Ever since I joined the army I've been working with people who can't wait to get out. They are all just so surprised to find out how... regimented the army is. Basic Training wasn't too bad, most people wereso constantly shocked by the ordeals we were going through to reflect or complain. When I completed Basic, though, I was sent to the Defense Language Institute to
And ParaTed, thanks for stopping by. Grey has a point about career twits, but I'm choosing to be optimistic. I think you have the right idea when you hope we can all speak of war in the past tense. My only problem will then be: what do I for a living now?
You know what Grey?, I can't wait for you to get here so I can kick your ass. thanks for the link from your site, by the way
Dammit, Grey, you are jumping the gun. The title is volume 1! Your observations will be addressed in a future volume, titled WAR! What is it good for? (volume whatever) Absolutely nothing! Where I talk about all the bullshit that isn't changing.
I thought I'd have the best crap story for the day, but I humbly surrender my... throne.
My wife and I refer to our new hobby of blogging as Everjoe. It's not as self destructive as evercrack, but it does eat up time...
You'll probably get even more cool stuff when you get to Kuwait. (If you go through there. It's likely.) bring a pancho liner if you don't have one, and a pillow. they sell small ones at clothing sales, or the PX at DOHA. Don't laugh off the long underwear on the packing list. and you'll really like the body armor once you attach you combat load to it. try to spread it more toward the sides, if you wear it up front, it pulls your spine out of line and
If scatalogical humor offends you, please stop reading now. ok, fair warning. The infrastructure here in Baghdad is still pretty broken. At our palace, we have no running water, and when I first got here, we had a shower stall set up outside for bathing in. Improvements have been made since I've been here, we've upgraded to a water heater for our
The last time I wrote about the topic of war, I said I was going to discuss the benefits the average soldier derives from the conflict. In volume 1, the benefits were the things we get to help us do our job, and how they have improved because of the urgent need in the conflict. Today's topic is a little more far reaching, it's about training and readiness.
You're giving away the surprise ending. The title is Part 1!
must...control...fist...of...death!!!!!
So, Grey is coming to the war. Be safe, buddy, and say hi to Vince for me. If you get into my neck of the woods, we should hang.
Yesterday I started writing a piece detatiling my issues with jobs in the service industries, but about 2 pages into it I realized it wasn't going to be just a couple of pages. There's a whole lot to tell, and what I had started writing was the actually the end, not the beginning. I decided to heed the advice given to Alice by the Mad Hatter, (or was it the March Hare
British soldiers have a very old expression that dates from the campaigns fought in India and the middle-east. There's a certain pattern of artillery fire they used with their old-school breach loading cannons called The Elephant Walk. When a soldier says "I've seen the elephant walk" it means he's been to war, and has had life-changing experiences. As you pointed out, different people see the elephant in different ways, but your attitude is forever c
*A guy from Denmark once told me that the US Army was the "most efficient killing machine ever devised". I thanked him for the compliment, and told him that I wasn't going to apologize for having a strong military defending me. I also said that he should be on his knees thanking God for that "killing machine", because it was directly repsonsible for the liberation of most of Europe. Twice. * I don't know about efficient, but we are effective.
One of the benefits of being well traveled is the amazing variety of food I've had the opportunity to sample. The food native to any region can give you insight into the lives and history of the people who live there, and with a little thought and understanding you can see how people all over the world have a lot in common, despite their religious, political, and geog
Dharma is right. Nothing any of us do will bring Laci and her son back. Nothing will make this right. But there are some things you just can't let stand. I don't know how this kind of thing can happen, what pushes the button in the back of a man's mind, where he turns from a jerk into a monster by deciding that the solution to his problems is to kill his wife and hide the body. They need to take him out into the San Francisco bay, wrap him in 50 feet o
This part of the world is famous in history and legend. I remember learning in grade school about the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and how this was the spot that gave rise to the cities of Ur, and Babylon, and our oldest recorded histories of civilization. Agriculture was invented here, and commerce, and this is where we stepped up from th
Hey Grey, I've been meaning to talk to you. Remember back when you sent me your blog site in an email and told me if I was bored I should check it out? This is what you started. Life-happens decided to jump in before me, but she's better at it than I am anyway. So I just wanted to thank you, and tell you you're a shitheel. I'm enjoying the writing thing, and it's getting my creative juices flowing, but I still don't have much of an audience. I figured
I will be the first to agree that war is not a good thing, but I'm a professional soldier, and it's in my best interests, whatever my opinion of war, to be good at it. All arguments aside about what war accomplishes, whether there's ever a good reason for it, the specifics of this war, etc etc, once you find yourself in it, it's time to put arguing on the back burner
Just a quick note. If you go to Life-happen's blog you can read about what's going on with the dog. I won't get into that except to say that NONE of this is Life's fault. She agreed, as a favor to me, to help me do a favor for another friend, and take in our dog Lady. This was almost 2 years before our son was born, and we didn't know when or even if we would be havi
I got some news the other day that I found a little disturbing. A friend of mine here had his St. Christopher's medal hanging out of his shirt, and I pointed it out to him. We started talking about saints, in the catholic sense, and started making jokes about the various saints we could use around here. St Kevlar of the holy body armor, St Marconi, to give our radios
Only Ms Life and our little kids our allowed inside my space. I get clausterphobic in crowds, and having anybody in our tiny kitchen with me while I'm cooking is more than I can put up with. I've gotten surprised, even angry looks from friends when I tell them not to crowd me. It isn't too bad in the states, but in a lot of places I've traveled, personal space shrinks for the locals. Peru was pretty bad, and Korean subways are a nightmare. It's ok to e
We had another car bomb go off close by this morning. It was the closest since I've been here, maybe 100 yards from the palace, right by the checkpoint on the other side of the wall of our compound. Some ING guys were injured, but it looks like no American soldiers were hurt. Casualty reports are still being sorted out. I was on duty when it happened, doing
Way to spin the choice, there, Life. 'Ideal Christmas vs Mass Hysteria' ? I guess we know how you feel, no ambivilence there. I personally have always felt your argument of kids thinking santa brought the gifts and the parents not getting the credit for it is just a little selfish; the spirit of giving is all about the joy the gift gives the reciever, and thus the giver. If we're keeping some tally sheet, it nullifies the meaning. There's nothing like
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