Brad broke his ankle

Brad broke his ankle a few days ago. He was running on the base and twisted his ankle. After pushed through with a few days of pain he finally had it checked out. The medical staff considered sending him to Germany but he knows that will only add more time onto the end of his tour. So he is staying put in Iraq tying to nurse the break. Please keep him in your thoughts!

DVD project going really well!

67 DVDs in Iraq
14 DVDs from Wedertz family
60 DVDs from Methodist Church
4 DVDs from Mollie
---
145 total DVDs
Thank you for your ongoing help! Only 755 more (I think we can do it!)

Brad said the soldiers are excited about the project but don't really think it can be pulled off, 1000 anyway. They are building shelves for the DVDs in one of the large offices and placing numerous DVDs in the community rooms where the soldiers gather and rest.

Brad making a difference in Iraq...Mollie making a difference at home (specifically in the bathrooms)

Let the bathroom projects begin! My dad, sister and I have put down new floors, trim, paint and changed out some cabinet knobs - you can see the bathrooms in progress here. I am so happy with how they are turning out!




Some "posed" shots of Brad at work. The are unloading pallet after pallet of beer for the Superbowl game. There is no beer allowed on base generally but the Iraqi government made an exception for Superbowl. Each soldier can have 2 beers. The donated supplies are Bud Light, Miller, Heineken and Guinness.

The DVD project

The DVD project is at 67 DVDs and counting (Brad has a goal of 1000, after all there are 30,000 soldiers on base there).

Thank yous to Fyrne, Ira, Karen and the Wedertz family for the DVDs. Additionally, we have 2 churches helping out! The Methodist church in Seattle where Gerrie goes (a lifelong family friend and my Godmother) and the Unitarian Universalist church in Edmonds (the church Brad and I go to).

THANK YOU all for your help in this endeavor.

We will keep you posted with the project, so far Brad said a lot of the soldiers are really excited about the influx of new DVDs for positive distractions!

1.20.2009

I have waited so long for today. With much anticipation, it is a new day, an electric beginning to what I hope proves to be a new foundation for government in our country. I watched the crowd of 2 million people fill the frigid National mall, it was emotionally overwhelming. I am encouraged with a cabinet that will do business in the light of day to reestablish trust again.

I await a cabinet that will support a president who want to "responsibly leave Iraq to its people" and "reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals". I feel hope today that I didn't feel yesterday. Let this day begin a new.

Mail time!! 1-18-2009

DVD count 50

Brad got 10 letters and 2 care packages today, he was so excited. Eight of the letters were from Soldiers Angels, a non-profit organization I am a part of that writes letters of support to soldiers. http://www.soldiersangels.org/ The care packages were from me, mostly DVDs for the ongoing project Brad is undertaking.

Pictures of Brad in Iraq

The sand bags outside his bedroom for added protection.

His small room, he gets one bunk and a locker/closet, 4 guys to a room (he only has one roommate right now).


Brad opening up the first care package we sent over. Books, Valentine candy, batteries, a poster from Max and Ethan, sanitizing hand wipes, mints, granola bars, and dry protein drink mix.

1-14-2009 email update from Brad

An email from Brad - 1-14-09

Well, I find myself wanting to share more about my time here. Hope you don't mind more random thoughts,I hope this reaches you in the best of times and that you are all well and happy. In one of my previous letters I said that I had come to terms with the fact that dust was just going to be on everything and I was just going to have to deal with it. The next day it rained...yep! So you know what happens when a ton of dust gets wet....yep, MUD! Lots and lots of mud. They have some very angry looking Iraq's going around with a huge vacuum truck and they suck up all the mud puddles. Mud....the other dust.

The burn pit has not shifted in a few days so it has been nice to not smell that putrid death smell. I will hate that smell for the rest of my life.

We got in some boxes from Girl Scouts. They were Valentine's that they decorated. They are super cute and say nice things in them like.."We love and miss you guys" Love Emma, and things like that. You can tell who the really lonely guys are by how they just sit with their back against the wall and read them over and over. We wish we could thank them but they don't want us to have the addresses of little girls. It is a sad world when a soldier in Iraq is dangerous to a Girl Scout in the US in my opinion.

We also got in some boxes of home made cookies. Wow, have you ever seen on the discovery channel when they show the sharks eating. It was kind of like that just with big smiles and laughs. About 2000 cookies gone in a few hours. I hope these letters don't sound too negative. There are a bunch on nice things here as well. One of them is laundry! You take it to a drop point and they weigh it and tag it. 72 hours later you come back it is all bagged up and clean and folded. Nice! Also, we have our own ping/pong table in the bay. I have not had time to play it but I will make time in the near future as I get better at my job.

I have found out that the weather seems to control the aggressive acts that happen. Bad weather is a bad time to be out. It is nice when it's sunny and clear and the wind is calm. Good time to be out side! (The Iraqi's use the dust as an advantage to attack, they run a better risk of attacking and fleeing).

