Warmest Holiday Greetings!
We're all home on Holiday Exodus, so life is good. I didn't want to go anywhere originally, but the "not more than 125 miles from the armory" rule the military slapped on us makes me want to almost get off my butt and travel to someplace odd...Petaluma, for example. And not tell the Army. Just to do it.
Thank God I'm too comfy and lazy to do that.
First, thanks for all the great input and comments! Liz, not sure my masculinity can handle buying and toting tampons around on the FOB. On the other hand, the armor has plenty of little straps, so I suppose tying them on would be easy, not to mention fashionable. The Army, in it's infinite wisdom, issued each of us a really snazzy med kit - plenty of gauze, bandage, tape, tourniquet, etc. It's far more advanced than the simple traumedic bandage we used to tape onto the suspenders and call good. Add to that, the armor itself is pretty impressive. I'm covered from groin to jawline with shrapnel protecting goodness, including kevlar on top and ballistic eye protection. All in all, not too shabby for a desk jockey. Having looked ahead at the horseblanket for Georgia (it's what I do, I'm the Plans Officer), I notice they have 14 days of combatives planned. How cool is that? After a month of living in a tent with 100 other guys, I'll definitely be ready for the combatives pit: "YOU, the one who snores a lot, into the Octagon!!"
Lately, I've been following Michael Yon's blog, which is just fantastic! Very down to earth. Most recently, he posted two items of note, both written by GEN (Ret) McCaffrey. Basically the general offers a professional AAR of how the war is going to date. Before any of you follow the link and read it, keep in mind, it's not all roses and light, nor is it all doom and gloom. It's fairly balanced and well resourced. When I started reading the list of sources for the AAR, and it included company commanders and battalion executive officers, I figured it was going to be spot on. I mean, how many generals take the time to sit and listen to captains and majors who are out there getting the job done? I was very impressed by the AAR. So, here it is. Just so you all know I'm balanced, McCaffrey posted a piece in the WSJ too. Here's its text. I will warn some of you that it does not paint Rumsfeld in a favorable light. Honestly, I'm OK with that. Not being too fond of politicians in general, I'm not too concerned when another soldier says, "hey, this guy didn't do what he was supposed to do." Maybe it's me, maybe it's the professional culture of the Officer corps. I'd like to think it's both. I have no time or energy for politicians nor their games.
Enough soapbox.
So....next two months we're going to be in Georgia. Considering the alternative (Atterbury), I'm actually looking forward to it. Yes, the living conditions will be less favorable than in Iraq. Honest, in Iraq, I'll have my own room, heated, air conditioned and will be able to sit down to eat any time of the day or night. Georgia will be far warmer than Indiana, will likely be rainy, but at least it'll get us into the right mindset. I know I'm looking forward to it. Most of us, I believe, are ready to move on from all the individual level tasks we're forced to accomplish (set a claymore...I mean let's be honest, NOBODY uses claymore mines in theater) and begin building the collective competencies we'll need to function overseas. The feedback I've read about this training is that the reservists who go through it find Iraq to be far easier than the training they had had. I have no doubts we'll be more than ready to fight alongside our regular Army counterparts when we arrive.
All that said, I don't know how often I'll be able to post. Most likely, I'll email the text to Kim, show her how to log on, cut and paste and let that be that. I do know we'll have very limited email capability, so be patient.
Thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray that I keep my cool.
Enjoy!
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3 comments:
*grin* well to be honest, the guys I was talking to have mostly been out on the sharper end...so they might have a slightly different viewpoint.
Seriously, I hope that you never need to use the spiffy kit that you have on anyone or have one used on you.
Lots of luck, best wishes, and keep your sense of humour.
Liz
HEY COOL, LOT OF STUFF THERE. QUITE MODERN FROM VIETNAM DAYS. JUST KEEP YOUR KOOLS, KNOW WHAT I MEAN SMOKE A FEW.
LIKE MARK TWAIN ONCE SAID, "COURAGE IS RESISTANCE TO FEAR, MASTERY OF FEAR, NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR".
Christmas in The Dust
======================
I had no Christmas spirit
when I breathed a weary sigh,
And looked across the table
where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished
and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point,
the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes
till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery
and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried
were about all that I could take,
And so I flipped the TV on
to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene
in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind,
just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood
before a laden sleigh,
Eight Hummers ran a column
right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank,
not one was past his teens.
Their eyes were hard as polished flint,
their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor
with their rifles shouldered tight,
Their dearest wish for Christmas,
just to have a silent night.
Other soldiers gathered,
hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams
of going home again.
There wasn't much at all
to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey,
just a pack of MREs.
They didn't have a garland
or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament
they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn't have a present
even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see
were labeled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug
and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared,
and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms
and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead
as I whispered in his ear.
There's nothing wrong my little son,
for safe we sleep tonight,
Our heroes stand on foreign land
to give us all the right,
To worry on the things in life
that mean nothing at all,
Instead of wondering if we
will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do
and said it's always right,
to thank the ones who help us
and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills
and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home,
and this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe,
and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so,
and that you're not alone.
The gift you give you share with all,
a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty
and that we can't repay.
~Author Unknown~
God Bless our Troops!!!
THIS IS COURAGE AND WE ARE ALL GRATEFUL.
MARK YOU WILL BE FINE AND ALWAYS BE TRUE TO THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE.
VIETNAM VET
RAFE
Actually we could use claymores in theater until the Army sent that safety message about not mounting them to the vehicles....darn killjoys...
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