Emergency Leave

One of the stories I did not have time to write was a process story about how our unit handled emergency leaves. From the week we mobilized till the last weeks in Fort Dix, New Jersey, soldiers in Task Force Diablo got a visit from their commander and first sergeant to deliver a Red Cross message. In fact, for soldiers who knew the procedure, seeing a company commander and first sergeant together, walking to someone's door, both looking stone faced, almost certainly meant bad news for someone in that room.

The soldier at the center of emergency leaves was Sergeant First Class Lori Burns, the NCOIC of the battalion S-1--the people who handle the paperwork. When the brigade received a Red Cross message, they passed it to our Operations (S-3) section who notified the battalion commander and command sergeant major and Lori. She started the paperwork and the very delicate process of determining whether this emergency was actually an Emergency Leave or not. An official military emergency leave is for immediate family--parents, siblings, children, and spouse. But some soldiers are raised by their grandparents.

As some of you may remember, I was one of the soldiers who received a Red Cross message that did not qualify as an actual emergency.  My mother-in-law died on Mother's Day last year, just a week after I arrived in Iraq.  Because there was space in the leave schedule at the time, I could have gone on emergency leave, but my wife thought it would be better to keep my leave as it was scheduled because we already had plans made.

But other guys who fell into the "not emergency" category that I was in really wanted to go home.  And most got to go home by giving up their scheduled leave.  The company and battalion commanders as well as the first sergeants and command sergeant major all would get the soldier home if they possibly could.  And unless they were off base on a mission, LTC Perry and CSM Christine were woken up and briefed on every Red Cross message.  The company commander and first sergeant delivered the message.

We had more than 50 Red Cross messages during the year of deployment and most of them got home one way or another.  Two soldiers lost newborn children during the tour.  One sergeant who lost his father went home twice.  The first time his father rallied and recovered, the next time was for the funeral.

Life seems on hold during the year of deployment, but life goes on back home.  The people who handle the emergency leaves have to deal with the reality of tragedy back home through the entire tour.

First Time Trial Coming up

On Sunday morning I will ride my first Time Trial since 2006.  It is not my favorite event, I don't have a TT bike.  For this event, I don't even have the special handlebars, wheels or helmet real time trailers use.  But I do have a nice new Main Line Cycling/Bi-Kyle team skin suit.  So if I don't ride well, I will at least look like a real bike racer!

Who Fought the Iraq War: Coming Home the Hard Way

About once a month, I would run into Chief Warrant Officer Tim Blosser on Tallil Ali Air Base.  He is a funny guy in a very dry way.  We would occasionally have serious conversations, but mostly we made rapid fire bad jokes then went back to whatever we had been doing five minutes before.  

Last weekend I called Tim up just to see how he was doing.  He is the sort of guy who can make the best of any bad situation and I expected him to be back into a comfortable life and having a good time. 

He's not.

Tim came back to primary custody of his two high-school age kids and a job that disappeared while he was in Iraq.  The people who rented his house while he was in Iraq left a big enough mess that he is renting an apartment until the house can be repaired.  Worse still for someone who spent a year away from his wife, he only sees his wife two days each month.  She lives in Maine, has two high-school-age children also.  She will continue to live in Maine until they graduate.  Tim wants his kids to graduate with their friends, so he will continue to live in Pennsylvania.

Tim said parenting is about sacrifice.  He and his wife knew when they married that they would only have occasional weekends together for the first four years they were married.  He said that an arrangement like this really makes him appreciate the time he has with his wife.  He even said they plan to continue to have special weekends together when they live in the same place.

He got a job, but it is with a small company and he is the new guy, so he did not sound really secure in his prospects.  But he talked about how the company is expanding and if everything goes well, there could be real growth.

Tim is an amazing guy. 

Tough Mudder Pictures

the event photographer posted some pictures form the event on line.  They found several mud-covered shots of me.  I am looking through their "Lost and Found" section before I order the high-res pictures.  In the meantime, they are here.

