Efficiency over Effectiveness

Thursday 28 July.

So Monday morning I woke up and went to work expecting another boring day as I was scheduled to leave for Afghanistan on Friday 29 July.  My how things have a tendency to change.  As I walked into the office I was approached by another officer who’s mama was having heart trouble and he asked me if I would take his place on the Monday night lift to Afghanistan.  My first response….yes of course I will….my second response….panic.  I was pretty much packed up and ready to make the trip but there is something about the mindset change that must be made quickly when plans change that takes one off guard.

Well friends I’ve made it to Bagram Afghanistan.  The trip was excessively long, more so than it should have been but these are the way things are in the Army.  Imagine if you will for a moment giving one hundred and fifty nineteen year olds automatic weapons and moving them from Germany into a combat zone, the point is that things have to be done in a necessarily slow manner.

My odyssey continued Monday night at 1800 hours local time in Germany with sensitive items draw at the arms room followed by 2100 hours bag drop for the line haul (convoy) down to Ramstein Air Base.  I was able to snap a few pictures of some of the sad goodbyes that took place there at the company I deployed with.

 

The families all left the motorpool by 2100 hours and those of us left standing hustled into a maintenance bay and received a “rules of engagement” (who you can shoot and for what reasons…and more importantly who you can not shoot) and a prayer by the unit chaplain.  At midnight we all boarded coach buses and drove four hours through the night to Rhine Ordnance Barracks (ROB).  ROB shares a common gate with Ramstein and that is the place where large units that are moving go to wait for the Air Force to call us forward, meaning that the aircraft is ready for us.

After manifesting and weighing equipment there at ROB we drove fifteen minutes over to Ramstein and boarded the Omni Air Boeing 777 and flew to Manas in Kyrgyzstan.  By the time we unloaded all of our bags and received the base inbrief and bed down plan it was midnight local time in Manas (four hours ahead of Germany).

I was in the midst of celebrating my 10 year anniversary over a steaming bowl of chili in the chow hall in Manas when I was approached by a sergeant who informed me that I was to report to the passenger terminal at 0115 for a flight departing for Bagram Afghanistan.  My response…sure why not!

At 0115 I showed up and manifested for a flight to Bagram and caught a few hours of sleep until the 0530 show time back at the flight line.  I departed Manas around 0930 hours and landed in Bagram at 0900 local time (lost 1.5 hours).

After standing in the sun and playing the duffel bag load / unload game on a series of trucks I finally made it to my bunk for the next few days (pictures below).  So here I sit for my second straight night waiting for onward transportation to locations further downrange. 

I hope everyone is doing well back home.  I think I will be at my final destination in the next week or so.  Until then.

S.

31 July 2011

Day number two has come and went at Forward Operating Base Connolly.  First impressions; this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, chow is a lot worse than I thought it would be, and OMG there is an Afghan carrying an AK-47 walking around the FOB.

Two nights ago I manifested for a flight from Bagram to Jalalabad (JBAD).  On the C-130 with us was a platoon of Marines who were heading to a small facility in our sector (location omitted for OPSEC.)  Our C-130 arrived at JBAD around 0200 hours and we were met by the liaison officer for our task force.  We bedded down in transient tents and by 0530 I was snug in my plywood quarters.  By 1000 hours I was up again and manifesting for the helicopter ride down to FOB Connolly.

The helicopter ride was pretty cool.  There is an outfit at JBAD that delivers supplies and personnel to the distant FOBS and COPS (combat outpost).  They are a civilian run company from Canada.  So I ended up riding a Huey from JBAD to FOB Connolly.  I’m sure my Uncle D would have been proud to hear that.

So my trip took me five days and just as many different types of aircraft.  I’m now in a brand new B Hut and I have procured office space for my small team that will be following me here in the next week.  I also managed to buy an internet satellite system from a Soldier here who is getting ready to leave.

As for the FOB, it isn’t a bad place.  There is no track or anything to run on safely, but hey, I’m not the running type.  The center of the FOB is an old walled-in structure complete with a castle type turret and a dungeon.  The Afghan Army is here with us and we can all walk freely around with each other.  For better or worse I plan on spending a lot of time with them over the next year. 

