Water Bucket Training--Fire Fighting with Blackhawk Helicopters

On Saturday morning at the beginning of drill weekend, I watched Blackhawk helicopters practice filling and emptying fire-fighting a water bucket hanging beneath their birds.  Here are the pictures:

Account Off Line

I will post some pictures from last weekend later this evening.  My blog got spammed and I could not access it since Sunday.  Did not know what was wrong at first.  Should be fixed now.  Pictures soon.

Neil

Rode to NYC (Almost)

After several days of rain delay I took the day off and rode to New York City from Lancaster--at least as far as I could get.  I rode 145 miles, stopping at 640pm at Metropark Train Station in Edison NJ, 145 miles from home.  I might have made it farther, but I slept late--till 7am!! And I did not leave until 8am!
10.5 hours later I still felt pretty good, but I wanted to actually go to NYC.  I got to NYC at 720 pm and still had time for a 5-mile ride to get me to 150 miles before I got something to eat.

Blogging About Bicycling

The following is today's post at my day job:

National Bike to Work Week has been a difficult one this year: rain all over the northeast has stopped all but the most addicted riders from a two-wheeled commute. But even if you spend today groaning over the weather, the sun will be out next week. In the meantime, you might consider how bicycling is the most chemistry (and chemical) friendly ride in the world.

Any serious cycler knows what their frame, fork, seat, handlebars and even drink bottle cages is made from. If you think it doesn’t make a difference, pop into a bike shop and witness the array of parts of sale. The staff will be happy to educate you – if you have an hour to spare. Because weight is so critical on bikes, even small components are made of different materials. Over the years I’ve ridden bikes made from steel, titanium, aluminum, titanium and carbon, and just carbon. When different grades of steel were common, I – like many riders – knew which type I had; in the 80s and early 90s top racers rode frames of Reynolds 531, a manganese-molybdenum alloy steel, while riders with less cash settled for a 4130 ChroMoly.

In 2004 Cannondale introduced a carbon-aluminum bike called Six13. What could be cooler for the chemist on wheels than a bike with atomic numbers for a name? There’s also the Trek Carbon and LeMond Titanium, for anyone who wants their favorite elements front and center.

So ride a bike and join a very big fraternity of chemistry geeks. Carbon frames or no, biking reduces your own carbon footprint. It also improves your health, saves your wallet, and – as long as it’s not raining – makes even Monday morning something to look forward to.  

Newsletter

Here is the lead story from the latest 2-104th Newsletter.

Two Graduations Today

Just got back from my oldest daughter's graduation.  Lauren graduated from Juniata College today.  My step-daughter Iolanthe has graduated from Bryn Mawr College as I write this post.  They are 200 miles apart, so I could not get to both.

Congratulations!!!!

Two done!  Three to go!

SEAL Mania

Today's Washington Post included an article on the new books coming about Navy SEALs.  I am reviewing one now for Books and Culture on line.  I'll talk about that in a later post.  Beyond the serious books by former SEALs, it turns out there are Navy SEAL Romance Novels!

The review begins:

"Ever since an elite unit of Navy SEALs stormed a fortresslike compound near Islamabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden, people can’t get enough of the SEALs. There are some who want to know what it’s like to be one, and others who want to know what it takes to become one. Then, there are those who want to know what it might be like to, well, “be” with one."

It's a fun review.  Check it out!

Racing with the Boss

The commander of 2-104th Aviation, LTC Joel Allmandinger, is an avid bicyclist.  He mostly rode mountain bikes before our deployment.  He rode in Iraq also and won the individual category in the Thanksgiving Day Biathlon held at Tallil Ali Air Base in 2009.  On Saturday we competed in different races at the same time as part of the Turkey Hill Country Classic.

LTC Allmandinger races in Category 5, at least until he moves up to Cat 4.  I race in the 50+ category.  Since he is 40 even when he moves up to Cat 4 and can do age-group races, we won't be in the same races.  He won a race three weeks earlier at Farmersville Lancaster County.  It was a cold day with rain on and off and wet roads for the whole event.  I finished way behind the leaders.

It wouldn't seem like one weekend a month is a big deal, but serious bicycle racing means racing a lot.  We go to summer camp for two weeks in June, but that means three weekends.

