Camp Life

I have been asked many times through email “What is life like in camp?” My answer has been primitive, with a touch of home. Let me explain. You do have a shower facility, but unless you take a shower in the middle of the day when the water supply is heated by the sun, it is a cold shower.

We have sinks with water for shaving, but you have to use bottled water to brush your teeth due to the threat of disease.

The bathroom facilities, excuse me, latrines are Porta Johns. Try using one of those in the middle of the night, adventurous.

Hand Sanitizer is a must around camp. This helps keep the threat of disease down. You can never wash your hands too much.

Meals are MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) or the military's new product the Heat & Serve (I personally like the MREs better). Each meal contains an entrée in a pouch, these pouches are heated in a baggy containing a heating element that is activated by water.

You pick these up at each meal time from the Chow Tent. You can enjoy the meals there watching the Armed Forces Network on the television or take them to your favorite meal location. For my dinner mates, we usually chose the work tent, but a few nights we chose to “Eat Out”. That consisted of grabbing your meal, water and a chair, and eating out by the runway. We would sit out there watching the sunset and all of the military aircraft coming in.

Sleeping was the fun part, OK not really, a cot with a mosquito netting over it under a large open air tent is not my idea of fun. My first night there, a heavy rain caused leaks in the tent right over my head. Some tents around camp were flooded from this rainfall.

I enjoyed the netting over my bed, because it did give me peace that the mosquitoes, ants and tarantulas would not bother me through the night. I did encounter a tarantula one night when retiring to my bunk. Both the tarantula & I decided to exit the area in quick fashion.
Tarantulas are everywhere around camp at night. Pictures have been taken of ones as big s a man's hand.

I am impressed at how much PT (Physical Training) that soldiers do everyday. The camp workout equipment is nothing like you would find at your local gym, but it gets the job done. The equipment consists of a pull up bar, an open area for push ups, a large truck tire and the road next to the runway.



We would run each night down the road to the end of the runway, crossing two aircraft taxiways along the way. It was really weird waiting for a plane to to taxi out to the runway before we crossed or two see a large cargo plane taking off only 200 yards from you.

One night we waited for a plane and two helicopters all on the same run. The chin up bar is self explanatory, but let me explain the tire. A lot of soldiers flip, others jump onto it or through it, still others use it as a sit up bench. Some soldiers brought workout bands and small dumb bells to also use.
The camp also had it's fair share of clothes lines. Make shift lines thrown between two tents.

Laundry is done by buckets. One bucket for washing and other for rinsing. I had the chance to experience that on one hot afternoon. It really does a decent job cleaning your clothes. You use the same detergent you would use at home, and the same method of agitating as your washer at home.



A LADS (Laundry And Drying System) unit was established last week. This unit is a large trailer, that is basically a commercial laundry mat on wheels. I still think a lot of soldiers choose to do it the bucket way.
I hope you enjoyed this little trip around camp. I am truly amazed at how the 3rd ESC was able to establish a home away from home. I believe this helps the soldiers cope with being away from their family so long.

Greg

University Of Miami Field Hospital

I have encountered many emotional highs and lows during this stay with the Joint Logistics Command in Haiti, but nothing has caused such a roller coaster of emotion than my trips to the University of Miami Field Hospital. The hospital is located near the end of the runway of the airport in Port-Au-Prince. Daily more than 600 Haitians visit this hospital, made of three large care tents, making it the biggest hospital in all of Haiti.
My first visit to the hospital I accompanied SSG Theirry Alexandre (who speaks Haitian Creole) & SGT Dave McClain. Nothing can prepare you for how these Doctors, Nurses and Patients live each day, a lot of people, very little space. On this night I met one of the most energetic kids I have even had the pleasure of meeting, Pablo Picasso (that's right, just like the artist). Pablo was injured during the earthquake, he had major damage to his lower leg, damage that required a skin graph of his upper leg to repair it. SSG Alexandre visits the people in the hospital just about every night, and was practically attacked by Pablo when entering the Pediatrics area. It only took a few words of introduction and a smile or two before Pablo was using me as his personal playground. For a father of two beautiful kids, who I miss very much, that was all I needed to brighten my day. Pablo is a big fan of basketball and through the pictures of Louisville games taken on my cell phone, I was able to share that love of basketball with him. I also had a few minutes to meet his mother and introduce him to my two boys and my beautiful wife. Even with the language barrier, with a wink he was able to tell me I had a pretty wife (can't argue there Pablo). We enjoyed a few games with my camera and piggy back rides around the Peds Ward. I will never forget my time or the smile of Pablo Picasso.

