You know I love Willie Nelson songs. Hell I must have three for four of his CD/albums. Now why did he have to go and right a [url=http://statesman.printthis.cl...+%7C+Nelson+pens+protest+ song&expire=&urlID=865332 7&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fw ww.statesman.com%2Fmetrostate%2Fconten t%2Fauto%2Fepaper%2Fediti ons%2Fwednesday%2Fmetro_s tate_f32f47573469912e1081 .html&partnerID=522]protes t song[/url] ? More importantly why does he support Kucinich?
I guess the weed has finally gotten to him. Too bad too. But you know what? F**k him then. If he can support someone that will air the commercials Kucinich has and support the Democrats at a time like this well good for him but I’m having no part of it.
Willie I’ll miss ya, but you can go the way of the Dixie Chicks.
Watches, we all need them. As a soldier we need them more than most people might realize. Once while a lowly E-2 RTO in the 2nd Ranger Batt, I was doing radio watch one night with our medic. Our medic being the smart one as they usually are, volunteered for first shift. My PL (Platoon Leader) explained to me that he had to be at a meeting in the morning with the Company Cdr and if he wasn’t awake already I was to wake him at about 04:30.
Since we had been moving for umpteen hours and as the RTO I was humping a serious load, somewhere between the beginning of my shift and 04:30 I fell asleep. Now I won’t go into the price I paid for that little mistake since this is about wristwatches but lets just say it was miserable. The thing I remember the PL saying before the pain started was that if I was going to sleep on radio watch I should at least get a watch with an alarm.
So what is the best watch for a soldier? Well the truth is everyone has an opinion and their isn’t a real answer but there are some considerations. The watch must be hardened. By this I mean that it must be able to take a fall, a jump and banging into trees. It must be durable.
It must also be accurate. A watch that loses minutes isn’t worth having. Not in this business anyway. This can mean the difference in making a link-up or exfils, which nobody wants to miss. It should have a good luminous dial or dim light, which can be covered. The luminous dial is the way to go but good ones are expensive.
It should be inexpensive since your probably going to lose one or two in some place like a dark lit Gentleman’s club in the Austrian Alps (how did that happen I wonder). Oh and an alarm. I’ve used my alarm many times now. Generally not in the field but on layovers in Rein Main trying not to miss my next flight out. It saves you from buying a separate alarm clock. Everything else offered is extras and are good if you use them.
So what watches do I know SF guys wear? Times Expedition – With compass Timex Ironman Casio G-Shock Citizen – Solar Suunto – various versions most with compass, altimeter, barometer (bought with funds of suspicious origins)
These are what I saw most in Afghanistan.
I’ll say the Suunto, which I also own has some serious drawbacks. Oh it works just fine but you need a two-week operator course on how to use the dame thing. Plus it’s relatively expensive. Now Joe doesn’t need an expensive watch except for maybe going to the club to impress the old ladies (firefly lounge ring any bells). So although the Suunto is nice I don’t recommend it. (Other guys on the team say it’s an awesome watch well worth the money and I’m just too thick headed to operate it)
Now for styling here are my top picks in order of price Citizen – has many nice watches and features Seiko – They still have good-looking watches Omega Seamaster – Since James Bond started wearing this watch it must be cool Rolex – various models, yes they are still the shit but damned expensive
I stay away from brands with names like: Tommy Stinkyfinger or Tag Howard the duck.
One last item, you must have somewhere in your inventory the obligatory fake Rolex. Mine was $40 bought in Turkey. The better the fake the more impressive. However with the fake Rolex comes the caveat that you must also tell everyone it’s fake or you’re just a poser.
Pakistani President Musharraf has had two assassination attempts on his life in the past two weeks. Both attacks failed but raised serious questions about the Presidents hold on the country. The next in line is a reportedly pro-American General. But would he actually make it to the Presidency? It’s suspected that there are Al Qiada/Taliban sympathizers in the government and military. I would go a little further and say there are Al Qiada/Taliban members themselves in the government and military.
In the western regions of Pakistan many openly supports Osama Bin Ladin. It has been an area of great concern to US forces near the border in Afghanistan. Too many times cross borders attacks aimed at US forces in the border region have ended with the US forces stopping at the Pakistani border unable to cross and catch the attackers. There have been times when Pakistani guards would fire upon US forces. While I was there every time US forces would get close to the border US and Pakistani Officials would have a fit.
