Sgt Garrett and I are taking a pull-up challenge.
Seven days ago, we did 1 pull-up. The next day we did 2. Then next day we did 3. (not very challenging, I know...)
Well today we did seven, and we are going to 100. That is right, in 93 days, we are going to do 100 pull-ups in one day and the day before we will have done 99, etc.
I am convinced that this is going to be a challenge, but we are determined to succeed.
If we miss a day, we are going to make it up the following day ON TOP OF that day's pull-ups. So if we miss day 50, we get to do 101 the following day.... Lets hope we don't miss, right?
In this challenge, we can break up the pull-ups throughout the day. We can kip, change grips and even get a spot now and again.
This is going to be tough, but if we keep at it, we are going to have an easy 200 points on our next PFT. The trick is going to be to keep what we gain by continuing to do pull-ups after the 100 days is up.
Anyone want to join in, just start where we are (today you would do 7, tomorrow you would do 8) and keep up!
Semper Fi,
m
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Musical Fuses
Here I am, just minding my own business, trying to get back from the office to the hooch, in the dark, with my little flashlight and out of no where I hear an Iraqi come out from behind an IP truck saying, "Mista, Mista, you give me light?"
It is really dark outside, but I am slow to say no, so he grabs my arm and walks me over to the truck. He then proceeds to hold my hand up under his open hood and adjust my wrist to shine my light on the fuse box.
Relatively relieved that he didn't "want" my flashlight, I obliged and noticed that about half the fuses where missing.
This is a nice, Ford F350 truck, relatively new, and missing half the fuses....
He would grab a fuse from one spot, move it to another spot, get in the truck and try and start it. When that didn't work, he would repeat the process until the truck started, well, tried to start until the fuse blew.
He quickly jumped out of the truck, grabbed the fuse with the highest number on it and stuck it in that spot. Then he jumped back in the truck, started it up, got out and shook my hand. Just as I was walking away, I heard him get in the truck, pause, get back out of the truck and say, "Mista, Mista you give me light?"
Did he want the flashlight now? No, he grabbed my hand and we shined on the fuse box one more time. This time, he pulled the fuse out that started the truck and put it back where it was. With the truck running, I guess he didn't need that one there, but he needed headlights.
Sure enough, the headlights came on and he was closing the hood of his IP truck, ready to start his shift.
All I could do was shake my head. This was truly improvising at its best. These guys may not be able to run a country in a game of Risk, but they could probably teach McGuyver a thing or two about making things work.
Semper Fi,
m
It is really dark outside, but I am slow to say no, so he grabs my arm and walks me over to the truck. He then proceeds to hold my hand up under his open hood and adjust my wrist to shine my light on the fuse box.
Relatively relieved that he didn't "want" my flashlight, I obliged and noticed that about half the fuses where missing.
This is a nice, Ford F350 truck, relatively new, and missing half the fuses....
He would grab a fuse from one spot, move it to another spot, get in the truck and try and start it. When that didn't work, he would repeat the process until the truck started, well, tried to start until the fuse blew.
He quickly jumped out of the truck, grabbed the fuse with the highest number on it and stuck it in that spot. Then he jumped back in the truck, started it up, got out and shook my hand. Just as I was walking away, I heard him get in the truck, pause, get back out of the truck and say, "Mista, Mista you give me light?"
Did he want the flashlight now? No, he grabbed my hand and we shined on the fuse box one more time. This time, he pulled the fuse out that started the truck and put it back where it was. With the truck running, I guess he didn't need that one there, but he needed headlights.
Sure enough, the headlights came on and he was closing the hood of his IP truck, ready to start his shift.
All I could do was shake my head. This was truly improvising at its best. These guys may not be able to run a country in a game of Risk, but they could probably teach McGuyver a thing or two about making things work.
Semper Fi,
m
Monday, October 27, 2008
Whacky Day!
OK, this was one for the record books. Today started off just nutty from the beginning.
I get up (wearing shorts and a t-shirt) and need to get my uniform on. I slide my socks on, and grab my cammie top... wait, I am forgetting something... next thing I know, I am staring at my gun belt in my left hand and thinking, "I should really have pants on before I put this on..."
Control-Alt-Delete... I went back and sat down on my bed and laid out a plan for getting dressed. You know it is going to be one of those days when they start out like that, right?
At a quarter to nine, I went over and talked to the instructors that were supposed to be teaching our guys. They were ready. All was well.
At about 10:00, one of the students comes over to the office and tells us that the instructors are no where to be found (yeah, those guys who were waiting on the students at 08:45). Cue the Twilight Zone music and start spinning up the Gunny.
