Veteran of four wars, four enlistments, four branches: Air Force, Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard. I am both an AF (Air Force) veteran and as Veteran AF (As Fuck)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Who Fights This War? Door Gunner and Runner
Sgt. James McKeithan, a door gunner in Company B, Task Force Diablo, checks his equipment before a flight at Camp Adder, Tallil, Iraq. As a door gunner in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, McKeithan flies the night skies. He said the most exciting mission he would have gone on, a support role in an air assault, actually got canceled.
The runner-up was what he described as a hot unloading of pallets at Basra. This means the pallets are dropped from the cargo ramp while the helicopter is still moving. McKeithan said the most difficult part of his job came when he was required to perform overnight missions on eight consecutive nights.
A resident of Carlisle, Pa., 22-year-old McKeithan is a full-time Army National Guard Soldier. He served on the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's Mobile Event Team before he deployed to Iraq. He plans to serve full-time with the Guard when he returns and attend college at night. He has one year of college left to finish earning his degree as a registered nurse.
After that, he will pursue additional training to become a nurse anesthetist. When he is not working, McKeithan is a competitor. His last Army physical fitness score was 336 (300 is considered a perfect score), with a two-mile run time of 12 minutes and 12 seconds. He said his goal is 350 with a run time of 11 minutes and 30 seconds. He plans to run the Army 10-Miler in Iraq. He said he ran the race in Washington D.C. in 2008 with a time of one hour and six minutes. He also participates in mixed martial arts fighting and is a registered competitor in four states.
The Race is On!!!!! Task Force Diablo Biathlon on Thanksgiving Morning
It's Approved. It's on. We are ready to roll!!! The First EVER Task Force Diablo Biathlon begins at 0700 hours on Thursday, November 26. The Run/Bike event will begin with a 5k run followed by a 15k bike. We will have individual and team competition. We are hoping to have medals. We do have water bottles and a couple of helmets and several other prizes courtesy of Bike Line of Lancaster, Pa.
The course profile is the same as an ironing board--flat. I am hoping to have 100 teams or individuals. I am going to make the race flyer in the morning. Advertising should begin by Saturday. Three weeks today till the start.
When I went to the garrison sergeant major's office to get approval for the race, he said we first had to talk about a Veteran's Day ceremony on Wednesday the 11th. I am going to be the emcee. I contacted the guy who will (I hope) be the featured speaker--one of the chaplains who is a regular at the CS Lewis book group.
This Monday I am going to send the newsletter I do to everyone I sent it too a month ago. This seventh issue really is good. With the help of Sgt. Matt Jones at 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, the simple layout I use is starting to look better. And I got some really good shots that I am using full page so they would not look as dramatic on the blog.
Too many great things happened this week to even write them all down. One sad thing for me I realized this morning is the Charlie MEDEVAC Company is leaving. They have been the source of some of my best stories and are one of the best units it has ever been my pleasure to be associated with. They are going back to Alaska soon and another MEDEVAC will take their place. I re-wrote the Eight Minutes and Gone blog post from two months ago as a tribute/goodbye to them and re-cropped some pictures for the past page of the newsletter.
The course profile is the same as an ironing board--flat. I am hoping to have 100 teams or individuals. I am going to make the race flyer in the morning. Advertising should begin by Saturday. Three weeks today till the start.
When I went to the garrison sergeant major's office to get approval for the race, he said we first had to talk about a Veteran's Day ceremony on Wednesday the 11th. I am going to be the emcee. I contacted the guy who will (I hope) be the featured speaker--one of the chaplains who is a regular at the CS Lewis book group.
This Monday I am going to send the newsletter I do to everyone I sent it too a month ago. This seventh issue really is good. With the help of Sgt. Matt Jones at 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, the simple layout I use is starting to look better. And I got some really good shots that I am using full page so they would not look as dramatic on the blog.