So I often wonder what is our real policy regarding the eastern Afghanistan and Pakistani border area and what is Pakistan doing about it? Perhaps a cross border US operation is in order? Hummm.
I grew up listening to Johnny Cash. I’ve always liked his music. He had some lean years mostly through the eighties. When he released the album American Recordings I was blown away. It was some of the best music I had heard in years.
Now just so you know my music style, I have albums/cds/cassettes (no 8 tracks anymore) of Merle Haggard, Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Travis Tritt and some classical. So my music is pretty varied.
I just watched the video of Johnny Cash’s Hurt and again I was blown away. It was just amazing. I never heard the Nine Inch Nails version so I really can’t compare the two but I will definitely be buying the latest Johnny Cash CD set. I think the last ten years he recorded his best songs.
This time last year I was sitting in a small room with multiple bullet holes and other nasty things waiting to deploy out to a firebase. Afghanistan in December is much like Colorado without all the nice parts. It is sure a lot nicer setting in a warm house watching my son open presents. Merry Christmas everyone.
I was reading the interview with [url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,106446,00.html]Kofi Anann on Fox [/url] today and it amazes me how he really doesn’t understand what has happened in the United States and how we feel about the UN at this point in time. He seems to think that the disagreement over Iraq was a minor problem and other disagreements can be worked out.
The problem is people die in War and lack of support can create a situation were more people have to die. The discussion over Iraq and the War on Terror in general is not some debate at a college forum its real life or death. It’s reported that Saddam believed that the war would be stopped before the US invaded. That would not have crossed his mind has the UN (France, Germany, Russia) backed the US. The Iraqi war may have been avoided completely.
The following exchange I found interesting also.
[i]ERIC SHAWN: You talk about pulling the U.N., the headquarters out, but your own organization faulted the security, that there wasn't proper film on the windows, the truck went through the area that had been guarded by the United States, that you didn't want the coalition there, so is it hypocritical to say you came out because of security concerns when your own organization faults you.
ANNAN: I think this is an interesting question. We cannot look at that report in isolation. You have to look at the overall environment in Iraq and I would hasten to add that there have been lots of bombs and lots of attacks on everybody ... There were some lapses, which we are taking steps to correct, but let's not pretend that if we had put films on the windows, the attack would not have happened. Maybe some people would not have been hurt the way they were, but given the current environment in Baghdad the report indicated there's nowhere in Iraq without risk and we are taking measures to protect our people and secure it, and I hope someday when others do a report like the one we did they would also share it with the public to know what went wrong, and for all of us to draw lessons. And I hope we are drawing lessons, and I hope others are drawing lessons on the report we did and shared publicly. [/i]
While Anann states the putting protective film on the windows would not have prevented the attack it might have saved some lives. But UN personnel find it so hard to believe anyone would attack them at all that security is generally poor. When it’s not poor it’s usually in someone else’s hands.
If the UN must have a stable environment to work in just what do we need a UN for? Aren’t they there to help stabilize? I guess not.
Well here is what I think the UN is for. It’s a jobs program for diplomats and bureaucrats that would not survive in a real job. They waste tons of money on themselves. The waste seen in Afghanistan was unbelievable. Living in luxury was their priority in Afghanistan not helping the country. My two cents anyway.
Note: I wrote this in August after returning from A-Stan
[i]But the thing that really irritated me were the NGOs and UN. As we drove our (POS) UAZ jeeps or Toyotas down town we'd seem these brand new white land rovers all over the place. Now that was in Kabul. I didn't see one of them more than a couple of miles outside of town. No they seemed too busy going to NGO parties and sucking up lots of money to actually get out amongst the populace and fix something.
The claim seemed to be; it was too dangerous to work outside the city limits. Well no shit. Did they figure that out after they spent their money on leather interiors? But then how would they know? They never got outside of town as far as I could see.
The Afghanis noticed this also. One of our interpreters talked about them with disgust. He would wonder out loud after seeing one of those white elephants pass buy, why they lived in luxury while hard working Afghans were living is poverty trying to rebuild. Now I don't think they should live in garbage but damn, they could get out a little.
