Life at Camp Patriot by IT2 Glen Guia

From the Sandbox Deck Plate by MACM Scott McKendrick

early in the morning. There are at least five people that I know of who have already lost more than 10 pounds and two who have lost twenty five. They are going to look great when they get back home.

For others, they participate in many MWR events. We just recently had basketball play-offs, volleyball playoffs, a derby race, and our very own Camp Patriot Idol.

continued at page 3

As I ponder how life is, here at KNB (Kuwait Naval Base), the quote “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, comes to mind. We have three primary lemons as I see it. Our first lemon is the envi-ronment. You are practically in the desert. All you see is sand around you with not much of any greenery and it is hot. When we first arrived about three months ago and for oth-ers two months ago, the tem-perature during the day ranges from 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit. About two weeks ago, we faced increased hu-midity. It jumped from 10 per-cent to a brutal 70 to 80 per-cent humidity. As you step outside, it felt like you entered a fully heated sauna. I am glad it is behind us now. Our second lemon is that you can-not leave the base when you want to (for safety reasons). If you do, you can only go to

other bases and you have to get approval. This is why most people just stay in. Our third lemon is that we are not with our family and friends.

Despite these three lemons, many are making the most of it and using their time here to their advantage. The most obvious are those who have set goals to become fit and lose weight. They are utilizing our camp gym as well as the pier to walk or run at night or

Captain Sills yesterday for lunch and he is extremely proud of Charlie Company’s efforts in getting the job done. I could see the pride in his eyes. He is responsible for all of us, all 500 plus sailors. He is

continued at page 8

We have now entered the month of September and wow, has the time gone by. You may not realize how proud the leadership is of your perform-ance out on the Wash Racks and at the SPOD. I had the privileged of sitting opposite

Inside this issue:

The Inside Dirt at 100 Point 2

My First Trip to Qatar 3

What is SPOD? 3

KNB Happenings... 4

Charlie Company’s #1 R&R Destination (photos)

5

Life at KNB (photos) 6, 7

Charlie Company T-Shirts 8

Deputy Editor: LT Terry Cox Editor/Photographer: IT2 Glen Guia Designer: GM2 Robert Davidson

September 20, 2009

Volume 1, Issue 1

The Inside Dirt, of 100 Point Wash Rack by ET2 Humberto Barba

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the

story here.”

Page 2

Porsche roll out of a frustrated Connex. In the end, at the very end, the most impor-tant thing is to perform our mission in a successful manner.

“I feel proud to assist the Army personnel on their way home after all they have done for our country. We are all here to serve our country proudly so our fellow Ameri-cans can enjoy the freedom’s we all enjoy as citizens of the USA”, concluded AS1 Jeff Leslie.

When inspection is completed, vehicles and boxes are directed to Kilo, a sterile lot where everything stands by for their for-ward mobilization. It’s this vast lot of gear where you can get a glimpse of just how much effort we put in daily.

The first time I went to the 100 Point Wash Rack I didn´t know what to expect, my mind was blank. When we arrived and I saw that large piece of sandy land with the ramps to set the vehicles up on, I thought, “Well, this is like Cancun without the ‘fancy extras’ or like Disneyland a few years before being built… not too good, not too bad, but a working place”.

The 100 point Wash rack where I work, is just one place where CHARLIE Company performs its mission. The mission consists of a thorough inspection and cleaning of every single vehicle, connex box and shipping containers that have been all over the Middle Eastern theater in sup-port of operations Iraqi Freedom and En-during Freedom . These pieces of equip-ment have been in extreme weather condi-tions since they first arrived in theater . It’s our job to inspect them and send them home or back to the field.

“All of our personnel at the 100 point are extremely meticulous Customs Border Clearance Agent (CBCA) inspectors and love the moderate 120-130 degree weather which we are allowed to experience. Deal-ing with extreme conditions is our daily routine and 100 point personnel have re-sponded flawlessly”, say AS1 Jeff Leslie, the ALPO for the 100 Point. “The mission is critical and our efficiency is essential to the draw down in Iraq”.

For this purpose, we CBCA´s work along with the Third Country Nationals (TCN). The TCN´s are in charge of cleaning all those vehicles and boxes that are either going to be moved forward again, or be returned to the United States.

The standards for which to wash, clean and inspect vehicles, are set by the US De-partment of Agriculture and the US Depart-ment of Homeland Security. It’s when all this gear gets stateside that our effort gets noticed (or not, hopefully). Those vehicles, boxes and bags have been rolling all over Iraq and Afghanistan for a long time. Maybe just a few months or maybe years. During that time, they have been exposed to many different soils, dust, mud, bugs, and as they were designed to do, all man-ner of military equipment. Most of this stuff cannot just simply be washed and sent home. That’s why we have contraband lists.