Too many great things happened this week to even write them all down. One sad thing for me I realized this morning is the Charlie MEDEVAC Company is leaving. They have been the source of some of my best stories and are one of the best units it has ever been my pleasure to be associated with. They are going back to Alaska soon and another MEDEVAC will take their place. I re-wrote the Eight Minutes and Gone blog post from two months ago as a tribute/goodbye to them and re-cropped some pictures for the past page of the newsletter.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Who Fights This War? The Judge
In 1999 Reynaldo Santos of Great Falls, Mont., needed an age waiver to join the Army National Guard at age 36. "It was tough joining at that age, but I had a goal. I wanted to be judge and everyone told me, 'You need to be a Soldier to be a judge.'" And it turned out he needed some actual experience as a Soldier. Santos ran for judge that same year and was defeated.
"It wasn't bad though," he said. "I was fourth among 16 candidates, so I knew I could get better." He had the right academic credentials: an associate degree in criminal justice, two bachelor's degrees: one in paralegal studies and one pre-law, and a master's degree in criminal justice administration. Over the following decade, he would get more than enough military experience. Santos trained as a military policeman and began a series of active duty deployments that continue right through today.
"My first deployment was what they called an extended annual training," said Santos. "We went to Kuwait for six months in 2001 returning on Sept. 1. We got activated again on Sept. 12 for months." Returning from his post 9/11 duties, Santos trained as an aircraft fueler. In 2002 he was put on active duty as a fueler and went back to Kuwait as a fueler in the build up and opening months of the Iraq War.
"We were there before it started," he said. He was home for a year then deployed to Iraq again in 2004 for another year, returning in 2005. At that point he parlayed his military experience into a job as crisis manager of the University of Great Falls. Santos is certainly building up his resume for his next run at becoming a Justice of the Peace.
A father of five and grandfather of eight, he is currently on his third deployment to Iraq, this time as a Staff Sergeant with Echo Company, 2/104 General Support Aviation Battalion, working again as a fueler. He plans on returning to his job with the university next year after his current deployment but will be keeping his eye on the opportunity to run for Justice of the Peace when he returns home.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
DUST!!!!! and Good Friends
My big idea about a 1,000-mile month might be dead already. We had a HUGE dust storm today. When I rode to the south side of the base in the morning the sky was clear and it looked really nice outside. Then at 10am the visibility went from miles to feet. I let the bike sit all day then rode back to the North side for the Aeneid book group. The whole four-mile trip the sand was hitting me like rain, I could hear it on my helmet and shoulders. It was accumulating in the creases I my uniform like some kind of foul snow.
Last night we discussed Eros in the CS Lewis book group. The discussion went on for all but two hours. So we were talking about Romantic love and going back to define friendship (philia) again to be sure the contrast is clear. In the course of discussing Eros, I became very aware that I was part of a group of friends. Steve, Abbie, Gene, Ian and Edgardo--the regular members--really do bring their own perspectives to the group and, as Lewis says, bring things out in the other friends that would never be as clear otherwise. Gene and Edgardo are both chaplains and both orthodox in their beliefs, but are very different politically. With Edgardo gone home on R&R leave the last week, we only have one chaplain and not the interplay between Edgardo and Gene. Abbie and Steve are both Air Force and both friends outside the group, but Abbie is intuitive and Steve is logical. They play off each other very well. Ian is younger than all the rest of us and, like Abbie, goes to both book groups. He is about 6'6" tall and quiet until a subject hits a chord in him, which Eros did. Ian could give us the single-guy perspective on Eros in new Millenium, showing CS Lewis needs some updating.
I said I would start to talk about what I would miss in Iraq. This group of friends is at the top of my list.
Last night we discussed Eros in the CS Lewis book group. The discussion went on for all but two hours. So we were talking about Romantic love and going back to define friendship (philia) again to be sure the contrast is clear. In the course of discussing Eros, I became very aware that I was part of a group of friends. Steve, Abbie, Gene, Ian and Edgardo--the regular members--really do bring their own perspectives to the group and, as Lewis says, bring things out in the other friends that would never be as clear otherwise. Gene and Edgardo are both chaplains and both orthodox in their beliefs, but are very different politically. With Edgardo gone home on R&R leave the last week, we only have one chaplain and not the interplay between Edgardo and Gene. Abbie and Steve are both Air Force and both friends outside the group, but Abbie is intuitive and Steve is logical. They play off each other very well. Ian is younger than all the rest of us and, like Abbie, goes to both book groups. He is about 6'6" tall and quiet until a subject hits a chord in him, which Eros did. Ian could give us the single-guy perspective on Eros in new Millenium, showing CS Lewis needs some updating.
