Communications Tower

So yesterday morning, my squad finished a small communications tower for our TOC. The project basically spanned three days, but on the first day we didn't do anything more then gather up some materials and tools. They finally got the blue prints to me at the end of the day. By then it was late enough I said forget it and start the next day. As it turned out, two other squads were working on a double door for the warehouse portion at the PX and were having a terrible time of it. The concrete structures over here are a little different then we are all used to. Couple that with not having the proper saws and or blades and it equals a not so fun time. Those poor guys worked on it until 2 am before they shut it down. It needed to get done as soon as possible, so my Platoon Sergeant pulled my squad off the comms tower and had us finish the door. So anyway, yesterday was able to get back to the tower. We had it completly built by lunch, but then it got really hot out, so we chilled til the evening and set it on the roof. Then next morning (yesterday) finished anchoring it down and put the communication gear on it. So anyway. There it is. Turned out pretty decent I think :)

A day on the Job

One of the things that helps the day go a little faster is listening to music. The boys were just about finished with the ceiling in the big room and decided to cut loose. I'm surprised I was able to hold the phone still because I was laughing so hard. I'm working with a great bunch of guys, and things like this helps keep the sanity. :)

My Day Trip

Today I got to go on convoy to another FOB that had part of one of our squads there working on building it up. Its basically built on a cliff as you can see in the first picture. I liked the formation and it looks like eventually the column that is in the picture is gonna take a fall like the one just beneath it did.



I don't always like to take pictures of myself, but I know my kids like to see me in them, so today was a treat in that I took not one but two. The one below was a self picture taken in the MRAP while we were getting ready to head back home.



This one was taken on the cliff. I liked the view below and the mountians, vegatation and even the heat reminded me very much of Arizona. I know it sounds cliche, but I am pretty sure I'm gonna move there when I retire.

Leaving Krygyzstan

This picure of tired and wore out soldiers was taken the night of our first attempt to leave Kyrgyzstan and fly to Afghanistan. We were all loaded up on the cargo plane with all our gear, strapped in and ready for the 45 minute flight. Sat on the flightline in our get up for over an hour with assurances that what ever the problem was, would be fixed. Finally they had us deplane, then set us up in the tent pictured. It was around one in the morning when I took this picture. An hour later they sent us back to the lodging we were in from before, when the flight crew admitted defeat and realized the plane wasn't going to be taking off anytime soon. We finally flew out two days later.

My March Madness :)

A bunch of guys decided to grow out a 'stache for deployent. I decided to do just mustache march. However it got to be too much of a pain to keep it trimmed up to regulation, so Mustache March ended about two weeks early.



But March had other things in store for me. Such as Mad Tan Lines March. At the time we were required to were out ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet) on the job site. Add to that the polarized glasses we wear, in addition to the fact that someone just mentions sunshine and I catch a tan, the result being silly tan lines. And of course we are always in uniform, so the chances of ever evening anything out are next to impossible. On the positive side, others, especially the very white soldiers have red lines instead of tan lines. So I can count my blessings that I have sun friendly skin pigments. :)

My Backwards Building

So this project is kinda big. Its a 120 feet long and 32 feet wide, all wood structure aside from the corrugated tin roof. They decided to use me as the Construction Supervisor for our first project basically because of my heavy construction back ground. It gives the other squad leaders some insight on exactly what it all entails, so they have a knowledge base for when they are set in charge of their own projects. This building turned into a pain in a hurry as it seems that 2x6 dimension lumber is a premium here, like there is a shortage. Hence the reason that the back wall is up even before the floor is finished. In an attempt to keep peole busy and the project going even with out the required lumber for the floor, we are kinda doing things out of order. This had me concerned, because its hard to do final tweaking for squaring up the floor without enough of its components. Luck would have it though, we had it set up just right and when we finally finished sheeting the floor, it came out just the way it was supposed to. :)


The prints and design for the building require vent louvers for the attic. So I pulled the router out, showed a couple people how to measure up, use a framing square to find the angle and instruct them on how to use the router. I did the first one to show them what it needed to look like for the initial framing and turned them loose. I've been using some of the these tools so long, that my free hand is pretty darn good, so I tend to forget that everybody has to start some where. The results from the novice left a little to be desired, and one gal was kind of upset that hers wasn't as straight and uniform as mine. I told her it wasn't a problem because the when it was all finished, no one would see if the cut was a little too wide. The picture frame trim wasn't called for in the prints, but I thought it was a nice touch, and it also served to cover some mistakes :)


The inital pile of blocks was for firestops in the wall. I carried the whole stack to the where you see it sitting from the cut station. I noticed one was loose on the bottom, so I pulled it out and set it on top. Next thing I new there was another Squad leader there and a Team Leader also pulling them out. It inadvertantly turned into a quick game of Jumbo Jenga. It was a fun break, then back to work as normal.

