BAGHDAD, Iraq –
Name: Maj. James H. Camarena
Home Unit: Global Cyberspace Integration Center
Location: International Zone, Baghdad, Iraq
What do you do? J4 for the NATO Training Mission - Iraq
What's a day in the life like ... while in Iraq? No typical day. You never knew what was going to break on any given day, so each day provided a new challenge, and a chance to learn something new.
What will you remember about your deployment 20 years from now? The people--the people I worked with and the Iraqis I met and became friends with. I will remember the various people from the different NATO countries and their accents. I will remember the good times spending the evenings sitting under the palm trees by the Palace pool.
What's the most useful item you packed? A PC...I can chat or e-mail with my family/friends every night.
When did you realize you "weren't in Kansas anymore;" aka your "Dorothy" moment? When I was sitting with friends at the Palace pool and we saw the sky lit up with tracers from "celebrating" Iraqis. We quickly got under cover...bullets have a nasty tendency to come down.
What has been the highlight of your tour? Actually seeing the results of my efforts and how they benefit the mission--maintaining, improving, and replacing generators; installing new electrical systems; and fixing other things that break.
What's the best part of the deployment? The people I worked with and the time spent with good friends.
The worst part? Missing my family, especially both of my sons' football seasons.
What new survival skill have you learned? Patience...definitely needed when dealing with such a diverse coalition as NATO. Patience is needed to establish common ground, and then move forward with your task. Different countries' military backgrounds cause misunderstandings and roadblocks when working on a project.
What do you do during down time? Work out at the gym, spend time with my friends, or read books.
What is the first thing you will do when you return? Kiss my wife (for starters).
What is the first thing you will eat when you return? Go out for Mexican or Chinese food...I want to avoid anything soaked in olive oil.
What insight/experience will you take away from your time over there? We have it VERY good in the US. We have been richly blessed, and if we're not careful, we will lose what we have. We've become too wrapped around our own selfish interests that we have lost sight of showing compassion and caring for others. This place has helped me realize that some of the precious basic things we complain about are outright foreign concepts to these people. I hope I won't take for granted a simple thing such as pure drinking water.
What do you miss the most? Potable water out of the tap--water bottles get OLD! Also, not being able to attend the Summer Olympics in Beijing to watch my sister compete in the shot put.
How is your job that you are doing now different from the job back stateside? I am a space operator by trade, and they have me here as the logistics chief
Have you tried the local cuisine? Yes, the mother of a friend of mine is a wonderful cook!
What do you think about what you hear on the news from what is going on stateside? I don't watch TV except for football on occasion, so I really don't know what's going on at home. I see how hard life is here and start to think that a good portion of my countrymen have become spoiled whiners. Everyone should spend a month here...they'll appreciate what we have back home.
Do you have plans for any extra money that you might be making from this deployment? Yes, go on a Caribbean cruise with my wife.