All through the Field Hospital there are amazing stories. Some are stories of luck, some are stories of tragedy. One of the most touching stories is that of a little two year old boy found living in a dumpster days after the earthquake. The boy had cuts and bruises and was very dehydrated when he arrived at the hospital, but since then has really started to gain his strength. That is evident by his really short fused temper, at home that would make me a little irritated as a dad, but here it makes a smile crawl across my face. They boys parents are no were to be found, but there is good news in this situation, our little friend is awaiting adoption by a Canadian couple.

The stories do not end on the Kid's side of the hospital, the adult side is also jammed packed with patients, some who are still recovering from injuries sustained during the earthquake, others have been able to obtain health care than was non existent before the earthquake. A lot of Haitians that received deep cuts or broken bones, had to for days without care after the earthquake. This due to travel time to the hospital from areas outside of Port-Au-Prince, because of this infection set in on many injuries and caused an increased number of amputations. These patients will not be forgotten, University Of Miami is looking into building a rehab facility right next door to its current structures.

While walking through the Adult wing of the hospital, I couldn't help notice a woman praying over her husband who was sleeping. I asked SSG Alexandre what she was praying for, he said “She is asking God for forgiveness, and for her husband to get better so he could work to provide for his family”. I still pray for that woman and her family every night before I go to bed.
The two nights I spent in the field hospital visiting patients has meant a lot to me. The Haitians, once we explained to them we were only there to say hello and show them how much we care, they really opened up with the challenging stories of their life. I ask as a member of the media, that people look past the headlines of the national stories, and really try to understand a nation of people who have not been given a very fair shake in life by the people chosen to lead them.
Greg Milby

Videos For The Students Back Home

The 3rd ESC was asked by a few local School Systems to provide some insight on how the Soldiers and the Haitians were currently living. So it was decided the best plan of action would be to film a video showing a day in the life of a soldier and to visit the streets of Haiti with the Commanding Generals Interpretor SSG Theirry Alexandre. with me serving as the narrator. A little background on SSG Alexandre, he was born in Haiti and moved to the United States as a teen. He speaks Haitian Creole and sometimes likes to surprise the Haitians with that fact.

The Camp video was just completed and is going though final editing as I type this blog. It will show how the soldiers eat their MRE (Meals Ready To Eat), how they wash clothes, take a shower, get their mail as well as video from around the camp. I believe it will help students truly understand the sacrifices our soldiers make while deployed downrange.

The second part of this video presentation was filmed this past Sunday morning (Feb 21) at the Farmers Market next to the port in Port-Au-Prince. SSG Alexandre, myself and SFC Dave McClain (with camera in tow) had the amazing opportunity to spent well over an hour talking with Haitians about daily life, what they hope for in the future and how they feel about the American presence here. Having SSG Alexandre with us was an amazing tool, we were not just media people will a camera filming all of the damage, we were people filming to help educate American children on how the Haitians live, and find out what they were feeling after this devastating earthquake.

We also made a visit to the park close to the Presidential Palace, a park that once was a place to play for SSG Alexandre, but is not a makeshift tent city. His description of the park them and the park now could not have been any different. Seeing the devastation of the Palace and the Cathedral was astonishing, but what stood out to me that day was how resilient the Haitians are and how they only want the basics of life and make do with anything they have. To close this blog I would like share with you what a young teenage girl shared with me when I asked "What would you like to say to the American students watching in the States?" The young girl paused, then said this "Listen to your Mother & Father and stay in school.........because unlike me, you can". The mindset is the same, only the situations are different. Be happy with what you have.

If your school or group would like a copy of this video please feel free to email me and I'll forward it on to the proper personnel.

Greg

New People Checking Out This Blog

I would like to say thanks to all the new people checking out this blog. If you would like to see a large array of pictures from this media deployment with the 3rd ESC. Please Check out these two sites.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/WQXE-Quicksie-983/52518518129?ref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Port-au-Prince-Haiti/Joint-Logistics-Command-Haiti/299715573287?ref=ts

I will posting another blog later this evening, between a radio show, television interviews and a trip to the Embassy that took forever in the Port-Au-Price traffic, the day has got away from me. It is time for a little run with Major Hayes to wind down. I hope to visit the University Of Miami Hospital again tonight to see Pablo Picasso (yep that is his name).

