A day in the NEW life!

Well the days have changed and the life has as well. Im back home and back at work. Im working in an office now, Im in charge of the mission planners here (I know that doesn't sound very exciting). Anyways, its my job to field questions about our platforms and capabilities, write procedures out, and come up with great new ideas! Ive been in the office for 2 weeks so far, in that time I've answered questions for the New York Times, read through the continuity binder, signed up one of my guys to go TDY (Temporary Duty) for some training, worked on a letter to send 3 of my guys TDY, was picked to go on a TDY, was picked as the squadron Senior Airman of the year, and wrote numerous e-mails. I was also strong-armed into going to the Christmas Party (next weekend).

At home: Mary is working parttime and Maddox is loving having both of us home! Mary's students played at Barnes and Noble today. Maddox and I stayed home (lazy rainy Sunday). While Maddox took a nap, I built a fort for her to play in while I watched football. When she woke up she LOVED the fort! She sat it for about an hour without getting out, it was great. I finished picking up the leaves from the flood yesterday (another 3 bags worth). I also changed the spark plug on my lawnmower to try and get it to run again... no luck, I think Ill be getting a new one.

The property manager finally got someone out to replace the air ducts underneath the house (they were waterlogged from the flood and weren't attached to the vents anymore). We only heated the crawlspace for about a month! They also got someone to replace the drain on the sink in the mater bathroom (it was broken and we couldn't use it for about the same time frame).

The holidays are fast approaching, Im still trying to figure out my schedule and travel plans. AND right after the holidays is New Years! Mary planned a surprise vacation for us for New Years, I don't know anything about it except for the dates. I think its going to be great though!

Im glad to be home and will post again soon (maybe)!

Best welcome home gift ever!

Before I left Iraq, Mary started asking me what kind of food I wanted in the fridge and pantry when I got home. I couldn't really think of anything that I wanted...

When I got home, after many hugs and kisses, Mary gave me a tour of the house for the first time (in person, I had a webcam tour once or twice). On the dining room table Mary had a handle of Captain Morgan waiting for me. Captain Morgan is my favorite alcohol. Also a package of beef jerky (I HAVE THE BEST WIFE EVER).

Saturday afternoon (roughly 12 hours after getting home) Mary asked if I wanted a snack, she had 2 bags of a favorite chip of mine. Popchips... delicious, expensive, but delicious! Then she asked if I wanted to grill for dinner. Of course I wanted to grill, but I wasn't sure if we had stuff to grill. She opened the fridge and showed me a package of 2 steaks roughly an inch thick and full of flavor and beefy-ness! Like I said, I have the best wife ever!! She also showed me that she bought coke for my rum, and frappachinos for me to drink.

That is all, no more posts for tonight.

Trip Home

We checked into the passenger terminal in Qatar. It was exciting because we were leaving but I didn't want to get too excited just yet (I still had over 30 hours until I got home). Since I am only an E-4 I had to help load the baggage into the plane. That was a lot of work and helps me to appreciate my job behind a desk. There was an intel O-1 helping us load bags, I told him it was the most work his uniform would ever see. I don't if he got my joke, but I found it hilarious! There were about 20 of us or so loading bags. When we were done we were allowed to board the plane first. Some of the guys seemed really excited about this, I don't know why... we had assigned seats and it just meant that we spent that much more time on the plane. Whatever... I was sandwiched between 2 fairly large guys in the middle of the aircraft. To my left was a MSgt, he was a comm guy that was stationed in Qatar heading back to Shaw AFB. Turns out that we actually have a few common friends. He wasn't over weight, just tall and needed space. To my right was a TSgt, he was a... logistics maybe? I don't remember, but he was heading back to Davis-Monthan I think. He was a man of average height but slightly overweight (I got elbowed by him more than once).

Our first stop was in Cypress, it was dark when we landed and we weren't allowed to get off the plane, however I did get to see the sunrise on the Mediterranean Sea... that was beautiful! After sitting on the tarmac for 2 or 2.5 hours we headed to Aviano, Italy. It was raining in Italy, but the Alps still looked magnificent. It was rainy and chilly in Italy, but it was great! We had to stay in the terminal, but atleast we were able to deplane. Operation Yellow Ribbon had coffee and snacks on a table for us. The coffee wouldn't have worked for a coffee connoisseur, but for me it was more good. I usually like my coffee really strong: If it is in clear mug, you shouldn't be able to see any light through it, you should have some grinds in the bottom of it, when someone walks into the room that the coffee was brewed in, and their nasal cavity should be overcome with the smell of coffee. Basically I like my coffee strong! Just like my women (Mary is the strongest-willed woman I have ever met). So the coffee wasn't up to my standards, but it got the job done. After that we took off and headed for Germany. In Germany I met with my best friend from Korea, Jarad and his wife Emily. They have been in Germany for about a year or so, and are about 3 or 4 months pregnant! They met me and had a case of German beer to share with me! We stood out in the parking lot of the terminal drinking, it was better than tasty! I can't even put words to the flavor of it. I was only able to drink one before I was called back to the terminal to check in for our flight. I would have liked to drink another one (not sure if I could have handled a 3rd). The flight from Germany to Baltimore was a long one! they showed a few movies, and I slept some during the movies. They served a couple of mediocre meals, there were a few people around me ordering drinks left and right, but I didn't want to pay $5/drink, so I didn't have any.

