A few of our regular blog readers recently asked us to give you a tour of our dining facility.  That’s DFAC in military-speak, although some of our older readers might remember the military calling it a mess hall (ours is very clean….no mess here).

It took a few days, but I got permission to take pictures in the DFAC.  Our facility is very nice — well lit, clean, and lots of room for all of us Soldiers, civilian employees, contractors and even some local nationals.  It’s also a very secure building and well protected from enemy attack. 

After you enter the building, the first step is to clean up.  Signs announce that the best way to avoid disease is to wash your hands.  From my personal experience, the DFAC is the cleanest place on the FOB (and it also has the cleanest latrines), so I am more than willing to follow through on that request.   There are rows of soap dispensers, sinks and paper towels to get you on your way (I didn’t take pictures of the latrines…just take my word for it, they are clean).

Once you are giving permission to proceed, the world is your oyster (or veal cutlet).  Your first choice — eat in or take out.  Personally I like eating in.  The place is always filled with laughter, the sound of televisions, pots clanging….lots of activity.  My office is pretty quiet, so it’s a nice change of pace.  It’s always a great place to sit with friends and talk about life (please, no talking about work in the DFAC!!!).   But, if you really do need to get back to work quickly — and all of us are in that position sometimes — then you get the styrofoam 3-compartment container and some plastic utensils.

I must say at this point that all DFACs in Iraq are not created equal.  Some are very small.  In fact, some remote locations are pretty sparse.  Our Soldiers there get very little (if any) selection.  Luckily, those type of facilities are becoming rarer and rarer as the landscape of our presence in Iraq changes.  I’d say the DFAC at FOB Prosperity is a good size, but I have been in bigger.  

Since our DFAC is pretty good sized, we have a good selection of food.  We have a main line with a special menu of the day.  It might be steak and shrimp or it might be meatloaf.   It seems that many of our Soldiers, including LTC Perez, like it when it’s Mexican night in the main line.   However, our Executive Officer MAJ Lincoln nearly knocks people over on the way out of the office if he hears that pulled pork is on the main line.  Personally, I am not a big main line fan.

Besides the main line, we also have a sandwich line with all the fixings, and they will even grill it for you (mmmmm, melted cheese on pastrami).  Lots of our Soldiers take this line for lunch…and a cup of soup.

The next line over is the international line.  I am not sure why they call it that since the only thing they have there is spaghetti, a taco bar, and a couple types of curry.  Despite the misnomer, I do like the curry, and one of my new favorite foods is cauliflower curry.  It soaks up the flavor….in fact, I am salivating now just thinking of it. 

Just so you don’t think I hate vegetables, I will let you know there is a great salad bar with dozens of selections…and I have been seen grazing there.  You would hardly believe you are in a war zone in a desert with all the choices of fresh foods there. 

Before you sit down with that food you selected, don’t forget to stop by the drink area.  Although alcohol is off-limits in accordance with General Order #1, you can get a non-alcoholic beer in the drink lines, as well as sodas, teas, coffee, juices, water and energy drinks.

Oh….I forgot to tell you my favorite part of the DFAC, didn’t I?  Well, anyone who has been around me for even a few days knows my weakness for dessert….and the DFAC does nothing to help me curb that appetite for sweets.  Yes, they do put a beautiful selection of fresh fruit next to the hot cherry crisp ala mode, but come on, do you really think I can pass that up?  They also have a huge glass container filled with pies, cakes, and other desserts that changes every day.  Finally, at the end of the dessert area is my bliss — the ice cream line.  They ship in at least 8 different flavors of Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream….and then put a whole cart full of toppings right next to it.   If you have never had strawberry ice cream with pineapple chunks, drizzled chocolate sauce and some crumbled sugar cookies, you do not know the meaning of nirvana. 

1LT Joseph Larrew cleans up before entering the DFAC.

1LT Larrew grabs his tray, plate and utensils before choosing his preferred food line(s).

Lots of good food in the main line served by friendly staff.

Most of the staff in our DFAC are from outside Iraq. They run the facility almost non-stop (it shuts down only 2 hours every day).

A DFAC employee scoops up some mashed potatoes and gravy.

This is better than Burger King! Grilled the way you like while you watch (extra onions please).

Today's international line has spicy chicken curry and a mixed vegetable curry.

The taco bar is one of my favorite places....especially when they have guacamole!

This is only side of the salad bar. Lots to choose from...and very fresh.

I love broccoli!

Bacon bits, cheese, croutons? What else could a person want?

Every time one of these trays gets close to empty, a replacement is rushed out to fill the void.

Staying hydrated in Iraq is important...and the DFAC gives you plenty of options.

Coffee -- regular and decaf -- and next to this is a variety of creamers.

Just when you thought it was safe to sit down, you pass by these desserts.

I'm sure my mom is asking, "Why did he ask me to send cookies and fudge?"

After you get a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you might want to put some strawberries or caramel on it.

MAJ Lincoln is a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.

1LT Larrew prefers his food a little more exotic.

Everyone from Birmingham will be glad to know that Soldiers like SGT Richardson can get sweet tea in Baghdad (well, at least you can at the DFAC).

SPC Clifton knows that nothing goes better with sweet tea than a hot slice of pecan pie.

Of course, you can choose to eat healthy at the DFAC. Every day we get a wide selection of fresh fruit.

The first thing you see when you enter the main hall of the DFAC, and the last thing you see as you exit are U.S. Soldiers. They maintain order, track numbers, and always greet you with a smile.

