16NOV08. The election has come and gone, I guess I didn’t win the election for Mayor of Montgomery, probably would help if I wasn’t the only one to vote for me. So we have a new President-elect, will he be the answer to all our troubles, I guess time will tell. I do know one thing, if you are interested in owning semi-automatic assault rifles; you better buy them now, because we all know what happened to gun control under our last democratic president. Our Task Force has out together an order for a commemorative rifle; I will be purchasing the M4 223.
Another deer hunting season has come to past and it looks like my cousin Bill and brother Jake bagged themselves some nice deer, if you look closely at my pictures you will see my brothers. He tagged a 10 point buck, dressed out at 200lbs, way to go little brother! My cousin Bill arrowed himself a nice 9 pointer that dressed at 190lbs if I remember right. I am hoping to go on an Elk hunting trip down to New Mexico with Grupe and Wildman when I get back, pending I get picked for a license.
What has been keeping me busy here the last few weeks you ask, well I ran a couple of 5k races. I did ok for taking a week off from running. I develop shin splints in my right leg so I took some time off to let it heal. After a week, it still felt the same and I was going through runner’s withdrawal so I started back up. The pain is tolerable, feels like a bruise and stops hurting after a few minutes into my run and a few minutes after my run. I have changed running shows and I think that is one of the causes, so I will go back to my New Balances and see if that helps. On 11NOV, we had the Veteran’s 5k run, out of 2000 runners, I placed 19th, not too bad for an old man!
In the work place, we are having issues with a computer virus. It has shut down 9 of my computers so far. It is believed that the virus is being transferred by the use of external media devices, commonly known as thumbdrives. My higher command has decided to block all USB ports and therefore banning the use of these devices. I do not mind at all, there really is a very, very limited need for such devices as we have a sharedrive where everyone can store their information and access it anywhere from any computer over here!! The situation has been keeping my guys busy.
23NOV.
Charlie Company was kind enough to let us “have” their trailer here since the bulk of them are working from another location. We have turned that office space into tech lab as you can see in this month’s photos. It is still a work in progress, but it is perfect for my guys to work on their A+ and networking skills. The goal is for them to build a LAN and utilize their skills to manage and troubleshoot different problems we run into. We want to set up a centralize server where we can push out our own virus updates and any other software patches/upgrades remotely making us a little more efficient.
A week ago there was a malfunction on one of the F16s and it caught on fire. The munitions started to “burn off” sounding the alarm for us to all take shelter in place since it was impossible to predict where the rounds where going to hit and or land. Thankfully no one was injured, except the Aircraft, see the picture.
These past few weeks the S6 section really scored with care packages. First Capella University sent us close to 30 I believe, I lost count as I was receiving so may per day. They set us up with over 140 DVD movies, about just as many books, if not more, music CDs, Playstaion games, coffee, creamer, lotion, and the list goes on. We have set up a video library for soldiers to check out movies as well as a reading library in out Tech Lab. We shared the coffee and the rest of the goodies with everyone too. You can see pics of all the boxes of stuff and the happy soldiers tearing into them. At the same time, the VFW Post 6316 and the Ladies Auxiliary out of Blaine, which my Aunt and Uncle are members of, sent a nice care packages of pocket flags and goodies too. One of my favorite things I received is a new embroidered shower towel that I am modeling for the Ladies Auxiliary in this month’s photo album – Thank you ladies!
It does not stop there the Dentist office of Dr. Eisenhuth, sent three HUGE boxes of candy, and toothbrushes! We literally have enough candy, and I am talking the good stuff, milk duds, dots, butterfingers, kitkats, reeces peanut butter cups, heath bars, snickers, laughy taffy, and the list goes on. They also stocked us with toothbrushes and dental floss, smart idea….in addition they threw in “Thank You” letters from kids, that was a nice touch – Thank you Dr. Eisenhuth and her fabulous team.
The week of 17-21NOV, I thought it would be a good idea to take Combatives Level One training, wow, I hadn’t quite planned for such a butt whooping. Check out the pics, I came home with a few bruises. Combatives, for those who do not know, is the Army’s new program for personal protection. It is similar to Mixed Martial Arts fighting and is a 40 hour course. You learn how to suppress your enemy with your bare hands. It is an excellent program and great training. Here is a link to what it is all about: https://www.infantry.army.mil/combatives/
To close out this month’s blog, was the celebration of Thanksgiving, one more holiday gone, another month closer to home. The dining facility went all out with cool sculptures a, made from food, check out the pics. They served the traditional meal, turkey or ham or prime rib, along with mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, I think you get the idea, so when it came to food, we were not missing out.
Next blog entry should be full of pics as I decided to take leave and go on R&R to Europe….stand bye!!
As always, enjoy the pics.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Here Comes the Rain
02NOV08, two days before the elections, what does that mean to me….just a good day to get caught up on some blogging...oh yeah, I did vote already, Are you?? I want to say thank you to the Woxlands, Asburys, and my parents. I got your care packages with everything I wanted. You all came through so I will not be needing any more dental floss, or toothpaste for the rest of my deployment!! Aunt Rea, thanks for the embroidered towel, I will have to send the Lady’s Auxiliary a nice picture of me modeling my new towel!! The pocket flags are really nice, I have been handing them out and I will get a nice picture of that too, so stop by often.
For this entry I think I am just going to babble in no particular order, whatever pops to mind is what I am going to write about. These past few weeks we have received our first rainfall, boy what a mess. In one day we received twice the average rainfall for this time of year. I can see how the Great Flood of biblical times happened; there is no place for the water to go. The ground here is so dry and so packed that the water cannot be absorbed into the ground, it just pools up and lingers until the Sun can heat up enough to evaporate it all. The fine dust that is on the ground, which you could mistake for cinnamon turns into a brown paste like glue that sticks to everything making it miserable walking/biking/driving from one point to another. I have a few pictures, I kind of been slacking on those, of the mess. We are entering the rainy season so I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities for more.
To try and combat the misery of walking in this crap, Grupe and I constructed our own elevated walk way so that we can make it semi-safely to the port-o-potties and the shower. Of course we talked about doing this before the rain came, but procrastinated about it, so as soon as it dried up somewhat, we were out there constructing (see pics).
In preparation of the rains to come, my high speed guys constructed an awning for our porch outside the office, it adds some addition shade so we can keep the door open and let some fresh air in…one nice thing about the rain, it suppresses all the dust in the air, so it is actually nice to be outside breathing this Iraqi air.
I did break down and purchases my 2009 Pewter Pearl Harley Davidson Fat Boy form Twin Cities Harley in Lakeville, it will be ready for pick-up when I get home in JUNE 2009!! I cannot WAIT, to ride it!!! (Click to see Pic)
Our new found favorite spot here is called the DRMO lot (acronym for something), it is where units bring equipment that is no longer working. Notice I did not say repairable, because my Joes have found some things and were able to piece together some working items. I am trying to acquire some more real estate here to build a computer lab so they have a place to work on their new projects and also gain some valuable experience in the area of computer repair and networking…I’ll keep you posted.
Some projects we have been doing around our AO include the running of a new CAT5 line to bring some more users up on our network, Giddyup and I handled that job, I like to get out in the field once in awhile to show these young pups a thing or two. The items I talked about in earlier blogs that I was trying to purchase came in, so we were able to install 5 more CISCO IP phones, and will probably install a few more here down the road. We are also working to set up some stand alone LANs to link some workshops together with a printer and we may have a mission to install SINCGAR radios into some vehicles. Other than that, we continue to refine and improve on our ongoing missions.
I ran a few races since I last wrote, same old same old, finished in the top 10. My last race was the Tulsa 15K where I placed 6th with a time of 62 minutes, that was on 25OCT and it was also the last time I ran. I have developed a shin splint in on my right leg and I am giving it time to heal. There are two 5ks coming up this week in which I plan to still run, I will truly be doing them as “Fun Runs.” Starting on 3NOV, I will bike and do the elliptical to get my CARDIO back up, I really do miss my running though. So Amy, that ice/heat back you sent me is going to be real important in my recovery – thanks! You can see my actual results from the 15k by clicking this link: Race Results (The top results are the ladies, scroll down for the men).
If you haven’t heard, the new Social Network Fad is www.Facebook.com. I have reconnected with some old high-school friends and am staying current with other friends going ons….it is a neat way to stay on top of things without having to do any work other than logging in! I can see what people are up to and if I want I can leave a comment or send a message, this works real well with my schedule!
The other neat online thing I have been doing is www.Skype.com, I have been able to Skype with my sister and family, which was really cool and with my friend Verna, surprisingly she has been getting to see me the most, it must be her work schedule??? I have a plan to Skype my parents this evening 2NOV and another for Thanksgiving, I can’t wait. BTW my Skype handle is chrispkline.
People have been asking what I do for fun over here so let’s see, on Halloween I went to my first Movie, “Pride and Glory” had a NA beer and popcorn, cost me all of $2!! On 1NOV went through a Haunted House, then went to the Driving Range and hit a few golf balls. I have been hitting the weights regularly for a month now, so although I am not running now, I am still exercising. I have been watching the TV series Nip/Tuck; I have seasons 1-4. Building my music and movie library, I guess that has really been it, nothing too exciting. I am hoping to start taking some Israeli Mix Martial Arts and Weapons training, that will be a few nights a week, From time to time they offer Salsa Dance, I may try to hit that occasionally; the MWR here has all kinds of neat things to do, I just need to plan my schedule a little better…believe me, I am not bored!!
