04 January 2008: Reaching another milestone

It's been over 24 hours since the last word from higher regarding awards. I think we're all in the clear - finally. Quite frankly, I can't think of another setting that could possibly exist for their sliding scale of standards.

Another milestone in the deployment was reached today. I haven't passed it yet, but my team has reached this very important weigh-station. Today I began updating the team continuity book for our replacements. This book is a very important piece of any TOA. In my case, the continuity book will give the incoming Team Chief a complete overview of the team, its missions, mission requirements, standard operating procedures and command responsibilities. Most importantly, it will provide my replacement with a guide on how to perform his job. When I arrived back in March, there was no continuity book. I had to figure all this stuff on my own. My team had no mission statement, no guidelines, no mission definitions, or even description of individual responsibilities. I'm making certain my replacement won't be faced with the same shit sandwich I inherited. I'm also requiring each member of my team to create a continuity folder for their individual replacement counterpart. We will set up the incoming team for success.

I also started updating the command summary briefing. The last time I updated the thing was back in August. I didn't realize how much we'd accomplished over the past four months. We've been very busy. Our numbers are staggering. We've redeployed fifteen Brigade Combat Teams. This required processing almost 16,000 shipping containers, certifying over 700 HAZMAT containers, and providing in-transit visibility to almost 9,000 vehicles. My team has conducted redeployment operations from Iskandariyah in the south, to as far north as Tal Afar. Over 20 Forward Operating Bases have seen visits from my team. Busy? I'm only talking about everything we've done since August. Like I said, the overall numbers for my team dating back to March 2007 are staggering.

When it's time to leave, I can say with the utmost confidence that my team has earned their keep.