Thursday has quickly become one of my favorite two days of the week; the other being Sunday. The reason is because those are the days that Daniel and I have for our half-days here in Afghanistan. Upon our arrival in country we were not given any time off and worked 12-15 hours per day. After the first few months were complete and we had a new commander he reinstated the half-day policy, which was an excellent idea. Twelve months without any time off will drive a man crazy!
Truly there is nothing spectacular about my half-day, but I have my little rituals that have become quite important to me. We leave work around 2:00 p.m. and I typically am able to come to my room and watch a movie or take a nap or something to just relax. My favorite thing about these days is the fact that I can Skype with my wife and see my kids running around in the background. It's a time when this war removes itself to the far fetches of my mind and some sense of normalcy reappears when I see their wonderful faces. It's tough watching the kids grow up online, but it sure beats not seeing them at all.
On another much lighter note, Daniel and I packed our shipping container today for movement back to the States. We are 100% packed up with nowhere to go! All that's left to pack is our clothes, battle rattle and maybe some personal gear. If someone told me I could leave in an hour as long as I could make the plane I now know that it could easily be done...now if someone would just give me that opportunity!
According to our 'Circle of Freedom' we have completed 90.7% of our deployment and all we have left is 9.3% more. Five years from now I'll look back at Afghanistan in much the same way that I currently look on my time in Iraq. Funny how memories have a way of removing the less than desirable times and clean up everything so that we look with rose-colored glasses. Those memories are five years away though...as for now I'm ready to be in my bed in my house with my wonderful wife and kids...plus a consistently warm shower would be great!
So, for those of you out there in cyberspace keeping up with the days we're down to 30. The tracker says only 4.28 weeks left...I can do it!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
It's 3:15 in the morning...let me sleep!
So, I've heard from fairly credible sources that for every hour you gain or lose in transit from one time zone to another it will take that many days to be completely over your jetlag. I'm beginning to think those guys were right! For the past six days I have woke up between 3:13 a.m. and 3:17 a.m. This would be normal had I gone to bed at 8:00 p.m., but I'm not even going to bed until midnight...enough is enough. I don't have to be at work until 9:00 a.m., but these days I am wide awake at 6:00 a.m. so why just lay there?
The Team is down to 44 days on the 'Circle of Freedom' that we are maintaining. In case I haven't mentioned it, the Circle is an Excel spreadsheet that keeps up with the exact amount of days/months/hours/minutes/meals/etc. that have passed and those that we must still suffer through. Most of the guys have personalized our own countdown with a picture of our kids or spouse and I must say that it is finally not depressing to open the spreadsheet and see how much time is left. We currently sit at 13.7% left on the countdown...not too bad if I may say so.
The three of us that went on R&R during Christmas have finally gotten back into some semblance of a routine. It's sad to say this, but my motivation in on the floor. Needless to say, it is very hard to get right back to work after spending two weeks at home with family and friends. I'm a little jealous of all the snow my friends back home are getting; being snowed in sounds like fun right now. There is plenty of snow on the mountains surrounding us and it has finally reached our base as I can hear the snow/sleet hitting the tin roof.
Since the last time I wrote it seems the Auburn Tigers have won the national championship. As an alumni of The University of Alabama I proudly cheered for the Oregon Ducks; if any Auburn fan is upset or thinks 'how dare you' then I'll gladly remind you all of the "Hook 'em Horns" and burnt orange Texas shirts that you all proudly adorned last year when the Tide brought home #13 to the trophy cabinet. Congrats to AU on the win, but just remember 13 > 2 !!! Also, Daniel and I have decided that we can not deploy again in the future...it seems that Auburn is undefeated while we are deployed, 27-0 (13-0 in 2004, 14-0 in 2010). I'd almost volunteer if that were the case for Alabama, but during those same two seasons it seems that the Tide is a mere 16-9 and 0-2 against Alabama Polytechnic (Auburn). Oh well, we now go into the 8 month drough with NCAA football...at least there are spring games in April!
The Team is down to 44 days on the 'Circle of Freedom' that we are maintaining. In case I haven't mentioned it, the Circle is an Excel spreadsheet that keeps up with the exact amount of days/months/hours/minutes/meals/etc. that have passed and those that we must still suffer through. Most of the guys have personalized our own countdown with a picture of our kids or spouse and I must say that it is finally not depressing to open the spreadsheet and see how much time is left. We currently sit at 13.7% left on the countdown...not too bad if I may say so.
The three of us that went on R&R during Christmas have finally gotten back into some semblance of a routine. It's sad to say this, but my motivation in on the floor. Needless to say, it is very hard to get right back to work after spending two weeks at home with family and friends. I'm a little jealous of all the snow my friends back home are getting; being snowed in sounds like fun right now. There is plenty of snow on the mountains surrounding us and it has finally reached our base as I can hear the snow/sleet hitting the tin roof.
Since the last time I wrote it seems the Auburn Tigers have won the national championship. As an alumni of The University of Alabama I proudly cheered for the Oregon Ducks; if any Auburn fan is upset or thinks 'how dare you' then I'll gladly remind you all of the "Hook 'em Horns" and burnt orange Texas shirts that you all proudly adorned last year when the Tide brought home #13 to the trophy cabinet. Congrats to AU on the win, but just remember 13 > 2 !!! Also, Daniel and I have decided that we can not deploy again in the future...it seems that Auburn is undefeated while we are deployed, 27-0 (13-0 in 2004, 14-0 in 2010). I'd almost volunteer if that were the case for Alabama, but during those same two seasons it seems that the Tide is a mere 16-9 and 0-2 against Alabama Polytechnic (Auburn). Oh well, we now go into the 8 month drough with NCAA football...at least there are spring games in April!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Can you count to 50?
So, if you can count to 50 then you can officially count higher than the amount of days that I have left in sunny and scenic Afghanistan!
The last time I posted I was only a few weeks from heading home on my two-week R&R. I'm not quite sure if I feel rested and recuperated, but I am back. I've learned that it is a basic instinctive response to say "glad to be back" when someone says "hey man, glad you're back." I've caught myself responding as such and know that it is a total lie! I'm not unhappy to be back, obviously I would rather be home though.
One thing I am very happy about is that I am no longer in transit. The trip began in Huntsville at the airport and ended in Afghanistan approximately 50 hours later. Most people can sleep with no problems on an airplane, however I know that I am not most people. If I do happen to fall asleep on the plane it's only for 5-10 minutes at a whack and very unrestful. Also, should the crew choose to play a video then I am hooked if it is anything worth watching...we watched 4 full length films between Germany and Kuwait.
Upon our arrival back in Atlanta we learned that our flight wasn't for another 13 hours; when we realized we couldn't get an earlier seat we went and rented a car for the 3 hour drive home. Loni picked me up and was even more beautiful than I remember! My kids were great when we went to pick them up; both have grown considerably. My daughter has really gotten taller and slimmed down, while my son is now walking/running around trying to keep up with his sister. It was wonderful getting to see them again, literally unexplainable, even though my daughter put me in tears within the first 15 seconds when she grabs my face and very seriously states, "Daddy, I missed you...I needed you."
We made it back in time for church on the 19th, it was great getting to see everyone there. The prayers and support shown by them has made this deployment bearable. My father and brother planned a frosty motorcycle ride my first week home. The weather forecast had previously stated approximately 60* but when the time came a cold front came with it and we rode in cool 42* weather. Normally we would all say "no thanks" to riding in such weather, but we just had to ride once while I was home! We stayed on the run from the 23rd through the 27th from one Christmas gathering to another.
Loni and I took a much needed date night late in the R&R to Fleming's in Nashville. If you have never been there I highly recommend it...best steak I've ever had, they also had wonderful service! I won't mention any names, but our night at Fleming's was free thanks to some great people for which I am forever grateful.
Two other gatherings that we attended during the latter half of R&R were our church Sunday school party and a get together with some friends. The church party was a blast at the home of Jeremy & Jodi Hopper...we played a game on their Wii called Just Dance and had a great time. I found out the next morning that it was as much a workout as it was fun! Loni contacted a few friends and we went to the Cheesecake Factory down in Birmingham; I'm not sure I have laughed that much in years.
There is a great deal of stuff that I haven't mentioned and won't due to this becoming a long post...either way, the time was spent with great family and great friends.
Also, for the first time since weather records have been kept beginning way back in 1880 our little town had a white Christmas! Most of you know the area, but for anyone not from Cullman you should understand that it snows there 1-2 times per year and very seldom sticks for more than a few hours. The reason I tell you this is because in a place like Cullman you have no real need for winter weather clothes. My children resembled Ralphie from A Christmas Story when they went outside; I'm pretty sure they each had on 3 sets of clothes. We built a huge snowman (relative to Cullman) with the help of my parents, which eventually fell under its own weight. We did make some really good pictures before it fell though...good times!