I go over to where I saw them last and they were gone. I looked everywhere they would go on our compound and nothing. Finally, as I am about to learn the rest of the story, here they come from the adjascent compound.
I asked them where they were and they said they were over talking to the other precinct guys and that the students had not shown up.
Of course, no one told me this, and no one had gone to their boss to ask where they were, so I guess we just call an audible and punt the ball away on second down???? Basically.
In getting to the bottom of this one, I learned that only one of their students had shown up. Some head-bumping and chest beating happened and we got it all figured out after a few thumb-wrestling matches and bouts of rock-paper-scissors.
While we were over talking to the 2nd in command of the students (because the Col was out of the office) we learned that he needed a new badge. We can work that out.
Sgt Garrett went and made him a new badge. On the way to deliver it, they see the Col is back. They stop in to pay their respects and tell him in passing that they are taking the new badge to his second in command.
Somehow this displeased the Col... Now you really have to understand the culture of the people to get this concept, and since I don't, I am not going to try and explain it. How in the world can you get mad at someone for helping someone else when they have asked for your help? Yeah, I am at a loss too.
Shortly thereafter, we make our way to the vehicles. We are heading to pick up some chow and run a few other errands.
When we get to the Chow-hall in our many-ton MRAP, we notice that there are two vehicles there a-head of us. We decide to pull over to the side of the very muddy and wet road and wait for them to get done so we can slide in there next to them.
(now think back if you will to my "Rain" blog)
Yeah, you probably guessed it, we got that buffalo of a vehicle stuck!
I get up (wearing shorts and a t-shirt) and need to get my uniform on. I slide my socks on, and grab my cammie top... wait, I am forgetting something... next thing I know, I am staring at my gun belt in my left hand and thinking, "I should really have pants on before I put this on..."
Control-Alt-Delete... I went back and sat down on my bed and laid out a plan for getting dressed. You know it is going to be one of those days when they start out like that, right?
At a quarter to nine, I went over and talked to the instructors that were supposed to be teaching our guys. They were ready. All was well.
At about 10:00, one of the students comes over to the office and tells us that the instructors are no where to be found (yeah, those guys who were waiting on the students at 08:45). Cue the Twilight Zone music and start spinning up the Gunny.
I go over to where I saw them last and they were gone. I looked everywhere they would go on our compound and nothing. Finally, as I am about to learn the rest of the story, here they come from the adjascent compound.
I asked them where they were and they said they were over talking to the other precinct guys and that the students had not shown up.
Of course, no one told me this, and no one had gone to their boss to ask where they were, so I guess we just call an audible and punt the ball away on second down???? Basically.
In getting to the bottom of this one, I learned that only one of their students had shown up. Some head-bumping and chest beating happened and we got it all figured out after a few thumb-wrestling matches and bouts of rock-paper-scissors.
While we were over talking to the 2nd in command of the students (because the Col was out of the office) we learned that he needed a new badge. We can work that out.
Sgt Garrett went and made him a new badge. On the way to deliver it, they see the Col is back. They stop in to pay their respects and tell him in passing that they are taking the new badge to his second in command.
Somehow this displeased the Col... Now you really have to understand the culture of the people to get this concept, and since I don't, I am not going to try and explain it. How in the world can you get mad at someone for helping someone else when they have asked for your help? Yeah, I am at a loss too.
Shortly thereafter, we make our way to the vehicles. We are heading to pick up some chow and run a few other errands.
When we get to the Chow-hall in our many-ton MRAP, we notice that there are two vehicles there a-head of us. We decide to pull over to the side of the very muddy and wet road and wait for them to get done so we can slide in there next to them.
(now think back if you will to my "Rain" blog)
Yeah, you probably guessed it, we got that buffalo of a vehicle stuck!
Yeah, those Army guys getting chow were pretty excited to see the Marines acting amphibious in a puddle, but we were none-too-happy about the whole idea of conducting a beach landing in the middle of Iraq.
Eventually, after everyone was bored with the show and the drivers Gunny had shown up and yelled at him, the driver actually got himself out of the ditch, somehow.
We got the chow and finished our mission without further incident, but what a messed up day! It seemed like we were getting frustrated at every turn. It was a Monday, that is for sure, and it is over.
You know that tomorrow will be better, right!
Semper Fi,
m
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Group Shot of the PTT
The Police Transition Team got together and took a group shot today. There is no way I will be able to get all the names spelled right and all that, so I am going to take the lazy way out and just stick them up here.
We have the MRAP in the picture because she is our main set of wheels around town. The HMMWV's are not nearly as reliable as she has been, but none the less we cannot get around without them.