We were met in Germany with a huge welcome home party from the USO. Lots of old and retired military families. They all shook our hands, thanked and welcomed us home, and had a small bag of snacks for us. Also our squadron sent a few people to pick us up and drive us home. One of my buddies was the driver. We loaded our bags into the 2 vans and as we were climbing in and buckling up, they handed us Yuengling! One each, for our ride to a burger shop. I guess in the DC/ Maryland area you can drink if you are in the backseat... (if that isn't true then it didn't happen and you probably misread the previous statement). We didn't get to Langley until after 1am, at the squadron we were welcomed by the 1st Sgt, squadron Commander, Wing Commander, our superintendent from our deployment (he left about a month before us), and a group of poeple that weren't actively working at the time. My old flight chief and mentor, TK, for the past 3 years was there to meet me, he gave me a ride home. He had directions printed off on how to get to my house. Neither of us had been there before and it was easier for someone else to take me home so that Mary didn't have to wake up Maddox in the middle of the night to pick me up. Mary opened the door and greeted me. I dropped my bags and gave her a huge hug and kiss. I shook TK's hand and said I would see him in a few days. Mary and Macy welcomed me with hugs and kisses and wagging tails. Mary and I talked for a few minutes then she went to bed and I showered and shaved... I had been traveling for over 30 hours and hadn't had a shower for over 48 hours (for those of you who don't know me... I sweat alot, so that is a long time without a shower).

Saturday morning Maddox woke up and Mary and I went in to get her out of bed. Maddox was excited that I was home and wanted to show me all of her toys. It was great!

Im home and we are enjoying our time together, Im still adjusting my internal clock, but I should be good in another day or two.

Kip, me, Capt J, Nick, and Fogle

Ops Rotation 1... and Fogle final pic

Kip, me, Capt J, Nick, and Fogle

Ops Rotation 1... and Fogle final pic

The images are out of order... but hey you get to see some pics atleast!

this is the end of our going away dinner

Kip, Nick, Me and Fogle (left to right)

Capt L giving me a plaque

laughs for no reason probably

Capt J giving me a Letter of Appreciation from a General

Capt J, Kip, Nick, Me and Fogle (left to right)

Nick, me, and Fogle (left to right)

Flintstone village at night

A palm tree in the wall of the village

One of the entrances to the village

Enjoy the pictures, Im working on a rundown of our travels home.

Qatar?

After a few flights and alot of 'hurry up and wait' time, I made it to Qatar! Qatar is an odd country. For some reason when we come her we have to immigrate in and out, we aren't allowed to bring anything that might show aggression or anything that shows excessive skin... So no knives, and no magazines at all.

We didn't really have any plans here except sit and mess around on our computers. Also there is a daily 3 drink ration. Our Capt was going to be going to the Ops Center to debrief with some big wigs. He asked if any of us wanted to go, my roommate Nick and I went.

The Ops Center was pretty cool. I saw a few people that I knew from Korea and back home. Also we sat down with 2 full birds and talked about the deployment and pros and cons of it all. They were both VERY receptive and looked at us as experts and took to heart everything we were saying and were taking notes on our words and comments. Afterwards one of the birds gave us a coin... yet another one added to my collection!

Also I talked to my Sgt that I had minor differences with at the beginning of the deployment. I thanked him for all that he showed and taught me. I now understand that he acted the way that he did to lead me in the right direction. He also told me that he appreciated my work and that I was going to be getting a higher medal than an airman should get because of the work that I did (that will give me a few extra points towards promotion).

If you remember my post from a few months ago about the moon: Im sitting underneath a full moon. It is bright and there are no clouds out. It is beautiful! The moon always makes me miss home, but it also reminds me that back home they have the moon also. Please when you look at the moon think of those that are away or have passed.

I miss my ladies more than anything else! Im excited about seeing our new house and meeting the neighbors and new people at work... but I want more than anything else to see them and go for a walk around our new neighborhood. I've been fortunate enough to see Mary, Maddox, and even Macy on the webcam. Since I have been gone, Mary has done a 150 mile bike ride, moved into a new house, gone to multiple family and friend gatherings. Maddox has taken swim lessons and started talking and singing more. Mary says that Macy has calmed down some also. I always knew that I would miss Mary and Maddox, I never thought that I would miss my dog this much...

Ill be home in a few days and Ill be able to spend time with my family before I head back to work. As soon as I get back to work, Ill have to re-qualify on the positions I held before I deployed, and then they are going fast-track me to mission supervisor. I will have to test for Staff Sgt after I get back also. Im hoping that I make it, there is alot of pressure on me: pressure from my wife, my sgts, pride, and making it my first time testing.

I will talk to you all later, I miss and love you all!

Marshall

Leaving on a jet plane

Well probably not a jet plane, and not quite yet... but soon!

Since I signed up for this deployment (AUG 2008): I went through over 60 days of training (TDYs and training on base), Traveled to multiple different locations, made it known that I needed to deploy early to help the comm guys and now Ive been here and Im heading home soon! I have gotten coins from two different 2-Star Generals, a 1-Star General, and a Command Chief. Things that I have said and done have made their way up to the Pentagon and back. Procedures that I figured out and worked out have become the standard. I have been looked at and respected as an NCO even though Im not one (I'll test when I get home). It has been tough, I have had rank flexed on me more than once... and that is when I remembered that Im NOT and NCO. I got frustrated and wanted to quit at times, but I don't really get that option. My leadership has praised me for the work I have done and I think that I have learned a lot from being out here.

I have missed many events back home: I missed my 3rd wedding anniversary (that is 2 of 3 that I have missed for those of you counting). I missed too many birthdays to list them all, but the most important ones that I missed were Mary and Maddox's birthdays (that is 1 of 2 missed for those keeping track). I missed a trip to go see my brother, 2 weddings (one of which I was supposed to be in). AND I missed moving into the new house.

However, Im in the military. I knew what I was signing up for, and I volunteered for this deployment! I don't think that there is anything I would change about all of this. I have the love and support of 2 beautiful ladies back home and I cant wait to see them again!