The civilians in my life think drill weekend is physical.  Actually, drill weekend cuts into my exercise routine.

Oh well, at least we get paid to miss races.

National Asian Pacific and Jewish Heritage Month???!!!

Definitely WTF? was my first reaction when I saw the email from our Unit Readiness NCO with an official notice that May is National Asian Pacific and Jewish Heritage Month.

Is this celebration only for those who are Jewish and Asian-Pacific?  The official Army letter said nothing one way or the other.

It turns out that this month, besides being my birthday month and the birthday month of my step-daughter Iolanthe, is also Older Americans month.

So I am 50% qualified for Jewish Heritage Month by birth, definitely qualified for Older Americans month by my birth being 58 years ago, and since I have visited the Asia-Pacific region several times, I would certainly celebrating going back there--at least all-expense paid.

While budgets are cut and training money gets pared to the bare minimum, it's nice to know there is still money to pay a retired colonel to advise all PA soldiers it's time to celebrate our Jewish and Asia-Pacific Heritage.

Of course, for all of us who were horrified by September 11, 2001, from now on May will be

Osama Bin Laden Is Fish Food Month.

Obama Kills Osama--Rush Lives in "Realityville"

On Sunday on the way home from my second of two races, I tuned into the Rush Limbaugh highlights show.  I try to listen to Beck, Limbaugh, Savage and Hannity once each month so when I make fun of them, I will have something to quote, not just mention that together they (and all the rest of the Commentariat on the Right) have served exactly ZERO days in the military.

On Sunday Rush said, "I live in Realityville.  If Obama ran today against any Republican, that candidate would win in a landslide."  He went on to say that a plurality of America supports the Ryan budget and the media is distorting the outcry against it.

OK Rush.

And with Osama Bin Laden making the world a better place as shark food, do you really think the latest draft-dodging comb-over Pansy Patriot (Trump) could beat the Commander in Chief of that Navy Seal raid.

It would, of course, be too much to expect the one-note chorus on Right wing radio to celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden and acknowledge that the President took a big risk in going after the scum bag who planned the attack on America.  If the raid had failed, and it could have, they would have been attacked the President quicker than chicken on a June bug to use the southern expression.

How's things in Realityville Rush?

Blogging Conference Wrap Up

Timing is everything.  If the news out of Washington had been two days earlier, the military blogging conference would have been a celebration of finding and killing Osama Bin Laden.  Jim Dao was at the conference reporting for the New York Times.  His article talks about how military blogging has gone corporate.  Originally it was grunts reporting on the mess they were living through and in some cases getting shut down.

By the time I started blogging in 2007 some of the controversial web sites were already shutting down.  Many more family members are bloggers, which is a good trend.  Military families suffer a lot.  During a deployment like mine where my little physical danger threatened us, my family still had to wait for a year wondering if the war would suddenly turn for the worst.

But for those of us who served during Viet Nam and the Cold War, the whole idea of blogging, even if it has less of an edge than in 2003 is still way ahead of the controlled world of the 60s and 70s.  And really, many soldiers over 30 still don't know what a blog is.

At Military Blogging Conference

I am at the social media session at the Military Blogging Conference.  I sent a few tweets to #milblogcon on my twitter feed @sgtguss.  The results of the Milbloggie awards are in.  They only list first place and I didn't win.  Thanks to everyone who voted for me, especially the Theta Sorority at the University of Richmond and the Eagles Womens Soccer Team at Juniata College.

More Air Assault Training Photos

I am putting together the battalion newsletter and was re-sizing the following photos.

Voting is Easy: Please Vote!

Voting is now open for the 2011 Milbloggie Awards.  I am in the first category, Army blogs, and about eight down the list.  If it opens in a small window, you may have to scroll down.  My blog is "Home from Iraq."
http://milblogconference.milblogging.com/2011-milbloggies/vote-now/
Thanks in advance for your vote!!

Milbloggie Awards 2011 Begins Tonight

At least that's what they said on the Web site.  I am one of the finalists in the Army category.  Last year voting was a pain.  this year they said it would be better.  I will try it out when they open up voting and see if it really is easy.  Thanks to everyone who voted last year.  I will be at the milblogging conference Saturday and see the other contestants.