I said I would start to talk about what I would miss in Iraq. This group of friends is at the top of my list.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Another Mileage Record
In October I rode 801 miles, my first month over 800 miles in Iraq. Today, I passed the 3,900-miles-in-Iraq mark. So I have two full months left in this year to get to 5,000 miles in Iraq. It should be no problem if I can keep riding everywhere I go. I often work late now, going back to the office at 9pm and returning at midnight or later. When I ride back it is actually cold. Tonight it was 61 degrees, not exactly arctic conditions, but after the temps this summer (133 in the shade!!) 61 feels chilly. Tonight I rode back in uniform and was happy I was not in shorts and a t-shirt.
The dust storms are supposed to hit us tomorrow. If they do, my mileage will be down. I was hoping to ride at least 33 miles a day. If I can do that, this will be a 1,000-mile month.
The dust storms are supposed to hit us tomorrow. If they do, my mileage will be down. I was hoping to ride at least 33 miles a day. If I can do that, this will be a 1,000-mile month.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Fresh Fruit Every Day
In previous posts I have talked about how good the food is here. Soldiers who have deployed before and have long careers have told me, "I never at this good in the Army. Ever." For me, the best thing consistently is the fruit. Every meal, every day, there is fresh fruit. And in two of the three chow halls one to three kinds of fruit are cut when you walk up to the serving bars. A small south Asian man with a big knife cuts watermelon, pineapple, cantalope, and melon. So nearly every meal I am eating the fresh cut fruit. We also get plums, apples, bananas, grapes, kiwi, oranges, and grapefruit.
Last week I was eating with a few older soldiers and we were talking about going home. "We're never going to eat like this at home," said one of the sergeants. He was so right. Because even if we could eat like this, the price would be ridiculous. Here it's just part of daily life so we can eat like this and not think about the expense or whether eating like this means someone else is going without. We never asked for the particular array of fruits the Army provides and if they were gone tomorrow we would have no effective way to get our fruit basket back. The guys at remote bases get fresh fruit once in a while, some more than others, but nothing like here.
Last week I was eating with a few older soldiers and we were talking about going home. "We're never going to eat like this at home," said one of the sergeants. He was so right. Because even if we could eat like this, the price would be ridiculous. Here it's just part of daily life so we can eat like this and not think about the expense or whether eating like this means someone else is going without. We never asked for the particular array of fruits the Army provides and if they were gone tomorrow we would have no effective way to get our fruit basket back. The guys at remote bases get fresh fruit once in a while, some more than others, but nothing like here.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Who Fights This War--Trading a Guitar for a Gun
The following story got published in our division newsletter and on their web site and by the end of the day yesterday was on the web site of the Department of Defense and was highlighted on the Secretary of Defense news page.
Nick was one of the guys who went through the Live Fire Shoot House when I did.
Seven years ago, then 18-year-old Nicholas Raia of Altoona, Pa., brought his trumpet to an audition for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard band. He aced the audition and until last summer was member of several performance groups within the band. Over those seven years he performed more and more with the band and ensembles playing the guitar for recruiting events and celebrations. For more formal military ceremonies he now plays the baritone—a small tuba.
After seven years in the band, Raia, now a sergeant, decided to take a year away from performing and volunteer for a combat tour. Since mobilization in January, Raia has served as a door gunner on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment.
“I felt that after 7 years in the Guard, it was my turn to do my part overseas,” said Raia.