Traveling

Today is Monday it was my first day back at work since I traveled. I traveled to a couple of different bases:

Day 0 of travel: Woke up at about noon or so, picked-up laundry and thought about buying another pair of sunglasses, I had a slight crack in mine, but figured that they would last through the trip. showered and got ready for work. I got home from work about midnight:30 so that moves us to day 1.

Day 1 of Travel: Got off of work (as previously mentioned). I packed and talked to Mary for a short time. I slept for about 2 or 3 hours and then showered and grabbed all of my gear to head out. We, I traveled with my LT, got to our first destination. Before leaving the terminal we got coffee (Quad White Chocolate Mocha Frappaccino, yeah that is 4 shots of espresso) from Green Beans. We went and got rooms for the night and then went to work. After being at the office for a few hours and finishing my frapp and 2 black coffees, I had to take someone over to the terminal to get him signed up to leave with us (we were leaving the next day). Since we were back at the terminal, we got more coffee (I only got a double this time). At this point I had been up for over 24 hours and had about 3 hours of sleep, coffee was needed! We got back to the office and did what we needed, I think I only had one more cup of coffee that night. After dinner we went the PX, I didn't need anything but the people that I was with did. On the car ride back to the office, I broke my sunglasses, I wasn't happy. I went to bed around 1am or so, I didn't have any trouble falling asleep since I had been up for so long. The linens I was given were all different colors:

this is my bed after I made it with the different colored sheets

I don't know why, but I took a picture of my bag and body armor

Day 2: I woke up showered, and LT and I walked over to the terminal, we met up with the other guy, Sacco, after checking in, Sacco and LT went to get Coffee, LT brought me a Frapp, it was awesome! Im not a froo froo coffee drinker, but these things are magical!! My LT is probably about 5 feet tall and weighs about as much as my left leg. needless to say she is small. Her flack vest is probably small enough for Maddox to wear, so I thought it would be funny to try it on. It was:

right after this picture the velcro gave out

We got our ride to the next base, checked in and found out that were we were staying they didn't have any linens. We decided that we could deal with it for one night. We went and talked to a few people then went back to our rooms. It got really cold and my towel wasn't enough to keep me warm, so I didn't sleep too well.

Day 3: We got up ate breakfast then went to the office to start meeting with people. We singed up to try and leave that evening, but the weather wasn't looking too good. Since we didn't have a very good room, we decided to just sleep in the terminal hoping for a flight out. When it came time to leave, the people that were showing us around the base said that if we got on a certain bus, it would take us to the terminal. We got on this certain bus and rode around for an hour to end up back at our original starting point... We asked someone else and they said to get on a different bus. So that was what we did! We got to the terminal checked-in and they told us to hang out and relax. I sat down and read the paper, as I finished the paper a movie came on the TV that was in the terminal. The movie was horrible, I don't remember the name and it didn't have a plot, please trust me when I say that it was a horrible movie!

Day 4: I think the first movie was still on, I dont remember. LT found out where the MWR was, so we were going to go check our e-mail. Sacco stayed and watched our bags and body armor. When we got back it was probably around 4am or so. I watched football on TV and Sacco and LT slept. around 6 I went and brushed my teeth and put on deodorant. At this point I had been in my uniform for 24 hours, it was time for some more DO! Sacco and LT went to go get food around 630 or 7, I stayed to watch the bags, I ended up sleeping, like a baby, it was wonderful. They came back, we ate, and I slept a little bit more. We finally got out of that base and back to Sacco's base around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We hung out for a bit, we met with some more people and did a little bit more work. Around 11pm that night we were going to the terminal to leave again. We got there and there were a ton of people, the place was packed, all the seats were full and people were sitting/laying on the floor on their bags. We were concerned that we weren't going to get out.

Day 5: We left and got into the camp that we are based out of and back to our rooms around 5am. I showered (I had been in my uniform for 47 hours). I talked to Mary for a bit and then slept, I didnt wake up for about 5 solid hours and then I woke up thinking I overslept.

When I got back to work, I was greeted by a couple of people outside of work and they all welcomed LT and me back and told me that I had A LOT of mail waiting for me. I didn't have time to pick it up, but shortly after I sat down at my desk someone brought my stack of letters over, I had 15 cards from people! It was great! I guess Mary saw a bunch of people, or sent a bunch of e-mails out asking people to write to me, I got cards, letters, jokes, comics, even a picture colored by a 19-month old. I appreciate and thank everyone for their prayers. I never expected to get so much mail from people saying that they were proud of me and thanking me for what I do, some of the people I haven't even met before, but they are friends of Mary's parents.

all of the fun cards and letter I got

Well time to relax and go to bed. I love all of you and hope that this blog finds you all happy and healthy.

A few more random pictures:

Frog hanging out, ready to travel

old picture during a mild dust storm

Stars!

Last night I was on the computer talking to Mary, then the lights flickered... The lights, then turned off, the power was out (which meant that the internet was out). So I was done talking to Mary, whether I liked it or not.

Then my roommate, Nick, came in the room and said the sky looked really cool. When I went to the bathroom I looked up and could see every single star! It was amazing. Then I heard the Muslim call to prayer. It was odd, everything was quiet except the call to prayer. Ive only heard the call to prayer a few times.

The power was still out, and before the room got too hot, I decided to try and go to sleep. I fell asleep then I heard the power turn back on.

Work has been going well recently, I don't remember my last day off, but today is pop and junk food day!!

Time to run

Well nothing has changed at work, still alot going on...