Greg

My First Trip Into The City

Thursday morning I was invited by Col Akin and CSM Tennant to accompany them on a trip into the city to visit a couple of the distribution locations. It only took 20 seconds into the trip for my eyes to be opened to a whole new world, the amount of time it takes to drive out of our camp into the streets of Haiti. The traffic flow is mind numbing. We drove to the first distribution site where over 9,000 line up each day.

Each of the distribution points are ran by different aid organizations. The military provide security to help keep order in the area. You may notice in the photo that the line is all women. Since women are the food providers for each family, there is less of a chance they will try to sell their rice after recieving it.

It was a smack in the face to me when we arrived at the first site. I was questioning all of the times I just threw away food and old shirts. As I walked through the site with command staff I was really impressed on how much hands on work they were doing, helping cut open bags, shaking hands, caring rice out of the area for the women. Col Akin and CSM Tennant really impressed me that day.

We left that area and traveled to Cete Soleil, which has been called "The Most Dangerous Place On Earth" by some people. On this day, it didn't seem like it though, everything seemed calm.

World Vision was in charge of the aid at this site and had a great set up to keep things moving. It was amazing to me the amount of people living in that area. You can view photos from my first trip into the city on the Quicksie Facebook Fan Page. There are two pictures from Thursday's trip that really stand out to me why the military is here and I am going to close out this blog post with both photos.

How It All Happened

Howdy! Well I have had a lot of emails from people wanting to know how this trip came to be, so I though I would share a little of the story with you. It all started in April of 2007 when Major Paul Hayes made a visit to Quicksie to introduce himself and the 3rd ESC to station personnel, He said his goal was to make the community aware of what the 3rd ESC was all about. A bond formed from there between Quicksie and the Unit. We were at Ft. Knox for tours and to be apart of Unit Drills. We were there when they left for Iraq in 2007 and talked with them on the air every week during their 15 month deployment. During that time I was invited to join them in Iraq for a period, but was unable to go due to issues, but really wanted to see what it was like for the soldiers deployed.

I have developed a personal friendship with Major Hayes and quite a few other 3rd ESC soldiers, and when the offer was made to join them in Haiti to report on Camp conditions and the impact of this tragic earthquake, I couldn't say no. I had a high degree of respect for our troops before this trip, but after feeling a small piece of what they go through before, and during a deployment, that respect has went to such a high level I don't think I can chart it.

Planning for this trip began last week, and hit a fever's pitch last Friday (Feb 12th) when insurance gave me permission to go. When I made the call to Major Hayes that I was a go for the deployment, the phone calls & texts started lighting up. Different people in Haiti, Ft Bragg and at Knox started the process of getting me here. The Quicksie Engineer Phil Jockell went to work to make sure technical studio details could be worked out for the show. By Monday (Feb 15th) we had a plan in place. Tuesday (Feb 16th) I made a test run of the equipment from my home, I had no idea that less than 12 hours later I would be on a plane bound for Ft Bragg North Carolina.

Here is how that 26 hour Trip looked:
Medical Shots @ 10:15am
Packing & final trip to store for supplies
Arrive at the Airport at 4:30pm
Flight to Atlanta at 5:50pm
Flight to Ft Bragg at 9:45pm
Get to sleep in the Barracks at Ft Bragg @ 2am
Wake up @ 7am for Chow
Arrive at Air Force Hanger at 9am
Flight to Homestead Miami on a C-130 at 1pm
Flight to Haiti on a C-130 at 4pm
Arrive in Haiti at 7pm
After processing and gear storage, we finally made it to bed at midnight.

After looking back on all of the issues and stresses of getting to Haiti and the fact that Wednesday's big travel day was my 36th birthday, I don't think I could have asked for a better birthday. A day that I truly learned why we call our soldiers and their caring families..."American Heros".

Greg

First Blog Friday

I will be posting the first blog of this trip Friday. I have alot to cover in the first blogs, from how this trip came about to the first trip into the city with command team. There are a ton of things in between that military families can relate to that everyday people take for granted. I am off to bed for now, got to get some sleep before the first full show in Haiti Friday morning.