Many Thanks

Thanks to everyone for their comments lately, and thanks to Warrant Officer Mike Fay, who as you know is my "Dad" in the Combat Art Program (See his nice post today at Fire and Ice).

I've been getting my "sand legs" as he puts it, here in lovely Camp Fallujah, and soon will be getting out-- "outside the wire" so to speak--to spend time with various units fighting here in Iraq.

I also hope to get out and see & sketch some of the civil projects we're involved with, to show the side of the war that the press seems helplessly (willfully) incapable of showing the American people. It's beginning to seem more than a bit purposeful that they're not showing these things.

I’ll keep you all posted, as much as I can, on where I am and what I’m doing. I cannot get into any details, as you can imagine, given the operational security that is necessary in these matters.

I’m having trouble posting the images from here at Camp Fallujah, so I’m having to shrink them severely and email them to my wife, for her to post on the site (the shrunken size is why they're a bit hard to see. We'll try to remedy this, somehow.)

Here are two images I just completed. The watercolor is the second version of the Career Retention Office, an image I was intrigued with, due to the camouflage netting and the bomb part in the front (I love the unintended irony of that, given that one would think that this office would want people to be drawn to it, and yet it has this fake bomb and sign that says "NO PARKING ANYTIME"). They are great people, in that office, and helped me out by giving me a tour of the base and a nice stool to sit on when sketching.


The second piece is a quick ink sketch of a big armored truck and "Humvee" sitting side by side, waiting to go out on convoy. (I can hear the little humvee saying to the big truck, "Hey Spike! Ya wanna go out and chase Insurgents? Huh, Spike? Huh? Ya wanna...?)

Anyway, thanks to all of you… Semper Fidelis

In Country at Last

Hello!

Sgt Battles has arrived in lovely Iraq, after several days of flights and baggage-handling and check-ins and roll call/flight rosters and on and on...!

I flew commercial through Germany to Kuwait, and waited several hours to get bussed to the Ali Al Salem (sp?) air base with an assortment of army, marine, navy, and air force personnel, as well as several civilian contractors. After a short flight in a C-130, I arrived at an airbase (abbreviated "TQ") on 20 October, stepping down the ramp onto Iraqi soil around 1830 hours local time. It was then a short helicopter ride to beautiful Camp Fallujah, Home of the Thousand Shades of Beige! I arrived around 2230, and Major Durr, another combat artist, met me and showed me the office-- then let me crash in an empty rack at the barracks he was in.

I spent a good day-and-a-half checking in with the various parts of the base that want to know you are here-- admin/personnel, supply, the Sergeant Major and CO of the unit I'm in, etc...

I almost know my way around the place now-- I at least can find the PX, the Laundry, the Chapel, the Chow Hall, the Armory-- every place a marine needs to know about.

I've begun to sketch, and as soon as I get one done well enough to post I will do so.
It's finally time to put all that training and fancy art education to use!!

OORAH and Semper Fidelis--

Practice, Man, Practice

I recently spent a few hours out on Murphy Demolition Range with the Combat Instruction Company, watching the instructors prepare and give lessons in Breaching and Assaulting to newly commissioned Second Lieutenants. I sketched the lieutenants while they were in the classes, and I filmed the final breech & assault demonstration. It was literally a blast! It was good fun and great training.

Here are a couple of the sketches I did. They are loose and (obviously) sketchy, which is the nature of the beast with field drawing. I was using the pen directly, without any preliminary pencil layout. This forces me to develop an artist's eye, and a more confident line . With practice, I think I can keep the freshness of the sketch while developing more efficient mark-making and getting them to a higher finish.

In a matter of days I deploy. The training here has been beneficial, but nothing compares to putting one's skills to the test in the real world. I can't wait to get out there and document the Marines in action!

Semper Fi and OOH-RAH!

Reporting for Active Duty

I finally got access to a computer workstation, and so I can post!

I reported for duty at Marine Corps Combat Development Command Quantico, Virginia, September 6, 2006, and spent the first few days checking in with various offices and units, before coming to rest at the History Division September 11.

Most of my time has been taken up with setting up work space at the History Division, going to and setting up appointments with medical, dental, legal, supply, etc., and getting refresher training, all in preparation for my upcoming deployment. It's been a busy couple of weeks, needless to say.

