Its been a long time since I last wrote, and as much as I wish this was a full update, I don't have the time. I am working on it, though. Since our computer time is limited, I have to type it on my laptop, put it on a thumb drive, and then transfer it once I'm in the computer room. It all works out, though.
I had to share these pics with everyone, though. Today started off cold and cloudy, but we didn't give it a second thought. I was originally told that I was to have a "down day" where I didn't have anything on the schedule. Those are few and far between, and are a much enjoyed break. However, this morning one of our NCO's stopped in the aid station and told me that we had a mission in 30 minutes...so much for a "day off." Our patrol consisted of checking out areas of interest out in the middle of the desert. Usually there's nothing but a whole lot of rocks and sand, though occasionally something is actually found. On our drive out it started raining, though it quickly changed to freezing rain. About 30 minutes later, there was no doubt about it...it was snowing!!!! That's right...snow in Iraq. I tried taking a couple pictures while we were out in the desert, but since everything is so monotone out there, the snow had nothing to contrast against. Our patrol lasted five and a half hours (which is a long time to sit in the back of a humvee and shiver), and it snowed almost the whole time. Nothing was really sticking at first, but it didn't take long for the ground to cool off and start to show a dusting of white. Its now many hours later, and the snow is still coming down. We're at an altitude of about half a mile, and things are cold enough that its sticking. I'll get a couple pics in the morning once I get up; from the looks of things, there will definitely be a layer of snow on everything.
Since my last email, we've moved several times; our current location is a train station in the far western Anbar province, which is a high wasteland. Its not mountainous, but there are plenty of large plateaus and hills in our area, though once you start decending towards KV everything levels out, and is flat for as far as you can see.
We're counting down until we start getting ready to move back to the States. Still looking at early April (I think) but of course that's always subject to change.
I wanted to get these pics out to you guys; we heard that they occasionally got snow up here, but not many of us believed it. Obviously, they were wrong! The weather has stayed cold for the last month, though the wind makes things even less enjoyable. Besides this snow, the only precipitation we've seen in the last 8 months has been a 5 minute shower that did nothing but turn the top layer of dust to mud.
I hope to email everyone again soon.
All the best
Troy
Sunday, February 17, 2008
1/8/08
HAWKEYE!
Hey, my dad said that you called the other night wondering what I've been up to. Pretty much the same old crap, different location. Living in a train station, driving a lot through the open desert looking for bad guys. I know, I know...sounds exciting. Don't worry...its not.
Heard you got a new job!!! Congrats, man! That's awesome! If you get the time, you'll have to tell me all about it.
Sorry this is so short, but I gotta run.
Later, John
Troy
Hey, my dad said that you called the other night wondering what I've been up to. Pretty much the same old crap, different location. Living in a train station, driving a lot through the open desert looking for bad guys. I know, I know...sounds exciting. Don't worry...its not.
Heard you got a new job!!! Congrats, man! That's awesome! If you get the time, you'll have to tell me all about it.
Sorry this is so short, but I gotta run.
Later, John
Troy
12/23/2008
Hey!
Finally had the chance to use the computer again. I got to our new home, only to be told that I was supposed to be on KV for our annual retraining event. So, the next morning I caught the convoy headed back down south. The training was actually a lot of fun, and I had a good time (except standing out in the freezing cold with none of my cold weather gear!) While I was there, we started talking about the upcoming events for 3rd ID and what it may mean for some of us. It looks like there is a lot coming up for us once we get back (starting in early 2009 for the "possible events"), and it got some of us talking about reenlistment. Some of the NCO's started talking to me about what I wanted to do, and some of them said that I really need to reenlist and go to a different unit as there are a lot of opportunities out there that we should be taking advantage of. Don't worry...I haven't signed anything yet!!! But, I've got the reenlistment NCO looking at a couple of things for me. I've pretty much decided that I won't reenlist unless they can get me Ft. Carson , Colorado and a slot in the flight medic school. I figure being a flight medic out there would be a LOT of fun, plus its a much easier drive than Georgia !!! And being right down the road from Brekinridge isn't a bad thing, either. We'll see...I still have to get him some stuff (like a copy of my paramedic card) before he can see what he can do. But I'll make sure to keep you guys in the loop before I do anything. It'd really only push me back about a year, plus it would get me to a base that I would love, doing a waaay cool job! I think it would probably help me get into med school and with those plans, too, as I would have more freetime to take classes and maybe even finish my degree before I get out of the army. Med school is still me end goal...not gonna change that one. I got to talk to our doc out here this weekend, too. Yeah...he just got me all the more pumped up about going to med school, and all the opportunities and residencies and how the scholarship program works. Sounds like a SWEET deal!
