http://nwherald.comReal Lieutenant Danen-usI'd like to wish all the veterans out there a happy Veterans Day. I'm honored to be a member of this group.  Until now, I've only seen Veteran's Day as a way to honor those who have fought in wars, like my great grandfather, grandfather, and my uncle.  http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/11/09/70056287/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/11/09/70056287/index.xmlMon, 09 Nov 2009 22:53:25 GMTGreetings loyal readers. I've been doing some traveling lately and Iraq doesn't exactly have as much Internet connectivity as you find in the states. As a result, I haven't been able to post anything in a while.  Luckily, I'm done travelling for a while and actually do have Internet where I am now.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/10/25/80869070/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/10/25/80869070/index.xmlSun, 25 Oct 2009 22:43:12 GMTWell, I'm back in Iraq and not very excited about it. I had a great two weeks off and enjoyed the cooler weather of the midwest. I spent a lot of quality time with my wife and kids and even got to see a Bears game. At the end, I had a pretty good attitude about coming back to Iraq; the faster I get back, the faster I can finish up the deployment.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/10/05/03060409/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/10/05/03060409/index.xmlMon, 05 Oct 2009 18:25:47 GMTI've been on leave (vacation) for the last two weeks from Iraq and I've got to say that I've adjusted back to civilian life quickly and easily. For leave, I chose to come back home to Crystal Lake. The Army will fly you pretty much anywhere, but trying to meet the rest of my family in Germany or somewhere like that would have been a pain and expensive. Plus my wife hates to fly, so that would have made it difficult as well.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/09/21/54435354/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/09/21/54435354/index.xmlMon, 21 Sep 2009 14:49:55 GMTWhat is that smell?  Walking around the base here in Basra, I can smell something bad. I just can't put my finger on it. http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/25/58819277/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/25/58819277/index.xmlTue, 25 Aug 2009 14:39:13 GMTWe've dealt with high temperatures here in Basra, but up to this point it's been dry.  Just in the last couple days, we've started hitting humidity levels in the upper 70s.  http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/20/83118913/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/20/83118913/index.xmlThu, 20 Aug 2009 09:13:09 GMTA fobbit is a soldier who never goes outside the wire (never goes off post). The word is a combination of FOB (Forward Operating Base) and hobbit, as in Lord of the Rings. Until last week, I was a fobbit.  It's not a big deal, since most of the division staff officers are fobbits. It's just that our jobs don't take us outside the office much, if at all.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/14/33635738/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/14/33635738/index.xmlFri, 14 Aug 2009 12:52:10 GMTFriday marked the halfway point of this deployment. We've spent more time deployed then we have left.  It's a pretty good feeling, although it's still quite a bit of time left. By the time we're done, the NBA and NHL seasons will be halfway over, NCAA football will have crowned a national champion and the Bears will be prepping for the Super Bowl, hopefully.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/10/90790742/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/08/10/90790742/index.xmlMon, 10 Aug 2009 14:36:29 GMTThree of our soldiers were killed at the end of last week as a result of a rocket attack on our base in Basra.  http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/19/43285845/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/19/43285845/index.xmlSun, 19 Jul 2009 18:44:19 GMTWell everyone, I think we finally have someone in the media that has something positive to say about the war in Iraq.  This is pretty well written and presents an interesting view, and goes so far as to call our effort "an American victory". http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/11/41097739/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/11/41097739/index.xmlSat, 11 Jul 2009 13:55:43 GMTHappy Fourth of July.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/04/27038456/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/04/27038456/index.xmlSat, 04 Jul 2009 17:49:57 GMTYou may have read about my recent care package that included pictures and letters from the kids at Indian Prairie School in Crystal Lake. There were a lot of touching and inspirational messages, but also some questions. I'd like to try to answer some of them in this blog.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/02/10585197/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/07/02/10585197/index.xmlThu, 02 Jul 2009 17:02:45 GMTSummer is finally here in Basra. Daytime temps are in the high hundred teens, to low 120’s. Last week, it was hard to tell how hot it was, because our thermometer outside our room melted. Not figuratively, but literally. It only went up to 120, and eventually the glue holding the glass with the red liquid in it gave out, and the glass fell out and broke.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/29/16490803/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/29/16490803/index.xmlMon, 29 Jun 2009 14:19:34 GMTCare packages are the equivalent of birthday and Christmas presents all rolled up into one.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/15/73578306/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/15/73578306/index.xmlMon, 15 Jun 2009 16:47:38 GMTWell, more good news from Iraq. It's really hard to be optimistic at this point, but it sounds like things are going well here. As you may or may not have heard, U.S. forces have until the end of June to have combat forces out of the cities of Iraq. It's going well. The Iraqis are reporting that the withdrawal is going well and they expect us to be out of the cities by the deadline.  http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/02/34313007/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/06/02/34313007/index.xmlTue, 02 Jun 2009 14:09:34 GMTHappy belated Memorial Day to all former and current service members out there.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/26/08566814/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/26/08566814/index.xmlTue, 26 May 2009 14:31:51 GMTWell, today was the day. The 34th Red Bull Infantry Division officially took charge of the base today.  The Army term is TOA, or transfer of authority, which basically is the handoff from the old to new division (or whatever command level) command. http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/20/29348147/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/20/29348147/index.xmlWed, 20 May 2009 14:00:14 GMTNote to my readers. This blog is simply my opinion and not the opinion of, or representative of views of, the 34th ID Public Affairs Office, the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or really anyone else.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/14/44940065/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/14/44940065/index.xmlThu, 14 May 2009 14:08:38 GMTMy deployment continues to go well. Still getting settled in and transitioning from the previous unit.  There is still violence in Iraq, but I'm encouraged by a lot of things that I see and hear about.http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/09/90482879/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/09/90482879/index.xmlSat, 09 May 2009 12:49:54 GMTAfter my first week in Basra, I've got to admit, it's not too bad. I first got here and was not very excited.  Little phone and Internet access, poor showers, and I had to walk everywhere. But you know what, it's a camp in the middle of the desert, and I'm with the Army in a war, so I've decided to turn my attitude around. http://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/04/45483589/index.xmlhttp://nwherald.com/blogs/entries/2009/05/04/45483589/index.xmlMon, 04 May 2009 18:51:01 GMT