My time at home was as you might expect, an absolute whirlwind of running from place to place trying to see everyone during Christmas...I wouldn't trade it for anything.
So, to my family and friends...thanks so much for making my time at home special. Less than 50 days and I'll be beginning my trek back home for good.
I'll leave you with a good word from my friend and teammate Rich...
"Time! So elusive – I hate you and love you! What a relationship! Please make the days pass at lightning speed until I once again return. Slow down those days spent loving my sacred time with my friends and family. Watch over me, watch over my family and friends, keep their spirits high, their goals focused and their purpose meaningful."
Until next time...
The last time I posted I was only a few weeks from heading home on my two-week R&R. I'm not quite sure if I feel rested and recuperated, but I am back. I've learned that it is a basic instinctive response to say "glad to be back" when someone says "hey man, glad you're back." I've caught myself responding as such and know that it is a total lie! I'm not unhappy to be back, obviously I would rather be home though.
One thing I am very happy about is that I am no longer in transit. The trip began in Huntsville at the airport and ended in Afghanistan approximately 50 hours later. Most people can sleep with no problems on an airplane, however I know that I am not most people. If I do happen to fall asleep on the plane it's only for 5-10 minutes at a whack and very unrestful. Also, should the crew choose to play a video then I am hooked if it is anything worth watching...we watched 4 full length films between Germany and Kuwait.
Upon our arrival back in Atlanta we learned that our flight wasn't for another 13 hours; when we realized we couldn't get an earlier seat we went and rented a car for the 3 hour drive home. Loni picked me up and was even more beautiful than I remember! My kids were great when we went to pick them up; both have grown considerably. My daughter has really gotten taller and slimmed down, while my son is now walking/running around trying to keep up with his sister. It was wonderful getting to see them again, literally unexplainable, even though my daughter put me in tears within the first 15 seconds when she grabs my face and very seriously states, "Daddy, I missed you...I needed you."
We made it back in time for church on the 19th, it was great getting to see everyone there. The prayers and support shown by them has made this deployment bearable. My father and brother planned a frosty motorcycle ride my first week home. The weather forecast had previously stated approximately 60* but when the time came a cold front came with it and we rode in cool 42* weather. Normally we would all say "no thanks" to riding in such weather, but we just had to ride once while I was home! We stayed on the run from the 23rd through the 27th from one Christmas gathering to another.
Loni and I took a much needed date night late in the R&R to Fleming's in Nashville. If you have never been there I highly recommend it...best steak I've ever had, they also had wonderful service! I won't mention any names, but our night at Fleming's was free thanks to some great people for which I am forever grateful.
Two other gatherings that we attended during the latter half of R&R were our church Sunday school party and a get together with some friends. The church party was a blast at the home of Jeremy & Jodi Hopper...we played a game on their Wii called Just Dance and had a great time. I found out the next morning that it was as much a workout as it was fun! Loni contacted a few friends and we went to the Cheesecake Factory down in Birmingham; I'm not sure I have laughed that much in years.
There is a great deal of stuff that I haven't mentioned and won't due to this becoming a long post...either way, the time was spent with great family and great friends.
Also, for the first time since weather records have been kept beginning way back in 1880 our little town had a white Christmas! Most of you know the area, but for anyone not from Cullman you should understand that it snows there 1-2 times per year and very seldom sticks for more than a few hours. The reason I tell you this is because in a place like Cullman you have no real need for winter weather clothes. My children resembled Ralphie from A Christmas Story when they went outside; I'm pretty sure they each had on 3 sets of clothes. We built a huge snowman (relative to Cullman) with the help of my parents, which eventually fell under its own weight. We did make some really good pictures before it fell though...good times!
My time at home was as you might expect, an absolute whirlwind of running from place to place trying to see everyone during Christmas...I wouldn't trade it for anything.
So, to my family and friends...thanks so much for making my time at home special. Less than 50 days and I'll be beginning my trek back home for good.
I'll leave you with a good word from my friend and teammate Rich...
"Time! So elusive – I hate you and love you! What a relationship! Please make the days pass at lightning speed until I once again return. Slow down those days spent loving my sacred time with my friends and family. Watch over me, watch over my family and friends, keep their spirits high, their goals focused and their purpose meaningful."
Until next time...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Yep...I'm busy...so...
So, this morning I get to work and get a gentle reminder from my mother that I haven't posted anything to my blog in almost a month. The whole reason for my beginning a blog was to keep the folks back home up to date on the happenings in and around me. I did really good for a few months, but here lately we have been so busy that I don't know whether I'm coming or going. On top of that I am so close to hitting R&R that I just want to get my work done and go home!
As of tonight I've got 23-24 more days until I leave here headed home for R&R. I've mentioned in the past that 3/4 of the team will be headed home for R&R at the same time. At this point we're like giddy schoolgirls just as excited as you can imagine.
We all feel very fortunate that we were able to schedule our leave during the Christmas/New Year holidays. Most of our military friends will be staying right here and serving right on through the holidays; hopefully each of their families will send them something to make it special. On my first deployment my wife sent an 18" Christmas tree that was already decorated and everything...it sat in my shelter way past Christmas too! It really is the small things that make the holidays special while deployed.
I'm getting a bit ahead of myself though, three days from now will be Thanksgiving! We're all really hoping that the dining facilities will have some good turkey and dressing...although they have tried making dressing in the past and is was a monumental failure. On Thursday our office will be slightly manned with each of us spending only a couple hours at work...hopefully the taxpaying public won't mind too much that we're taking the afternoon off!
Just like each of you at home this time of year gets us to thinking about all the things we are thankful for and helps us to put a little perspective on what's important. For myself this year is a bit different because absence from family makes you really appreciate the small things like family pictures on Christmas, watching Christmas Vacation with my brother, and getting together with family to hear the same old stories again that never get old. This year I'm thankful to God for keeping me safe on this deployment, I'm thankful that I have such a wonderfully supportive family, I am thankful to my church family for their love and support, and finally...I'm glad this deployment is 3/4 of the way over!
God bless and ROLL TIDE, Beat Auburn!!!
As of tonight I've got 23-24 more days until I leave here headed home for R&R. I've mentioned in the past that 3/4 of the team will be headed home for R&R at the same time. At this point we're like giddy schoolgirls just as excited as you can imagine.
We all feel very fortunate that we were able to schedule our leave during the Christmas/New Year holidays. Most of our military friends will be staying right here and serving right on through the holidays; hopefully each of their families will send them something to make it special. On my first deployment my wife sent an 18" Christmas tree that was already decorated and everything...it sat in my shelter way past Christmas too! It really is the small things that make the holidays special while deployed.
I'm getting a bit ahead of myself though, three days from now will be Thanksgiving! We're all really hoping that the dining facilities will have some good turkey and dressing...although they have tried making dressing in the past and is was a monumental failure. On Thursday our office will be slightly manned with each of us spending only a couple hours at work...hopefully the taxpaying public won't mind too much that we're taking the afternoon off!
Just like each of you at home this time of year gets us to thinking about all the things we are thankful for and helps us to put a little perspective on what's important. For myself this year is a bit different because absence from family makes you really appreciate the small things like family pictures on Christmas, watching Christmas Vacation with my brother, and getting together with family to hear the same old stories again that never get old. This year I'm thankful to God for keeping me safe on this deployment, I'm thankful that I have such a wonderfully supportive family, I am thankful to my church family for their love and support, and finally...I'm glad this deployment is 3/4 of the way over!
God bless and ROLL TIDE, Beat Auburn!!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
One step at a time...
For those of you who have never been in this situation one of the things we deployment-prone folks do while on deployment is set a few benchmarks when we get here. Most tours are 12 months long and during that time there is certain to be quite a few things missed, but with each missed birthday or anniversary is just one more benchmark passed. The Team left on 10 April 2010 and for me the marks that I was looking for were as follows:
mid-June...my birthday
mid-July...my anniversary
early-September...football season
late-October...Halloween
late-November...Thanksgiving...just kidding, Alabama/Auburn game!
mid-December...R&R (leave)
I really haven't given a whole lot of thought to the milestones past R&R, I just want to get there first. I assume a good mark will be the Super Bowl, after that we'll have less than a month left here.
My reason for discussing this is because tomorrow marks 200 days of deployment...only 50 more until R&R. We didn't plan for 250 days until R&R, it just worked out that way. By the time we get to mid-tour leave we will have been gone from home for over 8 months and 1 week...entirely too long.
