The Latest

Sorry to all for the long time it has been since I last posted on this blog.  I guess you could say a lot has happened but for me one day seems very like the last.  My three teammates and I have been moved to the Unit's head quarters on Joint Base Balad, previously known as LSA (logistical support area) Anaconda.  I guess the Air Force recently took over the base leading to the name change.   This place is huge.  There are about 29000 service members on the base and we are pretty much the only mental health assets.  Our unit operates a fitness program here, which is a short term (1-3 days) in-patient program geared towards helping service members get back to their units as fast as possible.  In addition to the Fitness program, we have a prevention team as well as our unit Head Quarters, which brings me to the reason I am here.  LTC Banuelos, the unit Commander has appointment me the Chief of Clinical Services for the entire unit, which puts me second in command and in charge when the commander is not here.  Medical Detachments don't really have XO's (Executive Officers) like Medical Companies do but, my job is basically the same.  I do not get to give up my Prevention OIC job either, lucky me…I get to do both.  My prevention OIC job requires me to visit all the other locations where we have teams, so I'll be going to Ramadi first, then to a place called Warhorse, which is just south of us, then on to a camp called Hammer, which is southeast Baghdad, and finally back to Taji, my old duty station.  I like traveling around out here because it means more Blackhawk helicopter rides for me.  My teammates basically came with me to help out with the fitness program and to assist in tracking our prevention stuff from this end, plus, we all get a long and I asked that they come with me.  The junior enlisted girls are not incredibly happy here as they now live in a very small CHU (containerized housing unit) together and have lost a lot of their space and privacy.  I too have a roommate, SSG Kolar, the Detachment Sergeant.  We get a long very well as we did some combat missions together on the last deployment, the first of which was the first combat mission anyone from the 1835^th ever conducted back in late June of 2004.   My new job unfortunately takes me away from clinical work for the most part so there are fewer solder stories for me to report.