My sister sent me an email yesterday with a bunch of questions and suggested that I put it on the blog... Not a bad idea, I thought! So here is her email, along with my answers. I am sure that some of you will also have questions, and since not much intersting happens around here. PLEASE email them to me so that I have something to write about. Otherwise this blog will get very boring, very quickly...
From Trish (7/27/2007):
I’ll check out the blog. You know, you might be surprised that the details that seem mundane to you might actually be interesting to people back here, especially those of us who are civilians. Like:
Q: How many people are there where you’re based?
A: This is actually a much more complicated question than it initially appears. I will try to break it down, as much as I can. I am stationed on Camp Mike Spann. We consistently have people coming and going. There are Army, Navy and Air Farce (that is NOT misspelled...) personnel here. There are about 350 US and Coalition Forces here, including the civilians. The reason this question is complicated, and w/o getting to in depth, the Norther Region has at least three other bases that fall under the Regional Commander. The North is actually controlled by the Germans, but there are Croation, Swedish, Norwiegan, Afghan as well as US and German forces here. Camp Mike Spann is a smaller US base located on a larger Afghan base, that is home to about 1000 Afghani forces. I do not know the composition of the outlying FOBs (forward operating bases) located in this Region.
Q: Do you sleep in a dorm or have your own room? Do you get a normal bed?
A: We sleep in what are called "B Huts" and my understanding is that this is based upon a grading scale of A, B or C, depending upon the quality, A being best. I am in a five man B hut that has partitions for five smaller rooms. The walls cannot go all the way to the floor or ceiling, so the airflow from the small A/C unit can flow throughout. My individual space has a bunk bed a small bookshelf and a wall locker. It is about 6 feet X 12 feet, so there is not much space. Some of the B huts are larger - there are 6, 8 and 14 person huts. The rooms in the 8 are larger, and the 14 person huts do not have partitions. They are used more for "Teams" and/or transient personnel.
Q: Are there women there? (meaning date-able women)
A: To put it simply, no. There are women here, but there are several underlying factors to this question. To begin with, I personally am not interested in dating, as there is someone back home that I am interested in. Most of the women on this base, as I understand it, are married or have significant others anyway. More importantly, the Army has several rules against this, too. There are rules against "fraternization" between Officer and Enlisted, and here "in theater" there is a "no sex" rule.
Q: What kind of entertainment do they have for you? Do they show movies or have DVDs you could check out? Do they have a library?
A: Let's see, where should I start...? There are movies, although not as consistent now as they were previously. I think they used to be shown on Tue and Thur, but now only on Thur... They are projected onto a white painted wall on the back of the building I work in. I have not watched one, though. Usually because I am still working when they start at 2000 (8pm). But I have also not been too interested in the selection. There is a TV room with about a 35 inch TV, but I haven't used that either... We have a TV in our B hut that I will watch periodically. There are two gyms here and I have been trying to work out every other day, but will soon be working out daily. There is a library, mostly donated paperbacks, from which I have pulled about three dozen books I intend to read while I am here. I've already finished about ten books since I arrived. The building that houses the library also has about 6 computers and 10 ports where people can hook up their laptops. This is usually empty during the day and jam packed every night. In the back of the room are six phones that we can use to call back to the states.
Q: Do you like the people you work with? You could maybe describe goofy people with pseudonyms.
A: I generally like all of the people that I work with, but there are too many to be specific about it w/in this blog. I had already decided to write some blogs about individuals here. You'll just have to come back to find out more about the troops out here, I guess...
Q: What do you eat? Is it cafeteria food? Is there a place where you could cook your own food if you wanted? Could you drive into a local town and have a meal?
A: Yes, the food is basically cafeteria food. They call it the DFAC, short for dining facility - I still call it the "Chow Hall" and the food isn't much to speak of. Unless of course you eat the lobster, but if you're reading this you've probably already learned about the outcome of this disasterous meal... As far as cooking our own food, groups have periodically gotten together to have BBQs, but there are no kitchen facilities open for our use. People will occassionally go over to "ANA Land" (the Afghan National Army base) or "TERP Village" (also part of the other camp where the Interpreters live) to eat with the Foreign Nationals. The Germans and Swedes put on a BBQ last week, but again, I was working. We cannot go out into town to eat, but there are two or three places that will deliver food here. I haven't tried any of it, though.
Q: Are there places to buy things on the base? For example, could you buy a CD or a new pair of jeans or something? Are there local shopping areas (I don’t know what they’d be called, maybe a market or bazaar or something)? Is there anything interesting to buy?