Home Sweet Home

One of my soldiers has a sense of humor and decided to place a sign for our tent. I'm ok with it as it's kind of a morale booster, and besides, a person has to find laughs wherever they can. I just wonder if he realizes he made all my squad out to be mentally challanged...



So Home Sweet Home.... well for the next two weeks anyway. Apparently the tent we are in right now is considered temporary. We will be moving to better ones after a unit here, leaves to go home, as they have hit the wonderful end of their tour. All in all, it's really not so bad. The heater and air conditioner work, and we really aren't in it for any real length of time. It's mostly just a place under cover for us to lay our heads down at night.

In the Kyrgyz Republic

It was a long trip over, all total we were on the plane for more then 14 hours. Ive driven for longer periods then that and didn't feel half as tired as I did when I stepped off the plane. I'm guessing that jet-lag is a true and viable phenomenon. Anyway, watched some decent movies on the plane, wrote short letters to my children, unfortunately the turn-around on postage is pretty slow, Ive heard it can take up to two weeks :( But I did get them written anyhow :)

Right now we are just cooling our heels on the base here. I am not sure exactly where here is, but it seems to be and in processing installation, where all branches of the military visit when they go and come from Afghanistan. I'm not sure what about it I am allowed to talk about and what I am not, so to take the side of caution, that's about all I am going to say.

The surrounding is, well, pretty neat I guess. I am still working the issue with my phone and taking pictures and getting them transferred to my computer, I have a couple of options, guess I am being lazy, as it takes forever for the required hardware drivers and software to transfer over. I'll get rambunctious at some point and get it done. Till then I guess it'll just be boring text. Sorry. One of the coolest things around here is the mountains that can be seen over the barrier walls. The scenery itself reminds me of so many movies I have watched where the setting has taken place in this area. It's almost surreal, seeing the buildings and vegetation being exactly what was in the movies. Always in the back of my mind I thought places don't really exist like that. A person has to see it to believe it, especially when one hasn't the first hand experience. Honestly I feel like I am in a dream world. I suppose it will turn real enough, soon enough. Anyway, as more happens, I'll keep this thing up-to-date.

And kids, I miss you guys. I love you and hopefully talk to you soon :)

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At the hangar, waiting to catch the plane.
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Darn winter!

Today we were supposed to finish building two huts we started three days ago. Mother Nature stuck her nose in where it didn't belong and hosed us. Its so bad at present that it even halted our training. At least the ride back to camp will be small arms, IED, and RPG free! The other picture was taken yesterday. The temp was a little chilly, but there wasn't any snow to contend with.
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One of many.

Laptops are almost essential for release and to alleviate boredom. I have a little stand made up of my foot locker and heater meal boxes for me and my bunk neighbor to use as our computer center. Right now we are all on Modern Warfare, making teams and killing each other. Its great fun with everybody hollering at being shot. I finally got my laptop running at optimal performance. Its been a pain re-installing everything, but it has been well worth it.
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A tired Soldier

Yesterday we had a loooong day at the range. We didn't get finished until the wee hours of the morning. Some soldiers were so tired, they pretty much fell asleep as they wore, kind of like this poor guy. We had some down time earlier while waiting for our turn, so I took my nap then. I learned long ago that power naps during the day can do wonders for keeping me awake and alert, no matter the time of night. Unfortunately, I'm not a morning person, so I'm always a little slow starting out.
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Missing my fourth baby!

