Razorsblog

2006 NCO of the Year Essay

2007-02-02T04:58:00.000+03:00

So, I was selected as the NCO of the year for my brigade last month. Which means I have to go on to the state level, for which I was required to write an essay titled, "Why I Am A Soldier In The Tennessee Army National Guard". For lack of anything better to post, and because I've already spent time and effort writing this, here is my final draft. I hope you like it, because it's all you're getting for now. I'm sorry I haven't been as faithful as I promised earlier, but I had good intentions anyway.

Why I am a Soldier in the Tennessee Army National Guard

From a purely human point of view, it is difficult to comprehend immediately why anyone would want to join the military. The animal instinct in all of us is to avoid danger, conflict, and hardship, and to protect and be concerned with one’s personal comfort and safety and that of one’s close family above all else. Why should I want to assist another unless there is some direct benefit for my own self? Sometimes in the last few years I’ve questioned my own motivations, and pondered that which some might call a lapse in judgment that ultimately led to my enlistment. Having considered it carefully, I’ve compiled this list of several types of reasons:

Selfish Reasons; There are several perks related to joining, from college money and enlistment bonuses, free job training, travel to new and varied places, job benefits such as medical and dental coverage, and a steady income. There are many life experiences in the Army that are scarce to non-existent in other fields, such as riding in a Blackhawk helicopter or an M1 Abrams tank, firing a 155mm howitzer, and getting to fire an M-16 as one of your annual job requirements. These are all good reasons, and I admit that selfish reasons played an influential part in my decision to join the Army National Guard.

Personal Reasons; One fact that had a major influence in my decision to enlist was that a close friend of mine had decided to join the National Guard, and I didn’t want him to be able to say that he had gained all of the aforementioned perks, plus the travel and adventure, and that I was forced to watch from the ooutside while he had all the fun. Also, there has been a great history of service in both sides of my family since the founding of our country. Both of my grandfathers served in the Army in past wars, CPL William Cox as a tank gunner in Europe during WWII, and PFC Thomas McGuyer as a medic in the Korean War. I’ve had many other extended family members serving in various capacities in every conflict since the Revolutionary War, and I saw serving in the Tennessee Army National Guard as a way to honor their memory and uphold this multi-generational tradition of service.

Core reason; For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a very deep rooted love for the United States and what she stands for. My upbringing was conservative Christian, and I’ve been taught growing up that the United States is unique in the history of the world, in that we were founded on Ideas and Principles, rather than based on who has the biggest army or who could throw their weight around the hardest. We are in a struggle now against an enemy that seeks not just to kill our bodies and destroy us as a nation, but they seek to destroy the very principles we were founded on, and to erase even the vaguest memory of these principles. We are not in a war fought with bullets and bombs, but rather, it is a titanic clash of ideas, of worldviews concerning the nature of man and his relationship to God and his fellow man. The deepest, most central reason why I enlisted is that I wanted to advance and protect these principles of ours, our original worldview that declares man is a free creature under God. I love our United States, and I want her to shine forever as an example of how mankind can live together in a free society.

There are many answers to the question asked at the beginning, all of them real and valid, and all played a part on my decision to join. However, when you “fry the fat off of it”, as my uncle says, I joined because I wanted to do my part to serve. I have no illusions about being able to fix all the problems in the world, or even to fix all the very real challenges just in my own hometown. My hope is that I’m able even in the smallest of capacities, to make some difference for the better, so that people can look at where I’ve been and say it was a better place because I was there.

Christmas past

2006-12-27T06:57:00.000+03:00

Another Christmas gone by. This one was perhaps not as thrilling as last year, when I had just been back from the desert barely a month, but it was no less enjoyable. This year, we had the practically unprecedented pleasure(say that five times fast!) of my maternal grandparents and my uncle being at my own parents house for Christmas. Traditionally Christmas is spent at their house in Kentucky on the lake. We'd spent some time up there the week before, working on Papaw's deck that he's been building. We got the tin on the roof, and got all the railings finished, even in the rain. Jeff Foxworthy says you might be a redneck if your back porch is bigger than your whole house. Their new deck makes another checkmark on my grandparents extensive list of qualifications for the Redneck Hall of Fame. I'm not saying that to disrespect them at all, I love my grandparents and would put them up against any set out there. I sincerely hope I've got enough gumption left in me when I'm 75 to build a deck on my house big enough for a half-court of basketball.

But I digress. I didn't ask for much this year, as I find that as I get older, the items on my wish list are more and more pricey, and I'd feel bad asking for expensive stuff. I made out really well regardless, got a new Bible, two shirts, a new 155-piece Craftsman tool set, some CDs, and something else that was really cool. My grandfather on my Dad's side was a WWII vet, he was in a tank fighting germans in Europe for THREE SOLID YEARS back in the big war. He never talked about it much, and he died several years ago, when I was about nine. Well, one of his second cousins interviewed him for a college project in 1989, and that cousin just recently found the tapes of those interviews and gave them to my Dad. Daddy took the tapes and had them copied onto CDs, and gave a copy of them to me and each of my siblings, and all the rest of the extended family when we were up in Kentucky. I'm looking forward to hearing them, and I think I'll come to appreciate them more and more as the years go by. My youngest brother wasn't even born when Grandaddy died, so listening to those recordings will be the first time he's ever heard his voice.

Today me and my next oldest brother helped Daddy wire some fluorescent lights and some outlets in his building. We got the downstairs done, and I think I'm going to help Daddy work on the upstairs some tomorrow before I have to go to a funeral in the afternoon. I've been working on the Military Honors program with the National Guard for the last few weeks. It's interesting work, sometimes. We mostly perform military honors for deceased veterans from all different branches of service, including flag-folding, playing taps, and a rifle salute. There's a national cemetery in town close by the armory, and that's where we do most of the services. We do go out into the surrounding counties sometimes though, finding ourselves in little bitty family cemeteries waaaaay out in the sticks on occasion. The one tomorrow may be one of those, right now I only know it's in another county. The families really seem to appreciate what we do. One of the few things I remember about Grandaddy's funeral is the rifle salute and someone in uniform presenting my grandmother a folded flag. Granny has the flag in a case on the wall with a picture of him, and his rank(corporal) and ribbons, probably from his original uniform from 1945. My grandfather was a humble man, who got out of the army after he got home from the war, and became the head of maintenence at Western Kentucky University in later years. He never got past the third grade, but him and millions like him changed the world, and sacificed more than me and my generation could comprehend.

I'm not really writing this for any specific purpose, am just rambling about life in general. I'm often struck by how exquisitely blessed I am to have the quality of family and friends that I do. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and am looking forward to the New Year with great anticipation. Like a little boy in a book I read once said, "God bless us, everyone!"

He's baaaaacccckkkkkk......

2006-12-25T00:35:00.000+03:00

Hello. It's been a very long time since I've submitted anything on here. If you feel like you've been neglected, please forgive me. I've been home over a year now, and since then, have been to three different army schools in three different states, been on a six-week road trip to Alaska, been backpacking in N. Carolina, spent numerous hours down at Fathom, went rafting in a little duckie raft on the Ocoee, where my camera met an unfortunate end. I've been to Walt Disney World twice, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, numerous family trips to Kentucky. All that said, the main reason I gave up blogging was mostly because I had too MUCH to write about, and was so overwhelmed by the amount of blog material that I wrote about nothing at all. I apologize if anyone out there feels slighted, neglected, or ignored. My life has just been so full, it's been all too easy to make excuses not to write anything.

Another reason I've refrained sometimes is because I am too often afraid of offending people. While I haven't decided to go around wantonly offending people, I have decided to make an effort to go ahead and say what I think, regardless of whether it fits people's image of me, or whether I say something potentially offensive to somebody out there in Cyber Land. I think we as a society take things waaayy too seriously, all of our little opinions and little personal beliefs. So, read with caution, these next posts of mine, for I am not going to be as..."diplomatic", shall I say, in future posts as I have been in the past. Again, I AM NOT SAYING THESE THINGS WITH THE INTENT OF OFFENDING ANYONE! I just think life is too short to go through it trying so hard to please everyone and not tell people what you really think.

So, be on the alert for further opinions, observations of human behavior, tales of the specatacularly inane, the fabulously improbable, the fantastically stupid, and sometimes just plain weird. I find myself encountering so many astonishing examples of the bizarre extremes of human strangeness, that I feel compelled to share them with the world. Stand back, and prepare to be amazed...

Our trip so far...

2006-05-25T23:52:00.000+04:00

These are just a few of the pics we've taken so far. We're in Fairbanks, Alaska at the moment, about to head north and try to make it to the Artic Ocean. Most of these came from the western US and from driving through Canada. Will be posting more later, don't have a lot of internet access up here...

2006-05-17T00:11:00.000+04:00

Mosaic

2006-03-17T00:28:00.000+03:00

I go to the coolest church in the world...

I was a Redneck Jedi...

2006-03-09T05:11:00.000+03:00

Ok, so I'd read these jokes on an email one time, but I always thought they were just a joke...

You Might Be A Redneck Jedi Knight If...

You ever uttered the phrase, "May the force be with y'all."

Your Jedi robe is camouflage.

You have ever used the force in conjunction with fishing/bowling.

You have ever used your light saber to open a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.

At least one wing of your X-wing is primer colored.

You have bantha horns on the front of your landspeeder.

You describe the taste of an Ewok as "jus' like chicken."

You have ever had a B-wing up on blocks in your yard.

The worst part of spending time on planet Dagobah is "them dadgum skeeters."

Wookies are offended by your B.O.

You have ever used the force to get yourself another beer so you wouldn't have to wait for a commercial.

Your father has ever said to you, "Shoot, son, come on over to the dark side...it'll be a hoot!"

You have ever had your R-2 unit use its self-defense electro-shock thingy to get the barbecue grill to light.

You have a confederate flag painted on your flight helmet.

You ever fantasized about Princess Leia wearing Daisy Duke shorts.

You have the doors of your X-wing welded shut and you have to get in through the window.

You kinda think that Jabba the Hutt had a pretty good handle on how to treat his women.

You have ever accidentally referred to Darth Vader's evil empire "them damn Yankees."

You have a cousin who bears a strong resemblance to Chewbacca.

In your opinion, that Cee-Threepio fellow "just ain't right."

You suggested that they outfit the Millennium Falcon with a Lazy-Boy recliner.

The REAL reason you got into a fight in the cantina was because you ordered Bud Light...and they didn't have it.

You knew Princess Leia was your sister all along.

But then I'm driving down the road the other day, and look who's stopped in front of me:

And not two days later, I spot this guy in a parking lot:

It makes you wonder...

Caving with celebrities...

2006-03-09T04:59:00.000+03:00

I'm so far behind it's not even funny. Here's a few pics from going caving back in February. We went with the , Lovell Sisters , who had never been caving before. Fortuneately no one was killed or injured. Then we went and my whole family had dinner down at their house in GA. Was a nice day. I'll be posting some more pics soon of my more recent misadventures, so stay tuned...

I been busy, awright?

2006-02-14T08:45:00.000+03:00

Okay, so I haven't posted in awhile. Well, maybe not in almost a month. Believe it or not, more than once I've actually opened a new post and sat and stared at it and then closed it again because I just had too much to say. My life is full at the moment, and it's about to get even more so.

Been working at Fathom a lot. There's a lot to do there, and always ten more projects to think about even before I'm finished with the current one. Right now I'm almost finished with the expansion of the sound booth, which has been my primary focus in the past few weeks. I've seen and talked to some friends that I haven't seen in several years. Got asked to be a groomsman in a close friend's upcoming wedding today, will be sometime in August. That will be cool, I've never actually participated in a wedding before.

I still don't have a regular job and I've been home three months now. A lot of that time has been spent working at Fathom, which is all volunteer work. I've been wanting to work full-time for the National Guard, at least in the short term. They keep putting me off, but now, Lord willing, I'll be starting working at the armory next week. Am looking forward to that. Then I'll be going away for a couple weeks for training in March, two more weeks in April, then going to Alaska in May, then a couple more weeks of training in July.

The praise and worship leader at my church is wanting to go on a tour overseas to perform for deployed soldiers in Iraq or someplace, and he wants me to go as the band manager. THAT would be a trip and a half. I don't know if it will happen or not, but we'll submit an application and see what happens. Perhaps will go this summer after I get done with all that other stuff.

My truck is running well. Silly me, I left the oil cap off after adding a bit the other night, so now there's a quart and a half of oil splattered all over the engine compartment. Oops. Fortunately the oil cap didn't fall off the top of the engine, so I just screwed it back in after I realized what had happened.

Went caving on Saturday. After thinking about it, I realized that was the first time I'd been caving in over three years. We miscounted the number of heads we brought with us, so I was the one that had to go without a helmet. Fortunately I didn't fall or raise up suddenly or anything, so it turned out all right. I need to get the bag of muddy clothes out of the trunk in the back of the truck and take them to the car wash and blast the mud off soon.

Well, I'm going to help some friends who own a flower shop make deliveries tomorrow, and it's almost 2am now, so I think I'll go to bed. I apologize for neglecting all you nice people out there in Blog Land. I haven't forgotten about you, but I have neglected you, and I'm sorry. I'll try not to let it happen again. I hope everyone has a Happy St. Valentine's Day. Godspeed and Goodnight. Razorsedge out...

Shackles

2006-01-16T01:14:00.000+03:00

Here's a very recent(as in five minutes ago) pic of my truck. To answer JV's question, the shackles are those round things on either side of the plate. They're to be used in the unfortunate event that one is stuck somewhere and needs to be pulled out, or better, that someone ELSE is stuck somewhere and needs to be pulled out. I could have gone with the smaller ones and saved myself some headache, but I think the bigger ones look a lot better.

I know I've been really bad about keeping this thing updated. I'll try to do better in the future, I've just been kind of busy. Everyone ought to go far away from everything they love to a little craphole of a country and stay there a year or so. Gives you a whole new perspective on what's important. Anyway, I need to go soon, just wanted to enlighten JV and anyone else who I made curious. Hope you've all had a good weekend, bye for now.