We have the MRAP in the picture because she is our main set of wheels around town. The HMMWV's are not nearly as reliable as she has been, but none the less we cannot get around without them.
Some of us in the picture have our eyes closed or hands in our pockets. We got guys lurking in the back, one smashing his face all up and a professional wrestler who could smash up any of our faces at will (Sorry Sir, just had to throw that one in there...). Some of us are confident and others ugly, but we are all here doing the best we can, especially the ugly ones.
Semper Fi,
m
Rain
I think I posted that changing seasons blog a little too soon.
Over the last couple days, the temps have dropped and it has RAINED. We learned that our hooch is not made to be all-weather and it is far from North Carolina building codes.
We had some leaks spring up and they sprung up at about 0500 in the morning.
Our driving-range/dust field became a field of mud that spanned exactly the distance from our front door to the port-a-johns. What wasn't about 3 inches of mud was about 3 inches of water. Of course it is kind of hard to tell the difference at that time in the dark, I mean morning, when you are still drowsy and have left your flashlight right where you wouldn't forget it.
We have since built a path on some of the high spots so we can more easily traverse the mud/lake at any hour.
The weather finally let up today at about 1000. The lightening and thunder were spectacular. If you weren't paying attention, you could confuse it for other loud noises one would hear in a combat zone.
All is well though. Nothing permanently damaged by water, no one hurt and everyone is still mission capable.
Hope you are all staying safe and dry!!!
Semper Fi,
m
Over the last couple days, the temps have dropped and it has RAINED. We learned that our hooch is not made to be all-weather and it is far from North Carolina building codes.
We had some leaks spring up and they sprung up at about 0500 in the morning.
Our driving-range/dust field became a field of mud that spanned exactly the distance from our front door to the port-a-johns. What wasn't about 3 inches of mud was about 3 inches of water. Of course it is kind of hard to tell the difference at that time in the dark, I mean morning, when you are still drowsy and have left your flashlight right where you wouldn't forget it.
We have since built a path on some of the high spots so we can more easily traverse the mud/lake at any hour.
The weather finally let up today at about 1000. The lightening and thunder were spectacular. If you weren't paying attention, you could confuse it for other loud noises one would hear in a combat zone.
All is well though. Nothing permanently damaged by water, no one hurt and everyone is still mission capable.
Hope you are all staying safe and dry!!!
Semper Fi,
m
Football Evolution
OK, so those of you who would read this know that I am an OHIO STATE fan and so you probably think that I am going to blog about their loss to Penn State. Nope.
Three days ago, Sgt Garrett grabbed a football from the COC desk and figured we would toss it around a little. Sounded good. I had to put some stuff down in the room and tie my shoes.
While he was waiting on me, he tossed it to an IP. They pitched it back and forth until I got out there. Well we are not fellas who like to exclude people, so we kept tossing it with the IP.
It wasn't long before a few others walked by. They would look at us like what we were doing was unusual (because it kind'a was) and so while they were looking, we would toss it to them.
Before long, we had probably 10 fellas standing around in a circle passing an American football around the circle.
I don't know much of what they said and they didn't know much of what we said, but for about an hour and a half, the pig-skin was our universal language.
At first it was a nice, easy, arching pass that they were able to handle easily. Then one of them made the mistake of rifling it at one of us. That was our cue. We started zinging it around the circle with some speed.
After a while, when one would miss and have to chase it down, then he would try to throw it from where he was.
Now we added distance into the equation. Most of the IP's had to use a cut off guy because couldn't throw that far (they didn't have the practice that Sgt Garrett and I have had...), but they seemed to like the long ball when it was thrown.
Long balls tend to stay in the air for a while... just long enough for one of them to try and get an interception from another one... Well you know how that goes. Then we are starting to organize plays.
We stopped short of picking teams and drawing lines, but that would have been the next logical step.
What a blast! We watched football evolve between a group of about ten fellas aging from probably 19-20 to, well, I don't know how old this one fella was, but he was having fun with the rest of us, and not all of us could even verbally communicate.
No one was hurt and in the spirit of the game, respect was earned all the way around.
Next time we will use a soccer ball or something like that.
Semper Fi!
m
Three days ago, Sgt Garrett grabbed a football from the COC desk and figured we would toss it around a little. Sounded good. I had to put some stuff down in the room and tie my shoes.
While he was waiting on me, he tossed it to an IP. They pitched it back and forth until I got out there. Well we are not fellas who like to exclude people, so we kept tossing it with the IP.