That is it for now.  I hope you all like the pictures.

S.

13 August 2011

Ok friends so here we are working on week three.  I am happy to say that I am writing this blog entry from the comfort (well…relative comfort) of my snake free room. 

I’m going to have to figure out a way to post pictures to the blog.  The internet in the room isn’t fast enough to handle uploads of good quality pictures, so more on that later.

We had our transfer of authority ceremony today which marks our ownership of the battle space that compromises Western Nangarhar, Afghanistan.  I can’t go into details on this but we are in contact and this area is contested on a daily basis.

I’ve spent many hours in the past few weeks with the Afghan National Army (ANA).  We are investing a lot of man hours into getting them ready to take over the job of providing security for the civilians in the area.

Today I had three border patrol police in my office…each came with their own AK-47 and chrome plated pistol.  That was a little weird.

The rest of my team made it here a little over a week ago.  Our office is up and running and we are making progress slowly but surely.

Pictures are on the way. 

Steven

The fat lady in Lichtenstein!

There is something magical about living in open bay barracks.  This past week found me on Camp Achen in Grafenwohr training with about 30 other officers and senior enlisted men.  I don't know why, but the barracks tends to bring out the frat boy in even the most well rounded gentlemen.  Conversations in the barracks and field environment always turn to sex, drinking stories, and flatulence.  Through in a few Ranger stories and you have a party.

The week in the field was a good time to validate the setup of personal gear and to pick the brain of each person to our left and right.  I learned a lot this week and got to know some of the teammates a lot better.

The training last week was very good.  We had solid days from 0730 until 2000 nightly with topics ranging from first aid to crew served weapons familiarization.  The Army has really stepped up their simulation efforts when training soldiers for IED defensive measures and counter-countermeasures.  One event I wasn't crazy about was the MRAP rollover trainer.  It reminded me of dunker training and the experience of being strapped into an aircraft underwater.  I'm not a fan of small spaces so the rollover trainer was particularly fun for me.

Today as a reward for a hard week of training I took another road trip with Chris Fuhriman.  We did four countries in 14 hours and 930 km.  Today was a lot of fun.  We drove down to Austria and Lichtenstein via Nurnburg and Kempton.  We returned through Garmisch and Munich.

We stopped in Lichtenstein for a stroll and lunch.  Check out the picture of the fat lady below.  Pretty random I thought.

I've uploaded some more pictures from the training this past week and the travels today.  There is also a good picture of my friend Mike below that was taken on the fourth of July.  He and his neighbor were gracious enough to invite me over for a burger and fireworks.  You really find out who your friends are when the chips are down.

So we are within a pay period of going back to Afghanistan.  I was thinking the other day about the last time I was there and how much has changed since then.  If I fly straight through to Afghanistan, it will be 2 years, 10 months, and 27 days since the last time I was there.

Two birthday shoutouts from this past week.  My mom turned 35....prettier than ever of course.  Happy birthday to Mrs. Rachel also turned 35 this week.  Happy birthday both of you.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

S.

Austria and the Lone Woman with the White Rose

Saturday July 9th.

Today I took a trip to Salzburg, Austria.  Evidently Salzburg is the setting for the classic movie "The Sound of Music."  Our motley crew departed the barracks (ahh the barracks) bright and early at 0730.  Our plan was to stop by and pick up the newest, and apparently most green Lieutenant in the Army...2nd LT R.

Ok...side story.  I met 2nd LT R. the other day while I was kissing babies and making the rounds at my new battalion headquarters.  2nd LT R. was in need of a ride to a battalion social event and no one seemed to want to help the guy out.  Without knowing anything about the person seeking the ride, I volunteered to help a fellow officer out.  After I met the guy I knew immediately why no one was helping him out.  The poor guy is a fish out of water...Armor (Tank dude) in an Infantry world....and he's not going with us in a few weeks....what a drag.  So I took it upon myself to sit with him at the social event and three majors took him along today to Austria.  