The truth as most of you know is these organizations are all about making money off the troubles of less fortunate. They always have been. The UN is nothing but a jobs program for left wing jerks. What a nice comfy job it must be. [/i]
You know the comment section of most blogs is kind of cool. You can get feedback even if you get the occasional idiot. But what really sucks is when you post a comment that is civil yet disagrees with the Blogger and the next thing you know your well thought out post has been deleted. Now I understand when someone is offensive but that’s not me. I was simply questioning the Anti-American anti-Bush rhetoric. I pointed out some simple facts about the War and asked for the fellow’s response. But of course he had no response just BS. Well, he did respond in a way I suppose. I won’t name the site and I really don’t think he gets that much traffic anyway.
So would I ever delete a comment poster from my site? Not unless it was just plain vulgar. I want to hear from others regardless of their views. It’s in the discussion of ideas we can plainly see those individuals that are not thinking at all but spouting the ideological mantras.
I’ll continue to post comments on other blogs even those of the left. No I don’t really expect a good conversion but who knows.
Ok, tonight I'm going to a christmas party thrown by a former team member. Naturally many invited guest are currrent team members active (10th Group) and Guard (19th Group). All I can say is I feel for the wives and girlfriends that will endure many hours of War Stories and bitching mixed with "I love ya man" lol
Oh and the worst part is this guy loves his eighties music collection. Hehe this should provide much to laugh about. Of course that's my music too. Damn we're getting old.
[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/af...]Libya has decided to destroy their WMDs[/url] . This is apparently a WMD program that has been going of for some time. The talks began just about the time the US entered Iraq. Now is that a coincident?
There has been so much harping on the potential reaction from the “Arab Street” and how the actions of the United States would turn the Middle East into a bed of hate and war, that one would think an event like this would be impossible. But then Gadhafi and I suspect many others don’t want to be chased into a “Rat hole” like Saddam.
I don’t believe many around the world understood how we would react and how little politics would actually play in that reaction to 9-11 and the refusal of Saddam to simply comply with the ceasefire agreement he signed. That’s not to say there hasn’t been politics played out here, but coming from the dead end 9 it’s been pretty laughable.
The Europeans seem to be caught in a “We will negotiate until we die” mentality. I suspect they expected the same from us. But the Islamist are seeing first hand the results of our will and firepower.
A simple message was sent out by President Bush “ you are either with us or you are with the terrorist”, yet few initially believe him. It appears that may be changing. And with every new day that we continue the fight we will see new rewards. You see nobody respects a quitter or a diplomat. We may reluctantly use the diplomat but when the balloon goes up we want clear messages and direct decisions. We want and need a right and wrong. That is not the time for weak knees or skillful word manipulation.
I predict that we will see more and more events such as Gadhafi has presented as we hold fast and stay the course. The façade is crumbling and the deck of cards is getting smaller inside and outside of Iraq.
Note: Oh yeah and so far it doesn’t appear that Gadhafi went to the UN but the UK. Humm. Interesting
For years I've liked this guy. I never thought he had a great voice yet something was there. Perhaps he just reminds me of the performers of old. It was in their blood and It's in his. He seems out of style, old school yet with his contribution to the [url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,106159,00.html]USO[/url] he is a relevent as ever. Keep it up Wayne it's appreciated.
[url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/n...]A mother who is part of a anti-war group goes to Iraq to and tries to see her daughter.[/url] Now I won’t even go into how I feel about her showing up in Iraq the thing about this article that really irritated the hell out me is how obviously slanted it is.
Notice near the end of the article how a single Iraqi policeman was quoted as saying, “Asked if protests were illegal in the new Iraq, he told reporters: "There are no human rights under the Americans. Nothing. It is all empty talk."
And this, “We miss the days of Saddam,"
First thing is I don’t believe an Iraqi police said that, but if he had what does it have to do with this article. It’s obvious by the fact that these peace freaks are there that protest are not illegal. If however they try to interfere with a military operation they might just find a bullet in their ass. But I guess it would take an IQ over 20 to see that.
I know Reuters is basically an anti-US news wire but damn can’t they at least try to appear impartial.