A: We do have a small store that is only open about three days a week for a few hours, where we can buy some items ranging anywhere from tobacco products, candy and magazines, to toilettetries, towels and laundry detergent. It's like a really bad version of 7-11... Every two weeks there is a bazaar where local vendors are allowed to bring items to hoc. I've bought some fur blankets, scarves, and a few unset jewels. There is also a separate rug bazaar where we can buy Afghan rugs. I will be taking my camera to take pictures, and will probably buy some as well.
Q: Are there rules about interacting with the Afghan people? Like, if you met a hot Afghan woman, could you date her? (I’m assuming that’s just not a likely scenario for myriad reasons, but I’d be curious.) Or, if you came across a poor kid on the side of the road, could you give him money if you wanted? Do you work with interpreters who are locals?
A: The Muslim culture here only allows Afghan women to marry Muslims, and most marriages are arranged. I haven't been out in town except for one convoy to the local airport about an hour away. US Forces used to give candy (mostly thrown from convoys) to the kids, but the kids started getting too aggressive, coming very close to the vehicles (we don't stop...) and so the Army has said no more to giving (throwing ANYTHING) from the vehicles. Bigger kids would also take the candy from the smaller ones. We do periodically schedule "HA drops" (humanitarian assistance) at schools or "MEDCAP" (not sure the acronym exactly, but medical assistance) in town and at hospitals. The last one I heard about was at an all girls school, but young boys were so brazen as to jump into classrooms through the windows and steal the school supplies and run off with them. As I understand it, the kids are adorable. They try to speak English with the troops saying "hello" and "what is your name," etc. Aside from a few jerks, these tend to be very rewarding for the troops. I am working to put together an opportunity for Navy personnel to do one soon. I will post pictures and a detailed blog soon after.
Q: Is it like Saudi Arabia, where women don’t drive cars?
A: Yes, women here are still very suppressed. Until recently they were not allowed to go to school or hold a job and were required to wear the burka, covering them completely from head to toe. Many still do, but there is a growing number that only wear a scarf around their head, or nothing at all. Many of the women are becoming teachers, and most little girls are being allowed to attend school. As far as I know, they are still not allowed to drive, though.
Q: Would it be easy for someone to buy heroin? Is it policed? Is that a major source of income for the people?
A: I'm not really sure how to answer this... I don't think the average Afghan could afford to buy heroin, although my understanding is that it is common practice to cut a plant and roll a cigarette in the juices. The people are so poor, and I think that almost, if not all, the opium product is exported to Russia and Europe. It is probably the single most income producing product. I've read that it makes up a third of the GDP.
Q: Is the Army much different than the Navy? And if so, how?
A: I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but the Army SUCKS... The Army is a beuracratic nightmare... The longer I am here the more I become convinced that it is purely because of poor decision making, mismanagement, inefficiency, inadequacy, ineffectiveness and the insane ability to create useless manhours worth of work. I swear they have meeting to decide what to have meetings about... I guess this is somehow related with the need to create a perception within the Government that there was in fact a NEED for an Army... I don't know, but here is an example I read recently; When the Army arrived in Iraq a few years ago to take over from the Marine Corps, they were moving people and equipment all over the country. At one point a Captain - that's the same rank as me (O-3) arrived with his forty member team to take over a FARP (forward area refueling point). They drove up with several UAHs (up armored Humvees) and five or six 5-ton trucks to haul all of their equipment. When they arrived the Captain found a Marine PFC (private first class) and after yelling at the kid for not saluting him demanded, "Private, where is your commanding officer? I want to talk to who ever is in charge around here!" So the Private responded in true Marine fashion, "Sir, no offense intended, we Marines don't salute in hostile territory, and had I saluted you there is a good chance one of the insurgent snipers would be taking pot shots in your direction... As for my CO, well sir, he's up in Bagdad. Corporal Jones over there is in charge..." This was a two man team, run by a Corporal, which is an E-4, or Enlisted kid, in charge of a FARP that the Army had just sent 40 people to come out and run. See where I'm going with this? If they weren't wasting resources at such a grotesque level, there would be no need for Air Farce and Navy personnel to come over here and "support" them. I am amazed, daily, by the amount of reports and/or lists we're asked to provide, the number of meetings people have to attend, and the needless hours of useless workload that is created within the Army.
Q: What do you miss most about the U.S.?
A: Mostly I miss NOT being in the Narmy.... That's what we squids have started calling this unfortunate division bordering somewhere in no-man's-land between the Navy and the Army. I miss not being able to have a cold beer or a glass of wine after a hard day. I miss seeing my good friends everyday, and the fact that I'll miss Tanya and Eric's wedding tomorrow! I miss driving my car with the sun roof back and the radio blasting, I miss straping a mighty MH-60S to my back and going for a ride. I pretty much miss everything about being back in the good old US.
