Saturday, July 10, 2010

Old Bastards in the Hallway

Today the drill started early with a PT test at 0700.  I arrived at 0645.  I have a lot of PT test photos which I will post on FLICKR by next Tuesday.  After the PT Test, the over-40 soldiers from our unit went to the medical facility for annual health screening.  We all fasted since last night which was especially difficult for the soldiers who took the PT Test.  No food before or after.  I brought a bag of food with me and ate it as soon as I got the blood test.

At every Army medical event with multiple stations, one station ends up with a three-hour line.  I got blood, dental, eyes, ears, ekg all done in an hour and a half.  I am now in my second hour of the checkout line.  The doctor just came out of his office and said the computer is down.  So we have been waiting, are waiting and will be waiting in a line that won't move.

While we are waiting, some of the 40 yr olds got into one of those "Good old days" conversations which start out with the Old Soldiers in question bragging about who had the meanest mother and how much they got beat when they were kids.  Then as they keep speaking, it begins to be clear that despite their love of the old days, their actual techniques for discipline are as squishy as fresh marshmallows.

They "count to ten" while the disobedient child continues his disobedience until the count of nine.  One of the two parents is not sure about spanking.  They think talking back is normal.  They give 7-year-olds video games.  They may be paragons of an orderly family in their heads, but their actions say nothing matters but individual happiness and rights--which makes them Liberals by any traditional definition.  If actions speak louder than their (very loud) words, then they are to Left of the San Francisco city council.

And my wife, who allows no back talk, requires good behavior without exception, and thinks community is more important than individuality, turns out to be more Conservative in practice than all of the "Good old days" group put together.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Got a Tattoo--1st Armored Division Patch on my Right Calf


Today at 4pm I went to Transcending Flesh on Chestnut St. in Lancaster to get my first tattoo!  I got the 1st Armored Division unit patch on my right calf.  It is very visible in a group of bicycles and invisible in a suit.  Just right for me.

It took about an hour after 30 minutes of prep.  Ben, the artist who did the tattoo, said it was going to itch like crazy and I am not supposed to scratch it.

When we were in Iraq, the commander of 1st AD put in orders to award the combat patch to the pilots who flew him on missions, mostly in Alpha Company and me for some things I did for 1AD.  Then the orders were revised to include all of 2-104th Aviation.  But so far the orders have not been finalized.

All the years I served in tanks (1975-84) I was in infantry divisions, so I never wore an armored patch.  With the 1AD patch I finally got to wear an armored patch, but now it is on hold, maybe forever.  So in the absence of orders, I can wear my 1AD patch where my bike buddies can see it.

Here's the actual patch:



Thursday, July 8, 2010

A Small Slice of Life

Two weeks or so ago I got a bug bite on my right hip right at my waist.  It was red and itchy like any bug bite.  It also would not go away.  On the July 4th weekend it kept getting more and more sore.

When I came home Tuesday night the 1-inch red mark was three inches across and turning black and dripping.  I called my doctor and made an appt. for Wednesday.  At 10pm I called back and asked if I should be worried.  One of my co-workers said she got blood poisoning from something like this.  the doctor said not to worry, but get into the office the next day.

When I got to the office the sore was swollen.  The family practice I go to has many interns and nurse practitioners pass through.  The nurse who treated me was a young woman who seemed delighted to have something to work on that she could fix.  She said she would have to drain the sore then start me on antibiotics.

First I got the lidocaine shots to numb the area.  Then she made the scalpel cuts and started cleanup.  After a few minutes she said there was a place she did not see was not numb.  She said it would not hurt much--it hurt a lot more than the numb area.  After more cutting and squeezing she was done.  "Take a look," she said.  "We got lots of bad stuff out."

I remember from my other various injuries how much medical people like to have patients that get better.  I have a follow up vist next Friday, but probably won't need it.  The antibiotic is working already.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Next Drill

We are really going to have a fun-filled weekend this coming drill weekend on July 10-11.  I just got a note from Echo's training NCO, Staff Sgt. Chad Hummel, that I and the other 40+ year old soldiers have to get a blood test Saturday morning at 0900.  That means fasting from 2100 (9pm) Friday night.

That will not be a big deal for me since I am just a grader on the PT test at 0700.  But for the old guys who have o take the test at 0700 then wait till after the blood test before they eat, they are going to be grumpy old men waiting for their turn to get blood drawn.

