LostInIraq.com is dead, but LostInAfghanistan is up and running. Check it out...  

Hello All,

I finally got around to restoring my back-up of LostInIraq. It was originally taken down due to a virus that was bogging down the server. I've spent the last few days re-reading and remembering many of these stories. We managed to have some fun didn't we? We've been home for almost five years now. I am excited to say many of us are still close friends and talk regularly. As I read these posts, something Kevin Denver told me a couple months ago, keeps running through my head. He mentioned he wished he got to know some of us earlier in the deployment. He said the crew associated with this site really made the most of every situation and stayed positive during what could have been a miserable 18 months. Kevin is right. We did make the most of everything and we were lucky to have some really great people in the unit. Now, five years later I look back at the good times and am grateful to have met some amazing people and proud to have been over there.

I have tagged some of the more popular posts as "Greatest Hits". You can review them here:

        Lost In Iraq Greatest Hits

Warmest regards,
  Todd Kobus

Here they all are. All in one place, the LostInIraq.com AirHorn Wakeups Trilogy...

Airhorn Wakeups Episode I Here's the OG, the one that started it all. This may be the crudest of the videos, but it still holds a special place in my heart...

Airhorn Wakeups Episode II This one cracks me up each time I watch it. Unfortunately, I must warn you all that the song contains explicit lyrics, our sailor of a soldier Driscol has a tough time containing himself and Boucher may have in fact soiled himself... Henceforth, parental discretion is advised.

Airhorn Wakeups Episode III And finally, the epic presentation, Airhorn Wakeups Episode III. You may be thinking to yourself "how can an Airhorn video be an 'epic' presentation? The whole Airhorn gag is played-out, lets get original guys..." Download the video, and you'll soon understand. This is like no other Airhorn video you've ever seen. This is also the final Airhorn Wakeup video. We reluctantly decided to put down the Airhorn, and quit while we were ahead... Enjoy the finale.

It's been a blast maintaining this website and updating it throughout everything from Ft Drum, to Kuwait, to Iraq and back home. A lot of people have asked what's going to happen to the website now. Will I change the name to 'Found in the USA', or 'Not Lost in Iraq' etc.? To answer these questions: there will be a final video, so keep watching for it. After that, the site will remain dormant, but it will still be available for viewing, downloading videos & a means for people to stay in touch if someone moves. There will also be a final DVD of all the videos and a complete compilation of the site. I'll figure out how to get them out to people at that time.

Thanks again for all your support,
Todd

Last night the remainder of the guys arrived at Rehoboth finishing their active duty tours with another great hero's welcome. It's nice to see this chapter in DivArty's history coming to a close.

Finally, no more Ft Drum!!! Goodbye Golden Unicorn! Goodbye Black River Legion! Goodbye Mom's Taxi!

I don't know what to say... I can't believe we're home! It was amazing pulling in to the armory Thursday night. Talk about a hero's welcome!

Holy sh!t it’s hot!!!... again! Just like before the sand here in Kuwait is blinding, the port-a-johns smell and the lines are long. But this time we’re on our way out! I can’t wait to get home.

The sunset above was the last sunset we saw in Iraq. Below, I’ve included a few pictures from our trip from Iraq to Kuwait.

Everyone is pretty excited to be headed home. Unfortunately, the process involves quite a bit of down time and waiting around for different flights. And, god knows idle time for us is a BAD idea... Poor Duarte had to celebrate his birthday at the PAX terminal in Speicher. Luckily for him, Chapman was able to find a make shift birthday cake or shake for him consisting of a snack-pak with a flaming tampon candle. One would think that in itself would be enough shock-and-awe, but not for Dewie. He chose to use his freshly extinguished candle as a spoon while enjoying his delicious snack-pak... Then, in the next tent over, a sing-a-long broke out. It was hilarious to see Barbito fight off tears as Furtado belted out his rendition of "That's What Friends are For". We all sung poorly, but enjoyed ourselves.

Speaking of sing-a-longs, we had one of our own soldiers record a few songs while in country. See if anyone can guess who this unnamed hero is singing his debut single "Spiderman".

I get hundreds of emails everyday from various people saying they love the site (OK, maybe not hundreds), but this particular one was very nice and timely:

I'm sure you hear this a lot but this is the best of all the sites I have checked out.

My name is Bill. I am a retired Air Guard MSGT. I did 25 years with the regular AF (bomb loader), the Army Guard (NCOIC JAG shop and small arms instructor), and the remainder as a bombloader in the Air Guard.

I must tell you that following your antics and missions have made me want to come back more than anything else short of the 9-11 attacks. You guys remind me so much of the units of which I have proudly been a member. I wish you all the best now and in the future and look forward to your return home.

Thanks Bill. That's great. Although, the potential recruiting use of this site and the videos were not my intent. Regardless, we really do have a great group of people in this unit. We're at the "we've GOT to keep in touch" / "I'm gonna miss you guys" stage.... bah! We have all been very close throughout everything and in a twisted way, it will be bitter sweet leaving this hell hole. Barbito summed it up gayest by suggesting it was like the "end of summer camp"...

Here are some pictures from the past couple days. Schwartz and I had the opportunity to work with some of the Civil Affairs guys and enjoy some non-conventional outings. Thanks for letting us roll with you guys, it was a pleasure helping out.

Well, once again I'm getting some unexpected attention. Leo Shane, of Stars and Stripes, published a couple comments I made a month ago in a recent article. The article itself is harmless, but the increased attention is never good.

Here's a clip from the article:

Military issues content warning to combat-zone bloggers
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, October 1, 2005

WASHINGTON — Army officials this week issued new warnings to soldiers about posting personal stories from combat zones on the Internet and taking photos at overseas bases, saying those actions could jeopardize troops’ security.

.

Sgt. Todd Kobus, who runs the blog site LostInIraq.com to chronicle his Massachusetts Army National Guard unit’s activities there, said he has been confused and aggravated by Army’s guidelines that have limited what he can write about the troops’ lives overseas.

“They have managed to keep everything extremely vague,” he said in an e-mail from Iraq. “The site hardly serves its original task of keeping family and friends informed of anything, aside from the prank wars that occur on the base.”

Kobus said he understands the need for security and has taken many steps to make sure his site doesn’t pose security risks, doing things like blotting out Iraqi troops’ faces in photos. But he still fields complaints from superiors worried about photos and stories on the site.

“All this is pretty frustrating since I have kept my site positive during the entire deployment and have never intentionally violated that giant gray area known as OPSEC,” he said.