Q: Do you draw your regular salary there? Do you get any premium for being there, or will you get a bonus when you leave?
A: On top of my normal salary, which is now Tax Exempt (I still pay into Medicare and Social Security, although I don't ever expect to collect from either of these programs as they will go away soon, hopefully, before they completely bankrupt our country...), I also draw $250 a month for Hostile Fire and Immenent Danger Pay, and some other $100 a month pay that I don't know what it is for. As I understand it, I also get like a $1.03 per day in per diem, Woo Hoo!!
Q: Who do you report to? Do you have an Army superior you report to and then a Navy one as well?
A:
Q: Are there other guys from the Navy there?
A: Yes, I think there are about 30 Navy personnel here. The Garrison Commander is our senior person, so I kind of report to him, although I don't really work for him... The way it works, more or less, is that the Navy runs the Base. The daily operations on the base, so that the Army can focus their attention on everything that goes on "outside the wire" as we say. We have some people in charge of communication; cell phones, radios, computer and network issues, the phones, etc. We have people that are in charge of the construction on the base, which has to do with the local Afghan contractors that come here to build more B huts, offices, expand the DFAC, etc. Then there are the service contractors, they come and clean the DFAC, clean out the heads (Army says latrine, you prob'ly say restroom or shitter - depending upon your present company) and empty the septic tanks. Others work with the civilians that run the DFAC and COE (corps of engineers), we keep track of the people on the base, billeting (where they sleep), transient billeting, leave and pass dates, etc.
Anyway, these are just some things I’d like to hear about, so I thought maybe it might be interesting to other people too.
I hope that answers all of your questions. If you have any more, or found anything confusing or brought about more questions, just shoot me an email.
Miss you all, bunches and bunches...
Saturday, July 28
Q & A time; an interview from Camp Spann
Wednesday, July 18
I need to vent...
It just occurred to me that the Taliban and Al Queda are not MY enemy. My enemy is the group of individuals responsible for the ISAF (International Security Afghan Forces - which consists of all coalition forces) flight schedule. These people are TRULY my enemy. And I want to kill them. I don't just want to shoot them, I want to hurt them and make them suffer, as they have made me suffer... Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme. Maybe just choke them a little and make them cry... Yeah, that's more like it...
Today we had three out of four passengers not allowed onto an empty plane. Why? Well it just so happens that they showed up between 0600 and 0630 for an 0800 flight. They were informed at the counter that check-in time was 0515. Again, why? "I don't know." Jeff Spicoli said that in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" to which Mr Hand, his teacher replied, "I don't know... I like that. I. Don't. Know. I'm going to put that on the board for all of my students to see - giving you full credit of course..." "Alright.." Sean Penn plays a pretty good stoned surfer dude, if I don't say so myself.
But I'm getting sidetracked here. Point being that there has never been a specific rule or guideline established for showing up prior to a flight. Usually an hour is MORE than sufficient. ESPECIALLY if the flight is F-ing Empty. From what I understand, the one passenger of mine that did make it on the flight - was the ONLY passenger on the flight!!!!! So it was not like these people got bumped, or there wasn't room. This was simply a matter of some A-hole, Son of a Bitch on a power trip that felt like he needed to "make an example" of my people. Never mind that the plane was empty, never mind that they were there an hour early, nevermind that he had plenty of time to get them on the flight. In fact, I've heard of people arriving 15 minutes prior to a flight that was relatively full and the people actually ensured that they got on the flight! So how come my people got turned away
So, the ISAF schedulers put out a schedule from Mon thru Sunday and they do the next two weeks. This has become a COMPLETE waste of time and energy since they CHANGE the schedule the night before about 80% of the time. The "changes" are not posted until sometime between 1800 (6pm for you civilian types) and 2100 (9pm). The other day we had no flights expected, although we did have three people waiting to travel this way. At 2047 the schedule came out, with an added flight, inbound to us. Now normally this schedule comes in NLT (no later than) 1900 (7pm - okay, that's it... I'm not doing anymore math for you people... if it is after NOON, you'll just have to subtract 12 okay? Think you can handle that? This isn't "rocket surgery..." [yes, I did that on purpose. I also use "brain science" on occassion] please try to keep up) My hours are supposed to be 8a-8p. I usually don't get out of here until 2200. Since I'm working for 14 hours a day, seven days a week I don't have a whole lot of time for these venting sessions...