The soils potentially carry bacteriological risks. Bugs carry disease hazards. If these contaminants get by us at the racks, and spread out over the US, the results could be disastrous. On the other hand, types of prohibited items include: food (except for some kinds of canned food), seeds, ani-mals and animal hair, just to name a few.

Throughout my first several weeks here, my outlook of the 100 point has been changing . I now perceive it as an enor-mous car wash where you see very expen-sive vehicles, but none of them sporty or luxurious. I’d love to see a Ferrari or a

“This mission is going to be busier

compared with the prior two that I was

on, due to the Iraqi pull down” say

MM1 Jason Evans, 100 point LPO.

What is the SPOD? by SK1 Wanda Sins

three books and on my fourth one. GM2 Taci Toves video chats, using his computer with internet connection, several times a week with his girlfriend and his son.

If you keep busy, time goes by very quickly here. Before you know it, we will be back in the US with our family and friends. It will then be our turn to share and talk about our experience in the sandbox. I will look back at this and be grateful that I am not a permanent resident of Kuwait and that I am an American.

We have had some winners. For the derby race, the two who participated won a tro-phy. SK2 John Jackson won for the most creative car built and AT2 Adam Deboer won third place for the fastest car. For Camp Patriot Idol, three of our folks par-ticipated and one won a trophy with a price. EM2 James Fussinger, wins second place.

Moreover, others are making the most of their time either reading books, watching movies, or connecting regularly with their loved ones. I myself have finished reading

the workers here have managed to study for the recent advancement exam.

SPOD is an acronym which means Sea Port of Debarkation. It consist of three separate parts. They are Section One, Section Two, and the Rinse Rack.

Section One is the entry point to our Reno Sterile Yard. This is also where all incom-ing convoys transporting inspected equip-ments are checked for cleanliness and proper paperwork. Section Two is the exit point of our Sterile Yard. All paperwork is verified to make sure it is still attached and seals remain intact on the equipment leav-ing the yard. After this is completed, the

equipment is sent to Rinse Rack. There the equipment will be washed one last time and then it will be sent to the pier to be loaded onto the ships.

The month of August has been very busy for the SPOD. Several pieces have been sent to the pier to be sent back to the United States. We continue to get convoys from Arifjan as well as Kuwait Naval Base at a steady flow. The end of the month shows to be just as busy with a “Call Forward of 1500 pieces moving through the SPOD”.

Although the work is steady at the SPOD,

continued..Life at Camp Patriot

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 1

My First Trip to Qatar by MA3 Ashley Lykeoglesby My trip to Qatar was interesting, relaxing, and overall a whole lot of fun. A beautiful welcoming country in the Persian Gulf, Qatar is a perfect destination for our four day pass. Petty Officers Moran, Monroe, Mcelroy, Williams, and myself traveled together. Once we arrived at Camp As Saliyah (CAS), we checked in at the USO for our briefing and were dropped off at our berthing. The next day we set out to explore the base. Our first stop was Chili’s. I ordered a cherry lemonade, filet mignon, bacon cheese mashed potato’s and broccoli! I enjoyed the food and it tasted just like those back home.

CAS has a Popeye’s fried chicken, three hair salons, and a pizza place. Their USO has four restaurants, a bowling alley, an ice-cream stand, a computer room, a food center, two movie rooms, a chaplain’s corner, and more. It’s a great place to hang out and stay entertained if you are not into tours. The first tour we signed up for was the City Tour and our tour guide took us to visit local shops, malls, the gold souks, and eat traditional food. He told us all sorts of astonishing facts about Qatar’s highly restrictive, and male dominated society. If a citizen is caught stealing more than 2-3 times, the offending hand will be

cut off. Also, doing drugs will get a citizen a first class ticket to Saudi Arabia to be put to death, on a Friday no less. You will be sur-prised to learn Qatar has a very low crime rate.

We signed up for so many things. The best one was the water sports because we took a cruise on a wooden boat, we rode on jet ski’s, we did speed boat sports, and we swam around. The water was so salty it burned your eyes. They grilled hot dogs, chicken and lamb, and served us delicious traditional food right on the boat.

continued at page 8

photo submitted by BM2 Joyce Jennings

Kuwait Naval Base Happenings…..

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the

story here.”

Page 4

Army Coin of Excellence

“I’ve lost 12

pounds so far and

moving forward I

am happy that I

have several

months to lose

another 13

pounds. ”

FC2 Roger

Michelbrink.

“After 42 days, I’ve lost 25 pounds. When

I started on July 6, I weighted 287 pounds.

Now, I weight 262 pounds. My strategy is

simple: Eat less and Exercise more.

