From: Thomas Bender
Date: Feb 24, 2007 10:17 AM
Subject: I’m Going Home…
To: [a bunch of people]

Well everyone, my time here in Baghdad is about over. In fact, I leave here on Tuesday some time to fly back to Qatar with a return to the states somewhere around the 1st.

I must say that I am very happy to have experienced everything out here. It gives you a different perspective on things to be here where things are happening that you don’t get back at home. I am proud of the job we’ve done, and I’m proud of the jobs the men and women have done even more forward than I. It’s certainly difficult, and at times you wonder if it is even worth it. But then there is the one event that makes it all good. If you ever get a chance, ask someone who has returned from out here what they felt and how it has changed their life. One thing will always be the same…no one leaves here the same as when they came here.

More after the cut.

More than the job, though, I have really enjoyed the people I have been working with. I’m made friends here that I hope last a while. We have our up times and our down times, but in the end, you have to come to rely on them. They are your family while out here. When their day is going bad, you drag them out for coffee. When they seem to be working themself to death, you send them home early or force them to join you at the chow hall for dinner. You look out for each other.

But even still, it is time for me to return. I have spent my time, I’ve had my fun, but I am anxious to return to my family that is waiting for me. When I return, I will still be working similar targets as I am now. In fact, I will likely be calling back here to CSG on a regular basis. I’m looking forward to it.

Thank you all for your support to not only me, but to all of our service members and civilians who risk thier lives and leave their families (like the guy I know out here who’s wife just had a baby last night) to support freedom for all people. I’ll send a message around when I make it back to the states. Until then, I’m signing off.

Tom

From: Bender Morris T LTJG
Date: Dec 11, 2006 10:32 AM
Subject: [U] Where Does the Time Go?
To: [a bunch of people]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

So I was catching up on Kevin’s blogs the other day and I realized that I hadn’t sent out an email in about a month. Time has certainly started to go by. Christmas is just around the corner, followed closely by New Years. At that point, I am half way home. For those I’ve promised names and addresses of in-need service members, I have my NCOIC actively working on that with the Command Sergeant Major. I should be getting a list in a day or two. I asked him for a list of about 15 names of varying branches.

In all, the routine has smoothed out. I get into work around 0800 local time (midnight on the east coast) and work for 12 hours. Now that we have a second Watch Officer that takes over during nights, I have less need to stay late. I usually wrap up any loose ends between 2000-2100 (8:00 – 9:00 pm) before heading home. I spend 2 hours winding down by reading, watching a movie, playing a computer game, or whatever before settling down to sleep.

Let me now stress that I am fine, and everyone I work with is fine. However, I must mention something that might make some of you a little worried. Again, I will stress that there is nothing really to worry about. A few days ago, there was some indirect fire against Camp Liberty, Camp Victory, and Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). Several rockets were fired and there were three impacts on the bases. Camp Liberty/Victory is next door to Slayer and is where the PX is located. We occasionally make trips there to shop or to eat at the fast food located there. One of the impacts was in the parking lot of the Dining Facility. I have included pictures that were taken on the scene just after impact. While there were injuries (some serious), no coalition forces (military or civilian) were killed.

These incidents are NOT a frequent occurrence. The most we usually get are in-town explosions or small arms fire on the other side of the outer wall. For those that have seen the pictures of the Perfume Palace, the wall on the other side of the lake is the INNER wall. The outer wall is quite a distance away.

Thank you all for keeping us over here in your prayers. It may seem like a small thing, but knowing we have the support of family and friends back home does help keep us going. Happy Holidays.

Tom

From: Bender Morris T LTJG
Date: Nov 23, 2006 8:38 AM
Subject: [U] Happy Thanksgiving
To: [a bunch of people]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

All,

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We had a traditional Thanksgiving lunch (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams) as well as some not-as-traditional items (lobster tail, shrimp cocktail). I’ve been told that dinner is a repeat of lunch. If it weren’t for the fact that I skipped both dinner last night and breakfast this morning, I’d just pass. One meal a day is probably not good. I want to thank everyone praying for the troops out here and in other forward units around the world. We may not have our friends and family with us here, but they are always in our hearts. Not to mention we have all the friends we’ve made here to celebrate with. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. I expect most won’t see this email/blog until at least tomorrow once the tryptophan wears off. Hope you enjoyed the sleep.

