Little Groups of Paratroopers...

I have to say that Paratroopers are some tough hombres. Here is the rule of little groups of Paratroopers: After the demise of the best Airborne plan, a most terrifying effect occurs on the battlefield. This effect is known as the rule of the LGOPs. This is, in its purest form, small groups of pissed of 19 year old American paratroopers. They are well-trained, armed to the teeth and lack serious adult supervision. They collectively remember the Commander's intent as "March to the sound of the guns and and kill anyone who is not dressed like you..." or something like that. Happily they go about the days work......"

Envitably in conflicts, especially two against a determined enemy, there are going to be bumps in the road. That has rung especially true for the 5th Battalion, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3 Brigade Combat Team. Since they went to Iraq in August of 2006, 37 soldiers have been killed. 20 of those have come from that battalion. 9 were killed in a single attack last week. I have never met anyone from 3rd Brigade or the 5-73, but I do share a common bond with them: the patch on my shoulder, the wings on my chest, and the maroon beret I wear. To the families back at Bragg and across the U.S., I am deeply saddened for your loss. Then unique thing about the 82nd is our resolve, however. We grieve, we remember, and we drive on and take care of those who orchestrated these attacks. Paratroopers are only strengthened by our losses. It is not that we are reckless or careless. We are sharper and more determined. Do remember that a coup d'etat in Haiti was thwarted when the perpetrators heard the 82nd was en route to jump in and secure the situation. Thats saying something there.

The point I am making is that paratroopers are a slightly different breed. We don't necessarily walk around with an air of arrogance. We just know we can get the job done and that we will never quit. Sorry, I am feeling a bit hooah this morning. I just read an article about the 5-73 soldiers and how the community of Ft. Bragg will rally and how the 82nd won't fail in their mission.

Nothing significant to report here. Only thing really exciting are the thunderstorms we are getting lately. They tend to rival Iowa's in their intensity and longevity (or lack thereof). Apparently it is getting hot here. I wouldn't really know. I am usually passed out during the day. 12 hour shifts will do that to you.

All the Way.

Allow me to mount my soapbox....

Seeing as how things in my day to day life don't change very much (or at all it seems like), I may as well get right up and provide my own social commentary on things that are going on. Where I work, we always have the news on or access to news and needless to say, we have become innundated with the Virginia Tech shooting story. I first want to say how profoundly sorry I am for the families of those that were killed. It is a terrible tragedy for so many people who had literally just started their lives to have it end so quickly. We also must not forget about the students at VA Tech who witnessed this firsthand and now must live with it for the rest of their lives. They and their familites must now dealing with trying to move on and use this experience for a positive purpose.

What really gets me about this, though, is the over analysis being done on this. Call it media explotation, call it searching for a deeper meaning, call it whatever. I understand that in this country when have a burning desire to dissect every bit of something. Sports, for example. Every aspect of every sport has become a science. I love playing and watching sports, but when I hear about how a guy's draft stock is falling because he didn't meet the "standard" time in a forty yard sprint or this guy should never be allowed to play baseball because he is struggling in the first month of the season, I just want to turn off the volume. I am getting this sense from the VA Tech shootings. Do I want to know why this young man did this? Absolutely. Everyone does. I think, however, we have gotten the answer. He was a very disturbed individual who saw no other outlet than this. What caused it? We may not know. And even if we did, how would we stop it in the future?

The answer is we can't. Hindsight is 20/20. Were there warning signs? Maybe. But should we go on and blame the gun store owner, campus security, video games, Marilyn Manson, or anything else for that matter. If Cho wanted to accomplish this, then he would have found a way. If not now, then sometime. We can't do a societal audit of what went wrong. Bad things happen in the world. We learn from them and move on. Don't allow this wound to fester by filing lawsuits against outside parties that Cho used to facilitate his means. If that is the case, are we going to file a lawsuit against Starbucks because Cho may have gotten a cappucino that increased his caffeine intake for the day, allowing him to have more energy to do the terrible things he did? In the Army, if you do something wrong, you take your punishment, lick your wounds, and regroup and drive on. There isn't enough time in the world to pore over past mistakes. We may spend so much time looking backwards that we forget whats ahead of us.

Call this my tirade hearing about pundits looking for flaws and follies in every day life. Hell, I think most of the people in the world are depressed because the media paints such a depressing picture of life. All you hear about is negativity. If you are constantly bombarded with things like that, pretty soon you will believe it about everything. I am guilty of negativity myself, but I am trying to stop. Another thing I have learned. How can I expect my soldiers to want to do great things and be better, when I am constantly bring them down? Yes, I have to keep them in line because a soldier who is disciplined will be the soldier who stays alive when things get hairy. However, I also have to balance that with putting their needs ahead of my own and stimulating them to accomplish the things that I know they are capable of. Of course, there are some people in the world who just need to be crushed. But that doesn't mean I won't leave clues on how to rebuild themselves. In the Army, I have heard the phrase "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. And if they don't drink, shove their head in the water. If they still don't drink, they drown."

