OTTO LEE’S JOURNAL - Part 1 (December '08 to March '09)

I have been in Iraq for more than a month now and have finally settled in. I would like to share my new life here with you, serving literally half a world away for our beloved country. I have certainly gained much more appreciation of the little things in life that we take for granted. I would love to hear from you as well. Please send to my personal email at ottolee@gmail.com – though internet connection here can be quite unreliable sometimes and download time for attachment is at 1kB/second...I was notified about this active duty mobilization back in early November 2008. Since then, I have been training hard and gained a lot of new experiences. As I have...(read more)

OTTO LEE’S JOURNAL - Part 2 (April ‘09 to July ‘09)

We have had many DV (or distinguished visitors) visiting Camp Victory as it is one of the largest bases and is located right next to the BIAP (Baghdad International Airport), and is also the headquarter of the Multinational Forces-Iraq.  President Obama made a “surprise” visit to Bagdad on April 7th.  We were very excited that the President made his way to Iraq to visit the troops and showed his appreciation for the sacrifice that every one here has made.  The Al Faw palace was completely packed with those of us who could not get in had to watch the speech on CNN.  President Obama reassured us by saying “as long as I’m in the White House, you’re going to get the support that you need and the thanks that you deserve from a grateful nation.”  Of course, everyone is hopeful as the timetable for withdrawal is on track, so the pressure is on us in...(read more)

OTTO LEE’S JOURNAL - Part 3 (July ‘09 to September ‘09)

The most cherished time during the tour of every soldier is the R&R – Rest and Recuperation period.  For those of us who are deployed for 9-12 months, we get a 15-day leave to return home, or anywhere in the world.  Some soldiers go to Europe for two weeks, but in my case, I just want to be home – home sweet home – with my family back in Sunnyvale. The journey back involves going through Kuwait, and it’s a very LONG process.  It doesn’t really makes sense in terms of distance because the flight from Kuwait going back to Europe, flew RIGHT over Baghdad (talking about backtracking), but worse yet, it’s not the distance… but the red tape.  Ali Al Saleem, a remote Kuwait Air Base is located 90 minutes from Kuwait City International Airport KCIA.  This is the gateway to both Iraq and Afghanistan – in other words, EVERY one going in and out of these locations must go through. Because there are so many people transiting through Ali Al Saleem, it has a lot of amenities that are open all day and night, including a 23-hour PX (Post Exchange, or store), the only one I know that had...(read more)

OTTO LEE’S JOURNAL - Part 4 (October ‘09 to December ‘09)

A week ago, I was in my CHU one evening, I heard the sirens INCOMING INCOMING … so I get into a protective position, but nothing happened… no booms.  Tonight, right after I got back to my CHU early, I decided to change into PT gear to go work out, and heard the INCOMING… INCOMING… again.  I stopped for a second – and walked to one corner of my CHU and got into a lower profile, but I thought that was a false alarm probably like last week.  But then I heard a whizzing sound becoming louder and louder fast and suddenly KABOOM where I felt my entire...(read more)

Recieve Email Newsletter Updates from Otto