It wasn't long before a few others walked by. They would look at us like what we were doing was unusual (because it kind'a was) and so while they were looking, we would toss it to them.
Before long, we had probably 10 fellas standing around in a circle passing an American football around the circle.
I don't know much of what they said and they didn't know much of what we said, but for about an hour and a half, the pig-skin was our universal language.
At first it was a nice, easy, arching pass that they were able to handle easily. Then one of them made the mistake of rifling it at one of us. That was our cue. We started zinging it around the circle with some speed.
After a while, when one would miss and have to chase it down, then he would try to throw it from where he was.
Now we added distance into the equation. Most of the IP's had to use a cut off guy because couldn't throw that far (they didn't have the practice that Sgt Garrett and I have had...), but they seemed to like the long ball when it was thrown.
Long balls tend to stay in the air for a while... just long enough for one of them to try and get an interception from another one... Well you know how that goes. Then we are starting to organize plays.
We stopped short of picking teams and drawing lines, but that would have been the next logical step.
What a blast! We watched football evolve between a group of about ten fellas aging from probably 19-20 to, well, I don't know how old this one fella was, but he was having fun with the rest of us, and not all of us could even verbally communicate.
No one was hurt and in the spirit of the game, respect was earned all the way around.
Next time we will use a soccer ball or something like that.
Semper Fi!
m
Saturday, October 25, 2008
"What is it about you Marines?"
If you have ever wondered this, the following may give you something to think about. It was written by a very eloquent Marine Capt Gerry Porthier and written to Marines to help them answer the question. You know, we are a very odd bunch. Who else pulls off some of the insane stuff we are crazy enough to try? Enough from me, enjoy:
How many times have we been asked, "What is it about you Marines?"
This may help explain what we share that is so special and what we have lived that makes us remember. To understand, you have to live our experience, share what we have all shared, and feel what we have all felt. It is about Corps values, and honor. It is about character. It is about a shared experience that changed our lives.
The common experience starts with DISORIENTATION. The Corps creates a vacuum in your life. It takes away your hair, clothes, and friends, and fills it with a drill instructor. He says things like get off MY bus ... do it NOW and as you stand asshole to belly-button on the yellow footprints, your identity disappears. The D.I. gives you a short lesson on the UCMJ, and you learn that rights belong to the institution, not to the individual.
You will live in a squad bay and you will march everywhere. He speaks to you in the future imperative ... he says. YOU WILL ... and you do! He gives you a new language ... deck, hatch, head. It is a language that is steeped in a tradition you don't understand yet. He takes away your right to speak in the first person, and he takes away your first name. Your platoon number is what's important now.
Before your first meal you get 20 seconds to stow your gear, and you learn that the only way to get it done within the time limit is to help one another... The TRANSFORMATION begins. This is the culture of the Group, and its members are anonymous.
Although you don't know it, your drill instructor will become the most important person you will ever meet, and your weeks of boot camp will become t he defining cultural experience of your life. For the first time in your life you encounter absolute standards of right and wrong, success and failure. When you screw up, everyone stops, and they penalize you, immediately, so you won't forget.
Disorientation and Transformation are followed by TRAINING.
The rules are simple:
a. Tell the truth
b. Always do your best no matter how trivial the task
c. Choose the difficult right over the easy wrong
d. Don't whine or make excuses
e. Judge others by their actions
And above all, look out for the group, before you look out for yourself. During your training you are pushed beyond your limits, and you achieve. You learn to make excellence a habit. The common denominator among you and your fellow recruits is pride and accomplishment. Through your training you develop spirit, and you develop self-discipline.Y
ou learn the ingredients of CHARACTER: Integrity, Selflessness, and Moral Courage. And you learn the Corps Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.
These are your roots. The Corps is a rigid code that will stay with you forever. It will define your character, and it will guide you for the rest of your life. This is why there are no EX-Marines.
Once you can appreciate what you are about to become, you learn about those who have gone before you. You study our history, and learn the lessons of countless heroes who acted, not for self, but for comrade, Corps, and Country. Marines are about taking care of each other, always have been, always will. It is our culture and it holds us together. As you learn the history, you become part of the tradition. You have a new appreciation of your God, your Country, and your Corps.
One final element completes your training - you become a rifleman.
The magnitude of what you have accomplished becomes apparent to you at graduation, when you finally earn your title and are called Marine.