I called Chad up and made the futile gesture of saying that I just got a blood test as part of an annual physical from my civilian doctor.  I have complete blood work dated June 25.  That, of course, is meaningless.  I need and Army blood test.

After the 0700 PT Test and the 0900 blood test, I will be laying out all my field gear for inventory.  We will also be turning in outdated items.  This means during the next two days I will fill two or three duffel bags and a rucksack with field gear and uniforms for inventory.

Once the inventory is complete, I hope to meet with the Command Sgt. Maj. and the battalion commander about what I will be doing for the next three years.  For the present I am training with Echo.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Keeping an Eye on the Readiness NCO

Our Readiness NCO was rushed to the hospital two weeks ago with a nail stuck in his eye--right between the white and blue parts.  He waited seven hours for a surgeon then had the nail removed in what was, if my memory serves, very painful surgery during which he was awake.

SFC Wayne Perkins served as platoon sergeant and on-site leader for Echo Company fuelers at Forward Operating Base Garry Owen for most of the year we were in Iraq.  Garry Owen is a square mile of American base close to the Iran-Iraq border.  It got hit with missiles enough that the only soldiers in our unit to receive Purple Heart Medals were injured at Garry Owen.

Wayne got his fueling crew through months of 24-hour operations without a single serious injury.  He maintained safety standards in a dirty, nasty environment for months.  He and all of his soldiers came home healthy.

Then he operated a table saw without safety glasses at home, months after the deployment.  The Army, as I have mentioned many times before, is nuts on safety.  Once he recovers, and all indications are that SFC Perkins sight will return unimpaired, he will be giving briefings on the importance of safety glasses.

I am not sure how he will be welcomed back to duty, but a safety glasses theme will probably decorate his office.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Numbers Update

This post is #804.  As you have seen lately, I no longer write every day, but I write every day I do something Army and other things that are related to being an old soldier.

Today also was the day the of the 70,000th visit to the site.  Some of those visitors looked at other pages so the site has had 91,000 page views also.

since I no longer provide any information about the war--except passing along coverage by others--I am going to add my favorite milblogs to my navigation bar.  As always, the Thunder Run is the best and the link is already there, but others are worth listing too.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Riding to NYC After the PT Test

Today I rode to NYC from Philadelphia.  Actually, not quite all the way to NYC.  I rode to the train station in Newark, then took the train.  The only way to actually ride into NYC is across the George Washington Bridge 100 blocks (10 miles) above Midtown.

The ride from Center City to Newark is 90 miles total.  The first ten miles through the city to the Tacony-Palmyra bridge is slow.  LOTS of stop signs and lights.  From the NJ side of the bridge, the ride is great.  Most of the Route 130 has a wide shoulder and not a lot of traffic.

I got on Route 1 & 9 from 130 and the ride turned hectic.  Most of 1-9 has no shoulder and lots of traffic.  Near the end I had a couple of left exits.  Next time i will have to find a better alternate route for the end.  But I never rode to NYC before so I was very happy to ride there.

I still want to ride to Boston someday.  When I do, I will go around NYC rather than through.  It will be longer, but worth the extra 50 miles.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Got a 297 on the PT Test Today!!!

This morning I took the first APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) since I returned home.  I thought I was slipping a little bit lately, but I got the best score in my life:  297!!!

I was two pushups short of scoring the max of 300.  Maybe next time!!!

I had a little help from the calendar because age 57-61 is the second to last scoring category.  I had to do 53 pushups and 64 situps to max.  I did 66 situps in just over a minute 40 seconds, so that was fine, but 51 was all the pushups I could do in two minutes.

To max the run, I would have to do two miles in 15:13, except over age 55 you can either run and be scored the usual way, walk 2.5 miles or ride a bike 6.2 miles (10k) in 28 minutes.  I rode the bike.  The bike has to be single speed or have its gears locked.  I have a single speed, so I rode the required distance in just under 20 minutes.

When you do the bike or the walk, the event is pass-fail and scoring is the average of the other two events. I got 100 points for the situps, 98 for the pushups, and 99 for the bike--297 total.

Great day for me!!

If you want to check your pt standards, follow this link.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Finding a Dog

Yesterday, my wife and I were talking about getting a dog.  We are going on vacation in August on two different weeks so we want to get a dog in September.