Our office has gotten busy again after the two-week lull that we had for end-of-year closeout. Between work and Alabama football the overall deployment is going fairly well, no complaints outside of the typical Army complaints. It has been interesting in the sense that we are co-located with Air Force and Navy troops, which means that I've had to learn a new language or two. For a while I was in an office that was completely split...1 Army, 1 Air Force, and 1 Navy. We were constantly having to remind one another to stop using acronyms since no one understood them outside of our own service component.
The next exciting thing that is going to happen here is a back-up taping for ESPN of the UA/Miss. State game. ESPN plans to do a live broadcast from Bagram for that game, but just in case there are problems they will be taping ahead of time for the sake of redundancy. Apparently The University sent some Bama gear that we are going to get and there are quite a few Tide Alumni scattered around post. Hopefully I'll be on camera giving a shout-out to my wonderful family!
mid-June...my birthday
mid-July...my anniversary
early-September...football season
late-October...Halloween
late-November...Thanksgiving...just kidding, Alabama/Auburn game!
mid-December...R&R (leave)
I really haven't given a whole lot of thought to the milestones past R&R, I just want to get there first. I assume a good mark will be the Super Bowl, after that we'll have less than a month left here.
My reason for discussing this is because tomorrow marks 200 days of deployment...only 50 more until R&R. We didn't plan for 250 days until R&R, it just worked out that way. By the time we get to mid-tour leave we will have been gone from home for over 8 months and 1 week...entirely too long.
Our office has gotten busy again after the two-week lull that we had for end-of-year closeout. Between work and Alabama football the overall deployment is going fairly well, no complaints outside of the typical Army complaints. It has been interesting in the sense that we are co-located with Air Force and Navy troops, which means that I've had to learn a new language or two. For a while I was in an office that was completely split...1 Army, 1 Air Force, and 1 Navy. We were constantly having to remind one another to stop using acronyms since no one understood them outside of our own service component.
The next exciting thing that is going to happen here is a back-up taping for ESPN of the UA/Miss. State game. ESPN plans to do a live broadcast from Bagram for that game, but just in case there are problems they will be taping ahead of time for the sake of redundancy. Apparently The University sent some Bama gear that we are going to get and there are quite a few Tide Alumni scattered around post. Hopefully I'll be on camera giving a shout-out to my wonderful family!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thank goodness I'm not paid to blog...
I have realized that if I were paid to blog then my family would go hungry very quick, or Loni would have to remind me to write all the time. It's been just over two weeks since I last updated my blog and there haven't been too many new occurences.
The end of the fiscal year came and went without any major malfunctions. It seems that when it's that late in the game everyone has an emergency need that must get purchased before September 30th...which happens for the most part. When we say "no" a General will often get involved and our no quickly becomes a "sure, I think we can squeeze that in."
We had a pretty amazing BBQ last Sunday to celebrate our end-of-year. SSG Martin and I did most of the prep work and cooking with some help from a couple of our Air Force buddies. We were able to grill steak, chicken, and even lobster tails...it really was wonderful. One of the guys said that day, "if it weren't for all this dust I'd think I was at home." We had a great time cooking out and I think everyone enjoyed their food. In the end there were probably 40-50 people who came and ate, we were literally on the grill for over 4 hours and you can definitely tell it by my sunglasses racoon tan. The good thing about that tan is that everyone else looks just like me, nobody walks around outside without glasses due to the sun and sand.
Today, Daniel and I had the opportunity to go meet a local vendor at our entry control point (ECP-1). The ECP goes right into the town of Bagram and we were able to see some things that we hadn't yet seen on this deployment. Even though we were not together on our trip to Iraq we did much of the same tasks with a lot of convoying in/around the country as a primary occupation.
I was just telling Loni last night how I hadn't seen a child in 6 months; I finally saw a few today. This one little boy walked right up and in the best English he could muster he asked for my pencil, which I gladly gave to him. He gave me a huge smile, a thumbs-up, and then ran off screaming about the pencil to his friends...too bad I didn't have enough for them all. It was the same situation in Iraq, the kids wanted to crawl all over you and wanted anything from pens to water to whatever was on your uniform and shiny. It's amazing how many of these people have so little that a child is overwhelmed by the gift of a pencil.
I find that it's easy to become somewhat jaded dealing with the locals and having to endure their business practices and lack of the English language...I'm not saying they should know English, I'm simply saying that their lacking English is a huge source of frustration. Seeing those kids today helps to put things into perspective quickly. I don't directly see the good that happens outside the wires of Bagram, but I pray that my being here helps these children in some way in the future.
That's about it for now...the Tide is 5-0 and they are coming on tomorrow night at midnight so we'll be having a big party (cokes & chips) to watch them roll over South Carolina on the way to #14.
The end of the fiscal year came and went without any major malfunctions. It seems that when it's that late in the game everyone has an emergency need that must get purchased before September 30th...which happens for the most part. When we say "no" a General will often get involved and our no quickly becomes a "sure, I think we can squeeze that in."
We had a pretty amazing BBQ last Sunday to celebrate our end-of-year. SSG Martin and I did most of the prep work and cooking with some help from a couple of our Air Force buddies. We were able to grill steak, chicken, and even lobster tails...it really was wonderful. One of the guys said that day, "if it weren't for all this dust I'd think I was at home." We had a great time cooking out and I think everyone enjoyed their food. In the end there were probably 40-50 people who came and ate, we were literally on the grill for over 4 hours and you can definitely tell it by my sunglasses racoon tan. The good thing about that tan is that everyone else looks just like me, nobody walks around outside without glasses due to the sun and sand.
Today, Daniel and I had the opportunity to go meet a local vendor at our entry control point (ECP-1). The ECP goes right into the town of Bagram and we were able to see some things that we hadn't yet seen on this deployment. Even though we were not together on our trip to Iraq we did much of the same tasks with a lot of convoying in/around the country as a primary occupation.
I was just telling Loni last night how I hadn't seen a child in 6 months; I finally saw a few today. This one little boy walked right up and in the best English he could muster he asked for my pencil, which I gladly gave to him. He gave me a huge smile, a thumbs-up, and then ran off screaming about the pencil to his friends...too bad I didn't have enough for them all. It was the same situation in Iraq, the kids wanted to crawl all over you and wanted anything from pens to water to whatever was on your uniform and shiny. It's amazing how many of these people have so little that a child is overwhelmed by the gift of a pencil.
I find that it's easy to become somewhat jaded dealing with the locals and having to endure their business practices and lack of the English language...I'm not saying they should know English, I'm simply saying that their lacking English is a huge source of frustration. Seeing those kids today helps to put things into perspective quickly. I don't directly see the good that happens outside the wires of Bagram, but I pray that my being here helps these children in some way in the future.
That's about it for now...the Tide is 5-0 and they are coming on tomorrow night at midnight so we'll be having a big party (cokes & chips) to watch them roll over South Carolina on the way to #14.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Why is my hut shaking?
Just last week in all of one day we went from having daytime temperatures in the 90s to all of the sudden it's not getting above 72 degrees. This sounds wonderful, but it's actually been quite cool around here. The nights are similar to what we experienced when we first arrived in country, hovering in the 50s. We have still been able to spend a little time clearing our minds every couple of nights sitting outside on top of the bunker watching the planes land...we just have to wear more clothes now.
Earlier this week I experienced my very first real earthquake and had absolutely no idea what it was. Once while in college I was awakened around 3:00 a.m. to what I thought was an earthquake, but it turned out there was a cave-in at a coal mine in a nearby town. I think I remember the cave-in registering around a 3.0 on the Richter Scale. The earthquake we had this week registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale and was centered about 125 north of us and apparently the epicenter was 120 miles deep in the Earth's surface...amazing how technology can pinpoint such a thing. Anyway, around midnight the b-hut I'm in started shaking like crazy...I thought someone was just playing a trick or something. Mom basically told me that me being in a war zone is bad enough, she can't deal with that plus earthquakes!
We're working like mad right now as September 30th is the end of the fiscal year, which means all of our contracts must be complete by then. This will keep us really busy for the next week or so. On the other hand, the General is coming in tomorrow (allegedly) so we've been busy cleaning for that as well...good times.
The 1960th as a whole is feeling pretty good right now because we can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel...no it's not the end of the deployment, but rather our R&R is coming up. CPT Campbell will be heading home in the next week or so, the rest of us have about another 80 days or so. College football season will get us through those 80 days much quicker than expected.