To get ready for the transition from full-time student and weekend band member, Raia volunteered for additional training in weapons. In June 2008, Raia attended the Small Arms Master Gunner course at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. To prepare for hand-to-hand combat he completed the week-long Level One Combatives Course in July. At the end of September, he was one of 10 Soldiers in the first class trained in the new Live-Fire Shoot House also at Fort Indiantown Gap.
His transition from band member and college student to door gunner had difficulties training could not help.
“It was a decision that I struggled with for a while,” Raia said. “It’s one thing to tell your loved ones you are being ordered to leave and a totally different animal entirely when you are trying to explain to them that you are voluntarily leaving.”
Over the years he was in the band, Raia came to believe he should deploy with a combat unit.
“Our job (in the band) is unique in that we are in the public eye often, and we often get thanked for our service by people in our audiences,” Raia said. “I would find myself conflicted, because while it is true that we, as a unit, were serving our country in the way in which we were meant to serve, I also felt as if I should be doing more.”
Raia had several friends in the Guard who deployed overseas at least once in their careers. He said he felt those were the Soldiers who truly deserved to be thanked.
“I felt that after seven years in the guard, it was my turn to do my part overseas,” he said.
His final decision to deploy was met with mixed emotions.
“My unit could not have been more supportive of my decision,” Raia recalled. “They helped me get everything on the military side of the house in order prior to my deployment and have made it a point to ensure it would not affect me negatively upon my return.”
His friends, on the other hand, were confused by Raia’s decision.
“Many of my friends are not in the military and I think that makes a big difference,” he said. “People in the military think a little differently than those who are not and most of the Soldiers in the military today could probably easily understand the feeling of responsibility that compelled me to deploy.”
“My family worried about me and they were not real thrilled that I would volunteer to leave them for a year to go to a combat zone. Raia continued. “My family has been super supportive of my decision. Any previous uncertainty or worries has given way to pride in what I am doing.”
Before deployment, Raia completed all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Penn State with a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. He plans to bring together all of his training, experience and education by becoming a police officer after deployment—except on National Guard weekends when he will be back on stage or in formation at ceremonies in the 28th Infantry Division Band.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Camp Garry Owen Flight Pictures
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Flying to Camp Garry Owen
Today I had a fast round trip to one of the bases near the Iranian border. We have fuelers and a MEDEVAC unit at Camp Garry Owen so I went to shoot pictures for an end-of-tour video. I'll try to post some tomorrow after I download them. Camp Garry Owen is small and crammed with soldiers. The facilities are crude--they have dry porta-potties they call poop ovens. Without the blue water, those things smell really bad. The one I saw they had some problem with the toilet seat for which the answer was to screw the toilet seat down. Luckily it was the kind that has a separate urinal, but anyone sitting in this plastic chamber has the head of a self-tapping screw in each cheek of their butt.
Sgt. Matt Kauffman gave me the Garry Owen tour in a Gator with a nearly flat front tire. He showed me the PX--a semitrailer, the new coffee bar--which had an excellent latte, the local market--no one was around but the tea service was out, the gym--newly expanded, the chow hall--a plywood shack that used to be open air. We drove on gravel so deep it was soupy. Matt runs six-minute miles, but not at GO. It's too hard to run on gravel so he runs on the treadmill in the gym.
The flight was exciting. I shot pictures on the way up. We passed over a palm grove, a river and a canal. When we landed we touched down for a moment, went up then settled back down. On the way back the weather was clear when we left but from five minutes away we were in a brown cloud at 1000 feet of altitude in every direction except straight up. What a mess. My eyes still hurt now. And I was sitting where the wind hit so I was rattled all the way back. In fact, I would stil1 be at Garry Owen enjoying the local cuisine if I were not on a pair of birds with a full bird colonel inside. He needed to get back so we went. Tonight they predicted Thunder storms but the sky just cleared.
I was thinking today I am actually leaving this country relatively soon and for the very first time I thought I might miss living here. Don't worry, I'm getting out of here as soon as I can. But at 1000 feet and 125 mph watching the brown cloud and shaking like a kite in a crosswind, I started thinking of things I liked about being here. More on that another time.
