Things are calming down and life is definitely much more manageable, since the elections. I am even finding time after work (leaving on time now) to do some lesson planning for physics. I am also co-leading the RCIA program here in the IZ for military and civilians who wish to use this time to explore their faith and move towards membership in the Catholic faith. Since we are just starting we will have no one accepted this Easter Season, but we are working towards celebration of the sacraments in late June early July.

It was cool this Palm Sunday. The palms we used came from right outside the door! I have never had that before. The palm trees are everywhere. Actually being our here not for three months I am quite amazed at how strong and sturdy the palm trees are. The weather here is not very conducive to life and the dust storms work to clog the air out of everything.


Early last week I was talked into running a 5 K. Completed the run in 22:30 which isn’t that good. I am hoping to cut that time down by the time I leave. They have 5 K’s every couple of weeks. The best part is a free t-shirt for every run. My roommate, Eric, also ran the run and his picture is below.

I pray you all had a happy Lent and a blessed Easter. We will be able to celebrate the Triduum here in Iraq, but I have to travel to one of the other bases to do so. After moving through checkpoints and everything it will necessitate a 1.5 hour rid on the bus to move both ways – well worth the joy of celebrating Easter. My wife sent me three Cadbury Eggs and I am definitely looking forward to eating them on Easter morning. Until then.

Peace,
Chris Culver

A good week

Hello,

I missed writing last week – my first time. I would have to say that this weekend was pretty good. It started with an afternoon conference for our military section – the J9 Civil Capacity Building and Embassy Engagement. We were looking at how to best engage the progressing situation in Iraq and how it would/should affect our work. Over all it was very successful as the members of the command put forth a lot of energy to ensure we had a good and thoughtful discussion. That is a challenge given the long hours that all of us work and that the conference didn’t help anyone get their day-to-day requirements completed. It was time spent ensuring the organization was set-up well for the next team (many of the people at the conference will be home by the time the decisions take place).

I want to use this time to express the deep respect that I have come to develop for the Army in my time here. First off, I must say the Army has issues. I am not going to spend any time speaking to those here today, but I will admit that me and my Navy buddies frequently spent hours discussing them. The navy is a minority here (about 6,000 of 100,000 troops in Iraq) and we coped by focusing on the negative.
But I have some to know many Army officers and enlisted and I have come to know their work and I am more than willing to say that I was wrong to spend as much time focusing on the issues.

And unlike me, who is serving this one time in Iraq as a Navy Reservist, I have met countless Army Reservists who have spent 3 or 4 years here. They are repeatedly called to come back and they do so. Each time they miss their families and each time the work hard to make Iraq a better place – and they are succeeding. Of course a great deal of the work is being done by Iraqi’s too, but I am in awe of these Army men and women who keep coming back to serve – because it is needed. I am grateful for their efforts, because as I come here to serve in year seven of the war, I see the fruits of their labors. I see a free people who for the 30 years prior to our arrival saw hundreds of thousands murdered (if not upwards of a million) by a dictator. I see religious hatred, starting to fade (especially in the young).

To get there has cost a great deal for both the Iraqi’s and the US. I do not want to say “it was worth it,” because to me that some how implies a 100,000 dead in seven years is “an acceptable price.” Still, there is a human truth that freedom costs, it requires suffering. It requires love (not the easy kind found on rainbow colored signs, but real love) that is willing to die for the other. I have to admit that I struggle with this concept, especially during Lent where we focus on Jesus’ image of love. I don’t have all the answers, or the poetry to make it sound better, but I do have a hope that we as the human community can accomplish the building up of our world community with perhaps a little less death. My hope is that love requires only the willingness to sacrifice (like Abraham in the reading several weeks go); that in the end God will help us build up all of the world’s communities (Afghanistan, Israel, Haiti etc) without so much death and suffering.

Peace and Happy Lent,

Mr. Culver


Spending some time near conference site. This Palace is on Saddam's former hunting grounds. The lake is rumored to have dead bodies from the former regime. Don't know about that, but the fish in the last are about 4 ft long (personally verified that fact)

PS.