Earlier this week I experienced my very first real earthquake and had absolutely no idea what it was. Once while in college I was awakened around 3:00 a.m. to what I thought was an earthquake, but it turned out there was a cave-in at a coal mine in a nearby town. I think I remember the cave-in registering around a 3.0 on the Richter Scale. The earthquake we had this week registered 6.3 on the Richter Scale and was centered about 125 north of us and apparently the epicenter was 120 miles deep in the Earth's surface...amazing how technology can pinpoint such a thing. Anyway, around midnight the b-hut I'm in started shaking like crazy...I thought someone was just playing a trick or something. Mom basically told me that me being in a war zone is bad enough, she can't deal with that plus earthquakes!
We're working like mad right now as September 30th is the end of the fiscal year, which means all of our contracts must be complete by then. This will keep us really busy for the next week or so. On the other hand, the General is coming in tomorrow (allegedly) so we've been busy cleaning for that as well...good times.
The 1960th as a whole is feeling pretty good right now because we can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel...no it's not the end of the deployment, but rather our R&R is coming up. CPT Campbell will be heading home in the next week or so, the rest of us have about another 80 days or so. College football season will get us through those 80 days much quicker than expected.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
More running and a prayer request
I'll start on a serious note tonight by asking for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up one of our Airmen. As I've mentioned, the place I work is a truly joint environment with all services represented. The female Air Force troop that sits beside me at work begun feeling ill two nights ago; loss of vision, numbness, incoherent speech, and dizziness. She was taken to the base hospital and subsequently flown to Germany for further observation. I ask each of you to lift her up in your prayers.
Now, on a somewhat lighter note, this past week was the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. Here on base we had the 9/11 Never Forget Run which just happened to be 9.11k or 5.65 miles. Just like my last run, my goals were to (1) finish, and (2) keep all miles less than 10-minute in pace. Right off the bat I realized that my legs were not quite 100% recuperated from the half-marathon the previous week. I felt really sluggish!
Let me also say that Ramadan ended on Thursday night before our Saturday morning run. The 3-5 days immediately following Ramadan are called the Eid holidays, which is like rolling Christmas/New Year/Mardi Gras/4th of July all into one big holiday. The locals basically eat, drink, and shoot rockets in a drunken stupor for 5 days or so. The rockets changed our running route on Saturday morning, we weren't allowed to run close to the perimeter. Anyway, the last minute change also changed the run distance from 5.65 to 6.4 miles without any of our knowledge...no wonder my time was horrible. In the end, I met my goals once I found out the distance changed so drastically.
Other than running a lot we're still working crazy hours and staying extremely busy here at the end of the fiscal year.
More later.
Now, on a somewhat lighter note, this past week was the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. Here on base we had the 9/11 Never Forget Run which just happened to be 9.11k or 5.65 miles. Just like my last run, my goals were to (1) finish, and (2) keep all miles less than 10-minute in pace. Right off the bat I realized that my legs were not quite 100% recuperated from the half-marathon the previous week. I felt really sluggish!
Let me also say that Ramadan ended on Thursday night before our Saturday morning run. The 3-5 days immediately following Ramadan are called the Eid holidays, which is like rolling Christmas/New Year/Mardi Gras/4th of July all into one big holiday. The locals basically eat, drink, and shoot rockets in a drunken stupor for 5 days or so. The rockets changed our running route on Saturday morning, we weren't allowed to run close to the perimeter. Anyway, the last minute change also changed the run distance from 5.65 to 6.4 miles without any of our knowledge...no wonder my time was horrible. In the end, I met my goals once I found out the distance changed so drastically.
Other than running a lot we're still working crazy hours and staying extremely busy here at the end of the fiscal year.
More later.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Air Force Marathon
Each year in September the Air Force along with a few corporate sponsors hosts the Air Force Marathon. This is the half-marathon that I've been writing about over the past month or so. Saturday, the 4th, was the half-marathon and along with myself there were at least 999 more knuckleheads silly enough to run 13.1 miles in the name of fun. The size of the base determines whether they host a 10k, half-marathon, or full marathon...thank the Lord Bagram could only withstand the half!
We began our run at 5:00 a.m. on the nose and the course took us 6.55 miles out around the airfield and then back. The north side of our base actually has some pretty views of the countryside, we could see the mountains really well in the distance as well as a few of the local homes/huts. Since we ran around the airfield we had the opportunity to see quite a few really interesting aircraft take off and/or land.
Before I began I established two goals; (1) finish the race, and (2) average 10 minutes per mile for the duration of the run. I somehow managed to do both! An exact 10-minute average would have been 2:13:00, it took me 2:07:18. When I finally did come to a stop I wasn't sure that my legs would support me all the way back to my hut, they were quite wobbly and weak. Today is Tuesday and my legs are at 90%.
The most interesting thing that I heard while running was from a young Sergeant whom I kept passing and subsequently being passed by. He would run and then walk, I felt like he was the hare and of course I was the tortoise. Anyway, he passes me once while I'm jogging along and says "come on Sir, only 5 more miles!" If I weren't so weak I think I would've kicked him, but I'm pretty sure my legs wouldn't allow it.
As far as running goes, this coming Saturday is the Patriots Day 9.11k (just over 5 miles). Only two of us ran in the half-marathon from my office, I think there are six planning to run in this one. If nothing else I'll have extra t-shirts when I get home!
We began our run at 5:00 a.m. on the nose and the course took us 6.55 miles out around the airfield and then back. The north side of our base actually has some pretty views of the countryside, we could see the mountains really well in the distance as well as a few of the local homes/huts. Since we ran around the airfield we had the opportunity to see quite a few really interesting aircraft take off and/or land.
Before I began I established two goals; (1) finish the race, and (2) average 10 minutes per mile for the duration of the run. I somehow managed to do both! An exact 10-minute average would have been 2:13:00, it took me 2:07:18. When I finally did come to a stop I wasn't sure that my legs would support me all the way back to my hut, they were quite wobbly and weak. Today is Tuesday and my legs are at 90%.
The most interesting thing that I heard while running was from a young Sergeant whom I kept passing and subsequently being passed by. He would run and then walk, I felt like he was the hare and of course I was the tortoise. Anyway, he passes me once while I'm jogging along and says "come on Sir, only 5 more miles!" If I weren't so weak I think I would've kicked him, but I'm pretty sure my legs wouldn't allow it.
As far as running goes, this coming Saturday is the Patriots Day 9.11k (just over 5 miles). Only two of us ran in the half-marathon from my office, I think there are six planning to run in this one. If nothing else I'll have extra t-shirts when I get home!
Monday, August 30, 2010
General update...
Thank goodness we cleaned for three days...the General was a "no show" for the weekend.
Silver Lining = at least the place is clean and painted!
Silver Lining = at least the place is clean and painted!
Friday, August 27, 2010
One of these days when I'm a General...
I've got two main things that I want to blog about tonight...one is my R&R and the other is an upcoming visit from the General. I have finally been here longer than the time left until I take leave. As of right now I've been in country for approximately 120 days, my leave begins in 110 days (or so). The good news is that I'm 54% of the way to R&R and over 40% of the way through the entire deployment!
The other item I wanted to discuss is our upcoming visit from our "distinguished visitor" as some like to say. I've been an officer in the military for just a shade over 7 years now and the trouble some people will go through to please a General never ceases to amaze me. I have full faith that I will serve 20+ years in the National Guard and my goal is to attain the rank of Brigadier General...a lofty goal, but within reach.
A General commands a great deal of respect by the very nature of the rank. The person has put in their time and obviously earned their rank...kudos to them for sticking in there and thanks for the years of service! On the other hand, when it comes down the pipeline that the General (any General for that matter) is coming in for a visit it's like the ranking officers freak out all of the sudden and want to put on a show. I understand their reasoning for wanting to impress their commander, but there's no need to remodel.
The General will be here within the next 24 hours and over the past 5 days we have washed baseboards, painted, cleaned like Danny Tanner (Bob Saget from Full House), cleaned more, hung pictures, removed pictures, swept, installed computers, and had a briefing about what is/isn't expected. We've all been instructed to clean off our desks, which makes absolutely no sense since when they are covered in papers it typically means that we are busy. As the vehicle control officer I had to call in a favor from another unit and swap vehicles with them so that we have one large enough to taxi her entourage. We've been told how she likes her coffee, how she likes her bagels, and even where she wants to eat upon arrival...which we're all expected to attend.
I would assume that she doesn't request or demand any of these actions, however her entourage ensures that these things are known before her arrival. To say that her visit hampers normal operations is like saying that the ocean is wet. Tomorrow we'll all smile and shake hands and act like everything is normal, when she leaves the next day we'll all breathe our long sigh of relief and hope she doesn't drop by anytime soon.
