Monday, November 30, 2015

Terrorism and Gun Violence on Both Sides of the Ocean




A good friend who has been traveling to America on business for more than a decade left Brussels, Belgium, for her current trip to America just days after the Paris shootings while Brussels was still on lock down for a possible second attack.  

Part of her trip to America is to visit her brother in Colorado Springs for Thanksgiving.  So she was there yesterday when a gunman shot eleven people in a Planned Parenthood clinic.  She will be returning to Pennsylvania before going back to Europe.  I hope nothing like this happens in here in Pennsylvania.

But it could.  

Because Fundamentalists of every kind share a common belief that they are right and everybody else is both wrong and can be killed for The Cause.

So murderous Muslim Fundamentalists attack the most civilized city on the planet, and a lone Fundamentalist, reportedly armed with the same weapon, the AK47, shoots eleven people on the day after Thanksgiving.  Because whatever kind of nut-job Fundamentalist he is, the faux God he has made up in his head told him that killing innocent people is the right thing to do.  









Sunday, November 29, 2015

Who Fights Our Wars? Flight Medic Leaving For Fifth Deployment




Nearly 100 years ago, young American men were leaving farms across America, joining every branch of the military to fight in World War One.  One in three Americans lived on a farm during the first decades of the 20th Century so just about every squad of soldiers had farmer.

Today fewer than two in 100 Americans live on farms, but one of those Americans with a small family farm is headed for his fifth deployment.  Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Kwiecien, a flight medic with nearly 20 years of service, will be leaving for Southwest Asia later this year.  He is deploying with Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion where he will serve as Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the unit. 

On 4.5 acres in mid-state Pennsylvania, Kwiecien and his family raise chickens, ducks and guinea hens.  He is considering adding goats and bees along with the flock of nearly 50 birds, but those plans are on hold until after deployment.  Raising poultry for eggs and for the table is one of several hobbies Kwiecien has, including making medical apparel, rock climbing and playing the drums.   

Kwiecien joined the Army in 1996, serving on active duty for six years.  He joined the Army National Guard in 2003.  In 19 years of service he has deployed to Bosnia, Saudi Arabia and twice to Iraq, most recently with the 56th Stryker Brigade in 2009.  He has served on active duty with the Guard since returning from deployment in 2010. 

In a phone interview while he was on a weekend pass, Kwiecien talked about his view of life before going on another deployment. 

I am a product of….
Years of failure.  I am very persistent.  I think that persistence has paid off because after 19 years and many failures I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and like Thomas Edison who figured all the ways not to make a lightbulb, I move on and stick with the things that work.  It’s better to try and fail than to never give your dream a shot.
Several years ago, Kwiecien went to a weekend-long evaluation for a National Guard Special Forces Unit in Maryland.  He got through the first weekend and was told he could come back for the second round of evaluations.  In between he got promoted and by taking the promotion took himself out of the program.  Although he did not make it into the Special Forces, he does not regret the attempt.

Relaxation is…
The search for serenity. Finding the situation or the place that is completely calming.  My big plan after deployment is to go to Zion national Park in Utah with my family. Getting away from civilization and being one with nature. Rock climbing and hiking are things I really look forward to on visits to national parks.

You can have the best idea…
But execution makes a good idea real. A good plan put into motion today and refined as needed is better than a great plan that hasn’t been started.  Hesitation and indecision kill good plans and good ideas.

There is drama…
There’s always drama it’s nothing new and it’s never going away. I tell my soldiers keep your private life private and your professional life professional and I won’t need to be involved in your private life.

The best lesson I ever had…

My dad told me when I was graduating from high school and we were looking at colleges that people should always have a skill in addition to higher education.  When he returns from deployment, Kwiecien will be starting a business making medical clothing for first responders. 

Kwiecien at work:








Thursday, November 19, 2015

Wikipedia Loves Weapons, Not Soldiers


This week I had a meeting with a "Wikipedian in Residence" at a history of science museum.  I was asking her about how to put people on Wikipedia.  Specifically, I wanted to write about National Guard First Sergeants and Sergeant's Majors and I thought it would be possible to create Wikipedia pages about some of the top sergeants I would write about.