On the way to pick up the LT we were side tracked by the spicy Thai food I enjoyed Friday night...so we arrived a few minutes late to pick up the LT.

After we finished all of our administrative details for the morning....four of us set out for Austria; a trip that I had somehow convinced myself would only take two hours.

Four hours later we arrived in Salzburg.  After driving with our doors locked through the heavily Turkish part of town...home of 1001 Kebab stands...we found the walk-platz and set out on foot.

Salzburg was pretty cool.  It is the birthplace of Mozart and home to a University, a monastery, and a convent.  We even had the opportunity to tour some catacombs today.

Salzburg also has a flare for the arts.

Check out this picture of a grandma in a sports bra and a dagger...WTH.

We found this guy floating in a no-floating zone in the walk-platz.

While were walking through the streets I was compelled to capture the image of a woman in a black dress walking alone with a single white rose.  It struck me as odd that a woman would be walking alone in the city with a single rose in no apparent hurry.  But seeing as we were in Salzburg I was feeling a little artistic.  I usually wouldn't give a scene such as this a second thought, but I recalled a picture that one of Karen's friends had uploaded this past week of a woman who was caught in an equally telling moment.  Unfortunately the picture my friend snapped of the lone woman and the rose is not nearly as good as the picture of Karen's friend (name omitted for privacy).  Anyway, both pictures are below. 

Timeless picture of one of our friends.  

A woman in black with a single rose is an interesting subject...its a shame we couldn't get a black and white quality picture of her without looking like stalkers.

The lone woman with the white rose....strange.

So we followed the lady for a bit and found she was traveling to the ages old church that lay below and equally old rock quarry and fortress perched upon a hill.  The church had a stone that indicated it was built in the 1400's with the rest of the church built another 1000 years before that.

A few extra pictures are below.

S.

Sucking Chest Wounds and Salad

The Army has seen fit to give me a new set of skills this week.  Today marks my completion of combat lifesaver training....no big deal for Joe...but for me....an accomplishment.  I've found that everything in the Army runs in cycles and first aid is no different.  Many remember back in the day when tourniquets were frowned upon and the golden rule about applying a tourniquet was that once it was on, no one was allowed to take it off.

The Army has a new take on the tourniquet.  The tourniquet...much like wisdom teeth extraction....seems to be something the Army loves to promote now. According to the first aid instructors, the tourniquet is now the first thing that is applied if a patient is bleeding.  I can not tell you all how excited I am that Joe has been instructed to apply a tourniquet to me if I am bleeding.  Understand that combat life saver training is taught to the lowest level and that Joe may not be able to determine if I actually need a tourniquet or not.

The Army has also begun shying away from teaching combat lifesavers how to place an IV into a patients arm.  The problem in combat was that soldiers were too busy trying to find a vein to start an IV and were neglecting the patient.  Pretty sound logic right?  Well now the focus of the training seemed to be on placing the nasal flange in the patients nose to secure an airway along with jabbing a six inch 15 gauge needle into the patients chest in the second clavicle region to relieve pressure in the chest....again I'm not sure I want Joe sticking a needle in my chest.

I did get one golden nugget from the first aid instructor today....who happened to be an E5 with 10 years in the Army (something doesn't add up there).  He said "The best medicine is effective fire on the enemy."  I think I can agree with that.

So tonight I celebrated my combat life saver graduation with attendance at the 1-2 IN Battalion hail and farewell.  The unit saw fit to welcome me properly with some well timed, although cliche jokes about aviators.  I received a coin with my name on it and a nice beer stein...which is now in a box ready to mail home.  I really appreciated the gifts but I would have rather had a new compass or something else useful in combat...or even just my full per diem for my stay in Germany....that is another story.

The 1-2 IN Battalion traces its roots back to the War of 1812.  There motto is "Back in Black" and they are known as the Black Scarves....I'll let you look that up but your hint is a reference to Vietnam.

Tomorrow I am off to the engagement skills trainer to refresh my long gun shooting skills.

Take Care.

S.

Joe strikes again!

