the picture below- but I was in mid-dance with the little girl in yellow!

(Who kept asking me for bubble gum!)

The visit from the Orphanage was such a nice experience! It was kinda weird seeing children after 4 months of not being around them! But the little people were so much fun and it made me miss the three little boogers I use to babysit! 

This guy also wrote about the same Orphan visit- what a small world!

BAGHDAD: A controlled explosion of weapons confiscated by the Iraqi military went awry Friday, killing 11 Iraqi soldiers, Iraqi military officials said.

The blast took place in an area where American and Iraqi forces routinely carry out explosions to destroy weapons seized during raids in and around the northern city of Mosul, which the US military has called the last stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The incident came as questions continued to be raised about the capabilities of Iraqi security forces a day after 16 prisoners — including five al-Qaeda-linked inmates awaiting execution — escaped from a jail in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit.

The explosion occurred while the soldiers were preparing the materials for the controlled explosion just east of Mosul, 225 miles north of Baghdad, said two military officials.

One of the officials said at least 11 soldiers were killed in the blast. Another military official said 15 were killed. Conflicting casualty counts are common in Iraq in the wake of explosions.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information.

Witnesses said American soldiers had cordoned off the area. The US military did not immediately respond to queries for additional details.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security officials captured early Friday in Samarra, north of Baghdad, one of the prisoners who escaped in a stunning jail break the previous day, a police official said. Another was captured shortly after Thursday’s escape, when the prisoners made their way out through a bathroom window in a makeshift jail cell.

An investigation was under way into how they managed to escape, said the police official, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reason as the military officials.

The jail break brought an immediate backlash against top security officials in Iraq and a special committee was formed to investigate the escape. Several officials have been fired and others are under investigation, added the police official.

A curfew was lifted Friday morning in Tikrit, though the number of police checkpoints were increased overnight.

“Masks”

The past couple days I’ve been conjuring up ideas for a Halloween 5K ‘Fun Run.’ Honestly…. I am super excited about organizing it! (we just need to ask permission first!) I have everything figured out:

-5K Fun Run/Walk in Costumes

-Night of the 31st of October

-The first 31st Goblin runners will get a prize

-There will be a costume contest

-Along the 5K route there will be bags with chem lights in them lighting the way

-Spooky sounds will be playing along the route

-Shirts and candy will be supplied

Im uber excited!! How fun would it be to run at night in a costume? I know- you are thinking “the costume part might be a little hard” but trust me… these army people really know how to make due with what they have- and can make anything into anything! 

I cant settle on what I wanna be… maybe a Pumpkin or a smurf… but Iowa said she definitely wants to be and umpa lumpa!  

I guess I have some time to figure it out… especially because we haven’t even asked! (Im waiting to ask after the big 10K and 10 miler races are over this weekend. I don’t want to overwhelm the event peoples.)

Funny thing about this whole crazy idea is… my mother sent iOwa and I masks before the ‘5K idea’ was ever thought of! weird huh? Its like my mother knows what im thinking… Ahhh! Thanks MoMMa!

Iowa looks scary... and I look like an old man!

YIKES!- She looks like this ALL THE TIME!

This mask is a creepy one... it even scares me!!

Other then the halloween masks- I got some scrumptious  carmel brownies from my Ma- Thank you!! Im eating one rrrright now! Yum! They are to die for!! They are ooey gooey scrumdiddlyumptious!!!

Oh yea- the other part of this blog- “Mischief”

This week started off the Mischief around the office.

The sequence of events (Not done by me);

1. Re-arrange “L.T.’s” desk

2. Put large box over “L.T.’s” chair and pretend to send it to Baghadad

3. Suspend “L.T.’s” bike and chair 10 feet off the ground in the foyer

4. Tie a rope around a poll and to the Commander’s bike 

5. Tie Iowa’s and My bike together

6. Put pretend plastic bugs in Our Officer’s office (I did this one- thanks for the bugs Sara!)

7. Lock main prankster’s bike to his door so he can’t get in

8. Rearrange all of our office’s desk drawers (someone switched them around)

…. So…. you can see a lot has been going on… and some more ‘pranks’ are being carefully planned… Good thing I locked up all my crap tonight! 

Pics of pranks later…

Can anyone give me a good name for our 5K halloween run?!

An Iraqi Police officer speaks with a member of the Sons of Iraq at a checkpoint after distributing pamphlets containing information on how to report suspicious activity through proper channels near Tikrit, Iraq,near Tikrit, Iraq, Sept. 8.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Luke P. Thelen.