I realized today, or rather it sunk in finally, that I won't be driving my truck for a loooooong while. For those that don't know I spent the better part of two years in that vehicle. Countless hours driving back and forth from Fargo to where-ever my job site was. Even more hours driving it around the job site, and yes even lived in it when the need arose. Watching it drive away with my children waving out of the back window was truly one of the saddest moments in my life. Some of the happiest times I had where in that truck while laughing, joking, and singing to the radio with my kids. I can't wait to see them waving to me from the windshield when they pick me up after this deployment ends :)
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Night Vision

As I said in an earlier post, was going to be doing night vision operations. I managed to get my phone just right to take this. What's weird is after looking through it, everything has a red tint to it.
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Lanes Training

This morning we went out to do a dry run for a task testing certain skills, between selected individuals, drivers and mounted weapons systems. Tonight we are going again to do a dry run testing the same skill sets, but using night optics. At a later date we will be do live fire drills for actual qualification. Its takes skill of shooting for the gunner, total communication between the whole crew, where each soldIer plays a specific and equally important part. I know my explanation is rather vague, but I'd rather play safe then sorry where operational security is concerned. This picture is before heading out for the night dry run.
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Night Driving

Tonight we are going out and getting some training using night vision glasses. It should be fun and interesting. I think all those times I had to go without a contact lens in one eye might have prepared me for this. When a person can use only one eye predominantly, it messes up depth perception. Things sometimes seem closer then they are. So I'll find out. Hopefully without banging up my vehicle.
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Small Pox Report

It actually looks worse then it is. The big red area around the scab is from the fresh bandages that I have to apply everyday. So far our company is doing ok and no outbreaks. Our sister Puerto Rican company hasn't met with the same success. As it stands right now that whole company is under quarantine. Apparently they didn't heed the medics warnings and were popping each others blisters. And so it spread. Six Barracks have red quarantine tags on the doors. As we were going to supper they were unloading boxes of bleach into each Barracks, as well as MRE's. It made the DFAC nicer as it wasn't crowded. :)
On a positive note, in another couple of days my scab will fall of and I won't have to worry about it anymore. :)
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New Glasses

It seems the military noticed people aren't fans of the old glasses. So they've moved forward and get soldiers these. I have a brown plastic pair that are for the field, but they re just as small as these.
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After the Range

The driver wasn't too willing to give an explanation as to why he was in the ditch, but about 2 minutes pushing and 10 soldiers later, he was on his way, amid a bunch of laughter at his expense.
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On the Range

I tried to catch it as the gunner was firing, all I got was smoke. Its unbelievable how quickly the 50-cal will throw 7-10 bullets down range. I was very glad they make us wear earplugs too. I could feel the compression waves hit me every time he fired. I can only imagine how bad my ears would still be ringing right now.
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The Big Toys

I'm on the range again today. These soldiers are getting the big boys set and ready to qualify. The temp is higher then it has been the last week or so, so I'm not bundled up like the little boy on A Christmas Story. The downside is that its snowing again...big white fluffy flakes. Its going to make visibility tough on the gunners. They range isn't even open for fire yet, so hopefully the snow will dissipate by the time it gets online. So we'll see. If I can I'll make another post.
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It was quite chilly on the rifle range today. I was selected as a safety official. Being all bundled up like that you wouldn't know it was me if I didn't have a name tape. Makes sense why the military does it :)
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Last week Thursday I had the privilege of getting inoculated for small pox. This is the result as of tonight. Its the big red bump on my shoulder. It doesn't really hurt, but man it itches. The Medic that administered it to me said it wouldn't really affect me much because she noticed the scar from the exact same inoculation given to me as a child. Seeing some of the other guys and theirs, I am thanking Betsie Valley School District for requiring me to have it way back then :)
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Happen to be outside and noticed the sun was not as bight. I looked up and thought the cloud covering it looked like an angel. What do you think?
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This morning we had the wonderful experience of doing PMCS, which stand for 'Preventative, Maintenance, Checks and Services'. Fun!
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Sometimes Directions make things a little easier

I don't have a picture for this post, just a funny story. But first a little background.

I took a beginners computer programing course about 3 years ago when I had aspirations of becoming a college graduate. Involved in that course was basic web page design, learning all the code etc. etc. Anyway I have already used some on this blog, notice the background?