Sgt. Matt Kauffman gave me the Garry Owen tour in a Gator with a nearly flat front tire. He showed me the PX--a semitrailer, the new coffee bar--which had an excellent latte, the local market--no one was around but the tea service was out, the gym--newly expanded, the chow hall--a plywood shack that used to be open air. We drove on gravel so deep it was soupy. Matt runs six-minute miles, but not at GO. It's too hard to run on gravel so he runs on the treadmill in the gym.
The flight was exciting. I shot pictures on the way up. We passed over a palm grove, a river and a canal. When we landed we touched down for a moment, went up then settled back down. On the way back the weather was clear when we left but from five minutes away we were in a brown cloud at 1000 feet of altitude in every direction except straight up. What a mess. My eyes still hurt now. And I was sitting where the wind hit so I was rattled all the way back. In fact, I would stil1 be at Garry Owen enjoying the local cuisine if I were not on a pair of birds with a full bird colonel inside. He needed to get back so we went. Tonight they predicted Thunder storms but the sky just cleared.
I was thinking today I am actually leaving this country relatively soon and for the very first time I thought I might miss living here. Don't worry, I'm getting out of here as soon as I can. But at 1000 feet and 125 mph watching the brown cloud and shaking like a kite in a crosswind, I started thinking of things I liked about being here. More on that another time.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Who Fights This War--Our New Flight Surgeon
Maj. Kevin Scott, 44, joined 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion this month as flight surgeon, replacing Lt. Col. David Doud, who returned to the U.S. recently after completing his tour. Scott has served as the flight surgeon for the 628th Aviation Battalion since 2006.
Scott is a neurologist with a civilian practice at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, but Scott did not start his military career in medicine. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1986 and served as an officer in a military police unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he completed airborne, air assault and ranger training. He parachuted into Panama in 1989 when the U.S. captured Manuel Noriega. He served with the 82nd Airborne in Operation Desert Storm.
In 1992, he returned to civilian life to pursue a medical career. He first went to graduate school in physiology in New York then to Wake Forest for Medical School, graduating in 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he trained as a neurosurgeon then returned to the military in 2006 with an age waiver.
“I wanted to serve after 9/11,” Scott said. “But I decided to complete all of my medical training first, then come back.” Scott served at Camp Taji, Iraq, in 2007.
Scott is a neurologist with a civilian practice at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, but Scott did not start his military career in medicine. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1986 and served as an officer in a military police unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he completed airborne, air assault and ranger training. He parachuted into Panama in 1989 when the U.S. captured Manuel Noriega. He served with the 82nd Airborne in Operation Desert Storm.
In 1992, he returned to civilian life to pursue a medical career. He first went to graduate school in physiology in New York then to Wake Forest for Medical School, graduating in 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he trained as a neurosurgeon then returned to the military in 2006 with an age waiver.
“I wanted to serve after 9/11,” Scott said. “But I decided to complete all of my medical training first, then come back.” Scott served at Camp Taji, Iraq, in 2007.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
USA Today Coincidence
In the afternoon of the day the USA Today article was published we had our first rocket attack in almost four months. One rocket hit out out in the desert, one hit a CHU in the civilian housing area, and one was a dud but smashed a generator on impact. I was on the other side of the base when they hit. So after no attacks for four months, they send rockets on the day that USA Today says there is not much to do and the war is over.
On the day of the missile attack, several mechanics were returning to their living area and saw the dud missile as it was streaking down. They saw the impact and saw the missile was a dud.
In an attack, the first thing every soldier should do is hit the dirt. One of the dumbest soldiers I have ever known decided that hitting the dirt was not necessary for him. So instead of taking cover, he trotted over to the missile with is camera to get a picture. A sergeant from headquarters saw the stupid soldier and ordered him into a shelter.
I have worked with this guy and am quite confident he will do something like this again. He is the sort of person who is intent on proving he is as smart as everyone else, which leads him to do more dumb things. We will all be lucky if, in the course of doing something inane, he does not get anyone else hurt.