So, the title of my blog for tonight is "one of these days when I'm a General" and to finish that thought...one day when I'm a General I think I'll fire the guy that puts on a show just because I'm coming for a visit!
The other item I wanted to discuss is our upcoming visit from our "distinguished visitor" as some like to say. I've been an officer in the military for just a shade over 7 years now and the trouble some people will go through to please a General never ceases to amaze me. I have full faith that I will serve 20+ years in the National Guard and my goal is to attain the rank of Brigadier General...a lofty goal, but within reach.
A General commands a great deal of respect by the very nature of the rank. The person has put in their time and obviously earned their rank...kudos to them for sticking in there and thanks for the years of service! On the other hand, when it comes down the pipeline that the General (any General for that matter) is coming in for a visit it's like the ranking officers freak out all of the sudden and want to put on a show. I understand their reasoning for wanting to impress their commander, but there's no need to remodel.
The General will be here within the next 24 hours and over the past 5 days we have washed baseboards, painted, cleaned like Danny Tanner (Bob Saget from Full House), cleaned more, hung pictures, removed pictures, swept, installed computers, and had a briefing about what is/isn't expected. We've all been instructed to clean off our desks, which makes absolutely no sense since when they are covered in papers it typically means that we are busy. As the vehicle control officer I had to call in a favor from another unit and swap vehicles with them so that we have one large enough to taxi her entourage. We've been told how she likes her coffee, how she likes her bagels, and even where she wants to eat upon arrival...which we're all expected to attend.
I would assume that she doesn't request or demand any of these actions, however her entourage ensures that these things are known before her arrival. To say that her visit hampers normal operations is like saying that the ocean is wet. Tomorrow we'll all smile and shake hands and act like everything is normal, when she leaves the next day we'll all breathe our long sigh of relief and hope she doesn't drop by anytime soon.
So, the title of my blog for tonight is "one of these days when I'm a General" and to finish that thought...one day when I'm a General I think I'll fire the guy that puts on a show just because I'm coming for a visit!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The DFIP Grand Tour
You're probably wondering what is a DFIP...well it stands for Detention Facility in Parwan, it's the local jail. Parwan is the province where I am located and the Army likes to keep things simple, so that's why you get such an easy to remember name.
One of our main customers here is the DFIP, they buy anything and everything that you might be able to imagine. They are running a prison, so there are a lot of necessities that go along with that. For the past few months we've been trying to get a tour and it has been postponed numerous times...not today! We left early this morning and took a 2.5 hour tour of the facilities.
We had a "tour guide" from LA(lower Alabama) and he was more than happy to answer each question that we threw his way. First, we toured the exterior of the facility and then the inner portions that are still outside the actual cell areas. We were able to climb up in the towers, which happens to be the highest I've been since stepping off of the plane that brought me here. Even though there are mountains surrounding us you could see a really long way, there were even a few nomadic camels off in the distance.
After an hour or so outside and a little too much sun we all went inside to tour the facilities. We toured the warehouse that we, the contracting officers, managed to fill almost to capacity. Next, we were able to walk through the medical, dental, and healthcare facilities. Finally, we took a good long walk through the holding areas to include the secure facility...the worst of the worst.
Touring such a facility was a lot to take in within such a short period of time. The facilities were immaculate, their ability to obtain healthcare was immediate, they could have family visits, their children can come for health screenings, and the Red Cross will help to get their family from anywhere in the country to Parwan to come and see them. My personal opinion is that they are coddled and babied. The average prisoner gains over 30lbs during their stay. Basically, there is no motivation whatsoever for them to rehabilitate themselves to a point where they are able to live in "normal" society again. I'm sure the US does this to keep from getting any bad press like was received in the backblast of Abu Ghraib, on the other hand...I don't think that the prisoners should live better than the troops on ground.
Now you know my two cents.
One of our main customers here is the DFIP, they buy anything and everything that you might be able to imagine. They are running a prison, so there are a lot of necessities that go along with that. For the past few months we've been trying to get a tour and it has been postponed numerous times...not today! We left early this morning and took a 2.5 hour tour of the facilities.
We had a "tour guide" from LA(lower Alabama) and he was more than happy to answer each question that we threw his way. First, we toured the exterior of the facility and then the inner portions that are still outside the actual cell areas. We were able to climb up in the towers, which happens to be the highest I've been since stepping off of the plane that brought me here. Even though there are mountains surrounding us you could see a really long way, there were even a few nomadic camels off in the distance.
After an hour or so outside and a little too much sun we all went inside to tour the facilities. We toured the warehouse that we, the contracting officers, managed to fill almost to capacity. Next, we were able to walk through the medical, dental, and healthcare facilities. Finally, we took a good long walk through the holding areas to include the secure facility...the worst of the worst.
Touring such a facility was a lot to take in within such a short period of time. The facilities were immaculate, their ability to obtain healthcare was immediate, they could have family visits, their children can come for health screenings, and the Red Cross will help to get their family from anywhere in the country to Parwan to come and see them. My personal opinion is that they are coddled and babied. The average prisoner gains over 30lbs during their stay. Basically, there is no motivation whatsoever for them to rehabilitate themselves to a point where they are able to live in "normal" society again. I'm sure the US does this to keep from getting any bad press like was received in the backblast of Abu Ghraib, on the other hand...I don't think that the prisoners should live better than the troops on ground.
Now you know my two cents.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
28 more days!!!
...no, there's definitely more than 28 days until I go on leave or go home for good. There are only 28 more days until the University of Alabama kicks off its 2010 football season. It seems that even though some people couldn't care less about some sports, you begin to take interest in even the most dull sports during a deployment. I watched a great deal of the World Cup last month and I can remember watching hockey during my last deployment. One sport that I love is college football and as I mentioned, only 28 more days! Technically it'll be 29 more days until I get to watch football due to the time difference, but who's counting?
28 more days until UA football means only 28 more days until the Air Force half-marathon. I've been training as much as possible and have been running a minimum of 5 miles at a time for the past few weeks...typically a little more than that though. My feet are finally beginning to get some good blisters and I'm hoping that I'll be well past that by race time. We learned last week that there is another race coming up in October called Mogadishu Miles, it is ran in remembrance of those who lost their lives in 1993...most people know that as the story of Black Hawk Down. Anyway, that run consists of a 50k (31 miles), 25k (15 miles), or a 5k (3.12 miles) combat run wearing "full battle rattle"...or combat gear. I have been asked to run in the 25k, but we'll have to see how the half-marathon goes first.
Tonight was a great night all the way around. A few of the "scroungers" in our line of work managed to get access to some steak, crab legs, and lobster tail...what a night! Deployments are bearable because of small victories like tonight, getting to feel like I'm at home with friends. Many of the guys like to even drink non-alcoholic beer, or "near beer" as some call it just to feel a little more normal. If any of you have seen the movie Shawshank Redemption then you'll remember when Andy Dufresne (the main character) makes an agreement with the guards and does some tax work in order that his friends can all have three beers each. Andy chose not to drink the beer, he just wanted to feel normal, if only for a few minutes.
All is well in our little slice of the world, the new leadership has done a great job at changing the morale around the office and I have come to really like them...even though I had my doubts at first. We are swamped all the time, but they actually have encouraged us to get out of the office from time to time just to clear our heads. It turns out our Chief is a bit of a rug connoisseur and has challenged us all to go buy a rug just to see what kind of deal we can get from the locals. He also dared all the guys, and girls if they so choose, to grow mustaches. Daniel was the only other guy to accept the challenge and tried this for a couple of weeks, but he cut it after enough people poked fun at him. I told him I'd shave my head instead of growing a mustache, of course he didn't have to know that I was planning on doing so anyway! Although Loni told me it better be back when I get home for Christmas, I'm really enjoying it for now.
28 more days until UA football means only 28 more days until the Air Force half-marathon. I've been training as much as possible and have been running a minimum of 5 miles at a time for the past few weeks...typically a little more than that though. My feet are finally beginning to get some good blisters and I'm hoping that I'll be well past that by race time. We learned last week that there is another race coming up in October called Mogadishu Miles, it is ran in remembrance of those who lost their lives in 1993...most people know that as the story of Black Hawk Down. Anyway, that run consists of a 50k (31 miles), 25k (15 miles), or a 5k (3.12 miles) combat run wearing "full battle rattle"...or combat gear. I have been asked to run in the 25k, but we'll have to see how the half-marathon goes first.