One thing I have noticed here and that is – I do not miss my cell phone one bit, although it is funny, from time to time I will “feel” this phantom vibrate in my pocket and I will place my hand there to feel if my phone is there, only to realize, it was all in my head!
I have started a dialog with my replacements, the 628th ASB out of Pennsylvania, I am hoping to provide them all the info they need to make it a seamless transition when it comes time for them to replace us.
I will leave you with this quote, it came from one of the Company Commanders during a Command and Staff brief, he was telling us a story of how some of his soldiers didn’t perform a task quite up to standard, leading to some mishap, no one was injured thankfully, but this is how he stated it: “You can go ahead and laugh at my Privates now, because I am sure I will be laughing at your Privates later.” It took him a minute to realize what he just said, the whole room just busted out in laughter – I hope you all can find the humor in this.
As always, enjoy the pics.
For this entry I think I am just going to babble in no particular order, whatever pops to mind is what I am going to write about. These past few weeks we have received our first rainfall, boy what a mess. In one day we received twice the average rainfall for this time of year. I can see how the Great Flood of biblical times happened; there is no place for the water to go. The ground here is so dry and so packed that the water cannot be absorbed into the ground, it just pools up and lingers until the Sun can heat up enough to evaporate it all. The fine dust that is on the ground, which you could mistake for cinnamon turns into a brown paste like glue that sticks to everything making it miserable walking/biking/driving from one point to another. I have a few pictures, I kind of been slacking on those, of the mess. We are entering the rainy season so I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities for more.
To try and combat the misery of walking in this crap, Grupe and I constructed our own elevated walk way so that we can make it semi-safely to the port-o-potties and the shower. Of course we talked about doing this before the rain came, but procrastinated about it, so as soon as it dried up somewhat, we were out there constructing (see pics).
In preparation of the rains to come, my high speed guys constructed an awning for our porch outside the office, it adds some addition shade so we can keep the door open and let some fresh air in…one nice thing about the rain, it suppresses all the dust in the air, so it is actually nice to be outside breathing this Iraqi air.
I did break down and purchases my 2009 Pewter Pearl Harley Davidson Fat Boy form Twin Cities Harley in Lakeville, it will be ready for pick-up when I get home in JUNE 2009!! I cannot WAIT, to ride it!!! (Click to see Pic)
Our new found favorite spot here is called the DRMO lot (acronym for something), it is where units bring equipment that is no longer working. Notice I did not say repairable, because my Joes have found some things and were able to piece together some working items. I am trying to acquire some more real estate here to build a computer lab so they have a place to work on their new projects and also gain some valuable experience in the area of computer repair and networking…I’ll keep you posted.
Some projects we have been doing around our AO include the running of a new CAT5 line to bring some more users up on our network, Giddyup and I handled that job, I like to get out in the field once in awhile to show these young pups a thing or two. The items I talked about in earlier blogs that I was trying to purchase came in, so we were able to install 5 more CISCO IP phones, and will probably install a few more here down the road. We are also working to set up some stand alone LANs to link some workshops together with a printer and we may have a mission to install SINCGAR radios into some vehicles. Other than that, we continue to refine and improve on our ongoing missions.
I ran a few races since I last wrote, same old same old, finished in the top 10. My last race was the Tulsa 15K where I placed 6th with a time of 62 minutes, that was on 25OCT and it was also the last time I ran. I have developed a shin splint in on my right leg and I am giving it time to heal. There are two 5ks coming up this week in which I plan to still run, I will truly be doing them as “Fun Runs.” Starting on 3NOV, I will bike and do the elliptical to get my CARDIO back up, I really do miss my running though. So Amy, that ice/heat back you sent me is going to be real important in my recovery – thanks! You can see my actual results from the 15k by clicking this link: Race Results (The top results are the ladies, scroll down for the men).
If you haven’t heard, the new Social Network Fad is www.Facebook.com. I have reconnected with some old high-school friends and am staying current with other friends going ons….it is a neat way to stay on top of things without having to do any work other than logging in! I can see what people are up to and if I want I can leave a comment or send a message, this works real well with my schedule!
The other neat online thing I have been doing is www.Skype.com, I have been able to Skype with my sister and family, which was really cool and with my friend Verna, surprisingly she has been getting to see me the most, it must be her work schedule??? I have a plan to Skype my parents this evening 2NOV and another for Thanksgiving, I can’t wait. BTW my Skype handle is chrispkline.
People have been asking what I do for fun over here so let’s see, on Halloween I went to my first Movie, “Pride and Glory” had a NA beer and popcorn, cost me all of $2!! On 1NOV went through a Haunted House, then went to the Driving Range and hit a few golf balls. I have been hitting the weights regularly for a month now, so although I am not running now, I am still exercising. I have been watching the TV series Nip/Tuck; I have seasons 1-4. Building my music and movie library, I guess that has really been it, nothing too exciting. I am hoping to start taking some Israeli Mix Martial Arts and Weapons training, that will be a few nights a week, From time to time they offer Salsa Dance, I may try to hit that occasionally; the MWR here has all kinds of neat things to do, I just need to plan my schedule a little better…believe me, I am not bored!!
One thing I have noticed here and that is – I do not miss my cell phone one bit, although it is funny, from time to time I will “feel” this phantom vibrate in my pocket and I will place my hand there to feel if my phone is there, only to realize, it was all in my head!
I have started a dialog with my replacements, the 628th ASB out of Pennsylvania, I am hoping to provide them all the info they need to make it a seamless transition when it comes time for them to replace us.
I will leave you with this quote, it came from one of the Company Commanders during a Command and Staff brief, he was telling us a story of how some of his soldiers didn’t perform a task quite up to standard, leading to some mishap, no one was injured thankfully, but this is how he stated it: “You can go ahead and laugh at my Privates now, because I am sure I will be laughing at your Privates later.” It took him a minute to realize what he just said, the whole room just busted out in laughter – I hope you all can find the humor in this.
As always, enjoy the pics.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Iraq - The Early Days
Well the weather has started to cool off reaching mid 90’s at its high and I have been waking up to the 60’s, feels nice. Since I last wrote my big things to do were my spending budget and getting the Motor pool connected to the network.
First the budget; our Battalion has a shortage of automation equipment over here and it is one of my duties to identify the shortages and filter the needs versus the wants of all the soldiers my section supports. Believe it or not that is the easy part; the tough part is all the paperwork it takes to submit the request on up the chain for the final approval. I had to write three Memorandums of justification per item that I am requesting and had 72 hours to get it done as I was given a very short suspense. I identified five major areas where we could use a little help; printers, monitors, phones, switches and uninterrupted power supplies. Along with the memos, I also needed three quotes. You would think no problem with the internet and all, but there is a catch, all three quotes need to be from Iraqi vendors; the US is trying to stimulate the economy over here. This has been an interesting challenge, but nothing that couldn’t be solved through email; it only took me about three weeks to get what I needed. Now the process moves forward, oh, did I mention that I shouldn’t expect to see all this equipment until a month or two before our rotation here ends. The process takes that long to get approved, so basically we are setting up our counterparts.
Our first big project here was to get the motor pool reconnected to the network. The motor pool is about 350 feet away from the nearest network switch and CAT5 pretty much loses its signal strength after 300 feet. The unit before us had them connected via CAT5 using a pair gain modems. They suspended the CAT5 from the double HAS over to the motor pool, probably about a 450 foot run. Shortly before they left they took their modems back and the cable got cut; thus they lost connectivity. LT Grupe tried some magic with his wireless CAISE system, but it just wasn’t working so we had to do it the old fashion way. My guys worked with the motor pool to get them to use one of their forklifts to break up the ground for a trench. My guys trenched the 300 plus feet, secured some PVC piping and ran a new line of CAT5. I had some spare switches that LT Grupe worked some magic on, and with the help of some of his CAISE HDSL modems, we were able to get the motor pool back up and running (see pictures of us trenching).
This little endeavor, along with another similar project coming up goes to show just how important and how much we rely on technology for our jobs. I won’t say to do our jobs, because we can still perform the tasks that we need to get done, but for sure technology makes them easier and us more efficient. I have heard soldiers say that their jobs are not as glorious as being out there on the front lines kicking in doors, but it is because of all of our specialties that makes our Army the best in the world….you just go ahead and ask someone how important their email is to them or their phone service, and I think they all will say that they “can’t live without it.” Whether it is for business or MWR, the internet is coveted by everyone, and it is my team’s job to make sure it stays up and running.
On 18SEP our Task Force suffered the first casualties of our deployment. A Chinook helicopter carrying 7 soldiers from Kuwait to Iraq crashed. The soldiers killed were mostly from Texas and Oklahoma. When something tragic like this happens, the Base goes under what is call “COMMS BLACK OUT” and nobody is allowed to communicate with anyone back home. This is out of respect for the families affected and to allow for proper notification. So if you hear of anything or see anything on TV, just be patient, I will send something out as soon as the ban is lifted, usually within 72 hours. It is one of my jobs to advice the commander on how to ensure that essential means of communication stay active while trying to minimize the use of those considered less essential.
