Tuesday, August 11, 2009

More Dimensions. . .

In the past couple of days, I have had the chance to speak with two women who are sergeants and in their 30s. One is in a close combat support job, the other in an administrative job in a support battalion. I have known the first sergeant for almost two years, never speaking for more than five minutes at a time. She is, to go with initial impressions, a tough woman who keeps up with guys out on the flight line and partying. She has an acid wit. She and some of her sergeant buddies sometimes sit in the DFAC and rate people in the serving line--and speculate about their lives.

Then I talked with sergeant tough guy about her plans after deployment. It turns out they are all set up. She moved back home with her ailing parents and is planning to care for them. She never talked about work, but will have a steady job that allows her to care for Mom and Dad, whom she clearly loves and admires very much. I don't know when or if I will see that side of her again, but it was interesting to see her as a loving and devoted daughter.

Moving in the other direction, the woman in the support battalion is tall, intense single Mom who is carefully planning completing a bachelor's degree, Officer's Candidate School, and then completing her career as an officer. Unlike sergeant tough guy who always sits in a group in the DFAC, sergeant soon-to-be-an-officer eats alone and reads. The brief conversations we have had have been about books, raising daughters, etc.

Until a couple of days ago. We got on the subject of Afghanistan and she said, "We need to take some people out." I thought she would continue in her support-unit role as an officer, but she seems quite ready to get as close as women are allowed to the front lines.

A week ago, if someone asked me, I would have said sergeant tough guy would be back in Afghanistan within a year and the other sergeant would be locked into a five-year stateside assignment. The reverse is closer to the truth. Tough guy will most likely be caring for Mom and Dad in 2011, and the new lieutenant will be in Afghanistan--and I would not want to be one of our nation's enemies downrange of her weapon.

Monday, August 10, 2009

These Kids Today. . .

Last night I was reading in the Coffee Shop and when a national guard master sergeant walked over and talked to me. He is 57. He could see I am his age/generation and decided to be friendly by talking about "these kids today. . ." The subject on his mind was physical training. He said when his unit got activated they had a 31% pass rate on the fitness test (APFT). Right away I felt better. My unit had a 63% pass rate at the beginning of training--twice as good the Wisconson company. Right now we are at almost 90% overall and all but one soldier in the motor pool (Sergeant Rumpled if you remember him) has passed. I think his boys and girls haven't yet gotten to the level where we started.

I could quickly see we were not going to be friends. He did not think anyone should be doing PT in Iraq, especially running, and he, himself, thought PT was unnecessary at our age. He then told me he flunked his last PT test because he had to run at 4000 feet of altitude. (He needed to run two miles in 19:54!!!) Since the conversation was the standard old-guy lecture format of "I have an idea in my head just now and I am going to get it all out before I forget it" I mentioned that I do PT every day before he went any further.

He took a breath then said how he works very hard as a mechanic and then works at home and in his yard after his eight hours.

I told him I had to go to a meeting.

The Master Sergeant had no idea he is the problem. I listen to the old-school guys every day talking about how undisciplined the new generation is. But like master sergeant "world-revolves-around-me," the ones who see the younger generation as full of excuses are themselves shining example of excuse-makers. "These kids won't listen."
Are you kidding me? We are in Iraq. Where are they going to go? The trouble is that putting a soldier on extra duty means someone has to supervise it. Which is a huge pain in the butt for the NCO involved. But there is no problem doing it. People have extra duty for various infractions in our company because we have NCOs who are there to supervise it. Extra duty also has the great advantage of correcting conduct before the soldier screws up enough to get busted and have a permanent blot on their record. Extra duty is just that.

By the way, it's the 30-year-old NCOs in our unit--backed up by the first sergeant and commander--who keep discipline in the company as much as possible. In my world, the younger leaders are the clear about their duty. Some of the older ones, not so much.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Another Stateside Article

The front page of today's Harrisburg Patriot News has an article abut my unit and I am in it. Yes, Meredith, what a surprise!! The online version is here. If I get the print version with pictures I will try to post them.

When you follow the link, check out the comments. Two soldiers in among the 1100 in our brigade are really upset because the article is not about them. One goes on for several hundred words in ALL CAPS. It reminded of the copywriter in the Dorothy Sayers novel Murder Must Advertise who "From long habit of writing headlines could only think in capital letters."

Today I got some more good shots of mechanics doing a major service on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The ride to the maintenance hanger also made me think carefully about what constitutes good weather here. when I went to lunch it was 129 at 1230, but thankfully no wind. Three hours later I was riding to the maintenance hangar and the thermometer was a steady 124 the whole way. It was just 3.5 miles, but I drank a liter of water as soon as I arrived and another one while I was there. It was so nice to have just a 10mph wind that I enjoyed the ride, even with my hands cooking as I rode.

At 6pm I rode with around the perimeter with my Sunday night riding buddy. He runs 7 miles in the morning then rides 10 miles with me at night on Sundays. He's a tough guy. But he's still young. He's only 46.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

The Desert Cat Daily Distro

The on-line news and events source for those of us who have access to a military computer is Subject: Desert Cat Daily Distro. I am pasting in the issue from two days ago and removing all names and links. Just so you'll see the range of stuff happening on the base.

A lot of messages have the signature lines from the soldier's emails on them.





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Please enjoy your Daily Distro filled with loads of intriguing information and gripping events going on around COB Adder.
[until two weeks ago it said "titillating events"--I have no idea what motivated the change to gripping]


***NOTE: I CAN NOT REMOVE YOU FROM THE DISTRO LIST.***



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COB ADDER ATTACK WARNING SIGNALS:

PLEASE follow link below in reference to the COB ADDER ATTACK WARNING SIGNALS




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Garrison Conference Room:

Open to all units who need to utilize the conference room.

You will have to go through the Garrison Helpdesk at ...to make an appointment.
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Air Force Daily Link:

Events are open to all DOD personnel.

