April 2, 2005
AFSis sends.
Nice little story for a weekend post...
To the World You May Just Be SOMEBODY, but to Somebody YOU ARE THE WORLD!My Great-Grandfather lived to be 100, and boy, did his hands ever tell a story. I think you'll all like this.
Dbie-
Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, he said in a clear strong voice.I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK I explained to him.
Have you ever looked at your hands he asked. I mean really looked at your hands?
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.
Grandpa smiled and related this story:
Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.
They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life.
They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.
They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.
Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle.
Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friends foot. They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandpa's hands and led him home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and wife I thank grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel his hands upon my face.To the World You May Just Be SOMEBODY, but to Somebody YOU ARE THE
WORLD!
Update: Reading some of the comments, and the linking posts brought it together for me. Both of my grandfathers were good at their grandfather jobs, yet very different men. Pop, my mom's dad, was pure Arkansas class (and if you don't understand/believe think Southern Gentleman) who led a good and successful life as a salesman for Graybar Electric. Wonderful storyteller, great hand to hold when he took you for walks. A warm, funny, gentle, comfortable man. I loved him dearly.
My Dad's father was different. Hardscrabble son of immigrants who came into the US from Canada, he had a dark side, and had led a tough, tough life, marked by success, marred by his dark nature. An All-American football player at the Colorado School of Mines (when was the last time CSM had an all-American, I wonder?) he joined the National Army (WWI was the last time the US raised a specific formation distinct from the Regulars or Militia/Guard for a war) and went to war with - the National Guard. After the war, he took his degree in Geology and spent years roaming the midwest and west mapping the oilfields. If you buy gas made from oil pumped from Philips fields in Kansas, Oklahoma, or Texas, you're burning gas from fields Daddy Jack surveyed. He spent 'off periods' doing work in the Candadian Rockies, and helped discover and map many of the fields near Calgary, too. He married a divorced woman with a child during the Depression - Mimi, my grandmother, Elaine, my Aunt, and sired my Dad. If you know the era, you know that was a rare act. They subsequent divorced (right after I was born) and Daddy Jack began the solitary life that I knew him from. I saw him infrequently, but he was always fun to be with, but always that dark shadow. When Dad was getting ready to go to Vietnam, he came to Denver (where Mom, my sister and I would remain) to see Dad before he went off. I could tell that Daddy Jack was very upset with Dad's imminent departure.
He lived in Palo Alto, where he moved in the 60's after he retired from Phillips, to be near the library of the University, to continue the research that kept him busy and out of trouble. In his last 7 years or so (he lived to by 95) the people who kept an eye on him for us told us that he would walk 7 miles or more a day - and mostly ate chocolate... I vividly remember going to visit him with my Dad while I was in command at Fort Riley. Daddy Jack was an artilleryman in the Great War, and he asked all sorts of questions about how we did things now - and he found our simplification of the math involved to be 'sissy' - heheheheh. But it's a testament to the Artillery School methods of instruction and instructors - that three generations of Redlegs spanning from 1917 to 1987 sat around a table writing (Daddy Jack by this time was deaf from the damage his ears took during the War and being around drill rigs) notes to each other - and not having to explain much except new terms - the concepts were still there, and the understanding of the details.
The piece Dbie sent spoke to me because when Daddy Jack was in his final days, mostly comatose, I spent hours by his bedside, holding those warm, gnarled hands that hand see and done so much - including holding my smaller, softer hands, reading to him. And if you squeezed, he squeezed back. He may have started his trek back "to the home of the father" but he still made time for me.
Reporting As Ordered, Sir! »by John on Apr 02, 2005 | Something for the Soul
» Pass The Ammo links with: These Hands
» Blog o'RAM links with: Hands
» Villainous Company links with: It's Miller Time Folks...
On a slow Saturday morning...
Wasting Away In Mortaritaville... Hat tip - Strategy Page.
1916: German WWI Atrocity. Zeppelin bombs Rosyth distillery, flooding the streets with fine malt. Caslte Argghhh! - Proud to be #1 in Google for "Zeppelin Bombs Distillery"
1917 Pres Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany. A year late, if you ask me, given the above.
1942: "Shangri-La" sets sail - the carrier USS Hornet, with 16 Army B-25 medium bombers, sails from San Francisco - destination, Japan.