Ahh the joy of living in the barracks.  In the spirit of keeping this blog "real" and not holding back too much I think you all deserve to hear about the triumphs of Joe in the barracks last night.

Now I can't speak for the passion that exists in the duplex houses to the left and right of 8610 Gafney Street, but I can absolutely say for certain that I have never been disturbed in the night by what I've heard coming through the walls of our house.  I think that most people keep things pretty well in hand and under control and are not overly concerned with impressing the neighbors with moans and screams in the night.

Not so for Joe.  I woke up at 3am last night to the apparent marathon of love making that was going on somewhere in the barracks.  Of course I was compelled to open my windows and make sure the acts were not occurring right outside of my window.

Joe is certifiably crazy.  The barracks...I mean come on...its the barracks....

I was duly impressed with what I heard and look forward to my next encounter with Joe.  It is a four day weekend here and payday was this past week so I imagine it will be an entertaining weekend.

S.

Prepare yourself for violence!

So tonights blog is inspired by a talk I received today from one of the senior ranking officers on our team.

The content of the talk sort of stuck with me today and I wanted to share this quick note with my friends and also preserve the feeling I have in this forum for later reflection....hopefully in happier times in about a year.

The officer speaking to us told the four of us that we were "Rattle Proof" as aviators and he expected us to leverage our ability to stay calm under pressure.  He also told us that life in the infantry was simple and soldiers usually just need to know their "task" and "purpose" and they will comply.  Pretty simple stuff I thought.  He also told us that as aviators we could expect to be seen as the resident experts on any army aviation platform....again I saw that as pretty reasonable.  His final words below struck a chord with me and gave me a chill.  I want to share these with you to help you gain perspective of what the real warriors out in the remote corners of the battlefield live with and how they think versus how most of my intel and aviator friends see the world from bases like Balad in Iraq and Bagram in Afghanistan.

Directives from one team chief.

1.  Prepare yourself for violence; you must be ready everyday to confront catastrophe.  Harden yourself.
2.  Be able to kill with your weapon under stress without hesitation.
3.  Know where to get help.
4.  Know how to save your life and your buddy's life.
5.  Focus your physical fitness plan on combat related tasks that challenge your personal resolve.

On that note.  Have a great night.

S.

Living with Joe

Its been a few weeks since my last update so I guess its about that time.  The first thing I'd like to share is how wonderful it is to be living with and amongst soldiers....aka Joe!  Joe is a general term to refer to a soldier who has not yet grown up or figured out what he wants to do in life.  Joe struggles to maintain his individuality by wearing cowboy hats and large belt buckles instead of assimilating into the culture of his surroundings.

Joe also has a girlfriend.  Joe's girlfriend arrives every Friday night at the barracks via a taxi cab or bus and pulls behind her a rolling suitcase.  Joe's girlfriend takes the walk of shame down the hall of the barracks to Joe's room and then leaves sometime on Sunday or in special circumstances on Monday morning before PT.

So for the past month I have had the privilege of living amongst Joe with eleven Lieutenant Colonels and fourteen Majors.  I think we have all grown together due to our shared experiences.  For example, last weekend we were all awakened by Joe as he and his Joe friends tried to find their barracks rooms in a drunken stupor.  I smiled a little on the inside when I heard one of the Joe's tell the other Joe "happy father's day".

Tonight on the way back from dinner I passed a group of Joe's walking towards the Taxi stand.  Please see the attached picture.  The leader of this group was pushing a shopping cart for some reason while his underlings were dressed in mid-western wear...no doubt they were on their way to the club outside of Grafenwoher.

Okay.  Enough about Joe.

I received an email this week informing me that the Golden Knights...the Army parachute team...has made the decision to bring me on board after this deployment to be their air detachment commander.  Karen and I are pretty excited about that and we look forward to moving back to North Carolina.

I've finished up two weeks of Pashto training and we are all having a good time speaking very modest amounts of Pashto to each other.  In fact, much of our conversations at the chow hall and out in town have turned to three or four word Pashto phrases.  I'm glad there aren't many Pashto speakers in Germany because someone sitting near us would no doubt wonder why six Americans in a German biergarten were telling each other to put their weapons down, surrender, and sit down in Pashto.