I have been training for a half marathon (running it on the 5th of SEP). Last week my roommate and I ran from our room to Al Faw Palace (Saddam's big palace), past the AF house (Saddam's daughter's palace), then around the Perfume Palace (Saddam's brothel), then back to the room. The Perfume Palace is near the Victory Over America Palace... You see how that worked out for Saddam! We ended up running 10.7 miles in just over an hour and a half! Afterwards my right foot was bothering me, the next morning my foot was swollen and bruised. I took some motrin and gave it another day. The next day at work, my foot was bothering me all day, I decided to go to the TMC (Theater Medical Clinic). They took my blood pressure right away, but I didn't see anyone after that for an hour. The Sgt asked me to take my boots off so he could look at them, I warned him that I just got done working and they might smell. He gave me alcohol wipes to clean my feet. The doctor came in and looked at it, I had x-rays taken and they said I probably just stressed some tendons. He told me I should take a few day off from running and ice it. Well I forgot to ask him how I was supposed to ice it, so that didn't happen. I ran again for the first time tonight, just 2 miles to see how it felt. Everything felt fine and I plan on upping my mileage tonight, I have less than 2 weeks until my half marathon. I tried taking some pictures while I was out running but it was dusty out so they don't look very good.

That's pretty much all thats going on here... I'll talk to you guys later!

Updates?

Incase you haven't noticed, I haven't put any updates on here in some time... Well, I have been busy and nothing new has really happened. I also haven't taken any pictures recently, sorry Mary. I am training to run a half marathon in the beginning of SEP. I ran 10 miles two nights ago in 87 minutes! Besides that, there isn't anything else going on. But Im still here, and still doing well.

Goodbye all, Ill talk to you later.

Stressed?

I don't know if I have been stressed recently or just interrupted at the wrong times. I have been on night shift for a little while now, Im used to it and I like it. However, the past two days while I have been sleeping someone has knocked on the door and it has scared the shit out of me. One time it was my LT getting my roommate to head to work and the other time it was a maintenance person. When the LT came to the door, my roommate was up so he got it. When the maintenance person came, I yelled, sprung out of bed and opened the door. I was in my underwear, because it is hot out here and that is how I sleep. When I realized he needed to mess with switches or whatever in my room, I left the door open and got back in bed. Both time I was woken up it wasn't time for me to get up so I needed to go back to sleep, but both times, I laid in bed for a good 5 minutes trying to get my heart to slow down so that I could sleep.

Maybe I am stressed, maybe I was in a deep sleep both times, or maybe I'm just done with this place and ready to come home... Who knows? Well I need to go to sleep now, so that I can hopefully sleep through the day and not get woken up suddenly!

Goodnight all.

Pictures

I took some pictures from my travels last week. When I was in Korea, Mary sent me a stuffed frog and I started taking pictures of the frog showing his travels and tribulations! It gets boring over here... Anyways the pictures are in reverse order, but they are here at least. Enjoy:

This is a picture from the Blackhawk

Another shot from the blackhawk

Yes that is green down there

This is from a bus on base...

Looking off base...

No evening is complete without your Frog and a White Chocolate Mocha

Speece was trying to teach the frog bad habits

Speece was still trying to pressure the Frog

Oddly enough the seatbelts aren't made for frogs. Who knew?

Speece and the Frog throwing up gang signs waiting for the truck to be unlocked

Hanging out in the Briefing room

Once again, no seatbelts for a Frog

Hanging out on the C-130

This is me and the Frog on the C-130

This is the Frog waiting to board the C-130

No morning can start without a refreshing White Chocolate Mocha!

MMMMM... Coffee!

The Frog was trying to decide which coffee he wanted.

The Frog isn't follow the directions, he is supposed to wait behind the red line.

The Frog hanging out on my bed not wanting to leave.

Package!

When I got back from traveling I had a package from Mary! It had an extra pillowcase, puzzle books, pictures, father's day card from Maddox, a ping pong paddle set and shoe insoles!

I was really excited to get it. I hung up the father's day card and showed off the pictures. Im using the pillowcase (I needed an extra) and I have played with puzzles that she gave me.

I also need to build a ping pong table now.

Thanks Mary! I love you

Busy Busy Busy!

Recently I have been working some pretty long hours, up to over 16-hour days. I also traveled to meet with our squadron and try to help them out. I found out about the trip Saturday afternoon, I was going to be going to the squadron for the week to help them with a few things and try to make them better, and also represent the detachment for a few DVs (Distinguished Visitors). The bad part about this was that I had to figure out how to make a 3-day pack last as a 5-day pack... At the PX I found an external bag that could strap to my 3-day pack. Sunday I woke up between 10am and noon I went to work around 1445, I talked to my captain to get the final details and find out when I had to be where. I finally got the information around 2200, and found that I had be ready to go in 8 hours, that was more than enough time, but I was hoping to atleast try to sleep some that night. I was told to leave work an rest and get ready for the trip, I got back to my room around 2230 or so. I started packing my bag, making sure that I had everything that I needed. I was finished packing and more than ready to go by 2345, I couldn't go to sleep yet because of my shift recently, I was going to sleep between 0300 and 0400. I was planning on getting up around 0500 to make sure I was ready to go on time, we were getting picked up at 0545. There were three of us going: me, the captain, and the systems guy (Speece). Around 0200, I decided that I needed to get some sleep, I laid down and tried to go to sleep, I slept for about 20 minutes then woke up and was wide awake! I wasn't happy. I ended up being awake until my alarm when off. So I showered, double checked my gear and got ready to leave. In no time at all we were at the terminal waiting to find out if we got on the flight, we did. It was a C-130, this was only the second military aircraft I have flown on, the first was the C-17 that brought me here.

