We finally made it to Iraq, we are currently at Camp Liberty near Bagdhad. We have one more week of training to do, then we link up with the Transition Team we are replacing. Things are going pretty well here - - some of the teams are being re-tasked because the Iraqi units they were working with have reached the point where they can execute operations on their own and take responsibility for the security of their sectors. Still work to be done, though.
Camp Liberty is ok, nice gym (which I visited twice), nice chow hall, big PX, etc. So, no complaints about that, just waiting for the last bit of training to be done.
Other stuff:
Team Bowder had a huge week in Fantasy Football, Team Wade did not. My season goal still remains to beat Wade and tie up the record. Now both of us have to worry about Mark, of course, Brett Favre won't have 6 TDs every week. . . .
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
How Small is the World?
OK, There I was, there I was . . . . at the dessert line at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, waiting on my oatmeal raisin cookies (you never know when you will get another chance for oatmeal raisin) when I overheard someone talking about the HUSKERS, who play VA Tech sometime today. I ask him where he is from and he says Omaha, looks at me and almost drops his tray. Turns out, he is from Omaha, but runs a bar in Plattsmouth, NE that is in a building my dad owns. Wow, he told me he had just signed the lease a few days ago, while he was talking to my dad they started to talk Army shop and one thing led to another they figured out we would both be in Kuwait at the same time. He swore to my dad he would look around for me and as fate would have it, we ran into each other at the dessert line. That is how small the world is. Two days ago, this guy was talking to my pop, now he is talking to me in Kuwait.
We are in Kuwait, and are doing our last training live fire tomorrow, today was a series of tactical Situational Training Exercises using vehicles, radios and weapons. Every kids dream. A couple of more days of Kuwait, then off to Iraq.
I went for a 30 minute run yesterday, felt GREAT. My next run should be somewhere in Iraq, not sure where though.
Fantasy Football update . . . After a shaky first week that saw the anchor man, Tom Brady, go down for the season, Team Fritz made a week three comeback and moved ahead of Team Wade. Not by much, but ahead none the less. I made my last trade, gave up Randy Moss (who I think has given up the season without Tom Brady chucking him the ball) for Terrell Owens. Wade has also used up all of his trades, so it is down to team we got. I don't think either one of us will finish in the money this year, so it is pride on the line. Team Bowder, well, it is not his fault, turns out he didn't know what he was doing when he picked his team.
We are in Kuwait, and are doing our last training live fire tomorrow, today was a series of tactical Situational Training Exercises using vehicles, radios and weapons. Every kids dream. A couple of more days of Kuwait, then off to Iraq.
I went for a 30 minute run yesterday, felt GREAT. My next run should be somewhere in Iraq, not sure where though.
Fantasy Football update . . . After a shaky first week that saw the anchor man, Tom Brady, go down for the season, Team Fritz made a week three comeback and moved ahead of Team Wade. Not by much, but ahead none the less. I made my last trade, gave up Randy Moss (who I think has given up the season without Tom Brady chucking him the ball) for Terrell Owens. Wade has also used up all of his trades, so it is down to team we got. I don't think either one of us will finish in the money this year, so it is pride on the line. Team Bowder, well, it is not his fault, turns out he didn't know what he was doing when he picked his team.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Hello from Kuwait
We are one step closer to getting to Iraq, good news is our one year clock has started. The team has made it to Kuwait without incident. After leaving Kansas we flew for a solid 20 hours - Topeka, KS to Bangor, Maine, to Germany (not sure where but we spent a couple of hours on the ground there) then to Kuwait. We got in about midnight in Kuwait, then took a bus to our training FOB. The folks in Bangor are awesome: We arrived there shortly after midnight, and there were probably 10 folks there to shake our hands and greet us as we got off the plane and back onto the plane. They had a little welcome center with cookies, pretzels, other munchies, a couple of cell phones for folks to use, I had heard they were friendly to US soldiers, but wow, that was going the extra mile to be friendly.
