Chris moves for a month

Just a quick update on Chris' whereabouts:

He's leaving today for a month (maybe less if all goes well) to be closer to possible activity during the month of Iraqi elections. Let's all pray it goes well, for everybody's sake.

Other news to report: The best refrigerator in the world arrived and is now busy keeping a bottle of Pepsi cold. Ice cold. Very, very cold Pepsi. Chris is thrilled and thanks everyone that helped make it happen.

His garden died after the two sunflower sprouts were devoured by the birds he'd been feeding. It was a fun experiment, and he may try again later.

Trigger will be safe in Chris' room while he is away. Friends and neighbors will make sure he's cared for.

He sends his love and greetings to all.

The Passenger that Yelled at Us

We had just landed at Taji, north of Baghdad, for a passenger pickup. (MAJ Pat O'Toole had been stationed there a few years ago, remember?)

Left side Gunner:  Uh, sir. There's something you should take a look at here.

CW3 Pedersen:  "Oh, oh. CPT Salisbury, one of the passengers is yelling at us."

CPT Salisbury:  "What?"

CW3 Pedersen:  "Yes, sir. On my side over to the left. He's behind the fence waiting to get onboard, and he's definitely excited about something."

CPT Salisbury:  "Well if he thinks he's getting on my aircraft, he better not be yelling."

CW3 Pedersen:  "It's okay, sir. He's settled down. He probably wasn't yelling anyway. More like barking."

CPT Salisbury:  "...Very funny. Tell him he can get on as long as he doesn't eat anybody who's sitting at the flight controls."

Wanted: Dream Psychologist, Willing to Travel to Exotic Land

I've been having the strangest dreams lately. Anyone care to give me an analysis? The setting: any place I've lived in the past. The characters: anyone I've known in the past: Problem is, the setting and the characters don't match up. At all. Let's see, the last one was Clay, Pat O'Toole, and Fr. James talking with me in old town Tempe by the old "9th and Ash" restaurant. Don't remember if we ate there. Wish I had a beer but can't remember that. But I didn't even know Fr. James back then, and hardly knew Clay. And Pat doesn't fit in that timetable either. Usually, I try to photo document things, but I can't figure out how to bring the camera along in my dreams or then, how to download it.

Maybe I'm like a Bedouin who's lost his camel and can't find a place to pitch his tent. What do you think dream analysts?

I had the day off today, but I forgot my camera in my "To-Go" bag at work. It's a bag that I carry along on missions in case I have to go somewhere fast! You know, exit the AO (Area of Operations). Extra warm clothing, some food, water, a lot of rounds of ammo, and the trusty camera. Also serves as a good overnight bag in case we break down in another FOB. When I was flying Counterdrug missions on the Southwest Border a few years ago, I had a couple precautionary landings out in the desert. Good thing helicopters can land most anywhere. The to-go bag made it like stopping to have a picnic until maintenance could arrive and fix the helicopter. One evening I was flying back to Phoenix without Night Vision Goggles and a dust storm came out of nowhere between home and the Indian commununity of Maricopa. I needed to land quickly. I ended up landing in someone's yard because they had a lit street lamp nearby and no trees in their yard. Strange. No one came out to talk to me though there was a light on inside. They must have been busy flushing all their drugs down the toilet! I sat there for about thirty minutes at full RPM eating out of my to-go bag while the dust cloud blew over me. When I finally took off, the sky was clear and starlit. At least no one came out to take a shot at me!

Got some interesting pictures yesterday. We were flying a few passengers back to FOB Delta at the end of a long day, and the crewchiefs in back wanted some close-ups of the other aircraft. We snuggled in close, but no more than one rotor disk, and took pictures of the other crewchiefs taking pictures of us. Weird. I'll try to download those tomorrow. You'll probably find those more interesting than my weirdo dreams.

The latest rumor has 4 Blackhawks with their crews (2 pilots and 2 crewchiefs per aircraft) going to another Forward Operation Base (FOB) to be on standby during the Iraqi elections. Guess we'll be ready to transport troops to go "assist" with any problems. Sounds real fun! Not. I like my current little nest.

And also, in April or May the whole company may move. Some say south. Some say north. At least east, Iran, and west, a great big desert, are not on the options list. Aren't rumors fun?

Wonder how Trigger will get where we're going?

Love,

C-M/P/3

(Christopher-Michael / Poppy / CW3 Pedersen)

One more time...