1982 - Argentina takes the step that will lead them to discover that John Bull can still gore you - the Iron Lady and her Queen are no push-overs. Argentina, in 2003, demanded an apology because the Brit naval vessels sent to the Falkalnds were carrying nukes. Please. I'm not sympathetic on that issue.
For those of you advocating a return to the draft and an expansion of the forces, and wonder why the Administration is so resistant to the idea... consider this bit from Strategy Page:
MORALE: More Money for the TroopsApril 2, 2005: Since September 11, 2001, the average pay for people in the American armed forces has gone up 21 percent. This is a combination of basic pay increases, combat and related "hazardous duty" pay, larger housing allowances, plus larger re-enlistment bonuses. There is another 3.1 percent basic pay increase coming next year, plus additional benefits increases.
The biggest piece of the DoD budget are the personnel accounts. Just something to think about. Back in WWII, a private got paid $21 a month. An entry-level Private today has a basic pay of $1,142.70 - 54 times the amount of the WWII Private. Not counting any other pays that are applicable. Just pointing it out. I figured out that *my* pay has increased 36% in the same time - so at least for my little slice of the world - retiring was a good deal monetarily... though I'm sorry I did and wouldn't argue if the recall notice arrived... but since yesterday was the 5th anniversary of my retirement... it's highly unlikely!
April 1, 2005
Keepin' it real.
What were *you* doing the day(s) your children were born? (Scroll to 31 March entry)
I don't have any children sired by me, though I have a stepson I love as I would any child of my loins.
Yesterday was my son's birthday, back in 1985. I didn't know that day I would have the privilege to be a part of his life - but I *do* know what I was doing.
I was in Gunnery and Weapons classes all day. Nowhere near as memorable. But that's okay.
Congrats, Michael!
hzzz. good. do.
You may remember the first time Greg held a comment fund raiser for breast cancer awareness in rememberance of his wife. Well, it's the first anniversary of her death and he's holding another comment fund raiser.
All you have to do is leave a comment on the April 1 post, which will bring tears to your eyes. If you want to, you can offer up a donation, but you don't have to. Donors have pledged to make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The first comment party, in January, raised about $3,000.00, and they're hoping for $10,000.00 this time.
Please go to his site and leave a comment, and then post the link to your blogs.
Thanks everyone!
Dbie
*AFSister*
The Armorer notes: Go read the post. If you don't cry, call Ripley's. You don't have a heart and are a walking conundrum!
An Army of One. Really.
*While the rest of the site today is *silly* this is not meant to be - and us having some fun should not be interpreted as disrespect to SFC Smith. Just the opposite, in fact. Through our revelry and lampooning, we believe we really are honoring SFC Smith - who, in our mind, towers above those we skewer here today. Just sayin' Besides, if you got this far down and hadn't figured it out - I figger you needed this! ed.
The Medal of Honor epitomizes the very best of what America stands for and honors the gallant individuals who have received it. These special people represent the very heart and soul of America...These gallant souls, in their heroism and their humility, epitomize the nobility of service to country and of service above self. Americans for all times will treasure the gifts that these brave warriors have given to all of us so selflessly.President George H.W. Bush
SFC Paul Smith. An Army of One.
THE MEDAL OF HONORThe White House announced yesterday that President Bush will present the Medal of Honor to the widow of SFC Paul R. Smith on Apr. 4, 2005.
SFC Paul Smith, a combat engineer, was killed Apr. 4, 2003 in the Battle for Baghdad Airport.
He died defending his Soldiers when his platoon was vastly outnumbered.
Rather than withdraw from his objective, he led soldiers to engage the enemy force with grenades, an antitank missile launcher, and individual weapons to take control of a .50 caliber machine gun turret.
He laid down fire to protect his company and hold his objective until he was killed.
His courageous actions stopped the threat to the Task Force's flank and allowed the safe withdrawal of wounded Soldiers.
SFC Paul Smith lived the Warrior Ethos. He was a true American hero, who, while leading and providing covering fire for his Soldiers, paid the ultimate sacrifice.
