One quick note before I head out tomorrow….
A bunch of us from Multi National Corps-Iraq are heading to Ft Bragg tomorrow to participate in the MRX, that’s Mission Rehearsal Exercise - for the XVIII Airborne Corps, (18 ABC for short). III Corps is currently here fulfilling the role as MNC-I and they will be replaced by XVIII Airborne Corps sometime in the future.
We are actually the first contingent of the 18 ABC to arrive here, along with our Bde HQ, 20th Engineer Bde. The MNC-I Staff contingent will go back to Ft. Bragg for about 2 weeks to help the 18 ABC with their simulation exercise and to give them some first hand tips on what’s going on here. I am happy I was included since I will get to stay at the house during the two weeks.
One new thing since we were here last rotation is the addition of numerous engineer search dog teams to our forces. A team consists of a man and his dog - they are engineer Non-Commissioned Officers who train with their dog at Ft Leonard Wood, MO, the home of the Engineers. The dogs are trained to detect explosives - here that means IEDs, mines and caches of ammunition and explosives. The dog teams work with the engineer route clearance teams and with maneuver units to find IEDs and enemy explosives.
The SSD unit commander is here on the C7 Engineer staff so we get to play with the dogs as they come and go thru Camp Victory. This is Charlie - he’s only about 2 and a half years old, and he’s a goober when he’s not “on task”.
I’ve been told that they are all business when they head out on a mission.
Another change is the population explosion of the geese in the Al Faw Palace lake. You may remember a picture I took of them last time, when there were only three here. Now there are fourteen - so they are doing ok.
I leave tomorrow to start the trip back - to BIAP, Kuwait, Atlanta and Fayetteville - arriving there late on Friday.
More later-
Bob
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