The flight being added caused several problems, given the fact that almost all of our vehicles were tied up for a Four Star Admiral's visit. Now an Admiral is a pretty big deal - that's like a General in the Army or Marines, 'cept I think there are a lot more Generals in the Army. Anyway, as I was saying, an Admiral usually thinks he's "a pretty big deal" and when you make it to FOUR STARS, that pretty much means that you are the $h*T! There are like three or four of them in the Navy and I'm pretty sure this guy is like #2 in ALL of Afghanistan. What I'm trying to say is that you don't just decide to rearrange the vehicle situation to go and pick up one or two guys at an airport that's an hour away cuz the ISAF dopes change the schedule at ten minutes (okay, it was thirteen minutes!) to Nine at night...
A flight has been changed, cancelled, individual legs (that's the term for a portion of a flight that goes to MANY different places - as well as my favorite body part...) have been added, changed, cancelled, re-routed, what have you, EVERY day now, for the last 4 days in a row, and probably 7 out of the last ten and 15 out of the last 30. I mean c'mon, sure if you're a pro baseball player and can hit a ball 30% of the time you can make millions, but this isn't baseball. It's flight schedules. If you can't manage better than 50% accuracy you really should go find a nice quite location to "suck start your 9mm." That's a wonderful Army term I picked up....
This job sucks bad enough without having to dance around on the end of strings controlled by a drunk and retarded marrionette. It's not like it's really that difficult. The same thing happens with our STOL (short take off and landing) flights. This schedule is only put out THREE days in advance. You would think that these people could stick to a three day schedule, at least most of the time. Not a chance. Flights still seem to change, get re-directed, cancelled and in this case there is no warning. Say at 0500 the morning of, when our people "have left the building" and have already started their one hour journey to the airport. Then they arrive only to be told, "Oh, that flight was cancelled" as in "didn't you get the memo??" "No dufus, we don't have fax machines in our HumVees."
Maybe this is what people at the post office feel like, and where the term "going postal" comes from becuase I can definitely see myself fantasizing about going down there and doing bodily harm to all these morons that are making my life utter hell.... Yep, there I go. I can see it now - OOOhhhh, this is not suitable for children, and probably not for most adults for that matter. I better go track down the chaplain...
Have a nice day. 
Letter Home
I wrote the following letter home about midway thru my training at Ft Riley:
Initially I was relatively upset when I was told I’d be going to Afghanistan for a year. Not so much because of the assignment or location, or with being deployed, but mostly because the duty would pull me from the aircraft for almost 16 months after all the training, travel, deployment, etc. are tallied. Now, however, I am anxious and excited about my opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of so many less fortunate.
In my training and research I have learned many things about my future role in Afghanistan. First let me explain a few things about where I’m heading… Although it already has changed, and may change again, my current position will be as the Operations Officer for a FOB (forward operating base) in Mazar-e Sharif – sometimes spelled Mazir-e Sharif or Mazari Sarif. This town is on the Northern border near Uzbekistan, is one of the largest cities in Afghanistan, and home of the “Blue Mosque” (pictured attached). Mazar-e Sharif means "Noble Shrine," a reference to the large, blue-tiled sanctuary and mosque in the center of the city that most Afghans, both Shia and Sunni, but not most non-Afghan Shia, and historians, believe is the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin who is believed to be buried in Najaf, Iraq.
Afghanistan is a war ravaged country, and has suffered greatly because of it. It is a very poor country, with the average income falling somewhere between $350 to $450 US Dollars ANNUALLY! That’s less than two dollars a day – often for an entire family. The largest export is the Poppi, which I’ve seen several estimates ranging between 1/3 to 2/3 of the entire GDP. Afghanistan provides roughly 97% of Russia and Eastern European heroin supply. Given the high levels of poverty it’s not altogether surprising that most laws against the growing, harvesting, and/or transporting go unenforced. Not to mention the high level of corruption throughout the government and police forces.
Less than 20% of the country is accessible by paved roads. Travel is often very slow, difficult and often very dangerous. One soldier that briefed us showed us some pictures and explained that although the distance (as the bird flies) between two of the cities he worked in was only about 30 miles, the drive often took anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. The roads are very narrow and wind thru some incredibly rough terrain. I will try to send as many pictures of my travels one “in-country” for you all to see.
Because of extremist Muslims, and especially under the rule of the Taliban, women were not allowed to be educated. Most rarely ever left the home, although this is beginning to change very gradually. One of our jobs in Afghanistan will be to build schools, to encourage everyone to attend, and to protect the teachers, families and students from reprisals. Currently only one third of the country is literate. I’ve seen several statistics on literacy rates, ranging from as little as 4% to roughly 36%. I suspect it’s somewhere near the lower end of this spectrum.
Very few, and mostly only those in the larger cities, have power or running water. Another of our jobs in-country will be to assist the Afghans with the construction, operation, and security for new water treatment and electrical facilities. We will be working closely with the US Army who will be responsible for training and working with the ANA and ANP (Afghan National Army/Police) to bring them to a self-sufficient status.