I have had the opportunity to meet many people from other countries. We seem to get along very well as we are all non-natives to this country. I have a friend named Neil and he is from Nepal. He was recruited when his family was robbed of $5000.00 by the government before it was fired and he faced the possibility of being homeless. In his country he makes about $60.00 a month. Here he is making $760.00 a month. He has already gotten his 5k back and will work here till 2010 so he can live well when he gets home. He is often homesick and wishes he could go home now. He is a Hindu and misses the cow that the village has. He showed me pictures of the cow and it is very cute for a cow. He assures me it is a god and told me he would get 25 to life if he was to injure it. I assured him that if I ever visit that I would be very kind to the cow. It is interesting to visit with the various people here. They all have amazing stories as to why they are here and as you can guess they are mostly related to supporting family and needing income. They all are grateful for the "American War" and like their jobs. It is nice to work with such sort of happy people.

We also have a number of American workers here. They make about $50.00 an hour and keep it tax free. They live like we do and take the same risk we do so they seem like brothers in the effort and we get along well with them. There is another group of workers, the guys from outside the gate and they work with armed guards and barbed wire around them (these are "unprocessed" Iraqi's who come in for day labor). They have no cell phones, pagers, cameras, GPS devices, thumb drives on them and are just as likely to be hurt as we are. We don't talk to them but they always wave. I wave and smile back.

I love seeing all the planes that come in unless they are flying over my pod when I am sleeping. It is amazing to see the military machine in motion. Really amazing how much we get done in a shift. I find myself reflecting on if we could just use all this stuff to help the world in poverty.... well you know the answer to that. Sad.

I am considering going to the hospital and volunteering soon. You have to commit to it for a time and I am still not sure about my time. Also, after working 12-13 hours it is just nice to lock myself in my little pod and watch a DVD on the computer. Then drift off to sleep. I am just not ready for what I will be forced to see. I will keep you posted on/if I go do it.

I have not seen the Camel Spiders. It is cold right now so they are not out as much. I guess if you move sand bags around then they are on you. I don't really want a 6-12 inch spider that can run 10 MPH angry at me so no sand bag moving for this guy. We do have lots of small bugs, mice and baby birds around. Would be nice to see a dog or a cat sometime.

I have started my DVD project. I am asking people for them in the cases and not rated above "R" be sent to me. I am going to put them in the work centers so we can watch them on breaks and down time. Mollie has already found 40 of them for me to get started and I am hoping that others will mail them to me or give them to Mollie so I can share them here. If you find DVD's you won't mind never seeing again then please send them my way. Well, hope you enjoy hearing about life in Iraq,Miss you all so much,-Brad/Dad

---------From Mollie----------

Thank you all who have emailed / wrote Brad letters!! Nicole, Ellin and my family have all been super supportive this week. I appreciate all of you who have called me and made time to check in on me. I feel so supported!!!

DVD count: 46 mailed

7, 12 and 40

Brad is working 7 days a week, midnight to noon for 40 days, it is rumored that then he will have a day off. He's not counting. There is a large rotation still there doing training that are about to go home, the constant talk and excitement gets old.

It has been quite difficult to get fruits and vegetables regularly in Iraq for Brad. He works on the flight line so he cannot go to the chow hall for 2 of the 3 meals; he has to eat whatever they bring him. The individuals shuttling around the food are contract laborers with KBR (formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton). KBR has won contracts previously in the Vietnam War as well as World War II. These lower leveled employees are often Iraqi with limited to no English skills. He generally gets large piles of meat and white carbs, he only eats the white carbs. (I bet he is enjoying those protein drinks we sent him.)

Yesterday the boys and I went shopping for fruit leather. I was so excited to find a really yummy dried fruit and vegetable blend that is 100% natural. The kids and I ate it like candy and though it is high in fructose, it will help with the dietary transition.

Thus far I have gathered 40 DVDs. Brad and his office mates are constructing shelves for DVDs and books to trade within their group. I hope to send over more DVDs as I gather them so he can continue to take them to the community rooms. It is projects like this that help him manage day to day.

On a Mollie note, I totally underestimated what my experience would entail with Brad’s departure. I didn't anticipate finding myself paralyzed with bouts of depression and feeling more comfortable socially reclusive. As a usually very active person, I find a lot of my time is used in seemingly nonproductive manners, watching TV, daydreaming.... I have no idea how other women get through similar things, I should start to ask.

Brad's on a mission

I talked with Brad today. I shared with him that the church read a blurb from an email he sent to some friends in his Men's Group. I didn't know Brad was going to be part of the service. I was all strong....until they read the email, and the dam broke. I pulled it together until they asked the congregation to support me, Justus and Bradley through this tough time. It is really heart warming, so appreciated.


After the service I had staff and congregation come check in on me and wonder what they could do. I passed this along to Brad and he said, "man these guys need some DVDs". The limited escape of a movie really lightens the day for those serving. There are community rooms available for the guys to hang out in, they have modest TVs with DVD players. With 28,000 people on the base, movies are in demand. Brad said they watch them over and over and they scrath and skip but they keep playing them.