Today I ran for RABIES!! I know- you are asking yourself, “why the heck did she run another 5K?” Lemme tell you… Im a sucker for free crap… and when free shirts are involved… I’ll do anything.

Free!!

The last 5K I did (My 1st ‘race’) I ran the 5K in 28.49 and 33 seconds. Today I was going to try to beat that time and I was shooting for something in the 27 min range… I ended up coming SUPER close to what I did in the first 5K!

Slower!? puh!

I felt like I ran a lot faster today then I ran in my first race…. but maybe because in the 1st race I had more friendly competition and kept up with their pace… but I dunno.

So, although I didn’t beat my goal- I did end up beating the chaplain! Whooa Hoooa! (I think he was helping one of his soldiers pace… but still… its kinda funny to say)

Any way- iOWa and I decided we would run for RABIES so we can say we did… and for the free shirt The whole concept is kinda humorous… now that I’ve ran for Women’s Equality and Rabies Awareness- I think I’m one step closer to conquering the world.

Hopefully my case of the Rabies wont stop me from taking over the WORLD!

 I know… I know… Im soo cute in this picture!

AP writes on google the iraq bomb blast and shia sunni fights ….

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN (AP) – 1 hour ago

BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb killed the head of an anti-terrorism police unit and four of his bodyguards Tuesday in a northern Iraqi town that is home to a large Shiite population, a police official said.

The 8 a.m. attack in the town of Armili targeted a convoy carrying Lt. Col. Zaid Hussein Khalaf, who leads the local police force’s anti-terrorism section, said Brig. Sarhat Qader of the police in Kirkuk, a city farther north.

Armili, about 100 miles (165 kilometers) north of Baghdad, is a town of about 26,000 people — most of them Shiites from Iraq’s Turkomen ethnic minority. More than 100 people were killed in 2007 when a suicide truck bomber targeted a town market there.

Insurgents in northern Iraq, who have maintained a stronghold in the city of Mosul, have frequently targeted ethnic minorities in recent weeks. Many of the attacks have hit remote villages and towns like Armili that often depend on a small security force for protection.

In Baghdad, a Health Ministry official escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb hit his convoy in the eastern part of the capital, but one ministry employee died in the blast, Iraqi police and health officials said.

Eight bystanders and four people in the convoy were also wounded in the attack, which appeared directed at Dr. Ali Bustan al-Fartosi, who is in charge of eastern Baghdad’s medical facilities. The doctor escaped unharmed, the officials said.

The police official said it was not known why the doctor was targeted.

Also in Baghdad, two roadside bombs targeted two separate police patrols, injuring 10 people including four policemen, police and health officials said.

North of the capital, in the city of Tikrit, a roadside bomb targeting the convoy of the deputy provincial governor injured one of his bodyguards. The deputy governor was unharmed, police said.

All the police and health officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Associated Press Writer Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah contributed to this report.

So- My mom knows this person-who is married to this person-who is working where I am working. This person married to the person my mom knows is doing this AWESOME project!

The BLOG starts there and ends with you scraping up some fabric and sending it to this guy! 

If you go to his BLOG and leave a comment requesting his APO address- you can send some of your bundles of LOVE! <3

Here is how to BUILD A BUNDLE O’ LOVE!

Although I am unable to help out and send my own bundle- I think this is a really great project that has the ability to reach the Iraqi culture in a new creative way! This project has an extremely passionate creator who comes from a long line of quilters – He  also has a lot of good connections with people who are equally enlightened by this project!

So get goin’! Send what you’ve got- It will all go to someone who will appreciate it! 

Oh yea- SPREAD THE WORD!! If you know more creative ways to spread the word through different media outlets-go to this page on his BLOG!

**Dont forget- The “not later than” date that boxes need to be postmarked is 7 September! (it gives the boxes time to get there and to their final destination before the end of Ramadan!)

HAVE FUN!!

Here are some motivation pics to get you excited about sending your bundle!

[Note: Mom. Please make me a quilt as cool and crazy as the one behind the box. Thanx <3 ] 

Hey! you can get a shirt too!!

I came across this yesterday while I was writing my 5K blog- Its kinda funny how the description of the weather makes Iraq sound like its the place to be! (Except on Sunday… that thermometer looks like its gonna burst!- Good thing I’ll be able to enjoy the “Sunny and very hot” weather for once!)

I really wish the comments would just say, “Hot as hell- hope the AC works”

In contrast to the days- I looked at what star constellations are here->

As soon as I am able to locate my compass- hopefully Ill be able to locate a whole lot more!