Me at the Magic Kingdom

2006-01-14T05:49:00.000+03:00

Me at the magic Kingdom
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

So much going on. I don't even know what to write about, so I'm just going to start typing and see what comes out. This picture was taken a little before Christmas on a trip to Walt Disney World with some close friends. As soon as I got back from that trip, I left for Kentucky to spend Christmas with my extended family. It is so much better to spend the holidays with ones family like I did this year, as opposed to last year, when I spent them all working 7000 miles away in a country where a good many of the citizens not only HATE Christmas, but actively seek to commit terrorist acts against countries that celebrate it. What a difference a year makes, hmm?

After Christmas, I stayed up at my grandparent's house along with some of my brothers and my dad and we helped my grandfather work on this little house that he bought. It was in bad shape, some people don't know how to take care of what they have. We hauled away a huge trailer load of trash that was scattered around a shed and all around the house. It was hard work, but it was good. I stayed up there about a week after Christmas, then drove my brothers and my aunt back to Chatt Town and my dad stayed up there to continue helping. We also did a lot of electrical work on the house. I learned a little bit, which always happens when one is doing work on a house that has not been built by professionals. Anyway, then my aunt came down with us, and since she hadn't been to visit in about six years it was very good to hang out with her some. She's been through quite a lot in the last few years, but I think she's finally on the way up slowly. She and I spent New Year's Eve at Fathom, then we went to a family New Year's party. I got to go visit another family that I've known a long time that same night, and ended up only getting about 3.5 hours of sleep before I had to get up to take Aunt M. back to Kentucky. On the way back I met my dad who was on his way to Bowling Green to visit my other grandmother, so Aunt M. took her car and went home and Daddy and me went on to Bowling Green.

Once I finally got done with visiting and travelling, my brother and Jesse were preparing to go on a trip to Colorado. They spent inordinate amounts of time working on Jesse's 4runner before they left, because Jesse wanted it as close to its Alaska configuration as possible in order to test all his gadgets and stuff.

Oh yeah, for anyone that hasn't heard, Jesse, myself, my brother J. and our other friend Jesse C. are planning a road trip to Alaska late this coming spring. We'll be taking my truck and Jesse's 4runner, and the single word I can think of to describe it is epic. I've got a feeling we'll never be able to take a trip like this again, so we're going to make the most of it.

I've been doing a lot of work at Fathom here lately, lots of little piddly stuff like putting new latches on the paper towel dispensers, changing light bulbs, and planning future projects with Sharky, another guy who helps out a lot down there. Just this evening I finished putting up plywood over all the walls in the guys bathroom. All these little heathen punks with no respect for other people's property come in and are either pissed off at their girlfriend, or depressed, or some other silly excuse, so they get mad and punch or kick holes in the walls of the bathroom. Am thinking they'll consider other outlets for their frustration once they slam their poor little knuckles or toes into some half inch plywood a couple of times. Anywho.

I've been messing and fussing with my truck, trying to get it the way I like it. I had these awesomely heavy bumpers installed, and the bloddy shackle rings were just a hair too small for the shackles I wanted to put on it, so I had to drill them out some. Three-and-a-half-hours-in-the-cold and one $40 drill bit later, I was able to install the shackles I wanted. Maybe I have a pride problem, but I'll bet you my shackles are bigger than yours.

Had the transmission, transfer case, and differential oils changed the other day. The transfer case oil was a milky white, which the mechanic said was because it had water in it. I don't think there was any damage, but it definitely didn't get it before it needed it. I also wired two 100 watt off-road lights to the front bumper, which made me happy(just for comparison, your standard brights are 60 watts apiece). When I get the roof rack mounted and all the rest of the auxilary lights put on top, you'll be able to perform surgery under all that wattage blazing into the night. I'm looking forward to it.

At this moment I'm sitting in a coffee shop with free wireless internet, and have seen some friends come in that I haven't seen in a couple years. One of them got married last spring while I was gone. That guy Ian, and I have had some wacky times together. We worked at this little central vacuum business for awhile, and have numerous misadventures and at least one genuine adventure where we and a few others were nearly electrocuted and drowned in this crawlspace we were working in. Now that's a STORY there, but it's for another time.

I missed about five or six weddings while I was gone, which stinks. C'est la vie, I suppose. It's so fantastically great to be back. So many wonderful friends,a great family, such a beautiful city I live in, my kick-butt truck. It's very humbling to look around and see how richly God has blessed me. I know I didn't do anything to deserve it, so I guess I'd better just make sure not to take it all for granted.

Thank God for the United States. We as a nation have so many problems. We're overweight, lazy, whiny, and so myopic to the incredible problems faced by 97% of the worlds population. We sit and watch CNN or Fox, and think we're well informed. We sit and watch Fear Factor, the MTV Music Awards, the Super Bowl, and American Idol, and listen to the Pussycat Dolls sing such "hits" as "Don'tcha", and Green Day sing such "anthems" as "American Idiot", and we think we're cultured. What's so incredible to me is that even as bloated on our own success as we are, we are STILL the most benevolent country in the world, and STILL so much happier on average than practically any other country in the world. God help us realize how favored we are, and knuckle down and take responsibility for the consequences of out actions. We are so blessed as a Nation, but I seriously wonder just how much longer it will last if we keep regressing at the current rate.

It's depressing to keep thinking like this, so I'll go back to my normal mode of just doing what I know is right to do and trusting God to take care of the rest. I'm am not nor will I ever be perfect, but I'll keep trying to get there.

Since I've been posting so infrequently I tend to ramble on whenever I do make a post, so I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with all the details of my mundane little life. To be honest, there's a lot I'm leaving out. If you read all the way to the end, I thank you for your loyalty, and I hope you don't leave disappointed. I think I'll go take a shower and then go out again, and see what's going on out in the town this Friday night. I hope you all have a great weekend, and that your New Year is going as well as mine. May God bless you and keep you encouraged, healthy, and give you people to love and to love you back. Until next time, Razorsedge out.

PS: You can click on this pic to see others. I haven't posted any new ones recently, but if you haven't seen the old ones they're still there. Godspeed...

Back in the States

2005-12-24T10:53:00.000+03:00

Back in the States
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Here at long last, are some pictures. This is in the parking lot at Camp Shelby right after we got off the buses. From left to right is my mom, me, my cousin, Jesse, and his girlfriend M. Things started off slow because I was stuck down there for a week and a half, but they've picked up since I've been home. Since I've been home, I've met a crazy person that I chatted with online(take warning!), had my truck broken into the first weekend I was back, run a million different errands, visited friends and family all over Tennessee, Georgia, and Kentucky, worked at Fathom and gotten threatened by a bunch of thugs that were mad because we wouldn't let them in, been backpacking in NC and got a tremendous blister on my heel, got some very heavy bumpers installed on my truck, saw King Kong(twice)... So much going on I can hardly remember it all. Have been to a wedding of a childhood friend that I haven't seen since childhood, went to a funeral of the wife of someone I know in the National Guard, went to a wonderful Christmas party and saw lots of great longtime family friends, and most recently just got back in town from visiting Walt Disney World for the first time in five years. I'll be leaving in about five hours to go visit relatives in Kentucky for Christmas, so I won't be sleeping much in between now and then. I hope everyone that reads this is having as good a time as I am. It is so indescribably awesome to be home for Christmas instead of where I was this time last year. Last year we worked all day Christmas and into the night. New Year's too. If you get a minute, please say a prayer for all those families whose loved ones are serving in places very far away this year. My own deployment was not so bad as some, but it makes you really appreciate what you have when you're that far away from it all. Anyway, it's almost three AM now, and we're supposed to leave here in just a few hours to head to my grandparents house. So, if any of those stories I've mentioned sounds interesting, let me know and I'll try to do better about blogging than I have the last several weeks. I just uploaded LOTS of new pictures, so just click on this one to see them. I'm very tired now, and will be more so tomorrow, so I'm gonna call it a night. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, and I will talk to you later. Godspeed and goodnight. Razorsedge out...

Busy

2005-12-15T01:38:00.000+03:00

Hey y'all, I'm still here. As some of you might have heard, went backpacking this weekend. Will show pics of the beautiful mountains, and my subsequent foot surgery because of the massive blisters on my heel from my poor-fitting boots. Anyway, will tell all about it, have just been waaayyy too busy here lately to sit down and blog regularly. hope everyone is doing well, will write more this weekend probably. Out for now...

On being home...

2005-11-23T23:15:00.000+03:00

Whew. Have hardly slowed down at all since I've been back. I am truly blessed. I knew this before I left, but only since I've been back have I realy appreciated that fact, and in how many ways it is true. Since I got my truck broken into, I had to get some new IDs, and a new checkcard, get the window replaced, had to put my truck back in my name and get the insurance going again. Have been gradually getting things unpacked in the apartment, which is a chore I loathe. I hate moving, because of how you have to make things up as you go. I've gotten better at it having moved around so much the last couple years, but it still isn't my favorite thing.

Last night we had a big dinner at a friends house, had about 30 people there from church. Ate ourselves silly, then had a small Bible study and a prayer. Went around the room and said what we were thankful for. I said I was thankful to be home, which I am, but it goes a little deeper than that. There are guys(military) I've met and heard of that came home from Iraq and Afghanistan to homes that had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. There are others that came back to broken homes, whose wives had cheated on them, or squandered their money, or just up and left altogether. Some of them came home to no family, or to uncomfortable financial situations. Some guys (or gals) came home in a box, and their families and friends will never be able to have Thanksgiving dinner with them again.

I am so incredibly blessed. I have a great family, lots of siblings(which is rarer than it used to be), awesome parents that have been and continue to be tremendous examples of how to live. I have a wonderful church, full of real people that don't just play church. They are human, and they make mistakes, but they keep going and trying to do better every day. Having lived in one place my whole life, I have a stability that many people don't have. I know this beautiful city I live in, and I see people I know everywhere I go. It is amazing to see how things have changed, and comforting to see how they have stayed the same. I have good friends from every facet of my life. There are friends from homeschooling, from Boy Scouts, from the army, from church, from yahoo and blogging, from all over the US and all over the world. It is overwhelming and humbling how many good people I know, and having so many I look up to and want to emulate. I hope I'm able to learn a little from those ones, and am able to be such a good example to anyone who has the dubious opportunity of looking up to me.

I think it's a very good thing for young people to join the military. I know it was good for me, to get out and see some new places and do some different things. I've met some very good people that I want to remain friends with the rest of my life. I've also met some people I'd never see again if I had my druthers. I've learned a lot about the world, and experienced some things I'd have never gotten to do otherwise. I've cried and laughed and appreciated things so much more than I believe I would have if I had not joined. God has looked upon me with such favor, and may He keep me humble enough to never think that I deserve it.

I am not the All-singing All-dancing Crap of the World, to borrow a phrase from the movie Fight Club. I make so many mistakes, and am so lazy, stubborn, ignorant, and just plain careless sometimes that I wonder how I'm able to dress myself. I am just a guy who tries to do the right thing, and succeeds sometimes. I am prone to trying to please everyone, and I'm realizing what I've been told many times, that it just can't be done. No matter how hard I try, somebody is going to be critical and displeased with me. Therefore all I can do is just keep trying, to do my best to please God and do the best work that I can, and forget about the boneheaded things I did yesterday so I can focus on doing better today. I can't worry too much about tomorrow because things will change a dozen times between now and then, but I have to try to plan a little because if one fails to plan, then one plans to fail.

Thank you God for blessing me with the country I live in, for the State that I was born in, for my wonderful family, for so many faithful helpful friends, and for the time to spend with all of them. Thank you God for the small things, like sweet tea, for my little truck, for trees, for laughing around a table or in a living room with good friends and family at something funny somebody said, or about this time or that that we all experienced together. The big things are what other people remember about your life, but it's those small things that you will never forget. God, help me to truly live each day to the fullest, and take joy in everything, even when life is not fun.

There are so many many things to be thankful for, I could fill up several posts with all of them. I guess what I'm most thankful for is opportunities to spend time with people I love and that love me, because those times, whether good or bad, are truly the happiest times of all and they're the times I will never forget. I hope everyone reading this has at least one or two great friends to share this holiday season with, and that you take the opportunity to let them know that you appreciate God planting them in your life.

If you've read this all the way to the end, thank you. I hope this didn't get too sappy on you, but I guess I'm just waxing philosophical after being gone for so long from all of these wonderful people and places. I'm thankful for Life, and for Life More Abundant. God Bless you, and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Razorsedge out...

My head hurts...

2005-11-15T02:26:00.000+03:00

Have been back in TN for four days now. In that time, I've dealt with a bi-polar woman who hit on me and actually drove all the way from NC to see me and stayed for three days, then after she left last night I spent the night at mine and Jesse's new apartment for the first time, and some worthless POS broke into my truck and stole a bunch of things. It's very good to be home, but it wasn't exactly how I imagined it, that's for sure. It's so awesome to see everyone, and see how things have changed, but man, I could have done without all that crap. Things are crazy, but I'm still glad to be home. I have much to do, so Godspeed and goodnight, and don't ever EVER leave your wallet in your car. Razorsedge out...

Home at last!

2005-11-11T22:10:00.000+03:00

I made it back Home about 1330 (1:30pm EST) on 11 Nov 2005. It is overwhelming, so many different emotions going on simultaneously. In some ways it seems like I never left, others it seems like things will never be the same. God Bless America, will continue blogging whenever able. Thanks for your prayers and support. I guess I'll have to change my profile now...

Blllaaaahhhh.....

2005-11-05T19:50:00.000+03:00

Am at Camp Shelby, MS. They told us we would be here about 5-7 days before we got to go home. As of right now, we have been here 6 days already, will be here a total of 13 by the time we leave, assuming it doesn't change again.

It's nice to be back in the States, but they had a freaking year to figure this out, why the heck didn't they have a better plan in place to expedite us getting out of here and getting home? AND if we WERE going to spend this long here, why didn't they know that up front so they could tell us and we could plan our reentry into normal life a little easier, instead of having to keep calling people back home and saying, "Well, we WERE supposed to be leaving on that day, but now it's two days later..."

Don't get me wrong, it's great to be back in the States. It's just aggravating that we have to spend so much time sitting around watching the paint flake off this horrid little post before we can leave.

