Apologies And A Quick Update

I have been posting by email since I got to Baghdad. It worked fine until I tried posting pictures. I am sure that I followed BLogger's instructions, but it didn't work. Anyway, I will try to get the pictures corrected now that I an directly manage the blog again.
I am in Basrah now, in the Southernmost province of Al Basra. I will be living and working on the British contingent's Base that occupies the Basrah International Airport. The job I am taking over is, finally, a real Civil Affairs job. I will be the project officer for education, which mostly involves managing the refurbishment and repair of schools in the city of Basrah and the surrounding area. The Director General of Education and the general population is rather proud of the academic reputation that Al Basra has in Iraq. It consistantly leads the nation in the number of students that place in the very top of the matriculation exams, so they are very keen on getting schools up and running. They are even paying for most of the projects from Iraqi funds. Coalition funding is winding down and could disappear entirely before long.
This move gave me yet another travel story, too. The Air Force managed to send my ruck sack and duffle bag, which had all of my clothes and bedding and towels and quite a lot of gear that I hand receipted and have to turn in or pay for to Ali As Salem in Kuwait. I have been wearing the same socks, underwear and uniform since Thursday when I arrived. I dont know when my bags will get to Basrah, but it is getting unpleasant, especially my socks. I am not happy with the Air Force right now.
I work with seven Royal Army and Royal Navy officers in my office, and I am learning quite a bit already about the differences and similarities in our services. US Navy officers are generalists. We are moved around so we see and do everything on the theory that a well rounded officer is better able to command and fight, because he understands everything even if he isn't an expert at everything. Royal Navy officers stay with their branch for their whole carreers, becoming expert in their field, but not getting a broad knowledge of the RN as a whole. That means that operational officers, what they call the Seaman Branch, spend their entire careers at sea, where we, on average, spend only half of our careers at sea. RN Engineering officers, by contrast, may only go to sea for one tour and never again.
I have to say too, that it is much hotter here than in Baghdad. Up north, I could walk outside at mid-day for almost five minutes before I really started to sweat. Here, I start to sweat in less than one minute. It doesn't help at all that I have to wear my armor anytime that I am outside. Basrah has calmed down significantly since the Iraqi Army was sent to get rid of all of the trouble makers that moved in when the Brits pulled back to their bases, but there are still occasional indirect fire events a couple of times each month. Even though no one has been killed by hostile fire for months, no one is allowed out of doors without basic protection, which makes the weather feel that much hotter.
Enough for now. It's about time to knock off for the day. Tomorrow, i dont have to work until early afternoon. I dont know if I will get to Church. There doesn't seem to be an organized serviceman's group down here, although I know of one other member now. I am back online, so I hope that I will be posting more regularly again.