I have photos from the event I took after it was over.   It would be a fun event to shoot with all the costumes and mud.  I was so tired after it was over, I hung around for a while, but decided to go home so I would not be sleeping on the side of the road.

Kendra Boccelli, my niece, handled publicity for the event.  I heard about the event through her and my sister.

One of the event organizers with his Dad.  The founders of Tough Mudder are two Brits who like extreme sports.

One of the costumed competitors. Three guys wore blue body paint and yelled Avatar down some of the hills.

The Amish guy had a British accent.

Sophie Pollit-Cohen, who sent email and text updates to competitors about everything from start times to parking.

The water slide--we went down the hill in pairs.  The guy who went down the hill with me ended up on top of me in the pond.


Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 3

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 2

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman is Here

Second Tough Mudder Report

First Tough Mudder Finish

First Tough Mudder Photos

First Tough Mudder Entry

Ironman Plans

Ironman Training

Ironman Bucket List

Ironman Idea

Ironman Danger

Ironman Friendship

The MRE Video

Here it is in case you had trouble with the link.

In an Article Titled: The Science Of Feeding Soldiers, Video Also

 The Article:

The Science Of Feeding Soldiers | Science & Technology | Chemical & Engineering News

The video is on the right side of the article page.  Just click and watch me talk about canned fruit cake!!

Tough Mudder---I Finished!!!

The most important news about Tough Mudder is that I finished.  It was a grueling event and laid out in a way that made it especially difficult for me in the last mile.

At the beginning, we recited the following pledge.  UNLIKE any other event I have ever run, ridden etc, people really did help and encourage each other all along the course.  This event really was like being in Army training and not a civilian event, because the others mud-spattered competitors really were helping.  They helped me through three obstacles near the end when I was worn out.

As a Tough Mudder I pledge that…
* I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.
* I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
* I do not whine – kids whine.
* I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.
* I overcome all fears.


The race started half-way up one of the steep slopes so we began with a "Braveheart Charge" downhill.  We turned and ran, then walked (most of us anyway) up the longest climb of the course.  More than half-way up, was a snow, slush pit that we crawled and walked across, then continued up the climb.

On the way down the other side we crawled under a long net sliding in the muddy grass on hands and knees.  We continued down to a pile of firewood.  There we each grabbed a small log and went up then down a 200-yard climb.  We went from there to the steepest climb which was actually OK for me.  It was bike riding muscles on the hills.  Down the other side we ran through hip deep mud, crawled through smooth sewer pipes, then went down a long hill to a low crawl under wire through the mud.  After that we ran through the woods for a couple of miles.  When we emerged from the woods, I was in trouble. 

First, I had linked up with a group that called themselves the Pandas.  Panda 6 said their leader dropped out.  I told him he was the leader.  In the Army 6 is the number the commander uses.  So our commander in Iraq was Diablo 6.  Panda 6 was happy--"the Army guy said I am in charge."  I ran with the Pandas to the water obstacle.  I dragged myself across a really cold pond hand over hand on a sagging rope.  Panda 6 thought this would be better than going over on a two-rope bridge.  Maybe I spoke too soon.  All the energy went out of me in that cold water.

The next obstacle was under barrels in another pond.  I was colder.  It was in the high 80s.  I was cold.

Next we jumped off a pier and swam around a buoy and back to shore.  To the trained swimmers in the water, I looked like a practice dummy.  One swam up to me and asked if I was OK.  I said No.  His partner on the pier threw me a line and towed me in like a boat with no engine.

Out of the water, I jogged to the 12-foot wall climb.  I had to climb two 12-foot walls.  Other Mudders helped me over both.  From there we went down a 100-foot water slide into a pond.  I flipped into the pond butt first and landed on a rock with another guy's legs landing on my head.  He helped me up and I swam for shore.

After that the run between the burning hay bales was positively refreshing.  I took a few pictures at the end, but I was so tired, I ate everything in sight then drove home.

I was SOOOOoooo happy to finish.  It really was a happy 57th birthday.


Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 3

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 2

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman is Here

Second Tough Mudder Report

First Tough Mudder Finish

First Tough Mudder Photos

First Tough Mudder Entry

Ironman Plans

Ironman Training

Ironman Bucket List

Ironman Idea

Ironman Danger

Ironman Friendship

Racing at Turkey Hill

I missed the last two Turkey Hill road races.  Held the first weekend in May, I have been riding in this event since 2003 and did very well (for me) in it from 2003 through 2005.  Those three years I finished 7th, 10th, and 7th.  In 2006, I was 27th.  In 2007, I dropped out out and a few days later broke my neck.  Turkey Hill was one of the few races I did that year, and definitely the last one.  In 2008 I was at pre-deployment training for the race and in 2009 I was in Kuwait packing up to fly to Iraq.

It's a hilly race with some spectacular crashes.  In 2006, Chuck Waterfield broke his skull in several places crashing in this race.  Trevor, a new racer who lives in my neighborhood, crashed in almost the same place Chuck did, but only had cuts and bruises.  We rode home together from the race with a couple of members of the Franklin & Marshall College cycling team.

This year I was the last finisher still pedaling.  I got dropped on the second lap.  I was at the back of the pack and saw the strong guys up front pick up the pace on the first climb on the north side of the course.  I watched them disappear.

I should be better next year.

Weighty Comments

Today on the training ride one of my friends rode behind me on one of the climbs toward Highville and asked "So how much weight do you think you've gained since you got back?"  I said about 10 pounds.  It was more like five, but my weight can vary by five pounds in a weekend depending on how much I eat and if I dehydrate myself.

Competitive men in spandex are a rough crowd in matters of weight.  In the Army, weight is a little less obvious in the ACU uniform because the shirt is not tucked into the pants.  In fact, the Army refers to it as a jacket, even though we wear just a t-shirt underneath it.

I am sure to gain more weight next week.  I in a bike race on May 1 and the Tough Mudder on May 2.  Both events will exhaust me.  I will eat a lot and my weight won't go back to 190 for a week--let alone 182-186 where it stayed in Iraq.  Every pound makes a difference on a bike going up a hill!


Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 3

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman, Part 2

Tough Mudder vs. Ironman is Here

Second Tough Mudder Report

First Tough Mudder Finish

First Tough Mudder Photos

First Tough Mudder Entry

Ironman Plans

Ironman Training

Ironman Bucket List

Ironman Idea

Ironman Danger

Ironman Friendship

For Action-Sports Enthusiasts, There’s Tough Mudder’s Grueling Course - NYTimes.com

The NY Times wrote about the race I am doing Sunday. Looks like fun!!!!

For Action-Sports Enthusiasts, There’s Tough Mudder’s Grueling Course - NYTimes.com

Christmas in April

Yesterday I got my bikes and baggage back from Iraq--a footlocker, a duffel bag, my rucksack and two bike boxes.  The are both broken so tomorrow I will take the to Bike Line of Lancaster to get repaired.  I will leave at least one and maybe both in Philadelphia.  The bikes I took to Iraq are single speeds.  They are not great for Lancaster but good for Philadelphia where the city is flat. 

I have not completely unpacked, but it seems strange that I had all this stuff in Iraq.  I haven't seen it since November so I forgot what I packed for shipment home.

Friends Old and New

Today I spent five hours in the car driving to Fort Indiantown Gap at 6:45 am then to Philadelphia then back at 10:45 pm.  A very long day.

Those of you who believe one should not drive and talk on a cell phone should stop reading right now.

During the 300-odd minutes I was in the car, more than half on the PA Turnpike.  One the way to Philadelphia I called my Iraq "Roomie" Nickey Smith.  We talked for a half hour about how his life is going since his return and gossiped about some of the people in Echo we liked and some we didn't.  Nickey told me about getting sent to Oklahoma to reroute the gear for Connecticut soldiers.  He was one of two who went.  Others should have and did not. 

