Greetings all.
As you may or may not know, I have been sent to the Shi'ite hole that is Iraq as a medic, deep in the Sunni triangle in Balad, Iraq. Call me crazy, but I LOVE IT here! Basically I am working as a private contractor supporting the Army at Camp Anacona.
I have been here for nearly a month now. Iraq itself is not so bad (at the moment). It has been bloody cold! Temps are in the 30's and 40's at night, and the highs so far only in the high 50's. The sky is clear blue and the sun is bright though. Soon though I will be *****ing about the heat just like everyone else.
I work at a medical clinic at Camp Anaconda at the Balad Airbase. Balad is the major trauma center for the entire Iraqi theater, so when I take patients to the ER, we are in the thick of the treatment area of ALL battlefield injuries for soldiers and contract civiilans in Iraq. I have seen more **** here in a week then in my entire carreer back home. I am learning tons. Makes me respect the hell out of our uniformed personnel that are here.
Here is a picture of my clinic -- note the decorative concrete enclosures! These T-walls protect us from errant bullets and insurgent mortars. The base gets hit about 2-3 times a nite, but the base is so big, I don't even hear about it until long after it is all over. One of the housing units down the row from me had a stray bullet hit yesterday, but for the most part it is a rare occurance. We hear more outgoing fire from the gaurd towers then we do for incoming.
My first posting in Baghdad was at the TTC (Theater Training Center) which is an Army base surrounding the former palatial court of you know who. This is a picture of the post "shock and awe" palace of Saddam that is now one of the coalition headquarters buildings. Talk about a rush. I have pictures of the inside, but I am not allowed to release them (unitl I demob and become a civvy again).
Lastly, here is an view of Camp Anaconda from the airplane flight in. The base is about 30 square miles and is the logistics hub of the entire Iraqi theater. It is frickin huge! I have a ford Excursion that is assigned to me, so not too much walking for me.
Basically my job is to take care of whatever ails you. I eval, treat, and all that plus minor surgury and I can prescibe medications!!! I am learing a ton and I can't wait to go to work every morning. It is a huge challenge, but it is one that I take on with pride!
If anyone wants to snail mail me, my APO is as follows.
Dean Goulet
KBR
APO AE 09391
Just no weapons, prono, or stuff like that. If you do send something, make sure it is USPS priority. Otherwise it gets put on a boat and I will get it in a couple of months as opposed to a couple of days.
Anyway, take care everyone and have a happy new year all!
Medic
As you may or may not know, I have been sent to the Shi'ite hole that is Iraq as a medic, deep in the Sunni triangle in Balad, Iraq. Call me crazy, but I LOVE IT here! Basically I am working as a private contractor supporting the Army at Camp Anacona.
I have been here for nearly a month now. Iraq itself is not so bad (at the moment). It has been bloody cold! Temps are in the 30's and 40's at night, and the highs so far only in the high 50's. The sky is clear blue and the sun is bright though. Soon though I will be *****ing about the heat just like everyone else.
I work at a medical clinic at Camp Anaconda at the Balad Airbase. Balad is the major trauma center for the entire Iraqi theater, so when I take patients to the ER, we are in the thick of the treatment area of ALL battlefield injuries for soldiers and contract civiilans in Iraq. I have seen more **** here in a week then in my entire carreer back home. I am learning tons. Makes me respect the hell out of our uniformed personnel that are here.
Here is a picture of my clinic -- note the decorative concrete enclosures! These T-walls protect us from errant bullets and insurgent mortars. The base gets hit about 2-3 times a nite, but the base is so big, I don't even hear about it until long after it is all over. One of the housing units down the row from me had a stray bullet hit yesterday, but for the most part it is a rare occurance. We hear more outgoing fire from the gaurd towers then we do for incoming.
My first posting in Baghdad was at the TTC (Theater Training Center) which is an Army base surrounding the former palatial court of you know who. This is a picture of the post "shock and awe" palace of Saddam that is now one of the coalition headquarters buildings. Talk about a rush. I have pictures of the inside, but I am not allowed to release them (unitl I demob and become a civvy again).
Lastly, here is an view of Camp Anaconda from the airplane flight in. The base is about 30 square miles and is the logistics hub of the entire Iraqi theater. It is frickin huge! I have a ford Excursion that is assigned to me, so not too much walking for me.
Basically my job is to take care of whatever ails you. I eval, treat, and all that plus minor surgury and I can prescibe medications!!! I am learing a ton and I can't wait to go to work every morning. It is a huge challenge, but it is one that I take on with pride!
If anyone wants to snail mail me, my APO is as follows.
Dean Goulet
KBR
APO AE 09391
Just no weapons, prono, or stuff like that. If you do send something, make sure it is USPS priority. Otherwise it gets put on a boat and I will get it in a couple of months as opposed to a couple of days.
Anyway, take care everyone and have a happy new year all!
Medic
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