We have knocked out some ranges here in Kuwait (HOT, BROWN and DUSTY) - - re-confirming the zero on our rifles (good to go for me), did some advanced, close quarters marksmanship (fired a ton of ammo, it was fun, of course) and today we did some urban operations (room clearing, building clearing). Overall, good training for the team. The camp here is ok, it is literally in the middle of the desert, nothing at all around it, so, what can you really expect? There is a nice chow hall, our building is air conditioned and we have a warm shower, so, no real complaints. Superman has been taking pictures on the ranges and of the camp, as soon as I get them from him I will post them to the web page and put a link in the blog.
Couple of nickname updates: CPT F who was previously Spooky or Specter or something has earned a nickname change: 6.5. Even though it is a number, it starts with an S and fits the bill for the nickname. Why 6.5? Traditionally in a unit, the commanders radio call sign is 6. For example, my call sign is SWATT 6. Whenever you hear a 6 on the radio, you know that a commander is talking. 6.5 is actually the number 4 in the chain of command, but has made it known that anytime I want to abdicate my authority, he is more than willing to take charge. I am closely monitoring the team for any coup attempts, especially when me, the XO and Superman (the first three in the chain of command are not around). 6.5 has also been selected for promotion to major, so he has a little extra motivation for taking over.
The XO has also earned a nickname: Soapman or Soap for short. He was pretty concerned that he would not be able to get his specific brand of soap in Iraq so he brought a ton of it. He packed about 10 bars of Dove, extra smooth in his duffle bag, which now smells very nice. According to him he wants to remain extra pretty and exfoliate his skin well while he spends the year with the team. The team is carefully monitoring him for other signs of lessening his manhood.
We have knocked out some ranges here in Kuwait (HOT, BROWN and DUSTY) - - re-confirming the zero on our rifles (good to go for me), did some advanced, close quarters marksmanship (fired a ton of ammo, it was fun, of course) and today we did some urban operations (room clearing, building clearing). Overall, good training for the team. The camp here is ok, it is literally in the middle of the desert, nothing at all around it, so, what can you really expect? There is a nice chow hall, our building is air conditioned and we have a warm shower, so, no real complaints. Superman has been taking pictures on the ranges and of the camp, as soon as I get them from him I will post them to the web page and put a link in the blog.
Couple of nickname updates: CPT F who was previously Spooky or Specter or something has earned a nickname change: 6.5. Even though it is a number, it starts with an S and fits the bill for the nickname. Why 6.5? Traditionally in a unit, the commanders radio call sign is 6. For example, my call sign is SWATT 6. Whenever you hear a 6 on the radio, you know that a commander is talking. 6.5 is actually the number 4 in the chain of command, but has made it known that anytime I want to abdicate my authority, he is more than willing to take charge. I am closely monitoring the team for any coup attempts, especially when me, the XO and Superman (the first three in the chain of command are not around). 6.5 has also been selected for promotion to major, so he has a little extra motivation for taking over.
The XO has also earned a nickname: Soapman or Soap for short. He was pretty concerned that he would not be able to get his specific brand of soap in Iraq so he brought a ton of it. He packed about 10 bars of Dove, extra smooth in his duffle bag, which now smells very nice. According to him he wants to remain extra pretty and exfoliate his skin well while he spends the year with the team. The team is carefully monitoring him for other signs of lessening his manhood.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Joe Ganz Fan Club
I have been on leave prior to the deployment, hanging out with the relatives and doing some Nebraska stuff. The highlight of the week was going to the Nebraska vs. New Mexico State football game this past Saturday. My sister scored two tickets to the game and gave them to me for my birthday. My brother in law Mark went with me, he was a football player and high school football coach so it is pretty interesting getting his perspective on football.
Backing up a bit, Saturday started off with a pretty good ten mile run at Chalco State Park (near Gretna in Nebraska), they have a path that goes around a lake, across a dam and generally through some Nebraska terrain - - low hills, nice prairie grass, picnic areas, some trees, etc. Overall a good run route, I got some good speed going towards the end, dropping it down below my marathon race pace for the last 3 miles or so. I went there with my older sister Melissa (she gave me the Husker tickets), who was meeting her friend and partner in running crime, Anne, for a shorter run and patiently waited for me while I knocked out my longer run. I was planning on 8, but it was a nice morning, and my trail just kind of wandered for a couple of extra miles. Good run, nice trail, great way to start the day off.