After we found out that we had a seat in the aircraft, we went to Green beans. http://www.greenbeanscoffee.com/ Green Beans is an awesome coffee shop that caters to military and give a portion of their proceeds to the military. On that website you can send a coupon for a free coffee to a military member. AND they make AMAZING coffee. Between Speece and I at work, we probably drink 4 pots of coffee a day, the captain has a few cups also. We decided that the day couldn't start that early without coffee, so we went and got some. Speece introduced me to the white chocolate mocha, I dont really know what it was besides Heaven in a cup! We got on the plane while we were in the air, I was able to get a little more sleep, then the Captain started taking pictures and the flash woke me up.

When we landed we checked in, and called our ride to come pick us up. He took us to the squadron where we were welcomed like we were a part of the family. Well that is pretty much a lie, they said hi to us and then went about their business. I tried to employ my skills and knowledge... No one seemed to care or want anything from me. Then it came time for one of the briefers from the squadron to brief their guys and my guys at my unit. The briefer tried blaming his laziness on my unit in front of everyone during the brief. I spoke up and made it known that he had the knowledge for the past 13 hours in his e-mail and told him it was not my units fault. Although I was probably out of line talking to someone who outranked me in the middle of a brief like that, I can't stand incompetence! Later Speece told me that I did a good job and to keep it up. After the brief was done, I showed the briefer a few things, I didn't feel like he was listening or retaining any of the information that I was giving him. I moved on and tried to help other people. I tried to talk to almost everyone in the squadron, in the end Speece and I ended up hanging up the Chain of Command board before the DVs were supposed to come though and we took the trash out.

I ended up staying at the squadron until about 0030 Tuesday morning, if you are keeping track of awake hours that is between 36 and 38 hours... I walked to my tent and slept for a few hours. We were meeting one of the people from the squadron at the Green Bean at 0700, so I was able to get around 5 hours of sleep. Tuesday morning we met up, grabbed some coffee and breakfast and went into work. The briefer was getting set up, I offered a few suggestions, some were accepted. The briefer and the guy that brought us into the squadron informed us that the DV wasn't going to be coming through to see us, then they left to go get some stuff from another building on base. I stayed and did some research for them to try and help them. When they came back they brought coffee for Speece and Me, so I couldn't be too upset with them. There was a coffee maker in the office and I had it working overtime. Around mid-day I talked to the Captain to see if Speece and I could head back to our unit on Wednesday so that we could get back to work since we weren't being utilized correctly, he eventually agreed. He also asked me about my thoughts on the squadron and what we could do to help them and what they could do to help us.

As we were talking through all of that, one of the briefers came in the room and asked if I would mind briefing some of the slides for the next brief, I agreed and asked when the brief was so I knew how much time I had to prepare. She then told me that the brief was just about to start... Thanks for the warning. Whatever, I briefed it and did a great job and the crew thanked me for it later on. After the brief I talked to that briefer to see if she needed help with anything, and of course she didn't.

Speece and I ended up leaving around 1930 or so to check in at the terminal for Space A and get dinner and call it a night. We also went to the coffee shop again. Wednesday morning we ended up riding a blackhawk back to our base. That was pretty cool! I got up that morning at 0500 to leave, we got to our unit around 1030 and I stayed and worked until 0200 Thursday morning. It was yet again another long day. By the end of those days I dont feel like my mind is over worked or anything, Im just too tired to go to the gym.

Wednesday while I was at work, I had to call the briefers a few times to get some info from them, they thanked me for my input and said that I had alot of good ideas... Thanks, I guess.

Mary is going to be moving into our new house today. She has help from the people I work with back home, my parents, her parents, and her sister and her family! I hope that the move goes smoothly for them. There was a water main that broke Wednesday.... She says that it is fixed now, I hope so.

I have a few pictures from my trip and I will try to upload them tonight when I get off of work. I miss and love all of you! bye!

Yet another week of randomness...

Work has been busy this past week, we got some more people in, and the role of training has fallen upon me.  Any why not, I am the lowest ranking.  Since I am the lowest ranking, I am also in charge of making sure the office is clean before we leave for the day.  How is it that I am in charge of making sure everyone is trained correctly on everything AND I have to take the trash out... whatever, I do it all with a smile on my face.  Before anyone else got here, I sat down and typed out exactly how to do everything that we do, step by step.  I had people that don't do my job and have never used the system that we use, go through everything using my checklist and operating procedures... everything worked perfectly!  I was pretty happy about that.  However, now the people that I actually have to train for this are asking me to walk them through everything step by step, I mention that there are operating procedures and they should read through those, but we don't have the time for that sometimes.  Whatever people are learning and it is known by my superiors that I am doing work above my pay grade.  Although Im not officially in charge, everyone comes to me with their questions on how things work.  I am not trying to toot my own horn, but if I seem short it is probably because at times Im doing more work than everyone else combined here.

There was one point this week when I was training three people on three different positions, while trying to do the work for my position and I was helping someone back at langley with an issue that he didn't know how to fix...

Saturday I went and played tug of war and threw water balloons with some kids.  That was fun.  During tug of war, I got rope burn on my hand, and one day when I lifted, I forgot to put a band-aid on it, and it started bleeding.  I decided to stop lifting since I was bleeding.  I figured that I dont need to spread my blood all over Iraq!

I have been working out more, I am trying to run when I wake up (between 1000 and 1200) and go lift when I get off of work around 0100.  For the past week all I have been eating are Wraps, chips, V8 and gatorade after I run.  This morning I got up around noon and ran, then I went to the chow hall and decided to get real food.  Today was Spaghetti day, so it was a good day to eat real food!  I also got a pepsi in addition to my V8.  I never thought that I would like V8 so much... But man is it good!!.  And it goes great with a sandwich or a wrap.  My wraps have had honey mustard, swiss, turkey, green peppers, pickles, and lettuce on them.  They are good!