Also located on the Cob Adder Portal under Tallil Activities and Events.


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Jeopardy

Subject: Movies

Question: Who is Truman Capote?

Answer: Philip Seymour Hoffman won a Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for portraying
this In Cold Blood author.

Winners: *****************************************************************************
Special Meal Request and Room Reservations:

Send all Special Meal Request and room reservations to ...


Together we can accomplish the mission.
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167th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Transfer of Authority Ceremony:

The Officers and Soldiers of the 167th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and the
2-162nd Infantry Battalion cordially invite you to attend their Transfer of Authority Ceremony

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This Camp Adder band is looking for a lead singer. They specialize in Punk and Rock music. Their performance includes cover and original songs.


It's easy to find reasons not to get involved "True compassion puts love into action"
-Unknown-
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6 Man Team Soccer League:

I am starting a 6 man team soccer league that will play 12 weeks, 1 game a week, on Saturday nights at Camp terandak field on hammer rd. One of the attachments in a brief description of the league and the second is the team roster. I would like to start the league next weekend so I need the team rosters by COB Saturday.

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BEYOND NARNIA--A Discussion of books by CS Lewis

Where: MWR Library opposite House of Pain Gym
When: 2000 hours every Monday
1st Book: "The Weight of Glory"

We are reading one essay per week and discussing it. For Monday, August 10, the essay is "Learning in War Time."
I still have copies of the book.

For more information contact Neil Gussman neil.g.gussman@iraq.centcom.mil or ngussman@gmail.com 833-5171
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Women of Professional Concept (WPC) Group:

The meeting time for WPC is 0800-0900 on Thursdays in RAC Room A7, next to "God's Grounds" Coffee shop across from the Coalition DFAC. FREE COFFEE!

This Week's Topics (6 AUG 09):See Situational Questions

Q: Two people in our small office consistently come in late, leave early and take two hours for lunch. As the human resources manager, I've told my boss that we need to put a stop to this, because other employees are starting to complain about unfair treatment. My boss gripes about this tardiness, but if I ask him to confront the employees, he always says "It won't do any good" or "Maybe we should just get rid of them." His refusal to deal with performance issues is driving me crazy. What can I do?

Q: How do I get my co-worker to stop annoying me? She is very self-centered, whiny and needy. I have told her this and given her the cold shoulder, but she can't take a hint. I just want her to leave me alone. How can I make that happen without creating tension in the office?

"People are your most precious asset; neglect them and you'll fail."
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"30 Life Principles" Tallil Women's Bible Study!

"30 Life Principles" Women's Bible Study! A study for growing in the knowledge and understanding of God. Every Monday at 1900 in the Tallil Main Chapel. The weekly study is led by CPT Musheerah Kolen of 121st BSB, 4th BCT.

For more information contact . . .
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10th Combat Support Hospital Physical Therapy Service:

Running Form - Who Taught You How to Run?


Educational Materials Provided by your Army Physical Therapist Army Medical Specialist Corps

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REDEPLOYMENT/DoDAAC Question and Answer Session:

Just bring any question you have about HI-PRI's, DoDAAC's, Exchange Pricing, and Redeployment procedures.

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Education Center Services:

ATTENTION COB ADDER:

The COB Adder Forces Command Education Center is not fully operational at this time. Our capabilities include GT Improvement study hall and Testing AFCT (GT), AFAST, DLAB, and Proctoring of College Exams. Soon we will have computers available for Soldiers to do their College work.

Due to the limitations of the Ed Center, I am referring everyone to either email or call the Victory Base Education Center (Baghdad) at victory.edcenter@us.army.mil or by phone at 318-485-2935 or 318-485-2648 if I am unable to assist.

Thank you for your patience.

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ABS / CORE training Class - Change 3.2

Previously on Tuesday's and Thursday's at the Sprung Center and or House of Pain Gym will now be on Monday's and Thursday's from 1930-2000 at the House of Pain Gym in the stretching room.

This class emphasizes on strengthening all dimensions of the core muscles with many variations of crunches as well as push-ups. Music is generally provided however, all are welcome to wear their own personal MP3 player. This class is for beginners as well and everyone is welcome to join.

Mats, Towels, Water and Motivation provided- Just show up.

See ya there!

"The Mean Abs Lady"
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July Legal Assistance Newsletter:

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DEFERMENT OF PERIODIC DENTAL EXAMS:

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CALLING ALL DIVINE 9 ON COB ADDER

If you are a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.

Please email or call . . .
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Education Center Testing:

Testing for the AFAST, AFCT (GT) and DLAB will be held at the Education Center located near the Body Shop Gym (off of 4th and Longknife, between LA5 and LA6 in the former HEAT training building.) Study hall is Tuesdays and Thursdays 1800-2000..

See flyer for test dates and times.

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167 CSSB 25 July Newsletter:

Please enjoy the final issue of the 167th CSSB's Granite Times at COB Adder. Publication will restart once the Granite Battalion moves to its new location.

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Ali series of Texas Hold Em:

Please help spread the word.

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Power Yoga

If you have any questions, please contact me.

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MRAP Training:

Do you know the services provided at the MRAP Support Site ?
"We support the War Fighter"

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Final edition of the Chain Link:

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Step Aerobics at Muscle Beach:

Starting this week, Muscle Beach (AF Gym) will be offering Step Aerobics with weights on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings at 1800. Class will be immediately followed by the ongoing "Abs and Core" class. Great music, great workout!

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SPIN CLASS New Location:

HOUSE OF PAIN

GOOD MUSIC & GOOD WORKOUT

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Tallil Dead Poets Society:

The Tallil Dead Poets Society meets in the MWR Library opposite the House of Pain Gym every Tuesday at 2000. For the next seven weeks we will be reading Inferno by Dante--a guided tour of Hell written about 1300 AD. I have several copies of the book I can give to participants on a 1st come, 1st served basis.

