~Krewe of Venus-Tampa~

Krewe of Venus

NEWS FROM IRAQ
CHUCK SLAVEN

THURSDAY JUNE 19, 2008

Greetings to the Venetian Guard from the KOV Iraqi Campaign!
Well I did it. I’m here and trying to get to work. All is well and the family tells me they’re doing fine as well.
I hope to send regular updates and a few pics maybe. I hope you all have an excellent time at the President’s Party.
Enjoy a good cigar. My wife tells me it will be great! I will be thinking about you all.
I’m currently in a temporary tent with ten other guys. It is terrible living conditions but sandstorms here have kept the
helicopters grounded so me and two other guys need to wait till later this week to take a ground convoy into my final
destination of Forward Operating Base Shield. I am in Bagdad but stuck in the IZ (International zone).
I’ve been going all over place to get paperwork done, getting passes, and generally just looking like a dork that’s lost.
Really want to get to FOB Shield. Hopefully that won’t be long.
I dropped my laptop the other day and cracked the case but it still seems to be working well.
Crossing my fingers for now! They have a tent we call the Café that has internet and
a TV hooked up to Armed Forces Network. (AFN) AFN is about two or three year old shows
and all the commercials are Govt propaganda on steroids. They really preach a lot.
This place is a real trip. Most people live in small temporary trailers stacked by twos.
The Iraqi buildings in the IZ are not being rebuilt. When we leave it will be easy to erase the fact
we were ever here. Except for the demolished buildings. I have been in the IZ for three days now
and have only heard 2 attacks and nothing that’s been close but a month ago people tell me it was real sporty
with an attack every couple of min. All the big buildings show signs of the bombing
(Our initial bombing and their mortar and rocket attacks). No since in rebuilding until hostilities are under control.
There is A LOT of dirt and its so fine it gets past the air conditioners and into your offices,
living quarters, just about everywhere.
The dust storms have held the sun at bay which is good because standing outside
is like standing in a blow-dryer. Went to the old US Embassy for a briefing and this building is amazing.
Its a Saddam palace that was not bombed. The rooms are three or four stories tall and all covered
in intricate marble and murals of his conquests over the Iranians.
The place is crawling with all sorts of people and more women than I thought I would see
(These ladies due their gender justice; I’m a bit of a chauvinist and I’ve been quite impressed).
Civilian and Military. The department I’m in MNSTC-I (called Men-Sticky) is brought together from all over the world
and from all over the services and a lot of experienced contractors. It’s quite a collection. British,
Australian, Swiss, Italian, Japanese, Georgian, Peruvian, and of course Iraqi & American.
Haven’t seen any of Iraq outside the IZ yet but Ill let you know how it looks later.
I’ll try to send more details soon.
If you were wondering what work I’m doing over here the attached website will help explain it.
This is the command I’m working for and if you follow the bottom link
to the Ministry of Interior TT link it explains a little of the exact office I’m working in.

http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/

Chuck Slaven
Mentor / Contractor
MNSTC-I MoI TT (FOB Shield)
Bagdad, Iraq
EMAIL: cwslav@msn.com

........................................................................................................................

TUESDAY JULY 3, 2008

I finally made it to my final destination. The armored convoy over here was cool!
We had two fully armored Humvees in front and rear while I rode in the Big Black
Armored GMC SUVs in the middle. Yes; just like you see in the movies...
We rode about 40 min into some really crappy areas with lights flashing,
horns blaring and everybody moved the hell out the way.
We moved into FOB Shield which just happens to be right next to SADR City.
Yes; that Sadr City.... I like my roommate. He is a corrections officer, there’s a prison & a corrections
officer's school as well as the BPC (Bagdad Police College) here on the FOB.
His name is Keilan; he’s about a 325lb black guy from Washington State
that nobody would mess with. Not militant but definitely looks seriously mean,
he's actually a family guy. We seem to be well matched so far.
My room is a dorm set up; two to a room and the communal bath is at the end of the bldg.
This place is crawling with a very diverse set of folks. First are the mentors,
all well seasoned (old) office dwelling types trying to move the
Iraqis along the road to self reliance.
Very Multinational crowd but mostly from Britain and the US.
All older than me and it's the group I work in so I feel ahead of the curve.
I sit right next to Lea (said LEE)Billingsly.
He is another intense 300lb black guy but he's an ex cop so were evenly matched.
I did get to meet the Iraqi General I’m mentoring already;
his name is Major General Jassim. Seems like a decent guy
but I need to get a better feel for the place and people before
I start to form opinions. Next group is the Army.
We have a unit that does patrols of the area (Sadr City)
They are all armed to the teeth and ride around on Humvees
or these big new vehicles called MRAPS.
Ill try to get a picture of one and sent it over.
They are so young, just kids really. Third is the Ugandans,
they do the FOB site security. Hired by a security firm at half the price
US guards would cost. Really nice guys very polite and very happy.
Fourth is the personal security folks I work with,
the military pulled cops from every uniformed service to
perform personal security for us while were in the MOI Bldg
which is off the FOB. We all have radios and guns to defend
ourselves but these guys can bring the pain in a hurry if need be.
Fifth are the Police and Corrections trainers.
They contracted cops from all over US to come and train the Iraqi police.
These guys are more my speed and more my age.
We work different hours though. They work from 5AM to about 3:30PM.
(The sun comes up at 4:30 AM around here.)I work from 8:30 to about 8:30.
Lastly we’ve got the EDOT guys; these are all South Africans (
white, big & mean) they do security for the British, Auzzies,
and South Africans. They are all former Special Ops types and it shows.
They drive these silly looking lime green trucks though. It’s funny.
The Forward Operating Base or “FOB” itself is small; the local PX
is a part time convenience store that only operates when people
volunteer to work it. The gym is top notch, apparently the Air Force
SP security guys "acquired" two trailers full of new equipment
and gave it to the FOB and the Mayor (that’s the officer
who is responsible for amenities and maintenance) isn’t
saying a word to anybody. All in all it’s not too bad; it’s not nice...
but not too bad. Its coming up on the 4th of July.
And the local bad guys always treat us real special and
help us celebrate by setting off a few rockets, mortars,
and such. Looks to be real sporty for a day or two.
Starting to get a feel for the lifestyle again.
Spent some time at the firing range this week as well as
the daily convoys to the Ministry of Interior Building to keep me on my toes.
We have been getting these severe dust storms.
They actually hold off the heat because they blot out the sun.
And the dirt in the air is so fine it gets into your lungs and chokes you.
I walk around the base wearing goggles and a balaclava to cover my mouth.
Ive attached a few pics of the stuff around base.
There isnt much to see except for big deadly machines.
Enjoy… Ill write more soon..