Not possible.

My friend the Wikipedian went through the rules for creating a page about a person, and it is not possible to create a page about an enlisted soldier, or any soldier below the rank of Major General unless they have received the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross.

I understand they have to have rules, but there is no weapon or vehicle that does not have a page. Also, in the context of the entire world of who gets on Wikipedia, it is very clear soldiers are not all Heroes.

Because the real heroes of our culture can and do have Wikipedia pages:

The culture may use the word "hero" to refer to the guy who lives down the street and goes to war every few years, but our real heroes get fame and money.  A first sergeant who spends a year in the desert making sure his men are ready to fight and hopefully get home, that guy does not does not meet the athlete/movie star/porn star/televangelist/serial killer threshold required to be the subject of a Wikipedia page.  

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

More Pictures from Aircraft Refueling in Phillipsburg

More photos:







Fueling Aircraft in Phillipsburg

Last weekend I flew to Mid State Airport in Phillipsburg in a Chinook helicopter.  Aboput 100 soldiers had set up a refueling site at the end of the abandoned airstrip in the middle of the state.  In addition to the fuel site, they set up air traffic control, a tactical operations center, and a maintenance area.

It was bitterly cold.  Here are some photos of the cold soldiers putting fuel in "hot" aircraft.  Hot fueling is putting the fuel in while the aircraft is running.  Cold fuel is when the engines are shut down.








Sunday, November 15, 2015

My Battalion Commander in Iraq was Promoted to Brigadier General Today


Scott Perry was promoted to Brigadier General today.  Pinning on the stars are his mother, Cecelia Lenig, daughters Mattea and Ryenn, and wife Christy.

On a windswept parade field on Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in February of 2009, then Lt. Col. Scott Perry spoke to the battalion he would command in Iraq a few months later.  The soldiers at Fort Sill were the majority of the 700 who would make up Task Force Diablo at Camp Adder, Iraq.  In that speech, Perry told those troops, some of whom were seeing their commander for the first time, that “Envy destroys community.” 

Not every commander mentions the second worst of the Seven Deadly Sins at the beginning of a deployment, but Perry turned that warning into a goal for every soldier.  “If someone is getting something you want, don’t envy, go and get what you want.  Don’t worry about them.”

After 35 years of service that began with basic training in 1980 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Perry pinned on the star of a Brigadier General and joined the very small community of soldiers who achieve flag rank.  Perry, following his own advice, pursued his own goals and today achieved a very big goal for an Army officer. 

Following basic training, Perry served in the enlisted ranks for several years before attending Officer Candidate School.  He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery branch, but soon branch-transferred to Army Aviation, where he became qualified in numerous aircraft including Huey, Cayuse, Kiowa, Cobra, Chinook, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and is an instructor pilot.  His 29 years as a pilot began with flight school in 1986 and ended this summer with a final flight at Muir Field on Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. 

As an Aviation Officer, he has commanded at the company, battalion and brigade levels throughout his career including serving as company commander during a deployment to Kosovo in 2002.

Perry commanded 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion when it deployed to Iraq in 2009-10.  During this deployment, he flew 44 combat missions. 

In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and recently completed command of the Fort Indiantown Gap National Training Site. 


He presently serves Assistant Division Commander (Support) for the 28th Infantry Division.  He is a graduate of the US Army War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies.  In addition to serving in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Perry is in his second term as a United States Congressman representing Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District.  Perry and his wife Christy are the proud parents of two daughters, Ryenn and Mattea.


Stuffing a Humvee into a Chinook Helicopter

A Chinook helicopter looks huge inside and out compared to any other helicopter in the Army inventory--until you try to fit a Humvee inside of it.  Then the very big Chinook helicopter looks a lot smaller when you see a Humvee backing into it.  The Humvee is just a couple of inches narrower than the cargo area of the Chinook.  It also fits within just a few inches on top.

But it fits.  Here are some photos:









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...