Help for the Anti-war crowd? Nah! I don't think so.
At first glance this might seem like great news for the left. But is it? Would this have even been noticed in another administration? The fact that the Pentegon found the problem and not a reporter should say a lot.
Humm. Perhaps this is a sign that all of Germany is not against the US or just an objective journalist. Either way seeing comments like these on the Deutche Welle web site is encouraging.
Why to we serve? While watching 48hours last night they showed the stories of three soldiers that had returned from Iraq wounded. All three had lost limbs. Their struggle to cope with the results of combat was thought provoking. So, I asked myself why do we do it? Why risk life and limb to serve in the military. I’ve served for over 15 years, 13 of those years on active duty and it’s not an easy question for me to answer.
Are we idealist? Generally no. We are normally pessimist but not real pessimist. We question everything yet believe it’s still possible to do good. We believe in right and wrong and that sometimes it’s necessary to leave home and suffer so other won’t have to.
We are patriots but we are not zealots. We love our country yet know there are many faults that must be addressed in our own system. We will defend this system with our lives however when attacked. Often times we take pride in the suffering we endure for others. We complain the whole time of course.
There is the camaraderie that one feels working with others that feel basically the same as you. We work so close so often that we tend to be more like family than co-workers. This is something I have not seen often as a civilian. That’s not to say it’s all rosie. There is still the occasional backstabbing but I’ve found it limited in combat arms anyway.
There is also a sense that we are promoting justice. We believe in Democracy and fairness. There is an underlying idea that we can and should help others less fortunate than us. The motto of Special Forces exemplifies this, De Oppresso Liber, to liberate the oppressed.
There is of course the desire for adventure. Most of us in Special Forces crave the adventure. We need it. The life at home, at a desk is like prison. I’ve been told in not so many words that this attitude is immature and irresponsible. Perhaps but it is still part of our make-up.
Some, though not many in combat arms are here for the employment or college benefits. While this is touted often I don’t think is truly reflects that many soldiers. Many take advantage of these offers but I don’t feel it’s an overriding issue for most.
Now what is the cost for this lifestyle? There are a few and they are high. The strain on families can be overwhelming. It’s not easy to watch your spouse leave for an unknown time not knowing if they will return in one piece. The strain can be too much for many good people.
Death to the soldier is not something we dwell on much. It’s a thought and crosses your mind but generally doesn’t impede the job. To your family however, it can be a burden that they carry everyday your gone. The soldier worries more about losing an arm or leg, losing something that will prevent them for doing the things he loves. Most of us enjoy physical activity and losing that changes every aspect of our lives.
Then we deal with pay. I know this is a sore subject with nearly every soldier at some point. Special Forces with their many deployments and variations, fight this fight continually. The frustration can drive you mad (figuratively).
So is it worth it? Well to some there simply isn’t anything else they would want to do. For others it grows old and there comes a time to walk away. There will be no retirement without work so personal satisfaction is all you have in this game. But that carries most of us through our careers. It’s not easy, it’s not fair but it’s a hell of a life. It’s filled with very high highs and very low lows. Contrary to what some believe, I think soldiers are probably the most stable people around. You have to be to deal with the bureaucracy of it all.
Oh yeah, just for the record we are not baby killers, rapist, murderers or perverts. Ok that last one is up for debate. :roll:
Well, like many others, I checked in with [url=http://www.blackfive.net]Blackfive[/url] this morning to see some hopefully good news. It appears the hearing Officer has recommended administrative punishment — but not a criminal court-martial — for Lt. Col. Allen B. West. While I still don't see a need for even an article 15 this would save the LTC his retirement, one that he well deserves.
Aha the way it should be. [b][url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,105305,00.html]The Pentagon has formally barred companies from countries opposed to the Iraq war from bidding on $18.6 billion worth of reconstruction contracts.[/url] [/b]
[url=http://www.boston.com/news/lo...]Wesley Clark hasn't ruled out Hillary as a VP running mate. [/url] Bhaaaa aaaa ahhaaa Why would Hillary lower herself to be his running mate. Wes, I think you should be asking her if you can be the VP.