This week has been full of advisor training as we've all been engaged in role playing scenarios and interpreter training.  We even had an authentic Afghan meal the other night.  I was thankful that a rival tribe did not ride in on horseback during the meal and steal all of our possessions....I guess it wasn't that authentic after all.

I am scheduled to head further East in about a month.  Its hard to believe that tomorrow is Carlie's 9th birthday.  She had her party today and grandma and grandaddy Hoke's house.  Due to the timing of this deployment I will also miss her 10th birthday....that isn't cool.

Ya'll take care and be on the lookout for Joe.

S.

Flags, Trains, and all things nautical

June 11th, 2011

It happens to be June 12th now but for all practical purposes it is still the 11th.  Today began with a key leader rehearsal on the parade grounds here at Grafenwoher.  Today marks a milestone in the 172d BCT deployment schedule.  As each battalion assembled on the parade field and cased their Colors, they truly began the cycle of deployment, redeployment, and retraining.  The Colors will be uncased in Afghanistan in the next month or so and the unit will do its duty over there for as long as it takes as as much as it costs.

After the ceremony I offered to take one of the other officers to the train station.  On the way there he convinced me to ride along to Nurnberg and at least eat lunch with him.  So we left the Vilseck train station at 1340 and arrived exactly 40 minutes later in downtown Nurnberg.

For anyone who hasn't been to the former Roman city.....that the allies happened to utterly and completely destroy during WWII; it is a great place to visit.  Nurnberg comes with all of the trimings...torture museum...red light district...brotwurst stands...an opera house....a castle that sits on top of a hill...and a moat.

What really captivated me today was the statue just inside of the walled area of the city.  I felt I could relate to this statue because of a past experience I had on the water a few years ago when my brother tried to teach me to sail by simple trial and error.  The scene in this statue is captivating.  A woman is clearly terrified of the skeleton in the boat who is towering over her.  There is also a dog in the boat who is unhappy and a child who is clenching a dagger.  Check out the picture below.

So after I enjoyed the work of art, I decided to look for some trinkets for the kids or something nice for Karen.  The first store I walked into had a snow globe that I couldn't resist.  Inside of the globe was an iceberg and the Titanic.

Evidently my brother is going to look at a sail boat tomorrow with the intent to potentially purchase the boat.  Duane, if you read this, you were on my mind today as I came across two warnings from the hereafter that seemed to be steering me away from the boat.

The final treasure I found today was a picture of Jesus.  I found this picture at an antique shop.  The backing that is used to frame the picture is a 1921 newspaper.  The picture itself is not in great shape but I think my family will enjoy this picture for many years to come.  I hope you all like it.

That is it for now.  Things are a little boring right now so the pace of writing will have to slow down until we get further into training.  The first week of Pashto went well.  I can now write and say the Pashto alphabet.


Good nite my friends.

Steven

The Desk Drawer

Open your desk drawer and take a picture of whatever is there.  Be careful not to open your nightstand drawer or the top drawer on your chest of drawers because the contents may be drastically different from that of your living room, den, or study desk drawer.

What is there?  Today when I got up I was looking for something...who knows what..but I opened my desk drawer and the picture before me reminded me of one of those pottery barn catalogs where the contents of the drawer seemed to be evidence of a bygone era...things placed there for no particular reason other than to remind one of the past.  The id tags...commonly known as dog tags...reminded me of many old black and white pictures that many organizations use today to remind their sponsors or customers that they support America, its veterans...and somehow honor the past.  Its interesting what emotions a simple set of id tags can evoke in Americans.  I'm not judging the use of flags or military artifacts as a way to get through to an audience in fact that isn't even the point of this post.

So as I looked at the contents of the drawer I noticed that almost everything in there was significant and had a story.  The knife was purchased at Ramstein Air Base in 2008 while I was there with my dad in law.  I'm not sure why we were there at Ramstein but we happened into the BX and the knife was on sale.  I remember looking at a beer stein with Wade that had a wolf or something else painted on the side which reminded me of the NC State Wolfpack.