What you know then, in your heart, but what you can't put into words, is that there is something very special about this organization that is unlike any other organization you ever have been a part of. What you can't put into words, but what you know in your heart is that the essence of the Marine Corps resides with the lowest in rank; The Marine is the Corps, and the Corps is the Marine. ... Your uniform says it all. When someone looks at you they don't see the name of your ship, a unit patch, or a branch insignia ... what they see is a MARINE. That's all that counts! You are a Marine! It is what matters to you, and it is what matters to every other Marine. You know that you may never feel this important again, and you will spend the rest of our life living the code, and holding on to the feeling that every Marine is a rifleman and that's the essence.
But there is more to our story than our boot camp experience. There is our experience of sacrifice and our participation in the history & tradition of the Corps. We share stories and tell of the humor that got us through the tough times, but we also have stories we keep to ourselves, hiding the painful memories too personal to share.
Shared experience and personal sacrifice are reasons the Marine Corps is a Band of Brothers. It is the reason we celebrate today. The feeling you have when you become a Marine lasts a lifetime. Whether you serve 3 years, or 30, your experiences will never be forgotten. You will never work as closely, or depend on others more, than you did in the Corps. The Corps is your family, you can never leave, and you are always welcome back. You are EXPECTED to come back!
This shared experience, and personal sacrifice is our common bond. It is why we love each other and our country so much, and why we cling to our traditions. Our celebration preserves and honors the memory of all who have gone before us and it is an example, and a standard, for all who follow. In a time when there are so few proud and good examples to follow, when so little seems to count, our views, our beliefs, our PRACTICE of our tradition is, by others standards, EXTREME. We are perhaps all our country has left to guarantee that the principles upon which this nation was founded will survive.
Many presidents, and congressmen, have tried to do away with the Marine Corps, but we are still here. Why? The answer is simple - America doesn't need a Marine Corps, America WANTS one! Marine, you are the reason she feels that way. Remember that, and feel good about it.
"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men."
Attributed to Capt. Gerry Porthier
How many times have we been asked, "What is it about you Marines?"
This may help explain what we share that is so special and what we have lived that makes us remember. To understand, you have to live our experience, share what we have all shared, and feel what we have all felt. It is about Corps values, and honor. It is about character. It is about a shared experience that changed our lives.
The common experience starts with DISORIENTATION. The Corps creates a vacuum in your life. It takes away your hair, clothes, and friends, and fills it with a drill instructor. He says things like get off MY bus ... do it NOW and as you stand asshole to belly-button on the yellow footprints, your identity disappears. The D.I. gives you a short lesson on the UCMJ, and you learn that rights belong to the institution, not to the individual.
You will live in a squad bay and you will march everywhere. He speaks to you in the future imperative ... he says. YOU WILL ... and you do! He gives you a new language ... deck, hatch, head. It is a language that is steeped in a tradition you don't understand yet. He takes away your right to speak in the first person, and he takes away your first name. Your platoon number is what's important now.
Before your first meal you get 20 seconds to stow your gear, and you learn that the only way to get it done within the time limit is to help one another... The TRANSFORMATION begins. This is the culture of the Group, and its members are anonymous.
Although you don't know it, your drill instructor will become the most important person you will ever meet, and your weeks of boot camp will become t he defining cultural experience of your life. For the first time in your life you encounter absolute standards of right and wrong, success and failure. When you screw up, everyone stops, and they penalize you, immediately, so you won't forget.
Disorientation and Transformation are followed by TRAINING.
The rules are simple:
a. Tell the truth
b. Always do your best no matter how trivial the task
c. Choose the difficult right over the easy wrong
d. Don't whine or make excuses
e. Judge others by their actions
And above all, look out for the group, before you look out for yourself. During your training you are pushed beyond your limits, and you achieve. You learn to make excellence a habit. The common denominator among you and your fellow recruits is pride and accomplishment. Through your training you develop spirit, and you develop self-discipline.Y
ou learn the ingredients of CHARACTER: Integrity, Selflessness, and Moral Courage. And you learn the Corps Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.
These are your roots. The Corps is a rigid code that will stay with you forever. It will define your character, and it will guide you for the rest of your life. This is why there are no EX-Marines.
Once you can appreciate what you are about to become, you learn about those who have gone before you. You study our history, and learn the lessons of countless heroes who acted, not for self, but for comrade, Corps, and Country. Marines are about taking care of each other, always have been, always will. It is our culture and it holds us together. As you learn the history, you become part of the tradition. You have a new appreciation of your God, your Country, and your Corps.
One final element completes your training - you become a rifleman.
The magnitude of what you have accomplished becomes apparent to you at graduation, when you finally earn your title and are called Marine.