Since Army humor is coarse at best, it did not surprise me that the comments about the soldier climbing on the generator were unsympathetic--most were along the lines of "Well I guess it would be bad if he got blown up, but it would serve his dumb ass right."
On the day of the missile attack, several mechanics were returning to their living area and saw the dud missile as it was streaking down. They saw the impact and saw the missile was a dud.
In an attack, the first thing every soldier should do is hit the dirt. One of the dumbest soldiers I have ever known decided that hitting the dirt was not necessary for him. So instead of taking cover, he trotted over to the missile with is camera to get a picture. A sergeant from headquarters saw the stupid soldier and ordered him into a shelter.
I have worked with this guy and am quite confident he will do something like this again. He is the sort of person who is intent on proving he is as smart as everyone else, which leads him to do more dumb things. We will all be lucky if, in the course of doing something inane, he does not get anyone else hurt.
Since Army humor is coarse at best, it did not surprise me that the comments about the soldier climbing on the generator were unsympathetic--most were along the lines of "Well I guess it would be bad if he got blown up, but it would serve his dumb ass right."
Monday, October 26, 2009
"Gay" in the Military
So many gay jokes spin through air in the motor pools on ranges and in the chow halls that I missed a common, but less crude use of the word "gay" in the military. (As far as I can see, the usage varies little from the Army among airmen and sailors stationed here.) Most gay jokes are put downs in which someone accuses someone else of being the passive partner in a homosexual act. So after a thousand or so of these jokes, it occurred to me that a different and also common usage was to ask if something was gay or too gay. In that case, the question was simply: am I making a decision based on emotion when I should be basing my decision on facts?
A senior sergeant asked, "Is that gay?" when he was asking me whether he should be concerned with the feeling of his adversary in a dispute over who should get a job they both wanted. The answer was complicated, but the question was simple: should I let feelings guide my decision or should I take the action that benefits me at his expense?
Of course, the underlying question is, "Am I being feminine when I should be masculine?" usually expressed as "Am I being a bitch?" so the use of gay is consistent with its more coarse uses. And since I am interested in language, my small insight led me to pay more attention to usage around me and I heard the "Is that gay?" question several more times in the days that followed.
So now I could ask myself, "Is it gay to pay attention to that kind of thing?" Except, I am not supposed to ask--or tell. And re-reading this post, the joke I was trying to make did not work either. Oh well.
A senior sergeant asked, "Is that gay?" when he was asking me whether he should be concerned with the feeling of his adversary in a dispute over who should get a job they both wanted. The answer was complicated, but the question was simple: should I let feelings guide my decision or should I take the action that benefits me at his expense?
Of course, the underlying question is, "Am I being feminine when I should be masculine?" usually expressed as "Am I being a bitch?" so the use of gay is consistent with its more coarse uses. And since I am interested in language, my small insight led me to pay more attention to usage around me and I heard the "Is that gay?" question several more times in the days that followed.
So now I could ask myself, "Is it gay to pay attention to that kind of thing?" Except, I am not supposed to ask--or tell. And re-reading this post, the joke I was trying to make did not work either. Oh well.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Who Fights This War--Retiring to a Gun in the Sun
If you’re looking for retirement advice, don’t ask Master Sgt. William Foster, 55, a door gunner in Company B, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment. The former Punxsutawney, Pa., police department patrol sergeant did not move to Florida and did not take a part-time job like many retirees. ‘Punxsutawney Bill,’ as he is known in the town he has lived in all of his life, decided to volunteer as a door gunner and go to Iraq for retirement.
Granted, he got the sun retirees crave back home. But most retirees don’t load a Gator with a half-dozen guns six days a week in the afternoon sun and help prepare a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for a long, possibly all-night, mission.
Although Iraq is low on the list of destinations retirement planners recommend, Foster believes this is the right place for him to be and the right time for him to be here. “My younger son deployed just ahead of me as a sniper with 112th (a Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit in the 56th Stryker Brigade),” said Foster. “I wanted to be here at the same time, even if we were not in the same place. My older son is working on a master’s degree in San Diego and my daughter is at Lock Haven University in physician’s assistant training. They are all doing great. It was a good time to go.”