Today, one of our interpreters came into my office and asked how I was.  I gave the stock answer: “I can’t complain.” 

The truth is that I am often seen mumbling under my breath about something that irks me. 

After he left, however, I thought about my statement, and some of the things that have happened here in Baghdad over the past few months, and how insignificant my troubles seem in comparison to the events that are affecting people like these:

-  One of custodial staff is a local Iraqi (there are about 10 total).  He’s a wonderful man…a father of four children who drags himself out of bed at 4 a.m. every morning (and I mean EVERY morning — he has no weekends off).  He traverses the red zone (where all the bombs explode) and makes his way to the Combined Press Information Center to spend his 10-hour work day providing grounds maintenance (in extreme heat) and cleaning up after we fortunate American Soldiers leave here in a few weeks.  Unfortunately, he will stay.   Thanks to a bomb that exploded in August, the car that brings him here to work is even less dependable than it was before.  And, how much do you think he makes for all his troubles?  Less for a full day’s work than most of our Soldiers make in one hour working entry-level jobs.

-  Another man I know asked the Americans if he could build a restaurant on one of our forward operating bases about a year ago.  We told him yes, so he spent, by his estimate, about $200,000 creating a very nice building.  Then, we changed the rules and told him he could not open the building.  We told him the food from the local economy is not safe to feed American Soldiers, even though this man has catered all the special events at the CPIC for Soldiers and our guests, and no one has ever become ill.   He is a gracious man who always smiles….maybe because he knows that a frown may ruin any chance he has of someone, anyone, changing the rules again and letting him open his restaurant.

-  A local Iraqi woman who has visited the CPIC wants nothing else but to be a journalist.  She wants to make this country live up to promises of freedom.  She wants to be able to tell the stories that need to be told, but she cannot.  She fears for her life if some of her stories are printed.  Whether or not the fear is real or imagined is not important.  The truth is that Iraq has been the most dangerous place for journalists for the past six years.  When we dedicated the Combined Press Information Center to all those who had died to guarantee the freedoms of the people of Iraq, the number included more than the 4,300 American sons and daughters…it also included the more than 250 media staff that have died here since 2003.

With all this conflict and pain, and the hundreds of other similiar stories I’ve encountered over the past 10 months, you would think that I would become jaded and disillusioned, but just the opposite is true.  I realize that there is pain and suffering everywhere….Iraq is no different than any other place…but there is something special here that keeps me from mumbling too loud when I get upset. 

But, more than the acts of our own Soldiers, I am humbled by the generosity and resiliency of those with even less to give.  Today, our custodial staff — including the man I mentioned at the beginning of this blog — dug into their pockets and, with cooking assistance from their wives, brought our staff a delicious meal of barbequed fish, freshvegetables, stuffed grape leaves, baked bread, and a local dish with rice, dates, and nuts.  As we lined up to take part in this feast, they stood on the side refusing to eat until all of us had our fill. 

As LTC Perez has stated to me on several occasions, our CPIC is an oasis in many ways.  It seems to me that all those who come here have found a way to peacefully coexist and support each other.  So, I really have no right or need to complain.  We might not be able to change the overall course of the nation of Iraq, but together we have all changed the course for many of those who have passed through our doors.  Although we are all ready to leave Iraq, I hope each of us can bring some of that back with us.  Now I ask you, how could I complain about that?

Donzens of individuals and groups -- most strangers -- have sent us boxes of treats to make our time pass by quickly.

SPC Gardner and SGT Lee put smiles on the faces of children at the refugee center.

1LT Larrew poses with some of the friends he has helped during his year in Iraq.

SGT Leech's special friend visits her for a midnight snack (she wants to tell everyone she NEVER touched the cat since that is against the rules and could transmit disease).

It seems like only yesterday I was out on Skunk Lake, in Minnesota, with my family.  Probably the most relaxing place on the face of the earth.  The sound of the loons, the bass, and the clean air.  Nothing more stress free than fishing with no great expectations.  Names are often misleading, it does not smell.               

For the last seventy years my wife’s family has fished the lakes around or near Skunk Lake.  The trip is usually made during the first week in August.  I have attended these fishing trips, off and on, for the last twenty years.  My three children get to see their cousins, aunts, and uncles that they would not usually see regularly throughout the year.  Depending on who attends there can be four generations fishing in the same boat. 

My involvement with the 314th Public Affairs Operations Center began around the time of my last trip to Skunk Lake.  After finishing my journey to Skunk Lake, I started my Journey with the 314th PAOC.  This journey with my Army family will involve stays in Birmingham, AL; Fort Dix, NJ; and Iraq.  Just like in fishing the Army requires patience.     

Before reaching Iraq we were required to train at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  Now there are many similarities between some of the places I have visited while in the military and Skunk Lake.  Fort Dix, New Jersey is not like Skunk Lake, but they always serve baked fish at the Dinning Facility. 

Besides the baked fish, Fort Dix offered the 314th PAOC some of the best training I have seen in 20 years of service.  The Regional Training Center-East provided a variety of training to include weapons, land navigation, and other warrior skills that are vital for all Soldiers to know.  Many of our instructors were Drill Instructors with prior deployment experience.  Their experience and knowledge enhanced our classes.  Fort Dix is truly a center of excellence preparing Soldiers for mobilization.     

Fort Dix is almost in our rear view mirror.  I won’t miss the baked fish here, but I will miss the RTC-E instructors.  Their professionalism and training greatly enhanced 314th’s readiness.