For more info, contact Neil Gussman:
ngussman@gmail.com or neil.g.gussman@iraq.centcom.mil
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"Your thoughts determine your feelings, and your feelings influence your actions"
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Points of Contact Tallil/Balad ARA Office:

In preparation of our move to Balad on 3 July. Starting 1 July the Army Reserve Affairs office Tallil will be unavailable via NIPRNET, SIPRNET computers and phones with the exception of the below number. If any assistance is needed please call or come by BLDG 311 or call the Balad office @ We thank you for your patience during our transition.

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MNC-I Army Reserve Affairs News letter

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ATTENTION ALL ADDER!!!!

When submitting for a Special Meal Request you need to have your O5 or higher sign and then bring to Bldg. 311 room 14 for processing. The DFACs cannot issue out any food without the Special Meal Request having all four signatures.

Those having any questions you can call me at . . .

Together we can accomplish the mission.
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Focus 5/6 Movie Night:


Focus 5/6 will host a movie every Sunday @ The Big Top.

Please see the attached flier and help spread the great news!

Thank you,

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COB Adder Water Conservation Program

As we enter summer, help save our most precious natural resource. Water.

Tips to reduce water usage:
- If you take a water bottle be sure to use all of it.
- Turn off water when brushing teeth or shaving.
- Do not run water on full blast.
- Contact the work order desk if broken/leaky, shower heads, water facets or toilets are found

As we continue through the summer water providing adequate water supplies will be a constant struggle.
Be part of the solution. Conserve water usage.
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"Please review the attached Finance Flash Eagle Cash tips use. This will assist you in the future when US Currency is reduced or removed from the Tallil Finance Office."

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ATTENTION ALL ADDER WARRANT OFFICERS!

We are updating the Adder Warrant distribution list.

The list is used for notification of WOPD times (which are laid back and cool to attend), warrant related news, or general questions to the group.

Please email me if you would like to be added.

Thanx & have a great Warrant day!

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Post Chapel:

Come to a new Praise & Worship Service on Wednesdays at the ADDER Post Chapel at 19:00, everyone welcome.

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COB Adder:

Want to make a positive change in your life? Stop smoking? Stop dipping? Better manage your stress or anger? Take advantage of the Combat Stress Classes offered and sign up for a class today.

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HAZCOM TRAINING: Incident Response Team (IRT) will offer Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) training. This course will provide training related to Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), identification of possible hazards in the work place and procedures to notification of hazards and necessary precautions. It also provides training related to proper handling, storage and safe disposal of Hazardous Material (HM) and Hazardous Waste (HW) including used Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants (POL), batteries, acids and pesticides. Target audience for this training are soldiers involved in managing motor pool and anybody handling HM/HW. Please contact Benjamin Smith of COB Adder IRT at (318) 833-5977 (DSN) or Benjamin.d.smith@iraq.centcom.mil to reserve a seat in the class. Please provide trainee's last name, first name, rank or position (civilian), unit, telephone and e-mail address.


Place: Post Chapel

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612 MCT SOP:

612th Movement Control Detachment (MCT) is the new MCT on COB ADDER. All customers please ensure that all TMRs, AMRs, JMRs, and all other requests are filled out correctly prior to submission. When submitting Transportation Movement Requests (TMRs); all customers should verify prior to TMR submission to the MCT that all POCs information is correct and valid. Incorrect POCs or if the MCT cannot contact/validate POCs will result in rejected TMRs.

"We Never Stop"
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Every Man's Battle:

Are you suffering from addiction or temptation? There's a Bible Study for men on every Tuesday now at 1900. The Study will come from Stephen Artburn, "Every Man's Battle". Study materials will be provided. You may come by the Chapel and receive the book at anytime. Come join us for this ministry to help those in need. Please see the attached flyer. I want to thank everyone that has made it to this study and helping one another. Chaplain Wright will be the POC for more information. I will miss everyone. Take care and keep the faith.

"WhY sO sErIoUs? LeTs PuT a SmIle On ThAt FaCe!"
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"New - Bedrock Sunday Gospel Service" at the BIG TOP 1300

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Please come to our Sunday Worship Services at BLDG 713, everyone welcome. Take the South Route bus to the Warrior's DFAC stop. Building 713 is behind the DFAC. Please see the attached flier and help spread the great news!

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Country Night

Thursday Night Country at Memorial Hall is still going on. As we say farewell to DJ Hop-Long we are bringing in DJ House up to the stage. She will be kicking off the tunes at 1930 all the way up to 2300. So if you are looking for a good time and a great bunch of people to hang around with, then come on by and see what it's all about. Lessons will still be given just at a different time. Thank you to everyone for their continual support that keeps Country Night going. Thank you again for all your support and I will miss each and every one of you.

http://tallil-home/Garrison/Tallil%20Activities%20and%20Events/NEW%20COUNTRY%20WESTERN%20FLYER.ppt

DJ Hop-Long
SGT LOGAN, JOSHUA
"WhY sO sErIoUs? LeTs PuT a SmIle On ThAt FaCe!"
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"SOUTH SIDE SALSA"

Learn to Salsa, Bachata and Merengue. We had another great turnout Saturday. The beginner's class focused on basic Salsa and Bachata steps. The advanced class focused on Salsa turns and locks. Thanks to Jose and David, more Soldiers and Airmen have improved their dancing skills. The change in lesson hours worked better for Soldiers this week. Thanks to all the Soldiers and Airmen who joined us last week the event was fun for all. Come join us for lessons every Saturday 20:00 to 21:00. Music begins at 19:30 and dancing continues until 23:30. Take the South Route bus to the Warrior's DEFAC stop. Building 713 is behind the DEFAC.

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Coalition Café South :

Do to the increase during the lunch time, the Coalition Café South will not take any room reservations for the Abrams Room (Large Room) during lunch. We would greatly appreciate if you could schedule your room reservations for times other than the lunch hour to allow for seating for all who eat.