I'm done venting now. Things are going alright here. Kind of like purgatory. Not great, but not bad. Just here. I have this strong desire for time to move up one year so I can move on to other things. I am still considering some job options that seem to keep popping up in my life. I have started to get a sense of what I like in a job and what I don't like. I have found out that I work a lot better and stay a lot more disciplined if I have a distinct purpose. If I am left to standby, I slack. Plain and simple.

Still enjoy getting letters and whatnot. That'll never change. If you can find a way to ship a Chicago style pizza over with pepperoni and mushrooms, Good God, I will thank you for life (just keep the beer on standby, thats a no go over here).

All the Way.

A few things I've learned...

I have learned a few things since I have been over here. Many are just common day occurances that took a few instances for me to understand. First, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. I have found out that when it comes to stuff getting done on my shift. I like to do it. Its not that I don't trust my soldiers, I do. However, if my name is attached to it, I like to be responsible for it and if any heat is going to come down, I don't want to pawn it off on my guys. Plus, I have a certain way I like things to be done and I get a little anxious when they aren't done that way. I guess I inherited that from my mother. But of course, I am also of the school of thought that if something gets done, don't second guess me or nitpick about the smallest and obvious things. You've got the information. What more do you want?

I have also learned that certainity in life is elusive (even more so over here). You think you have day-to-day things straightened out and settled into a routine and something changes. Thats okay, I'm used to dealing with that. Case in point, my leave dates. I am now on my sixth and hopefully final leave date change. Originally I was going to leave somewhere near the beginning of June. Well, that has been CNX'd and pushed to the right a wee bit. Well, not necessarily a wee bit, but more like 6 1/2 months. So, uh, yeah, be looking for me home around Christmas time. Of course that could change again, because when I woke up last night, this morning, whenever the hell it was, I had no idea that things were changing again. To be honest though, I offered to change my leave time because I would rather be going on leave near the end of my deployment (of course, we could get extended again) as opposed to the first half of it. And besides, now everyone will have a semi-legitmate reason to come to Iowa for the holidays. Plus, this gives me more time to hit the gym and look like I am actually a soldier as opposed to someone who just sits behind a desk 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sticking with the routine thing, I woke up and said to myself "Groundhogs Day". It is somewhat true because I am can pinpoint almost exatly when things are going to happen. I know what time information will come in and what time it needs to go out. I can even tell you what time I will get back from the latrine after I wake up. 1729 zulu. I have a daily routine and as boring as it sounds, it works. It seems that with night shift things go a little bit faster. I am not bothered so much because their aren't as many people working and I have developed a good system for things which in turns equals me not getting woken up in the middle of the day like I was at first.

I have also figured out that I inherited another quirky trait from my mother. I am big fan of crossword puzzles. I'll do like 4 or 5 of them a night. Don't know why I started. Sheer boredom maybe. I do notice that some of the answers are reappearing in other puzzles I do.

Nothing too exciting going on. I try and prolong my midnight chow as long as possible so as to catch the Cubs when they are on. Of course the last two times I have watched they have blown the lead so maybe not such a hot idea. I am sorry that I won't be home in a month, but I think it will work a little bit better this way.

All the Way.

So I'll be sticking around...

As I am writing this, I am watching SECDEF Robert Gates explain that we will probably be getting extended to 15 months. Sweet. Actually, its not too bad. I'll now have more money to buy that Toyota Tacoma I've been looking at or hold off for the new Challenger (I can see the wheels turning in my Dad's head right now, INVEST, INVEST, INVEST). I've finally gotten used to this night shift thing. It only took a two weeks. I'm not dozing off at 3 or 4 in the morning anymore. I've actually got a pretty good system down of when and how things need to get done. It is still a pain in the ass to try and sleep during the day. Some people just don't understand that I work on a different schedule than them and I have been woken up for stupid stuff several times.

We got rocketed again the other day. I couldn't tell you where the rounds landed, but they were close. Nobody was hurt, but it was a nice little hour and half of sitting in the bunker. I have figured out that since there is nothing else to do, I'll just pull my goggles over my eyes and try and take a nap.

I am currently at an interesting dilemma. What to do for leave? Since my leave date got changed (thats 5 times now, for those of you keeping track), my plans have been somewhat disrupted. I was originally going to meet a friend in Spain, but by the time I get there, they may be gone. And I really don't feel like bumming around Spain for two weeks by myself. It certainly would be more enjoyable if I had some companions. Now, this is not a cry for someone to come to Spain and drink sangria with me. I'm just saying that I am leaning towards coming home for R&R. That way I can get some time away (and save money for that Tacoma/Challenger) and possibly go to a Cubs game (hint, hint). I'm fielding thoughts on the idea.

I would like to say that I have some really good family and friends. You came up big for my birthday. Granted, I didn't get a handle of Captain Morgan (which is what I really wanted/needed) but it certainly made my day when I came into work to see all sorts of cards and packages. CJ, Brooke, Ali, and Robin, I got your package and wow. Thanx. I owe you guys a boot at Hessen Haus. Thats about all I got for now. Nothing too exciting in my life at this time.

