OJT!!!

Now I have successfully made it back to Camp Liberty, I am now learning the day to day reponsibilities of my job. The best way to describe it is I am a conduit of information. I take what we are doing in the motor pool and pass that information on to those that are affected by my work, which is pretty much everyone in the Squadron!
Here's the jist of my jobs and the type of stuff I'll be dealing with every day. First off, I am the Squadron Maintenance (or Motor, depending on who you're talking to) Officer. I am in charge of the motor pool, where all the mechanical maintenance to any and every piece of equipment we own. The HMMVV's you see on television, or the new Mine Resistant Anti-Personnel (MRAP's) vehicles are all serviced by my guys. I have two mechanics at each JSS and then about 15 more back here at Camp Liberty that work in the motor pool. Because of the weather and rough terrain, we're constantly having to fix stuff on the vehicles like fuel injector pumps or generators.
Ok, I have to make a confession. I don't know anything about vehicles. I don't even know how to change my oil! However, this does not give you reason to question my manhood, as I know several other well respect gentlemen that are in the same boat as me. Unfortunately, I never really got into understanding cars and working on them, but this job has definitely initiated my quest for becoming an amateur mechanic.
The other part of my job is serving as the Maintenance Platoon Leader. Unlike the combat platoon leaders here, my job doesn't really have a lot of applicability until we get back to the States. Then I will focus more on personnel type issues, as well as training them up on certain things. Due to the extreme heat during the day, roughly 120's right now, my guys have two shifts they work during the evening hours. This allows them to work during the night, when it's cooler. I, however, work from about 0800 to 2100 (9pm)! Luckily, this whole time period doesn't consist of work, since I'm only passing on information to different people, but my On the Job Training has me getting familiarized with a lot of processes and information in a short period of time. I have time to eat and work out each day, so that's building the type of routine that is important for my daily sanity.
Well, I hope this gives you a taste of the kind of stuff I'm doing here in Iraq. I know there will be plenty of stories for me to tell you in the coming months, but this is predominantly what my daily activities consist of, so please don't worry too much about my safety!
Take care.