Together we can accomplish the mission.
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HQ, Multi-National Corps - Iraq, Army Reserve Affairs Newsletter, 1st Issue:

The Tallil ARA office will be moving to Balad late next week. We will still be available as the Balad office covers the southern areas. I will send you a slide as the time to relocate draws near.

Thank you for your assistance.

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ALCON,

To save the life of your air conditioner, when you leave your CHU for the day or your office for the night, turn your AC to FAN. What this does, it gives the compressor time to rest and not freeze up. The more we practice this it will help the generators from overloading and will hopefully keep the power from shutting down in the future. Thank you for your support!

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AC Units:

This should help with some of our P1 emergency service calls a large % of them are due to tenants not using the recommended settings.

We are also going to distribute through our Billeting

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Just a reminder.

If soldier's are missing ID tags, personal items, Kevlar's, etc....Garrison Command BLDG 331,
has a Lost & found that is full of belongings!

Please direct your soldiers this way to collect their things!!

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Armor up with positive thought from your Combat Stress Control Team.

~ When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.~

- Anthony Robins
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Jeopardy

Subject: Movies

Answer: In 2007's The Bucket List, Morgan Freeman and this fellow Oscar winner
Escape a cancer ward to fulfill some wishes before they "kick the bucket"
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"Never tell evil of a man, if you do not know it for certainty, and if you know it for a certainty, then ask yourself, 'Why should I
tell it? You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. Rumor travels
faster, but it don't stay put as long as truth." ;)

Friday, August 7, 2009


Remember this picture from the 2004 presidential campaign. The never-very-funny John Kerry stuck his foot way in his mouth and was rightly ridiculed by the soldiers who were serving in Iraq.

But this kind of joke can, in the lovely military metaphor, turn around and bite you in the ass.

That photo was shot in the building right next door to the motor pool where I work. My tool crib is 100 feet to the right of that memorable banner. I have written lately about volunteering at the education center. Except, it is not an education center in the sense that it has a staff or computers or anything like that. It is just a building. We have been hearing since we arrived there would be an education center.

I am one of the volunteers helping people study to retake their Army qualification test. A few medics run the program on their off time, but when two sergeants came in last night at different times asking for things a real education center could do, we had to send them to the Air Force education center to get contact info for an Army Center 200 miles away.

This base, Tallil Ali, which was mentioned in a feature in the current New York Times magazine on solider suicide, has been in American hands since the beginning of the war. As I have said in other posts, we have gyms, shopping, great food, great housing, but. . .

This is the only major base in Iraq with no education center. . .

Kerry supporters should get a smile out of that.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

100 Laps of Tallil Ali Air Base

Sometime between now and Saturday, I will have ridden 100 laps of Tallil Ali Air Base. I rode the perimeter as soon as my bike got here in the beginning of May. Then I rode almost every day since, with a long break while I was home on leave in June. It's a little hard to count exactly from my mileage because I ride the perimeter road every day except when the worst sandstorms prevent me. I think I have missed three or four days at the most. Many days I ride two laps (including today) and some days I have ridden three laps.

The post is rectangular and has a well-guarded perimeter fence which I never get within 100 meters of and sometimes I am hundreds of yards away. I usually ride counter clockwise because the wind, as in Pennsylvania, is usually out of the west and riding counterclockwise gives me a tail wind on the long, deserted stretch on the southside.

I start out riding 1/3-mile on dirt and stones to get out of the housing area and then turn squarely into the wind. In about a mile I turn south and have the wind at my side for another mile and a half. The road then sweeps left and I start going fast. I have to slow down a half-mile later because the road disappears for a quarter mile in sand and rippled pavement: not too bad on the mountain bike but really rough on the road bike. Then I get more almost three miles of tail wind, another side wind then a final two miles of bad headwind.

That loop is 10.2 miles. I add an extra half mile sometimes and ride a little further south near the rifle range. I can also cut a mile off by taking a dirt shortcut--only on the dirt bike.

The short loop with extra dirt would have been the race course.

If I keep riding as I am now by the time we leave I may have circled Tallil Ali almost 300 times!! But I am quite happy riding the same route week after week, so it's almost like home knowing the road this well. At home, my main ride is the "daily ride" with Scott Haverstick and whoever else shows up. The route never changes. I can't wait to be back.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Who Fights This War: 4th Tour at 26 Years Old

Today I met a maintenance sergeant, a tall, very upbeat guy from the New York City area. He has "sleeve" tattoos: colorful ink all the way from his shoulders to his wrists. He recently turned 26 and is new to helicopter maintenance, but likes his work. He may try to get civilian work in this field after the deployment, but also hopes to get work as a National Guard technician. Or maybe he will find another unit that's deploying. That would make four deployments. This current deployment is his third. In 2004-5 he was in Iraq as a medic. Within 12 months he had a tour in Afghanistan as an infantryman, returning in 2007. He could not find steady work in 2008, so he volunteered to deploy again, which included retraining as an aviation mechanic. And you should not feel bad for him. By all indications I could get, he thinks this is a perfectly good way to make a living. I have talked to many soldiers in their 20s on this deployment who have no ambition to higher education and simply want honest work with their hands. One of the reasons this long war could be fought is the years and years of declining employment opportunities for blue-collar workers. If President Obama manages to end the two wars he inherited, he will add new pressure to the unemployment bubble. It seems pretty sure if the wars don't end and blue collar jobs with a living wage don't return to America, this young sergeant will turn 30 in Afghanistan on his fifth deployment.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Book Groups and the Education Center

A couple of weeks ago I was worried I was giving a Pollyanna impression of life in Iraq. During the last two weeks you could wonder if chicken shit and job confusion are the sum of my days. That would be just as wrong. Yesterday, after all the job drama was over, I finished my work in the motor pool, then spent a couple of hours before dinner transferring and shrinking photos for the company newsletter.

At dinner I saw a young woman in my squad eating dinner with two older female sergeants. This might be the third time I have seen them as a dinner group in the last week. The young sergeant-to-be is 23 and will be a lot better off with female mentors.