SFC Paul Smith answered a noble calling - the Call to Duty
- Because of his actions, more than 100 Soldiers live today
- We celebrate his life; we are glad there are Soldiers like Sergeant Smith; they make our nation greatSaving lives: Personal Courage is at the Core of Army Values
- SFC Smith represented all four points of the Warrior Ethos:
* He always placed the mission first.
* He never accepted defeat.
* He never quit.
* He never left a fallen comrade.
* He exemplified every one of the Army's Values
Birgit Smith, She Who Watched and Waited.
Not all the Medals are awarded openly.
In my study of our military history, the Medal is most often awarded to warriors who are dealing with and often rectifying the mistakes of others.
If you are a leader - make sure that isn't you. If you are a staff officer - make sure it isn't your plan. If you are a Senior Leader and our Political Masters... make sure it isn't you.
I hope that absent any other recommendations working, SFC Smith is the *final* recipient of the Medal Of Honor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I say to you, Paul R. Smith, Sergeant First Class, Husband of Birgit, Father of Jessica and David. Buddy. Leader. Warrior.
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance. In Memoriam.
More about The Medal.
March 31, 2005
Sigh. At least it's over for Terri.
WELL... [Jonah Goldberg] Someone's going to have to post something after that news. So: now that she has passed let us hope and pray that Michael Schiavo was right and her parents were wrong, even if we don't believe that to be the case. Rest in peace.
Indeed, blogfather. Indeed.
We'll be back with regular content tomorrow. For now, we're just bummed and hoping that we were wrong about Terri - though we think the fight needs fighting, and isn't over.
» JackLewis.net links with: America murders Terri Schindler-Schiavo
» Speed of Thought links with: Terri has passed
March 30, 2005
News of interest to me.
...your mileage may vary.
1. Good.
2. Hmmm.
3. As long as we deal with it and adapt - so what? Back when it was designed, we didn't think tanks were appropriate for this purpose (ignoring Israeli experience, to be sure).
4. Tell me again about that omnibus intelligence centralization bill...
5. Obviously, the lag in recruiting needs some innovation... hell, why don't we *field* a team. Use the draft, heheheheheheh.
6. For whatever reason - you do NOT want to collect one of these.
8. The Castle is having it's best month ever in terms of visitors. We're also the biggest Silverback on the Ecosystem today. Watch out, Frank! Thank you all!
Hmm. Training. Practice Practice Practice!
"All stations this net, all stations this net, CEASE FIRE FREEZE, CEASE FIRE FREEZE!"
Every artilleryman's nightmare radio call. Resulting in this crew command:
"To the rear of the piece, Fall In!"
Which, in Idaho, I guess resulted in this conversation:
"Gee, maybe this artillery stuff *is* harder than we thought, Joe."
Last year about this time, in a post since deleted, I mentioned that the Army asset managers were recalling howitzers on-loan to ski resorts for avalanche control duties - the only known (to me) commercial use of full bore Artillery in this country anyway... We were short guns and parts and it was a quick fix. Why we didn't give them some of the older guns we still have in storage, I dunno, mebbe we did. The article below uses a picture which indicates the offending piece could be an old M101 howitzer.
Apparently, we didn't take enough back... or at least we left some in the hands of local officials, without a good, grizzled Staff Sergeant in charge... At least that's what this post thoughtfully provided by Mike at Davidson's Law would suggest. The Utah Department of Transportation spokesman said:
Fitzgerald said the cannon was fired from a fixed launch site on the north side of Provo Canyon a spot above Sundance that's been used many times before. "Most of our firing is done when we cannot see the target," he said. "That's when we have avalanches, when it's storming." The blast was at least 3 miles off course. Avalanche-control operations are being temporarily suspended in Provo Canyon until officials can determine how the accident happened. UDOT blames the misfire on too much gunpowder.I don't. I blame the gun chief, or the person who certified him. And it wasn't a misfire - but don't get me started on the article writer's flinging about the terms bomb and mortar - and howitzer... It was a charge error. And only attributable to human error. Reality check - the round *always* goes where it's aimed - you just have to make sure that where the gun is aimed, and where you want the round to land are the same place... As we see here - correct direction with wrong quadrant elevation (angle of the tube combined with the amount of force applied via the powder - and probably issues of target height in relation to the gun called 'site' in redleg-speech) caused the aiming point of the gun to not coincide with the intended point of impact...