Oh well, c'est la vie. We'll get home sooner or later. Had Papa John's for the first time since we've been back tonight, that was good. Especially since it was shared with Jesse and H., good company always enhances a good meal. We'll get there eventually, I just wish the people in charge would remove their empty heads from their posteriors and effin' expedite this process. Stupid army. I'm not as angry as I sound, just frustrated because of silly delays. Y'all have a good night, will update as possible. Razor out...

Back

2005-11-01T09:26:00.000+03:00

Hello all. Made it back to the United States at about 1530(3:30pm) EST. No issues or problems, just a loooonngg, loooonnnngggg trip. I'm exhausted, am going to bed. Very happy to be back, will blog more as able. God Bless the USA...

Tired...

2005-10-27T00:27:00.000+03:00

Left my own base this evening, will never have to look at that ugly place again, thank God. Heading home for good, not for leave, to answer J.V.'s question on last post. Am still in Iraq at the moment, just not at my regular base. Hopefully we'll fly out of here very very soon. Looking forward to seeing family and friends again, and being in a place that isn't so confounded dusty all the time. Looking forward to seeing T. when she comes to visit. Will be a Veteran's Day to remember I'm thinking, not least because she will be there. I'm very tired, it's about 0040(40 minutes past midnight), and I've been hauling 100 lbs. (about 4o-something kilos) of bags all over creation since about 5pm. That's pretty much what the next few days will consist of, is hauling these bags onto and off of airplanes, buses, military trucks, and more buses. I'm glad to moving towards home, but doggone, the army is not a very good travel agent. Y'all have a good night, will try to update as much as possible. This may very well be my last post from Iraq, if I'm lucky. Godspeed, Razorsedge out...

Almost over...

2005-10-25T22:36:00.000+03:00

Will be leaving this base in about 24 hours, give or take. Still won't be home for another two weeks or so, but at least we'll have started moving slowly that direction. Stupid army. I remember when we got here early last December, seeing the unit we were replacing being so happy to see us getting here and be on their way out. Have been looking forward to this for a long time. Jesse left a couple days ago, should be on his way back to MS soon. Today we got up and took apart our bunks and cleaned out the barracks. We'll be laying on the mattresses on the floor tonight, then get up and sit around all day tomorrow waiting to leave. This computer is being slow and ornery, so I'm going to go ahead and post this before it locks up on me. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm doing pretty good, just waiting to get out of here. Razorsedge out...

Oops

2005-10-18T18:49:00.000+03:00

Hey all, I said I'd be calling the radio station. Well, will be more like tomorrow that that will happen, I overslept this evening so couldn't call. Oh well. Will call tomorrow at a better time. Laid around and slept all day. Didn't mean to sleep so late, but I guess I needed it.
Dunno what else to write about. Will be very strange, will take some readjustment being back with friends and family that I haven't seen in eleven months, and haven't really been around much in nearly 16 months. I was looking in my journal at the entries leading up to my leave, and I think I was just about depressed before I left. I'd been here for nine months, and only been off this tiny base about four times in all of that. Worked a boring job that I didn't like, and was tired of seeing the same old people every day. Since I've been back from leave, I've been in a steadily increasing good mood. After leave, the day I was scheduled to fly out of Australia, I was filled with that feeling one gets after a vacation. I mean that sense you get of, "Wow! That was fun, now I'm ready to go home!" And yet, I wasn't going home. I was going back to this litter box, this dust bowl of a country.

So you can imagine I was feeling a bit melancholy heading to the airport. Then once I got back to Dubai, I was once again immersed in the Arab world, and realized I had absolutely no desire to ever see anything Arab again. I hope I don't offend any arabs or muslims out there, but I am just tired of this world. I miss the western world, am tired of being gone from home. Tired of dust, tired of desert, tired of...

I'm tired of having limited computer time. The guy is telling me I'm almost out of time, so I'm going to go ahead and post this. Hope you're all doing good, will try to do better with this than I have been. I've been neglectful here lately. Y'all have a good time, what time it happens to be. Razorsedge out...

2005-10-18T07:50:00.000+03:00

Me and Joey

2005-10-13T05:54:00.000+03:00

Me and Joey
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This is the only kangaroo I saw the whole time I was there, in the Aussie museum in Sydney. That's discounting of course, the kangaroo steak I ate the last night I was in Oz...

Sydney Harbour Bridge and top of Opera House

2005-10-10T04:40:00.000+03:00

Sydney Harbour Bridge and top of Opera House
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Finally made it to Sydney. Got checked into the hotel, and just went walking around the city. It was overcast and a little drizzly, about 60*F. I was just happy to be out of the big litter box, in a place where people spoke english and there were green plants growing freely. I just walked all over that day, enjoying being free again.

Dubai Clock

2005-10-10T04:20:00.000+03:00

Dubai Clock
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Told you they were rich in Dubai...

Arabic books

2005-10-10T04:11:00.000+03:00

Arabic books
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

I can't read arabic, and I really don't care to. It's funny that their books open the wrong way though. Lots of differences in the cultures.

Kuwait coffee

2005-10-10T03:58:00.000+03:00

Kuwait coffee
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

People have been demanding to see some pictures so here you go. This is inside the Kuwait City airport, which aside from a couple of military bases, is the total extent of what I've seen of Kuwait. I really have no desire to go back, except to make like the shepherd and get the flock out of here on the way home!

1 Sept-3 Sept

2005-10-05T05:08:00.000+03:00

Man, I've really been slacking on here. I can't say I've been busy, because I really haven't. Can't say I've been working too much, because I haven't. I guess I've just been lazy about it, so for that I apologize. I'm bad about procrastinating, need to get better about just plunging in and doing things that need doing. So, without further ado, I'll pick up right where I left off...

First of all, except for that three hours in Germany, I'd never been in an airport in a foreign country before. I don't really count that stop because we were on a military charter flight and weren't allowed to leave the military lounge. To describe the Kuwait airport a bit, I felt very much in the minority there, especially after I split from the small group of other military people I was with. There didn't seem to be too many Americans there at all. There were mostly just lots of Arabs of every bent, rich ones, poor ones, families; there were the devout Muslim women with the full ghurka(sp?), the full length black robes and veils, and others not quite as heavily covered. Saw some white people, but I got the impression they were mostly European in origin. The gate announcements were given in both English and Arabic, and my computer bag was sent through a metal detector three separate times, once coming into the airport, once checking into customs, and once at the gate to the plane. For some reason they took a roll of scotch tape I had in there, I guess they thought I might attack someone with the plastic serrated edge on the dispenser. Silly. Took off from the Kuwait airport about 2225(10:15pm), was only about a 40 minute flight to Dubai.

Maybe you world travellers or geography scholars out there know where Dubai is, but I had never heard of it. It's a major city in a country called the United Arab Emirates, or U.A.E. Might even be the capital, I don't know. I DO know they have some money, as was evident in the way they spent it on their airport. There were some nice stores in the Kuwait airport, but that one looked like a flea market compared to Dubai International. That place was unreal. I got more than enough time to look at it too, since I landed there and was inside the airport by 0100(1:00am) local time, since Dubai was an hour ahead of Kuwait, and my connecting flight didn't leave until about 1000(10:00am). Yes, that's right. I was stuck at that stupid airport for nine solid hours. At first it was sort of interesting, but then I realized the only thing to do there was spend money or wander around aimlessly, just like any other mall. I was intending to spend some money on this trip, but not that soon, and I also was conscious of the fact that anything I bought I'd have to carry with me, and didn't relish the thought of doing that since I was already hauling around over half my own weight with my two bags combined. So, I waited. I went to the airlines desk to see if there was an earlier flight I could take, and found out there was one about 0915(9:15am). I said forget about it, it wouldn't have made that much difference and would have thrown off the luggage transfer system so that my duffel bag would have ended up in Moscow or London or someplace while I was in Sydney.

I wandered up and down that blasted airport for hours. Granted, there was a lot to see, but I was tired for one thing, and for another, the Dubai airport in all of its opulence had not seen fit to buy any comfortable seats for their weary travelers. There were several lounges available for the business and first class passengers of various airlines, and there were also ones available to those lowly souls in economy class(such as myself), but those cost extra.

So I kept wandering, and in my wanderings I finally found an area that was sort of L-shaped, where the back corner was hidden from the long main hallway, and it was a little quieter. A lot of other people had found it before me, and most of them were stretched in uncomfortable looking positions on the semi-reclining opulence-challenged standard issue airport chairs. The floor was littered all over with candy wrappers, raisins, McDonalds wrappers(yes, an Arab McDonalds, took a picture of it) from all the little kids and the families that were occupying this poor people's lounge. Where there wasn't trash covering the floor, there were people. Yes, people sprawled out all over this corner, some laying on blankets or jackets, some just laying there on the tile floor like homeless people in the park on a warm night. I'd never seen anything like it. In the far back toe of the L there were three coin-operated massage chairs which looked very comfortable, but there was no one in them because of the official looking sign that warned you not to sit in them unless you were feeding them coins. There was a red rug around those chairs though, so I decided to swallow my pride and stretched out on the rug and used my jacket for a pillow. Slept from about three AM to about six, and if I didn't wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was at least somewhat rested. Waited and waited some more, then went to the gate and waited some more. We eventually took off about1000(10:00am) Dubai time, headed for Sydney, New South Wales, the face of Australia.

I would keep writing , but this is a good stopping point and I need to get off here and go to bed. Tune in next time to hear about the 14-hour plane ride to Sydney, the Kuwaiti girl I sat next to and debated with regarding the war in Iraq, and driving on the wrong side of the road. Until then, have a good time, whatever time it happens to be where you are...

Back to blogging

2005-09-29T02:13:00.000+04:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I last made a real post on here. Guess it's been right at 4 weeks. I've done more in the month of September than I've done the entire previous nine months put together. I'll start by saying where I am now, am back at my own base in Iraq, the same place and the same job where I've been the last nine months. At the end of AugustI went on R'n'R leave to Australia, and as soon as I got back to my base here I got sent out on a quickie trip to Baghdad, was back in less than 24 hours. Didn't want to come back, but the good news is that we have less than a month left here. Jesse is out on a mission, should be back in the next couple of weeks. It's not as hot as it was, it's actually pretty pleasant(temperature-wise) in the evenings now.

The last post I made I was in Kuwait, getting ready to leave for the Land Down Under. I'll tell you how I got to that point...

I rode in a convoy from my base to Anaconda, the main staging area in Iraq. Rode a C-130 from there to Kuwait. Took about two hours. Riding a C-130 is different than your average commercial flight. If economy seating on a commercial jet is called riding 3rd class, riding a C-130 Hercules full of soldiers in full battle-rattle might be considered riding baggage class, if not worse. Imagine 64 people wearing helmets and armored vests, most with at least one carry-on bag, packing into a plane which might comfortably hold half that many. There are four rows of seats, the outermost ones with their backs facing the outside walls of the plane, and then two inner rows facing out, so you have two aisles of two rows of seats facing one another. The seats are just aluminum tubing with nylon straps stretched across them, designed for light weight and bare functionality, not comfort. You sit in these seats, hips touching on the people on both sides of you, and with your knees actually interlocking with the people's knees across the aisle from you, because there's only about 15 inches between the two rows. Bend the fingers of both hands as if you were walking on them like an ape, then interlock your knuckles. This will give you a good idea of how everyone's knees are situated on a C-130. A C-130 is hot or cold inside, depending on the weather outside, because they aren't well insulated at all.

On this flight it was very much on the warmer side. We took off about 2230(10:30pm), and on this flight we had an HR riding with us, which stands for Human Remains. It was a KIA soldier from the 3rd ID. I'm not sure how he died, but a chaplain came on the plane when they loaded the body and we had a little service called a Patriot Ceremony, all crowded together there on the plane. I'd never heard of it before that night. We had a little less than 64 soldiers on our plane because of the extra space taken up by the casket. We landed at one place in Kuwait where they unloaded the body, and the rest of us just sat on the plane all crowded together and sweating because it's actually humid in Kuwait, and it was very warm packed on that plane. We sat there probably 30 hot, sweaty, sticking-together-because-we're-so-tight minutes while they unloaded the body, then took off again and flew to another place and then we finally got off that blasted plane.

Next we got on a bus and rode for awhile, then got off the bus and unloaded our stuff onto a concrete pad. Then we went inside a building and listened to a briefing(I've never figured out why they call them briefings, because they'll usually anything but brief). Filled out paperwork, copied down emergency phone numbers, blah blah blah. By this time it was about 2 or 3am. They had a good system there. I was prepared, had all I needed in order to go to Australia, so they had me taken care of and the plane ticket bought by 5am. I was worried they would send me to Germany or even all the way back to the States before sending to Oz, but no, was given a flight with one layover in Dubai direct from Kuwait City International. Was given my itenerary, told when to meet the bus to the airport, and sent to find a place to sleep.

The sleeping tents weren't so great there, all of them had icy cold air conditioning and were wired so you couldn't turn off the lights for some reason, so it was like sleeping in a refrigerator with the light stuck on. Was better than nothing though. I didn't go bed right away, stayed up and ate breakfast, did some laundry, got out my civilian clothes. It's such a good feeling, getting to wear one's own clothes again after wearing the governments clothes for so long.

Later, I slept for a few hours in the afternoon, got up and ate dinner, then went and rode the bus to the airport. Was checking in, and when they sent my big duffel through the X-ray machine, I guess they saw something they didn't like because they made me open it right there in the middle of the floor. I really didn't want to do this, because it was packed very tightly and I did not relish the thought of wrestling it back closed in the middle of all the hustle-bustle of the airport. Had to anyway, so I pulled stuff out and the security guard examined it until he was satisfied, then we both wrestled around for five minutes which felt like 30 trying to get the stupid bag closed again. It was almost at the weight limit too, the limit was 32 kilos, and I think it weighed about 28, which is somewhere around 60 lbs.

All in all though, I was amazed at how smoothly everything went. Until I was actually checked in and they told me which gate to go to, I was still worried that something would interfere which would prevent me from going, such as some forgotten signature or important document I hadn't realized I needed. No problems though, and I found myself waiting inside the Kuwait Airport, bound for Australia, at about 9pm on 1 Sept, my 23rd birthday. Was altogether 180* different than any other birthday I'd ever had.