Next was the first meeting of "Beyond Narnia" as CS Lewis reading group I started. There were four soldiers at the first meeting and four more who should be coming next week. Three of the four people were from the Dante group, so the fourth, a chaplain with a unit that arrived recently, introduced himself, then I told the group about CS Lewis's life and work after which they asked questions for about 20 minutes. It was a lot of fun. One asked about Shadowlands (the CSL movie) and about his family. Another asked for more details about CSL's conversion.

We will be reading the book of essays titled The Weight of Glory and out first essay will be "Learning in War Time." Thanks go out again to the father of one of the lieutenants in our unit who sent us most of the books. Three more were sent by Brigitte Van Tiggelen, a historian who regularly visits the library/museum where I work.

Today I worked in the motor pool until 3pm then drove over to the repair hangards on the other side fo the base to shoot pictures of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter going through major maintenance. I got some good shots of a crew removing the rotor hubs from the top of the bird. Tomorrow I will get more shots of the overhaul work.

After the photos, I went to the education center. I helped a couple of soldiers with word problems then spoke to the woman who coordinates the tutoring sessions. Barring schedule changes, I should be able to volunteer an hour on Tuesday and two hours on Thursday.

At the Dante group tonight, the first order of business was voting on the next book. Aeneid won by one vote over Purgatorio. But everyone agreed we would go back to Purgatorio after Aeneid. We should be able to read Inferno, Aeneid, Purgatorio and start Paradiso before I rotate out, and maybe someone else can take over.

We got our first question for the translator tonight. Tony Esolen, who translated the version we are reading, agreed to take questions by email if I can't answer them. Tonight's question: Cleopatra and Dido are suicides, why are they in the higher part of Hell where Lust is punished (easier punishment) not five levels down with the suicides?

Life is mostly good.

Monday, August 3, 2009

My Job, or Jobs

With my squad leader getting knee surgery 6,000 miles away, I am in charge of the nine members of 4th squad. But with additional duties, leaves, and temporary assignments, my squad is usually three or four specialists, one of whom should make sergeant soon and maybe another before the tour is over.

So that is job one. Job two is being sergeant tool bitch which lately mostly means taking care of the operating system of the big tool box--the compressor, generator and such--and making up hand receipts to inventory all the special tools stuffed in Conex containers. But a big part of this job is actually being in the motor pool from 7am to 3pm every day except Thursday and every 4th Sunday.

Job three is where it gets messy. My company commander and first sergeant want me to do various extra duties within the company, first and foremost the next issue of the newsletter and also serve as Morale, Welfare and Recreation sergeant. The battalion commander wants me to do public affairs for the battalion. Although there are no official hours for the battalion job, it ends up conflicting with the motor pool.

I have a chain of command and for those of you who work in a modern multi-tasking office setting, I suppose you would assume I manage my own time and balance the needs of one job against the other and do the best I can at all of them.

I tried that.

The result was a rather loud discussion with the battalion motor officer last week about how much my presence was required in the motor pool.

My platoon sergeant regularly reminds me that my squad comes first.

The first sergeant is emphatic that the company comes first.

I spoke with the sergeant major at the battalion today about where I might be shooting photos for the battalion in the near future, taking for granted I would be working for the battalion.

My company commander told me how important it is for the team to stay together and he said my first priority is my duties as a leader in the motor pool and company welfare activities.

Today I walked into the DFAC at 1pm. The battalion commander was eating lunch with his assistant. The BC said, "Hey Goose, come over here." So he asked my about bicycling--he has a bike here also--then said "How come you don't want to work for me?" He had gotten the idea I did not want to work for the battalion. I told him otherwise but said I was expecting all of the "senior guys" (He's in his early 40s) to work out what I should be doing. I like my work for the battalion, but it is work. I can't do it as an et cetera that does not intrude on the motor pool schedule.

Sometimes it's fun to be popular.

Lately it's not.

Did I mention that everyone in my chain of command is expecting me to be doing all of my assigned work. This is not a civilian job where I try to get the best results with limited resources and get rated as such. I am really expected to obey all of those guys. They all have said what they want. I think they have all been around enough to know what they are telling me is in direct conflict with what five other people are telling me. But each assumes because he said it, I am doing it.

Jobs one and two are a full-time job for the other three squad leaders. The BC asked me today if I was politicking. I could honestly answer I was not. I want someone to decide what I am supposed to be doing and what I am not supposed to be doing. And then I will do whatever they decide for just five and half more months.

Then we go home.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Eviction Notice

Today my roommate and I returned to the CHU just a few minutes apart around 130pm. I was shooting pictures at the Softball Tournament, he was coming back from being in the motor pool since 7am. I was the first to see an all capital letters paper taped to our door that began:

IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT ONLY ONE SOLDIER IS LIVING IN THIS ROOM. THIS ROOM HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY BY A SECOND AUTHORIZED SOLDIER. IF AN UNAUTHORIZED SOLDIER OR CIVILIAN IS LIVING IN THIS ROOM HIS OR HER BELONGINGS WILL BE REMOVED. . .YOU HAVE 48 HOURS TO REPORT TO THE BILLETING OFFICE AND RESOLVE THIS MATTER.

"IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION. . ." are they kidding? How? Do they have spies? "They" is, of course, the garrison, who you will remember from all my other posts about Chicken Shit are responsible for health and welfare issues and for security.

My roommate and I are each either side of six feet tall, either side of 200 pounds and come in two distinctly different colors. Any idiot who could tape a sign to a door on a Sunday morning could have visited us in the evening, knocked on the door and determined that there are, in fact, two armed maintenance sergeants from Echo Company living in this CHU and have been since May 3.



Why the accusation followed by threats? Well certainly our garrison is to effective communications as Richard Simmons is to masculinity. But the accusation that followed does have a practical advantage. While my roommate and I are clearly right, we both know that even if the garrison won't bother to contact us personally they will have no hesitation to fulfill the vague threat on the door.