UDOT spokesman Geoff DuPaix said the shells come pre-packaged in bundles, so it isn't clear who is responsible for using the larger charge.
I do. Whoever was in charge of the gun. Or whoever sent out the untrained crew, that's who.
Charge error? C'mon guys, you *never* pull the lanyard without counting the powder increments being held up by the guy at the powder pit, and verifying fuze setting, deflection, and quadrant! Just like this Gun Chief verifying the fuze setting before Number 1 rams the round. If you forget to do that 'round these parts, you find yourself with a new job, and the hint to start looking for a new career. Just like the guy on the left in this picture, holding up the unused charge bag in his left hand - so the Gun Chief can personally verify that Charge 6 is in the chamber - because Charges 7&8 are in the Powder Monkey's hands. Everybody in the crew has a job - and every setting is checked twice, by different people - just like the data was before it got to the gun - BEFORE YOU PULL THE LANYARD.
What? "Guy at the powder pit?" "Check the settings?" "Count the increments?" We don't need to do all that stuffy *Army* stuff, geez.
Of course, I'm assuming they even opened up a TFT (tabular firing table) or used a GFT (graphical firing table). Not that it would have mattered with a charge error of that magnitude.
While I'm relieved to know the County Sheriff is investigating, I hope they call in some expert help.
I don't think Sharon, the writer, who uses bomb, shell, howitzer, cannon, and mortar interchangeably, and refers to the firing point as a 'launch site' is going to be much use. She is at least consistent with her use of 'shrapnel'... although the purist would use 'fragments' because shrapnel, in a pure geek technical sense, is a submunition... but the language is what the people say it is, not stuffy technical quibblers like me! I wonder what Lt. (later LTG) Henry Shrapnel would think? Probably that it's way cool his family name is now a common word... Read his bio - and how the Brit gov't screwed him.
» Villainous Company links with: Your Daily Gun Porn
Why we fight.
For the future. MSG Keith sends us this video. It's 40megs big, and 5 minutes long - if you've got dial-up, that's gonna be a problem, I know. But it's too good not to share.
Why We Are Here. It's not for oil. It's not to salvage Bush the Elder's failures. It's about the future.
Theirs and ours.
Right click, save as, get back to work. Then when it's done, turn your sound on. Completely work safe. If you appreciate the video - how about helping MSG Keith with some of the *other* things he's doing overseas - like helping deployed soldiers read books to their children?
Update: Welcome to visitors from National Review Online! Feel free to check out other stuff here and about. We are Jonah's Military Guys after all!
And if the video breaks - because we may kill my bandwidth here - don't hesitate to drop a line or leave a comment.
I'm keeping this on top for a while. New content below.
» JackLewis.net links with: Our Military and Iraq
March 29, 2005
TINS!* Why I Hate Wires...
Before I get to the usual self-flagellation, I owe this one to frequent visitor, frequent comment-party participant and blogger-in-her-own-right, AFSister. She's in mommy-mode today and has done a nice piece on Castle Afghanisandbox Correspondent MSG Keith's Read to Your Kids program over at Blonde Sagacity. Even included Keith Khan's deployed address. Drop him a line--from a been-there-done-that perspective, a real letter beats an e-gram all hollow when you're far from home. And he can't always get to a 'puter.
Back to the scary stuff.
There is a small photograph on the wall in front of my desk, showing a hand holding two pieces of 5/8-inch, 7-strand steel support cable. One piece of cable looks like it had been cut with a hacksaw, the other looks like an explosion in a spaghetti factory. The caption reads, Tuttles Incontrovertible Proof of the Existence of God and therein, as Shakespeare said, lies a tale...specifically, the one that relates to my becoming one of the handful of (prior to 1993) helicopter pilots to have hit wires in flight and lived.
Ill give you some deep background first. I belong to a National Guard Attack Battalion, then-equipped with the usual OH-6As and UH-1Ms -- the olden days when the Comanche was still the LHX (and still alive) and Crew Coordination meant the copilot could successfully walk and chew gum 70% of the time. We had deployed to our Annual Training (AT) site a week earlier with a mixed bag of high-timers (3000+ hours) and recent IERW grads (newly-transitioned into the Loach or the Mike-model). As Senior Scout, Instructor Pilot, Instrument Flight Examiner and Keeper of the Combat Acetate and Indelible Markers, I wasnt anticipating a lot of time inspecting my eyelids for pinholes.