Before deployment, Foster served nearly half of each year as a marksmanship instructor for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. “I have been leading training since 1996,” he said. “After a while you have to get out from behind the podium and use the weapons in the field.”
“We (Pennsylvania’s Marksmanship Team Unit) instruct active-duty Army. I did not want to stand in front of those guys without first-hand experience in Iraq,” said Foster, who plans to return to marksmanship instruction after deployment. “God-willing and the body doesn’t fall apart, I’ve got another five years until I turn 60.”
Foster first enlisted in 1972, served four years, went to college, was commissioned in 1979, and served as an officer until 1996 when he resigned his commission. He started over again as a sergeant and was promoted to master sergeant this month by Maj. Gen. Randall Marchi, 28th Infantry Division commanding general, in a ceremony in Iraq.
Foster plans to retire in Punxsutawney and have weekends free to do as he likes and get involved with his beloved community as a volunteer for the first time in forty years.
“I am going to make weekend plans. I haven’t done that since high school,” said Foster. “In fact, I may grow a beard. I haven’t had facial hair since high school either.”
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Night Flight to Ali Al Salem, Kuwait
A few hours after I got off the flight to the ruins of Ur, I got on a CH-47 Chinook flight to the American Airfield Ali Al Salem in Kuwait. We took about 25 soldiers down to Kuwait to go home on R&R (rest & recreation) leave and took about a half-dozen back home. It was a long flight and tiring, but I finally got to fly on one of the Big Birds.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
500 Feet Above the Ziggurat of Ur
Today I will upload images from flying above the Ziggurat of Ur on Thursday afternoon. This area, Ur, is the hometown of Abraham. People call this place the birthplace of civilization. If civilization was born here, it has had a very complete change of address. Jared Diamond's most recent book Collapse chronicles other places on our planet which are on the way to becoming arid ruins.
Two Helicopter Rides Today
This afternoon I flew on a short mission on Blackhawk helicopter. A film crew was in to shoot pictures for a documentary on the Ziggurat of Ur, just north of our Base. They had an open seat and, better yet, left the side doors of the Blackhawk open so we could see out and down much better. It was also cool to be able to stick my left foot out at 500 feet and hang it out the door opening. I will post pictures tomorrow. They are on a different computer, but I have some good shots of the Ziggurat. That flight was at 2pm.
At 7pm the Brigade photographer (a real photographer), brought video camera for a 3-hour (in the air) round trip to Kuwait on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. On the way down we had 25 soldiers who were going on leave in the plane, so they were a happy group. On the way back we had five guys returning from leave--a more subdued group.
I had never ridden in a Chinook before last night so it was very exciting for me to ride 200 miles and into another country on my first trip on the Army's Heavy Lift helicopter. The Chinooks only fly at night, because they are big, slow compared to an airplane, and make tempting targets in the day time.
At 7pm the Brigade photographer (a real photographer), brought video camera for a 3-hour (in the air) round trip to Kuwait on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. On the way down we had 25 soldiers who were going on leave in the plane, so they were a happy group. On the way back we had five guys returning from leave--a more subdued group.
I had never ridden in a Chinook before last night so it was very exciting for me to ride 200 miles and into another country on my first trip on the Army's Heavy Lift helicopter. The Chinooks only fly at night, because they are big, slow compared to an airplane, and make tempting targets in the day time.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
USA Today--Today
The cover article on today's edition of USA Today was about troops killing time and what they do to fill the hours. One of the people quoted at length in the article was me. The reporter talked about the two book groups I lead and even provided links to CS Lewis, Dante and Virgil. Here's the article. Meredith will be calling me an ink slut again--but somebody has to do it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
New Office--Great Discussion
This is my new office--the top of the line in trailer living. I thought you might like to see my new digs.