During this blog posting, I ran the Air Force Half Marathon, the Army 10 miler and the Navy 5k. I placed in the top 10 of all races, and yes there were more ten runners in each race!
On 4 October in honor of Duck opener back home, I purchased some pellet guns in the morning and then SPC Wiering and I went out hunting around 1800. I have some pictures and a little video footage of that adventure.
This week I also broke down and bought a bike for $50 bones….actually a bike is the best way to get around on this side of the base. If I hadn’t mentioned already, the base is basically divided in two East side (Blue) and the West Side (Green), colors representing Air force and Army. There is a road that circles the perimeter called Victory loop and we are not allowed to run or bike on this road, therefore we are restricted to our sides of the base. We can go to the “otherside” if we want, we just need to take a bus or drive one of our NTVs (NonTactical Vehicle) over there. On the East side is where you will find the Olympic size pool and the movie theater, go figure!!
Not too many pictures this time around, I will have some more, so check back often to see what I’m up to.
As always, enjoy the pics.
First the budget; our Battalion has a shortage of automation equipment over here and it is one of my duties to identify the shortages and filter the needs versus the wants of all the soldiers my section supports. Believe it or not that is the easy part; the tough part is all the paperwork it takes to submit the request on up the chain for the final approval. I had to write three Memorandums of justification per item that I am requesting and had 72 hours to get it done as I was given a very short suspense. I identified five major areas where we could use a little help; printers, monitors, phones, switches and uninterrupted power supplies. Along with the memos, I also needed three quotes. You would think no problem with the internet and all, but there is a catch, all three quotes need to be from Iraqi vendors; the US is trying to stimulate the economy over here. This has been an interesting challenge, but nothing that couldn’t be solved through email; it only took me about three weeks to get what I needed. Now the process moves forward, oh, did I mention that I shouldn’t expect to see all this equipment until a month or two before our rotation here ends. The process takes that long to get approved, so basically we are setting up our counterparts.
Our first big project here was to get the motor pool reconnected to the network. The motor pool is about 350 feet away from the nearest network switch and CAT5 pretty much loses its signal strength after 300 feet. The unit before us had them connected via CAT5 using a pair gain modems. They suspended the CAT5 from the double HAS over to the motor pool, probably about a 450 foot run. Shortly before they left they took their modems back and the cable got cut; thus they lost connectivity. LT Grupe tried some magic with his wireless CAISE system, but it just wasn’t working so we had to do it the old fashion way. My guys worked with the motor pool to get them to use one of their forklifts to break up the ground for a trench. My guys trenched the 300 plus feet, secured some PVC piping and ran a new line of CAT5. I had some spare switches that LT Grupe worked some magic on, and with the help of some of his CAISE HDSL modems, we were able to get the motor pool back up and running (see pictures of us trenching).
This little endeavor, along with another similar project coming up goes to show just how important and how much we rely on technology for our jobs. I won’t say to do our jobs, because we can still perform the tasks that we need to get done, but for sure technology makes them easier and us more efficient. I have heard soldiers say that their jobs are not as glorious as being out there on the front lines kicking in doors, but it is because of all of our specialties that makes our Army the best in the world….you just go ahead and ask someone how important their email is to them or their phone service, and I think they all will say that they “can’t live without it.” Whether it is for business or MWR, the internet is coveted by everyone, and it is my team’s job to make sure it stays up and running.
On 18SEP our Task Force suffered the first casualties of our deployment. A Chinook helicopter carrying 7 soldiers from Kuwait to Iraq crashed. The soldiers killed were mostly from Texas and Oklahoma. When something tragic like this happens, the Base goes under what is call “COMMS BLACK OUT” and nobody is allowed to communicate with anyone back home. This is out of respect for the families affected and to allow for proper notification. So if you hear of anything or see anything on TV, just be patient, I will send something out as soon as the ban is lifted, usually within 72 hours. It is one of my jobs to advice the commander on how to ensure that essential means of communication stay active while trying to minimize the use of those considered less essential.
During this blog posting, I ran the Air Force Half Marathon, the Army 10 miler and the Navy 5k. I placed in the top 10 of all races, and yes there were more ten runners in each race!
On 4 October in honor of Duck opener back home, I purchased some pellet guns in the morning and then SPC Wiering and I went out hunting around 1800. I have some pictures and a little video footage of that adventure.
This week I also broke down and bought a bike for $50 bones….actually a bike is the best way to get around on this side of the base. If I hadn’t mentioned already, the base is basically divided in two East side (Blue) and the West Side (Green), colors representing Air force and Army. There is a road that circles the perimeter called Victory loop and we are not allowed to run or bike on this road, therefore we are restricted to our sides of the base. We can go to the “otherside” if we want, we just need to take a bus or drive one of our NTVs (NonTactical Vehicle) over there. On the East side is where you will find the Olympic size pool and the movie theater, go figure!!
Not too many pictures this time around, I will have some more, so check back often to see what I’m up to.
As always, enjoy the pics.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Well I made it to Iraq
I touched down safely in Iraq on the 25th of August as most of you have probably figured out by now. We were greeted by our TORCH party personnel at the airport, to include my guy I sent STRATAIR, SGT Murphy or as I call him, M5; it was good to see him! I have been affectionately nicknaming all my soldiers; M5 got his because I have two SGT Murphys in my section, one is a SGT E5, the other is a SFC E7, so as you can guess the other SFC Murphy is M7 or I just call them by their number. In blogs to come, you will learn more about my crew.
We arrived late, so that evening we stayed in transient housing, or short term lodging. We slept 8 to a building with the bunks being bunk beds. Everyone found their gear, a bed, and then ran off to the shower. This was the first night in 2 weeks we all got to sleep on a mattress vs. a cot, it was a nice change. The next morning we all needed to be ready by 0900 to go receive our housing in-brief so that we can get our room assignment on the West side. Grupe managed to secure a seat on the ADVON flight so we remained partners in crime and are roommates for the deployment. For the deployment we will be living in CHUs; Containerized Housing Units, check out the pictures.
The next few days we spent getting settled into our rooms and meeting our counterparts. I met the soldiers of the 412th ASB, the unit we are replacing. They are a good crew and did a lot of stuff improving the BN AO (Battalion Area of Operations) with wiring projects and the addition of switching cabinets.
On 28AUG, we were informed that our RIP TOA (Relief In Place & Transfer Of Authority) was bumped up a week sooner. This expedited our training timeline significantly and the rush was on to start setting up all the accounts in our name. We have Toby Hanna, the Army Depot where we bring computer systems to get fixed, COMSEC account, the DRMO, where we dispose of hazardous materials and most importantly our IMO (Information Management Officer) training, this gives us the right to administer and manage the BN network. CPT H and his soldiers gave us the tour of Balad and my AO; all the places I have customers to support.
Of course Grupe and I found time to run and signed up to run a half marathon on 31AUG, the Rock ‘n Roll Virginia Beach half Marathon. This was my first and we ran it in 1:38.44, finished in the top 20. Had we started at the front of the pack instead of lining up in the back, I think we would have placed in the top 10, securing medals…oh well there will be plenty more races, overall this was a Great Run!
The following days I spent getting acclimated to my new job, learning all I can from CPT H and taking in the new sites, sounds and smells of Iraq.
All around me there are things flying, like Black Hawks, Apaches, Chinooks, F16s, C130s and a whole slew of other types of aircraft; it is loud. I think it would be the equivalent of living right on the runway of the MSP Airport. Here is the sound of the F16s taking off, they do this constantly, ALL day long. At night they look like rockets with their afterburners, pretty cool, I'll try to get a video...
(I distorted the Video for OPSEC reasons)The smell, dirt and diesel all day long; if you ever did any landscaping and order up a nice load of pulverized black dirt, after they dump it, there is that fine dirt in the air, not only can you see it, but you can smell and even taste it, throw in a little diesel and that is what it smells like here.
It is 4SEP and still pretty hot here, 120s or so…and our bathrooms on the most part are Port-o-Potties…let me tell you, there is nothing more soothing than sitting on a nice hot toilet to take care of business, only sometimes it gets real hot and you have to ease yourself down on the seat, sort of like when you are stepping into a real hot Jacuzzi, you have to take it nice and slow, but when you get there, it feels good!!! LOL
Today, 5SEP I ran the 5k freedom run, and took 5th place overall with a time of 22:18. I sure felt good on this run and I am thinking no way it was only a 5k, so the next morning I had Grupe run the course with, he didn’t run the race-choose to sleep in, and it was a little long, about a 1/3 of a mile long, it was actually 3.4 miles. I still have not got a medal here in Iraq, but I am working on it.
Well we had our first dust storm of the deployment, check out the pictures, I missed most of it as I was in my office working, but one of my soldiers snapped a few picks from on top of our HAS (Hardened Aviation Shelter).
11SEP, this morning I ran the Patriot 5k with Grupe as we were a team carrying our BN Colors, if you ask him he will let you know it wasn’t one of his better runs as he just finished up some “paperwork” if you know what I mean when the race started. He didn’t catch up to me until the first mile and he looked in rough shape so I carried the colors to mile 1.5, handed them off to him where he carried I think maybe a mile or less, then I took them for the last mile or so. The top 3 teams received awards and we came in 5th, just missed again! Today also happens to be the infamous day, 5 years ago today is the reason we are here and coincidently today we were “Patched” which means we received our right shoulder, or combat patch. I have the history of the significance of this event under my "Some History" link. It is a big thing to me, not sure how others feel about it, but I feel more like I am part of the team, that I pulled my weight, that I now have that bond with my brothers and sisters in Arms…it is hard to explain, but I feel more accepted.