Tonight was a great night all the way around. A few of the "scroungers" in our line of work managed to get access to some steak, crab legs, and lobster tail...what a night! Deployments are bearable because of small victories like tonight, getting to feel like I'm at home with friends. Many of the guys like to even drink non-alcoholic beer, or "near beer" as some call it just to feel a little more normal. If any of you have seen the movie Shawshank Redemption then you'll remember when Andy Dufresne (the main character) makes an agreement with the guards and does some tax work in order that his friends can all have three beers each. Andy chose not to drink the beer, he just wanted to feel normal, if only for a few minutes.
All is well in our little slice of the world, the new leadership has done a great job at changing the morale around the office and I have come to really like them...even though I had my doubts at first. We are swamped all the time, but they actually have encouraged us to get out of the office from time to time just to clear our heads. It turns out our Chief is a bit of a rug connoisseur and has challenged us all to go buy a rug just to see what kind of deal we can get from the locals. He also dared all the guys, and girls if they so choose, to grow mustaches. Daniel was the only other guy to accept the challenge and tried this for a couple of weeks, but he cut it after enough people poked fun at him. I told him I'd shave my head instead of growing a mustache, of course he didn't have to know that I was planning on doing so anyway! Although Loni told me it better be back when I get home for Christmas, I'm really enjoying it for now.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
A nice two weeks
Please forgive the length of time between posts, I'm so busy that there needs to be two of me!
Since my last posting I put a new countdown on the whiteboard at work. I don't know why I would begin this so early in a deployment, guess I'm a glutton for punishment. As of right now my board has the names of each individual in the office and the amount of days left here in country. The board also includes the number of days until Alabama's first football game of the season (36 days) and how many days until the Air Force Deployed Soldier Half Marathon (also 36 days). The winner of the least amount of time left here is our Navy Lieutenant Commander with 26 days, the loser is 'yours truly' with 240 days left. On a positive note, that 240 is much less than where I started.
As I just mentioned, the Air Force has a half marathon for their deployed troops and all service branches are invited to participate. On the 4th of July I ran in the Firecracker 5k and said I wouldn't do that again since it's so hot here, but again, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. The half marathon will be 13.1 miles around Bagram Airfield and hopefully it will begin very early in the morning...I can assure you that I'll not miss any of the Alabama football game for some silly run!
Just like it's been over the past couple of months, we're swamped and need more people! One plus about being so overworked is that the days run together and time passes a bit more quickly. Each night when I lay down I think..."didn't I just get up?" No problems though, only 4.5 more months until I get to take some much-needed R&R at home with the family.
God bless and I'll try to write more soon!
Since my last posting I put a new countdown on the whiteboard at work. I don't know why I would begin this so early in a deployment, guess I'm a glutton for punishment. As of right now my board has the names of each individual in the office and the amount of days left here in country. The board also includes the number of days until Alabama's first football game of the season (36 days) and how many days until the Air Force Deployed Soldier Half Marathon (also 36 days). The winner of the least amount of time left here is our Navy Lieutenant Commander with 26 days, the loser is 'yours truly' with 240 days left. On a positive note, that 240 is much less than where I started.
As I just mentioned, the Air Force has a half marathon for their deployed troops and all service branches are invited to participate. On the 4th of July I ran in the Firecracker 5k and said I wouldn't do that again since it's so hot here, but again, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. The half marathon will be 13.1 miles around Bagram Airfield and hopefully it will begin very early in the morning...I can assure you that I'll not miss any of the Alabama football game for some silly run!
Just like it's been over the past couple of months, we're swamped and need more people! One plus about being so overworked is that the days run together and time passes a bit more quickly. Each night when I lay down I think..."didn't I just get up?" No problems though, only 4.5 more months until I get to take some much-needed R&R at home with the family.
God bless and I'll try to write more soon!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Happy 7th Anniversary
Looking back to my childhood I can remember my parents having a framed cross-stitched picture in their bedroom just beside the door as you were walking out. I'm sure I never mentioned it to them and likely never drew attention to it, but I still think of it from time to time. As a child I can remember not really understanding it; as I aged it began to make a little more sense, while now it couldn't hold more truth. It read as follows...
"This day I did marry my best friend. The one I live with, laugh with, live for, love."
Seven years ago today I married my best friend...the one that I usually live with, always laugh with, live for and love endlessly. Were I given the opportunity to go back in time and have a "re-do" on my choices...that is one that I would leave alone. I'd marry Loni again 100 times over...maybe 100 x 100.
Looking at how long my parents have been married (37 years), our seven years truly pales in comparison. However, it seems odd looking back at all we've been through in those seven years. Two children, two deployments, new vehicles, new house, new jobs, travel, job changes...I guess those are all part of this crazy life!
In closing, God has blessed me with a wonderful and supportive spouse...I couldn't ask for anything more.
"This day I did marry my best friend. The one I live with, laugh with, live for, love."
Seven years ago today I married my best friend...the one that I usually live with, always laugh with, live for and love endlessly. Were I given the opportunity to go back in time and have a "re-do" on my choices...that is one that I would leave alone. I'd marry Loni again 100 times over...maybe 100 x 100.
Looking at how long my parents have been married (37 years), our seven years truly pales in comparison. However, it seems odd looking back at all we've been through in those seven years. Two children, two deployments, new vehicles, new house, new jobs, travel, job changes...I guess those are all part of this crazy life!
In closing, God has blessed me with a wonderful and supportive spouse...I couldn't ask for anything more.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
No news is good news...
Tonight's update will be quite short as nothing too exciting has happened over the past week since my last update. The expression "no news is good news" is becoming pretty standard for me. We're still working from can to can't and that's a good thing as it does make the time pass by a bit quicker.
The lone exciting thing that has happened is that a few of us went to the Turkish dining facility earlier this week. They served a mixture of meats I didn't recognize, a vegetable/fruit mix I also didn't recognize, and some potato salad. If you were to ask Loni if I like potato salad she would likely laugh at you, but as I didn't want to be rude I decided to partake. Actually, it's not that I was trying not be rude as much as there was just a language barrier between myself and the server...as I said "no thanks" he smiled and loaded me up with an extra helping! I'm still not sure what type of meat we ate...really don't want to know, but it was good. Final though on the Turkish food...after we ate we went to an area where they hang out and watch TV and drink coffee or tea. I decided on the tea as as true Southerner I hoped it would be iced and sweet...well it was hot and unsweet. Milo's might want to consider making some extra for when Daniel and I get back home!
Take care all and I'll try to update again soon!
The lone exciting thing that has happened is that a few of us went to the Turkish dining facility earlier this week. They served a mixture of meats I didn't recognize, a vegetable/fruit mix I also didn't recognize, and some potato salad. If you were to ask Loni if I like potato salad she would likely laugh at you, but as I didn't want to be rude I decided to partake. Actually, it's not that I was trying not be rude as much as there was just a language barrier between myself and the server...as I said "no thanks" he smiled and loaded me up with an extra helping! I'm still not sure what type of meat we ate...really don't want to know, but it was good. Final though on the Turkish food...after we ate we went to an area where they hang out and watch TV and drink coffee or tea. I decided on the tea as as true Southerner I hoped it would be iced and sweet...well it was hot and unsweet. Milo's might want to consider making some extra for when Daniel and I get back home!
Take care all and I'll try to update again soon!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Random thoughts...
YES MA'AM - My typical morning begins with me spending the first 15-20 minutes checking e-mail. The vast majority of mail is from local vendors asking about pending payments (I work vehicle and heavy equipment leases for the base) or begging me to send a contract their way...but every once in a while I get an e-mail from home. This morning I received direction from my wonderful mother that "it's about time for a blog update" and since I'm not one to blatantly thumb my nose at Mom...here you go!
NO INTERNET - Tonights post could be three to four separate posts and would likely be more logical in that manner. However, with the summer surge of 101st ABN Soldiers the bandwidth around here is horrible and I'm lucky to even get online. The internet has been bad enough lately that there has been no Skyping and there is absolutely no way to post pictures.
I'M GOOD AT COUNTING - Today marks Day #76 that I've been gone from home and Renee (R2's wife) just informed me that we only have 171 more days until R&R...not that she's keeping up with it! Even though the days sometimes creep by, we've been so busy lately that I barely get time to think about much other than contracting. I'm not sure that Loni (Household 6 or HH6) would agree with me, but the past 76 days have actually gone by pretty fast.
AVA CLAIRE HAS BIG FEET - Two days ago HH6 sends me a picture of my daughter in her new bathing suit. She's as cute as a button and is beginning to enjoy the water more this year, but the one thing that sticks out in the picture is her feet. I look at her and it seems she's grown a foot; her legs look longer as does her feet. Her hair now reaches mid-back when wet, but barely her shoulders when it's dry thanks to those curls!