This is already a fairly long post, so I'll wrap this up and pick up here next time. Might even throw in a couple pictures. That's all for now though, you all have a good day or night or whatever it is. Razor out...

Tired of dust

2005-09-24T17:59:00.000+04:00

Am back at my own base now. Found out I may be going somewhere else for a couple days, we will see. Got back safe anyway, was a nice boring convoy. Am tired, it was hot and loud and bouncy in the back of the truck. Will post more when able. Out for now.

Back to the sandbox...

2005-09-21T13:39:00.000+04:00

All...I left Sydney about 2110 hours(9:10pm) Sydney time. That's 15 hours ahead of EDT in the US. I'm back in Kuwait now, got here last night about 5pm local time, waited about 3.5 hours at the airport for the bus, rode to the army base here, and am supposed to be headed back to Iraq tonight sometime I think. I don't care how long it takes, maybe I'll get stuck somewhere along the way. Well, internet costs $5/ hour here and I'm out of time, so I'm getting off now. Will post accounts of my trip once I get settled back at my own base. Hope you're all doing fine, it was a good holiday. I just spent waaaayy too much money. Anywho, will ttyl, Razor out...

Surfer's Paradise

2005-09-12T12:11:00.000+04:00

^That's where I am now. Lots of beautiful...umm..."decorations" scattered all along it, most wearing not too much. Anyway, I'm doing good, just letting ppl back home know I'm still alive. Will post more extensively and add pics after I'm done, is too time-consuming to do here. TTYL, out for now...

Travelling...

2005-09-09T04:40:00.000+04:00

Hey all, just a note to say I'm doing fine. Am driving along the eastern coast, almost to Brisbane (pronounced "briz' bin" locally). Beautiful weather, nice scenery. Anyway, will be moving on now. Peace...

Australia

2005-09-03T08:15:00.000+04:00

All...I'm here finally. Got a car, got to the hotel. You know, this driving on the wrong side of the road isn't SO awfully bad, except some of the controls are reversed too because of the layout of the car. I keep hitting the windshield wiper when I want to signal a lane change for instance, and the mirrors are not in their normal position when I try to look in them, so that's taking some getting used to. Anyway, I'm very tirred, am going back to the room for a shower and sleep right now. I'm amazed things have gone so smoothly, I can't believe I'm actually here. I'll talk to you all later, bye for now.

Razor out...

Enroute...

2005-09-01T11:34:00.000+04:00

I'm in Kuwait, have been up for about 30 hours straight. I fly out of here this evening, Lord willing will arrive in the Land of Oz tomorrow sometime. Happy Birthday to meeee!!!

I've been seeing a little on the news about how such huge areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have been nearly leveled and sent back to the stone age by that hurricane. Please pray for all the people there, that mess will take awhile to recover from.

I saw another article about Windy Shrill-han on the same page about the storm. She was saying how glad she was that her whining has started a nationwide bus tour and peace movement. What kind of selfish news hog is she, when she and all those others are collecting and donating so much of their time and money to a cause that IS DETRIMENTAL to the interests of the United States, while so many of their countrymen are suffering such devastation? She's PROUD that her little "I'll hold my breath until I turn blue!" tantrum is sucking away at the President's precious time during this time of national emergency! Put the money to some good use lady, where it can actually help somebody that needs your help, like your own countrymen that have lost nearly everything they own! I don't believe a single soldier here would claim her as their mom if she was acting this way after their death.

Anyway, I'm done. Am going to enjoy myself for the next couple weeks, and try not to think about that self-centered female dog. I need to get my bags ready to go, I have them packed very tightly, will be some effort getting them closed. Then I need to try to sleep a little bit. God bless you all, thanks for your words of encouragement both on camments and via email. I'm glad people are reading this, it makes it easier to keep writing. Godspeed, I GTG now. Razorsedge out...

2005-08-30T19:25:00.000+04:00

A conversation with an idiot...

2005-08-28T12:04:00.000+04:00

I just had a conversation with a individual on Yahoo. He lives in Birmingham, AL and didn't even have the guts to tell me his name. Here is the entire text of our conversation except for my name. I even included my horrible typing mistakes. My words are in a strong, manly black, while his are in a soft, effeminate purple. If any of you use Yahoo Messenger, be sure to say hi and let him know how much you appreciate him supporting the troops. I would ask you please, don't get angry when reading this. Just pray for poor silly fool, that he will be hit in the head with a brick soon, and that it will either straighten him out or kill him, one or the other. No need to get angry over a little dick head like this. Also, it's very possible his email is simply rewrist@yahoo.com in case you want to let him know you're thinking about him that way. I started to get a little mad at him, then I realized it wasn't worth the effort. Just this tiny little taste of the bitter hatred from some people makes me appreciate so much more what the Vets went through when they got back from Vietnam. Anyway, thanks for sharing the love.

rewrist: hirewrist: can I see u?
razorsedge1911: hi
razorsedge1911: who are you?
rewrist: just a guy
razorsedge1911: me too
razorsedge1911: no
rewrist: I know
rewrist: u r in Iraq?
razorsedge1911: yes
rewrist: I just want to see what a murderer look lik
razorsedge1911: where are you?
rewrist: like
razorsedge1911: lol
rewrist: so can I see u
razorsedge1911: you'll have to look somewhere else, i'm not a murderer
razorsedge1911: i might let you see me, where are you?
rewrist: yeah... sure.. as long as u'r killing ppl out of the US
rewrist: I'm in B'ham, al
rewrist: A murder counts only if u do it here... right?
razorsedge1911: no, murder is murder
razorsedge1911: no matter where
rewrist: I see.. r u killing ppl there then?
razorsedge1911: terrorists murdered 3000 Americans at one time, in case you've forgotten
razorsedge1911: what's up dude?
rewrist: yeah.. so u kill 18 million who have nothing to do with it
razorsedge1911: lol, what the heck are you talking about?
rewrist: in case u didn't hear.. what bush were all false
razorsedge1911: ok, i let you see me...let me see you now
rewrist: and u think u'll when there...??!!! u must be living in a fantacy world...
rewrist: don't have a cam
razorsedge1911: i want to see what a liberal propaganda glutton looks like
rewrist: sorry.. that was win not when
razorsedge1911: got a pic then?
rewrist: have u found any of the WMD there? where there any proof of relation with Qaeda?
razorsedge1911: lol, that's not why i'm here
rewrist: what was the war based on? u tell me.. u'r willing to die for it?
rewrist: oh no.. why then r u there?
razorsedge1911: because it was my turn
rewrist: I see,,, so u don't believe it's a just war?
razorsedge1911: the first guys in here did all the really hard work, now we're just getting the
country straightened out before we leave.
razorsedge1911: it's as just as any war
rewrist: yeah we can see what a GREAT job ur doing
razorsedge1911: more just than some
rewrist: u can refuse to fight
razorsedge1911: you're about to piss me off dude
rewrist: better to set in jail than to kill ppl
rewrist: like I care... what r u going to do.. kill me too?
razorsedge1911: you're not here, you don't see the children smiling when we pass out candy and
hygiene items.
razorsedge1911: no
razorsedge1911: i'm going to ignore you
rewrist: oh.. u'll wait for me to be outside the US somewhere and then u'll do it
razorsedge1911: like the pathetic, whiny little snothead you are
rewrist: do it.. I hope u can sleep well at night..
razorsedge1911: you're not worth killinf
razorsedge1911: i wish you would leave the US
razorsedge1911: i have no desire to kill anyone
rewrist: the way it's going.. I don't think it's worth stying in
rewrist: I'll find a country where freedom still means something
rewrist: u r killing ppl there...
razorsedge1911: only terrorists who would kill you and your family and and the entire USA
without thinking twice if they could
razorsedge1911: THE TERRORISTS ARE KILLING PEOPLE
razorsedge1911: we are stopping them from killing people
rewrist: yeah and those terrorists r in Iraq? who can u name them?
razorsedge1911: i'm not the one actually doing the killing
rewrist: poor guy.. been brain washed completely
razorsedge1911: speak for yourseld
razorsedge1911: *yourself
rewrist: do they even tell you about the loses the US in suffering there?
razorsedge1911: do they tell you about the numbers of terrorists we're exterminating daily?
rewrist: we r losing more young guys there than we ever did in any other war
razorsedge1911: yes, there have been several soldiers from this regiment that have been killed razorsedge1911: if you believe that, you're beyond help
rewrist: the uS is going down... quickly.. thanks to Bush and his gang.. and to u.. the murderers
doing the job
razorsedge1911: what's your name?
rewrist: bye dude.. hope u never make it a live out of Iraq.. it's only justice
razorsedge1911: mine is N*****, what's yours?
rewrist: N*****.. I see u.. a young guy still looking forward to having a life full of promiss.. it's a
pitty that our youth .. our future is turned into murderers
rewrist: bye
razorsedge1911: what's your freaking name dude?

2005-08-27T21:03:00.000+04:00

Let's see... Leaving here in 3 days. Will probably take a five days to a week to get to Australia, hopefully no longer than that. My plans are still a little fuzzy, plus I don't want to post too much about them on here anyway. Can hardly wait. I will definitely be posting after the fact however.

They're having boxing again tonight, I may go and watch some of that in a little while.

I'm really really really looking forward to leaving here. No more wearing a helmet everywhere. No more carrying a weapon everywhere. Will get to wear my own clothes, might even buy a few more while I'm there. Those who know me know I don't buy clothes that often, I prefer to wear the same old things till they wear out, and even then am reluctant to change.

It will be fun being the only one around with a southern accent for once. Also, Aussies drive on the wrong side of the road, and all their cars are right hand drive. That will be interesting, heh heh heh. I say they drive on the wrong side of the road because we, as Americans drive on the RIGHT side of the road. In Australia, they drive on the opposite side of the road from in the US. As everyone knows that the opposite of right is WRONG, therefore Aussies drive on the wrong side of the road.

Well, I'm going to get off here and try to make a couple phone calls before it gets too late. I hope everyone is doing well, Looking forward to getting home for good and seeing everyone again. Godspeed,
Razorsedge out...

PS: Oh yeah, I ALSO forgot to mention the other box I got the other day, my cousins T. and D. sent me a copy of the new Harry Potter book which was very gracious of them. I'm saving it for the LOOOONNNG plane ride to the Land of Oz. They also sent me a bootleg copy of Star Wars III, which is sort of like sending refrigerators to Alaskans. That copy has the opening lines in Russian though, so that makes it distinctive. Anyway, thanks very much, I gtg now.

Leave and stuff...

2005-08-26T16:27:00.000+04:00

I mailed five big boxes of stuff home today, cost about $90. I brought waaay too much stuff over here, and then people sent me even more. Thanks for all the care packages, letters and cards, they really make one's day.

Speaking of mail, I realized I completely forgot to mention on here that I received a big box from home last week packed by my brother, it had some more canned food and a few civilian clothes for my trip. It's such a nice thing, wearing one's own clothes. That's something one takes for granted. It was good to see my t-shirts and old shoes again. I've got so much food, I haven't been to the dining facility in about three days, shouldn't have to go again before I leave if I don't feel like it. Am thinking I'll share the wealth some though with some of the other guys in the barracks.

I should be leaving in the next few days, but it will take several days to get there. At this point my plans are very fluid, but I hope to see as much of the country as possible in the few days I have there. I will try to take as many pictures as possible, but I may not be online too much after I leave here.

I need to get off here and do some other little things before I go to bed, have been sleeping some wacky hours here lately. Looking forward to seeing this place in my rear-view mirror. Will talk to you all later, Razorsedge out...

Iraq

2005-08-24T11:22:00.000+04:00

I have nothing new at this point, except here's an exceptional story I wish you would read. This is a blog from another soldier here, one who has a much more exciting job than mine. Here's the link directly to the story http://johniniraq.blogspot.com/2005/08/new-project.html#comments and if that doesn't work, there's a link right on my own blog, over on the right side. It's just called JohninIraq's Blog, click there and read this story. THAT is exactly why we're here. Not for oil, not because the Preisdent has a grudge, but to help the Iraqis get rid of their evil dictator, and now to help them get back on their feet after so many many years of oppression. God Bless America, and may He continue to empower us so we can help others.

Godspeed,
Razorsedge out

News

2005-08-24T00:42:00.000+04:00

Hey y'all, this will be brief.

I found out some good things in the recent past. I'm going on leave around the end of this week, so posts will be extremely limited for the next little while. I'm really looking forward to getting out of here for a little while.

Also, Jesse got to go home on leave, he's there right now in case you haven't heard. I didn't say anything about it before because he wanted to surprise my brother. I haven't heard the whole story yet, but from the little I've gathered he was successful.

The Internet has been down for the last couple days because another soldier from the regiment was killed two days ago. They shut it down when that happens to try to prevent his family finding out through other than official means. Please remember his family in your prayers and all the other families of soldiers that have been killed or injured here.

We packed up our big trunks yesterday, tomorrow we're going to get them inspected by the MPs(Military Police) so they can make sure we're not trying to smuggle something home we're not supposed to. It's a good feeling to be getting rid of those things. The more stuff we send out of here the closer we feel to leaving for good. I still have several boxes of stuff I'm going to mail home, so that's another thing I'll have to take care of in the next few days.

I've been feeling a lot better since September has begun to get close. Especially since I found out my leave date, that was a big morale boost there. Naysayers have been saying how they had heard, "No one is getting leave in September," and I would just say that I'd heard different. To have a date in hand finally is a very good feeling.

On a more somber note, I have to ask a request of you. There is a friend of mine that I chat with online, have been talking to her for some months now, and we've gotten fairly close, even though we've never actually spoken to one another. She is enduring some rather serious health challenges at the moment and it's very hard for her and those around her. I don't normally ask for things like this, because I'm very bad about following through when people ask to do so. However, if you have a moment, please say a prayer for her and her family. She is a very good woman, very dedicated to helping others, and it eats at me that she's having to go through this. Thanks in advance for your prayers, no matter how brief they may be. I believe God will work things out for the best when it's all said and done.

