Preparation for next deployment

Currently, my Tennessee Army National Guard unit, the 1171st Transportation Co. is preparing for another deployment to Iraq. This will make my third combat deployment in my 22 year military career. Unlike the other two deployments, we have known of the mobilization for several months and there has been time to prepare.

I completed many of the yard/home projects in the past few months and still have a couple left to do such as cleaning out the gutters. I also want to cut down a dead tree, but I fear my lack of professional experience with a chainsaw, the tree won't go down were I want it and do more harm than good.

Also have completed much of what I wanted at my civilian job (DCS) with my caseload down, touching up files and letting clients know of my military status.

Some of my preparation as been in what will keep my busy while deployed. In the 1991 deployment, I brought along a few books and a Walkman. Read the books the Walkman, a device that I owned since high school didn't to the end, sand took it's toll on the cassette player. During that deployment we moved often and the best of accommodations was having plywood floors in the tent and electric lights. As for communicating home, there were several phone centers. The toughest part was relying on a compass to find the company area in blackout drive.

My second deployment in 2003, I did purchase a portable DVD player and already owned a Garmin GPS receiver and felt the GPS would help in navigation to and from the phone centers. However, during the 2003 deployment the phone centers were not as numerous. We did have a digital telephone in the TOC, a phone that I despised even though I was the communications person for the company. Placing a call to the United States was a painstaking ordeal of calling an operator in Europe to connect one to a center in the US and then use the AT&T phone card. Thus my phone calls home rare. But, we did have one computer in the company that was hooked to the Internet and I was able to email home just about everyday. When I found myself in Kuwait (Arifjan, Udari and Victory), there were pay-as-you-go Cyberzone computer centers where I was able to email and begin to use MSN Messenger with the web cam to communicate. Some people used pre-paid cellphones while in Kuwait. Later a cell tower was built at Cedar II, using cell phones did not come cheap.

This deployment I feel I am better prepared. Will be taking my laptop where I have installed Skype. I elected to purchase my own phone number where I can make and receive calls once I have an internet connection. Have also begin using Facebook, which may be my primary communication and using email for private use. I do plan to upgrade my outdated MP3 player to something a little more modern. I do like the iPod Touch, but with the unlikely event that Wi-Fi's being available at the base, it's took expensive in my opinion just to store song. A 19" HD TV at Wal-Mart with a built in DVD player has caught my eye, but I might wait until I arrive in Iraq and visit the PX and yard sale.