After the run, me and Mark made the drive to Lincoln and went to the game. The game against NM State was supposed to be our last warmup game before the real football starts for Nebraska. We had good seats in the South Stadium - - right next to the president of the Joe Ganz Fan Club (pictured below in the white hat). For non-Huskers: Joe Ganz is Nebraska's current quarterback, and is pretty good at it. According to the young man right behind us, Joe Ganz was slightly ahead of such Husker greats as Eric Crouch and Tommie Frazier, and was a lock for the Hiesman Trophy this year.
Here are a couple of his quotes:
After a scramble by NM's QB in which he ended with a slide: "Joe Ganz would have took the hit . . .'
After Joe Ganz caught (that's right, caught) a TD pass from Marlon Lucky: "Almost as good as Eric Crouch (Nebraska's third Heisman winner, who caught a TD pass against oklahoma during his Heisman Season)"
After Joe Ganz threw a TD: "Sam Keller has nothing on you, what were they thinking last year?"(Sam Keller was the big name QB that bill callahan played ahead of Joe Ganz last year, Keller didn't do so well, Ganz replaced him with four games left in the season and threw for HUGE yards in those games).
Anyway, great game by the Huskers, I have posted some of my pics from the game to the blog.
Couple of game notes:
Nebraska has pretty much erased the statewide nightmare that was bill callahan and scott pederson (our ill-fated athletic director and football coach for the previous 4 years, they were unceremoniously fired by Tom Osborne). During the pederson regime, most mentions of previous Husker glory was played down by pederson. He went as far as to take down the pictures of Nebraska All Americans (there are a few of them) and most of Nebraska's bowl trophies from the football offices. The final straw was when he would charge Husker greats the price of a ticket to come and watch the game from the sidelines. The current administration has made it a point to bring back Husker greats and highlight Husker tradition, big props from the Husker fans for this.
During the pre-game festivities at Memorial Stadium a few Husker greats were inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame including Husker legend Grant Winstrom (member of three National Championship teams). Very cool. Also honored was Dan Coneally, one of the foundations of the Blackshirts (the nickname of the Husker's Defense) during the 1994 National Championship Season. He never made it in the pro's, but Nebraska fans remember him.
Before the Huskers come out of the tunnel at Memorial Stadium they play a Husker Legends montage on the HuskerVision screen, starting with Bob Devaney, going through Tom Osborne and now Bo Pellini. It has shots of Husker greats (Mike Rozier tearing it up) and great moments (Tom Osborne winning the 1997 National Championship). Very cool.
For some reason, one of the Nation's Supreme Court Justices, Clarence Thomas, has taken a liking to Nebraska football. He was named an honorary coach for the game and got to stand on the sideline for the game. It was funny to see someone that you think of as a quiet, reserved person going nuts on the sideline when the Husker's rolled. Very Cool.
OK, back to Riley here soon, talk to you later on.
Backing up a bit, Saturday started off with a pretty good ten mile run at Chalco State Park (near Gretna in Nebraska), they have a path that goes around a lake, across a dam and generally through some Nebraska terrain - - low hills, nice prairie grass, picnic areas, some trees, etc. Overall a good run route, I got some good speed going towards the end, dropping it down below my marathon race pace for the last 3 miles or so. I went there with my older sister Melissa (she gave me the Husker tickets), who was meeting her friend and partner in running crime, Anne, for a shorter run and patiently waited for me while I knocked out my longer run. I was planning on 8, but it was a nice morning, and my trail just kind of wandered for a couple of extra miles. Good run, nice trail, great way to start the day off.