Last night's CSL group book discussion was great. We talked about the Affection (storge) in The Four Loves. In describing each type of love, Lewis follows an arc taking us to the highest and best expressions of love, in this case domestic affection, then dropping us like a Six Flags roller coaster with descriptions of Mrs. Fidget, Mr. Pontifex and Professor Quartz. Two members of the group are counselors and another is a negotiator, so the love gone bad section of the chapter was very useful for them. Next week Friendship or Philia.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Who Fights This War--Flight Surgeon
Lt. Col. David Doud, 42, returned home to Gettysburg last week at the end of his tour as flight surgeon for the 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion. Doud joined the battalion in 2006 after serving as the Medical Company Commander for the 728th Maintenance Support Battalion.
He has nearly 18 years of service in the Army National Guard as a doctor. Doud deployed to Kosovo with the 56th Brigade in 2003-4 as the Brigade Surgeon. On this deployment Doud had the opportunity to fly with the Nebraska MEDEVAC Company attached to the 56th. After deployment he took the training course at Fort Rucker to be qualified as a flight surgeon then moved to the 2-104th.
The day Doud remembers most clearly on this deployment is June 10, when a suicide bomber in Al-Batha killed and wounded many civilians. The Tallil Medical facility asked Doud to help their staff with the emergency surgery patients that were being flown in. Doud said, “I treat car accident victims and gunshot wounds in the States, but the damage to the human body by high explosives is beyond anything I had seen.” Doud and his team
treated five patients.
Two had non-survivable injuries and were made as comfortable as possible. The other three were critical, but Doud was able to perform surgery that kept them alive for evacuation to a larger medical facility. “The three critical patients lived. We made a difference.”
He has nearly 18 years of service in the Army National Guard as a doctor. Doud deployed to Kosovo with the 56th Brigade in 2003-4 as the Brigade Surgeon. On this deployment Doud had the opportunity to fly with the Nebraska MEDEVAC Company attached to the 56th. After deployment he took the training course at Fort Rucker to be qualified as a flight surgeon then moved to the 2-104th.
The day Doud remembers most clearly on this deployment is June 10, when a suicide bomber in Al-Batha killed and wounded many civilians. The Tallil Medical facility asked Doud to help their staff with the emergency surgery patients that were being flown in. Doud said, “I treat car accident victims and gunshot wounds in the States, but the damage to the human body by high explosives is beyond anything I had seen.” Doud and his team
treated five patients.
Two had non-survivable injuries and were made as comfortable as possible. The other three were critical, but Doud was able to perform surgery that kept them alive for evacuation to a larger medical facility. “The three critical patients lived. We made a difference.”
Sunday, October 18, 2009
First 50-mile Day in Iraq
From the day we arrived here it was so hot and dusty that I limited my riding to early morning and late afternoon. The dust hangs in the air at night sometimes, so I did not relly consider riding in the dark until recently. But now with my new way-cool bright light I have been riding more in the dark.
And last night I took the long way home from work at midnight so I would get 50 miles in one day here. Next target is 63 miles (100k) and maybe when it gets even cooler I will try for a Century!
Speaking of bike milestones, there is a chance I will be able to ressurect the bicycle race in the form of a biathlon: 5k run, 15 or 20k bike. The run-bike format will eliminate the mass start. Of course, running 5k will also eliminate me from contention, but it's probably better that the organizer doesn't win.
I will let you know more as the back-channel negotiations proceed. Tentatively, Thanksgiving is the day. The Tallil Turkey Trot Biathlon (it would be great alliteration if we could set up a triathlon, but the sand swim would be difficult.)
And last night I took the long way home from work at midnight so I would get 50 miles in one day here. Next target is 63 miles (100k) and maybe when it gets even cooler I will try for a Century!
Speaking of bike milestones, there is a chance I will be able to ressurect the bicycle race in the form of a biathlon: 5k run, 15 or 20k bike. The run-bike format will eliminate the mass start. Of course, running 5k will also eliminate me from contention, but it's probably better that the organizer doesn't win.
I will let you know more as the back-channel negotiations proceed. Tentatively, Thanksgiving is the day. The Tallil Turkey Trot Biathlon (it would be great alliteration if we could set up a triathlon, but the sand swim would be difficult.)
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