It did not surprise me at all that he would keep his word and trudge on when others did not.  I have written before that he took over for a squad leader who got relieved and unlike me and several others, stuck with his squad and with the motor pool when other sergeants jumped for greener pastures.  For his loyalty, Nickey got an average evaluation which the motor sergeant and motor officer knew was actually a rotten evaluation in a world where all evaluations are as highly inflated as inner tubes used for floating in a pond. 

Next time I drive to Boston, I am hoping to stop at his house and meet his family.  Who knows, his wife might be curious about the old white guy that her husband roomed with for most of a year.

On the way home, I called Abel Lopez, my best friend from back in the 70s in Germany.  We reminisced more than usual and talked about music the guys we served with listened to.  Abel reminded be that Gene Pierce listed over and over to his one Alice Cooper album (remember--this was back when cassette tapes were new technology!).  Everybody listened to Peter Frampton, "Do You Feel Like I Do."

We also talked about immigration.  Abel thinks it's a good idea to keep the gangs out, but he lives near the border in San Diego and knows that if California passes a law like Arizona, he and his family will be profiled.  Abe was born in San Diego, but his parents are both Mexican, so he, and especially his son, are likely to be hassled or swept up if profiling becomes legal.

Still More Welcome Home Pictures

Cheneen Nicholson-Carter and some of her family and friends

Major Hayes, SPC Broome, LTC Doud, and others

LTC Perry, MAJ Feddersen, Mrs. Feddersen

Perkins and Lake families

CSM Dell Christine

Soccer Tournament

Yesterday I took Nigel and Jacari to Lauren's Spring Soccer Tournament.  Juniata College played six other teams in half-hour games in a one-day tournament.  Lauren is one of two junior goalkeepers who will be playing their final season this fall.  The other is Kristen Penska.

The tournament, falling on Saturday, April 24, meant the soccer team could not attend the annual Juniata College Pig Roast.  So Kristen's father, David Penska, brought a roasted pig to the tournament.  It was carved, but the pig's head was left roasted and intact as the centerpiece for the serving table.  So we all had roast pig in the gym at Lebanon Valley College, site of the soccer tournament.

Thanks Dave!!!

Nigel, Jacari and Lauren after the tournament

The Juniata Women's Soccer Team plus Nigel and Jacari

The guest of honor

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me--I Won the News Quiz

I was the first contestant today on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" the NPR News Quiz.  You can listen on line here, but like most call-in guests, I don't say much.  This weeks comedian/panel is Tom Bodette, Paula Poundstone, and P.J. O'Rourke.  Jokes about Iceland went past me so fast I thought I could feel wind through the phone.

The three questions were very easy so I won the prize, Carl Castle's voice on my answering machine.  The producer I spoke with said you can have pretty much anything for a greeting.  I just have to write it out and Carl will record on a CD.  The best suggestion I have heard so far was from my wife who said the greeting could be:  "This is Carl Kasell from NPR News, Neil and I are out training for the Tour de France and can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message and one of us will get back to you."

But I have a few days before sending in my script.  If you have an idea for a greeting that tops Carl and I training for the Tour, let me know what it is.

Reality Day

Today I talked to two close friends today and had one of those reality checks only real friends will give you.  The first conversation was about racing, the second about writing. 

On the subject of riding, I am way behind in bicycle racing fitness.  I know it sounds cool that I rode 5000 miles in Iraq and a total of 7000 miles last year, but nearly all of it was what racers call "junk miles."  I rode to and from work on base.  I rode ten-mile laps around the base, but never pushed myself in the way that riding with other racers pushes me.

Anyway, I told my friend about having the PA Senior Games as my goal for the year and the National Senior Games as my goal for next year.  He thought that was a good plan.  Between the reduced amount of training I do compared to before deployment and the "year off" riding in Iraq, he was sure there was not much chance I would be competitive in licensed races anytime soon, maybe not for years if at all.  Comebacks are not easy at 57.