There are several Afghanis working on base as interpreters, language instructors, and for “role-playing” to assist with our “cultural immersion.” So far they have all been excellent at the training they provide, and have expressed much gratitude for the work we are training to do. Many have explained that most Afghans are supportive of the US troops and what we are trying to accomplish over there. They also seem to have a wonderful sense of humor and more than one has said that our counterparts will “make fun of us” at every opportunity.
I’m sure that’s more than enough for now, and I promise that I will at least attempt to make future letters/BIOs more entertaining. I will be more than happy to answer specific questions, and will continue to attach photos during both training, travels, and once I arrive at my Post in Mazar-e Sharif.
Tuesday, July 17
An explanation of a previous blog...
I genuinely feel like I need to explain my blog from the other day. Some people have read it and say it comes across as angry and aggressive. Following this blog I will post a letter that I wrote to my family some time ago. Hopefully that will help some understand my frame of mind.
The day I wrote the ‘Agro Blog’ as I now call it, I went “outside the wire” for the first time in two months. I rode in a convoy to the local airport. Mind you, this is less than 30 miles, but typically takes just over an hour. The day after my trip, an IED – improvised explosive device – was detonated along “route blue” the same route we’d just traveled. I can honestly say this sent chills down my spine. At the time I wrote the blog I had no idea that this would occur, but it only served to reinforce my belief in what we are doing here.
I took some pictures during the convoy, as well as some video. I also thought a lot along the way, about what it was exactly that we are doing over here. My “opinion” is that our goal here is to assist the Afghanis establish a central government, a national security force, local police forces, eliminate the corruption that seems to be at every level, to build infrastructure, schools and medical facilities, but more than anything else, to give these people hope.
While I drove thru downtown MeS, I thought it probably looked like Tijuana Mexico back in the 70s. There were kids with sheep, men riding donkeys, come to think of it, Tijuana was probably more advanced in the 70s… The people move slowly, kind of in a trance. Lethargic. Autos are being worked on up on planks across the ditch – probably just draining the oil, radiator, power steering (if they have it…) and brake fluids, right into the ditches along the side of the street. The only thing that was appealing to the eye was the brand new High School, which I think we built – and the Blue Mosque, pictured in an earlier blog. EVERYTHING else was dirty, depressing, old, dilapidated and just simply sad. More than anything, these people need hope.
At one or two dollars a day (the average annual income is between $350 and $400 US), it is pretty easy to understand how the Taliban and/or Al Qaeda can recruit the poor locals by offering a hundred or two hundred dollars for information, to build a bomb, to plant a bomb, to kill an American or Coalition soldier, etc. However, it is painfully obvious by the waves from children and adults that they like us, want us here and appreciate the job we’re doing.
Now let me get political for a bit. When friends, family, strangers or whomever, begin talking about politics I tend to get frustrated because far too much credit or blame gets assessed to the President. For example, when my relative made the comment about “hating Bush for six years” for this war, is that fair? If I remember correctly, Congress was almost unanimous in the vote to go to war in Afghanistan. The majority of the country wanted retribution. How is this Bush’s fault? The administration was fed bogus information from the CIA about Iraq, was that Bush’s fault?
Military planners assured the Administration this would be quick and decisive. Well, the battle was. The occupation, not so much… Is that Bush’s fault? I don’t believe it is. Why is that? Well, one reason has to do specifically with Clinton’s military cutbacks. His reduction in force has significantly impacted the Army’s ability to do the job they’ve been asked to do, and more specifically, why Air Force and Navy personnel are being pulled to fill supporting roles, and very specifically, why I am sitting here writing this from Afghanistan and not on US soil.
Clinton got a lot of credit for the great economy during his administration. I think Bill GATES, not Bill Clinton deserves that credit… Bill GATES, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and all of the tens of thousands that took gambles in small start-up companies deserve the credit for our “internet revolution” and the economy that followed. But then Bush gets blamed for the economic downturn in the early 2000s. Isn’t that really more of a failure on the part of Greenspan for not putting the breaks on a rapidly expanding and overly inflated economy? By not increasing interest rates high enough, nor fast enough? The failure, during the Clinton years, to put the breaks on this locomotive resulted in the “runaway train” that ensued. This was neither Clintons fault, not Bush’s. Nor was the superb economy in the 90’s Clinton’s doing.
In my humble opinion, the American people should focus more on the government as a whole entity, and assign credit and blame a bit more rationally. More importantly, I believe that Americans, with regard to this war, need to present a united front. Publicly, we should support our government – our elected officials – and show the world that we support this war, the commitment our government has made to the Afghani and Iraqi people, and to fight terrorists and insurgents.