Jacari's Adoption Hearing Goes Smoothly

Today we adopted Jacari in Lancaster County court.  From left is Amanda Moore, Jacari's social worker, Nigel, Jacari, Annalisa, me and the Judge.
Since Jacari is 12, he took the witness chair and said he wanted to be adopted.  The hearing is mostly a formality, but it still marks a big change for Jacari and our family.
The judge said we would get an official birth certificate in 6 weeks and that it would be perfectly legal if Jacari decides to run for president.

If anyone reading this is in the Lancaster PA area, we are having an adoption party tomorrow from 6 - 8 pm.  Send me an email if you need directions.

More Air Assault Shots

Here's some more.

Air Assault Training in Western PA

More later, but for now, a few shots from a hillside on a farm where Alpha Company, 1-10th Infantry, 2nd Brigade practiced air assault and extraction.  These photos are of one of the platoons running back to the Chinook at the end of the mission.

Grounded

This morning I showed up for a 0730 mission brief at the Flight Facility on Fort Indiantown Gap, PA.  When I got there, the day's mission had already been cancelled for weather.  The mission to western PA may be rescheduled for tomorrow when the sun is shining.

I went to Plan B.  Go to Marquette Lake and watch fire-fighting training with Blackhawk helicopters.  Our Blackhawks were slated to scoop up water from the lake and practice dropping it on a point and across an area.  I went to the lake 30 minutes ahead of the first mission.  An hour later I switched to Plan C--take pictures of two soldiers from Echo Company who were graduating from the Warrior Leadership Course.  That worked.  Graduation was indoors, on time.

Then I went back to the lake.  It was beginning to rain.  I waited about 15 minutes but the mist turned into rain, the wind kicked up to 25 mph.  Mission cancelled.

Tomorrow the main mission, air assault training for an infantry unit in Western Pennsylvania may go ahead as planned.  More tomorrow.

Milbloggie Awards 2011

Tomorrow night nominations open for the Milbloggie Awards for 2011.  I will be attending the Milblogging Conference at the end April.  When voting opens next week, I will be asking you to vote for my blog.  The people who run the site promise it will work better than last year.  I will post the link after I try it out myself.  Last year I know it was a big hassle to vote.  If it is as bad as last year, I won't ask.

Thanks in advance.

Neil

Half Marathon with My Wife and Running with the Boys

On Saturday morning I ran the Garden Spot Half Marathon in New Holland PA.  I did not run more than seven miles at one time in the last month and my time showed that.  I finished in 2:09:14.  Even allowing a half-minute to get to the start line a pace of 9:50 per mile.  My wife and I started together with Catherine, one of her running partners.  Catherine dropped back right after the start so Annalisa and I ran together for the first eight miles.  The out-and-back course was more uphill on the way out, more downhill on the way back.  Annalisa is faster than I am, but I run better up hills, so I would go ahead up hills then she would catch up on the flats and fly downhills.  She was way ahead on the downhill to the turn around, but at a short, steep hill on the way back, I caught up.  The next big downhill she was gone.  We finished a minute apart.

Terilyn, another member of my wife's running group, skipped the event , but brought Nigel and Jacari to cheer for Annalisa and I.  She is good with a map and brought the kids to cheer for us at mile 5, miles 8 and mile 12.  Some other people we know who were running told us afterward that Nigel and Jacari  cheered louder than anyone else along the course!

Jacari ran the last mile with Annalisa.  Nigel ran the list mile with me.  When we got home, Nigel and Jacari ran another mile with me.  They run at least two miles with me each day on weekends when I am home and sometimes during the week.  On Sunday, we ran another two miles.  Nigel was hurting on the second mile, but his brother Jacari stayed with him right to the end.  Nigel did not quit and even put on a short sprint at the end.  I finished third.

We sing Army songs when we run.  It seems to help them.  Some of them are Army classics "C-130 rollin' down the strip. . ." and some I make up.  If I see one or both of the boys are feeling lazy, I make up a song with "My Little Pony" in it.  My Little Pony is a very girlie toy advertised on the Cartoon Network.  If I make up a line with "I wanna play with My Little Pony" they both straighten up and keep running.