What you know then, in your heart, but what you can't put into words, is that there is something very special about this organization that is unlike any other organization you ever have been a part of. What you can't put into words, but what you know in your heart is that the essence of the Marine Corps resides with the lowest in rank; The Marine is the Corps, and the Corps is the Marine. ... Your uniform says it all. When someone looks at you they don't see the name of your ship, a unit patch, or a branch insignia ... what they see is a MARINE. That's all that counts! You are a Marine! It is what matters to you, and it is what matters to every other Marine. You know that you may never feel this important again, and you will spend the rest of our life living the code, and holding on to the feeling that every Marine is a rifleman and that's the essence.
But there is more to our story than our boot camp experience. There is our experience of sacrifice and our participation in the history & tradition of the Corps. We share stories and tell of the humor that got us through the tough times, but we also have stories we keep to ourselves, hiding the painful memories too personal to share.
Shared experience and personal sacrifice are reasons the Marine Corps is a Band of Brothers. It is the reason we celebrate today. The feeling you have when you become a Marine lasts a lifetime. Whether you serve 3 years, or 30, your experiences will never be forgotten. You will never work as closely, or depend on others more, than you did in the Corps. The Corps is your family, you can never leave, and you are always welcome back. You are EXPECTED to come back!
This shared experience, and personal sacrifice is our common bond. It is why we love each other and our country so much, and why we cling to our traditions. Our celebration preserves and honors the memory of all who have gone before us and it is an example, and a standard, for all who follow. In a time when there are so few proud and good examples to follow, when so little seems to count, our views, our beliefs, our PRACTICE of our tradition is, by others standards, EXTREME. We are perhaps all our country has left to guarantee that the principles upon which this nation was founded will survive.
Many presidents, and congressmen, have tried to do away with the Marine Corps, but we are still here. Why? The answer is simple - America doesn't need a Marine Corps, America WANTS one! Marine, you are the reason she feels that way. Remember that, and feel good about it.
"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men."
Attributed to Capt. Gerry Porthier
Friday, October 24, 2008
Gear
Just a few observations on gear I have, gear I wish I had and gear I shouldn't have messed with...:
Body Armor: ...weights way too much with all the stuff we have to have strapped on it (ammo, first aid kit, 4 different armor plates, the vest itself and all those collar, groin, rib-cage add-ons...). How the expect us to fight in that rig is beyond me. Simply put, we must have the ammo and first aid kit, but the rest of that junk is simply over weight. Further, I have read about tests that it doesn't stop 7.62mm rounds... the rounds fired out of an AK-47. In other words, the weapon our enemy uses will penetrate the vest that in itself will prevent us from fighting effectively. I know there is technology out there that would allow us to build a lightweight, 7.62mm round stopping vest.
Boots: The boots we wear out here MUST be comfortable or your feet are never going to heal. If they are not comfortable, they will rub sores in your feet and wearing them 7 days a week, 12-20 hours a day and you are going to be hurting. I am wearing a pair of boots issued to me by MARSOC. They are made by Oakley and they work great! They feel like sneakers.
Camel-Back: This is a great tool if you are going on a walk or going to put it in your pack...BUT if you are going to be jumping in and out of vehicles or if you are going to lean up against something, beware! I have now seen three different Marines soaked from the back of their lower body armor to the back of their boots because they were sitting in a HMMWV and burst their camel-back bladder. Then they had to patrol around doing their mission soaked from the butt down. I am sticking with the canteen/canteen cup/canteen stove for now, but will revisit this later on, on different missions.
Cotton: If you are planning on wearing cotton socks or cotton t-shirts or cotton... re-consider. Compared to some of the other materials out there, it is heavy, doesn't wick moisture well and bunches/chafes unforgivably. XGO makes a poly-spandex blend t-shirt that is really effective and is flame retardant.
Toilet paper: 1 or 2 rolls of the good stuff. Let the Port-a-John be out of paper one time and you will know exactly what I mean.
Lap-top computer: Have one with a DVD player and make sure you bring a universal power converter kit. It makes a great journal, even if you don't blog it; you can watch movies on it; play video games on it... it is just a good piece of gear. Oh, and I almost forgot, get the warrentee when you buy it, so if it happens to go tumbling out of the back of the truck, you can get it fixed by the company who made it... not that this happened to me.
Stay tuned for more on this later....
Semper Fi,
m
Body Armor: ...weights way too much with all the stuff we have to have strapped on it (ammo, first aid kit, 4 different armor plates, the vest itself and all those collar, groin, rib-cage add-ons...). How the expect us to fight in that rig is beyond me. Simply put, we must have the ammo and first aid kit, but the rest of that junk is simply over weight. Further, I have read about tests that it doesn't stop 7.62mm rounds... the rounds fired out of an AK-47. In other words, the weapon our enemy uses will penetrate the vest that in itself will prevent us from fighting effectively. I know there is technology out there that would allow us to build a lightweight, 7.62mm round stopping vest.
