Nov
12
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Thursday, 12 November 2009 |
I have lifted weights more in the first
few weeks of this trip to Iraq than I ever have before.
The lower operational tempo is a contributing
factor. In the "old days" I would go outside the wire
for days or weeks at a time sleeping in the dirt and living off the
land or living in a Patrol Base or Combat Outpost that was just a rented
house with a pallate of bottled water stacked up in once corner and
boxes of MREs in another.
The other contributing factor is that
every Company sized installation now has a nice little gym.
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| The
gym at JSS Sharquat in Northern Saladin province, Iraq |
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Because the equipment varies from place
to place (I'm on my 4th gym in 3 weeks) and there may not be a soldier
around to spot me, I try to stick with dumbbells. The only problem
is that on dumbbell incline press I need 100 pounders and most of the
smaller gyms only go up to 80 or 90 pounds.
But at least there is a gym!
In this end-stage operating enviorment
I work out in the morning, eat breakfast, read the Bible, figure out
what is going on that day, jump in an MRAP, bounce around in the back
of the MRAP, eat lunch with important local Iraqi, head back to the
base.
I keep a few low-carb protein bars in
my cargo pocket while on missions and a tub of whey protein at whatever
little base I'm living at.
The only other downside is the food.
At the big bases there is plenty of protein at the DFACs (chow halls.)
At a little place like Sharqat some meals
are mostly carbs.
The whey protein is a must.
I still log my workouts like I recommend
people do in my book. Overloading over time is important even
when in a combat zone.
My workout is a simple four day rotation.
Day 1--Lats, rear delts, traps
Day 2--Chest
Day 3--Biceps, Triceps
Day 4--Delts
The unpredictability of Iraq imposes
days off.
If I was at a larger FOB for a year,
I could do a serious cycle through the Phases of the System. But
with moving every week and eating 1 Iraqi meal a day, my goal is just
maintain.
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Oct
19
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 19 October 2009 |
The drive east on the interstate 70 turnpike is pretty common for people in Eastern Kansas. Residents of Lawrence and Topeka who work in Kansas City drive into the sun in the morning and again at night.
I skirted around Kansas City proper, heading North on the 435 loop to Kansas City International Airport for a flight to Washington, DC.
Kansas City is a hub for federal agencies. The flights to DC are always filled with politicians, bureacrats, lobbyists and lawyers.
This Monday was no exception.
I parked my car in the garage. Kinda pricey at $18 dollars a day, but it wouldn't be there long. A friend of mine was flying home from Seattle in the evening and would drive my car home. It worked out good for both of us, especially since I will not need my car until December when I get home from working in Iraq.
Yeah, I have a long commute to the office.
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It wasn't the longest or worst layover ever. That prize goes to sleeping in Heathrow's International Arrival's Lounge one night.
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Oct
09
2009
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Written by JD Johannes
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Saturday, 10 October 2009 |
I'm headed back to Iraq in a fews days. Yes, there is still is a war being wrapped up there.
I'll be back with my old friends in the 4th BDE of the 1st ID and the 1-28 Infantry.
I spent a lot of time with the 1-28, the Black Lions, during the surge in 2007. The Black Lions are unit featured in my documentary 'Baghdad Surge.'
I'll be doing two months on this trip then probably heading to Afghanistan in January to go snow boarding.
As for the question...
A few people asked why I wrote a fitness/weightlifting book instead of a book about Iraq.
Short answer: Not sure I could add much that isn't already covered in the documentaries.
Long answer: People kept asking me what I do to stay in shape to run around with soldiers and Marines. People at the gym who noticed my transformation asked a lot of questions. Those answers in emails, etc. became long enough that my friend Nita Marquez said I should turn it into a book.
When I hit stopping points in editing the documentaries I would hammer out the book.
The next thing I knew I had 200+ pages that kind of made sense. Nita and I then really went to work on taking her expertise, my experiences and the knowledge of other people and turning it into an open architecture system anyone can use to dial in the workout and eating plan that will achieve their personal goals.
Oddly enough, there is a lot of Iraq in the book as my experiences there were the impetus for my getting really serious about working out.
Hence the subtitle of the book: When Fitness is a Matter of Life or Death .
I test how good my workout program is everytime I go to Iraq and Afghanistan. So, far it has proven to work well.