Why is this important? To begin with, it is important that the American Soldiers, Sailors and Marines believe that their country is behind them and supports them. Not just supporting on an individual level, but in the job that we’ve been asked to do, and the rationale behind it. If we don’t feel that America, as a whole, is supportive of what we’re doing, then why are we over here doing it? More importantly, it is imperative that the Afghani and Iraqi people believe that the American government won’t withdraw prematurely, AGAIN... If Taliban, Al Queda and Iraqi insurgents know that Americans will leave before the mission is accomplished they know, as well as the general populous, that eventually things will go back to the way they were. Or maybe even worse! How can we expect local nationals to believe and support us if the people back home won’t?
Why should they, the local nationals, commit to supporting the US troops if they know that we will leave before we’ve accomplished what we’ve set out to do? The Taliban is notorious for killing and mutilating US supporters. Why would that change? I also think that it is important on a Worldwide level that we establish governments and security forces here in an already unstable region. Economically it is important that we show the world that we follow through on our commitments.
Considering that we are the world’s largest debtor nation, and cannot currently afford to pay back our debts, what would happen if the majority of the world lost faith in the US government? There is more at stake here than just the support and belief we hope to provide to Afghans and Iraqis. We need to reinforce the belief worldwide that America follows through with its commitments.
I can’t quote him exactly, but Pat Conroy – a favorite author of mine – once said something he’d realized after spending the night at his old teammates house some years later. They had played together on the basketball team at the Citadel, Conroy turned down his commission and went on to publicly protest the war with vigor. His friend became a pilot, was shot down and spent some time in Hanoi Hilton. After reuniting and talking at length about their experiences, Pat lay awake that night thinking. The epiphany he had was something like this: “Right or wrong, we – as Americans – should support our government and country, for it is the greatest country on Earth.”
I have huge problems with what the media has done back home, aside from turning this into another “Viet Nam” but the one sided and unfair reporting is not representative of the feelings, beliefs or commitments of those of us over here making the sacrifices. Nor do they fairly represent the positive side to what we are doing. All I saw prior to my deployment was every negative aspect of this war. Constant reporting about bombings, fire fights, suicide bombers, IEDs, deaths of US, Coalition forces and local nationals. Periodic interviews with distraught or disheartened soldiers, interviews with families who have lost loved ones – and who’s privacy should be respected…
Let me first say that they, the distraught and disheartened soldiers are the exception, not the rule. Not once have I seen reporting of the majority here that believe in what we’re doing. Not once have I seen pictures, video or interviews of local nationals, reporting about the opening of a school, a brand new orphanage being built (I will post pictures of the Orphanage my group recently completed), video of soldiers handing out school or medical supplies, soccer balls by the car load, small bags of candy. I guess what I’m trying to say is – Please don’t believe what you see on TV or in the news. The media is only presenting an unfair and one-sided perspective of this war.
I guess that’s all for now…
Murph, out.
Thursday, July 12
I'm an UNCLE!!
Anyway, it is nice to have a new generation starting. I know my Mom and Dad were starting to wonder if/when they were ever going to have Grandkids. Had to wait for their youngest to get the job done... Thanks, Colleen, for takin' some of the pressure off. ;^)
I'm very excited to be an Uncle, although for years I've been somewhat of a "pseudo" Uncle for many of my close friend's children. I won't think of them any less as nieces and nephews now, just cuz I got one that's blood - so don't any of you worry.
It took me awhile to finally get around to posting these pictures. I hope people will come back to see them. Okay, from the top (as they say...) obviously, this is Lil' Cecile having a nap. Cutest profile, don't you agree? You'd better, cuz "I'm packin' heat!" So the next picture is Dad, Michael Terpening. Outstanding guy, and I'm happy and proud to call him my brother. Then there's MY Mom, holding her first "official" grandchild. She's been adopted as a grandma at least a few times, kinda like me and my Uncle-dom... I know, I just made that up. Then there are a few more pictures I've titled "Sleeping Beauty" and "Sweet Cheeks" - you figure it out... Mr Wizard.
Congratulations, Colleen and Michael! We're all very proud and happy for you both!
A cute one of CC, I'm guessing this is a lil' stretch and a yawn, at least that's how I look when I do it... and then a very nice picture of "Mother and child." Beautiful, aren't they. Need I remind you to review my comments above...?