My Boss Explains Museum Where I Work

And he does a good job!!
Here

AMTRAK Quiet (except for ME) Car

I ride AMTRAK trains to work and on trips to NYC 4 or 5 days each week.  Recently AMTRAK added quiet cars on the Keystone service between Harrisburg and NYC.  The rules on the quiet car are No Cell Phone Use, No Loud Talking.  But every other time I get on one of these cars, someone will talk on their cell phone.  Sometimes they are oblivious and did not see the signs on the door and every ten feet along the roof.  Sometimes.  Not often.

Mostly what they want is a quiet car for everyone but them.  They get to drone on about their latest deal or horrible date.  I know a guy who works in a bakery in Lancaster and commutes to Temple several days a week.  He is taking classes toward a PhD.  He sits in the quiet car hoping to do homework.  Then someone starts talking.  He said he waits up to 10 minutes to say something.  He likes having me on the train.  I wait up to three seconds before saying something.  Usually, "There are five other cars on this train, go there."

Since I think people are like gardens--good only with effort, full of weeds in their natural state--I assume the person who takes the call--or worse dials the call and sits on their ass making disturbing 80 other people is a jerk.  So I ask them to leave, shut up or both.  It is worth the hassle because the same jerks who flaunt the rules they want others to obey are cowards.  When they see it is a hassle to act like a jerk they do something else.

Since I am already being a Judgmental Bastard (my favorite segment on Jay Leno.  If you have never seen it, search it on YOUTUBE) I can say that I have never asked a soldier or someone who looks military to be quiet on the quiet car.  The worst offenders are guys in suits.  The hardest to shut up are women.  When they act like jerks, they are used to getting slack.  Last trip back from NYC a large woman across the aisle made a call in the quiet car.  She said "I'll just be a few minutes."  I asked her to spend that few minutes elsewhere.  She stormed off.

Civilian life is being the bad guy for enforcing even an obvious ten-freakin'-signs-and-five-announcement rule.

I let you know if I end up with a broken nose.

Jealousy and Envy

When we were getting ready to go to Iraq, Colonel Perry spoke to the battalion in Oklahoma.  The most memorable part of his speech for me was when he said that envy ruins units at every level.

Of course, envy ruins every kind of community--civilian, military, secular, religious, law-abiding or criminal.  I got a dollar book at a used book store with the title "Envy."  It is one of a series on of seven books, each on one of the Seven Deadly sins.

I am just two chapters into this brief and entertaining look at one of the three worst of the seven sins and I plan to follow the authors advice in thinking about envy vs. jealousy.  Joseph Epstein "I am jealous of what I have, I envy what you have."  He makes clear that jealousy can be good, or at least appropriate, but envy never is.

God is jealous, the Bible says.  He wants to keep those who have chosen to love Him for Himself.  A spouse or lover can be properly jealous.  Of course we all know someone can be crazy with jealousy also, but jealousy is not evil, like envy.

Envy is always bad.  Col. Perry told us that when we feel envy we should go out and get something for ourselves.  Envy can be both evil and passive.  It wants what it doesn't have and does not want to find something else.  Epstein says we always try to keep envy secret which is why it eats at us.  No one wants to admit envy.  Admitting envy is to admit someone else has something better or actually is better than us.  We want what they have, we want them not to have it, but we don't want others to think of us as being that small and venal.

I will be at summer camp in June.  I remember how much it means just to have a bottom bunk.  Envy doesn't have to be about a big topic to be a big problem.

Jobs for Veterans

On the train to New York last week, a guy getting on the train in NJ saw my pack and asked if I knew any veterans who needed jobs.  I said sure and said I would post his info on my blog.

Here it is:

Glen Witt
Program Manager
Veterans Across America
152 Madison Ave.
New York NY 10016
Ph:  212-684-1122
Cell:  540-532-8141

gwitt@veteransacrossamerica.org

If you need a job, send him an email or call.  He said he has leads on good jobs everywhere in the US.

Travel Cards for ALL Soldiers

When I hear the budget debates carried out on TV, one refrain is "Don't cut the military budget."  That is set in opposition to "The government is wasting money."