I got the first box today; its the one that had the salty jerky in it...not too bad, but definitely saltier than anything else you've made. It also had Da Turdy Point Buck, which I'm going to listen to after dinner. I may watch one of the Jeff Dunham DVD's tonight, too...depends on how tired I am. Its been a hectic weekend!
So our new home isn't too bad; we're living in a train station, much like the firmbase across the street from where we lived back in Hit. Its ok, but it means that we have to go outside to get to anything: bathroom, shower, chow hall, you name it. But, we're tough...we've survived this far, and a little cold isn't going to knock us down now! I haven't gotten my thermometer up and running yet, but I'll let you know what the temps are like when I do. I'm sure they're nothing like what you've got, though; too bad it doesn't measure wind chill! Most of us are still running around in just our uniform...the same thing we wore when it was 150 degrees outside...about 120 degrees warmer than it is now!!! But, I've got some cold weather gear in my bags that will probably be making more of an appearance here shortly.
The town is small, and we're pretty isolated, so there really isn't much going on out here. Its safer than where we moved from, so I'm sure you're happy about that. Of course, this place has its own unique "fragrance." This time we get to add sulfur to the usual aroma of feces. MMmmm...eau de Iraq ; I don't think it'd be much of a hit, though.
I just got back up here from KV this afternoon, and haven't done much unpacking. I've got 4, yes 4 giant boxes of coffee...and no coffee maker. But one of the guys has a coffee press, and I'm pretty sure I can get a water heater out in town, so we should be sitting pretty.
Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Tell everybody hi for me, and that I love them. Hope you guys have a great Christmas!!!
I'll try to call in the next day or two if I get the chance.
Love you guys!!!
Troy
Finally had the chance to use the computer again. I got to our new home, only to be told that I was supposed to be on KV for our annual retraining event. So, the next morning I caught the convoy headed back down south. The training was actually a lot of fun, and I had a good time (except standing out in the freezing cold with none of my cold weather gear!) While I was there, we started talking about the upcoming events for 3rd ID and what it may mean for some of us. It looks like there is a lot coming up for us once we get back (starting in early 2009 for the "possible events"), and it got some of us talking about reenlistment. Some of the NCO's started talking to me about what I wanted to do, and some of them said that I really need to reenlist and go to a different unit as there are a lot of opportunities out there that we should be taking advantage of. Don't worry...I haven't signed anything yet!!! But, I've got the reenlistment NCO looking at a couple of things for me. I've pretty much decided that I won't reenlist unless they can get me Ft. Carson , Colorado and a slot in the flight medic school. I figure being a flight medic out there would be a LOT of fun, plus its a much easier drive than Georgia !!! And being right down the road from Brekinridge isn't a bad thing, either. We'll see...I still have to get him some stuff (like a copy of my paramedic card) before he can see what he can do. But I'll make sure to keep you guys in the loop before I do anything. It'd really only push me back about a year, plus it would get me to a base that I would love, doing a waaay cool job! I think it would probably help me get into med school and with those plans, too, as I would have more freetime to take classes and maybe even finish my degree before I get out of the army. Med school is still me end goal...not gonna change that one. I got to talk to our doc out here this weekend, too. Yeah...he just got me all the more pumped up about going to med school, and all the opportunities and residencies and how the scholarship program works. Sounds like a SWEET deal!
I got the first box today; its the one that had the salty jerky in it...not too bad, but definitely saltier than anything else you've made. It also had Da Turdy Point Buck, which I'm going to listen to after dinner. I may watch one of the Jeff Dunham DVD's tonight, too...depends on how tired I am. Its been a hectic weekend!
So our new home isn't too bad; we're living in a train station, much like the firmbase across the street from where we lived back in Hit. Its ok, but it means that we have to go outside to get to anything: bathroom, shower, chow hall, you name it. But, we're tough...we've survived this far, and a little cold isn't going to knock us down now! I haven't gotten my thermometer up and running yet, but I'll let you know what the temps are like when I do. I'm sure they're nothing like what you've got, though; too bad it doesn't measure wind chill! Most of us are still running around in just our uniform...the same thing we wore when it was 150 degrees outside...about 120 degrees warmer than it is now!!! But, I've got some cold weather gear in my bags that will probably be making more of an appearance here shortly.
The town is small, and we're pretty isolated, so there really isn't much going on out here. Its safer than where we moved from, so I'm sure you're happy about that. Of course, this place has its own unique "fragrance." This time we get to add sulfur to the usual aroma of feces. MMmmm...eau de Iraq ; I don't think it'd be much of a hit, though.
I just got back up here from KV this afternoon, and haven't done much unpacking. I've got 4, yes 4 giant boxes of coffee...and no coffee maker. But one of the guys has a coffee press, and I'm pretty sure I can get a water heater out in town, so we should be sitting pretty.
Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Tell everybody hi for me, and that I love them. Hope you guys have a great Christmas!!!
I'll try to call in the next day or two if I get the chance.
Love you guys!!!
Troy
New address
Hey all,
Troy is moving to another small base with a different company and platoon. New address is below. Thanks, Tim
SPC RUFFIN, TROY
B Co, 3rd PLT, 2-7 IN BN
UNIT # 73431
KOREAN VILLAGE
APO AE 09371-3431
Troy is moving to another small base with a different company and platoon. New address is below. Thanks, Tim
SPC RUFFIN, TROY
B Co, 3rd PLT, 2-7 IN BN
UNIT # 73431
KOREAN VILLAGE
APO AE 09371-3431
Monday, November 26, 2007
11/26/2007
We actually had a semi-decent meal out here. We got turkey, roast beef and ham, but by the time I got to go to chow the turkey was already gone. I tried the ham (bad idea) and the roast beef was ok...so I filled up on mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Yeah...talk about carbo-loading!
Christmas
I don't think we'll need anything to celebrate out here. I'm sure it will just be another day; missions as usual, which was just like Thanksgiving. Supposedly we're supposed to be moving shortly after Christmas, so we'll probably be packed up by then anyway. Seems like we just get settled in, and then they decide to move us again. Oh well...
Its actually starting to get kinda chilly around here. Its down into the low 40's at night...I think a couple of times its dipped into the upper 30's, but just for the night. Highs are probably upper 50's to low 60's still. You really notice the chill in the air when we're sitting on a rooftop overwatching the streets. Still haven't brought any of my "snivel gear" on the missions, but thats just because we usually walk around for a little while and warm up before we go and sit. In all honesty, I would probably take a knit helmet liner with me, though. Once we get set, we take our kevlars off and its pretty cold if the wind is blowing.
I can't think of any special requests for the package. Oh...actually, if you run across some of those hand warmers, a couple of those would be great. Other than that, I think I'm set.
I'm looking forward to getting back to Iowa. Glad that everything is going well there.
Things are kinda picking up around here. We've had some activity in the last couple of weeks that we haven't seen for quite a while. Its really got us back on our toes again. Everyone is ok; a couple of guys from the company we're attached to sustained minor injuries (especially compared to what they could have been) but I'm sure they'll be back in short order.
I guess we've got some big-wigs coming through sometime soon...so of course we've had to "tidy up the area." Doesn't make much sense, the whole country is covered in trash and garbage, and we're doing a police-call across our compound. Yay for brass.
Talk to you later, John
Troy
Christmas
I don't think we'll need anything to celebrate out here. I'm sure it will just be another day; missions as usual, which was just like Thanksgiving. Supposedly we're supposed to be moving shortly after Christmas, so we'll probably be packed up by then anyway. Seems like we just get settled in, and then they decide to move us again. Oh well...
Its actually starting to get kinda chilly around here. Its down into the low 40's at night...I think a couple of times its dipped into the upper 30's, but just for the night. Highs are probably upper 50's to low 60's still. You really notice the chill in the air when we're sitting on a rooftop overwatching the streets. Still haven't brought any of my "snivel gear" on the missions, but thats just because we usually walk around for a little while and warm up before we go and sit. In all honesty, I would probably take a knit helmet liner with me, though. Once we get set, we take our kevlars off and its pretty cold if the wind is blowing.
I can't think of any special requests for the package. Oh...actually, if you run across some of those hand warmers, a couple of those would be great. Other than that, I think I'm set.
I'm looking forward to getting back to Iowa. Glad that everything is going well there.
Things are kinda picking up around here. We've had some activity in the last couple of weeks that we haven't seen for quite a while. Its really got us back on our toes again. Everyone is ok; a couple of guys from the company we're attached to sustained minor injuries (especially compared to what they could have been) but I'm sure they'll be back in short order.
I guess we've got some big-wigs coming through sometime soon...so of course we've had to "tidy up the area." Doesn't make much sense, the whole country is covered in trash and garbage, and we're doing a police-call across our compound. Yay for brass.
Talk to you later, John
Troy
Monday, October 22, 2007
On the way back to the desert
Troy’s last few hours home are upon us. If you would like to see or talk with him before his departure you better drop him a line soon. Troy departs the Cedar Rapids airport at 0600 tomorrow morning. It will take approximately a week of traveling before he returns to his unit in the western edge of Iraq. Troy promises to keep us up to date as he finishes his tour.
As the Picture shows, we really enjoyed having troy in town
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Promotion
It is my pleasure to announce that prior to his mid tour leave PFC Troy Ruffin was promoted. Troy has now earned the rank of Specialist. We are all proud of Troy for this milestone.
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