The sharpening stone was sent to me by my Dad the last time I was in Afghanistan.  He wanted to send a care package so I asked him for a sharpening stone, some bicycle tires, some "Groom and Clean" for my metro sexual roommate, and some craisens.  Why do we remember these things and furthermore why do I still have the box that the stone came in?

The official passport in the drawer was ordered up in 2007 as my old unit prepared to fly airplanes all over God's creation to get to Afghanistan.  Someone thought it would be a good idea if we had the red official passport in addition to ID cards just in case we were detained while abroad....looking back it was a good idea.

The marker with the red body and black tip was purchased with a pack of recordable DVDs in Boston in November 2009.  I was there training with...(omitted)...and they wanted video of the training that they could keep.  The pack of DVDs came with that marker....again..why do I still have it.  Karen would tell you that I am anything but a pack rat.

The wings...ah the wings.

The ID tags...something we loath to wear, pride ourselves in having a reason to wear, and hope we never have a need for.

The oak leaf...not an indicator of who I am, but of the quality of those who have supported me.

It is interesting that the things in our lives conspire to bring us to where we are today.  Every moment of every day occurs simply because of the choices we've made through our entire lives leading up to the moment we call the present.

Pashto language training starts tomorrow.

S.

Easy Money

So I could have written this post from many different points of view.  The fact of the matter personally is that I now have the most modern equipment of any army to conduct war with once I arrive in Afghanistan.

On the downside, I'm not sure how much more effective the equipment will make our forces at winning over the Taliban or Al Queda to a talking solution to bring peace to the region.  And if the new equipment I am wearing does not do either of those two things and it does not give me significantly more protection than what I was wearing already...it goes into the wasteful spending fund that seems to exists to keep retired Army folks employed....mainly at Fort Belvoir, Aberdeen, and Huntsville.

So our morning began at 3am local time here in sunny Germany.  I started the day off with a PB&J and a coke, a quick shave, a hot shower, and a quick run down to the assembley area where we met the friendly German bus drivers who were no doubt peveed about working on what is know as German father's day.

We bused down to Schweinfurt and formed our ranks outside of a makeshift warehouse.  A "contact team" of sorts was there to fully equip about 300 soldiers with the latest and greatest from the Program Manager Soldier office out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  On my list of new equipment was:
1.  Danner Hiking Boots:  2 pair.  (Very nice for hiking)
2.  More sunglasses.  2 pair.
3.  Four new uniforms in the OEF camo pattern.
4.  Nice infantry fighting gloves
5.  All new hats, rank, and patches
6.  Two new Ruck sacks with all of the trimmings
7.  Brand new bullet proof vest with all of the trimmings

That pretty much rounded out the fun equipment that the Army was good enough to pass out to ensure our safe return.

Break Break Break:

For some reason today I'm feeling a little low again.  I'm not sure if it is the move into the barracks that occured yesterday that has me down given a few missing creature comforts over here, or if I'm just slipping back into a sullen feeling for a few days.

I got to see Karen, Sofia, and Bubba-town today on Skype which made things nice.  It looks like I'm going to get a solid night of sleep here on Graf as it approaches 10pm.  Tomorrow is another day of predeployment screening...medical...dental...vision...wills...legal stuff.

Well friends.  Thanks for reading.  Thanks as always for the emails during the week....they do help...I hope I'm not whining too much.

Wishing you all the best wherever you are tonight.  Welcome home to missing husbands; and my friends Purple D, Sprinkles, Buck Wild, Dominoes, and Gina.

S.

Blau-bur-gunder

Sunday 29 May, 2011

Today was a nice reprieve from daily life at the Krystal Inn.

I woke up this morning to two cups of espresso courtesy of my friend Mike followed by some eggs and bacon.  I also had some kind of juice that one would be hard pressed to find in an American grocery store.  It was pear juice and was one of the thicker beverages I've ever had.