It's as if camouflage clothes somehow washes the waste out of the system.  It doesn't.

No I can't comment on $35 billion projects like new tanker  planes or fighter jets, but I just heard about a small project I can understand.

I just heard that all National Guard soldiers will be issued travel cards.  It makes sense for the full timers, but us weekend warriors will use those cards once or twice a year.  We will all fill out long forms, learn all the security procedures, forget them, then bother our full-time staff about the money we did not get.

The military is a government bureaucracy just like any other.  And it is a deep enough hierarchy that a mid-level manager can dream up new procedures that can waste millions of dollars.

Next Drill--More Air Assault Training, Fire Surpression

At April's Drill if the weather is decent, I should be flying to western Pennsylvania to cover air assault training for an infantry unit on Saturday and watching Blackhawk crews practice fire surpression.  There should be great pictures if the mission goes off according to plan.  There will be both Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters on the air assault training mission.  I am hoping to ride on the ramp at the back of the Chinook and shoot pictures of the Blackhawks flying in formation.  We will be flying west in the morning and east in the evening, so I will have to ask for some kind of turn to the north or south during the trip or my pictures wil all be silhouettes.

On Sunday, I want to be on the ground near where the 500-gallon bucket picks up water and get a shot of that and then catch the water dropping from the bucket.  It should be dramatic if I can get close enough.

Latest 2-104th Newsletter

For March, I put together just five pages.

Lunch with my Commander in Iraq

Last Thursday I had lunch with Col. Scott Perry and SPC Andrea Magee at the cafeteria in the state capitol in Harrisburg.  Perry was my battalion commander in Iraq, Magee was his assistant.  Perry is the state representative for the 92nd District in Pennsylvania.  Our state, like many others, is in the middle of a messy budget process, so Perry had to leave one of the marathon sessions for lunch.  Andrea and I both thought lunch would be fast because of all Perry had to do, but we talked for most of an hour and got a look at the legislature you don't see from the gallery.

The Pennsylvania State Capitol building is by many one of the most beautiful buildings of its kind in the world.  He told us where in France the marble that lines the walls, the artists who painted the murals, when different parts were restored--he is an encyclopedia of Capitol facts.

At lunch we talked about Andrea's path to a commission and her life as a full-time soldier with a full-time soldier husband in the same brigade.  In addition to the budget, Scott's wife is 7 months pregnant with their second child, construction of their new home is delayed by the weather, and he is in a master's program at the Command and General Staff College.

 We all talked about how much easier life was in Iraq--at least as far as setting priorities.  We all had a commander and nothing to balance in life--work, eat, sleep, work out and do the whole thing again.

Reading for Lent

I have a new co-worker, Preston Stone, who learned Coptic just so he could read the Scripture and other books in that Egyptian language.  He's a serious reader.  He is reading all of the Divine Comedy for Lent--three Cantos per day for 33 days, then seven to catch up when he gets behind.

Just before Lent I talked to my kids about what they were giving up for Lent.  Lauren is giving up sweets for 40 days.  Lisa is eating Vegan for Lent.  Preston convinced me that rather than give up something, I could do something.  So on the train back and forth to Philadelphia, before I start working I read the Gospel of John in French and Greek.  I got a parallel Gospel of John in Paris with Greek on the left page and French on the right.  Since my vocabulary is spotty in both languages, sometimes I can figure out the Greek from the French or vice versa.

My plan was a half a chapter a day with 21 chapters, so I started a day behind and three days late.  At my present rate, I won't get past chapter 12 by Easter.

My step-daughter, Iolanthe, asked me if I would consider giving up sarcasm for Lent.  I told her it would be easier for me to actually give up Food as the Lord did than to give up sarcasm.  Either one would be beyond me!

Published in REader's Digest

A friend at Church sent me a copy of Reader's Digest that included my comment on the current phrase "Too Easy."

Reminded About Why I Enlisted

In the last week I was reminded about a good and a not-so-good reason I re-enlisted.  First the good reason.
When I saw the first footage of Tomahawk cruise missiles launching from US ships, I was thinking, 'I am so glad to be serving in the best military in the world.'  Earlier in the day reports from Benghazi told of Libyan soldiers firing machine guns at civilians and laughing and joking while they did it.  This was an army that was sure they were going to win.