Since I have a bike, I rode the half mile to the billeting office as instructed and let my roommate chill out. As it turns out, my roommates hand receipt (the piece of paper which says you are occupying the room) is missing, s he also needs to walk over to billeting within 48 hours or find himself evicted for no reason except that paperwork which is not his responsibility to maintain is missing.

When I asked billeting about the threats on the door, a civilian employee rolled her eyes and said, "Garrison" under her breath. I asked nothing else. She said my paperwork is in order and my roommate will have to walk over and straighten his paperwork out--within 48 hours.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

If You Love Kitties, Don't Read. . .

My wife sent me a lovely email about my son Nigel. He loves animals. My wife found a mouse nest in the garage and let Nigel care for a baby mouse. He spent much of today with the mouse, watching it in its new clear-plastic-container home. Nigel is a sweet kid. Luckily for him, his eyesight and hearing will not allow him to join the military when he gets older. Because animal lovers have a tough time in this crowd.

Now we switch to tonight's dinner. In the usual random way that dinner groups form by whoever recognizes each other siting together, I was sitting with two senior female sergeants: by senior I mean in rank, they are both in their mid-30s. We were joined by our commander and executive officer: two Penn State grads who are 25 and 24 respectively. One of the sergeants brought up our commander's age. I thought I was twice as old as he is, but it turns out I am three years older than twice as old as he is. So then everybody played a game of "What was Sergeant Gussman doing when I was born?" The youngest guy added "What was sergeant Gussman doing when my mother was born? I was four at the time."

With everybody laughing the topic switched to animals in Iraq. The commander had not seen any cats here, only insects and reptiles. One of the sergeants had been assigned to a remote fueling site early in the deployment. The site had a mascot, a small kitten. Fuelers work 24 hours filling helicopters with JP-8 fuel. Their primary vehicle is an 8-wheel-drive, all-terrain HEMMT fuel truck. During one of the night fuel missions the kitten was hiding under one of the HEMMT's six-foot high tires when the truck rolled out.

The next day a very sad sergeant announced with tears "We have lost one of our team." Soldiers started looking around to see who was missing. Then the sergeant said, "Fluffy got run over by a HEMMT last night." According to my witness everyone was relieved at first then started yelling at the sergeant for scaring them and saying, "IT'S ONLY A F#$KING CAT. . ." and other variants on that theme, before they started making jokes about him.

Which led to stories about other fuelers who captured a camel spider (the local scorpion) and how cool it is to watch when these scorpions catch a lizard and how the exactly scorpion eats the lizard.

I am glad my son the animal lover will be a civilian.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Extremes

Last night I spent the best two hours since I left America. I was at the Army Education Center which does not officially open for another month, but they are holding sessions to help soldiers study to improve their GT score--the overall score that determines whether you qualify for some of the really good jobs the Army offers.

Last night I spent two hours helping soldiers solve equations with parentheses, powers, roots, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction--which is the order they are solved. These equations included decimals and fractions so I also was helping with converting fractions, finding common denominators and so forth.

If that doesn't sound fun, then I have not done a good job telling you just how strange it is to move from the very quiet home I live in and the very cooperative place where I work to this Lead-Follow-or-Get-Out-of-the-Way environment I am in now. We hear every day we are all leaders. Many of us translate that into trying to dominate everything they are involved in. So last night I was in a room with a dozen men and women who simply wanted to learn something. Not one soldier said, "When I was in Afghanistan in 2004 we did powers before parentheses and our sergeant major said 'Only a one-handed piano player at a cheap whorehouse would solve the parentheses first.'"

And today is my 12th wedding anniversary. I won't be spending it with my wife--which I have known for a while now, but today, like all the other occasions I will miss this year, reminds me with particular clarity that I volunteered for this--for good and ill. Happy Anniversary Annalisa. I'll be home for the next one.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

No Bike Race


NOT HAPPENING AT TALLIL ALI AIR BASE

One of my big goals, hopes for this deployment was to organize a bike race in Iraq. In case you think this is indicative of severe mental defect or some history of intoxication, a race did not seem crazy to me. Until this month, I thought it was very possible.

First, I was initially supposed to go to a huge air base near Baghdad with paved roads, including a six-mile loop around the air field. At the last minute we were re-assigned to another huge base in the south. Here at Tallil Ali Air Base, there is a 15-kilometer perimeter road which is mostly paved. Some of it is bumpy, but a few miles are very smooth. I can ride the loop on a road bike slowing for the dirt stretches and the worst bumps. It's no problem on a mountain bike.

Speaking of bikes, I estimate there are about 300 to 400 soldiers, airmen and civilian workers with bikes. There could be more. But whenever I ride in the main area of post I see other people riding and bikes chained up at various buildings. Until mid-July there was a group of airmen that would ride together every week. So there were people riding around post and there are a few who ride with me for speed once or twice a week.

So I hoped to have a race/ride. I figured I could find 20 people who would want to race and maybe another 50 to 100 who would ride the perimeter of the post with Military Police at the intersections. I pitched the idea to the garrison MWR (Morale Welfare Recreation) people within a week of my arrival. They thought it was a great idea and encouraged me to get a proposal together, but the new garrison would be taking over while I was home on leave in June, so I would have to propose the idea to them.

After a few delays, I had the meeting two weeks ago. At the meeting I was asked about my strategic plans for perimeter security, about the number of soldiers I could guarantee would participate, and about safety. At one point in the discussion on perimeter security I looked down at the sergeant stripes on my chest and said, "I am a squad leader with five soldiers. What can I do abut perimeter security?" But they wanted food and a party at the end like the 15k running race that happened on July 11. The running race had 400+ participants and, for most people, running 15k is a big deal. Riding 15k is not a big deal. The slowest riders can do it in an hour. the winner of the race would have finished under 30 minutes.