Boots: The boots we wear out here MUST be comfortable or your feet are never going to heal. If they are not comfortable, they will rub sores in your feet and wearing them 7 days a week, 12-20 hours a day and you are going to be hurting. I am wearing a pair of boots issued to me by MARSOC. They are made by Oakley and they work great! They feel like sneakers.
Camel-Back: This is a great tool if you are going on a walk or going to put it in your pack...BUT if you are going to be jumping in and out of vehicles or if you are going to lean up against something, beware! I have now seen three different Marines soaked from the back of their lower body armor to the back of their boots because they were sitting in a HMMWV and burst their camel-back bladder. Then they had to patrol around doing their mission soaked from the butt down. I am sticking with the canteen/canteen cup/canteen stove for now, but will revisit this later on, on different missions.
Cotton: If you are planning on wearing cotton socks or cotton t-shirts or cotton... re-consider. Compared to some of the other materials out there, it is heavy, doesn't wick moisture well and bunches/chafes unforgivably. XGO makes a poly-spandex blend t-shirt that is really effective and is flame retardant.
Toilet paper: 1 or 2 rolls of the good stuff. Let the Port-a-John be out of paper one time and you will know exactly what I mean.
Lap-top computer: Have one with a DVD player and make sure you bring a universal power converter kit. It makes a great journal, even if you don't blog it; you can watch movies on it; play video games on it... it is just a good piece of gear. Oh, and I almost forgot, get the warrentee when you buy it, so if it happens to go tumbling out of the back of the truck, you can get it fixed by the company who made it... not that this happened to me.
Stay tuned for more on this later....
Semper Fi,
m
YRWSII Part 2
In the circles I am moving around in, the theories seem to be the similar to the last post I made on this topic: $$$.
The Iraqi people I work with are mostly governmental employees, many of them officers. They are ready for "us" to leave, but want the money to keep flowing in. They want to take charge of their country and want to have things run their way again.
When we pulled our bases out of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, the initial reaction of the people was favorable. They wanted us gone. Soon thereafter, they started to realize how much money the US government and the US service members pumped into the local economy and then they started wanting that income back.
We spend quite a bit of money hiring Iraqi's as contractors to construct buildings and make infrastructural improvements while we provide security for these improvements. Both the money for these contracts and the security will go away when we leave and the people I work with all seem to realize that.
On the American side of the coin, it is going to be expensive in resources and time to get all of the Americans, over 100,000, back to the states. Now I realize that it costs quite a bit to keep us here and pulling us out will save some of those resources, but the bottom line is that we are still here largely because of money.
Doing things right the first time normally costs less than doing them several times. Paying now to only conduct Operation Iraqi Freedom once WILL cost less than paying to re-deploy the military generation after generation after generation.
This would have been a good philosophy to have employed back in the early 90's when we were here during the first President Bush's tenure. Had the military my father was in been permitted to finish the job, the military I am in probably would not have had to come back out here in the 2000's.
Don't get me wrong, I am not upset about that. It is water under the bridge and there is nothing I can do to change it, but I can recommend that we make it right for the military of my children's age. We are still here for the sake of their national treasure and their money.
Finally, the oil in this region costs money and the stability of that resource is critical. It is critical for the oil in Iran to be controlled by a stable regime as well, but that is another blog for another day.
We need to still be here to stabilize the Iraqi government to a point that they can fairly distribute the oil they control. We need to pay a fair price for a fair commodity, but that is not possible if there is no one controlling its distribution and maintaining order.
Nigeria is in the situation now where they cannot control the distribution of their oil. Bandits and gangs of thugs are raiding oil rigs and stealing oil by the tens of thousands of barrels a week and the Nigerian government has not been able to stop them.
In Sudan, 9 Chinese oil workers (yet another blogable topic for another day) have been kidnapped by rebels wanting to influence the oil distribution for a state that has not been able to protect it.
Nigeria's/Sudan's national well-being, to include the well-being of the rebels, could improve if they would stop all this non-sense and start allowing the oil workers to do their jobs. Iraq is in the same boat. It needs to have the strength in its security apparatus to control its oil distribution.
This disruption in oil distribution is bad for the global economy as well as the US economy and impacts more than just the prices at the pump. It impacts the imports and exports of food commodity.
Farmers in America or India or Brazil or... will not be able to sell their goods to the same consumers they were able to before if there are fuel problems that cause costs to marginalize profits.