I have encouraged my friends and family to help me out and see what they can round up. Brad would love to outfit some of the community room with a fresh supply of DVDs. I will keep you posted and see how many I can send over. These guys don't even care if they are new movies, just something a little cheery.


Please let me know if you want to help out. I can mail out one box so you don't have to ship it if you are local.


This is so like Brad. It is innate in him to look for ways to make things easier on other people.


Thank you! and way to go Brad!

clear phone call with an abrupt end

I talked to Brad today 1.10.2009. The previous time was a few days ago on the 2 cents per minute phone with a shared line (like in the old days), random people pick up the same phone line and begin dialing. The competition between the static and those dialing intruders made our limited 15 minute phone call a mere 7 minutes.

Today, Brad hunted down the crystal clear 4 cents per minute phone! Woo WOO. It was so nice to hear from him until mid-conversation I heard the alarm and new he was under attack. "I have to go, we are under attack." The base is able to warn of incoming fire fairly specific, so it must have been close. I am glad I was warned long ago about overhearing rapid fire and loud alarms.

As I refrain from sharing any political or war reasoning here, I am FRUSTRATED that he is there. I am deeply sadened for the families and service members who pay the price for this war.


I received an email from Brad today, here are some excerpts.

I noticed that almost everyone who was here through the holidays still has up their cards and letters from people back home. Several guys have poster size cards done by kids in elementary schools from back in the states. My roommate has a small one on the wall by a random 8 year old and it is all he has on the wall. It is sweet as the kid says hello and that he likes hockey. People should know that the airmen here really like things from the states.

Today I came to terms with the fact that I am not going to be able to keep the dirt and dust off anything I own. Dust is just a fact of life here in Iraq.

I have learned the it takes about 30 million gallons of fuel to keep this base going for a month. 50% of that fuel used just in generators just to run all the AC units.

I was looking at a map of Iraq and I figured out that we are almost exactly dead center of the country.

Food continues to be easy to get but not eat for me. They serve tons of carbs and meat at each meal. I am luck today as they had apples and they were grabbed up in a hurry. I was excited to see them at the office and was able to get 2. I will enjoy them tonight as a nice treat. By the way, these are nothing like Washington apples, these are little bitty guys that you would pass by at the store but for here they are a hot item.

Brad's mailing address

Feel free to send Brad mail, he would love it.

It is just a regular stamp.

SSG Bradley W. Sharp
USAF 332 ELRS/LGRDA
APO AE 09315-9997

I received an email on 1-2-09 while Brad was in transit.... remember the things I hid in his bag (at the time of the email he had not found the card yet) :-) When Brad went through customs he had to dump everything out as the official rumaged through his things. He found the -We'll miss you- card that Bradley, Justus and I planted in his bag. From the conversation we had, it sounds like the card really touched him. This was the same customs that confiscated his Mens Health magazine because it was considered inappropriate material since some of the men work out without a shirt on.

Hey Baby,

Just wanted to send you a note and remind you how much you are loved. I re-packed my bags this morning and found all the small love tokens and the picture. Thank you so much. You are my jackpot and my most wonderful friend.

Love,
-Brad

So what is Iraq like?

Once on the plane you fly in total darkness and drop out of the sky into the base. (you have to drop down fast so you are not shot down) I am at Camp Anaconda or Balad AB depending on your branch of service, the bases are connected with a flight line. It is about 40 miles north of Baghdad and some consider it a suburb of that city. I am about ½ mile from the Tigers river.


I live in a group of pods that have been surrounded by 10 foot high 20” thick concrete walls and sandbags. My pod is U-55 and is near the main flight line, which makes it so fun to try and sleep with the 24/7 aircraft taking off next door.

The terrain is a lot like the desert outside LA. It is a bit of brush and a few palm and scrub trees. Lots of clay and gravel make up the paths that you can walk on. It is hot during the day and cold at night. Less dusty than Qatar where I was last. They burn all the trash 24/7 with a huge plume of black smelly smoke rises all day long. I bought some dust mask in case the wind shifts and it blows on me at the area where I work. (He did not know until later that day that when the smoke is thick, you cannot cover your face because they have to be able to see who you are. This is maddening to me becaue now he has to breath all that. Additionally, the natives do not like all the burning and pollution but that base does not want anything leaving the premises.)

Today is the day, it's 2am, we need to be at the airport by 8am

Today Brad leaves. We were up most of the night working on paperwork, there is so much to do before he leaves. Wills, power at attorneys, contacts to suspend and on and on... I am going to miss my husband.

Who will I watch the Office with?? Who will talk me into getting up and going running?

I snuck some things into his bags tonight, he has passed out already. We have to be up in just a few hours.... he slumbers for the last night in our bed all cocooned up.

Ethan, Max and I leave for Oregon tomorrow, it will be nice to be around friends and family.