Until my next post from somewhere in Iraq....Non Timebo Mala
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Nov
19
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Wednesday, 19 November 2008 |
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The biggest threat these days may be food poisoning if you are not used to the local "flora" of the Kebabs and Smoothies. Secondary threat--a septic infection from a cut at the barber shop.
But, with some Immodium and an up-to-date tetanus shot, you should be fine.
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Nov
14
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 14 November 2008 |
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The change from the beginning of the Surge to now, at the end of the Surge has to be seen to be believed.
Luckily, through modern technology, you can see it without going to Baghdad or bending the space-time continuum.
The 2007 video was shot April 29, 2007 with the 1/4 Cav., 4th IBCT.
The 2008 video was shot October 26, 2008 with the 7/10 Cav. 1st IBCT.
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Oct
29
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Thursday, 30 October 2008 |
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I bring the rain to FOB Falcon every
time.
Iraq is indeed a desert, but it rains
here in the valley between the two rivers more often than people imagine.
The rainy season, running from November
through April bring torrents flooding the streets and swelling the canals. Even in
May and June there will be occasional storms.
But this year Iraq has been in a dry
drought. My return to FOB Falcon broke the drought--that or by sheer happen stance the drought
ended when I arrived at FOB Falcon.
I snapped the pics below on the drive
from JSS Jihad in Baghdad's West Rashid district to FOB Falcon in the south of Baghdad.
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Oct
27
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
Commerce. One of the key metrics I have used through the years to determine progress is commerce.
Iraqis understand commerce.
As I walked through the retail districts of Jihad and Bayaa anecdotally I can report that there is an increase in economic activity.
In discussions with shop owners in Jihad and Bayaa they report increased business from 2006 and 2007.
Bayaa, which has been walled in, is still going brisk, despite being difficult to reach. But people still come to Bayaa for the most stylish clothes and widest selection of products.
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Oct
27
2008
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
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This trip is shorter than most I make to Iraq. Normally I go to Iraq for months. This time it is just two weeks.
This trip is coordinated by my good friends at Black 5. The mission is to look at Iraq from the perspective of a former Army Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who commanded the 1-22
Inf. "The Regulars" back in 2003-2004 in the roughest parts of the
Sunni Triangle.
The Regulars are back in Iraq, this time in West Rashid, my old home in Baghdad. (A rather generous turn of fate.)
We're flying low and keeping a tight production schedule, so posting
will be light. We're shooting, interviewing and working outside the
wire as much as possible.
Jimbo of Black5 gets the credit (blame) for a lot of this. Another
twist is that I will be back in this neck of the woods later next month
and I'll do any follow-up work and spend more time in Rashid with the
Regulars.
Credit also goes to my friends at Vets For Freedom and David Bellavia
for bringing the whole operation together. The crew on this trip, as I
mentioned in a previous post, is worthy of seminar on Iraq. Which is
what the final product will be.
I'll will get some photos uploaded later today.
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Oct
24
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 24 October 2008 |
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To paraphrase the Jr. Senator from Illinois, "this is not the Baghdad I used to know."
Organized soccer matches between teams in uniforms. Children and families on playgrounds. Packed restaurants.
In the spring and early summer of 2007, those were things you did not see in Baghdad's West Rashid District. In the early days of the surge, Baghdad residents referred to West Rashid as "the arena." Sunni and Shia assassins added to the daily body count in a blood fued for hire that sprialed nearly out of control.
The 1-28 Infantry Battalion "The Black Lions" had just moved into the area of operations then. Eighteen months later, the 1-22 Infantry Battalion, "The Regulars" are now patrolling the streets of Rashid.
I was here in the bloody days of the begining of the surge in 2007, when what is the reality now, was a mere potentiallity. (My documentary Baghdad Surge was shot in West Rashid in the Spring/Summer of 2007.)
As I watched the soccer match I could not believe what I was seeing. Rather than complain about the violence or mortars or killings, the players wanted grass--grass to play on.
That is the level of progress in 18 months.
My first night in West Rashid in 2007, I fell asleep to the sound of a raging gunfight. Nearly every night was like that back in 2007. Even when on the outposts, I had to wear full battle rattle when walking in certain areas that would be exposed to incoming fire.
Tonight I stood in a place I never would have stood in 2007, I stood stationary, smoking a cigarette, listening not to gunfire but to the sounds that come from any city.
It is good to be home--even if I barely recognize it.
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