Saturday night when my roommate and I got home from work, there was a note on our door saying that the maintenance guys were coming to replace our lights and wiring Sunday morning.  Since we were planning to sleep until noon or so, we put a note on the door that we were day sleepers and they needed to wait until 1300 to work in our room.  I dont know if they read the note and complied, or if they just didn't get to our room until later in the day, but they came and started working around 1400 or so, I was gone, but I gathered info from multiple sources (its what I do, what can I say).  Monday we had to sleep until noon again because of our shift, so when someone knocked on the door at 0900, I was pretty upset.  My roommate answered the door and the the maintenance people said that they needed to double check all of the work and it should only take a few minutes.  Nick tried to tell them that we were sleeping because we had to work, but they insisted.  So he let them in, I pulled the sheets over my head to block the light and tried to stay asleep.  However, there was a heard of people stomping around my room flipping switches and turning lights and the A/C on and off and talking to each other in three different languages.  I don't know when they left, but I do know that I wasn't happy.  I woke up around noon, got dressed and was heading to the gym to workout (usually Nick and I dont lock our door) when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't open.  I was still half asleep and had my eyes shut to block the bright sun and couldn't figure out how to open the stupid door.  I finally got it open, and as I woke-up more and realized that I was locked in my room from the inside, I had to laugh. 

That is all for now, I must continue my day of sitting on my bed relaxing...  I hope that everyone is doing well back home, I miss all of you.

Yet another week of randomness...

Work has been busy this past week, we got some more people in, and the role of training has fallen upon me.  Any why not, I am the lowest ranking.  Since I am the lowest ranking, I am also in charge of making sure the office is clean before we leave for the day.  How is it that I am in charge of making sure everyone is trained correctly on everything AND I have to take the trash out... whatever, I do it all with a smile on my face.  Before anyone else got here, I sat down and typed out exactly how to do everything that we do, step by step.  I had people that don't do my job and have never used the system that we use, go through everything using my checklist and operating procedures... everything worked perfectly!  I was pretty happy about that.  However, now the people that I actually have to train for this are asking me to walk them through everything step by step, I mention that there are operating procedures and they should read through those, but we don't have the time for that sometimes.  Whatever people are learning and it is known by my superiors that I am doing work above my pay grade.  Although Im not officially in charge, everyone comes to me with their questions on how things work.  I am not trying to toot my own horn, but if I seem short it is probably because at times Im doing more work than everyone else combined here.

There was one point this week when I was training three people on three different positions, while trying to do the work for my position and I was helping someone back at langley with an issue that he didn't know how to fix...

Saturday I went and played tug of war and threw water balloons with some kids.  That was fun.  During tug of war, I got rope burn on my hand, and one day when I lifted, I forgot to put a band-aid on it, and it started bleeding.  I decided to stop lifting since I was bleeding.  I figured that I dont need to spread my blood all over Iraq!

I have been working out more, I am trying to run when I wake up (between 1000 and 1200) and go lift when I get off of work around 0100.  For the past week all I have been eating are Wraps, chips, V8 and gatorade after I run.  This morning I got up around noon and ran, then I went to the chow hall and decided to get real food.  Today was Spaghetti day, so it was a good day to eat real food!  I also got a pepsi in addition to my V8.  I never thought that I would like V8 so much... But man is it good!!.  And it goes great with a sandwich or a wrap.  My wraps have had honey mustard, swiss, turkey, green peppers, pickles, and lettuce on them.  They are good!

Saturday night when my roommate and I got home from work, there was a note on our door saying that the maintenance guys were coming to replace our lights and wiring Sunday morning.  Since we were planning to sleep until noon or so, we put a note on the door that we were day sleepers and they needed to wait until 1300 to work in our room.  I dont know if they read the note and complied, or if they just didn't get to our room until later in the day, but they came and started working around 1400 or so, I was gone, but I gathered info from multiple sources (its what I do, what can I say).  Monday we had to sleep until noon again because of our shift, so when someone knocked on the door at 0900, I was pretty upset.  My roommate answered the door and the the maintenance people said that they needed to double check all of the work and it should only take a few minutes.  Nick tried to tell them that we were sleeping because we had to work, but they insisted.  So he let them in, I pulled the sheets over my head to block the light and tried to stay asleep.  However, there was a heard of people stomping around my room flipping switches and turning lights and the A/C on and off and talking to each other in three different languages.  I don't know when they left, but I do know that I wasn't happy.  I woke up around noon, got dressed and was heading to the gym to workout (usually Nick and I dont lock our door) when I tried to open the door, it wouldn't open.  I was still half asleep and had my eyes shut to block the bright sun and couldn't figure out how to open the stupid door.  I finally got it open, and as I woke-up more and realized that I was locked in my room from the inside, I had to laugh. 

That is all for now, I must continue my day of sitting on my bed relaxing...  I hope that everyone is doing well back home, I miss all of you.

Another week down...

Yet another week has come and gone in the wonderful world that is Iraq.  But seriously, another week down.

In my last post I mentioned that I was applying for instructor duty...  Well I applied, and later that day I was denied.  I was denied because I don't have enough time at Langley.  December is my two year mark at langley, so then I can call up the people who pick instructors and tell them that I am still interested in becoming an instructor.  Hopefully everything will work out and they will give me orders shortly after that.  Instructor duty is something that I have wanted to do since I was in tech school.  Also the San Angelo cost of living is very low, so we could buy a fairly decent house for a good price!

Work is going well, I have been writing operating procedures out to teach the new people coming in.  We got two new people a few days ago and three more are on their way.  We will have 20 people here by then, and of those 20, I have only worked with one of them before...  We have been working some long days, 14 hrs, 15 hrs, all the way up to 18 hrs.  Because of the long hours I haven't been working out.  Then a few days ago, I found out about a 10K on the 4th of July.  I am planning on running it, but I don't think I will be as fast as I was last time.  I think 3 miles is the most that I have fun since the last 10K.  I also thought about signing up for the Richmond Half Marathon in mid November.  However, I might not be home in time for that.  I did find out that I have until the 11th of NOV to sign up, so I can always wait until right before if I want.