Oh, I almost forgot -- since you already *know* Im gonna get creamed, Ill heighten the suspense for you. The sharp clink that youll hear--sigh see-- from time-to-time is the sound of links being forged in the accident chain; Instructor Pilot Frustration Quotient is indicated by the addition of one or more exclamation points...
And, as usual, it's a long one. Click Extended Entry/Flash Traffic below for the rest of the story.
A mish-mash of stuff I found interesting today..
Hoist by their own petard! That had to have been embarassing when dining in other Wardrooms.
Whether a sponsor/tutor of a Saudi officer as a Basic Course student, or a Small Group Leader for the Advanced Course - I found this was more true than not about the Saudi officers I have had direct contact with. There are exceptions, but they are frankly lonely men in their Army.
Two more bits from Strategy Page:
March 26, 2005: More Taliban are surrendering, and the government
expects about a thousand to openly turn in their weapons and accept an amnesty. These surrenders also provide information on Taliban who are not surrendering. As a result of this, the government is turning more of its attention, and guns, to the drug gangs.March 25, 2005: For American soldiers died south of the capital when their vehicle hit an anti-tank mine. The Taliban took credit, but it appeared that the mine was left over from the 1980s. Thousands of these mines litter the ountryside, and each Spring, the melting snow causes mud and floods that move some of these mines around. The Taliban claim was doubted because the route the Americans took was one that was rarely used, and they had not lanned to use it.
Getting closer. Now if only the lawyers will let us.
Interesting point-counterpoint here.
GEN Schoomaker, the Army Chief of Staff, on Transformation:
The Army is reorganizing itself to field smaller, more capable brigade-sized units, Schoomaker said, that can be deployed much more quickly and perform more tasks than legacy forces under the old-style division system. The Armys Stryker-armored-vehicle-equipped Interim Brigade Combat Teams embody this transformational thinking.
This is the Chief doing what he's supposed to do - support his boss, and keep the troops informed. What is interesting however is the budding resistance to Rumsfeld's push to a smaller, lighter, force - especially in light of the costs associated with it. Rand recently completed a study of OIF Lessons Learned that cautions the Secretary to be cautious about plans that move to light armored vehicles and heavy reliance on linked C4ISR (command and control) systems, given that we haven't really figured out yet how to take all that data and fully fuse it into swiftly absorbable and actionable information.
We're still at the infancy of this, and it's not simple. It isn't just technology - it's ergonomics and human factors engineering, and it's proving to be a daunting task. I know - I'm in the middle of it, and have been for some time. We make great strides, but many times, we crest this obstacle, only to find it reveals another behind it.
The Buffalo, a new (to us, not the South Africans, who developed it) mine clearing vehicle, is spreading through the force - the latest to get it the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.
Castle Denizen Tregonsee points us to some interesting credit card info.
Mike, who blogs at chattr +a -V, has been doing some surfing and sent us this link to a clock on a war memorial in Britain (scroll down to second picture) on Paul Humphrey's blog. We will take the design under consideration should we desire to erect a clock tower at the Castle!
The Afghan National Army (about which more in a later post, from MSG Keith) is starting to take more responsibility for the defense of the Afghan people from predators, internal and external.
While patience is obviously needed, things are looking up on that front in Iraq, too. Despite Liberal dreams to the contrary, you don't build a competent military force overnight. What do I mean by that? When I talk to some libs, they basically feel like the military should be disbanded if they aren't in power, and reconsituted when they are in power - and it must, of course, be instantly competent. To hear them gripe about the time things are taking in Iraq... I begin to wonder sometimes if they don't literally think it's true...
Troops and family members - and their commanders - know your rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Go ugly early - immediately inform a creditor of military status - and get to JAG. Don't wait, don't argue, don't plead. Go directly to JAG. If you are a family member of a Guardsman or Reservist - contact your unit Rear Detachment commander. The Wells Fargo thing is particularly egregious and bullshite.