JAX IS WALKING - Apparently this is no longer a big deal to everyone at home, it's just normal. For me however, he wasn't walking when I left therefore it just blows my mind. One weird thing about deployment is that no one ages in your mind unless you see them in pictures; this doesn't mean much to adults, but when you see kids that have grown 6" it'll blow your mind.
GUN RIGHTS - Today the Supreme Court voted 5-4 "in a landmark decision" on the side of gun owners and the 2nd Amendment. I know there are a lot of people out there who are better educated than myself on this subject, however I am excited about this. This rids Chicago and D.C. of their handgun bans. I wish that I could purchase a US concealed weapons permit instead of just Alabama, but I understand the reasoning behind not doing so. I'm not saying everyone should carry around an AK-47 like the folks in Iraq, but having a weapon(s) at home should almost be mandatory. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why the US hasn't been invaded in modern times...everyone can legally own a weapon to protect themself, their family, and their property.
BAPTISM - I haven't updated my blog since last Sunday, but I witnessed one of the more humbling baptisms of my life. Seeing someone get baptized is a close second to actually being baptized yourself, but seeing someone get baptized in a shipping crate that is lined with a makeshift kiddie-pool filled by hand 20 ounces at a time will bring tears to your eyes. The mountains around us are still snow-capped at the highest altitudes and what a wonderful backdrop that made. It felt like I had stepped back in time and we were at a river watching a baptism, everyone just crowded around and prayed. No offense to the modern-day baptistry, but the lack of technology was befitting. No microphone, no waders, no faucet, no frills...just a man doing what's right in the eyes of our Lord.
HEY, TODAY IS FATHER'S DAY - Well, not literally today, but it did sneak up on us. We knew it was coming, but no one really acknowledged it until about 2:00 p.m. last Sunday. It's tough missing every family-oriented holiday for a year, but thankfully with each passing holiday I'm one step closer to holding my wife and children again!
SEVEN YEARS - Loni and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss in another 2.5 weeks. I have thought long and hard about what would be an acceptable gift from over here and come to the conclusion that there is nothing here for her...other than me.
DEPLOYMENT POSITIVES - Last week the Chaplain mentioned that his wife was writing down 180 positive things about deployment; one for each day that her Air Force husband would be gone. #1 on her list needs to be..."I'm thankful my husband chose the Air Force, otherwise he would be gone for 365 days." I'm not bitter, but that would fit nicely. I am a much more positive than negative person, I try to find the silver lining even when I have to draw it myself. I'm not promising that I will find 365 things to be positive about; I'm also not promising to share the things that I'm thankful for...let's just say we'll see how it goes.
WHAT TO DO WHEN I GET HOME - Much of the time that SSG Martin (Thunder Dan) and I spend together is walking from work to the chow hall and back a couple of times each day. We typically walk the mile or so to work, to chow twice together each day, and then back home at night. By the time we get to "the hooch" as it's called, we're just ready for bed. Much of our time is spent discussing the same thing that every Super Bowl winner discusses...what to do when we get home. So far we plan to win the lottery, buy some land, buy a vehicle, sail to the Bahamas, take a long vacation, sleep uninterrupted, not look at a computer for 14 hours in a day, hold our children, kiss our wives (him his, me mine...you get it), breath fresh air, not get nervous in a group of locals, and eat a nice meal with real silverware.
This pretty much sums up the random thoughts for tonight...more later, God bless.
NO INTERNET - Tonights post could be three to four separate posts and would likely be more logical in that manner. However, with the summer surge of 101st ABN Soldiers the bandwidth around here is horrible and I'm lucky to even get online. The internet has been bad enough lately that there has been no Skyping and there is absolutely no way to post pictures.
I'M GOOD AT COUNTING - Today marks Day #76 that I've been gone from home and Renee (R2's wife) just informed me that we only have 171 more days until R&R...not that she's keeping up with it! Even though the days sometimes creep by, we've been so busy lately that I barely get time to think about much other than contracting. I'm not sure that Loni (Household 6 or HH6) would agree with me, but the past 76 days have actually gone by pretty fast.
AVA CLAIRE HAS BIG FEET - Two days ago HH6 sends me a picture of my daughter in her new bathing suit. She's as cute as a button and is beginning to enjoy the water more this year, but the one thing that sticks out in the picture is her feet. I look at her and it seems she's grown a foot; her legs look longer as does her feet. Her hair now reaches mid-back when wet, but barely her shoulders when it's dry thanks to those curls!
JAX IS WALKING - Apparently this is no longer a big deal to everyone at home, it's just normal. For me however, he wasn't walking when I left therefore it just blows my mind. One weird thing about deployment is that no one ages in your mind unless you see them in pictures; this doesn't mean much to adults, but when you see kids that have grown 6" it'll blow your mind.
GUN RIGHTS - Today the Supreme Court voted 5-4 "in a landmark decision" on the side of gun owners and the 2nd Amendment. I know there are a lot of people out there who are better educated than myself on this subject, however I am excited about this. This rids Chicago and D.C. of their handgun bans. I wish that I could purchase a US concealed weapons permit instead of just Alabama, but I understand the reasoning behind not doing so. I'm not saying everyone should carry around an AK-47 like the folks in Iraq, but having a weapon(s) at home should almost be mandatory. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why the US hasn't been invaded in modern times...everyone can legally own a weapon to protect themself, their family, and their property.
BAPTISM - I haven't updated my blog since last Sunday, but I witnessed one of the more humbling baptisms of my life. Seeing someone get baptized is a close second to actually being baptized yourself, but seeing someone get baptized in a shipping crate that is lined with a makeshift kiddie-pool filled by hand 20 ounces at a time will bring tears to your eyes. The mountains around us are still snow-capped at the highest altitudes and what a wonderful backdrop that made. It felt like I had stepped back in time and we were at a river watching a baptism, everyone just crowded around and prayed. No offense to the modern-day baptistry, but the lack of technology was befitting. No microphone, no waders, no faucet, no frills...just a man doing what's right in the eyes of our Lord.
HEY, TODAY IS FATHER'S DAY - Well, not literally today, but it did sneak up on us. We knew it was coming, but no one really acknowledged it until about 2:00 p.m. last Sunday. It's tough missing every family-oriented holiday for a year, but thankfully with each passing holiday I'm one step closer to holding my wife and children again!
SEVEN YEARS - Loni and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss in another 2.5 weeks. I have thought long and hard about what would be an acceptable gift from over here and come to the conclusion that there is nothing here for her...other than me.
DEPLOYMENT POSITIVES - Last week the Chaplain mentioned that his wife was writing down 180 positive things about deployment; one for each day that her Air Force husband would be gone. #1 on her list needs to be..."I'm thankful my husband chose the Air Force, otherwise he would be gone for 365 days." I'm not bitter, but that would fit nicely. I am a much more positive than negative person, I try to find the silver lining even when I have to draw it myself. I'm not promising that I will find 365 things to be positive about; I'm also not promising to share the things that I'm thankful for...let's just say we'll see how it goes.
WHAT TO DO WHEN I GET HOME - Much of the time that SSG Martin (Thunder Dan) and I spend together is walking from work to the chow hall and back a couple of times each day. We typically walk the mile or so to work, to chow twice together each day, and then back home at night. By the time we get to "the hooch" as it's called, we're just ready for bed. Much of our time is spent discussing the same thing that every Super Bowl winner discusses...what to do when we get home. So far we plan to win the lottery, buy some land, buy a vehicle, sail to the Bahamas, take a long vacation, sleep uninterrupted, not look at a computer for 14 hours in a day, hold our children, kiss our wives (him his, me mine...you get it), breath fresh air, not get nervous in a group of locals, and eat a nice meal with real silverware.
This pretty much sums up the random thoughts for tonight...more later, God bless.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Happy Birthday (to me!)
Thursday made the second birthday (#29) that I have spent away from home due to deployment. Loni and I use to laugh because it seemed that the first few years we dated, were engaged, and eventually married I could manage to consistently miss out on the 4th of July...this was typically due in part to the Army, but no hard feelings. Obviously spending a year here means that I will miss every holiday for that period, some holidays are harder than others to miss out on though.
Even though I was over here in the desert I managed to have a really good day. From the moment I got up I told myself that nothing was going to bother me! My typical day includes seeing at least 10-15 local Afghans and dealing with their problems and concerns...well not on my birthday, they couldn't make me mad if they tried.
First off I had a bunch of 'Happy Birthday wishes' on Facebook and that's always nice. Also, I received a big package from my mother which not only had some cool shorts and a t-shirt...it also had a pan of Otis Spunkmeyer brownies! We cracked open the brownies and had a miniature party (I mean it when I say miniature, that was literally all we did). Even though it was a day late, today I received a few birthday cards in the mail. Loni sent a few pictures and even a little horse made from Ava Claire's handprint at VBS!