Well, I have to go, and like I said, I may not be posting too much for a few weeks. Don't worry though, I'll be somewhere enjoying myself, it's not because I've forgotten about you all. Thanks for all the support, we couldn't do this without all the love and prayers pouring over from people like you. I hope the grass is green beneath your feet, and that you take advantage of every opportunity to remind your loved ones how much you're blessed by them. Godspeed.

Razorsedge out...

2005-08-20T20:28:00.000+04:00

Um, let's see. Not much going on. I got a lot of response to my last post, so I guess some people liked it. Thanks y'all.

S. left on leave this morning. I should find out in the next couple days when I go, all I know right now is it will be sometime in Sept.

Moved bunks again today. People moving in and out of the barracks, so another one opened up which is more favorably positioned than the one I was in currently. I'm very much looking forward to not living in a barracks anymore. It's like living with 15 roommates at the same time. Since my next oldest brother was born when I was 18 months old, I've lived in my own room exactly six months of my life, which was the six months between the time I moved out of the house and the time we deployed down to Camp Shelby. What a glorious(albeit broke) six months that was.

We've been here almost exactly eight and a half months now. That is longer than I spent at both Basic Training and AIT together, and I had a longer than average AIT(Advanced Individual Training, your specific job in the Army). That's not counting the five and a half months we spent at Camp Shelby.

Something else that was part of moving is continuing to sort through my stuff to decide which things to keep and which to send back in my truck, and which to send in the mail. I hate moving. This move won't be wuite so bad though, because we're all looking forward to the destination so much.

Everyone's heads are starting to perk up, one keeps overhearing conversations about what people are planning to do when we get home. While we were at Camp Shelby, the Budweiser people were amazed at how much beer it took to keep the PX stocked up. I have a hunch they'll be comepletely flabbergasted by how much the unit consumes in the week or so that we're supposed to be there for demobilization. That will be a wild week, hopefully everyone will keep their heads long enough to get all the way home safely.

I think I'll get off here now, I need to go to bed. With S. gone that means C. and I are splitting the shifts. It's still not that bad, we have one of the least labor intensive jobs in the Army, it just means we'll sitting in that stupid truck a little longer per shift is all. Oh well, not for too much longer.

You all have a good time, whatever time it happens to be. Razorsedge out...

A Rant

2005-08-18T11:19:00.000+04:00

This morning I found a whole pile of videos saved on people's shared folders on the computer we use. They were mostly homemade videos of here, images of sand, dust, convoys, Iraqis. Soldiers doing what they do, kicking in doors, taking detainees, and blowing things up. One of them was from the unit that we replaced, the 30th BCT from North Carolina. Another one was a long one from the 101st Airborne Division, who were some of the first troops on the ground here. They are also the ones that will be replacing us in a couple of months. There were other videos that were made up of pictures and clips from the World Trade Center attack. It was very good watching those, helped me to remember why we're here. It's very easy sitting in that little box that I call a job to lose perspective on things going on outside. It made me want to yell at people back home that have no idea what they're talking about.

That woman in Texas outside the Bush Ranch for instance. She aggravates me, even though I can't even remember her name. The President is trying to relax a little bit from what must be one of the highest pressured jobs in the world, and she has to go and bring a circus of media to squat on his freaking front yard. Give the man a break Lady! The President didn't kill your son, your son did something called VOLUNTEERING! He signed his own adult name to the recruiter's paperwork, and he did not have to ask your permission. If he thought he was doing it to make some college money or to go on a paid vacation around the world, then he was a fool. I tend to doubt that was the case, since most people that join the military understand what the military is for.

The military exists for one purpose, to kill people and blow things up. That's all. The college money and travel are perks. Every job in the military exists for that one purpose. The reason FOR the military is that there is an evil power in the world. That evil power shows its ugly butt in many forms, sometimes in the form of a child molester, or a serial killer, or a drug pusher. The form the President(and therefore, the military) is most concerned about is international terrorism. Terrorism is not something that STARTED on 11 September 2001, it ENDED there. President Bush drew a line in the sand finally, after eight years of having a sniveling, skirt-chasing liar as our commander-in-chief, and declared that we would not stand for it any more. We would no longer wait for the terrorists to attack us in our neighborhoods or our places of business, we would take the fight to them and exterminate them one by one like the vermin they are. That is why we went into Afghanistan, and that is why I'm writing this from a desk in Iraq instead of in the comfort of home. Because we finally have a President who has the cohonas to confront the bully and doesn't care what the world thinks. He is not a perfect man by any means. He has made mistakes, and he will continue to make them the rest of his life, just like you and me and every other human being on God's earth.

Judge not, lest ye be judged however. What you don't understand Lady, is that the world is not a happy little fairy land where the bunnies play and the deer frolic all the time. The world is fallen, and we have to clean it up from time to time. Your son signed his name as a man, and he died as a man, and all you're doing is staining his legacy with your whining. It is a sad thing that good men and women must die to defend the things they love. It is a NECESSARY thing however, something which must be done. Otherwise we're all reduced to cringing cowards, afraid of the boogeyman and his sharp teeth. Your son would want you to mourn, of course. But instead of pointing the finger at the one man in the world who had the opportunity to do something bold to prevent terrorism, you should choose instead to support him so we can hurry up and get through the mess.

The President didn't make the mess, he simply decided it was time to clean it up. This involves getting messy, as any of you who've ever cleaned up a mess know. You don't even have to do anything to create a mess, if you spend all your time being a little boy and having fun, the mess will come to you. That's what the previous president did, and now the current one is stuck with the mess. He didn't back down though, he plunged in and got his hands dirty, and your son chose to help him. May he and all the others that have died rest in peace, and may their families choose to honor their deaths and continue to pray for those still in the fight.

Ok, I'm done ranting now. I'm just tired of hearing people on the news criticize and point fingers and tell the President what he ought to do and how he screwed up. He isn't perfect, but then, neither are you. I hope some pansy who doesn't understand the necessity of war reads this and realizes how he/she has had their head in the sand. There is great beauty in this world of ours, and there is also great sorrow, sorrow for the evil that has tainted it. We should rejoice in the beauty, but every so often we have to get nasty with the evil in order to prevent a greater evil.

You all have a good day, and thank God for the privilege He's given you of being able to live another day. Kiss your wife or your husband and your kids and be grateful for people like that poor silly woman's son, that are over here cleaning up the mess so you don't have to. Thanks for reading, and God Bless America.

Razorsedge out...

2005-08-16T11:48:00.000+04:00

Hello. I don't know what to write about, so I'll just start typing and see what comes out. Be warned, it will probably not be very happy, because I'm not in a very happy mood at the moment. I'm mostly just melancholy. I'm trying hard not to get depressed, because that's a not a good way to be, it drags you down and everyone else down around you. Let's see...what's new... Um, I started going through my stuff yesterday, trying to get it organized. We have to have our black boxes packed and ready to go on the conex by the 23rd. I went through my duffel bags, pulled out some things we'll be turning in, also separated my civilian clothes which I still won't need for another month. I have a huge pile of stuff, a lot of it is food, and also have all kinds of personal hygiene items that I've never used, stuff like chapstick, baby wipes, baby powder, and suntan lotion.

The only time I've used any suntan lotion was out at the ECP, but I'm not doing that anymore. Most of the time the only bits of skin that are exposed are about five inches of my wrists down to my hands, and some areas of my face and neck. The (notice I don't call him "my") regimental commander has decided in all his questionable wisdom that we shall all wear our helmets all the time and forever more when wearing DCUs(Desert Camofluage Uniforms). It doesn't matter that this FOB never gets attacked, and that on FOBs where they DO get mortared every day, they walk around in patrol caps or boonies. Not to mention that a helmet wouldn't save you from a mortar anyway. No, he makes us do this because he wants to show how "disciplined" we are, and how prepared to engage should the enemy ever be foolish enough to mess with us. Yeah, whatever. Most people have gotten over it and just wear theirs without thinking about it, but it still aggravates me.

Anyway, said all that to say that we wear our stupid helmets all the time, so there is a minimum of skin exposed to the sun. It's funny to see the helmet strap tan lines on guys that are out in the sun a lot.

One thing of interest, three soldiers from the regiment were killed in an IED attack Saturday night. They were responding to an IDF(Indirect Fire, mortars or rockets or something) attack when and IED went off under their humvee. The three soldiers inside the humvee were killed instantly I believe, and the gunner in was thrown free of his hatch and was seriously injured. I heard two stories on him yesterday, one that he was medevac'ed to Germany and the other that he died before he got all the way there. I don't know which is correct at this point. They shut down the MWR when that happened so they could notify the families without the news leaking out.

The power just died, they said we can operate for a few minutes on battery, but if it doesn't come back momentarily I'll have to get off here. It's lunchtime anyway, so I guess I need to get off here. I hope you all have a good day, will talk to you all later.

Back to the CGS...

2005-08-11T20:19:00.000+04:00

Not too much to report. I'm back looking at dots. That's about as satisfactory career choice as it sounds, sitting in a small VERY air conditioned space for several hours trying to discern the suspicious activity from the normal traffic, and reporting it to people who don't seem to notice or care.

I really have no room to complain, I have it SO easy here. This is like a resort compared to what it was like for the guys who were on the first wave. I think I'm just tired of the place. The guys that go out all the time, they're the ones who have room to complain.

Been hanging out with Jesse some, you'll notice on his blog he talks about getting things packed up. I'm in the process of doing that as well, looking more forward to the UNPACKING.

S. is going on leave soon, he's counting down the days. Still will be a few more weeks for me, but I should have a date at least in a week or two. Not soon enough, that's for sure.

I've been reading blogs from people back home, and also chatting with various people on Instant Messenger. Chatted with Jill recently, and also with Bobbie. I enjoy reading or hearing about what's going on there, it helps forget about here, gives me something to look forward to. So much will be different when we get home. Still, it will be better than this. I hope I've been made better by all this BS somehow. Would be an awful shame to go through this whole deployment and have nothing at all to show for it.

I need to get off here soon, it's getting late and I have to get up early. I'll probably go over and say hey to Jesse before I go to bed. I hope it's all good where you are, will ttyl.

Razorsedge out...

Me pulling security

2005-08-10T11:42:00.000+04:00

Me pulling security
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This is outside the town hall of M_____. You can click on any of these and it will take you to the site that has them all. Please remember looking at these that this is not my normal job. Normally I'm sitting in a air conditioned truck looking at dots. This was only the fourth time since I've been here that I got to go off base, so this was a good change of pace for me. The other soldiers in these pictures are out there every day almost. I'm just a boring little fobbit who has lots of time to play blogger. Those guys are the ones out "in the s***", as they say.

Right now I'm tired and have a few little things to do, so I'll talk to you all later. You all be good, I'll talk to you some other time. Razorsedge out...

SGT B. and Z. pulling security at tiny village

2005-08-10T11:20:00.000+04:00

SGT B. and Z. pulling security at tiny village
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This is at a tiny little village we visited. We were looking for another village, but the people at this one told us it didn't exist. I'm looking at these pictures and realizing just how really nasty it was out there. I'm glad I don't live in a place like this. I keep thinking if this was my home country, I would just reach a point where I couldn't take anymore and just start walking, knowing there HAD to be something better. I miss green places, with grass and trees and stuff. Understand, it's not always like this, usually the sun is shining and it's 120* outside(49*C). We never had anything like this in Tennessee though, that's for sure.

I got to go off base! Yay!

2005-08-08T14:49:00.000+04:00

Hello out there in the real world. Yesterday was my last day working at the ECP, which is a good thing, because a the wind started a nasty sandstorm today. Would have been a bad day to be out there. Instead, I went off base on a mission with some guys from my own unit. They've been attached to a different unit though, and are basically just pulling security for the civil affairs team when they go out. Pulling security means standing around with your weapon at the ready and watching out for trouble while the civil affairs people do their mission, which is handing out food and clothing to people, talking to local officials about current events, and such. The security team functions something like a bodyguard. We went to the town of M______ and they did their thing, we stayed outside and kept an eye on things. After that we tried to go to some little village the major wanted to visit, but we drove way out in the middle of nowhere and discovered it didn't exist, so we turned around and came back to the FOB. We were only gone about three hours total. All this was accomplished in the midst of this thick yellow fog of fine blowing sand. Really, it's less of a sandstorm than it is a dust storm. Sort of like the fine dust you find in your vacuum bag, it drifts around and settles into EVERYTHING. I'm sure it's great for the lungs as well. I'll be posting some pictures of the dust storm and my little mission tomorrow, or maybe the next day.

Let's see, anything else new... I talked to Katie S. last night, it's been a long time since I talked to anyone in the S. family, so that was good. Ummm... I changed bunks. Moved from one end of the barracks to the other because the guys at that end kept shutting off the a/c, or turning it down so low as to be ineffective. Rather than argue, I just moved my stuff to one of the empty bunks where someone else had moved out. This is rediculous, that I don't have anything more interesting to write about than that.

Everyone is getting tired of being here. You notice it in the way they talk on the phone, in their eyes... The thought of getting out of here is a universal conversation starter. One overhears countless rumors about when we're all leaving, how long it will take to get home, and how long we'll spend demobilizing before we're actually 100% released. Rumors rumors rumors... I just want to get there and get it over with.

As I've said before, I'm supposed to get 15 days leave in September. I'll be among the last ones to get leave. I asked for it late on purpose, so that I would have something to look forward to all the way through the rotation. Still, it's a buggar of a time to wait this long. So far as I know, I'm still a go for taking leave in Australia. Am really starting to look forward to that.

I suppose it's incorrect to say that things never change here. It's more that they just change very very slowly, and not always for the better necessarily.

Like I said earlier, I'm done with the ECP, am supposed to start back at my regular job tonight, which is working in the CGS, looking at little dots on a computer screen. The dots are radar imagery from an Air Force plane, and represent vehicles moving along the ground. The system is notoriously fickle however, and a myriad of problems can interfere with getting this imagery. In some ways I liked the ECP better, because at least it was simple.

I would write more here, but I'm tired physically and mentally, tired of this stupid place and tired of stupid people, especially the ones in charge. If I continue to write I'll just devolve into a lot of moaning and groaning, and who wants to read that? I know I wouldn't. Anyway, you all have a good whatever it is there, and I'll talk to you all later. Remember, I'll be posting pictures tomorrow or soon after.