More info available here from the Army JAG.
Afghan Bulletin
Many electrons have been expended here at Castle Argghhh!!! to excite computer screens carrying our screeds excoriating France and Germany for their views on the GWOT, and sometimes giving Canada a spank, too. It's only fair then, to mention when something good happens, or they exceed our expectations. Let's do Canada and Germany today.
1. As the 4 dead National Guardsmen from Indiana showed this weekend, and now a Canadian, Afghanistan is still a dangerous place to be.
Update: RJewell adds:
The four Soldiers killed, members of Indiana's 76th Inf Bde, are memorialized at the Task Force Phoenix III website.Individual memorials can be found on a website maintained by Indiana's Director of Veteran's Affairs Tom Applegate showing all of Indiana's fallen.
2. Dangerous enough that two Canadian soldiers recently recieved Canada's Star of Courage medal for heroism. Equivalent to the US Distinguished Service Cross, the Star of Courage is Canada's second highest valor award, after the Victoria Cross.
Their section commander, Sgt. Robert Short, and another colleague, Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger, were killed and their driver injured when their jeep was hit by an anti-tank mine just outside Kabul on Oct. 2, 2003.Hamilton and Matthews crawled through a minefield to rescue the driver, Corporal Thomas Stirling and returned to rescue the other two men.
I will observe that Canada obviously hasn't slain the bureaucracy in terms of timliness (nor have we, nor have we). Hat tip to reader RJewell for the pointer to the story on the Indiana Guardsmen.
As mentioned in a previous story on the Afghan elections, Germany is providing troops to the NATO efforts in Afghanistan. That, tied with some of the comments in this post Sunday about the MG 42 prompts me to post this from MSg Keith, the Castle's War Correspondent:
Fun and Games at the German Range Firing. I earned the silver German Schutzenschnur [Geman Marksmanship Award -photo is of the bronze version. ed] to wear on my Class A uniform ( dress greens for you civvie types). We had to fire pistol, rifle, machine gun, grenade machine gun, and grenade launcher. We shot all the german stuff and they shot our M-16's and M9 pistols. Then they brought out the big guy. Tank killer round. They only had six and picked one of our younger guys to shoot it. Before we could shoot, we had to send a few vehicles downrange to run off the nomads sleeping in the hills. I got some cool scenery shots but i've sent enough of them for a while. We went out and it was kind of dreary, then the sun came out. Then by the end of the day, there was a cold wind coming over the top of the mountain. Luckily, I had my gloves and jacket with me. All in all, a good day. You can never shoot too much ammo... Oh, and most of the photos are of me this time....
I am soooo jealous! All the Armorer can do is say, "Neener neener neener ! I have the Gold one!" Of course, as an officer, I'm not allowed to wear it... But this was the Armorer's absolute favorite exchange activity with foreign militaries. Shooting their stuff! Of course, shooting their stuff in a different way was the Armorer's favorite activity with *hostile* militaries... well, actively hostile anyway.
Coupla more observations... 1. Geman soldiers are a heck of a lot better looking than I remember them (check out the one supervising Our Hero). 2. Is it just me - or does that place pretty much look like the National Training Center at Fort Irwin - only more green? 3. Last, but not least - doesn't that German soldier examining the M16 have the same look on his face you have when you look at the bottom of your shoe to find that *someone* forgot their pooper-scopper while out on walkies?
Our Man in the 'Stan shooting at cans!
March 28, 2005
Milblogging 101
Frequent readers of this space know that I've taken to making Afghanistan kind of a mission for the Castle to report the Forgotten Campaign of this war. But there is another group of Forgotten Soldiers - the ones in the Balkans. They have a voice, too, SGT E of Foxholes and Dogtags and Incoherent Ramblings (she's a multi-blogger).
Young SGT E recently ran into some rocky ground in her blogging, that caused her to take it down briefly. Kind of like SGT Hook - except that she's back, and has published a 10 Commandments for Milblogging list. worth the read - especially if you are thinking about blogging.
I left her a long, rambling comment, that in retrospect reeks of officer-like paternalism. Which is how I write, so I guess that isn't a surprise. I'm sticking my response in the Flash Traffic/Extended entry - not to hide it, but it's intended as an expansion of her theme, so I'll leave her theme on the front page, and bury my old fart musings below the fold.