Sunday, July 8
Here are some of my thoughts about this war:
One of my relatives once told me that they've "hated Bush for six years because of this war," and this (me being deployed) "made them even more mad." When I sent out an email passed along from my father about people wearing Red on Fridays I got a few less than "positive" responses. Not that they were negative, per se, but neither one was encouraging and supportive - in my opinion - about the idea of wearing Red. Why not, I thought? One specifically said, "do you think that people back home don't support you?" I guess where I'm coming from is that I think we (the troops) all know that on an individual level, the people back home support us, yes. But the media does a pretty decent job of avoiding that subject. They want to turn public opinion against the war so much, and have succeeded to such an extent, that many people over here (in my opinion) don't feel that the Nation, as a whole, supports us. So, to answer that question, no, I guess not.
I don't particularly like the mentality that people have about "well, I support the troops, but I don't support this war." Well, I counter, these troops ARE this war. If you don't support what we're doing, and the sacrifices we're making, then you don't support this war and you don't support us. It's all one big package - rolled up nicely into one big tasty "shit sandwich." You don't have to sit down at the table and eat with us, but please don't take a bite and "PRETEND" you like it. We know you don't. Either you support us and you're behind this war, this effort and hope for the positive outcome, or you do not believe in this war, what we're doing and/or why we are doing it. But then you don't support US either. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Just a poop de jour - eat or don't, I don't really care.
Let me say this:
1) I am not a big fan of Bush, I did not vote for him - nor did I vote for Gore or Kerry. I thought they were all terrible. However, I do think that the media has completely and unfairly twisted things against this administration.
2) What we're doing in Afghanistan and Iraq is monumentally important and what I don't think people consider NOR does the media publish (of course) is that if we weren't fighting these insurgents over here, they'd be planning more attacks on our soil.
3) is it tragic that US sevicemembers are dying? Yes, but we volunteered for this and I think that is a hell of a lot better than innocent men, women and children dying back home, or even police, firemen, military and other civil servants dying back home.
4) I refuse to believe the one sided BS that the media prints. Bush's approval ratings are in the shitter, primarily because the media has been bashing him for years. The truth is, yes, we went into Iraq based on misinformation (provided for by the CIA - whether it was deliberate or not we'll never know and it's irrelevant anyway), and the military advisors said it would be a quick and easy event, also wrong. No one predicted radical suicidal lunatics from all over the world coming to "fight the infidels" and die for Allah. But I'd much rather be fighting them here, where we're prepared to do so... Have we made an amazing impact on the lives of millions, and are we helping to turn around a country that has been war-torn for basically most of it's existance? Absolutely.
5) Do I want to come home? Yes, of course. Would I feel horribly guilty if I did and we had to come back here in another 7 or 8 years because we didn't finish the job the first time, or if Al-Qaida drops Anthrax or Small-pox into NY, Boston and Chicago subways, or water systems and kills hundreds of thousands more Americans?
6) The media keeps going on and on and on about the 3000+ deaths in this war. Well, we've been over here for five years, in two countries. We lost more than that on D-Day, at Guadal Canal and Iwo Jima each. More than 10s of thousands died in the initial days of those three battles!! If this media had been around then, we'd be speaking German or Japanese... In 5 years, we've had 3000+ deaths, about 600 per year. In two countries - the state of NY from 02-04 averaged 900+ MURDERS each year. It is safer to be over here, where at least I have a gun, than it is in ONE single state in the US. NY had 2743 murders in just three years, that's almost as many deaths as Iraq and Afghanistan combined, over twice that amount of time! Don't believe it, check it out:(http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/chac/mortality/homici.htm)
Does the media talk about that, do they publish that, hell no. Do you realize that there were 8000 marines killed at Iwo Jima, that was three days. 3000+ dead Americans is a tragedy, but is it nearly as traumatic and horrific as the media portrays it to be? No, what if each one, or hell, all of those dead soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines each saves one american civilian's life, is it was worth it then? What if each death saves two, three, a hundred? How many innocent Americans died during 9/11? Weren't there close to 5000 at the towers alone? One day, almost twice as many dead as in five years of war.
7) What happened to our National pride? Where did all the flags and yellow ribbons go after the first Gulf War, after 9/11? I swear there were hundreds of them, for years. But, gee, it's been five years now. Americans have gone back to their own private lives. No one cares anymore... Sure, if you ask them they support the troops, some (although few) still fly their flags. After 9/11 Americans were PISSED. We wanted blood. Congress was nearly unanimous when they approved us going to war. They supported the war in Afghanistan, and initially, in Iraq as well. So soon we forget. Now it was all GW's fault. Not quite.
Not to mention, for us to just pull out now is absolutely wrong and is the worst thing that we could do. Afghansitan would likely fall right back into the hands of the Taliban, a lot of good Afghani people will be tortured and murdered for helping the US. Iraq will fall into a terrible civil war between the Shites and Sunni's, Iran will most likely be draw into it . Once that happens the entire middle-East is vulnerable to chaos and/or a catastrophic religious war. I don't know what you believe, or how you feel, maybe this will change some thoughts, give a different perspective, I don't know...