All the Way.

Happy Birthday

See, it is convient to have a birthday close to mine. I won't forget, too much. So, Happy Birthday to my stepmom and partner in political ideology, Louisa. I think she is like 27 or something :). Anyway, nothing else exciting going on. I'm starting to get into a decent sleep pattern, which is quite nice. I had a few 4 hour days which sucked. Also, I like having a birthday while being deployed because with spotty mail service, you get presents for like a week straight after you actually day. It rocks my socks off. Anyways, thats all I got for now.

All the Way.

Happy Birthday

See, it is convient to have a birthday close to mine. I won't forget, too much. So, Happy Birthday to my stepmom and partner in political ideology, Louisa. I think she is like 27 or something :). Anyway, nothing else exciting going on. I'm starting to get into a decent sleep pattern, which is quite nice. I had a few 4 hour days which sucked. Also, I like having a birthday while being deployed because with spotty mail service, you get presents for like a week straight after you actually day. It rocks my socks off. Anyways, thats all I got for now.

All the Way.

A Case of Mistaken Identity...

Dear Mrs. Pam Sullivan, You may have me confused with someone else. I'm not married nor do I even have a girlfriend. But I appreciate the sentiment just the same! I will do my best to make sure I come home whenever the Army sees fit and maybe get married, lol. First, I'll have to find a good women who is willing to put up with me and my penchant for athletics, snowboarding, parachuting, and drinking. Second, she'll have to be cool with me being in a easily deployable unit. In all seriousness, if you husband is deployed, I hope he comes home safe and is able to stick around for awhile. I'm getting a feeling for what it is like to be away from your spouse for so long. All of my NCO's are married, so I watch what they go through and I am beginning to understand how hard it is. Maybe, someday, I will be able to meet you and thank you for you kind thoughts.

To my aunt Carol, the bunkers are just concrete barriers put together. You can usually fit about 20-30 people in one. I usually like to sit on the end because once we are given the sweep signal (check for injuries, damage, etc.) I have to go out and check. The wire really is wire. Miles and Miles of constantine and razor wire. There are these big Hesco barriers also that are made up of dirt and what not and it acts as just make shift walls to protect us from rockets. To Mr. Austin Brickley, as a forward observer, the "guns" we use are actually artillery cannons. There is the 155mm and 105 mm. Both have a pretty big range. My personal weapon is an M4 with a Close Combat Optic. It is pretty light and I like the way it fires. Once I get pictures uploaded, you will be able to get a better picture of some of the equipment I use. Please, feel free, to ask any questions. I will do my best to answer them. I may be limited by security clearance but I'll do what I can.

All the Way.

Where's my flashlight?

Nights at Salerno are hit and miss. I'm not just talking about the rockets. I'm talking about the illumination. SOmetimes the moon is so bright it hurts. Other nights, its like walking around with a blind fold on in a room full of desks. Just a few weeks ago, I forgot my flashlight and walked straight into a jersey barrier. My knuckles were nice and cut up from that one. And we also had a sandstorm. I walked outside and looked and poked my head in and said that it was gonna be mighty nasty in about 30 mins. Sure enough, the hail started and our tent nearly blew away. Supposedly it damaged a bunch of stuff around the FOB. The weather here is a lot like Iowa; if you don't like it, wait 15 minutes. Oh yes, sidenote, I now work nights so that means 1930-0730. My sleep pattern has been slightly altered. As I write this, I am nearly falling asleep. If you want some pure comedy, you should see me when I come out of my tent in the afternoon after being in a 9 hour coma. First, its bright and second, I just woke up so I am kind of disoriented. I kind of look like I have had a few too many to drink (which would be a welcome problem right now). Its kind of funny, I am a world away, but I am now on the same sleep pattern as everyone back home.

So, it was my birthday today (or yesterday, whatever the hell day it is). Woo. I didn't really do anything exciting (not much to do in southern Afghanistan). I know what I am doing to today (tomorrow or whenever, this shift change is screwing with my head). Pass out. I'm talking about sleeping from when I get off work to 30 mins before I go to work. But anyway, yup, I'm 23. To all my aunts, I bet you feel old now, lmao.

Not too much going on. I got to outside the wire for the first time in two months last week. A few of us went out to shoot some rounds at a firebase near the Pakistani border. It was just a two day trip and we got to have some good food with some of the local police. The base that we were at was just a few kilometers from some former Al-Qaida training camps that had been taken out during Clinton's presidency. We supposedly picked up some radio transmissions from Taliban fighters who were warning each other about not moving around in the area because we were firing. I got some satisfaction in that.

Baseball started today. Cubs lost, but hey, I've been a fan for awhile so I'm used to it. It will be a good season, even though I won't be able to watch any of the games. Like I said, nothing exciting so I'm kind of out of stuff to write about but I still enjoy getting letters and whatnot.

All the Way.