After a very leisurely morning, we hopped in the red mini, saddled up the dogs, and headed to one of two extinct volcanos that flank the Army training area of Grafenwoher.  In the town of Parkstein, the people of that town have built a city around the base of the old volcano including a church at the summit.  Castle walls also encircle the extinct volcano and make for a nice walk to the top.

After the trip to Parkstein we returned to Mike's place and prepared for the evening meal.  Mike went out and got some steaks from the local market while I skype'd with Karen and the kids.

For any rum lovers out there, my buddy introduced me to a rum from India called "Old Monk".  It was very good and I highly recommend it.

I've attached a few pictures for you all of one of Mike's dog..."Chowder" who happens to have a severe underbite.  Also polished off a bottle of wine this evening which was very good.  I know Jen Gash would be proud.

I found it a little ironic that Mike chose to use a smokey joe grill instead of the massive stainless steel grill pictured in the background.

Tomorrow I need to get back to the Krystal Inn and do some school work and get ready to move out of the sanctuary of the hotel.

Until later.

S.

Today in Germany

So today was the second day in a row I slept past noon.  Not a great habit considering I'm expected to on central european time as of Tuesday.  I'm still dealing with a slight bit of depression at my plight and the prospect of spending the next 15 months away from home.  I promise not to complain about this much longer...I know it can be depressing to read about.

After getting up today I ate a "smart one" and washed it down with a nice Dr. Pepper then decided to delve into some school work.  For those of you who don't know, over the next 12 months I have to complete the remainder of my intermediate level education for the Army.  From January through this past April I finished the common core portion at Fort Belvoir.

So I managed the muster the strength to get through one lesson and write a small paper which puts me 60% of the way through the first block of the course.  My goal is to finish the block over the next two days of Memorial Day weekend.

On a positive note, I will be getting a rental car sometime this coming week and my per diem has been increased to a more acceptable level.  Not that money can buy happiness but it sure does help.

My friend Mike came by the Krystal Inn today and rescued me from myself.  He invited me to pack a bag and come to his place for the night.  I am certainly glad I did because there was some good Thai food involved, two friendly dogs, a green back yard to hang out in, and a memory foam bed to sleep in.  I also managed to bring my dirty clothes over here to get washed.  Mike is going though a hard time right now too as he prepares to transition to the civilian work force.  He and his wife leave next weekend for Huntsville, AL to begin house hunting.

I've attached a few pictures of the little restaurant in the woods and what appears to be an old playground right next to it.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring and I apologize for the boring blog post...please continue to read as I am sure it will get more exciting in the next few months....especially if you want to know what the day in the life of being deployed is like.

To all of my wife's friends..."sister wives"....I hope your hard...I mean yard sale went well today.  I miss you guys...even you Amanda.  Take care and thanks for all of the facebook notes...they really help.

S.

The Power of Prayer

So this week was pretty tough.  As with every other long trip I've taken, much of the week was spent with misty eyes and praying for strength and a speedy passage of overwhelming and frequent feelings of mistaken roads taken and bad decisions.

As usual, in times of sorrow I turned to prayer which always seems to be the first thing I turn away from during the good times.  Won't be making that mistake again.

So it came as a refreshing surprise to me this morning when I awoke with a renewed sense of purpose and a slightly less sting of being homesick.  At the end of the day, an old friend of mine skype'd me and told me he was in Grafenwohr Germany and told me I was welcome to come over and catch up.

So within just a few days of praying and seeking comfort I was able to have dinner tonight with an old buddy...who happens to be feeling a bit of a loss right now as he faces retirement.  God works in mysterious ways and quite possibly gave both my friend and I the opportunity to seek the comfort of old friends in a nice pub in the little town of Vilseck.

As for the rest of my week, things are looking ok.  I've been able to email and talk to my family every day and I plan to seize that opportunity while I can before heading to less friendly areas.

I've attached a few pictures of the notes I've found this week in my boots, shaving kit, bags, and other places from Karen and Carlie.  I think they are cute and they were certainly appreciated this week as I found each of them.  Carlie also thought enough of me to let me have the homemade ledger that she made in vacation bible school last summer.  I don't think it meant much to her...but she just wanted to give me something of hers to take with me.  I'll have to think of something to do with it to give her back when I get home....maybe I could post pictures in the little book of my adventures.  Any ideas?