My homeboy Conor wrote an extremely funny observation about the rap game over at http://sullivangelism.blogspot.com/ here is an excerpt…

Rap is saturated with jackasses. 1/1000 of those jackasses are dudes who sold enough coke to afford studio-time and are looking for a more legitimate kind of fame. Why be the guy who’s famous for shooting that cop on West & Pleasant, when you can be famous for being the guy who sang “Swing Your Dookie-Hole”? By the same logic, the other 999 of those jackasses are just neighborhood knuckleheads with big-fish stories. For every rapper that actually profited off drugs, there’s a thousand Tony Montanas who probably would’ve gotten hung from the helicopter.

Take my friend and yours, Rick Ross. Recently outed as a former Miami-Dade County correctional officer, Ross has been selling millions of albums with tales of intercontinental drug-dealing since 2005. In his smash debut single “Hustling,” he claimed to have a personal relationship with Manuel Noriega. Nobody stopped to wonder if it involved him serving Manny 3 meals-a-day on a foam tray. The guy has made some incredible songs, full of even more incredible claims. While he isn’t the best rapper working today, he is a perfect example of today’s typical gangsta rapper.

A day in the life of a gangsta rapper is an action movie in itself. It starts with you waking up next to a curvy latina woman, petting a Siberian white tiger. You don’t remember, because you drank tons of expensive champagne, but you had sex with the exotic beauty last night. You’re not sure if you fucked the tiger. It’s possible, you love that tiger. As you roll out of bed and put your feet down, you cut the sole of your foot on the stack of bill-folds lying on the floor. Man, you got so much money. You walk to the kitchen and there’s another naked chick, this one’s black, pouring you a bowl of Dom Perignon and Cocoa Puffs. You don’t even want to eat that shit, you just wanted the visual. As you slap the bowl out her hand, the phone rings. It’s your man, Pablo. He informs you in broken english that your 25 kilos will arri… FUCK!

Read the entire article @ http://sullivangelism.blogspot.com/2009/05/starting-offffff-on-joeys-blog.html

Scrilla has been making waves in the game for a hot minute, dividing his time between Jersey City and Worcester, he dropped his official instrumental tape Beats & Baking Soda Vol. 1 (in association with HHTT Productions)on June 30th to the masses which you can download for free over at http://www.datpiff.com/Scrilla_Beats_Baking_Soda_Vol_1.m53205.html 

Listen is just one out of the 40 new  joints on Beats and Baking Soda, enjoy.

Download/Stream–>http://www.zshare.net/audio/62115350eae39bdc/

Contact Scrilla @ http://www.myspace.com/scrillaproduction

Niet alle Amerikaanse soldaten slapen in klassieke tentenkampen. Camp Victory in Bagdad bijvoorbeeld omvat het Al-Faw-paleis. Dit Waterpaleis van Saddam Hoessein dient nu als hoofdkwartier van het Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I). Amerikaanse troepen hebben het paleis snelsnel omgetoverd tot een kantoren- en slaapcomplex. Het is een beetje kamperen in een gebouw.

Fotograaf Richard Mosse bezocht voor zijn project Breach ook het zogenaamde Birthday Palace in Tikrit. Een relaas van zijn expeditie vind je hier.

Via Appelogen.

Quand Alice fait tourner la tête d’Ali, monteur pour l’équipe de Tikrit, ça donne ceci…

Il s’est amusé sur photoshop à la placarder en tenue traditionnelle sur les murs de la ville, dans les livres, ou encore la salle de réunion de Poutine…

Iraqi nurses practice skills learned during a recent medical conference near Balad. Photo by Capt. Daniel T. Sem, 25th Infantry Division.

Medical Conference Imparts Knowledge

Saturday, 04 April 2009
By Capt. Daniel T. Sem
25th Infantry Division

TIKRIT — The content of the medical lecture might have seemed standard fare to a normal American medical student, but to the Iraqi physicians, nurses and midwives starved for modern medical training, it was the cutting edge.

“For three years I have had this equipment in my operating room,” Dr. Hussein, the director of Balad General Hospital in Salah ah-Din province, said in reference to items used to start a central venous line in the femoral artery. “But until today I did not know how to use it.”

Hussein’s comments underscored the importance that the small conference had in continuing the Coalition efforts here to modernize the healthcare system after decades of decay under Saddam’s regime. The 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment hosted the conference on Forward Operating Base Paliwoda.

This conference was the first time Iraqi medical staff had come to the base for an educational lecture, and set the foundation for a series of future educational initiatives meant to bring once-inaccessible medical training to the Balad health district. For the three Iraqi physicians and five nurses and midwives, the training was the first step in a growing partnership between Coalition and Iraqi doctors.