For the most part I am trying to get into a routine. I go for a run in the morning; I have been a good boy flossing my teeth every morning too, shower and off to breakfast. Usually start my day at 0530 and am into the office just before 0900. I go through the taskers from the night before and then check my email for new Help Desk Tickets. I am still putting out a lot of fires like, my printer doesn’t work, my radio lost its COMSEC, I need a new computer, can I get another computer drop in my office, I want AFN in my office, I can’t log onto my computer, I am locked out of my computer, can I get another phone line…you get the picture. I am trying to automate our Helpdesk procedures to help alleviate this. To do this I am trying to establish a share drive, plus we use Microsoft SharePoint here too. I have 2 networks I manage, a secure or secret network, and then the regular network like you all have at work. Each one has its only policies and protocols that must be enforced, so that means I have twice as much of a chance for something to go wrong. I will talk more about my job as things move on.
Since I have been running, I have lost 19 pounds, I am down from 167 to 148, and I have pretty much lost my belly, which is good. I am hoping to hit the gym starting 1OCT and my goal is to get back up to 160, I will keep you all posted. My poor feet have been taking a beating however, they are still trying to acclimate. I was setting a lot when I got here and my feet basically shed all their skin, just like a snake would. I am getting more use to the climate now and not sweating so much in my boots and my feet are slowing healing up, in another week or so, they will be better than new! It might be to the fact that it is starting to cool off here, it has to come to the point where 100 degrees fills like 60 back home. For a while I did not think there was such a thing as cold water here, hot or warm, but now I can feel traces of cold water when I first turn on the shower. I am not a real “Hot” shower taker, I like it warm and for a while I would just have to turn the cold water on, now I have to crack the hot just a little bit.
14SEP – the dust in the air today is horrible, it looks like an early spring morning back in Minnesota when the air is thick with dew, instead; here it is dirt. It sucks…(Can you tell which pictures they are??) Here is the Video I promised....
As always, enjoy the pics.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
So long Kuwait
Well my stay in Kuwait has come to pass. My main tasks there were to get acclimated to the time change and weather, plus fire my weapon to insure that it still works. Tasks related to my Army job was to get system administrative privileges, baseline some computers for the Kuwait network, set up a phone line and make sure my Commander could log into his computer and make calls from his phone – mission was accomplished.
In Kuwait we had to take combat showers because all water has to be shipped into Camp Buehring and each soldier is allowed 15 gallons of water per day. Here is how a combat shower works, you turn the water on, get wet, shut water off, lather up with soap, turn water on, rinse off, your done, get out – next!
While I was turning in my paperwork to get network access for my soldiers, I made small talk with one of the civilian Techs that works there and asked how much money he made, and he goes, “I am one of the lower paid guys year and my salary is $110K per year.” Not a bad gig, they do the same thing that I will be doing over the next 10 months. They are all contracted through ITT.
The day we need to go fire our weapons we had to get up at 0330. We left at 0400, drove an hour out into the desert to a range. While we were in route to the range we were briefed that we need to be careful not to shoot any camels as they kind of free-range out where we are going. If we were to shoot one, there is more paperwork involved with that incident verse a soldier getting shot. Apparently all these “organizations” have to come out and declare the value of the camel. In case you are interested, brown or black camels go for $8k a piece and white camels go for $100k a piece, why do you think white camels go for so much? If interested, send an email and I will tell you.
16AUG there was a “Victory in the Pacific” 5k race that a bunch of us Red Bulls participated in and wouldn’t you know that we had runners place in all the age categories(See the pictures) . I took 2nd in my age group with a 19:22 time and Grupe took third place. This was the start of my Medal collection… I am going to try and run all the 5k races, they usually have them on Holidays over here. We’ll see how many medals and T-shirts I can collect!
On 18AUG, a group of us decided to go and get haircuts. I can honestly say that the barber cut every single one, see this entries picture. I think I got finagled into this as the others did not get as close of a cut as I did, or it could be the fact that my hair is just not as thick as it used to be. We were all supposed to get a “high-fade” as seen in the pictures. We had a good time and good laugh watching everyone’s reaction to getting all their hair chopped off, I think It hurt me the worse as I am very protective of the hair I have. Now we will let the hair grow in and start growing mustaches, should be fun! The 18th of AUG is also the anniversary of my commissioning; I have been a commissioned officer for 6 years now.
I had heard rumors of a SPA on post, so I sent out to investigate and low and behold, I did find one, so I got myself a massage, 30 minutes for $21 bucks from a nice Filipino lady. The entire SPA is run by Filipinos, the do manicures, pedicures, and haircuts too. I think the massage also helped me beat the Kuwaiti krud. The entire base is powered by diesel generators, so it is loud, dirty and the air is just yucky. I run outside, about 40 miles a week and I am breathing in all that crap…so this is why I treated myself to a massage to help work all the toxins out of my body. After my massage, I stopped at Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere) for a caramel frappuccino.
On 23AUG I entered a CARDIO-STREND competition which consisted of the following events: 100 floors on the Stair-stepper, 5 miles on the Elliptical and 2 miles on the treadmill. I came in third place, but not without controversy. There was no doubt Grupe had first place wrapped up with his astonishing performance on the elliptical, 5 miles in 15 minutes. Second place was a surprise as I thought I had it in the bag, but out of nowhere Bibeau snuck by me and stole away the silver. Apparently the trick to the elliptical was keeping it on level one and just push through it, I on the other hand had mine set on level seven, and took 30 minutes to go 5 miles... cost me the gold. So to insure Bibeau’s silver, he says to me, “let’s run the two miles on treadmills next to each other.” I was like sure…later to find out he knew he had beat me by 10 minutes on the elliptical so all he needed to do was stay within 10minutes of me on the 2 mile. The order of the medal presentation went Bronze, Silver, and Gold; when I did not place, I knew something was wrong. After the presentations were complete, I went to the judges and demanding a recount, I mean a re-add of the times…and sure enough, I at least came in third, stripping SFC Saladin of his medal! It was all good and we had fun!
The next day Grupe and I decided to run a 12 miler as it would be our last run in Kuwait. This is my longest run since I ran the Twin Cities marathon back in 2001. I felt pretty good, so afterwards I treated myself one more time to a massage, actually I got the full package, a foot spa, manicure and 30 minute massage from Melvy, boy did I sleep well that evening. The next day I got up, finished packing and left for Iraq later that day on a C130 flying high, very hot and super sweaty, miserable hour and half flight.
As always, enjoy the pictures.
In Kuwait we had to take combat showers because all water has to be shipped into Camp Buehring and each soldier is allowed 15 gallons of water per day. Here is how a combat shower works, you turn the water on, get wet, shut water off, lather up with soap, turn water on, rinse off, your done, get out – next!
While I was turning in my paperwork to get network access for my soldiers, I made small talk with one of the civilian Techs that works there and asked how much money he made, and he goes, “I am one of the lower paid guys year and my salary is $110K per year.” Not a bad gig, they do the same thing that I will be doing over the next 10 months. They are all contracted through ITT.
The day we need to go fire our weapons we had to get up at 0330. We left at 0400, drove an hour out into the desert to a range. While we were in route to the range we were briefed that we need to be careful not to shoot any camels as they kind of free-range out where we are going. If we were to shoot one, there is more paperwork involved with that incident verse a soldier getting shot. Apparently all these “organizations” have to come out and declare the value of the camel. In case you are interested, brown or black camels go for $8k a piece and white camels go for $100k a piece, why do you think white camels go for so much? If interested, send an email and I will tell you.
16AUG there was a “Victory in the Pacific” 5k race that a bunch of us Red Bulls participated in and wouldn’t you know that we had runners place in all the age categories(See the pictures) . I took 2nd in my age group with a 19:22 time and Grupe took third place. This was the start of my Medal collection… I am going to try and run all the 5k races, they usually have them on Holidays over here. We’ll see how many medals and T-shirts I can collect!
On 18AUG, a group of us decided to go and get haircuts. I can honestly say that the barber cut every single one, see this entries picture. I think I got finagled into this as the others did not get as close of a cut as I did, or it could be the fact that my hair is just not as thick as it used to be. We were all supposed to get a “high-fade” as seen in the pictures. We had a good time and good laugh watching everyone’s reaction to getting all their hair chopped off, I think It hurt me the worse as I am very protective of the hair I have. Now we will let the hair grow in and start growing mustaches, should be fun! The 18th of AUG is also the anniversary of my commissioning; I have been a commissioned officer for 6 years now.
I had heard rumors of a SPA on post, so I sent out to investigate and low and behold, I did find one, so I got myself a massage, 30 minutes for $21 bucks from a nice Filipino lady. The entire SPA is run by Filipinos, the do manicures, pedicures, and haircuts too. I think the massage also helped me beat the Kuwaiti krud. The entire base is powered by diesel generators, so it is loud, dirty and the air is just yucky. I run outside, about 40 miles a week and I am breathing in all that crap…so this is why I treated myself to a massage to help work all the toxins out of my body. After my massage, I stopped at Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere) for a caramel frappuccino.