My number one goal for this mobilization is

to lose 57 pounds by early next year.”

CS2 Ronald Thompson

“I use the pool bathroom and shower every-

day. It was filthy and I started cleaning

them about two to three hours every week. It

was noticed, and the next thing you know, I

am receiving a Coin of Excellence from our

Camp Commander. He stated that ‘If every-

one had the same attitude, KNB would be a

much nicer place.’” MN3 John Abner

“It was time to lose weight and being selected

for Chief pushed me forward. The PT pro-

gram accelerated the process. I started at

206 pounds and now I weight 180 pounds.

My goal is 150 pounds.”

Chief Select Deborah Weatherford

“I started at 204 pounds when I got here

and now I weight 178 pounds. My goal is

to be fit and get a six pack before I leave. I

have several months to reach my goal as a

non-body builder.” AO1 Gilbert Sanchez

Charlie Company’s Biggest Losers

“I’ve lost 10 pounds just by eating healthy

and taking advantage of my accelerated me-

tabolism due to the high temperature we have

here.”

AE1 Steven Rapp

“Since I turned

forty this past

July, I wanted to

become healthy

again. I was

kind of stagnant.

I started on May

25 and I’ve lost

20 pounds. I now

weight 205

pounds.”

GM2 Robert

Davidson

Having a Baby

girl, Lucy Noelle Arocha. She arrived this

past Sunday, September 6, weighting at 7.7

pounds at 20 1/2 inches.

Congratulations to

HT3 Cory and

Mandy Arocha.

They are proud par-

ents of a new baby

Our first wave of vacationers have safely returned from Qatar and sharing their photos and experiences.

Welcome back BM2 Williams, AM3 McElroy, PS3 Moran, QM3 Monroe, MA3 Lykeolesby, PR3 Ivanov, PS3 Garcia, SH3 Cruz, AO3 Bass, and HT3 Arocha

Charlie Company’s #1 R&R destination…….QATAR

“It was enjoyable. The beer was good

but expensive and was well worth the

time spent.” QM3 Mark Mornoe

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1

Photos submitted by AM3 Alan McElroy, MA3 Ashley Lykeoglesby, SH3 Ricardo Cruz, PR3 Georgi Ivanov

“I went to the Sand Dune trip and

the Three Mall Tour. I feel re-

charged.”

PS3 Jouseiky Garcia

Life at Kuwait Naval Base

“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the

story here.”

Page 6

Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 1

Please contact MN2 Ebony Channey, MA3 Ashley Lykeoglesby or BM2 Leolito Oblima to order and pay for the shirts. They are only accepting cash or the MWR Eagle Cash Card for payments.

The cost of the T-Shirts are $15/each. The available colors are brown, navy blue, pink, and white. The available size are small, medium, large, x-large, or xx-large.

NAVELSG FORWARD JULIET CHARLIE COMPANY APO AE 09337

continued...My First Trip to Qatar

Sep tember 20 , 2009

Artwork by EM2 Carrazo, Graphic Design by GM2 Davidson

After we ate, we went up to the top deck and took a ton of pictures. Once we arrived back at base, we showered and rested. The last two days, I didn’t do any tours. I stayed behind to relax, work out, and ate at Chili’s one last time. After working out at the big gym, I had a smoothie from Orange Julius, got a full body massage for $34, and had my hair done. Fur-thermore, I bought some souvenirs from the PX. I feel like we did a lot and we still didn’t get to do everything.

Be ready to have fun when its your turn. You will surely enjoy the wonders of Qatar.

Now Available:

The Kuwait and United States Flag

continued...From the Sandbox Deck Plate

very concerned about your welfare, safety and mission success.

You are doing a job that has tremendous impact on both the War Front and Home Front. Do not count your job as a second rate, run of the mill task. Remember back to Williamsburg, during the CBCA (Customs Border Clear-ing Agent) agriculture death by Powerpoint training. Yes, even the most studious of us were hitting our heads on the desk. What really caught my attention was the facts and figures that were directly re-lated to importation of bugs, soil and wood products.

Billions of dollars a year are lost to the importation of bugs and soil that are directly traced right back to this AOR.

First, you might think that “It’s not my money and so what do I care.” Think again shipmate. If blight is caused by some-thing we missed in our in-spection process, then we all pay in the long run. Think about your children, grand-children, family and friends. Loss of produce makes de-mand and cost rise.

LT Terry Cox often states, “Inspire a shared vision.” So stay the course, stay focused and remain professional. BZ to BM2 James Murray, AM2 Noel Penning, PS3 Bridget Moran, AME3 Ravon Ford and AO3 James Bass for your pro-fessionalism and work ethic.