After the run, me and Mark made the drive to Lincoln and went to the game. The game against NM State was supposed to be our last warmup game before the real football starts for Nebraska. We had good seats in the South Stadium - - right next to the president of the Joe Ganz Fan Club (pictured below in the white hat). For non-Huskers: Joe Ganz is Nebraska's current quarterback, and is pretty good at it. According to the young man right behind us, Joe Ganz was slightly ahead of such Husker greats as Eric Crouch and Tommie Frazier, and was a lock for the Hiesman Trophy this year.
Here are a couple of his quotes:
After a scramble by NM's QB in which he ended with a slide: "Joe Ganz would have took the hit . . .'
After Joe Ganz caught (that's right, caught) a TD pass from Marlon Lucky: "Almost as good as Eric Crouch (Nebraska's third Heisman winner, who caught a TD pass against oklahoma during his Heisman Season)"
After Joe Ganz threw a TD: "Sam Keller has nothing on you, what were they thinking last year?"(Sam Keller was the big name QB that bill callahan played ahead of Joe Ganz last year, Keller didn't do so well, Ganz replaced him with four games left in the season and threw for HUGE yards in those games).
Anyway, great game by the Huskers, I have posted some of my pics from the game to the blog.
Couple of game notes:
Nebraska has pretty much erased the statewide nightmare that was bill callahan and scott pederson (our ill-fated athletic director and football coach for the previous 4 years, they were unceremoniously fired by Tom Osborne). During the pederson regime, most mentions of previous Husker glory was played down by pederson. He went as far as to take down the pictures of Nebraska All Americans (there are a few of them) and most of Nebraska's bowl trophies from the football offices. The final straw was when he would charge Husker greats the price of a ticket to come and watch the game from the sidelines. The current administration has made it a point to bring back Husker greats and highlight Husker tradition, big props from the Husker fans for this.
During the pre-game festivities at Memorial Stadium a few Husker greats were inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame including Husker legend Grant Winstrom (member of three National Championship teams). Very cool. Also honored was Dan Coneally, one of the foundations of the Blackshirts (the nickname of the Husker's Defense) during the 1994 National Championship Season. He never made it in the pro's, but Nebraska fans remember him.
Before the Huskers come out of the tunnel at Memorial Stadium they play a Husker Legends montage on the HuskerVision screen, starting with Bob Devaney, going through Tom Osborne and now Bo Pellini. It has shots of Husker greats (Mike Rozier tearing it up) and great moments (Tom Osborne winning the 1997 National Championship). Very cool.
For some reason, one of the Nation's Supreme Court Justices, Clarence Thomas, has taken a liking to Nebraska football. He was named an honorary coach for the game and got to stand on the sideline for the game. It was funny to see someone that you think of as a quiet, reserved person going nuts on the sideline when the Husker's rolled. Very Cool.
OK, back to Riley here soon, talk to you later on.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Another Good Run
I have only had a few good runs during the train up here: KC, the tank trail (with the tanks rolling by) and yesterday.
Yesterday, I snuck off the FOB to check out a run route, I did it early on Sunday morning to make sure none of the JRMC police saw me. One of the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal guys was talking about a HUGE hill on Hohenfels main post called Warrior Hill the way he was talking about it was just short of Everest, except for longer and steeper.
I started off at 6 am, snuck onto main post and started off the run, it was a very pretty day here in Germany, but kind of cold (49 degrees!), I was thinking I should have my favorite running gloves (Best Christmas gift ever from Aunt Faye) but it was August, so they were back in the truck in KS. I ran up onto post, up around the airfield, commissary and post housing, but didn’t see the hill. I was going to turn around and just head back to the FOB, but I wanted to run up that hill. On the way back, I saw it off to the right hand side, it was a pretty good hill, but, not quite as wicked as the sisters at Bragg. The catch was you had to run down a steep hill to get to the bottom of Warrior hill, then up Warrior hill.
It was a good hill, turning around was cool because you knew there a good downhill, but bad because you had to go back up the hill you ran down to get to Warrior hill. The main post is a good run because it sits in a north\south running valley, so there is a good sunrise coming up over the hills as you are running. Beings how it was a Sunday morning on a very small post in Germany, there was nobody else out there running. I was definitely missing the Manna Multi-Sport group, running solo is cool for a while, but I need the elf to run with me, or me with him.