On 23AUG I entered a CARDIO-STREND competition which consisted of the following events: 100 floors on the Stair-stepper, 5 miles on the Elliptical and 2 miles on the treadmill. I came in third place, but not without controversy. There was no doubt Grupe had first place wrapped up with his astonishing performance on the elliptical, 5 miles in 15 minutes. Second place was a surprise as I thought I had it in the bag, but out of nowhere Bibeau snuck by me and stole away the silver. Apparently the trick to the elliptical was keeping it on level one and just push through it, I on the other hand had mine set on level seven, and took 30 minutes to go 5 miles... cost me the gold. So to insure Bibeau’s silver, he says to me, “let’s run the two miles on treadmills next to each other.” I was like sure…later to find out he knew he had beat me by 10 minutes on the elliptical so all he needed to do was stay within 10minutes of me on the 2 mile. The order of the medal presentation went Bronze, Silver, and Gold; when I did not place, I knew something was wrong. After the presentations were complete, I went to the judges and demanding a recount, I mean a re-add of the times…and sure enough, I at least came in third, stripping SFC Saladin of his medal! It was all good and we had fun!
The next day Grupe and I decided to run a 12 miler as it would be our last run in Kuwait. This is my longest run since I ran the Twin Cities marathon back in 2001. I felt pretty good, so afterwards I treated myself one more time to a massage, actually I got the full package, a foot spa, manicure and 30 minute massage from Melvy, boy did I sleep well that evening. The next day I got up, finished packing and left for Iraq later that day on a C130 flying high, very hot and super sweaty, miserable hour and half flight.
As always, enjoy the pictures.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Kuwait - I have arrived!
12AUG
I left Ft Sill Oklahoma on 10AUG and arrived to Camp Buehring Kuwait at 120330AUG08; for as fast as those two days went, they sure felt long. We flew on a DC10 with some Marines, Navy and Air Force soldiers; we were all just one big happy family. I did not sleep on the flight from Minnesota to Bangor Maine, but choose to watch the on board movie, “Fools Gold,” I thought it was ok. We had a 2 hour lay-over in Maine. We had a nice reception, there were prior Vets, VFW, Legion, and civilians there all through the day greeting soldiers and thanking them for their service. We used this same airport for when I came home from Bosnia. I used my time to send out a few quick emails and to also try and get my video player to work. I downloaded the latest codecs and drivers, but no luck…I was hoping to finish watching “The Godfather Part II.” Can you believe I have never seen those movies, well to say the least, I will get the whole series completed while here in Kuwait. Our next stop from Maine was Shannon Ireland, the movies for this round were “I am Legend” and “The Contract.” This was a 4.5 hour flight to Ireland where we were going to have a 2.5 hour layover there and again, I used the time to send out some quick emails, I think it was 0330 on 11AUG, I had been up for 20 straight hours at this point.
By this time I could not take it, I was getting easily annoyed and crabby. I decided to find I nice row of seats in the airport and passed out. I think I was able to squeeze in a 45 minute cat nap! I was awaken and told to get on the plane, next stop Kuwait, just 6.5 more hours to go. I do not know what it is, but my right knee just starts aching if I have to sit for more than a couple of hours, it is probably just old age settling in, I’ll have to ask MSG Olsen about that….I decided to get some more sleep because I knew once we got to Kuwait, it was going to be a long day. I woke up a couple of hours later to see my battle buddy resting nice and comfortably on my right shoulder, awww he was so cute, until I pushed him off of me….just joking! We both woke up and finished watching the movie, “Oceans 13 or 14 or 15,” one of those….
Once we made it to Kuwait, we had few stops before making it to our final destination, Camp Buehring. We unloaded the plane and immediately got on the bus, drove for a little while; I could swear they had speed bumps every 100 meters! We stop for a piss, smoke and water break. I think it was still on the Kuwait Airport. Next we drove to Camp Victory, there we unloaded our gear from one truck, got rid of the Marines and Seamen, loaded our gear on to another truck and headed North to Camp Buehring. Oh, Amy, I got a rock for you from Kuwait, there is nothing cool about it, other than it will be from Kuwait.
I think I slept most of the way; it was a quick 45 minute drive. Besides the first thing that comes to your mind when you think desert, that is exactly what this part of Kuwait looks like. A light tan, real fine sand, almost like the texture of cinnamon, but does not taste the same what-so-ever. How do I know you asked, because it is breezy here and any little gust, if your mouth is open, you’re getting some sand. The sun is also extremely bright here, I think it is because of the reflection off the sand, also the analogy of the blow dryer I stated in my last Blog, TRUE; it was 119 degrees today!
Upon our arrival, we got scanned in and brought to our new home for the next few weeks. After we unloaded our gear and got our living quarters situated (see pictures) we went and got some breakfast.
I had an omelet made my way (ham, cheese, green peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes) umm, umm, umm, plus some wheat toast with honey. I am going to have to start running soon, or the 15 lbs I lost will be found in no-time!! After breakfast we had time to shower and catch a nap before our next event, the welcome briefs ….. they went over dos and don’ts, possible threats, and safety concerns…dam it was tough to stay awake after only 4 hours asleep for the last 48….well, I made it….after which I went to the PX to get some supplies, then to dinner, then did some S6 (computer account stuff) wrote my blog and now I am going to bed, need to be up by 0300 to drive a hour into the desert to shoot my weapons, to ensure they work…..until next time – GOOD NIGHT!
One last thing, I have a new favorite song, hopefully it will be out on Karaoke by the time I get home next year, it is “All Summer Long” by Kidd Rock…I have a link to the video under My Favorite Songs.
I left Ft Sill Oklahoma on 10AUG and arrived to Camp Buehring Kuwait at 120330AUG08; for as fast as those two days went, they sure felt long. We flew on a DC10 with some Marines, Navy and Air Force soldiers; we were all just one big happy family. I did not sleep on the flight from Minnesota to Bangor Maine, but choose to watch the on board movie, “Fools Gold,” I thought it was ok. We had a 2 hour lay-over in Maine. We had a nice reception, there were prior Vets, VFW, Legion, and civilians there all through the day greeting soldiers and thanking them for their service. We used this same airport for when I came home from Bosnia. I used my time to send out a few quick emails and to also try and get my video player to work. I downloaded the latest codecs and drivers, but no luck…I was hoping to finish watching “The Godfather Part II.” Can you believe I have never seen those movies, well to say the least, I will get the whole series completed while here in Kuwait. Our next stop from Maine was Shannon Ireland, the movies for this round were “I am Legend” and “The Contract.” This was a 4.5 hour flight to Ireland where we were going to have a 2.5 hour layover there and again, I used the time to send out some quick emails, I think it was 0330 on 11AUG, I had been up for 20 straight hours at this point.
By this time I could not take it, I was getting easily annoyed and crabby. I decided to find I nice row of seats in the airport and passed out. I think I was able to squeeze in a 45 minute cat nap! I was awaken and told to get on the plane, next stop Kuwait, just 6.5 more hours to go. I do not know what it is, but my right knee just starts aching if I have to sit for more than a couple of hours, it is probably just old age settling in, I’ll have to ask MSG Olsen about that….I decided to get some more sleep because I knew once we got to Kuwait, it was going to be a long day. I woke up a couple of hours later to see my battle buddy resting nice and comfortably on my right shoulder, awww he was so cute, until I pushed him off of me….just joking! We both woke up and finished watching the movie, “Oceans 13 or 14 or 15,” one of those….
Once we made it to Kuwait, we had few stops before making it to our final destination, Camp Buehring. We unloaded the plane and immediately got on the bus, drove for a little while; I could swear they had speed bumps every 100 meters! We stop for a piss, smoke and water break. I think it was still on the Kuwait Airport. Next we drove to Camp Victory, there we unloaded our gear from one truck, got rid of the Marines and Seamen, loaded our gear on to another truck and headed North to Camp Buehring. Oh, Amy, I got a rock for you from Kuwait, there is nothing cool about it, other than it will be from Kuwait.
I think I slept most of the way; it was a quick 45 minute drive. Besides the first thing that comes to your mind when you think desert, that is exactly what this part of Kuwait looks like. A light tan, real fine sand, almost like the texture of cinnamon, but does not taste the same what-so-ever. How do I know you asked, because it is breezy here and any little gust, if your mouth is open, you’re getting some sand. The sun is also extremely bright here, I think it is because of the reflection off the sand, also the analogy of the blow dryer I stated in my last Blog, TRUE; it was 119 degrees today!
Upon our arrival, we got scanned in and brought to our new home for the next few weeks. After we unloaded our gear and got our living quarters situated (see pictures) we went and got some breakfast.
I had an omelet made my way (ham, cheese, green peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes) umm, umm, umm, plus some wheat toast with honey. I am going to have to start running soon, or the 15 lbs I lost will be found in no-time!! After breakfast we had time to shower and catch a nap before our next event, the welcome briefs ….. they went over dos and don’ts, possible threats, and safety concerns…dam it was tough to stay awake after only 4 hours asleep for the last 48….well, I made it….after which I went to the PX to get some supplies, then to dinner, then did some S6 (computer account stuff) wrote my blog and now I am going to bed, need to be up by 0300 to drive a hour into the desert to shoot my weapons, to ensure they work…..until next time – GOOD NIGHT!
