Tony's Blog
Email with any questions at anton@thekuhlmanns.com 11 September 2005 Lately not much is happening, mostly just the daily grind. A few of the guys wrote a song and are recording it. Spend most of my time in the office, gym, or sleeping. Today I loaded live rounds in my weapon for the first time since I got to Iraq. It was a range day so really nothing of note there either. I drove an LMTV for the first time a few days ago they are a fairly comfortable ride for an army vehicle. 9 August 2005 A lot has happened since I last updated. We are at Camp Habbaniyah, Iraq. The Food is still good but trucked in from across the highway and we don’t have the selection that we once had. No indoor plumbing and the sand flees are pretty bad. But I am here with good men and that makes all the difference in the world. This dusty dirty hole was once a beautiful RAF base complete with a large swimming pool, I wish they would bring that back. Now the only things left are looted, falling down buildings and dirt, the green that was is either dead or covered in a thick layer of dust. 5 July 2005 Well she is here and on July 4 no less 6 lbs 4 oz and 19.5 inches I can’t wait to hold her. She has lots of brown hair. I had a really exciting day. My Platoon Sergeant had a baby during Operation Desert Storm and He didn’t get pictures for weeks. I had mine in a few hours and I got to hear some of her first cries over the phone. The Spectrum even wrote an article about her. I feel really lucky to have been able to participate at all.
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1-4 July 2005 Lots of range time, this is what I had asked for. Food is still great the chow hall was decorated for July fourth. It is still hot, windy, and sandy. I have figured out the moral call numbers, now I just have to wait in those long lines to talk to my family. 30 June 2005 Things are moving along. We have shower trailers and in the showers is this cool little Indian man that cleans up after you and gives you bottled water to rinse off with if the tank runs dry in the middle of your shower. It feels like I’m rich I have never even been in a restroom with an attendant. 29 June 2005 Range day today we went to the range to check our zero pretty uneventful. 28 June 2005 Today was kind of a lazy day getting used to the new Camp and time zone. My wife and parents have my APO address. This camp has the best food I have ever seen in my 12
years in the army hands down. It is impressive I have paid money for food that wasn’t this good. I am also glad to be getting this started everyday spent here is one less day I have to be away from the ones I love. 27 June 2005 The longest leg was from Maryland to Frankfurt Germany in Germany we were in a remote terminal. When the pilot notified us that we were on our descent to Kuwait I got butterflies in my stomach for a few minutes but when we landed it was all business. Short bus ride and we were at our staging area nicknamed Camp Burger King because it had one of the first Burger Kings in the area. 26 June 2005 Left for Kuwait today I don’t know how it was for everyone else but this was a really emotional day for me. I was fine for most of the day we stopped twice for fuel once in Baltimore, MD at the airport people clapped as we got off the plane just like on that beer commercial. 23 June 2005 Well today was the day of the big ceremony and parade. It was hot and humid. That marks the last big thing left to do in the US. Now we have to fight the boredom for the next few days. 19 June 2005 I went to church today. The Hattiesburg ward made pies for about 100 of us, their ward more than doubled in size today it was nice to attend a regular ward. I would like to thank them again for there hospitality. 18 June 2005 I completed my out processing and Most of us are basically ready to leave the country. With the exception of the dog and pony show next week and a short pass we are on our way. 17 June 2005 I am back in Camp Shelby, Mississippi. I can’t say that I really missed this place but, it is a lot better than Fort Irwin. It is hard to come back to this life after spending time with the ones I love. 14 June 2005 I just added this today and I will update it as I can.