Here's another Fiesta Bowl video - the one of Lauren's choir that Fox taped but didn't broadcast. Lauren comes into the picture at about :15 but you can only see the top of her head. She's directly behind the girl with the glasses. At times this video has loaded veeeery sloooowly and other times it's been great, so if it gives you a hard time, try it again a little later. This is the last video link we will post, but we might put up some photos, if only to prove Lauren really was there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41AcOSNEyU

Radio Chatter

As taxpayers, you should know you've entrusted some highly-trained, dedicated, intelligent, professional men and women to protect U.S. interests abroad. I have proof.

At Baghdad International Airport, we pulled up alongside a C-17 and a little, white, United Nations marked fixed-wing with the callsign "Orthodox." I like that.

Next stop, MAJ Pat O'Toole's old stomping ground, Taji. Pat voluntarily served a six-month tour as a Battle Captain there. Manly stuff! Anwyay, Tower called me, "Mongol 40, Taji Tower, are you familiar with the pattern?" "Roger, Taji Tower, Mongol 40 is familiar." (Not really, but I've been there once before. No sense letting on what a bunch of knuckleheads are coming in to land. Anyway, I had the helipad in sight.) Here's the beautiful Taji Helicopter Terminal, concrete barriers and all. (Pat, did you leave from there or is it new?"

Mongol 40 prior to to our flight: L-R, SGT Matt Ferguson (Crewchief/Right-side Door Gunner), 1LT Caleb Grandy (Pilot-in-Command), CW3 Chris Pedersen (Pilot), and SGT Casper Bierman (Left-side Door Gunner).

Last stop, back to Al Kut. We had only two passengers on this leg. A male, and a young female soldier. On the way in, 1LT Grandy decided I needed to practice a GPS approach. Ugggggh. The sun was setting. It was really hazy up high where we were going. I was beat and not really proficient on this type of instrument approach. I concentrated, I stressed, I focused, I adjusted, I readjusted, I triple adjusted, and we ended up coming up on the runway threshold at the right place. Not bad.

1LT Grandy:  "I've got the controls and the radios. Good job. I'll taxi in."

CW3 Pedersen:   "Roger, you have the controls." Whew. I was wrung out. I slumped back in my seat in a quiet stupor.

Crewchief 1:  "This lady smells pretty good back here. And she looks like my type, too."

Crewchief 2:  "If there's any female around here, you say she's your type!"

1LT Grandy:   "Blair Tower, Mongol 40 is clear of the Kilo taxiway for West Ramp,  passenger dropoff." Trying to add to the conversation in back, "I may not be the world's greatest womanizer, but I do appreciate a pretty face..."

CW3 Pedersen - (While saying nothing, I'll have you know.) I reacted instantly and reached over and turned off the dial that was letting him transmit out over the airways DIRECTLY TO THE TOWER AND ANY OTHER AIRCRAFT LISTENING.

1LT Grandy - "Oh no. I thought I was internal. Was I transmitting?"

CW3 Pedersen - "Afraid so, sir."

Crewchiefs 1 & 2:  (Uncontrollable, unintelligable laughter directed at the LT.)

1LT Grandy:  Dialed Tower back up. "Tower, Mongol 40, I apologize for that."

Blair Tower:  "That's okay Mongol 40, as long as I don't loose MY TITLE as the World's Greatest Womanizer!"

1LT Grandy:  "Even in this dark cockpit, If you could see how bright red my face is right now."


C-M/P/3

The Garden of Eden... sort of

Here, along the Tigris River, a bold new experiment is unfolding. What do you get when you combine 1 quart of old, dried potting soil, 18 oz of Maxwell House coffee grounds, and 20 packs of instant oatmeal? Besides some really dirty-tasting, oatmeal-flavored coffee?

No, my newest creation, FOB Delta Potting Soil! No time to wait for compost to develop, so I just went for it. Two little pots for Basil and Sunflower seeds. Pretty neat how the soil pellet expanded in those little pots. I have high hopes for them. On the other hand, I planted some late Iceland Poppies in my experimental soil. Threw in some extra Basil and Sunflower seeds, too. All comfortably nested in a tray from one of my footlockers. So what are you guys growing?

Remember, "Desperate times call for even more desperate measurements." You can quote me on that.

Missing you even more than ever. Love you,

C-M/P/3 with a camouflaged, olive-drab, green thumb