One last thing, I have a new favorite song, hopefully it will be out on Karaoke by the time I get home next year, it is “All Summer Long” by Kidd Rock…I have a link to the video under My Favorite Songs.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Next Stop - Kuwait
As I reflect back on my days here at good ol’ Ft Sill, I come to realize 100 plus degree weather isn’t really that bad, but honestly, I do prefer the Minnesota weather. If I need to be in this type of climate, I much rather be sitting on a nice sandy beach in the Caribbean with a fruity drink or nice ice cold beer and beautiful scenery like beautiful women in their favorite swimsuit….oh, I must of started day dreaming there, sorry…..where was I , oh-yeah, Ft Sill. Well the past few weeks I have begun to turn-in some of the equipment I am signed for and certain rooms out at the airfield I was responsible for. Since I am leaving ADVON, I needed to do a 100% inventory of all the equipment I am signed for and sign it over to my NCOIC who will then make sure it gets all turned in and my hand receipt cleared. I did receive 99% of the automation equipment I requested so me and a couple of my soldiers made sure to get all them packed so they can ship STRATAIR. (BTW – I included an acronymfinder link under Links of Interest on the right)
I did a secure Video Conference with my counterpart via the internet using Adobe Breeze interface, that was cool. It is basically the same as using CISCO Meeting place, or along the lines of Skyping or Yahoo Video conferencing. Speaking of, my Skype handle is “chrispkline” so if you have a Skype account, look me up.
As for this Blog’s picture album, you have to be patient, I have my people sending me pics, but here are a few for your viewing pleasure:
To help keep the morale up and also show us that our leadership trusts us, they allowed for us to go off post for an evening to eat dinner as a section and to catch a movie. My section, S6, CSSAMO, the Chaplain and some peeps from the S1 all went to Meers Restaurant, somewhere out in the boonies. I got to say, the food was divine and the service was great! To top things off, if you can believe this, an Army Vet that was eating there picked up the tab for all 30 of us, over $400 bucks….he tried to sneak out, but we were able to rustle him back in and say THANKS!! We are also planning to do something for him as we got his business card….stay tuned.
Well Kolacky Days of Montgomery have come and gone, I heard the weather was nice…other than that sounds like I didn’t miss too much. No big bar brawls, marriage break-ups, or stabbings…I guess for the police, this year was kind of boring!?
There is one funny story I can include in this month’s Blog, it is a short story that I call “The Cockroach Hunters.” I do not remember the exact day this event took place, but I do remember the events of the day very vividly. I believe it was about 2300 hrs, and I had just drifted off to sleep when I was awakened by a loud “aaaaahhhhhrrrgggg!!! COCKROACH!!” from the Chaplain, then Grupe comes running out of the bathroom, yelling “COCKROACH!” By this time all of that were sleeping are up by now. The Chaplain then yells to turn on the lights, so WAM! Lights on, I roll over to see what is all the commotion and through my tired, sleepy, pasted eyes, I see Grupe with a broom… and he is stretching it as far as it can reach to attack the cockroach. The Chaplain then Yells, “Don’t smash it; you’ll get the eggs all over!” So here I see Grupe ever-so-gently-trying to squish the cockroach…after that I knew it was all safe and I rolled over and went back to sleep.
Just a few days ago we had the Big Farewell Ceremony and BBQ Bash. The Governor came down, senators, the TAG, the DIV Commander, a whole bunch of supporters from MN to cook us steaks and a live performance from JB Layton. More importantly, my favorite visitors were my parents, sister, nephew, niece, grandpa and friend Verna all came to visit for a few days. I took them to see Geronimo’s Grave, the Historic Medicine Hill Bluffs and a mini tour of Fort Sill. We spent most of our time hanging out by the pool, enjoying the weather and some tasty beverages. They all just left a couple of days ago, and they all owe me pictures!!!
Verna and I did make a trip up to Oklahoma City (OKC) where we attended a Reggae festival and also went to see the OKC Bombing Memorial.
Well that wraps it all up from Fort Sill, the next entry will be from Kuwait, where I hear it is even warmer. I think someone explained it to me like this – if you want to know what it is like, take a hair dryer, put it on high, aim it right at your face, and then try to breathe…. So it may take a little getting use to. As always, enjoy the pictures.
I did a secure Video Conference with my counterpart via the internet using Adobe Breeze interface, that was cool. It is basically the same as using CISCO Meeting place, or along the lines of Skyping or Yahoo Video conferencing. Speaking of, my Skype handle is “chrispkline” so if you have a Skype account, look me up.
As for this Blog’s picture album, you have to be patient, I have my people sending me pics, but here are a few for your viewing pleasure:
To help keep the morale up and also show us that our leadership trusts us, they allowed for us to go off post for an evening to eat dinner as a section and to catch a movie. My section, S6, CSSAMO, the Chaplain and some peeps from the S1 all went to Meers Restaurant, somewhere out in the boonies. I got to say, the food was divine and the service was great! To top things off, if you can believe this, an Army Vet that was eating there picked up the tab for all 30 of us, over $400 bucks….he tried to sneak out, but we were able to rustle him back in and say THANKS!! We are also planning to do something for him as we got his business card….stay tuned.
Well Kolacky Days of Montgomery have come and gone, I heard the weather was nice…other than that sounds like I didn’t miss too much. No big bar brawls, marriage break-ups, or stabbings…I guess for the police, this year was kind of boring!?
There is one funny story I can include in this month’s Blog, it is a short story that I call “The Cockroach Hunters.” I do not remember the exact day this event took place, but I do remember the events of the day very vividly. I believe it was about 2300 hrs, and I had just drifted off to sleep when I was awakened by a loud “aaaaahhhhhrrrgggg!!! COCKROACH!!” from the Chaplain, then Grupe comes running out of the bathroom, yelling “COCKROACH!” By this time all of that were sleeping are up by now. The Chaplain then yells to turn on the lights, so WAM! Lights on, I roll over to see what is all the commotion and through my tired, sleepy, pasted eyes, I see Grupe with a broom… and he is stretching it as far as it can reach to attack the cockroach. The Chaplain then Yells, “Don’t smash it; you’ll get the eggs all over!” So here I see Grupe ever-so-gently-trying to squish the cockroach…after that I knew it was all safe and I rolled over and went back to sleep.
Just a few days ago we had the Big Farewell Ceremony and BBQ Bash. The Governor came down, senators, the TAG, the DIV Commander, a whole bunch of supporters from MN to cook us steaks and a live performance from JB Layton. More importantly, my favorite visitors were my parents, sister, nephew, niece, grandpa and friend Verna all came to visit for a few days. I took them to see Geronimo’s Grave, the Historic Medicine Hill Bluffs and a mini tour of Fort Sill. We spent most of our time hanging out by the pool, enjoying the weather and some tasty beverages. They all just left a couple of days ago, and they all owe me pictures!!!
Verna and I did make a trip up to Oklahoma City (OKC) where we attended a Reggae festival and also went to see the OKC Bombing Memorial.
Well that wraps it all up from Fort Sill, the next entry will be from Kuwait, where I hear it is even warmer. I think someone explained it to me like this – if you want to know what it is like, take a hair dryer, put it on high, aim it right at your face, and then try to breathe…. So it may take a little getting use to. As always, enjoy the pictures.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Month into it
I have been down in Oklahoma for just over a month and I have missed my brother’s birthday, my mom’s birthday and a couple of good friend’s birthdays. I will have a lot more misses as more birthdays continue to come and go, and always the hardest, the Holidays. Since I last wrote I have wrapped up all my mobilization training and am certifiably ready to head over there. Speaking of over there, there is a FX mini-series titled “Over There” that me and my roomdogs have just finished watching on our Big Sheet TV. The series is about the Iraqi War centered around year 2004. I recommend checking it out if you get a chance.
I am going to try something different from this point on with my pictures and am going to just post them in a slideshow, this album will include what our living quarters look like, the white tents are where we eat and is affectionately known as the “MOB CAFE,” Geronimo's grave, an armadillo, some artwork, and me getting my third dose of the anthrax vaccination. Well I think that pretty much sums this month up, as always, enjoy the pictures.
My section has completed all its training as well except for one late MOBer, not exactly sure of his fate at this time, but as of right now, I will have 6 soldiers going over with me. Right now our focus is on the Mobilization Readiness Exercise (MRE) and our Command Post Network (CPN) training.
The MRE is our culminating event for which we are graded on to see if we as a Battalion are ready to go overseas. The CPN is basically a mobile AT&T that my section operates to provide voice, data and video to the Battalion Commander (BC).
I continue to fight for equipment shortages to ensure that I have the right equipment to do my job in Iraq, right now I am awaiting the results of the Memorandum I submitted to US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), I will let you know how it goes.
I got my third shot of my series of Anthrax, handled it like a pro, boy that shot stings and your tricep is sore for about 4 days after, it feels like you went to the gym and just smoked your triceps or like someone punched you real hard about 10 times in the arm….I think I get one more shot of anthrax before I leave Ft Sill and then another one once I am in Iraq.