Out here…

From: Bender Morris T LTJG
Date: Nov 14, 2006 10:51 AM
Subject: [U] Where I Spend My Day
To: [a bunch of people]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

I thought it might be a good idea to tell everyone a little about where I spend a large portion of my day. In actuality it is about half of my day, but since 8 hours (once I get adjusted to an 8-hour time change) is spent sleeping, it constitutes about three-quarters of my time. [If I lost you, trust me. If you don't trust me, I'll send you a PowerPoint presentation (we use the words "death by PowerPoint" often in the military) stepping you through the formulas and equations. After that, you'll learn to never doubt me again].

The rest, including an explanation behind the name of the “Perfume Palace” (pictured above) plus a really nice shout-out to my blog, after the cut.

Tom’s email continues:

My time is spent in what has come to be known as the “Perfume Palace.” I was quite interested in what exactly the Perfume Palace was before coming here. On the outside, the Palace is a three-story domed marble building. The floors are each about 30 feet in height making it roughly an 8-story building by normal figures. It is roughly round in shape, but looking at it from the top, it takes more the shape of a budding flower. Imagine a circle in the center with an oval nearly surrounding it. The entrance being a keystone shape protruding from the end of the oval. Now you may say, “Hey, I’ve looked at the links at the bottom and in some of the pictures it looks like there are four floors.” In a way, you’d be correct. However, the main building (the circle) has three floors. Between the second and third floor, wrapping around the building is a half-floor. There is a set of stairs in the back of the second floor that takes you here. Personally, I’ve never been up them as I believe they are offices. And random offices around here can potentially have more brass than I do. Better safe than sorry.

Anyway, to see it is to be amazed. I was amazed that people put that much time and work into building such an awesome structure. I was amazed a structure this size and of this magnitude was built for a single family. I was amazed that so much money that could have been used to help so many people in the country and the world was spent on such an unnecessary thing.

The question always comes up as to why it’s called the “Perfume Palace.” A quick search on the internet explains it all. The Palace was used as the brothel of the Hussein family. Specifically, it is said to be the brothel for Saddam’s sons Uday and Husay. I doubt daddy would have let his son’s have ALL the fun though. Some even say it was used by high ranking Generals and Baath Party members. As it’s told, when the Coalition Forces liberated the country, while other places smelled of battle, this place smelled of the perfume from al the concubines housed over the years.

Now anyone who’s worked computers knows, most wires are run through the floor. So, most office spaces are built on a supper-floor above the real floor. Here is no different. I have been told, however, that somewhere underneath everything, on the main floor, is a huge indoor pool on which the men would sit while all the naked women walked/bathed/swam around. The second floor is a massive round room with a huge marble column in the center. Frankly, this room makes me think Vegas. It looks like the sort of room where you’d have dollar slots. Eight crystal chandeliers provide way too much light (so we only run four of them) and are each 6-8 feet tall each. I’m unsure as to what, exactly, this room was used for, but then again, why they needed a building this large as a brothel for three guys also eludes me. The third floor is a large domed ballroom. What sense a ballroom in a brothel makes is also a bit beyond me, but when I say large, I mean large. I’d estimate 90 feet circular with a dome that reaches about 80 feet from the floor. The square footage alone is about five times the size of Sarah and my first house in Georgia (only we didn’t have a vaulted ceiling). There are bronze-colored scallops that run around the dome (sort of like sci-fi doors the “whoosh” open in a spiral motion) giving the feeling of a large fan attached to the ceiling. In the center hangs, by far, the largest crystal chandelier I have ever seen. It is at least 30 feet in height and about half the width of the dome.

Overall, the building is an awesome sight. But when you really look at it, you see the construction isn’t the best. The lights are hung questionably, the walls don’t quite meet well, and the stairs are slightly crooked. But then, if you spend enough time in any place, eventually you’ll see to flaws. I try to separate the construction flaws from the blemishes imposed by time spent as an occupied establishment. We moved in and set up offices where none existed. We set up temporary walls, made toilet facilities, mounted lighting, and ran cable. I find myself sometimes wondering what the Palace looked in its pristine state. Unfortunately, even once all Coalition Forces are gone, it will never look the way it once did.