A Differential Theory...
[ed: this has been around, morphing bit by bit, for a looong time. And it's passed over the internet in waves, too. But it will be new to many of you non-military types, and it's always funny to us people who wear/wore tie-dyed clothing!]
...Concerning US Armed Forces Encountering a Snake in the Area of Operations
Sarge B. is waxing philosophical on the essential differences between the services with regards to the myriad uses of Sergeant. However, there are more fundamental differences in the services, particularly with regards to close encounters of the reptilian kind...
Infantry: Snake smells them, leaves area.
Airborne: Inadvertently squashes snake with 80-pound rucksack during PLF.
Armor: Runs over snake, laughs and looks for more snakes.
Field Artillery: Kills snake with massive Time-On-Target, utilizing three Forward-Deployed Artillery Brigades with DivArty in Direct Support. Also destroys recently-restored 8th Century monastery as unavoidable collateral damage. Mission is declared a success and all participants, to include cooks, mechanics and clerks, are awarded Silver Stars. [Only Good Cooks get Silver Stars, the rest get Bronze. ed]
Combat LifeSaver: Wounds snake in initial encounter, then works feverishly to save snake's life. Story headlines front page of the Sunday Stars and Stripes.
Supply: Posts notice to the effect that all anti-snake equipment is on backorder.
Cook: Snake sneaks into chow hall and dies of food poisoning. [see Bronze Star, above. ed]
If your Service, Branch, or Military Specialty has not yet been outraged, Click Extended Entry/Flash Traffic and it will be...
March 27, 2005
American Walkabout, Part II.
If you need to catch up - Part I. This is the story of a young man walking across the US. In today's installment - well, anyone who has done road marching, much less managed one, will relate. It wasn't that long ago when we moved Armies like this...
Hey Lee, I'm rushed. And I've got no photo capabilities right now, sorry. Thank You.It's been a week since Rory and I flew to LAX. We did our vacationing while we stayed with my cousin Kristen and her husband Nick in Hermosa Beach. On Tuesday Kristen drove us down to Costa Mesa where we stayed with my friend Mally. Wednesday morning we got up and went to the ocean in Huntington Beach where we started our walk. We wanted to get our feet in the ocean and take our picture, but didn't want to take our shoes off because they're hard to put back on when you've got a bag weighing nearly sixty pounds on your back. But our boots are waterproof, so we thought we'd be able to simply stand at the water's edge...BAM! The unpredictable waves came up to our knees and we were drenched. I could feel my socks squishing under my feet as I made a useless attempt to run from the ocean's arms.
Our plan was to walk up the Santa Ana River Trail as far as Orange, California where I had arranged for us to stay in a Methodist church there. We changed our socks, but our shoes were still wet, so we put on yet another pair of socks a few miles later when we stopped for lunch at a park along the trail. We quickly learned that Rory and I have a different pace, so when we walk, one of us will be in front while the other is about 40 yards behind. But before we take any turns, the lead man will wait for the other, that way we won't lose each other. Our goal was to average 20 miles a day, and I'm not sure what that was based on, but it's no longer our goal. I think we did a few miles over that the first day, but we were completely exhausted when we made it to Orange. It wasn't supposed to be that far to Orange, but the trail detoured and we got directions from a homeless man who insisted that "this road right here will take you right to the church in a few miles." That was at mile eleven. By mile twenty, we were ready to hunt the homeless man down, had we the energy left.
We weren't even in Orange, we were in Santa Ana. Once we walked to where the church should be, we realized we were a whole town away. Finally, after much pain and agony, and after Rory's shoulder had been cramping up for ten miles, we made it to Orange. But by then, we couldn't think straight, so we were lost in the city. I called the church, but again, the directions I got I couldn't seem to comprehend. We dicided we could make it, even though they promised it was only a few blocks away. We got a room at the Best Western in Orange.
The Rest is in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry
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Mebbe it's just Clobbering Time.
.
Just sayin'
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"The Iraqis don't want Saddam back - they want the stability. But they want the stability without being fed into industrial chippers."
. -The Armorer, on Hugh Hewitt, 27 December 2006.
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