I am proud to say that I have not had a chew since 03JUN08, I told myself once I left MN, I would quit dippin’ and so far so good! I have also picked up my running and have logged over 180 miles since getting here, which is about 40 miles per week. I have lost 10lbs so far going from 160 to 150.
I have not started lifting weights yet; I am waiting to do that once I get to Iraq. I run at 0500 when the temp is about 70 degrees and the humidity is 80% because it quickly warms up to 95 plus degrees. I placed a temp gauge on my website so you can see what it is down here and when I get to Iraq, I will update to reflect the temp there.
I am sad to report that I did not get to sing with nor make the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert on the 4th of July as I pulled Guard Duty with Grupe and another Officer so that our enlisted soldiers could enjoy the day off, regardless, I was still able to have some time off and enjoyed being able to wear civilian clothes for about 4 hours.
All my gear has been packed and is heading overseas, all I have left is the essential items to get me through the next month.
The wildlife down here is pretty robust, thus far I have seen tarantulas, deer, armadillos, elk, a fox, lots of raccoons and lots of skunks, which like to run with Grupe and I for about 25 yards before hitting the ditch, makes for an interesting morning.
I am looking forward to 4AUG as my parents, grandpa, sister, niece, nephew and friends are coming to visit me one last time before I head over there.
I am going to try something different from this point on with my pictures and am going to just post them in a slideshow, this album will include what our living quarters look like, the white tents are where we eat and is affectionately known as the “MOB CAFE,” Geronimo's grave, an armadillo, some artwork, and me getting my third dose of the anthrax vaccination. Well I think that pretty much sums this month up, as always, enjoy the pictures.
My section has completed all its training as well except for one late MOBer, not exactly sure of his fate at this time, but as of right now, I will have 6 soldiers going over with me. Right now our focus is on the Mobilization Readiness Exercise (MRE) and our Command Post Network (CPN) training.
The MRE is our culminating event for which we are graded on to see if we as a Battalion are ready to go overseas. The CPN is basically a mobile AT&T that my section operates to provide voice, data and video to the Battalion Commander (BC).
I continue to fight for equipment shortages to ensure that I have the right equipment to do my job in Iraq, right now I am awaiting the results of the Memorandum I submitted to US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), I will let you know how it goes.
I got my third shot of my series of Anthrax, handled it like a pro, boy that shot stings and your tricep is sore for about 4 days after, it feels like you went to the gym and just smoked your triceps or like someone punched you real hard about 10 times in the arm….I think I get one more shot of anthrax before I leave Ft Sill and then another one once I am in Iraq.
I am proud to say that I have not had a chew since 03JUN08, I told myself once I left MN, I would quit dippin’ and so far so good! I have also picked up my running and have logged over 180 miles since getting here, which is about 40 miles per week. I have lost 10lbs so far going from 160 to 150.
I have not started lifting weights yet; I am waiting to do that once I get to Iraq. I run at 0500 when the temp is about 70 degrees and the humidity is 80% because it quickly warms up to 95 plus degrees. I placed a temp gauge on my website so you can see what it is down here and when I get to Iraq, I will update to reflect the temp there.
I am sad to report that I did not get to sing with nor make the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert on the 4th of July as I pulled Guard Duty with Grupe and another Officer so that our enlisted soldiers could enjoy the day off, regardless, I was still able to have some time off and enjoyed being able to wear civilian clothes for about 4 hours.
All my gear has been packed and is heading overseas, all I have left is the essential items to get me through the next month.
The wildlife down here is pretty robust, thus far I have seen tarantulas, deer, armadillos, elk, a fox, lots of raccoons and lots of skunks, which like to run with Grupe and I for about 25 yards before hitting the ditch, makes for an interesting morning.
I am looking forward to 4AUG as my parents, grandpa, sister, niece, nephew and friends are coming to visit me one last time before I head over there.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The First Weeks at Ft Sill
Well I finally got email...I am in Oklahoma now, been here for about two week. It is HOT, averages about 96 degrees, and outside is like your own personal sauna with the humidity as high as it is here. I live in a room that is about 20’x 20’ with 6 roommates. We do have our own bathroom, with one toilet and shower. The hot water can not keep up with us, so most mornings I take a cold shower, to be honest I don’t mind that much. I will try and get some picks of the building as well as my view, but for now, here is one view of what my room looks like before my roommates showed up:
I was greeted by a dead cockroach in the bathroom as shown in the picture below.
I have heard others encountered rattle snakes and tarantulas down here already, I have been lucky thus far. I got a lot of shots on the Friday I got down here to include, typhoid, Anthrax, small pox, TB tine and a blood draw. I am proud to say that I did not pass out this time! I thought I hurt my chest from working out, but I have come to realize that my small pox inoculation has caused my lymph nodes to swell in my left armpit, I am relieved that I did not pull a muscle, but dam my arm is sore!! Here we are all lined up down the hall way getting our TB tine read:
I typically get up at 5am to go running when it is only about 65 degrees out. I am up to running 6 miles a day with my training buddy and room-dog Chris G. We are working on leaning up and getting acclimated to the heat, eventually we will make it to the gym here in a little while, actually we were lifting in the evening, but we have gotten too busy so we made running our priority. Chris and I decided we are going to train so that we can run Grandma’s and the TC Marathons when we get back in 2009.
My team supports over 500 soldiers that we take care of when it comes to computer issues and automation support, so I have been pretty busy these past weeks. Currently my days consist of getting individuals permission to log on to the Ft. Sill network, requesting additional automation support like copiers, faxes, scanners, thumbdrives, etc…In addition we have a classified network that select individuals have access to that I also support. I have a team of 6 right now that assist me. I will have one more arriving in the next few days. We finally are getting settled in. I have our help desk set-up where people come and submit requests for support. I also have my battle-board set up which tracks where my soldiers are, tells me where I need to be, any major projects for that day, what our training focus is for the day and other important information.
I did start reading my one year bible that mom gave me, with the idea when we are done reading it, I will be home…right now it is tough keeping up, but I am doing my best. Mom, how are you coming along?
Here is a picture of the momentous people gave me before I left:
The big ticket training is going to start here this coming week, like weapons qualification, Convoy live fire, Vehicle rollover drills and the like. All our leadership flew to Ft. Rucker for an Aviation Training Exercise (ATX) so I have been left back to pick up the slack. I am the acting XO, S3 and the actual S6 so my life will be interesting for the next 10 days. Later on as I continue to write I will describe what an XO or S3 or S6 is, if you can’t wait, you can always Google them.
One last thing, Lynyrd Skynyrd is coming here to play on July 4th, HooAH, maybe they will let me on stage to sing "Sweet Home Alabama" with them!?!?
That’s all for now, as always, enjoy the pictures.
I was greeted by a dead cockroach in the bathroom as shown in the picture below.
I have heard others encountered rattle snakes and tarantulas down here already, I have been lucky thus far. I got a lot of shots on the Friday I got down here to include, typhoid, Anthrax, small pox, TB tine and a blood draw. I am proud to say that I did not pass out this time! I thought I hurt my chest from working out, but I have come to realize that my small pox inoculation has caused my lymph nodes to swell in my left armpit, I am relieved that I did not pull a muscle, but dam my arm is sore!! Here we are all lined up down the hall way getting our TB tine read:
I typically get up at 5am to go running when it is only about 65 degrees out. I am up to running 6 miles a day with my training buddy and room-dog Chris G. We are working on leaning up and getting acclimated to the heat, eventually we will make it to the gym here in a little while, actually we were lifting in the evening, but we have gotten too busy so we made running our priority. Chris and I decided we are going to train so that we can run Grandma’s and the TC Marathons when we get back in 2009.
My team supports over 500 soldiers that we take care of when it comes to computer issues and automation support, so I have been pretty busy these past weeks. Currently my days consist of getting individuals permission to log on to the Ft. Sill network, requesting additional automation support like copiers, faxes, scanners, thumbdrives, etc…In addition we have a classified network that select individuals have access to that I also support. I have a team of 6 right now that assist me. I will have one more arriving in the next few days. We finally are getting settled in. I have our help desk set-up where people come and submit requests for support. I also have my battle-board set up which tracks where my soldiers are, tells me where I need to be, any major projects for that day, what our training focus is for the day and other important information.
I did start reading my one year bible that mom gave me, with the idea when we are done reading it, I will be home…right now it is tough keeping up, but I am doing my best. Mom, how are you coming along?
Here is a picture of the momentous people gave me before I left:
The big ticket training is going to start here this coming week, like weapons qualification, Convoy live fire, Vehicle rollover drills and the like. All our leadership flew to Ft. Rucker for an Aviation Training Exercise (ATX) so I have been left back to pick up the slack. I am the acting XO, S3 and the actual S6 so my life will be interesting for the next 10 days. Later on as I continue to write I will describe what an XO or S3 or S6 is, if you can’t wait, you can always Google them.
One last thing, Lynyrd Skynyrd is coming here to play on July 4th, HooAH, maybe they will let me on stage to sing "Sweet Home Alabama" with them!?!?
That’s all for now, as always, enjoy the pictures.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Depature Ceremony
31MAY we had our big send off with all the MN Dignitaries; Governor Pawlenty, the First Lady, MG Nash, BG Kelly, Senator Klobuchar , Representatives Bachman and Kline. Plus the most important people of all my family and friends…Lots of nice things were said and promises made…we’ll see what happens when we all come home.