[b][url=http://www.dw-world.de/englis...,3367,1432_A_1052898_1_A, 00.html]Germany[/url] [/b] Social Democrats remind me of our own American Democrats. While cutting out Nuclear power for Germany they have no problem selling a plutonium processing plant to China. This should have the Greens up in arms. But, money has a way of smoothing things out I guess. I don't suppose security is an issue either.
Much like the French selling arms to Iraq after the ban.
Well, I'm looking at the radar and it shows snow showers all around the area. Nothing here yet but I'm hopeful. The only downside is I have to drive to Denver in the morning and it may be messy. Oh well, I still love the snow. I guess all that time in 10th Group has spoiled me to the winter. Just wish I was back in Germany now skiing the Zugspitze.
Ya know, I understand it can be pretty miserable when it snows. The traffic can send you into rages. But dang, I'm watching the snow on various media in the northeast and I'm wondering where is our snow?
Sometimes it doesn't seem like it ever snows here in Colorado anymore. Oh, the mountains get some but not like they used to. On the front range if we get any snow it's only a few inches and it's usually gone the next day. What gives?
Well the winter is just beginning so I guess there is hope. We'll see..
Today I had a former team member stop by the office. He dropped off some recent pictures from Afghanistan and talked about the changes that have taken place since we left there in April.
It’s pretty interesting to hear. He noted the main road we traveled had more and more vendors hawking their goods. The pace of Kabul seems to be increasing and he seemed to feel that real progress was being made.
The base we worked out of looked cleaner and the American portion had become smaller. The increase in the Afghan National Army was clear.
Looking at the photographs left me with a strange feeling. It didn’t seem possible that I had been there just months ago.
Afghanistan doesn’t get much press these days and what it does get is usually from someone with a political agenda to defeat anything good anywhere. I don’t know what will happen to Afghanistan but I know we did some good work there. Maybe in time it will all pay off.
I just watched and episode of Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. What a waste of time. The TV executives wonder why they are losing people. I think it’s the fact that they are making sh*t to watch. This show has no redeeming value at all.
Paris and Nicole are just irritating.
Will the day of reality tv ever end? I hope so and soon.
Now where was this while I was deployed. Damn I paid the full cost. Well the full cost from Germany to home. I flew mil flights the rest of the way. I don't know what I think of this.
You know it’s pretty tough to post during the holidays. With family visiting and everyone with the flu we still had a good time. Thanksgiving turned out pretty nice. It didn’t start out looking good though.
On Wednesday my car was acting up. Since I work in Denver and live in Colorado Springs that isn’t a good thing. I knew it was either one of two possible problems. One was a vacuum sensor that I have been told is going out. The other was the fuel filter. Now a fuel filter is a whole lot cheaper than a vacuum sensor so I started looking for a place to purchase a fuel filter near work.
The first thing I did was identify the fuel filter and as I did I realized I didn’t have any tools to work with. It was also cold as could be that day. So the question was could I risk driving 70 plus miles home? Well, I decided to give it a try.
Now it’s Wednesday the day before thanksgiving, do you think the interstate was full leaving Denver? Oh yeah baby it was full.
I made it to I-25 without stalling and figured if I could keep it moving I could get to the Springs at least. It looked pretty good up until I reach Monument, Colorado. The traffic was backed up from Colorado Springs to Monument. Now that’s about 20 miles. I was cussing pretty good as I looked upon the long line of red taillights.
As I closed in on the cars moving at a snails pace my car stalled. This was going to suck. I managed to get it going again. This happened over and over again until I reached my exit which is in the southern part of the Springs next to Ft. Carson.
The next day I replaced the fuel filter. Which only took three hours (Do they make everything in newer cars so you can’t reach them). Well, I think it’s running now so tomorrow I’ll test her on the trip back up north. We’ll see how it goes.
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There was a fair amount of news this weekend with the President visiting Baghdad. I was going to write about it but by the time I got around to it the subject had been covered quite a bit. So All I’ll say is I’m glad he went.
At this point I just don’t see how could lose the 2004 election. Of course I didn’t think Clinton would beat Bob Dole either.
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[url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/...,2933,104437,00.html][u]Firefight kills dozens of Iraqi:[/u] [/url] It appears the terrorist picked the wrong convoy to attack.
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Oh yeah and what the F**k is up with the Raiders this year. Damn! Their killing me......