So, even though tonight's update was short it is filled with happiness. It's wonderful to know that I have a church family that prays for me, friends that write me, a family that misses me, and a wife that is so much more than I ever could have imagined.
Even though I was over here in the desert I managed to have a really good day. From the moment I got up I told myself that nothing was going to bother me! My typical day includes seeing at least 10-15 local Afghans and dealing with their problems and concerns...well not on my birthday, they couldn't make me mad if they tried.
First off I had a bunch of 'Happy Birthday wishes' on Facebook and that's always nice. Also, I received a big package from my mother which not only had some cool shorts and a t-shirt...it also had a pan of Otis Spunkmeyer brownies! We cracked open the brownies and had a miniature party (I mean it when I say miniature, that was literally all we did). Even though it was a day late, today I received a few birthday cards in the mail. Loni sent a few pictures and even a little horse made from Ava Claire's handprint at VBS!
So, even though tonight's update was short it is filled with happiness. It's wonderful to know that I have a church family that prays for me, friends that write me, a family that misses me, and a wife that is so much more than I ever could have imagined.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Groundhog's Day
No, I haven't lost my mind...I know that Groundhog's Day is in February and not early summer. However, I'm sure that everyone who reads this post has seen the movie Groundhog's Day. The movie features Bill Murray and he is stuck in some sort of time warp where each day when he wakes up he has already lived that day numerous times in the past...the day he keeps reliving is Groundhog's Day.
My mother-in-law e-mailed me yesterday and after some updates on the kids she wrote that I must be busy because I had not updated my blog since May. I thought, surely that isn't so...then I logged on here tonight and she was absolutely right. This gets me back to my initial point, I feel as if I'm living the same day over and over.
As you all know, I work as a contracting officer here at Bagram. Last week our section commander decided to hone everyone's contracts down a bit in order to allow us to focus our attention on one or two major items. I was given charge of all vehicles and heavy equipment leases in the office. One would assume that there can't be many vehicles on an Army Airfield in the middle of Afghanistan...well, one would be wrong. I assumed that the heavy equipment would be the headache, but the vehicles definitely take the cake.
So, day in and day out I'm doing much the same thing. I'll write a contract for a truck or a forklift or something similar to that, I'll award the contract and notify the winning bidder, the I file everything in just the right way. Yesterday I was able to award a porta-pottie contract...I actually got excited because it was something a little bit different. Looks like I might get to award a legal/cultural advisor contract tomorrow...woohoo!
When we first got here our days were a little staggered, we had a little change occuring each day with new Soldiers coming and old Soldiers leaving. For the past two to three weeks it's been quite monotonous. We get to work just before 9:00 a.m. and we are now required to stay at work until 10:00 p.m., which makes for a long day. I know that we are busier since the surge is in full swing and the 101st is getting here right now, but wow, you can really write a lot of contracts in 13 hours. Don't think I'm down and/or complaining, I'm really upbeat and doing my best to stay positive and keep others positive.
I can see why these people fight all the time...it gives them something to do. Just kidding with the last comment, most of the people I've met here (and I've met a bunch) are similar to Americans in that they want to make enough money to feed the family, enjoy peace, and be left alone. It's true that a rotten apple will spoil the whole bushel though. After an attack you look at each individual with the question in your mind..."I wonder if he had anything to do with what happened?" It makes you quite suspicious and untrusting; typically I'm a trusting person stateside, not so much here though.
I'll do my best to keep you all posted on the happenings around Bagram, but I won't bore you with daily or even bi-daily posts if nothing is going on. God bless!
My mother-in-law e-mailed me yesterday and after some updates on the kids she wrote that I must be busy because I had not updated my blog since May. I thought, surely that isn't so...then I logged on here tonight and she was absolutely right. This gets me back to my initial point, I feel as if I'm living the same day over and over.
As you all know, I work as a contracting officer here at Bagram. Last week our section commander decided to hone everyone's contracts down a bit in order to allow us to focus our attention on one or two major items. I was given charge of all vehicles and heavy equipment leases in the office. One would assume that there can't be many vehicles on an Army Airfield in the middle of Afghanistan...well, one would be wrong. I assumed that the heavy equipment would be the headache, but the vehicles definitely take the cake.
So, day in and day out I'm doing much the same thing. I'll write a contract for a truck or a forklift or something similar to that, I'll award the contract and notify the winning bidder, the I file everything in just the right way. Yesterday I was able to award a porta-pottie contract...I actually got excited because it was something a little bit different. Looks like I might get to award a legal/cultural advisor contract tomorrow...woohoo!
When we first got here our days were a little staggered, we had a little change occuring each day with new Soldiers coming and old Soldiers leaving. For the past two to three weeks it's been quite monotonous. We get to work just before 9:00 a.m. and we are now required to stay at work until 10:00 p.m., which makes for a long day. I know that we are busier since the surge is in full swing and the 101st is getting here right now, but wow, you can really write a lot of contracts in 13 hours. Don't think I'm down and/or complaining, I'm really upbeat and doing my best to stay positive and keep others positive.
I can see why these people fight all the time...it gives them something to do. Just kidding with the last comment, most of the people I've met here (and I've met a bunch) are similar to Americans in that they want to make enough money to feed the family, enjoy peace, and be left alone. It's true that a rotten apple will spoil the whole bushel though. After an attack you look at each individual with the question in your mind..."I wonder if he had anything to do with what happened?" It makes you quite suspicious and untrusting; typically I'm a trusting person stateside, not so much here though.
I'll do my best to keep you all posted on the happenings around Bagram, but I won't bore you with daily or even bi-daily posts if nothing is going on. God bless!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Happy Memorial Day!
To each and every person reading this I hope that you have a wonderful Memorial Day. Today was a real good day for us here in Aghanistan...we began by running the Afghan version of the Cotton Row 5k run that is held annually in Huntsville. I must say that I won't be nearly as willing to say "yes" to the next request to participate in a 5k, it really whipped me. All four guys in the 1960th ran and I think we did pretty good considering the conditions!
The main reason today was so good is because we actually had a pretty fun day, mandatory fun if you understand the Army. Two people in the unit were promoted so we had a ceremony for them followed by a cookout. We reserved the grill and volleyball court for the event. We've had quite a bit of planning go into this cookout and we wound up eating steaks, lobster, and corn...it was good! After eating we played probably 10 games of volleyball and now I look like a lobster...and yes(Loni & Mom), I was wearing sunscreen. I must say that my favorite part of the day is that the commander gave us the rest of the day off after the cookout, it's not that I dislike the work because I don't, but even a half-day off is always welcome.
My final thoughts for the day are for all of the thank-you's and well wishes that we've received over the past few days. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day afford us the time to remember the fallen and honor them in some small way. I truly don't feel old enough to fit into the Veteran's group, but I guess I fit nonetheless. Growing up all the veterans I knew were old, or at least that's what I thought. The current wars have changed all that and now there are thousands of veterans yet to reach the ripe old age of 20.
If you have the opportunity today and see a veteran please tell them thanks for their service and sacrifice. I complain from time to time about the fact that I'll be here for a full year, but then I remember that many WWII vets spend upwards of 2-3years overseas at one time.
"DUTY. HONOR. COUNTRY." ~GEN Douglas MacArthur
The main reason today was so good is because we actually had a pretty fun day, mandatory fun if you understand the Army. Two people in the unit were promoted so we had a ceremony for them followed by a cookout. We reserved the grill and volleyball court for the event. We've had quite a bit of planning go into this cookout and we wound up eating steaks, lobster, and corn...it was good! After eating we played probably 10 games of volleyball and now I look like a lobster...and yes(Loni & Mom), I was wearing sunscreen. I must say that my favorite part of the day is that the commander gave us the rest of the day off after the cookout, it's not that I dislike the work because I don't, but even a half-day off is always welcome.
My final thoughts for the day are for all of the thank-you's and well wishes that we've received over the past few days. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day afford us the time to remember the fallen and honor them in some small way. I truly don't feel old enough to fit into the Veteran's group, but I guess I fit nonetheless. Growing up all the veterans I knew were old, or at least that's what I thought. The current wars have changed all that and now there are thousands of veterans yet to reach the ripe old age of 20.
If you have the opportunity today and see a veteran please tell them thanks for their service and sacrifice. I complain from time to time about the fact that I'll be here for a full year, but then I remember that many WWII vets spend upwards of 2-3years overseas at one time.
"DUTY. HONOR. COUNTRY." ~GEN Douglas MacArthur
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