We were talking about going to the Humane League and then were wondering if there was some kind of Craigslist category for pet owners moving to a new town who can't take their dog.  I know when an Army unit moves out for a large deployment or relocation, there is a scramble to find homes for pets.

If anyone knows of a list like that where we could give a home to a dog that needs a home, let me know.  We are looking for a medium-size to large dog.  Definitely a dog who likes kids.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Last Workout Before the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)

Today I went to the gym before my ride to do one last workout before taking the APFT on Wednesday morning.  Now that I am 57, I need 54 pushups and 64 situps to max the test.  The run time to max is now 15:13.  I haven't been running fast, so I don't know if I could do that, but it doesn't matter because I fall under the "choice of aerobic activity" rule allowing me to either run, walk 2.5 miles or ride the bike 10km.  The walk and bike are pass-fail and my score is the average of the scores of the other two events.

To pass on the bike, I need to ride 10 km (6.1 miles) in 28 minutes.  I have to ride a one-speed bike or lock the gears to one speed.  On a good day, I can ride 10km in 16 minutes.  So if I have a bad day, I will still pass.  I think if I have a flat I could change it and still pass.

I did 66 situps in 2 minutes today and 50 pushups.  Assuming I can squeeze out four more pushups on Wednesday, I might be able to max the test.

At the other end of the scale, I need 18 pushups and 28 situps to pass, so I should be good for at least a pass.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Back to Racing--At the Back

Today my brief Father's Day comeback ended.  I entered the relatively flat, fast road race at Brownstown, PA.  On the 2nd of six 5-mile laps I was wheezing and watching the pack disappear.

Although the race was flatter than last week's climb-every-mile Cargas Criterium, Brownstown has three sharp, square left turns that slow the pack to 15mph leading to acceleration on the way out of the turns.  This kind of acceleration is exactly what I was NOT doing last year and what I need to do to keep up in races.  Also, the race was controlled and won by Thru-It-All Cycling team.  They are the strongest and deepest team racing masters 45+.

So what was I doing in a 45+ plus race at my advanced age?  It was a combined field with 45+ and 55+ racers.  Last week the entire field was 55+.  When fields are combined, the stronger field controls the pace and the rest of us do the best we can.  Thru-It-All attacked three times a lap causing the pack to chase.  The attacks went on until the fourth lap when eventual winner John Spittal got away with one other rider at the front of the field.  At that point the field settled down, but I was already a Zip Code behind the field riding with two other 55+ racers who were summarily dropped from the field.

I might race in New Jersey this Saturday, maybe not again till mid-July.  I have a drill weekend on July 11-12 so no racing that weekend.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Screaming Jelly Babies (Gummi Bears)

On the first friday of every month, the museum where I work opens its doors in the evening.  We are part of the "First Friday" night in Philadelphia.  Last month we had free beer samples from a local brewery and a visiting scholar talking about the history of beer and brewing.

On July 2, we will have chemistry experiments every hour including the Screaming Jelly Baby, as it is known in Britain.  Jelly Babies and Gummi Bears are almost pure sugar and oxidize so fast you can get a screaming sound from a test tube with the right temperature and oxidizing agent:



In Iraq, I would hear serious conversations about MEDEVAC missions, emergency leaves, and other "work" issues in an aviation unit in Iraq.  Today I heard two of my co-workers talking very seriously about how and where we would be setting up the Screaming Jelly Baby experiment.

 Life is different back here in the world.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

I am using Twitter more lately because of a program called Tweet Deck.  I am also using Facebook more and adding friends from Task Force Diablo (2-104th GSAB) and high school.  You can find me on either Facebook or Twitter by searching my name.  I am also on Linked In but use that less.  Twitter and Facebook are made for immediate updates.  LinkedIn not so much.

I know there are hundreds of other social media options out there.  Are there specific ones an old soldier/chemistry geek/bicyclist should be looking at?

Let me know.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Whole Race--I am Coming Back!!!!

Today was the annual Father's Day Race, officially known as the Cargas Criterium and Masters State Championship at Greenfield Industrial Park in Lancaster PA.  I have been riding in this race since I turned 50--except 2007 when I was in a neck brace.  I went to that race and probably caused fights between a dozen racers and their wives after they saw me watching the race in a neck and chest brace with not-quite-healed scars on my face.