I have been able to continue working on an oil painting of one of the wounded warriors I sketched up at Bethesda Navy Medical Center with WO1 Mike Fay in August.

Next week I'll be going out to fire various weapons with the H&S BN, as part of Marine Battle Skills Training. This is very good, as I need to familiarize myself with a variety of weapons before deploying (The Combat side of the Combat Artist's repertoire...).

I also hope to get a chance to go out in the field to observe and sketch the officers at TBS (The Basic School here at Quantico-- intensive basic training for new officers). That will be another opportunity to get used to doing the job in the field.

Family is what's it's all about

Hello, all who read these posts--

I have yet to post some family photos--
So, here they are!

Here's a photo of me, my lovely wife, Kelly, and our children: Hannah, Jack and the li'l newcomer, Kate:















Here's Hannah, recently. She's almost 4, going on Teenager in mentality.
Cutie, though, huh?
















These photos are of my son, Jackson. It's his first barbershop haircut; Jack and I had our hair cut together, and he was a little trooper. He never so much as frowned the whole time.





























Here's Kate! (Katherine Lorraine). Newborn, she arrived July 30th, 7 lbs, 0 oz, 19 inches long. Cute as a button, if I do say so myself.
































Family is why we fight Terrorists, and family is also why it's such a challenge to leave and be gone for weeks or months at a time.

I will only deploy for short terms, whereas we have some young marines who have had two or three longer stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, with more on the horizon. It has to be incredibly difficult.

After...

Last month, I promised a photo of me as a Marine Artist (the "After" Photo)--



Here I am, sketching today at Bethesda.

Young Wounded Warriors

Warrant Officer Mike Fay and I went today to Bethesda Naval Medical Center as part of our duties as combat artists, to sketch and draw the young marines recovering from wounds suffered in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Talking to these marines was a joy and an honor (needless to say), as they truly represent the good in American youth. All had stories of combat, and of friends wounded and killed in the war. You could see the effect of the war on their faces, many times literally, as they bore scars from IEDs, mortars, and sniper fire.

Here are some of the sketches I did, and though some of them do not do justice to the subject, I thought it would be good to show them, so that people could see the faces of the young marines who have fought and been wounded, defending us in the War on Terror:

Sergeant Ryan King, wounded by IED. He has had some excellent facial surgery (I couldn't tell that his face and especially his nose, had seen some extensive damage).

Corporal Estaban Diaz, wounded in the head by an IED, with shrapnel through his left cornea. Incidently, he was born in Mexico, raised in the States a pastor's son, and is still waiting to be sworn in as a US citizen. (Can anyone say, "FASTTRACK this guy?!")


Sgt Todd Herman. The leader of the pack, with natural command presence, yet he's a heck of a nice guy. He's still having surgery on his face after having been wounded in 2004. This portrait isn't a perfect likeness, yet I put it up here because he was such a pleasure to work with and to draw.

I have several more images, which I will post tomorrow. I also hope to have some drawings from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Gunner Fay and I will be going tomorrow...

An old drawing of mine...

Here's a drawing I did years ago of my brother, Andrew, who was an Amtracker out of Courthouse Bay, from 1984-88.

It was drawn from a photo he sent me, when he was on a WestPac float in 1985. ( I believe it was taken near Mt. Fuji, but I could be wrong).

It is pencil on paper, and isn't too bad, given the fact that it's photographic, and therefore a little stiff.

I felt it was a success, and when my brother sent it to me today, I thought it'd go well on this site.

Gadzooks--I've Been Drafted!!

Mail Call! My "marine-ness" is becoming more a reality every day. One of my combat artist associates sent me these uniform items in the mail, to welcome me aboard and help me get ready to report for duty.







It is like riding a bicycle, as they say, to put on the uniform again. It feels natural; almost like I never got out years ago. The uniforms and equipment have changed a bit since I last served, but the Marine Corps itself remains the same. That is a great thing.

The few changes I see are quite positive. It seems to me the Marine Corps is faster, stronger, and smarter than it was ten years ago. I'm sure it's got to do with the increase in technology, and the vast amount of warfighting experience accumulated since the beginning of the Global War on Terror.

It's good to be a part of it.