We all decided to go out to Olive Garden after the ceremony…enjoy the pictures.
Here is my mailing address while at Fort Sill, Oklahoma:
CPT Kline, Christopher P.
HSC 834th ASB, S6
6609 NW FORT SILL BLVD
FORT SILL, OK 73503-1800
Thursday, May 29, 2008
2008 Going away Party & Memorial Day
Well it has come and gone...a bitter sweet feeling. The anxiety before the party was driving me crazy, I needed to be a lone for a while before the party to energize for the big event, after all, I am a Rock Star...
The party kicked off at 1400, with a few guests showing up shortly after; of course the bulk of my family was already there!!
I walked up to the White Front from my parents, we'll I attempted to twice, but forgot a couple of things so I needed to turn around twice, by the last time, mom was back at the house to pick up something, so I just caught a ride with her...when I did arrive, I was in the zone and ready to party!! This is what I saw when I walked in:
(Thanks to Niener and Budweiser!)
The food was already out and kept multiplying...it was all delicious!! Niener did an awesome job and Thank you to everyone else who contributed, lots of positive comments!
The night could have not went any better, all my friends showed up, even those that I never thought would venture to Montgomery.
Even though I got there at 1400, I told myself I could not start drinking until 1800, and of course I held myself to the standard. Once 1800 hit, I had a Bacardi Lemon Coke and 2 shots of Patron.
I put my best friend Tim in charge of making sure I consumed water at the same rate that I consumed alcohol…he did his job because I remember having at least 2 glasses of water every time I had a drink in my hand. The only problem is that after so many shots of tequila, I can’t remember much of what went on unless somebody would say. “ Do you remember” then I could reminisce. I need to find that balance... I will continue to research!
Of all that I can remember is that, I am a rock star; and that I rocked the Microphone all night long.
Speaking of Rock Stars, all I know is that my next T-Shirt I make will say on the front, "I'm a Rock Star" and on the back it will say, "Just ask me!"
I will eventually publish my address in Iraq to this page, I know many of you have been asking for it...I can't wait to see what goodies from HOME I will get!.
Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support. Enjoy the pictures and see you all again in 400 days for the “Welcome Home” fiesta!!
Thanks,
Chris.
The party kicked off at 1400, with a few guests showing up shortly after; of course the bulk of my family was already there!!
I walked up to the White Front from my parents, we'll I attempted to twice, but forgot a couple of things so I needed to turn around twice, by the last time, mom was back at the house to pick up something, so I just caught a ride with her...when I did arrive, I was in the zone and ready to party!! This is what I saw when I walked in:
(Thanks to Niener and Budweiser!)The food was already out and kept multiplying...it was all delicious!! Niener did an awesome job and Thank you to everyone else who contributed, lots of positive comments!
The night could have not went any better, all my friends showed up, even those that I never thought would venture to Montgomery.
Even though I got there at 1400, I told myself I could not start drinking until 1800, and of course I held myself to the standard. Once 1800 hit, I had a Bacardi Lemon Coke and 2 shots of Patron.
I put my best friend Tim in charge of making sure I consumed water at the same rate that I consumed alcohol…he did his job because I remember having at least 2 glasses of water every time I had a drink in my hand. The only problem is that after so many shots of tequila, I can’t remember much of what went on unless somebody would say. “ Do you remember” then I could reminisce. I need to find that balance... I will continue to research!
Of all that I can remember is that, I am a rock star; and that I rocked the Microphone all night long.
Speaking of Rock Stars, all I know is that my next T-Shirt I make will say on the front, "I'm a Rock Star" and on the back it will say, "Just ask me!"I will eventually publish my address in Iraq to this page, I know many of you have been asking for it...I can't wait to see what goodies from HOME I will get!.
Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support. Enjoy the pictures and see you all again in 400 days for the “Welcome Home” fiesta!!
Thanks,
Chris.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Vegas - Baby
My time here in the USA is growing shorter, so I need to take advantage of vacations and hanging with family and friends. No better thing to do, but combine the both and head to Vegas. I went to visit Heidi, my cousin and hang with some friends who live in Vegas and traveled with me. I left on 23 FEB and returned on 27 FEB.We partied hard the first night. First we met up with Shawn, Brooke, Darcy and Brandon downtown on Fremont Street. Apparently Brooke had just gotten married last weekend to her mother's surprise.
We had a couple of drinks then made our way to RumRunner. Heidi and her roomy, Jill, have some connections there so we were able to bypass the ridiculous line and march right on in. The club was OK, but spendy, $10 per drink. The dance floor was respectably busy, but not obnoxiously packed which I like - although I never made it on the floor. On our way out we caught the last few seconds of the trapeze act - then we busted outa there.
Next stop Coyote Ugly. Again our connections got us right in without having to wait in line. Once in we got hooked up with drinks and begun to get our groove on. Lots of ladies dancing on the bar, how can you not like it. Not too many single ladies out on the dance floor - well at least I could not single any out!! My crew, we just kicked it, Heidi, Jill, Tim, Holly, Tom and Shawn - we had fun!So much fun I don't even remember taking this picture. The thing I remember quite vividly about that night was the end because I ended up puking my guts out. Heidi had to come rescue me...but I am glad I did, because I felt just fine the next morning.
Sunday's highlight was a comedy show at Hooters featuring Bobby Slaten, outstanding, that kind is down right dirty and hilarious. After the show we made it to the Hard Rock Cafe where I started playing my favorite game - Craps! I was lucky to get on a hot table and met some cool people from Germany and
Tehran. We were on fire, I almost pissed my pants because I did not want to leave because the dice were so hot. After all was said and done, I was up $135!! Tim on the other hand got to catch a couple doing the hibbadibady in the men's room and was solicited by a hooker - I call that a successful night!
Tehran. We were on fire, I almost pissed my pants because I did not want to leave because the dice were so hot. After all was said and done, I was up $135!! Tim on the other hand got to catch a couple doing the hibbadibady in the men's room and was solicited by a hooker - I call that a successful night!Monday was poker night, Tom, Holly, Tim and I took our chances on a $40 buy in game, I took second place, not too bad. We were downtown and decided to just stay down there and gamble. We tried Pia Gao, Black Jack, and finally craps. We had beginners luck on our side as Tim and I got on a hot role and were able to win back some of the money we lost playing the other games.
Tuesday morning I woke up and went for a run. I only wanted it to go for 40 minutes, but it turned out to be about 80 minutes because, this is hard to admit, I got lost. Good news was I had my cell phone and Heidi was able to rescue me again - Hey! I was only a block away!
We all got ready for another day on the strip. This time we stared a little earlier. First Heidi, Tom and I grabbed lunch at Chipotle, my favorite, before hitting the strip. We met up with Tim and Holly at their room, they stayed at the MGM, had a couple beers them went to NY NY to ride the Roller Coaster. Boy I wish I had a camera with to take a picture of Tim, let's just say he DOES NOT like Roller Coasters. After the ride, we went to gamble a little bit at the MGM, Craps of course, this time the house took back a good chunk of their money, fortunately I was able to walk away with some money still in my pocket! I headed back to Tim and Holly's room to have some more beverages and wait for Heidi to come get us so we could get ready to go out for our last night in Vegas.
We were planning to go out to Planet Hollywood. On our way to get ready we stopped at the Olive Garden for dinner, this was at 2100 hrs. By the time we were done eating, we all kind of look at each other and Heidi says, maybe we should just go chill and watch a movie...I think we were all glad to hear that because no one wanted to be the one to "cash" out...so everyone kind of at once said "yeah" or that's a "good idea." I think no later than 5 minutes after hitting the couch, we were all out cold!
Wednesday morning came early, Tom and my flight left at 0910. Heidi got us to the airport safe and on time. We said our good byes - and off into the sunset we went...hence the next adventure starts, the ride home.
Check in was smooth. While standing in line, I initiated conversation with this rather charming looking young lady. She happened to be there on business. After Tom and I made it through security, quite the long line, we found out Lindsay was on our flight. The flight was not full, so I made the move to go sit with Lindsay. We had a good time chatting it up, so much so that we apparently were annoying the elder couple ahead of us. The flight attendant came to us and asked if we could take it down a notch. We did our best, however, I think it wasn't good enough.
When we finally landed, the old lady ahead of us, stood up and with a sneering face, said, "Did you get it all talked out?" I made a comment and they were on their way. All through the airport this old lady would give us dirty looks, funny, ha ha I think.
We said our good byes, Tim came to get Tom and my friend Kelly came to pick me up and thus ends my Vegas vacation.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Getting Started
In preparation of my next big adventure, I decided to set up this blog site instead of sending out monthly Word attachments to everyone's email address. I am sending this link out to you all to have if you want to hear/see/learn about my adventures, or to delete if you could careless; makes no difference to me.
Nothing to exciting going on right now, still finishing up all my home station training, I don't expect to go on to active duty orders until end of MAR when I start my Annual Training.
One thing to note is that I am planning a going away party for 24MAY, down in Montgomery, the town in which I grew up in. It is tentatively set up to be at the Whitefront Bar from 2-6pm, with follow on partying through out the evening, of course everyone is invited, there will be free food and beer from 2-6pm!! I will post updates to this site as I finalize my plans.
That's all for now, just trying this Blog thingy out.
Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
