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Short video as a previewI had to compress this and it was still too long to attach to an e-mail. I hope this works for you.

More pictures from Ian (plus a few from the air show I went to)

Here are some more pictures from Ian. The bottom one shows the skyline of Mosul. He took these two pictures while he was on a convoy. The top two pictures are from the "Arctic Thunder" air show on Elmendorf AFB. The Thunderbirds put on a fantastic show!

Some pictures from Ian

Ian sent me these pictures this morning and I wanted to share them. He's doing well. As soon as he sends out another update I will add it to the blog! My best friend came to visit last week and we had a great time seeing the sights. We went to Seward to the SeaLife Center and then up to Denali National Park for three days. It was great!
mv

Update from Ian in Iraq

I have arrived safe and sound in Q-west, Iraq. You can find Q-west by locating Kirkuk and Mosul on a map, then drawing a triangle that crosses over the Tigris. It is about 20 km west of the river, almost due south of Mosul. Easy to spot on Google Earth, because it is the only thing for several miles. The trip here was long but not too bad. We had a layover in Dulles in Washington, DC that was long enough that we had time to leave the airport and visit the National Air and Space Museum exhibition. They had the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb, the Enola Gay, on display. They also had the space shuttle Enterprise, an SR-71 Blackbird, a P-38 Lightning, a Concorde, and many other interesting aircraft. The next flight took us directly to Kuwait, where we stayed a few days while waiting for a flight to Q-West. The flight here was rather less enjoyable than the typical airline flight, as a C-130 is not quite as comfortable, and it took a steep glide path for landing.

I live in a building similar to a trailer known as a CHU (containerized housing unit, I think). It is meant to house two Soldiers, but I have it all to myself, so I can have some privacy when I want it. I hope to get some posters or art to hang on the walls and a rug to make it a little more like a home. It also has a very good air conditioner, so it is quite comfortable inside in only a few minutes. It is certainly a far cry from the tent cities in Kuwait, or the ones people were living in here earlier in the war.

The food at the DFAC (mess hall) is amazing, all things considered. They have a huge variety of food every day in the main line, and there is a short order line with fast food, pizza, tacos, and hot sandwiches. There are plenty of drinks available, including sports drinks and big bottles of water, so you stay hydrated. There is even ice cream, cakes, deserts, and smoothies available. All you can eat, and all free (to us, not the taxpayer). It certainly is much better than the rations we were eating in the Philippines.

There is a fair amount of shopping to be done here- there is a PX with movies and games as well as the usual essential hygiene items, and Iraqis and other foreign nationals run shops with crystal, jewelry, carpets, clothing, and the like. I don't care for the immense pressure to buy something- even more than in the Philippines or Brazil- but they certainly have low prices. Much of the goods are counterfeit, like DVDs, shoes, or bags, but some of the other things like the carpets are pretty good quality.

My job is the assistant S3. I help make sure that the convoys carrying food, water, fuel, and other necessities running from the Turkish border south have the support they need to keep supplies moving. I am working for a very professional officer, Cpt. Ackiss, that I think can teach me a lot about becoming a good officer. I spend most of my days in front of a computer, but I did recently get to go drive around the perimeter of the base and look at the defensive positions. I should get some practice at briefing in front of the battalion commander, and I will probably get involved in planning some of the non-standard missions that come up from time to time.

I will try and send some pictures soon, because the sunrise and sunset here are beautiful. You can email me at:
strouir@hotmail.com
or
ian.stroud@us.army.mil

My mailing address is:

Ian Stroud
HHC, 17th CSSB
FOB Q-West
APO AE 09351

* The website I go to for the Family Readiness Group says not to put rank on the letters or packages sent so keep this in mind. MV

Trip to Valdez

Since we found out we had two more weeks together than we expected, we took an impromptu trip to Valdez to go kayaking. On the way there we found an area where we could access the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and had fun playing on it. Our kayaking trip couldn't have been more perfect. We paddled about 3.5 miles to Gold Creek where we went for a little hike in the creek to see a waterfall. We saw Dall Porpoise, many varieties of sea ducks, eagles, seals, otters, and even two wolves. After our little hike we had a picnic on the gravel beach and then paddled back. Valdez is lovely!

Wayne came for a short visit

Wayne received a mission to fly to Elmendorf this week and so we were able to hang out with him on a couple of occasions. He first arrived on Wednesday and we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center so he could see the animals as well as enjoy the beautiful drive to Portage. He had to fly to Eglin the next day but returned Friday night and spent most of Saturday with us so we took him to see the sights of Anchorage and try the local cuisine. It was great that Ian got to see him before going to Iraq.

Trip to Barrow, Alaska

Ian and I took a trip to Barrow this weekend. I've had a hankering to see the arctic and we decided to go before he goes to Iraq. The highest temperature we witnessed was probably -5. At night it dropped to -25 or so. It ended up being one of the best trips we've gone on. The people were so nice, we were able to watch women preparing seal skins for the spring whaling boats, and to top it all off we saw three polar bears! It's truly unlike anywhere we've ever been before.

Colin and Andrea joined me last Thursday for our fifth annual ski weekend in Salt Lake City. The weather could not have been any better. It was sunny and 20's on Thursday, Friday and Sunday and it snowed steadily all day Saturday. Since the kids didn't get in until Thursday evening, I skied alone on Thursday and on Friday, the three of us took an all day private lesson with Christopher, who has been teaching telemark and alpine skiing at Alta for the last 18 years. All three of us were telemarking (although one of us is considerably less skilled) and Chris did an excellent job of working with each of us on our skills. Apart from the pain from dislocating my shoulder early in the day, I really enjoyed skiing with the kids, even though they ski through moguls and trees that are beyond my comfort level. I'll try to get a couple of photos posted this weekend.

We stayed with Scott and Patricia Woller, who live at the base of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, which is where Brighton, Solitude, Snow Bird and Alta are. This year, we did all our skiing at Alta. It would be hard to find a more beautiful setting or better snow.

Leah is considering enrolling in a college in Salt Lake City, which may mean that there will be even another reason to visit there next winter. If you haven't skied in Salt Lake City, I recommend it highly.

ROb

Ian's promotion Ceremony

Ian's promotion ceremony was thankfully put off till they were back from the Philippines. It was my job to put his new rank on his uniform. Afterwards we had some cake and Indian food. It's nice to finally call him Captain Stroud!

Ian's back and we've been dog sledding!

For those of you who don't know, Ian returned from the Philippines on Friday which was two days early! We had a wonderful weekend involving dog sledding. We drove up to Trapper Creek yesterday (about 120 miles north) to go mushing with Francine again. We went with her last year when Andrea came up. We had a fantastic time, although my sled tipped over once and threw me off. I landed hard, but I'm ok. It's amazing how fast those dogs can run!

Ian had a good time in the Philippines and from what I can tell the experience was rewarding. He leaves for Iraq in the first or second week of next month. I wish I had him home longer, but at least he'll only be gone 7 months.