Today I got my best result--EVER!!!!

In four races between 2003 and 2007 I never finished better than 26th.  In 2008 I finished 21st.  Last year, it was one of the three races I did in America in 2009, because I was on leave from Iraq during the last two weeks of June.  I finished 20th.

Today I was 19th.  Not exactly a victory in a field of 40, but it is the first race I finished with the main pack since I have been back from Iraq.  I will be racing next weekend in a race I have finished more than once in the top ten.  I am feeling good!

The other great thing about this race for me is that it is six miles from my house and my family comes out to cheer for me.  Today, my wife was at a six-mile mud run of her own, but Lauren, Lisa, Nigel and Jacari were out and yelling GO DAD! on every lap.  In fact, they were so loud that a couple of the riders said they sounded like the horns at the World Cup Soccer Games.

They sounded great to me.  At amateur racers, the participants outnumbers the fans by ten to one.  I had ten percent of the crowd cheering for me.  I was a happy Dad.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

FLICKR Page

I opened a FLICKR page in Iraq and just started using it.  I guess this is considered social media, but it does not connect with Facebook (at least as far as I can see) so I have not made a lot of FLICKR friends.  If someone does know how to connect FLICKR with Facebook, please let me know.
Here's the page.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Barnstormers

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, my hometown for the last 25 years has a professional baseball team called the Barnstormers.  They are a minor league team.  My family has been to several games on different occasions.  I haven't yet been to a game.  I am not a fan of stick and ball sports in general, but they are the local team, so I hope to get to a couple of games before the long baseball season ends.

It will have to be a night game, because if I have that much free time during the day, I'll be on my bike.

Anyway, one of my neighbors has taken her kids to several Barnstormers games and said they are a lot of fun.  Then she said, "but it's sad reading about the players, you can tell they are on the way down in not-so-great careers."

So. . .

They may not be starting for the Red Sox, but they are professional players.  They get paid to play ball.  How many people ever get a chance to play pro ball or get paid to play any sport as a professional?  I know that there are tens of thousands of people who wish they could play pro sports for every one who makes it.

When she was making that comment, I thought about the 50 miles I rode today, part of more than 200 I rode this week trying to get to the point where I can just finish a race.  Nobody among the thousands of masters amateur racers I ride with gets paid.  Really hot shot riders get free jerseys and bike parts, but nobody quits their day job.

In amateur sports, as in the Army, the big dividing line is between those who do and those who don't.  Often when I ride with a group of fast riders who are not racers, somebody will tell why they don't race.  Usually, they are worried about crashing.  I always tell them they made the right decision.  Racers crash.  If you don't want to crash, you should not race.  Frankly, you should not ride fast or on roads either, but that's another topic.

In the same way, there is no safe way to serve.  Get a guarantee for the safest job and a computer somewhere will spit out a requirement for your job in the middle of the hottest conflict.  Enlisting means serving as needed.  It can be dangerous.

And like racing, it is clearly not for everybody.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Awards from Iraq Presented at Last Drill Weekend


Four Companies had award ceremonies on Sunday morning, June 13.  Bravo, Delta, Echo and Headquarters & Headquarters Company gave awards to soldiers in separate ceremonies during the morning.  The photos of these award ceremonies are at the links below:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Freedom Salute Pictures


On Sunday, June 13, 2-104th GSAB received a Freedom Salute ceremony honoring soldiers who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom last year, returning home in January.  All deployed soldiers who could attend the ceremony were honored for their service.  Photos of the ceremony are available for download on a FLICKR page maintained I set up in Iraq.  To view all the photos and download yours, just click on this link.

There are 273 photos in this set.  Please add identifying info to your picture or pictures and feel free to share the pictures with family and friends.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Adoption Begins

Our kids:  Lauren, Jacari, Iolanthe, Nigel and Lisa.

Yesterday we officially became the foster parents of Jacari Waddell.  The adoption could take up to another year before the paperwork is completed.  In the meantime, Jacari will be with us.

Our family now has five last names for seven people.

Monday, June 14, 2010

More Change of Command Pictures

Chaplain LaVoie making the Invocation

Master of Ceremonies SSG Shawn Rutledge

HHC Change of Command

Out-going Commanders after the ceremony

Delta Company


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...