Bottom Line: We are still in Iraq largely due to monitary reasons.
More will surely follow!!!
Semper Fi,
m
The Iraqi people I work with are mostly governmental employees, many of them officers. They are ready for "us" to leave, but want the money to keep flowing in. They want to take charge of their country and want to have things run their way again.
When we pulled our bases out of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, the initial reaction of the people was favorable. They wanted us gone. Soon thereafter, they started to realize how much money the US government and the US service members pumped into the local economy and then they started wanting that income back.
We spend quite a bit of money hiring Iraqi's as contractors to construct buildings and make infrastructural improvements while we provide security for these improvements. Both the money for these contracts and the security will go away when we leave and the people I work with all seem to realize that.
On the American side of the coin, it is going to be expensive in resources and time to get all of the Americans, over 100,000, back to the states. Now I realize that it costs quite a bit to keep us here and pulling us out will save some of those resources, but the bottom line is that we are still here largely because of money.
Doing things right the first time normally costs less than doing them several times. Paying now to only conduct Operation Iraqi Freedom once WILL cost less than paying to re-deploy the military generation after generation after generation.
This would have been a good philosophy to have employed back in the early 90's when we were here during the first President Bush's tenure. Had the military my father was in been permitted to finish the job, the military I am in probably would not have had to come back out here in the 2000's.
Don't get me wrong, I am not upset about that. It is water under the bridge and there is nothing I can do to change it, but I can recommend that we make it right for the military of my children's age. We are still here for the sake of their national treasure and their money.
Finally, the oil in this region costs money and the stability of that resource is critical. It is critical for the oil in Iran to be controlled by a stable regime as well, but that is another blog for another day.
We need to still be here to stabilize the Iraqi government to a point that they can fairly distribute the oil they control. We need to pay a fair price for a fair commodity, but that is not possible if there is no one controlling its distribution and maintaining order.
Nigeria is in the situation now where they cannot control the distribution of their oil. Bandits and gangs of thugs are raiding oil rigs and stealing oil by the tens of thousands of barrels a week and the Nigerian government has not been able to stop them.
In Sudan, 9 Chinese oil workers (yet another blogable topic for another day) have been kidnapped by rebels wanting to influence the oil distribution for a state that has not been able to protect it.
Nigeria's/Sudan's national well-being, to include the well-being of the rebels, could improve if they would stop all this non-sense and start allowing the oil workers to do their jobs. Iraq is in the same boat. It needs to have the strength in its security apparatus to control its oil distribution.
This disruption in oil distribution is bad for the global economy as well as the US economy and impacts more than just the prices at the pump. It impacts the imports and exports of food commodity.
Farmers in America or India or Brazil or... will not be able to sell their goods to the same consumers they were able to before if there are fuel problems that cause costs to marginalize profits.
Bottom Line: We are still in Iraq largely due to monitary reasons.
More will surely follow!!!
Semper Fi,
m
Communciations
Communications have really helped Colleen and I stay married and keep our marriage strong.
We are always telling each other how much we love and cherish each other. That part is so important to me. If that is not manly, then fine, but it is keeping our marriage strong.
My nick-name for Colleen is Beautiful. Remember, nick-names are important. Words have meaning. She knows how I feel about her every time I call her name.
She gets flowers once a month while I am gone, and normally on days she would not expect them. If there is a birthday or anniversary in a month (and they all seem to happen while I am deployed) then she gets two orders of flowers because the one is just me telling her I love her.
We will be married 15 years on the 5th of November, and she has been the best gift God could have given me. She is a loving, faithful and capable lady who only knows the good in people. She is a true Proverbs 31 wife and an awesome mother. I could not do what I do without her support and love and failing to communicate this would be fatal to our marriage.
Beautiful, I love and appreciate you.
m
We are always telling each other how much we love and cherish each other. That part is so important to me. If that is not manly, then fine, but it is keeping our marriage strong.
My nick-name for Colleen is Beautiful. Remember, nick-names are important. Words have meaning. She knows how I feel about her every time I call her name.
She gets flowers once a month while I am gone, and normally on days she would not expect them. If there is a birthday or anniversary in a month (and they all seem to happen while I am deployed) then she gets two orders of flowers because the one is just me telling her I love her.
We will be married 15 years on the 5th of November, and she has been the best gift God could have given me. She is a loving, faithful and capable lady who only knows the good in people. She is a true Proverbs 31 wife and an awesome mother. I could not do what I do without her support and love and failing to communicate this would be fatal to our marriage.
Beautiful, I love and appreciate you.
m
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