For more pics and info on the building, you can take a look at these links:

gallery.completecomputing.com/userpublic/christian/boolean/album07/aaa.jpg.html (external photo)

www.beans-around-the-world.com/baghdad.html (first 2 pics are the palace. other pic is another shelled out building here at Slayer)

midnight.hushedcasket.com/2006/05/17/the-perfume-palace-baghdad/ (marine’s blog about his time here)

findthegood.blogspot.com/2006/10/perfume-palace.html (external photo and discussion by an English teacher in Iraq)

www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/radwaniyah-cc.htm (not really a Perfume Palace link, but talks about it…good Camp Slayer link, though)

As an aside to this, I’d like to thank Kevin for reposting these emails on his blog site. It certainly helps spread my audience to include people I’ve lost contact with (Noelle) and even more people I’ve never even known. For those who aren’t reading this through his blog, you can find it at www.soulcookie.com. If you are reading it through there, I wasn’t excluding you…you already know the address. Please take a moment to check out his site.

With that, I am going to turn in. It is time for bed. The days are long, the nights are short, but the support we give is priceless.

Tom

Thanks, Tom!

Oh, and I’m not sure if I knew and forgot, or if I never knew (thanks to the outdated contact info he had), but Tom has apparently earned a promotion to lieutenant junior grade in the last few years. Woo hoo!

Tom’s message from Camp Slayer is after the cut.

Here’s Tom’s email:

From: Bender Morris T LTJG
Date: Nov 10, 2006 4:39 AM
Subject: [U] I made it…
To: [a bunch of people]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Everyone,

I wanted to drop a line while I had a chance to let you know that I made it safely here. In all, the trip here was long. From Baltimore to Doha, Qatar, I was traveling for 24 hours straight (straight time…no time changes). There I was able to get a little sleep, a shower, and some food. Then, it was on a C-130 for the flight here. We finally landed late evening on the 8th. If it weren’t for the fact that I caught a cold enroute, it might have been a more enjoyable flight…but I’m taking medication and trying to get as much sleep as possible in hopes I get over it soon.

It turns out I had some bad information. There is no wireless internet available in my room. Also, I think the site I got most of my information about the living quarters had Camp Slayer and Camp Victory confused. My room is one-half of a long trailer. I share that with someone else, so we each have one-fourth of a trailer (I hope I didn’t lose too many with the fact there’s math in this email). There is indoor plumbing…just not in the same place as the room. But at least it is a short walk to the latrine trailer (and the shower trailer is right next door to it). Fast food is a short drive to Camp Victory/Liberty away but I don’t think I’m going to tackle driving around here until I’m sure I can get places and get back without getting lost.

All in all, it’s not too bad here. The people are nice, the food is decent, and I have a bed to go to at night that is not under a tent. The lack of internet in the room means that getting to emails won’t be as easy (there is an internet café next to my trailer, but I haven’t looked into it yet), but you can always email me here at this address (redacted). [Kevin's note: I'm not going to repost the address here, lest a spambot harvest it. If you want it, just ask.] My hours will be 11:00 p.m.-11:00 a.m. Eastern, so if I don’t reply right away, wait until the next morning…

Take care,
Tom

Tom Bender is getting deployed to Iraq for four months.

From: Tom Bender
Date: Nov 6, 2006 9:43 AM
Subject: Off I Go…
To: [a bunch of people]

Everyone,

Some of you already know, but for those of you who don’t know, I am leaving this afternoon to head over to Baghdad, Iraq. I will be there for 4 months. I greatly appreciate the well wishes people have expressed to me and to Sarah regarding my trip. I am not going over there to be on the front line, and I will be within a secure compound the entire time. I expect Sarah will call on several people for assistance over the next few months, but if anyone is concerned, please don’t hesitate to give her a ring.

I will have internet access in my room, and will have a bed and indoor plumbing. In fact, I will be at Camp Slayer. Camp Slayer is the coalition name for Saddam’s former primary personal residence. Located right next to Saddam International Airport, our living facility is the former guest houses located along one of three man-made lakes. I will have full use of a Post Exchange, workout center, a Burger King, Pizza Hut, and, like I said, wireless internet from my room. It’s practically club med only in camoflauge.

I barely escaped being over there on my birthday, but will be there on Mom’s birthday, Thanksgiving, Dad’s birthday, Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, and Rhys’ 4th birthday. If anyone wants to send me care packages (or care packages for any other deployed soldier, sailor, airman, or marine…I can get lists of names of those most in need) my address will be:

Morris Bender (do not put rank)
MNFI C2, CSG
APO AE 09342

Take care,
Tom

You may recall that Tom received his commission from the Navy three years ago next week.

So, if y’all find yourselves in possession of an empty slot on your Christmas card list this year, you might consider sending something Tom’s way. Heck, like he says, there will be many servicemen and servicewomen who would, I’m sure, love to get something over the holidays.

My best wishes to Tom and Sarah and their families.