A few hours later I talked to a good friend who is an excellent writer.  I said. "Maybe I am wasting my time riding 10 or more hours a week to get back in shape when I have the opportunity to write a book."  He asked me what I could get from a book.  Clearly not money.  Every author I know personally writes for money to supplement their incomes.  Then he talked about audience.  He reminded me that the people who most admire what I did want me to stop talking whenever politics comes up.  And the people who agree with my politics think I am certifiable for going.  He's right of course. If I had a Big Idea, maybe, but for right now I just have a title and a lot of stories. 

Even More Pictures from the Welcome Home

Maj. Joel Allmandinger, battalion commander, Mechanicsburg Mens Club, event sponsor.

SPC Aaron Trimmer with his daughter

                                         SPC and Mrs Matias

Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the ceremony

Some members of the Family Readiness Group

More Pictures from the Welcome Home

I have enough pictures from the Welcome Home Party that I will post them a half-dozen at a time for the next several posts.

 SFC Melanie McCracken and SPC Andrea Magee

Capt Nate Smith as emcee

1LT Marquardt with his wife--who is taking a picture of me taking a picture.

Chief Witmer organized the party beginning back in Iraq--with Donna Brown and the FRG

Task Force Diablo Company Commanders

Mechanicsburg Men's Club sponsored the party

Back to Training--On the Road

Tonight I rode the city training race in Philadelphia, three laps of the east and west drives along the Schuykill River.  I got dropped from the main pack on the 2nd mile.  We were riding 30-33mph on a flat road and I was wheezing in seconds.  I ended up riding with five other dropouts in a pace line.  We were taking turns at the front for a while then two of us started taking long pulls at the front.  We were riding 24-26 mph so I have a long way to to go to get competitive again. 

Tomorrow I am going to run.  The Tough Mudder race is less than two weeks away and I need to put some miles in before the race starts.  I have been in the gym three or four days a week, not quite as much as Iraq, but its all I've got for the Mudder race.

Two other members of Task Force Diablo are doing the Mudder, so if I end up doing terrible or dropping out, I can still write about them.  They are Major Joel Allmandinger, our new commander, and 1st Lt. Carolina Kelley, our new intelligence officer.

Celebrity in MY House--Janelle Stelson

WGAL TV, Channel 8, in Lancaster PA is interviewing soldiers who recently returned from deployment in Iraq.  Today Janelle Stelson went to Philadelphia with me on the train and interviewed me about life in Iraq and about coming home.  At the end of the day, she and the cameraman, Dan Maddox, were back talking to my wife and my son Nigel.  The story is supposed to air in May. 

Janelle Stelson co-anchors "News 8 at 5:30" and "News 8 at 11" each weeknight.

The recipient of several Associated Press awards for reporting, Janelle joined WGAL-TV in 1997. Her 17 years of broadcasting experience include covering stories both nationally and internationally.

Janelle's first job was writing speeches at the Embassy of Egypt in Washington, D.C.Her journalism career began at WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, as a general assignment reporter and weather anchor. In 1989 she moved to Miami to work for WPLG-TV, where she covered hurricanes, Haitian riots and one of the biggest drug busts in U.S. history. Janelle returned to the Susquehanna Valley to anchor the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts for WHP-TV in Harrisburg.

She also worked with WITF public radio, hosted a statewide public television broadcast with the governor of Pennsylvania and anchored "Computer Chronicles" on PBS.Born in Fairbanks, Alaska, Janelle grew up in the Seattle area of Washington state.She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a bachelor of arts degree in politics and government. She also studied international politics and advanced German language at the Austro-American Institute in Vienna, Austria.

Janelle flew to New York City with National Guard troops a few days after the Sept. 11 attacks, for a story on delivering supplies to the World Trade Center recovery site. She also recently interviewed First Lady Laura Bush and hosted an event with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.Janelle's strong commitment to the community includes speaking to numerous groups and serving on the board of directors for the Humane League of Lancaster County. The annual reader poll for Senior News of Lancaster County and Dauphin County named Janelle "Best News Anchor."