Month 12 Day 2

Notebook entry

Five reports given, interview/detainee class with Qais and Salim-he tapped out, priority intelligence requirements and table of organization and equipment, lunch with Darrell.

Journal entry

Tried to work with the shop in the morning, but Munir had to just out and do and investigation on a guy who has been sitting in detention for the last couple of days.  Because the General has no ability to prioritize he was told he had to do it ‘right now.’

I had a class with Salim and Qais.  Qais was powering through and doing well, but Salim was feeling the effects of Ramadan.  He was totally out of it and not into learning at all.  Dinar, one of the linguists, bitched him out after we were done.  He’s said

“Maybe I will tell the General tomorrow that you have not been behaving very well and that you do not have the mental energy to push through Ramadan.  We are all doing this, but you are the only one who is giving into it.”

I worked with Munir on the PIRs and on the TO&E.  We are back at step one again.  “here is your gear, here are your people, this is what you rate...etc.”  Then on the PIRs “OK this is what a PIR is, a question that your General wants answered.  You work for him and you must answer his questions, you can’t just do whatever you want.”

I had lunch with Darrell the new comm contractor.  He is a retired Gunny.  He still calls me sir, and still feels like a Marine.  He’s a nice guy, kind of the classic Marine who puts everything else after the Corps (he’s just finished his third marriage).  Maybe he is the face of the future as we draw down, we’ll see more contractors essentially doing the same job that we are doing.  He’s even spoken the G-6 for Afghanistan in Kabul.  Not surprisingly, the General said “I think America needs to stay here.”  That was a message that a contractor is ready to hear.

In the afternoon I worked on the command chronology and worked on a bunch more employment stuff.

Watched a TED in the evening about the slow life.  Maybe someday.  It seems like a nice thought, but I'd probably go nuts.