In The Pipeline

If you are a more than occasional reader of my blog, you'll know that normally this space is dedicated to my pointing out how Democrats, and liberals in general, are trying to screw up the country.

However, you probably also know that I recently took a job with Northrop Grumman IT as a BISA System Administrator for the Army in Iraq. So, I am going to start documenting my experiences in Iraq.

Ok, to start, I'm not in Iraq yet. Monday, June 23 was my first day with the company. I spent that day at company headquarters in McLean, VA, learning about the company and benefits, etc. Pretty boring stuff. Tuesday I drove to Camp Dawson, WV, for two days of training on the system I will be working on.

Camp Dawson is located in eastern West Virginia, near the Maryland border, about 100 miles near due south of Pittsburgh. It's an Army National Guard Training Facility. In fact, it's the - wait for it - Robert C. Byrd Army National Guard Training Facility. According to my friend, Dave Manzano, this is where all Army National Guard and Reserve Special Forces units conduct their training.

Today I got my first hands-on with the Biometrics Identification System for Access (BISA). Conceptually, what the Army is doing with biometrics is very similar to what the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs is doing. The Army is also using very similar or in some cases the same equipment. Obviously, this gives me a leg up in learning about the system.

I have one more day of training then on Friday I'll drive to Pittsburgh, fly to Atlanta and then drive to Ft. Benning, GA in Columbus, GA, on the AL/GA border.

I took some pictures of Camp Dawson which I am going to post in an album on Kodak Gallery. They should be up some time later this evening.