Running Note: I was told by one of the Observer Controllers that it was not safe to run on the tank trail when the tanks are on the road. I am not quite sure why, I am pretty confident I can avoid getting hit by 70 tons of rolling steel, I will adhere to the rule. I would hate to be the cause of chaos by breaking a rule.
Anyway, the field problem is about over here and the teams are drifting back in. The quiet solitude of the barracks will suffer.
Couple of team notes:
Nickname update: CPT F = Shapeshifter, didn’t want to call him Supernatural, that might have gone to his head, my little sister recommended Shapeshifter, apparently it is a character on a TV show that she and the nieces watch. I think it fits. He also has earned the nickname of SWATT 6.5 because he is number 4 in the chain of command is working on ways to move up the chain of command.
SSG K = Sweet home, he is from Alabama and is always talking about it, so, Sweet home from the Lynard Skynard song works.
Me: Sweet tooth
MAJ L: Superman
SSG W: Slim
CPT F: Shape shifter
SSG K: Sweet home
SFC T: Smooth
Still needing a nickname: MAJ D (the XO), SFC R (LOG NCO), CPT P (LOG Officer), SFC J (medic)
MSG P (Sweetface) will not be deploying with the team, he has a stomach problem that will hold him back. His steady, senior NCO hand will be sorely missed by the team.
Yesterday, I snuck off the FOB to check out a run route, I did it early on Sunday morning to make sure none of the JRMC police saw me. One of the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal guys was talking about a HUGE hill on Hohenfels main post called Warrior Hill the way he was talking about it was just short of Everest, except for longer and steeper.
I started off at 6 am, snuck onto main post and started off the run, it was a very pretty day here in Germany, but kind of cold (49 degrees!), I was thinking I should have my favorite running gloves (Best Christmas gift ever from Aunt Faye) but it was August, so they were back in the truck in KS. I ran up onto post, up around the airfield, commissary and post housing, but didn’t see the hill. I was going to turn around and just head back to the FOB, but I wanted to run up that hill. On the way back, I saw it off to the right hand side, it was a pretty good hill, but, not quite as wicked as the sisters at Bragg. The catch was you had to run down a steep hill to get to the bottom of Warrior hill, then up Warrior hill.
It was a good hill, turning around was cool because you knew there a good downhill, but bad because you had to go back up the hill you ran down to get to Warrior hill. The main post is a good run because it sits in a north\south running valley, so there is a good sunrise coming up over the hills as you are running. Beings how it was a Sunday morning on a very small post in Germany, there was nobody else out there running. I was definitely missing the Manna Multi-Sport group, running solo is cool for a while, but I need the elf to run with me, or me with him.
Running Note: I was told by one of the Observer Controllers that it was not safe to run on the tank trail when the tanks are on the road. I am not quite sure why, I am pretty confident I can avoid getting hit by 70 tons of rolling steel, I will adhere to the rule. I would hate to be the cause of chaos by breaking a rule.
Anyway, the field problem is about over here and the teams are drifting back in. The quiet solitude of the barracks will suffer.
Couple of team notes:
Nickname update: CPT F = Shapeshifter, didn’t want to call him Supernatural, that might have gone to his head, my little sister recommended Shapeshifter, apparently it is a character on a TV show that she and the nieces watch. I think it fits. He also has earned the nickname of SWATT 6.5 because he is number 4 in the chain of command is working on ways to move up the chain of command.
SSG K = Sweet home, he is from Alabama and is always talking about it, so, Sweet home from the Lynard Skynard song works.
Me: Sweet tooth
MAJ L: Superman
SSG W: Slim
CPT F: Shape shifter
SSG K: Sweet home
SFC T: Smooth
Still needing a nickname: MAJ D (the XO), SFC R (LOG NCO), CPT P (LOG Officer), SFC J (medic)
MSG P (Sweetface) will not be deploying with the team, he has a stomach problem that will hold him back. His steady, senior NCO hand will be sorely missed by the team.
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