Then every anti-aircraft missile battery in the Libya was hit or on the target computer of 100+ Tomahawks.  French Mirage fighters were tearing Libyan tanks to pieces outside Benghazi.  The lopsided battle of rebels against armor flipped.  It was now a more lopsided battle of Libyan ground troops without air support against fighter jets.

I know that depending on your politics there are 100 things wrong with us attacking Libya.  But I love to watch CNN when poop happens anywhere in the world.

OK, that's the good one.

Last night I went to a Church group meeting and remembered exactly why I joined the Army.  The one hour meeting was to decide if we as a group should join with a local group that helps single mothers and help one single mom for one year--a commitment of an hour or two per month.  The group discussed why and why not for a whole hour and reached no decision.  In fact, we have a vague plan to further discuss it at the next meeting in two weeks.

I had forgotten, but remembered last night that this kind of thing was one of the reasons I re-enlisted four years ago.  I had volunteered for a few different local ministries, but I wanted to do something, not talk and talk and talk about it.  I also, to my own shame, would volunteer and then something else would come up--like working late or a bike ride--and I would beg off whatever charity thing I was supposed to do.  I knew if I enlisted, service would not be optional or subject to my whims.  I also knew that when I was assigned a task, it would not include a long process of deciding whether it fit with my feelings.

At the next meeting I expect my wife and another woman in the group to take the lead and we will help one of the single moms from this group.  After all, the most clear command in the Bible, for those who take it literally, is to help widows and orphans.

Boss Goes Extra Mile on Army Guard Service

My employer has always been great about my service in the National Guard--although very surprised that I signed up.

Last month I talked with my new boss about my vacation plans and said I was planning a couple of weeks away with my kids plus unpaid leave for summer camp.  She didn't know sumer camp was unpaid leave.
She said she would talk to our leadership team about changing that.  Today she told me they agreed and beginning in June I will be on paid leave for summer camp.

Wow!!

Serving on active duty in the states is a very big pay cut for me, so paid leave is quite a big deal.

We had a ceremony several months ago when the Army gave CHF a thank you certificate for supporting the Guard and Reserves.  I'll have to see if there is a new category they fall into now.
From the left:  SFC Albert Newman (retired) ESGR Representative;  Tom Tritton, CHF President and CEO; Denise Creedon, Vice President (my boss), and me.

Lining up for Fuel

At Last Drill, Echo Company set up a night FARP (Forward Arming and Refueling Point).  Lucky for me, they set it up in mid-afternoon so I could shoot pictures.  Just before dark, this pair of Apache Longbow helicopters flew in for fuel.  They had to wait a few minutes while the fuelers transferred fuel from one tanker truck to another, so I did not get pictures of the fueling operation.  I did get Blackhawks and Chinooks getting fuel which I will post tomorrow.  


I like watching the Apaches circle and swoop down to the fueling area.  

Screws Out for Summer!!!

All three of my daughters were on Spring Break last week.  Lauren scheduled the surgery to remove the plate and six screws from her finger--she had a compound open fracture at the beginning of the Soccer season last fall.  

Surgery was Friday, the 4th.  She started moving the finger on Saturday and was back on the elliptical on Sunday.  Therapy started Monday and she returned to school on Friday the 11th mostly recvoered.

She asked the doctor for a picture during surgery.

Here it is:

Catching Up--Fuelers in the Snow

These pictures are from January.  A convoy of Echo Company fuelers were heading out to set up a fuel point for aircraft.  Their 8-wheel-drive HEMMT fuel trucks are great in the snow.

More Combat Life Saver Training Photos

More photos from Combat Life Saver training.  The "casualties" refilled the blood bags before each team started the training.  They said it definitely washed out--they hoped.

Combat Life Saver Training

At the February drill weekend, 46 soldiers in our battalion took part in Combat Life Saver training.  One day was class training, the second day was hands on training in the Medical Battalion Training Site.  They trained in smoke, noise, low light, rubble and with fake blood squirting out of the casualties.  Here is the first batch of photos.  More soon.