As far as assignments, I'm now in the 172d brigade combat team as a part of the 1-2 Infantry battalion.

Talk to you all again real soon.

S.

The saddest day ever

Well friends, we are off to the races.  After clearing Fort Meade, I took ten days of leave which were the fastest days I have ever seen.  I can only hope the next year plus goes by that fast.

Its interesting how often the phrase "You don't know what you have until its gone" has to be reaffirmed to a man before he understands that he should cherish each day of his life with his family.  As the past two weeks went by I was waiting for anxiety about leaving that never came until the final few hours when I realized how much I was leaving behind.

I've left two good friends who I didn't spend nearly enough time with.  Jason and Jeremy seemed to always be there for me if I wanted to go out and do something but I didn't make a lot of effort to get out there and have a good time with two good role models.

There is no way to describe the hurt involved in leaving children behind in the airport holding their mama's hand while she cries.  What a hugh sense of guilt and loss I have right now.  I know these feelings will pass, but there is an utter hopelessness surrounding me right now and I expect it will keep me company for at least a few weeks.

Even the dog seemed to know something was up yesterday as she lay beside my army bags in the foyer.

On the airplane ride from Chicago to Frankfurt I started reading a Scott Turow book "Ordinary Heros".  On the second page a quote really spoke to me.  "...there have been moments when I've found the vastness of the Atlantic terrifying.  Gazing out, I realize how far I have gone from home, how alone I am now, and how immaterial my life is to the oceans, or to most of the people around me".

I'll try to keep that thought in my mind and not project my hurt onto others, but use this time to get back to the things that are good in my life and to grow my relationship with God.

Karen, Carlie, Sofia, and Bubba....(and Doodle and the nasty cat)...I love you guys.

Until later.

S.

One week and counting

Alright friends, its been a few weeks since my last posting.  In the past three weeks I have completed my King Air refresher training and managed to earn an Airline Transport Pilot rating out of the deal.  The only deal better than that is breakfast in the Army.

The United States Navy has also managed to kill Bin Laden during the past few weeks.  I'm obviously pretty excited about that but also wonder what that will mean for my upcoming year in Afghanistan.

Emails out of the 172d to the inbound members of the STT have increased.  I'm in nearly daily contact with the welcome party in Germany as it begins to take shape.  I received an email today from what appears to be someone in a leadership position at the 172d (name omitted for opsec) who may indeed be a leader of one of the STT teams.

Last night my wife Karen and I went to see the movie "Bridesmaids"...well worth the six bucks.  If you have the time to see it please check it out and enjoy the "air marshall" scene and think of me fondly when you do.

I was able to spend this past weekend with my Dad, brother, step mom and sister in law.  This week finds me in the Brushy mountains of North Carolina with my in-laws.  Good company, chicken, and happy kids here at Grandmas house.  I don't know if it is the house or the surrounding area that calms me when I am here.  I have always felt that way about 993 Cedar Forest Road.

Until next time.

S.

Fire on the Mountain

Be careful what you wish for.  It looks like I will be working as an advisor along the AF/PAK border for the next year or so.  I am full of excitement and anticipation.  As I sit here and listen to the Marshall Tucker Band sing "Fire on the Mountain" I can't help but feel restless and wonder if I have made the right decision.

Today in the news it has been reported that an Afghan Army officer shot and killed 9 U.S. service members in a pilot debriefing room in Kabul.  What makes this any more or less terrible than an American service member doing the same thing in Iraq or Afghanistan?  As attacks by those pretending to be on our side continue, it promises to be an interesting year.

This week I am in Dallas, TX completing King Air refresher training.  Its hard to imagine that in less than 30 days I'll be back in Germany preparing for a combat deployment.  I spoke with the unit today and inquired about a rental car and internet connectivity while in Germany as part of my TDY expenses.  In true Army fashion, the answer was a resounding "no".  It has been great over the past three years having access to well funded travel to complete our missions.

More in the future.

S.