So I was looking at a small, first-time event that would bring out the bicyclists on our big air base and help to form a cycling community. They were looking for an event that is way beyond my resources. There was a follow-up email asking me to provide all the things I could not provide: guaranteed participation, perimeter security strategic plans, etc. I answered the memo then the next day sent another memo withdrawing my offer to organize the race.

When you answer a question and the same person comes back asking again all the questions for which they did not get the answer they want, then the choice is give in to the demands or fight. I chose to walk away. It was awkward, but I have other things going on with MWR that are going well and I don't want to get in pissing contest over a single event. The MWR sergeant who manages most of the programs has given me a room for a Dante book group and a CS Lewis book group (starting Monday) and set me up with the new Education Center (opening soon) to possibly serve as a writing tutor one night per week. They also got lights for the softball field which is what the soldiers in my company cared about more than anything else, and they may let one of our sergeants be the "Commissioner of the Softball League."

So given all that I don't want to fight over the bike race. And I got to do three races while I was home on leave and one in Oklahoma, so I have already done four races despite the deployment. Not such a bad year.

(And for those who know something of my riding history, the garrison also wanted me to guarantee that an event with most of the participants on Wal-Mart-quality, sand-coated Huffys would be safe. All I could do was smile.)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Semester Break Blues

Before we left Pennsylvania the guys who had been deployed before warned us people would start to fall apart at six months. My wife wrote today to remind me of the parallels between how here students feel after parents weekend--missing there family with a long semester ahead--and how I have been feeling lately.

Well here we are at six month and the predictions are, unfortunately, coming true. Two mechanics are home in the USA getting knee operations, one from a touch football game and another from a sports injury that was not healing. There have been a lot of jokes about "When's the next football game?" and "Do you need anybody to work on a roof, sarge?"

And we are getting lectures on getting slack--except we report for work at 0700 and many of us do PT before work. Some soldiers are getting vehicles. The vehicles are restored wrecks that are less than perfect and an average of 15 years old. And at the same time, the rules about driving them are tightening up. Any traffic ticket is a visit to the Sergeant Major for the first offense and an article 15 (loss of pay and/or rank)for the second offense. So having a vehicle is not such a great thing that way.

The weather is following the generally declining mood. Usually we wake up to a blue sky and 84 degrees at 0500. The weather becomes hot, windy and dusty by 0700, but the beginning is nice.

Today at 0530 the temp was 94, the wind was up and dust filled the air. It just keeps getting worse. The motor sergeant released the mechanics at noon today because the conditions were so bad outside.


THE FREAKY ORANGE COLOR OF SUNLIGHT DIFFUSED THROUGH DUST



DUST STORM ON THE AIRFIELD

The running race was canceled this morning and it was so dusty I did not ride. I am not riding at 6pm either so this will be the first day since I got back from leave that I have not made at least one circuit of the post on the bike. But the weather is so far beyond foul I will ride in the gym.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

More from the Back End of the Chicken

Today we had an NCO meeting to get the latest changes in work-area uniforms. We work in a motor pool consisting of a plywood building, a couple of maintenance tents and conex boxes mostly at one end of a field of gravel and dirt. Next to the rock-strewn work area is a headquarters building and a parking lot. The building and the parking lot are about to be turned over to an active-Army unit. We have two latrines located on the east and west ends of the parking lot. On the east end are two outhouses. On the west end are two latrines--one male, one female--each in a trailer like ones we live in. These deluxe latrines have stalls with doors, sinks and air conditioning--very posh.

Now to get into either latrine, a soldier has to step on the parking lot pavement. As of today, we have to be in uniform to step on the pavement. So if someone is changing the oil in a 5-ton truck and needs to use the latrine, that soldier has to put on his uniform jacket and hat and eye protection before walking the 20 feet from the gravel motor pool to the paved parking lot.

Did I mention the soldiers who are dressing up to walk to the latrine are working in midday temperatures in the high 120s? The soldiers who conceive of the regulations work in air-conditioning.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Hell Boy at the Chapel

Yesterday as I was leaving the 9am traditional Protestant service, the choir for the 11 am service was starting to arrive. I remembered the very enthusiastic young captain from Tennessee who jumps when he sings. When I was about to walk through the door, in walks the subject of my June 8 post, the silent guitar player on the bridge. The guy who wants to make a comeback with a metal band when deployment is over. He told me that evening last month he had a home in Hell. and there he was walking in the door with his enormous 12-string electric bass.

I guess the Chapel band gives him a chance to play.


Who the Wannabe Wants to Be

The Catholic Chaplain from NYC is on the way to a base up north, so my pastor can quit worrying that I will become a Catholic simply to hang around with former Fordham philosophy professor who loves New York.

A week from tonight I will be starting a CS Lewis reading group. The first book is "The Weight of Glory." One of the chaplains said he would attend. This book group will also be in the library in the recreation center. I can't lead a book discussion like this inside the Chapel because official religious activities have to be led by a Chaplain. I'll start out with one essay per week and see how that goes. I can either start with "The Inner Ring" CSL's advice on how to navigate the murky waters of cliques or "Why I am not a Pacifist." CSL's reasons for disdaining pacifism are very similar to George Orwell's. They are contemporaries, but certainly different on philosophy and religion. I am planning on saving the title essay for last. If the group decides to continue, we can move to the Screwtape Letters or some other book they would choose.

Today's picture is from my leave. They are of the doctor who fixed my broken neck and I at his office. The practice he works for hired a writer to do a freelance article on him and I am his success story.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Today the Temp was 133 Before Lunch

I skipped lunch today and rode to the PX to buy new sunglasses. I lost a pair of Army Oakleys two weeks ago then today I lost my backup Army pair at breakfast. They were on my tray and when we leave the DFAC we dump the tray into one of 10 trash cans in rows of five on either side of the exit hallway. I started to ride away, realized where my glasses were then went back. But I could not remember which trash can I had dumped my tray in. I tried to remember, but as I stood there another soldier dumped his tray about every five seconds. I gave up and bought new ones.