Dr. Mahdi, a pediatrician from Balad, said that this kind of training is exactly what the Balad area Iraqi medical staff desire.

“This is a lot of information that we take from here,” Mahdi said. “And I need more, especially me, I need more and more.”

“When [the Americans] came, you extended your arm to cooperate and help us grow, so I must accept,” Mahmood, one of the nurses, said. “Under all circumstances I must get your science, your technology and help.”

Maj. Brent Lechner, the chief physician for 3rd Sqdn., 4th U.S. Cav. Regt. gave a lecture on rare kidney diseases and said the feedback from the Iraqis was beyond what he expected.

“I was very impressed with the knowledge base and clinical skills [of the Iraqis],” Lechner said.

First Lt. Andrew Michaelson, the medical operations officer for the squadron said that a month of planning and coordination with the Iraqis culminated in the small, but successful, medical conference. Michaelson said that the positive response from the Iraqis further emphasizes the need to continue these conferences.

“The engagement and dialogue with the doctors and nurses [that was] created was excellent,” Michaelson said. “One of the first things Dr. Hussein said emerging out of the conference room was that he wanted to do it again and again.”

Story here.

BAGHDAD (AP)– American flags were set on fire Friday to chants of “no, no for occupation” as followers of an anti-U.S. Shiite cleric marked the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war.

In five other Iraqi cities, supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also either marched or stood in protest after prayers to demand the release of their allies detained at Iraqi and U.S.-run prisons.

The protests came as a suicide bomber in Fallujah killed an Iraqi police officer and five other people, including civilians, in an attempted attack on the home of the local leader of Sunni security volunteers who turned against al-Qaeda.

Also, a pair of roadside bombs exploded within 10 minutes of one another after sundown Friday, wounding four policemen and three civilians in Baghdad’s Karradah district, police said. A police colonel and his aide were wounded in a bombing Friday in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, police said.

In the capital, al-Sadr aide Sheik Haidar al-Jabiri urged supporters to join an April 9 march to protest the six-year anniversary of Americans taking over the city.

“Today, a remembrance of the cruel occupation of Iraq, and on April 9, there will be a chant for liberation,” al-Sadr aide Sheik Haidar al-Jabiri told worshippers gathered in Baghdad’s Shiite district of Sadr City for Friday sermons.

He added: “Sayed Muqtada invites you to march by the millions on April 9, the anniversary of the cruel occupation.”

Baghdad fell to U.S. forces on April 9, 2003. The war began with a missile and bombing attack on south Baghdad before dawn on March 20, 2003 — March 19 in Washington.

A similar planned march last year was canceled. Al-Sadr’s previous demonstrations have attracted thousands of supporters, but have not reached 1 million.

Demonstrators responded by lifting a banner reading: “To the Iraqi government, when you will be trustful and release our detainee sons?”

“No, no for occupation. Yes, yes for liberation. Yes, yes for Iraq,” the demonstrators chanted.

Two American flags were set on fire.

Thousands of Sadrist followers in five other cities — Basra, Kut, Diwaniyah, Amarah and Nasiriyah — also took to the streets Friday in an apparent planned series of protests.

In Kut, up to 1,000 worshippers marched from the grand mosque in center of the city to Sadrist offices a short distance away, denouncing the U.S. occupation and calling for detainees to be released.

Outside Fallujah, an Iraqi police officer and a small groups of civilians died Friday while trying to stop a suicide bomber from reaching the home of Saadoun al-Eifan, who runs the local branch of the Sunni volunteers, the Sons of Iraq.

Police Maj. Hamed al-Jumaili said the bomber was trying to get past guards monitoring a bridge in rural Albu Eifan, where Eifan lives, about six miles (10 kilometers) south of Fallujah. He detonated his explosives belt after bring confronted by the police officer and residents, Jumaili said.

The protests and bombings came a day after a U.S. airstrike on a militant hideout north of Baghdad killed at least 11 insurgents, the U.S. said.

A search of the site by ground forces after the strike found a cache of weapons, munitions and parts to build improvised explosive devices, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Derrick Cheng said Friday.

Cheng did not immediately know Friday whether any civilians were killed or injured in the strike, or exactly when it occurred. He said the suspected insurgents were hiding near several bunkers south of Balad Ruz in Diyala province — about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.

An Iraqi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the strike took place Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the Thursday death of an American soldier from non-combat causes in Iraq.

At least 4,260 American service members have died in Iraq since the war started, according to an Associated Press count.