Razorsedge out...

Sunrise

2005-08-05T18:32:00.000+04:00

Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

I took this from the tower at the ECP a few mornings ago. It turned out better than I thought it would. This sunrise isn't quite a dazzling as those in southern Arizona, but it is quite nice. I posted some more pictures to my Flickr site, all you have to do is click on this picture and it will take you to them. You all have a good time, whatever time it happens to be. TTYL, Razorsedge out...

Tired again...

2005-08-04T17:55:00.000+04:00

Hmmm... Nothing much new. If I say "How's it going?" to someone here and they answer, "Another day in paradise" one more time, there may be violence done to that person. This is as close to being in prison as I ever want to get. The base here is an Iraqi basic training base for the Iraqi army. We occupy only a small portion of it, and we don't go outside onto the rest of the base except to go to the post office and to finance, which for some reason are located just outside the American side.

I found out there are some Aussies here, I think about three of them. I was chatting online with an Aussie the other day, she told me there are only about 700 Australian soldiers in the whole country of Iraq. They only come on this side of the base to go to the gym however, so I haven't been able to catch them yet. Maybe never will.

I'm supposed to be going back to my real job here in a few days, will be off the gate. We will see what happens. The system I operate is designed more to be used in large scale warfare, not these little skirmishes and IED attacks that are typical here. It IS able to used here, but I don't think they're applying it the best way possible. In some ways I'd rather stay on the gate. Yeah, it's more work and you're out in the hot sun, but at least the hours are regular. Oh well, it is not mine to reason why, I guess.

People are starting to ship home boxes of things they won't need. They've set dates for us to have our trunks loaded on the CONEX's, ours is near the end of August. A CONEX is one of those huge steel shipping containers like you see on the back of a semi-trailer. We used those to ship all our eqipment over here, and are beginning the process of loading them up to ship back. Some have already been sent. Working on the gate, I keep seeing big convoys carrying tactical vehicles on trailers headed out of here, which is very encouraging.

I'll be one of the last people to get to go on leave. I asked SSG L. again yesterday about it, he said it is still a go for September. Starting to get a little excited.

Man I'm tired. Need to go to bed earlier. Hope you're all doing well, will talk to you later. I think I'm going to go to Jesse's room and watch "The Pianist". Listened to WGOW a little bit over the net today. That was cool. I miss my hometown. Some people joined the army to get AWAY from their home because they didn't like it. I love my hometown, I guess I just needed to get away from it for a little while to gain a different perspective on the world. I've certainly managed to accomplish THAT. I've discovered I liked the persective from home the best. Anyway. Will talk to you all later. Razorsedge out...

Motivation Schmotivation...

2005-08-01T17:39:00.000+04:00

Man I'm tired. Not as tired as I've ever been, but still not moving too quick. I've got the day off tomorrow, so that's good. Got a haircut today. This uniform is nasty, that's why I wanted to get a haircut in it, because it was already time to change, rather than change and then get a haircut. Not many changes since last. It's till hot, dusty and dull around here. Jesse had a mission today, so he's tired too. Will try to get up early and call a few people.

Mother-of-3 asked what Godspeed means. It's an archaic(meaning not used much anymore) term wishing someone success or good fortune, sort of like saying "God be with you as you go". I like using it because it sounds like lightspeed, only faster.

I am so blessed. I have a great family, and so many wonderful friends I can't even count them all. I've never been hungry, or been sort of clothes. I've never had to worry about where we would live. I've never wanted for much of anything. I've always been blessed with good health. I know I don't deserve all this, but I'm grateful to you all for your prayers and good thoughts. God has truly blessed me above anything I could ask or think. I know I feel ungrateful sometimes, and only see the things I could complain about, but I have no excuse to complain at all.

I'm looking forward to this deployment being over. This has definitely been a learning experience. If I stay in, I'll probably have the privilege of doing this again I reckon. Maybe not to this exact place, but for a long time in some remote location I'm sure. I hope I get to go out a little more next time. I've been off this tiny base a grand total of THREE times in the last 8 months. My mother and others rejoice when they hear that, but that's because they aren't the ones that have to live it. The first time was for nine days, when I went on pass to Qatar back in February. The other two times were each for a matter of a few hours apiece, the first for three hours, the second for about four and a half. I'm very sick of this place, and of this unit. There is no fighting or danger here to worry about. The main danger is drowning in the sea of BS. I mean, I suppose there is a little more danger of some sort of attack here than at the local Wal-Mart, but one can't feel it, not really. Not compared to other bases. Other bases get mortared every day, and some have rocket attacks on a regular basis. This base hasn't been attacked by so much as a BB gun or a cherry bomb in its entire existence. All one sees on the news is the latest attacks, you only see the bad things. You never see the building or sewer projects that are helping the people here. You never see the little kids in the clinics being treated by U.S. doctors. You never see all the Iraqi soldiers that wave and honk their horns at us as they're heading out the gate on a convoy. There are dozens of locals employed on this one Fob, not counting all the other FOBs. Iraqis work here as vendors, barbers, interpreters, laborers, and cleaners. They all make much better money than they did before, and seem happy to be working here.

Anyway. Enough ranting. I'm tired, and I'm getting off here and going to bed soon. Hope it's all good where you are. Razorsedge out. . .

Buggar all...

2005-07-31T19:24:00.000+04:00

Blah... I'm tired. Stayed up and watched the boxing last night. Will post some pics soon. I finally fixed my link to Jesse's website, it's on the right side of my blog. You can click on any of those links, look at blogs of friends of mine, or some are just sites I found that I like. I think I need a break from this place. Maybe I just need to go to bed earlier.

I'm really looking forward to leave. I keep bugging SSG L. about it, keep asking him to reassure me that they really are giving leave in September. He keeps reassuring me that they are, that I have nothing to worry about. I guess I just need to hear it again.

I got mail today, even though I wasn't expecting any. Brandy sent me a box with food in it, had homemade brownies and candy, sunflower seeds, all kinds of stuff. Also had some cards from the little girls Sunday School class at my church back home. Thank very much. For some reason, that box got here in nine days, when the last ones I got took three to four weeks to get here. It's a good thing too, those brownies would have been all hard.

I added some pictures to my Flickr site, I just haven't posted any of them to the blog. To look at them, scroll down the blog till you see a picture, then click on it and it will take you to the site with all the pictures on it. Mostly from the ECP, some of them are funny.

Well, I'm getting off here now, you all have a good night or day or whatever. Love and miss all you family and friends reading this, looking forward to seeing you when I get home.

Godspeed,
Razorsedge

2005-07-30T22:48:00.000+04:00

Counting down...

2005-07-24T19:58:00.000+04:00

The hour of our departure draws closer...but is still not nearly close enough. If you can read the signs though, it is obvious that we are much closer to leaving than when we first got here. We're well past the halfway mark, over the hump, we've topped the last hill and are now started down the other side. However you want to say it, the end is in sight. There will still be several months and much frustration and work ahead of us before that happy day arrives when we finally get home, but we can now see that point on the horizon and it is starting to take shape.

Home...such a hopeful word. I know that things will be different when we get back. I will be different, and many circumstances and things I took for granted when I left will be different. Lots of people I've grown up with have gotten married or even just started or ended relationships. The city will be different. They finished the new waterfront a couple of months ago, and everyone says it's really great, very nice what they've done with it. Looking forward to seeing it. There's also the new mega-movie theater, which was under construction when we left. Looking forward to seeing The Chronicles of Narnia there in December. I miss my truck. Jesse and I are making plans for all the trips and adventures we will have when we get back, and all the cool modifications we'll make to our trucks with all the money we're saving here.

I'm tired of only talking to loved ones on the phone or on chat programs. The phones here seem to be getting worse, you have about one chance in four of being able to hold a decent conversation on these satellite phones they have here. It is very demotivating to try to call. More often, you keep getting interrupted by static and one side will cut out, so that one party can hear but the other party can't. Very frustrating. I think the servers are dying, probably from all the dust. The dust gets into everything electronic and eats it.

It's not as hot today. There is a little sandstorm over everything. It's not like blowing sand, it's more like a thin yellow fog hanging over the whole place. Will try to take some pictures of it.

This place doesn't feel real. I chat online with people in New York, in Australia, in Germany, back home in beautiful Tennessee, and to me it seems like they are the ones in the real world. I'm off in some strange place, doing strange silly things with strange people, and all the time life is going on back in the real world. A number of those people read this blog. You do things like go to work, go to school, go to church. You don't have to worry about ripping off the address labels of mail and burning them so Iraqis don't dig them out of the trash and use your friends and loved ones as terrorism targets. We carry weapons everywhere, to chapel and the Dfac(dining facility) even. When I'm out working at the ECP, I have to constantly be on alert and stay aware of everything going on, watching for anything strange or out of place. We have a number of vehicles that come on and off the FOB every day, and we have to search them and their occupants every single time, either going in or coming out. There's one little guy, he gets searched at least 16-20 times a day, every time he comes in or goes out. I know he has to get tired of it. He drives a little blue minivan, and we have to search it too. He's not even Iraqi, he's Nepalese. Told me he's been here 14 months. Doggone, I know for SURE I'd get tired of being patted down 20 times a day every day for 14 months. I have no idea why he came here looking for work, but I think I'd go someplace else if I was him.

Well, I'll get off here now, got to start moving towards bed. It's been a nice day off, will get another in 4-5 days hopefully. I might have a leave date for August, will find out more tomorrow. The guy I was chatting with in NY, he showed me another soldier's blog, http://johniniraq.blogspot.com From the little bit I read of his, he sounds like he has a much more exciting time of it here than I do. Well, you all have a good night or day or whatever. It's 9:00am Sunday morning in Arizona, 12:00noon at home and in New York, 6:00pm in Germany(I chat with a professor there), and 2:00am on Monday morning already for my online friends in Australia. One of the problems one encounters on deployment is living in close conditions with people you'd rather not. The more I chat with peope and learn, the smaller the world seems. You all stay blessed, I'm really getting off here now. Razorsedge out...

The Thrill is gone. . .

2005-07-21T16:25:00.000+04:00

G'day everyone. I crawled out of bed this morning at 0325(3:25am) to go to work. Did NOT want to get up. Went to ECP, nothing exciting happened. That's mostly a good thing. Don't want any excitement happening there. It's just too freaking hot.

Then I got off work, sat in the barracks a few minutes and cooled off after dropping off body armor. Went and had lunch with Jesse. Then got a haircut. There is one guy at the barbershop who, although he doesn't speak the best english, is able to understand how I like my hair cut, and seems to like me as well. Some of the others, it is hard to get aross how I want it done. K_____ though, he does a good job and always gets the sides straight. I don't like getting a haircut when he isn't there. Ummm... other than that, nothing else going on today. Today is mail day, still no box from Fathom people. That is aggravating.

I got a letter from Chrystal and a postcard from my dad on Tuesday, and I was told I have a letter today, but no boxes. Phooey. Well, been on the computer for awhile, and nobody is on yahoo or AIM to chat with, so I think I'll get off of here and walk all the way BACK over to the PX and see if they have anything worth spending money on. They restocked early this week, I haven't been in there yet since. They always sell out of the good stuff quickly though. I only want some french onion dip to go with my chips, that will make me happy. I may also buy some of the packs of bite-size Snickers, they're good when I'm a little hungry but not hungry enough to walk anywhere or heat anything up. I added some new links, they're to a couple of blogs I found that I thought were funny. Be advised, some of the humor on them contains Adult Content and/or Adult Language. What else is going on...very little. I called Regena last night, it was good to talk to her. I need to call my grandparents, I haven't talked to them in awhile.

Ummm...deerrrr...not sure what else to write about. They had some boxing matches on Saurday night, but I didn't go because I was asleep(getting up at 3:15am is kind of restricting). Nothing else to report, except it's hot and smelly and dusty, and I'm tired of this place and want to go home. I know that I sound like a broken record, but those are the primary impressions of this place, and it's hard to describe Iraq without those words. I think can speak for everyone in the regiment when I say that the thrill is gone. I'd definitely like to go to Australia before I come home, which by the way looks like it will be happening in September instead of August. I don't care, as long as I get to go and don't get screwed out of it at the last minute.

Will shut up now. You all have a good weekend, and I'll talk to you later. Razorsedge out. . .

Hot

2005-07-19T17:23:00.000+04:00

It's very hot here. Not really that humid, which is good. If it was 130*F(55*C) WITH 90 percent humidity, I think you'd never hear from us again. We would just melt into the sand and become a big puddle of desert-camo goo.

Working out at the ECP/ACP/gate is at least different than what I was doing. Before, I was sitting in a shelter on the back of a humvee that had A/C, trying to maintain link with a big Air Force plane that sent us radar imagery. It was mostly very boring, and I didn't like working nights, but at least it wasn't so blasted HOT. To answer Godsmoon's question, I didn't quit that job, what happened was this; the AF jet can only provide so much radar coverage, and they had dropped the level of coverage that they were devoting to the area we wanted to watch to very little. Since we normally worked in shifts of one person at a time, it was just kind of rediculous to have three shifts in an 8-hour period. Anyway, it so happened that an extra body was needed to man the ECP, and I, being the one caught with nothing pressing to do, was the lucky winner of the postion. I did not volunteer for it, but in some ways it's better than sitting around on your bunk with nothing to do. In other ways, it is very much NOT better than sitting around on your bunk with nothing to do. For example:

Ways it IS better to work the ECP than do nothing at all:
1) It gives one a reason to get up in the morning.
2) It forces one to adapt to the heat instead of hiding indoors in the A/C all the time.
3) It is an important job, searching for bombs and things coming into the base, so we don't
end up on the news.
4) It makes you REALLY appreciate your days off.
5) Ummmm. . .can't think of any more...