Getting up to run before work has been difficult recently.  If I want to get a run in, I have to get up by 4am at the very latest.  And that is just waaaaaaay to early, especially when Im not sure if Im going to have to work 18 hours that day!

Mary and my Mother can both vouch for me when I say that I'm not a huge fan of vegetables.  My roommate said that I should drink V8 juice for the vegetable serving and also for the sodium that is in it.  He said because of how much we sweat here we need to take in more sodium.  So I decided to give V8 a try... it turns out that stuff is pretty damn tasty!  I am drinking between 2 and 3 of them everyday.

One last funny story: This happened on my day off last week.  My roommate's alarm went off, and his alarm is a song that I guess I was getting annoyed with.  While it was going off I sat up and started to reach to turn it off, before I could get to it, he turned it off.  As he did, in my half-asleep voice I said, "This shit has got to change."  Then I laid back in bed, rolled over and went back to sleep.  I knew nothing of this story until he told me about it when he got home from work.  I must have been sleep walking or something, I dont know.  But it was funny to relive the story.

That is all for now from this God-forsaken land.  I hope that everyone has a wonderful week.  I love you all!

Weekly Roll-Up

Since last Tuesday I dont think there are too many stories to tell...

We do have a little ottoman that we built at work, we keep it outside in the smoke pit.  It was designed as a seat/ coffee table/ ottoman.  After a few days a leg or two fell off, when we rebuilt it we put an extra 2x4 on it (it was to set your coffee mug on while sitting on it).  The extra piece made it look like a dog and we all commented on it and decided to name it Otto.  We gave Otto a tail, and put him on a leash so he doesn't run away (we get bored out here).  Also people started moving him around and propping him up so it looks like he is peeing on the building or putting him on top of one of the other benches.  Its something to do...

Mary also signed a lease on a new house!  We are pretty excited about that.  It is a bigger and nicer place than we have now.  Also basically everyone that I work with back home has volunteered to help her move.

I almost finished my instructor package.  The package is part of the application process to become a technical instructor.  If I am selected we will be stationed at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas.  It isn't the most happening place in America, but it is in America!  And the housing market is very good down there.

Wednesday:  I woke up around 3 in the morning drenched in sweat.  My A/C had gone out and my room was now a kiln.  I wasn't able to fall back asleep after that.  I got up around 0500 still drenched in sweat, I took a shower and then sat in my room in my underwear not moving and i was still sweating.  For the record that is not a good way to start your day!  I worked from 0600-1500.  When I got to work I filled out a work order to get my A/C fixed, I left it with one of my Sgts who knows a guy.  Around noon or so I found out that I had to be back at work at 1AM, mind you I still wasn't done for the day.  My plan when I got off of work was to go straight to sleep, hoping that my body would let me sleep in the middle of the day with out any notice.  A sandstorm started moving in around lunch time, so that kept the heat down to about 100 or so, and the wind was blowing and it was hard to see.  When I got to my room, my A/C wasn't fixed, so it was about a million degrees in my room (and that is not an exaggeration at all).  Since I had to sleep, so I could work in a few hours, I decided to change into my PT gear and go to work and sleep in the air conditioned tent we have there.  I got to work about 1600 or 1630 and tried to lay down right away.  I think I fell asleep around 1700 or so and woke up around 1930ish.  When I woke up the tent was blowing around like crazy.  The sandstorm had gotten much worse.  I tried going back to sleep but it was hopeless.  Around 2130 or 2200 I decided to go back to my room, and if my A/C wasn't fixed then I would shower and go back to work.  Where I live is about 1.25 miles from where I work, I took one of the work trucks home so that we could all get back to work in a few hours.  I have taken this route atleast twice a day for the past two months, it isn't a difficult trip, so, I shouldn't have had any problems... I got in the truck, started it up, turned on the lights and realized that I couldn't see anything.  It was pitch black and the sand was blowing like Monica Lewinski (bad analogy?)  I drove really slow so that I didn't hit anything or anyone.  This drive is about a 1/4 mile through a dirt field and then about 3/4 miles on a straight paved road, a right turn about 1/8 of a mile on a paved road, a left turn and then the final 1/8 mile or so is on a gravel road.  The trouble started when I was trying to find the path through the dirt field, I didn't find it and just cut across.  Then I got on the paved road, I thought that I would be ok from here on out.  I saw headlights of a car approaching me on the road, I couldn't see the headlights until they were about 30 feet in front of me.  I kept going straight and traveling slow.  I came to a stop sign, (I couldn't see it until I was at the intersection) I couldn't  tell which intersection I was at.  The turn I needed is about a 100 feet after a stop sign and the area is lit by a set of stadium lights.  I couldn't see the lights so I thought that I was at another intersection (I thought that I missed my turn).  I turned right to take a different route, well I was way off... I took the turn 100 feet before my turn.  I turned around and as I was turning back on the main road I could finally see the stadium lights (I didn't see them until I was about 50 feet from them).  I finally made it back to my room.  I laughed at the fact that I got lost on that short of a trip.

I got back to my room and to my surprise, my room was cool!  I was so happy.  I decided that i would wash my face and hands (they were covered in sand) and then try to sleep until about midnight or so.  When I got to the bathroom, I noticed that my clothes, hair, and eyebrows were now sand colored.  I shook off what I could and then washed my face.  I laid down and got about another hour of rest.