http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/

Chuck Slaven
Mentor / Contractor
MNSTC-I MoI TT (FOB Shield)
Bagdad, Iraq
EMAIL: cwslav@msn.com

FRIDAY AUGUST 8, 2008

I hope your all doing well. I've been hearing all about the great time everyone had at the President's Party,
I'm sorry I missed it. And Steve Myers has a good handle on the preparations for the coming year.
I was so thankful he volunteered to take the position and the huge amount of work it entails.
Please take a moment and lend him a hand if you can. If your at all interested let me fill you all in a little on the day to day stuff I'm doing.
I work in Baghdad just outside the confines of Sadr City in what is called
The Rusaffa Law & Order Complex.
In the complex they have the Ministry of Interior Headquarters which houses the National Police,
Border Enforcement, SWAT, and administrative offices for the entire national Iraqi police organization.
It also houses two prisons, a courthouse, and the Forward Operating Base I live at called FOB Shield.
I travel outside the protection of the FOB in the Red Zone almost everyday to
visit my Iraqi counterparts in the Ministry.
The people I deal with there all seem very nice and genuine but many of their own officers
and executives have disappeared as well as a few of our coalition.
The walls here on FOB Shield are all covered with pictures of people we've lost over time.
The Iraqi's walls are the same; only a lot more crowded. You never know who is a good guy or a bad guy.
And the bad guys are really bad guys. I spend a good portion of my day looking over my shoulder and around corners.
The whole city is lined with huge 12 ft tall concrete walls we call (T-walls)
that make it next to impossible to travel in or out of areas without going through the Coalition checkpoints.
American Cops patrol the streets and work the checkpoints with the newly trained Iraqi cops to keep the
peace between the factions, religions, and political opponents.
The struggle for power here is never ending and the corruption runs pretty deep as well.
I know I sound very blasé about it and I don't mean to.
These are all problems were trying to overcome and I believe were making great progress. I'm settling in at work and getting into the mix here now.
I've got experience in Military Law Enforcement as well as about 15 years
of varied Contracting experience so I accepted a position as a Contracting Specialist
with the (NOW be patient this takes a bit to get it all out)
Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, Directorate of Interior Affairs,
Ministry of Interior - Transition Team (You can begin to see why the military uses so many acronyms).
I'm currently working on a contract to supply a State of the Art Forensics Lab,
I'm helping to acquire 126 new bomb sniffing K-9s and developing the facilities for their care and upkeep.
The Iraqis expect to take over the Baghdad Air Port Security fairly soon and will need the K-9s to do it right.
They're also buying new boats for their version of the coast guard.
Were shopping for police helicopters too.
It's all very macho stuff and all very expensive.
The Iraqi MOI Contracts department is making serious progress in being able to conduct
the process themselves. Its very promising.
My role is act as a mentor to the Contracts Director and gingerly ease him into
accepting a new & modern way of conducting business.
There is a lot of corruption here and as such a big dislike of processes that are
transparent or technologically advanced because they know their communications
can be tracked. Even the courts have issues.
The forensic lab is my big project right now but the judges don't typically
admit scientific evidence (like DNA, Fingerprints, hair samples)
into the legal proceedings. It's all testimony based.
If you have enough witnesses the ruling is going your way no matter what the science says.
We have people here trying to fight that mindset but it relates directly to Sharia Law and is hard to combat.
Well that's probably enough from me for now.
I hope I'm giving you some perspective you can appreciate and boring you to death.
I know a lot of you have asked for the real stories that don't make the press.
Ill be sending another email after this one that has a small PDF newspaper produced
here that gives you stories the national media doesn't see fit to print.
I hope you all get the chance to read it and please pass it around as much as possible.
These are the stories that need to be talked about not the stuff on the front page of MSNBC.
I miss you all and Ill write more later, you've all been warned. :-)

Chuck Slaven
Contracts Specialist, MPRI
MNSTC-I, DOIA, MOI-TT Finance/Contracts
FOB SHIELD
Baghdad, Iraq
DSN: 318-239-8529
MCI: 914-360-6739
Email: charles.slaven@iraq.centcom.mil
Chuck Slaven
Cell:813-846-6543
Email: cwslav@msn.com