My First Post

Family, Friends, and anyone else who happens to find their way here. I started this blog because, as many of you know, I'm heading to Iraq soon and I wanted to chronicle this adventure, keep everyone posted on what I'm doing, and hopefully provide a first hand source for information on what's happening over there.
Here's a little background on what I'm doing and where I'm going. I'll be transferring from Air Force A1 (personnel) to the Joint Improvised Explosive Device DEFEAT Organization https://www.jieddo.dod.mil/ (here's a link to the homepage if you'd like to see what it's all about) followed by a one year deplyment to Iraq. This is a Joint tour so I won't be working with the Air Force. For those of you who aren't familiar with what that means, I'll be part of an organization comprised of people from all the branches of the military. It will be my second deployment working with a joint organization (my first was to Cuba with Joint Task Force GITMO) so I have an idea of what I'm in for. I'm scheduled to report to my new organization on 10 Sept. I have a week of High Risk training here in Virginia starting next week - I'll try and provide stories from the training. I'll also be spending a week at an Army post for training prior to departing for Iraq. I should end up in country sometime at the end of Sept. Stay tuned, keep checking back for updates, and let me know what you think or what kind of info you'd like to see.

Take care,
Andy