I do believe that all of you support the troops, and are probably against this war and maybe you've been brainwashed to think that it's just about money or oil, I certainly hope not. I'm sure, just like any normal Americans, you want our troops home, don't want anymore US deaths, etc. But are you willing to at least consider that we cannot walk away at this point? Will you at least agree that we have to stay and finish the job? And that the liberal media isn't fairly reporting the full and unbiased truth?
My point being, we're the one's that are suffering the conditions of this war, and I'd estimate about 85-90% (maybe more) believe in what we're doing and why we're doing it. The media should come over here and interview troops and get OUR opinions and find out what we're doing, why we're doing that and take that home to report. My team just built a $125,000 orphanage. I just paid a guy approx $4500 to build a wall and playground at a small school. We're building and furnishing schools. Providing desks, books, pens, pencils, etc. Hiring women teachers to teach little girls (both forbidden under Taliban control).
Don't get me wrong, I hate it here, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice. I haven't heard one instance of the media asking and reporting the opinions of those of us over here making the sacrifice. Why, cuz most of the people over here are fairly conservative, believe in the mission and support our government - whether it's Democrat or Republican...
That's just the way I feel about it. But hey, I've only been here six weeks... Ask me in another six months and I might have a different message... This and 50 cents might get ya a cup of coffee - it will be really crappy coffee, though.
"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." --General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur
Sunday, July 1
Murphy's Law - when lobsters bite back...
I'm a little upset right now, cuz I wrote an amazing blog and then when I went to "post" it, the computer froze up - couldn't locate the server or some crap... I lost the entire blog. Not a happy guy right now.
I guess I shouldn't complain. I like it here, really. I do. I especially love the 84 hour work weeks. Although the fact that we only have about 30 hours worth of work to do, does allow me the opportunity to write these lovely little anecdotes.
At least my rack doesn't creak like LT Lee's does - but I guess since he sleeps on the other side of a 3/4 inch piece of plywood it doesn't make much of a difference who's rack it is, huh? Nor does it matter that it's his alarm and not mine that goes off six or seven times each morning sometime between 0500 and 0700... Despite two coversations with respect to his alarm snoozing and door slamming attributes, to which he assured me it would stop, it hasn't. He's leaving soon, and I can't say I'll miss him.
At least the food isn't too bad. Especially on Friday's. We are fortunate enough to actually get Surf-n-Turf Fridays. They grill up steaks on a large charcoal BBQ, and they serve Lobster, Fried Shrimp, Corn on the Cobb, and some damn fine Mac-n-Cheese. All you can eat, too. Can you imagine that? And this week we had a special visitor to dinner... No relative of mine, but Mr. Murphy paid us a visit this week. 8 cases of food poisoning, including yours truly, had him to thank.
I can only express the pain I felt, the scalding, bubbling infernal affair, as if I'd guzzled a dozen or so ounces of battery acid. Between my midnight and 0500 latrine calls, I don't think I got more than a few moments of sleep. I don't think it was the agony so much as the fear that I would shart the bed. For those of you that are unfamiliar, a "shart" is the new up and coming verb for that action that initially you hope will be flatulence, but are so very UNpleasantly surprised by another intestinal output.
Well, at least between my 14 trips to the latrine and my newfound fear of the dining facility, I'm relatively assured to lose those pesky "LBs" I've been so irritated about lately... Just don't know if I'll have the energy to stagger to the gym, let alone hoist any weights off the racks.
As far as I know, the only fatality to this weeks unfortunate debacle was a pair of Ehren's skivies. He admitted earlier today that he had, in fact, sharted himself. Poor lad. I'm feeling much better now... Ooops, spoke to soon - be right back!!
Hey, thanks for waiting. Appreciate that. And no, I didn't shart... As I was saying, I don't feel nearly as bad as I did yesterday and this morning. Although thanks to my elevated state of dehydration I now have another mild (not nearly) migraine. But I'll live.
I'm on my way to dinner... Hmm? Should I have the peanut butter and jelly or the tuna fish - oh wait, I've sworn off seafood. Just a little tip from Uncle Mick - don't eat seafood in a landlocked country w/ an average daily temperature in the 100s. I hope they have grape jelly, that's my favorite. Of course, strawberry is favorite, too. Only grape is more favorite. Both are favorites, just grape is more, more favorite... In case you don't recognize it, that's a "shout out" to a fine comedian Brian Regan regarding sno-cone selection...
Have a wonderful day, and please - try not to shart...