I woke up about midnight on Thursday morning.  As I walked to the shower I could tell that the sandstorm was starting to clear up, but it was also still really sandy and windy.  After I showered, I talked to Mary and Maddox on Skype.  Probably the greatest part of my day (that and having A/C again)!!  Maddox was as cute as possible!  She wanted to sing all the songs that she knew, it was really cute.  She started singing 'row row row your boat' and Mary wasn't doing the hand motions, so Maddox stopped and made Mary do them.  It was pretty funny.  Mary was really happy because it was the eve of her last day of school and then she was going to travel for about a week.  Even though I wasn't rested enough for a 12 hour shift, I was lifted by seeing my girls happy and in good moods.  I also got kisses from Maddox!

Work was pretty good!

I am drinking about 2 or 3 mugs of coffee a day, between 2 and 3 liters of water while I'm at work (another 1or 1.5 liters after work) and the occasional sugar-free energy drink also.

It is 1500 on Thursday now, I have been home for about two hours.  In that time I got a hair cut and tried to stay out of the storm.  The sandstorm is still vaguely here.  Funny story, since my body is so tired, while I was getting my hair cut I started nodding off a bit... That is dangerous.  No worries though, no casualties.

I guess that I had more stories than I thought!  Sorry no pictures to show!  I did find this article: http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/burghardt.asp 

It is kind of a scary story, but the picture is funny.  No worries, the Gunny's job is nothing like what I do.  I sit at a desk in an air conditioned building.  The worst part of my day is when I have to go to the port-a-potty in the middle of the day (those things turn into saunas)!

I miss you all and love each and every one of you.  But my two favorite girls get the most love!

7 Weeks

Seven weeks ago today I left VA for Iraq (Friday will be 7 weeks in country).  It was over a 3 day trip to get here...  but I made it.  That first week I think we had two or three instances when the skies opened enough to rain for about 5 minutes.  The second week we had dust storms.  This week we got another dust storm.  It showed up Monday afternoon.  It was bad!  The sky had a yellowish tint and the sun was blocked.  While standing outside, I noticed that it was more humid than it usually is here.  About 10 minutes later, it started to rain.  The only problem was that since there was so much dust in the air, it rained mud.  It was probably the grossest thing ever.  I stayed outside under a shelter, just so I could experience it.  The rain/mud only lasted about 10 minutes.  Then it stopped raining, and instantly everything was dry again!  The air is so dry that it soaked all of the moisture back up immediately.  Today the dust storm was still here and the wind was blowing really hard today.  It makes the wind feel like sandpaper.

Monday night I went to a recording of the the Colbert Report.  I was pretty excited about that.  I ended up sitting in the third row, center stage.  My favorite quote from the show was: "Hi Stephen's Mom!"  I got a few pictures and I am trying to upload them right now.  However, the internet is still moving slow.

Today is Marc and Kris's second anniversary.  Although they have been together since I was 11 years old (13 years), they have only been married for two.  They are two extremely cool people with a nice house down at the beach.  My greatest time hanging out with the two of them would probably be New Year's Eve this past year.  We all went to Mom and Dad's house and stayed up drinking and playing board games.  We had a ton of fun and walked away with a few stories also, I can't say too much about them, but I will say that one of them involved a blender, my wife, magarita mix, and whole lot of tequila.  Kris also used to send me packages all the time while I was in Korea.  She always sent cookies, Maxim magazine, and even a playboy or two (too bad I can't get those things here).

Im looking for another run to compete in.  When I got here I started training for the 5K, then my roommate talked me into the 10K.  I did that, and now I have nothing to work for.  I mean besides getting in better shape.  There is an 8.5 mile bike race the end of this month.  But I don't have a bike, and I have never thought about riding a bike that far before.  Leading up to my run, I wasn't doing as many pull-ups, and last week when I started doing them again, I could tell.  My goals for when I leave here are to run atleast one 10 mile run, and to be able to do 25 pull-ups without stopping.  Right now, the farthest that I have run at once is a 10K (6.2 miles).  And the most pull-ups I've done without stopping is 16ish.  I think I can do it.

Today I did go take a US History CLEP.  If I pass it then I only need two more classes to finish my associates degree!  Also the college that I attended last fall is compiling all of my college credits to see how many I still need for my Bachelor's degree.

That is all for now, I love and miss all of you!  Bye!

The Moon

I dont know what it is about the moon, but I have always like looking at it.  I remember driving home from Wilmington late one night, and it almost seemed like the moon was watching me drive, it was seemed to keep up with me.  I could spend hours staring at it, not doing anything else but looking at it.  Last night it was real dusty, the moon was hardly visible.  Tonight the moon is casting shadows it is so bright.

I have always felt like the moon is common ground.  The sun warms everyone up, but the moon can actually be examined.  You can stare straight at it, and you wont go blind.  Everyone sees the moon.  It used to be when I would see a cool moon, like a real yellow one or even a reddish one, I would call people and tell them to look at the moon.  I would call people that were physically near me, to share it with them, and I would call people that were far away, just to give them a heads up that they might have a cool looking moon.

So, even though every morning you wake up in your bed, stumble to the bathroom, get ready, do what ever you have to do, drive to work, maybe pick up some drive through or coffee on the way to where ever you are going, work, go home prepare your own dinner sit on your couch, watch TV, maybe have a beer.  I am here, and when I wake up, I have to get completely dressed to even go pee, take a shower with 8 other dudes, carry a rifle with me everywhere I go, walk around in the blistering heat, sit on my bed or my broken lawn chair if I want to sit anywhere, and I have dust every where... We all still have the moon.  Now don't think that Im upset about what I am doing here, or my living conditions, I know that it could be much worse.  I am thankful to have a bed, running water 40 yards away, and internet (even if it is the slowest thing ever).  I am glad that I have those things, but looking at the moon makes me feel like I am home.