Ways it IS NOT better to work the ECP than do nothing at all:
1) One has to stand out in the(blazing) sun for several hours a day.
2) One has to wear one's kevlar(helmet) the entire time.
3) One has to wear one's body armor while working at least 2-3 of those hours.
4) One has to pat down Iraqis and search their smelly vehicles. (A note about that; Aside from the jokes about whether or not they ENJOY their pat down searches, a fair number of them smell like they've been wearing the same clothes for the last three years with no washing of either themselves or their clothes. In fact, I saw one guy come through this morning wearing a brown t-shirt like we wear as part of our uniforms with my commanders name stenciled on it. I asked MAJ G.(my commander) later if he'd lost any t-shirts like that, and he said yes, as a matter of fact, he said he threw away a bunch of them just a week ago. This means that this dude had dug them from deep out of the dumpster and is now wearing them around as his work shirts, and we have to pat these people down every time they go in or out the gate. Disgusting...)

Shoot. I'm sure I could come up with more reasons why it's better not to work than to work, but my head hurts and it already stinks getting up at 3:15 am anyway without thinking of more reasons why. Anyway...

Today is mail day, and I think I may have gotten the package from Fathom I've been waiting for. One can but hope. Caleb got on Yahoo Messenger, am chatting with him right now. It's been a long time... It is hard to realize that I've been gone from C__________ for almost 13 months now. A lot has changed there, and I can only assume several things have changed with me. I suppose I feel a little different, but I'll have to get back to more familiar surroundings before I notice how much I've changed. Dad gum, this place stinks. If living in a place like this doesn't make you realize the blessings one takes for granted in the States, nothing ever will. Looking forward to getting back more than ever. I need to start moving towards bed, have to get up stupid early in the morning. God bless, you all have a good day or night or whatever it happens to be where you are. Razorsedge out. . .

Tired and stinky

2005-07-15T17:30:00.000+04:00

Hello all. The title of this post refers to my current condition. I got a shower three days ago, since then the water has been off and on so much it's not worth walking out to the trailers to check.

I got a new job the other day, I'm working on the ECP now. That's the Entry Control Point, also called the ACP or Access Control Point, means the same thing. It isn't the main gate onto the base, it is only the gate into the American side of the base. The hours aren't horrible, from about 4am till about 12 or so, with every fourth or fifth day off. Still, it's starting to get pretty warm by that time of day, so it's no joke to stand out there that long. I checked the thermometer about 5am while it was still dark, it read about 87*F(about 30.5*C), and I'm still getting used to it some. Before I had such an easy job sitting in an air-conditioned truck, now I'm outside for that 8 hours straight. C'est la vie. We rotate through all the positions while we're out there so we don't get too bored at one place, but it's still long and monotonous. We don't have to wear our body armour the entire time, only at two of the stations so that's not so bad as it might be. That stuff doesn't breathe at all. If you've ever been to be X-rayed, remember the lead-lined vest they make you wear? It feels kind of like that, only it fits on you like a life vest and has two heavy ceramic plates, one in front and one in back. I haven't had much occasion to wear mine, being such a fobbit, but now I suppose it will be a daily thing.

The sun seems to beat that helmet right down into your head. Getting up rediculously early and working a little harder than usual out in the sun, taken with the lack of bathing opportunities the last couple of days, have combined to make me one tired smelly b_____. It's not all that bad really, I'll adjust as I do it more(have only been at it two days). I still miss the US, looking forward to being in a place when one doesn't worry so much about people bringing bombs or things into one's place of residence or work. I don't like searching the Iraqis, they seem like they bathe even less than I do. After one pats them down, it feels like you have this sort of invisible gummy grime all over your hands. Nasty.

I finally posted some pictures of my trip off base last week. Like before, you can click on one and go to the Flickr site which hosts all my pictures.

I think that's about all I'll say this time. Like I said, I'm tired and have to get up early. I hope you're doing well whereever you happen to be. We're doing all right here, nothing REALLY interesting to report, and if there was, I probably couldn't report it anyway. Looking forward to going to Aussie Land for leave, just waiting for the good word that I can go for sure. Will likely be another week or so before I find out for sure when it will be. After that I'm REALLY looking forward to getting home. The Iraqis can keep this place, I have no further use for it.

Shutting up now, y'all have a blessed day. Razorsedge out. . .

Jesse teaching IV class

2005-07-15T17:29:00.000+04:00

Jesse teaching IV class
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Some members of my unit got retrained in Combat Life Saver skills, which means basically they practiced giving IVs. Jesse and the other medics were the ones teaching the class, and they used themselves as models to practice on.

SPC H. marking UXO(Unexploded Ordnance)

2005-07-15T17:19:00.000+04:00

SPC H. marking UXO(Unexploded Ordnance)
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Me in front of humvee

2005-07-15T17:04:00.000+04:00

Me in front of humvee
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This is from when I went out last week. This is not typically what I'm doing over here, so I thought it worth commemorating in a picture.

2005-07-12T10:41:00.000+04:00

Hello everyone. I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I jst haven't been feeling like it the last several days. I sit and open up blogger, and think, "I have nothing at all to write about." Nothing interesting is going on, at least nothing I can really talk about. I don't want to just rail against certain members of my leadership, I don't want to sit here and whine about how I never get to do anything. I wouldn't want to read about it, so I don't want to write it.

I guess I should tell some about my little trip "outside the wire". Remember while reading this that this is only my third trip off this tiny base in the last seven months. It worked out fairly well that I got to go, they guys I rode with were mostly indifferent to me being there, which was good. I asked if I could go, and they said sure. It was the same guys I rode with that one other time, and most of them barely remembered me. That's a good thing, means I didn't do anything stupid.

We left a little after 0730, and went first to the town of M_____. I'd heard of the town and seen it on the map, but I'd never been there. We went to an office in the town, and SFC H. made an appointment for some officer to come back and handle something there. I got to go inside with SFC H., which was unexpected. It was cool though, I got to watch them speaking through an interpreter and each trying to figure out what the other meant exactly. They brought us chai tea in tiny glasses, brought enough for all of us that came inside. There were four of us, SFC H., the interpreter, and SGT F. and myself for security. Anyway, they finished their business and we left.

Then we went to an area of dirt roads and drove around some doing a recon for an upcoming mission that they were planning. It was really close to the Iranian border too. I'm not sure what their upcoming mission was and I don't need to. We got out and walked around some, saw some expended artillery shells laying around. That area was very hilly, little plantlife except for brown grass and some kind of thistle like sticker bushes. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing hills until I saw them as we were approaching. Also saw bunkers along the border, and some forts that looked like castles, but we only saw those from a distance. Then somebody saw some ordnance laying down at the bottom of one of the hills, so we went down and examine that. There were lots of mortar shells or different sizes, and some artillery shells scattered around the bottom of this steep little valley. To me it looked like they had washed down there in a flash flood back during the winter sometime, but I don't know. We marked them with spray paint so they'd be easy to find, and counted them and recorded their position to report about them.

After that we went to a place where the guys had gotten hit by an IED the week prior. The guy that set it off had gotten away, and no one was hurt, just buckled the windshield some and shook everyone up pretty good. SFC H. wanted to get a good look at the area so we went off the hardball(paved road) and went up a dirt road maybe 3/4 mile(little less than 2km) from the main road. We found an area of berms that had a clear view of the main road, it seemed like the obvious spot for someone to hide and watch a convoy coming down the road in order to time the detonation of an IED. They didn't go into detail telling me about the IED itself, but from that distance I'd guess it was remote detonated with a set of two-way radios or something similar. A beat up little Toyota truck came over the hill while we were there, so they searched the two men inside and searched the truck. The interpreter talked to them, they said they were shepherds and had been taking food to their sheep over the hill. They didn't find anything on them, so they let them go with no trouble.

After that we headed back to the base, had no problems other than a slight overheat in the vehicle I was riding in. We were only about ten minutes from the base when SFC H. said he smelled something like anti-freeze. The driver said no, but we'd been running over 240* F(115*C) for a few minutes(Note: One is not supposed to drive a humvee when the temp is over 240*F, it will ruin the engine). SFC H cussed at him and called him an idiot and said to pull over. We pulled over and raised the hood, sat there for about ten or fifteen minutes until it cooled off a little bit. Then we closed the hood and moved on again, got back to the base with no further trouble. We were gone a total of about four and a half hours.

Overall, it was a much more interesting trip than last time, at least to me. I knew one of the guys that was in another truck, and he told me later that he was bored the whole time. I was thinking he ought to try sitting in a stationary little box looking at dots all night for seven months, he might not be so bored with a dumb little trip like that. It's all relative though. When you do that sort of thing every day, a little uneventful trip like that is nothing to you. It was going places I had never been before, and seeing things I'd only heard about and seen other people's pictures of. That's the whole reason I wanted to get out, is just to say I had really been here. If you don't ever leave the base, it's like Tom Hanks in The Terminal. America is right there on the other side of the door, and all he can do is look at it and watch it on TV and talk to a few Americans here and there. He hasn't actually experienced it, just a glimpse of it.

Anyway... I'm going to get off here now, I think Jesse and I are going to lunch. Hope you all are having a good day where ever you happen to be. It won't be so long between posts next time, I think. Razorsedge out. . .

Mission

2005-07-07T13:39:00.000+04:00

We had a sheduled down night last night, which means the Air Force jet we work with wasn't flying, so yesterday I went and asked the guys I went out with before if I could go out on a mission with them again. They said sure. I confirmed it with SGT D.(SGT B is on leave, so she's in charge for now), and went out riding around for about 4.5 hours this morning. Yay! Will write more about later. Right now, I'm very tired and haven't had a shower in about five days because the water was off. Also went and ran and worked out with Jesse last night, ran probably 1.5 miles and then did abs exercises. Smoked myself good, then went and pulled duty and the Dfac(dining facility) from 2300-0030(11pm to 1230am), then got up at 0600 to go on mission. It is now almost 1400(2pm), and I'm very smelly and very tired so I will write more and post pics later, probably tomorrow. Bye for now, hope you have a good day. :-)

Declaration Of Independence

2005-07-05T04:09:00.000+04:00

If you're going to read it, please read the whole thing. This document changed the world, and continues to shape the course of history 229 years after it was signed. Essentially, it explains in detail exactly why the colonies had just cause to separate from and disobey the king of England.

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts
John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

God Bless the United States of America. May She ever be a Light in dark places, and a beacon of Hope for all oppressed people all over the world.

Tired

2005-06-30T02:04:00.000+04:00

Hello out there. Will keep this short, I go on shift in the CGS in a little while. I'm back working now, my shift is sort of like 3rd, from about 3am-11am, give or take. Didn't sleep much this afternoon, so am going to try to catnap for a minute before I go. Went over to Jesse's room and we tried playing backgammon on this little game set he got in the mail. Neither of us knew how to play, so we were trying to figure it out based on some poorly translated instructions included with the made-in-China set. I think we got it mostly right, but the rules for removing pieces from the board made no sense at all. Then we played a quick game of chess and I kicked his butt(Go me!). Not much of an achievement, since he never plays and could barely remember the rules even. It's not like I play much either, but I used to play more when I was younger. Made me feel good anyway, in a five-year-old beating up a toddler and taking his candy sort of way.
Tish, you asked about the evening temperatures. It stays warm for several hours after the sun goes down, but by early morning(7am?) it's made it all the way down to between 70 and 80*F(24*C or so) and it actually feels quite nice usually. It's hot again by lunchtime though. It hasn't been as brutally hot during the day though, and it's also not really humid. Reminds me a lot of Arizona.
You also asked if Jesse has a blog. The answer is not exactly, but he does have a website he's working on. There's a link on my blog, the one called "Jesse's Webpage". Here's the exact link if you want it. http://www.woollyboogers.50g.com// It's still under construction, so be advised that not everything works on it.
Ok, I getting off now. Hope you all have a good night, or day, or whatever it happens to be when you read this. I hate trying to calculate time differences when I'm this tired, it just doesn't work. See you all later, Razorsedge out...

ABCNEWS.com: Bloggers Fighting Government Regulations

2005-06-29T12:25:00.000+04:00

You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from:

razorsedge357@gmail.com

Doggone government. I heard the next thing they're working on is an air tax, trying to tax the amount of air one breathes in a day. I think that would be unfair to athletes myself, since they use up so much running around and stuff. If you read the article you'll notice how the government didn't care about regulating the Internet until people started using it to say mean things about the people in government. Crazy jacked'up world we live in.

Bloggers Fighting Government Regulations
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=888390

Work

2005-06-27T13:20:00.000+04:00

Hmm.... What to write about. I have done very very little the last several days. I can't go into all the details, but basically it's because Iraq is a fairly large country and the Air Force jet that we work with is not able to cover it all at one time. So, when they don't cover aour area, there's very little for us to do. I don't do much besides look at dots, but it is a job. While it's nice to get some days off, it gets old sitting around waiting for time to pass. I haven't been able to attempt to get off post again because of the POSSIBLITY that they might look at our area again, a possiblity which has not materialized for the last three days. Have been getting a little depressed at how little I've been contributing to the efforts here. Today I actually did a little bit of work, however. Only a little, but it was something, so there. First, I went and worked out with Jesse. We did shoulders and triceps this morning. It was truly pitiful how little weight it took to smoke both of us. Oh well. I suppose that's why one goes to the gym in the first place. After that, I went to call P. No answer, so I left a message and then Jesse and I went to breakfast. Same old stuff for breakfast. I think sometimes it isn't so much that the food isn't good, it's simply eating it all on disposable dishes with disposable utensils and drinking out of disposable cups that makes the eating experience so joyless. And of course, sometimes it really is that the food isn't good. Anyway, back to the work I did. When we left the dfac(dining facility) we went our separate ways, he to teach some CLS(Combat Life Saver) class, which is pretty much simply how to stop bleeding and give an IV.