In the paper today (the seventh anniversary of the commencement of the war in Iraq which removed Saddam) it mentioned a US female protester carrying a sign, “Bread not Bombs.” All I could think about was how uninformed a comment. Even the mainstream media is noting the incredible work the US government (not just the US Military) is accomplishing in building up the community of Iraq from education, to agriculture, to developing their oil resources, to advancing women issues and simply teaching a people how to exercise freedom without rushing to kill each other. It hasn’t been about bomb for at least two years. This is about keeping a presence in the volatile middle east. We have been here a number of times ... it is time we started doing it right and not leave at the first sign ....

A Rather differrent week.

I had a wonderful and unique week.On Wednesday morning I was invited to be one of the junior members of the Major General Lanza's entourage to visit General Babakir. General Lanza is my boss. You have seen him on TV as one of his responsibilities is to act as the official spokesperson for USF-I (United States Forces - Iraq - basically the all of the military in Iraq). General Babakir is the Chief of Staff, Iraqi Joint Forces and would equate to something like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States. Typically an officer will get the opportunity to go to one or two such dinners during their tour (unless they have a job that calls for more - which I do not). It was a great way to great out of the office.



(Stock Internet footage)

The dinner was great and General Babakir was an outstanding host. Iraqi hospitality is more formalized that in the United States ... at the same time the interact is more relaxed. The evening started by entering the reception room, which was lined with large comfortable couches. The conversation moved between current events, military business, and family. My boss and General Babakir know each other so the conversation quickly advanced. I enjoyed greatly the conversation between these two very power men. In many ways, the conversation between powerful men is just like the conversation between regular people - just trying to find a way to make it all work for the best. Tea was served, as it Iraqi custom. The tea was very tasty.

After a while we were directed to the other side of the house for dinner. The table was completely covered with food and there was no way we could eat it all. In fact after we finished, it looked like we didn't really make a dent. It was family style with a lot of choices. The expectation is to eat a great deal. I was a good guest. The bread was incredible. They also has lamb, fish, and this really good chicken kabob. A number of dishes were vegetable based - I particularly liked this grape leaf wrap and had about 4 of those. A good host in Iraq will personally serve food on the plate of guests. Fortunately I was over on the end. The Chief of Staff, though, was right next to General Babakir and the general kept loading up his plate. We all thought he was going to burst after the meal.When dinner was finished is was back to the reception room for more conversation, tea, dessert and fruit. One of the desserts was an all natural fresh pistachio ice cream. That was to die for. I gave myself a dispensation from my Lenten sacrifice as I did not want to cause an international incident by being a poor guest.
(More stock footage, but this was one of the great desserts we had too!)

Eventually the evening ended and we came back to the NEC. On our way out, the general gave all of the guests one of his coins. I have it on my desk. All-in-all a great evening. The Generals coin is the green one. The other two are a USF-I coin and an American Embassy Coin.




As to the rest of the week, the elections were a big success. While Pres Bush made many mistakes in Iraq, he was correct to assume that people hunger for freedom and will stake their lives on the establishment of freedom for themselves, their families and their communities. By and large the terrorists were completely ineffective in deterring voters from turning out. They were also ineffective in killing large numbers of people. Unfortunately, they did succeed in killing some people - a hope is that even that skill/capability will diminish with time as well. For long time the Iraqi people have rejected violence. What is changing is the increase capability and will of the Iraqi police to act on tips from the population and protect all - regardless of ethnic/religious (which are intimately connected) backgrounds. The next question for Iraq, is can they effectively govern their country.
This a tough question and will necessitate significant US government support, if we are smart, for a very long time.

Lastly, I have confirmation from my sister that my I-phone made it safely to Milwaukee and is back on its way to Iraq. The sleep/wake button on the phone broke and I sent it to her since Apple has no mechanisms to deal with military personal living at APO addresses (a major company weakness). Regardless of the company's short coming, I do miss my I-Phone and hope to have it back soon.

Peace,

Chris Culver