Anyway, on the ride over to the PX the bike thermometer said 133 degrees. The air was very still just before I left, which may be why the temp was so high. As I left the motor pool, a wind kicked up and in a mile the temp reading had dropped to 127, a nice cooling breeze--from a blow dryer.

And here are photos of me with a gun on my GT Peace 9R bike. It's not easy to read the logo, but it is the word Peace with an anarchist A--just the thing for a war!




Saturday, July 25, 2009

Awards

For the last two weeks, along with my other duties, I have become the squad leader for 4th squad and have been writing awards. Earlier this month I was writing achievement awards for several soldiers who were exceptional in the first month after we arrived in Iraq. Now I am writing what are called service awards--awards for the entire deployment. "But wait!" One might say, "Aren't you just half way through your deployment? How can you write an award for the period from now until when you leave?"

That's easy. I project. I assume that the best conduct and performance I have seen over the first six months will continue and write the award accordingly. The more specific and fact based the award justification is, the better the chance it will go through. Many of the soldiers in my unit have already done some very good things and achieved some of their goals, so there is a lot to write about. And for the rest of the deployment, if I am wrong and the soldier in question were to become "Low Speed and High Drag" (Here and in NASCAR High Speed and Low Drag describes the top performers.) then the award could be withdrawn before it is given. It is much easier to cut an award at the last minute than create one.

And if you ask, "What if one of our soldiers rescues three babies and five kittens from a burning building?" or a similar act of gallantry. Before the kittens can lick the soot from their fur, someone can write an achievement award for a specific act of bravery that can be given in addition to the service award.

So most, if not all, soldiers are at least recommended for a service award. My wife and other professors could explain why. It's a lot like grade inflation. If someone serves a whole year on deployment and does not get an award, there is some reason for a future promotion or evaluation board to believe that soldier is below standard. As with Lake Woebegone Minnesota, all the soldiers are above average, so nearly everyone gets a service award.

If you think that is bad, consider the situation on my deployment back in the 1970s. Back then combat soldiers who were simply doing their jobs watching the border got no awards. But the higher headquarters staff all got awards. I know this because I got a couple of certificates for distinguished tank gunnery while serving as a tank commander for nearly two of my three years in Germany. But at the end of my deployment, I worked in public affairs full time and got soldiers in our brigade in the Stars and Stripes newspaper and all over the post newspaper. For that I got an Army Commendation Medal. I think it's better now that nearly everyone gets a medal than the situation before when mostly the rear-area guys got the medals.

Friday, July 24, 2009

TV in the Chapel Annex

I mentioned in a previous post that one of the marriage conversations took place in God's Grounds--the free coffee shop in the Adder Chapel annex. It is run by chaplain's assistants and other volunteers. The other place to get coffee is and actual coffee shop called Green Beans about a mile away.

I go to Green Beans every day for a half hour between work and the evening ride to read a book and drink a latte. I could go to God's Grounds and drink espresso for free, but if I did, I would have to sit near a big-screen TV with 24/7 Simpsons and animated movies. At Green Beans, they play music on the side of the shop where the coffee is made, but the side with the couches is for reading and conversation.

The conversation I had with guy telling me his wife was his best friend and they share no interests took place with me sitting with my back to the TV and us talking over the TV. There are books in the room where the TV is, but no one picks them up. The TV is loud.

So I go to the commercial coffee place because it is quiet and avoid God's Grounds in the Chapel because of the noise. I would think it odd, except Green beans is run by young Indian men with university education who value conversation. God's Grounds is run by Americans who value cartoons.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Argument Update and Marriage Conversations

Later, after the tax argument, Sergeant Arch Conservative came to me to ask if we we could set up one of the standard gym exercise bikes that reads watts generated to Army PT test standard which requires setting a special bike to 20 Newtons of resistance. It is not a straight conversion. He did not want to deal with that calculation. A few minutes later, we were outside and I asked Sergeant AC if he has this much trouble with math, how can he be absolutely sure (he has loudly told me this on another occasion) the earth is 10,000 years old, evolution never happened and every scientist from Darwin and Einstein to the present is wrong--while he and the Creation Museum are right.

His answer: "Paper birch trees are growing wild in Pennsylvania Sergeant Gussman. They are a northern tree. The earth is not getting warmer. Global warming is wrong. Those scientists don't know everything."

And now to marriage. I was sitting in God's Grounds--a free cafe in the chapel annex. I get coffee there in the mornings. I would stay there more than a minute or two, but being a Godly place in the Army, the Simpsons and other animated movies play 24/7.
So one of the chaplain's assistants, an older guy, is looking at a National Geographic. He says he is going to take his wife on an adventure tour of Peru when he gets back from deployment. "It costs $2000 per person, but it will be worth. The experience of a lifetime. I have always wanted to do it."
I said, "Wow. That sounds great. Are you making plans now? Is she excited?"
He answers, "No. She hates stuff like this. But I go shopping with her, so she can go. It's only two weeks."
He went on to explain how he and his wife are best friends.

A guy I ride with a couple of days a week borrows one of my bikes to ride with me. He got her just before I went on leave and decided last week to ask his wife to send a mountain bike he has at home here to Iraq. She refused. She said he should buy a bike there and not ship a bike to Iraq--he'll just have to ship it back. The two-way mailing cost will be $150 plus whatever the bike shop charges to pack the bike in a box. Chances are they will do it for free for a soldier in Iraq.

Anyway, he does not want to argue with his wife and he recently got a $1000 through an error in a travel voucher, so he is probably going to buy a new bike and have it shipped directly here rather than argue. "She'll never know," he said.

Not So Supreme: A Conference about the Constitution, the Courts and Justice

Hannah Arendt At the end of the first week in March, I went to a conference at Bard College titled: Between Power and Authority: Arendt on t...