The funny story, well I had to laugh at myself anyway. I wanted to add a new widget. Blogger didn't have the one I wanted so I did some searching to find what I was looking for. I did rather quickly...Gotta say I like Google...and since it wasn't a Blogger widget, I copied the necessary code to add the widget. Being the ahem, suave web page designer I am, I opened up the html tab under the design tab, and proceeded to try and add my widget. It took a little bit but I found where I wanted to insert my widget. But I was perplexed because the widget code was in basic HTML and the Blogger uses XML. XML is actually easier to use then HTML, but it was only starting to become popular around the same time I took the earlier mentioned class. If you guessed that it threw me for a loop, you were right. But the same way I have learned alot of things (good or bad) I jumped right in to attempt to insert the code. After about five tries, Blogger was nice enough to accept it, well it didn't give me any errors anyway, but it didn't show the widget on the preview either. This meant that it just ignored what I inserted. So I went back to the original site to see if they had code in XML format. Nope sure didn't. Bummer. This meant back to my blog for another couple of attempts. This time I noticed there was a little check box sitting above the big box that held all the code, that said "Expand Widgets", Ah Ha! In my mind this meant I could open up the widget code, see what it all entailed and make the necessary tweaks to my widget code. Upon checking the box, it erased all my previous work....bummer again, it meant scanning through all the code again to find the necessary spot to insert my code. After scrolling up and down I finally found it. Long story short, after many tries, and lots of the editor hollering at me, I went back to the original site to see if I missed something. And I did. In small letters it had a link to get directions on HOW to add the widget. Needless to say thirty seconds later my widget was successfully added, by a simple copy and past into the right area on the DESIGN tab, not the tab that allowed me access to totally destroy my blog. As aggravating as it was trying to do it on my own, it was kinda fun. The challenge was there, its just my knowledge of the needed code wasn't.

Just for Alex

The other night I was talking to my youngest daughter, Alex, on the phone. She was kind of sad because I don't have any recent pictures of her posted. So I went through my phone and uploaded some to my laptop of her and her older siblings. I hadn't done it sooner as I always have my phone to look at them, but don't always have the time to pull out the laptop. Its a matter of convenience. Even when I am over seas, just because I won't be able to make calls on the phone, I'll still have the pictures and associated memories. Love you guys. Miss you.



One of the things Alex loves is Polly Pockets!! I had the opportunity to play them with her one day. This is DJ Polly that I had fun making up.



Trying to be a fun Dad, on my monthly visit I would take the kids to McDonalds for icecream. Alex was the Icecream Queem, because usually she had hers inhaled before the other kids were barely down to the cone. I figured out why rather quickly. She eats her cone, as you can see Breanne in her creative genius tries to make sculptures, see the Princess?


I had the opportunity over the summer to go with Michael to Boy Scout Camp at Camp Wilderness in Minnesota. Michael overcame his fear of heights and I had to immortalize the moment at the top of the fire-tower. I told him it was about half the height of the wind towers that I climb for work. He said he wasn't quite ready for that yet. It was a great time and I treasure the memories.

Leaving Iowa

I was pretty awed today at the public support the community showed t0 our company. It couldn't have been much warmer then 15 degrees and yet there were a ton of people lining the streets to wave flags and hold up signs. We even had a police escort! It was a tearful goodbye for many this morning, and it kind of made me glad I did mine a couple of days ago. I'm a fairly private person when it comes to my emotions. I miss my children and I know as time goes on I will miss them more, but I take consolation in the fact that I am one day closer to being back home with them. I have been seriously reconsidering my profession, and may look into a non-traveling job so as to stay closer. If its possible without shorting them and their quality of life I may very well do just that. Anyway, below are a couple of pictures I had the presence of mind to take before we left the town. Its pretty cool :)

Interesting First day.

After a teary goodbye to my children on the 13th, of course I had to catch my flight. It was very eventful, and really cast a shadow on this deployment, but I won't get into that.

I was trying to sleep on the plane, after only about an hours sleep the night before, I wasn't having the easiest time of it as my ears kept popping and popping. I regretted putting the gum my children gave me as part of a going away present in my carry-on bag instead of my pocket, because everyone knows chewing gum helps to alleviate ear pops on a plane. Anyway, I was dozing in and out when a very non-ear related pop startled me awake. I open my eyes to see the oxygen masks had all dropped down. Fortunately no one panicked, but I'm sure it was probably comical to an outsider, as everyone was looking around at everyone else, very wide-eyed. After several minutes of silence the flight attendant asked us all to don the masks. I realized, as several other passengers did, that we don't pay as much attention to the safety briefings as we should, as many of us had difficulty in getting the dumb thing to stay put. Shortly after putting the mask on, the plane did a fairly sharp nose dive! As you can imagine more wide-eyed looks, and still nothing from the cockpit as to what the problem was. Eventually the plane leveled out and the pilot finally announced we could remove the masks and explained that there was a malfunction with the pressurization system. He dropped the plane to a lower altitude the equalize the pressure. The picture is what it looks like on a plane with those silly yellow cups. Oh and I did note, my bag did in fact, inflate with the air flowing through it.