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Well everyone, not sure if you've given up on me by this point but wanted to check back in with those of you who may still be monitoring after a very LONG absence. I reached a point somewhere in the middle of my deployment to Iraq where the work load was just too intense to consider taking time to pound out a blog. Besides, my brain was so mushy that I'm not sure I would have been able to give you anything worthwhile. That said, what I'd like to do now is give you the short...read more
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Amman-April flew by and there were several activities which helped welcome the new season into Jordan. Although some of the activities I participated in and observed were maybe not strategic in their importance, they did increase my understanding of FAO roles and the military assistance program in the country and contributed to the big picture. As a collection point for information of all kinds pertaining to USG interests, the Embassy frequently hosts all kinds of visitors. Part of...read more
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We finished our two week tour of Saudi Arabia by driving from Al-Khobar in the East to Jeddah in the West then North to Medain Saleh and back to Amman. We first stopped in Ta’if, a small city on the east side of the Hijaz region and a gateway to the Mecca Province. Because of the cooler temperatures which comes with its elevation, its population swells as the summer heat intensifies in Riyadh. While we were driving through KSA in the early part of our trip, I expected most of the...read more
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The initial impression of Riyadh is a good one. We’re here at the right time of the year where a long sleeve shirt prevents a sunburn during the day and is plenty warm at night. I stumbled upon a newspaper article describing the cultural importance of the Riyadh International Book Fair and we walked around our largely commercial neighborhood last night and tried unsuccessfully to acquire directions. Fortunately, we ducked into a really good Indian restaurant before the evening...read more
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11 Mar, Riyadh. Leaving Jordan, we were extended extreme courtesy of coffee, tea, and small talk in the commanding officer’s office followed by an invitation to eat with his family while we waited to have our passports stamped and the vehicle clearance memo. While we expected much worse on the Saudi side, it was relatively painless, albeit with the process spread out amongst four steps and four different stations as well. About an hour later, we were on our way down a wide...read more
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Aqaba-sitting on the hotel balcony overlooking the Red Sea covered in a haze as the sun tries to burn through it before finally giving up for the night seems as inspiring place to write some observations as any. Over the past few days, I inserted myself into a multi-modal conference dealing with the initial use of Aqaba as such a port. Basically, stuff comes in by boat or plane, mostly from our war zones as we retrograde out of them, and leaves on a different mode. Nothing too complex until...read more
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I am currently attending the Army's Intermediate Level Education (ILE) at Fort Lee, VA. One of the objectives of the course is to improve our understanding of and ability to effectively operate within the interagency. Visiting the State Department gave our class the opportunity to meet not only with several State Department representatives, but also with members of USAID, the Department of Energy, and the Treasury Department. Even having served on an embassy's...read more
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I am honored to have the opportunity to continue serving our Nation as an Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO). After earning my commission through the ROTC program at Loyola University Chicago, I served first as an Infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and then as a Logistics officer in the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. I deployed for 16 months and served in both Mosul and Baghdad, Iraq....read more
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Amman- This entry is focused on sharing information for other FAO still in their language training at DLI. I’ve been in Amman for almost two weeks and am close to finishing the embassy’s inprocessing. It’s similar to the Army’s in that your information has to be entered into several databases for tracking purposes and for expected services, but it’s not instant as some of the information has to go to the host nation for processing as well. The offices in...read more
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Our next trip was to Teotuhuacan, an ancient ruins site about 50km to the northeast of Mexico City. Teotuhuacan was incredible. The below picture is an internet download. I was unable to get up quite that high to get the whole landscape view. The grounds are huge and the two primary temples are massive. The word Teotuhuacan is an Aztec word (in the Nahuatl language) and means birthplace of the gods. The city is not an Aztec city, it predates...read more
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