I went over to the CGS and proceeded to PMCS it. PMCS stands for Preventive Maintenence Checks and Services. It is the Army's standardized method of inspecting a thing to look for deficiencies. SGT Bell gave me the awesome(Sarcasm Alert!) responsibility of PMCSing the CGS and the two generators. Basically, it means to look for leaks, low fluid levels, worn-out hoses or gaskets, and various other things that one looks for on machines. It's a little unnecessary on the CGS really, since the truck hasn't moved since we parked it there nearly seven months ago. The generators are more important, since without them the CGS cannot function. Still, it was something to do, so I checked all the fluids carefully, and flipped all the lights on and off to make sure they worked. I also looked under the vehicle to look for puddles or drips. Then I started the truck and worked the gearshift and transfer case shifters, to make sure they shift properly. Remember, all this is all on a truck that hasn't moved in seven months, and won't move for another three or four at least. The only thing I found different than last week was that the windshield washer squirters would not work at all last week, no matter how hard I pushed the button, and this week they worked just fine. I pushed the button, and squoosh, they squirted water all over the windshield. God only knows why they didn't work last week. Oh well, whatever. Anyway, then I looked at the generators. The UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, basically a remote-controlled airplane with a camera) guys have been using one of our generators since they got here, because our system comes with two in case one goes down. Their shelter has a built-in generator, but it's noisy and unreliable so they use ours. I talked to W. for a few minutes, the UAV guy who was there, and added half a quart of oil to the generator they use. Nothing was wrong with ours, we've hardly used it since last week so I wasn't surprised. After all this PMCSing, I went in the little tent next to the CGS and took out the trash, which accumulates very quickly but nobody ever empties until it's overflowing onto the floor. Then I burned the papers in the burn box, since it was full too. The stuff in the burn box is things like notes, locations of areas to look at, anything with sensitive information on it that we wouldn't want terrorists getting ahold of. One thing we burn is all the address labels on any mail we receive, so terrorists can't use that info against us. That ought to be on a Top-Ten list; Signs you are staying in a lousy vacation spot...No.1: You are required to burn return addresses on your mail so terrorists can't use your family and friends as targets. Maybe I should write to Letterman. One last thing, I went and hauled two boxes of bottled water to the CGS tent. That's about all we drink here is bottled water, none out of the tap. People go through these very quickly, since it's so hot.

Well, that's about it. That's more work than I've done in the last week and a half, all in the space of about an hour and fifteen minutes. I got kind of dirty, but only because I foolishly leaned against the generator trailer which had this nasty greasy film all over it from where we've spilled diesel fuel multiple times and the dust sticks to it and builds up.

I'll shut up now, lunch is about to close so I'm gonna go eat real quick. Hope you all have great day, I will talk to you later.

2005-06-22T23:03:00.000+04:00

The gunner on the truck I was riding in

2005-06-20T13:38:00.000+04:00

The gunner on the truck I was riding in
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This was SGT M. He didn't talk much. The gunner has a hard job, not only is he the best target on the truck, but he's also the most likely to get killed or injured in a rollover accident, and he's exposed to the elements the entire trip.

Me riding in Humvee

2005-06-20T13:34:00.000+04:00

Me riding in Humvee
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

It was hot, but it was early, so it wasn't too bad. Not much room in those things.

Female lead singer of Off The Wall

2005-06-20T13:30:00.000+04:00

Female lead singer of Off The Wall
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

She had a lot of energy, danced all night long. I think she kind of favors Britney Spears a little. Was a good show, not the greatest band I've ever heard but they had potential and were very ethusiastic. Plus, you've got to give extra points to anyone willing to come all this way just to put on a show.

Where IED was hidden

2005-06-20T13:25:00.000+04:00

Where IED was hidden
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Hard to see, isn't it? This was only the trigger, there were wires leading from here to the actual device.

T. with a piece of IED

2005-06-20T13:21:00.000+04:00

T. with a piece of IED
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

He picked this up after the little IED attack on his convoy the other day. This was one of the smaller pieces, he just wanted something he could stick in his pocket. Is holding it next to his Zippo for scale.

Pictures

2005-06-20T12:14:00.000+04:00

Hello all. I've been lax about posting pictures lately. That's mosly because I haven't had anything interesting to post. Well, now do. These next are of a bunch of things. Some from where T. was out and had the IED go off close by, a couple from the concert the other night(hard to take pictures of a concert at night) and some from my own little jaunt out into the wide world. You can click on any one of them and it will take you to the Flickr site where they all are. There are quite a few this time, hope you like them.

A Little Off Base...

2005-06-19T12:27:00.000+04:00

HEY YA'LL, GUESS WHAT!!! I ACTUALLY WENT OFF BASE TODAY!!! Ok, done shouting. Jesse had volunteered to go off with some guys on a little medical mission, and he and I went yesterday and asked if there would be an extra seat. They said sure, come ahead, so I got to go with them this morning to this little village. Was only gone about three hours, left a little before 8am and got back right at 11am. The main point of the trip was to take one of the medical officers to visit the village where some of the children had diarrhea(sp?). We simply drove out there and stood around while he tended to the kids and took some water samples to test, since he thought bad water might be why they were sick. I didn't do too much, was just along for the ride basically. It was great just to get off the base for a little while though. Maybe I'll get to do it again. I got some good pictures, will be posting them very soon. Maybe later today, maybe not. Anyway, it was a great feeling just to be going somewhere, even if I wasn't really actively involved in the mission. Almost like getting parole for a couple of hours. Someone I was chatting with online said that she has no concept of war or army life. I've lived an army life for over 11 months straight now so I know something about that, but I have very little concept of war either. The only concept of war I have is in pictures and stories from other guys here. I hope I get to go out again soon. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good weekend, and have a happy Father's day too. Am about to go eat, will post pictures either today or tomorrow.

Razorsedge out...

For David

2005-06-19T12:15:00.000+04:00

"GodsMoon is Blogging the Riverbend Festivial. Go check it out."

Tired and ready for bed.

2005-06-18T20:51:00.000+04:00

Peaceful Selah asked what she could send her cousin who just went off to AF Basic Training. I'd say send him lots of cookies, and cake, and candy, and make sure to throw in plenty of cigarrettes and chewing tobacco so he can share with his buddies. Also, just for fun, write for the return address the address of some Adult Novelties type business. This will ensure he will never forget the mail you sent him at Basic Training. DISCLAIMER: That last was a mean joke, I didn't mean it at all. If you send that sort of stuff to anyone at Basic training for ANY branch, they will have to do push-ups till their arms fall off and run around the building until there's a trench deep enough for a moat. Those are the sorts of things that are strictly prohibited while at Basic Training. I would say pictures of home and family and friends would be the best sort of thing, with lots of news about things they're interested in(sports, entertainment, etc.). One is cut off from everything, no TV, no newspapers, no radio, very little telphone contact, and absolutely no Internet. Another good thing is to send things regularly, like once a week or so. What tends to happen is that people are all fired up about mailing regularly when one first leaves, then they tend to get distracted.
Well P.S., I hope that helps a little. If you have any more questions, fire away and I'll be happy to try and answer them. Right now I'm tired, and I have to get up tomorrow, will tell more about why and what I'll be doing sometime either tomorrow or the day after, whenever I get a chance. Hope you all have a great weekend, I'll ttyl.

Razorsedge out...

Poopsucker trucks

2005-06-18T12:37:00.000+04:00

Poopsucker trucks
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

These nasty smelly beasts drive around all day and suck the filling out of the port-o-potties. It's easy to tell when they're doing it, especially when you're standing downwind from them.
Enough to make you think the whole country smells like crap.

More pics

2005-06-18T12:05:00.000+04:00

Hey everyone. Not too much going on. I'm not busy for the next several days due to circumstances beyond my control. Everything is ok, but I'm not working because of something up with the Air Force, can't explain on here(Super Secret Squirrel Stuff). Went and worked out with Jesse again today.
Went to a concert last night, a band called Off The Wall. They were ok, most places they would probably be an opening band, but here they weren't too bad. Not a lot of choices, you see. They did a lot of popular music, some classic rock, a little bit of country, some rap. Did songs by Eminem, Jimmy Hendrix, and Three Doors Down. Was fun, they had a lot of energy and enthusiasm, even though their show was plagued by poor sound equipment and a huge noisy generator that tried to drown them out. I figure any band that will travel 7000 miles around the world to perform for us for little or no money deserves some credit. I didn't get too many pictures, dark concerts are horribly hard to take decent pictures of. I got a couple though, will post on here soon. Haven't posting a whole lot because the computers have been running like molasses here lately, it's hard enough to check email. Oh yeah, also haven't been posting BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING TO FREAKING WRITE ABOUT.
Oh wait, I did just think of something. T., one of the medics in Jesse's squad, was out on a mission yesterday when an IED blew up beside their convoy. Nobody was hurt, just cracked a windshield and shook them up a little. The guy got away before they could catch him though. Oh well. The IED was made from a couple of illumination rounds, artillery shells that are fired high in the air that light up the night like daytime. That's why the bang wasn't extremely big. If they had been HE, or High Explosive rounds, it might have been a little more exciting. Anyway, T. got some pictures, will post them on here soon.
Uuuhhh... Uuuummmm... Yup, that's it, nothing else to write about. Jesse says he's not going to lunch, so I guess I'm going by myself. Ugh. 130 degrees is nothing to sneeze at, it's getting pretty hot out there. For those of you in countries other than the USA, That's about 55* Celcius I think. Well, you all have a good day, Razorsedge out. . .

PS: Remember you can click on any picure on the blog and it will take you to my Flickr site where you can look at all of them. I may try to start a photo blog like Godsmoon, we will see.

A nice day

2005-06-18T12:02:00.000+04:00

A nice day
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This was a week or two ago at 1230. It's a little warmer than that now, somebody was telling me they were recording the temp in the low 130's these last couple of days

Turned in laundry again today...

2005-06-17T18:19:00.000+04:00

Hello out there, whereever you are. I'm here, and here is not a nice place. It isn't an especially wretched place, it just isn't a fantastically great place like I'm accustomed to being at. Oh oh, I ended a sentence with a preposition. Hung out with Jesse some today. I sat up late last night trying to check my email, and the blasted computers kept telling me there is no such website as www.gmail.com This got very irritating, especially since I went to three of the four MWRs trying to check email. Finally I gave up and decided that it could wait until tomorrow, and it did.
I went to the gym with Jesse after I got up late. We were standing there drinking water and talking before we actually did anything, and the power went out. This meant we couldn't use the mountain-climbing machine or the treadmill to warm up on, so we stood there and drank some more water trying to decide what to do. Jesse suggested we could go run outside, but since it was already 1030hrs(10:30am) and 100*F outside I convinced him we shouldn't. We finally did some presses and things, then went to lunch.
We stopped at the laundry building so I could drop off my laundry on the way to lunch. They have a rule that they'll only take 20 items in one's laundry bag because their washing machines are wearing out. I know I had more than that, but the Iraqi that was making out my list didn't say anything. Maybe he can't count or something.
Lunch was disappointing today. Will be nice to eat a good hamburger again. They did have strawberry Baskin-Robbins ice cream so that made up for the yucky hamburgers a little.
After lunch I went and managed to get onto gmail, which was good.
Then I went back to barracks and gave my M-4 to SGT B. so he could take mine and all of ours to get them gauged, which means they stick a thing down the barrel to see if it's bent or not. We all carry M-4's, but all they do is get in the way. The only time I've shot mine is when we went to the range, and I expect that's the only time I'll get to shoot it. This is what they look like http://colt.com/mil/M4.asp It's exactly the same as an M-16, works the same and all, just with a shorter barrel and body. He was gone for awhile, and I sat in the barracks and watched The Road Warrior.
I bought the bootlegged Mel Gibson collection at the Hajji shop yesterday, and selected that one to while away my afternoon with. I also bought bootleg versions of the entire collection of the original Star Trek series on DVD and a copy of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and one of Hotel Rwanda. The bootleg copies usually aren't as high quality as the official releases, but they are a heck of a lot cheaper. I got all of that for $100 even, and if I'd pressed, I think I could have given a little less than that. Some people spend gobs of money on these bootlegs, but everyone is starting to tired of the poor quality and quirky nature of cheap imitations. Sometimes they'll play on laptops, and somtimes only on DVD players, and vice versa. What's worst is when they play partway through, then freeze up suddenly right when you're getting into the story. Anyway, I've resisted spending too much on them, but I felt like spending some money yesterday, so I did.
I suppose you might be wondering if and when I ever do any work. The answer is that we had a down day, then we found out we wouldn't be working for the next several days. Can't really explain why, but basically we should get a nice little holiday(with nowhere to go).

2005-06-14T15:26:00.000+04:00

Hello everyone. I'm actually doing fairly well today. You know you have Up days and you have Down days? Well today is an Up day. No particular reason that I can think of, it just is. Maybe because I got a huge box of goodies in the mail yesterday, with another smaller one as well. The contents included(but are not limited to) the following; several cans of chili and other foods, two boxes of crackers, a whole BUNCH of magazines of all kinds, cheese dip and salsa, Cap't Crunch, not sure if two boxes of that, haven't dug all the way to the bottom of it. The smaller box had 3 bags of tortilla chips and a bag of rippled potato chips, both of which are hard to find here. The boxes were from home, packed by my brother. Thanks very much for the goodies, seemed like Chrstmas in June. Jesse was gone today, hopefully he's back now, we can go eat something decent tonight. Actually, last night's spaghetti wasn't bad. It had meat sauce instead of meat balls, and the garlic bread wasn't petrified like it usually is. Jesse and I ate together, and we both actually went back for seconds. Anyway...

I was flipping through some blogs today and found both of these without even looking. Both are significant others of deployed soldiers, one married with kids, and I think the other is married without kids, hoping to have some later. Anyway, both seemed like they missed their soldiers very much, some of you might find them interesting reading.

http://lifebackhome.blogspot.com/

http://whilehesaway.blogspot.com/

Peaceful Selah asked if we have all the conveniences we have at home. The answer is an emphatic no. However, as I've said before, it's not all that bad, and lots of guys have it a lot worse than me where I am. For starters, no Wal-mart. I know that's a shock to many of you, since it seems like Walmart has invaded every aspect of life on earth. Um, let's see... Except for people livng in certain buildings, no indoor showers. The majority of the people here live in tiny little tin cans, called CHUs(Containerized Housing Units). They are sleeping quarters only, size is about 7ft deep by 15ft wide by 7.5ft high. Most only have two solders per. Those people have to leave the CHU to use the latrine or take a shower or anything. No plumbing at all. Myself, I'm a little better off, we have sinks and urinals on the floor of my building, which is nice. Still have to walk a hundred yards from the building to take a shower though. Yesterday we had to clean up the barracks really well, the Command Sergeant Major is doing a barracks inspection sometime this week. Darn CSMs, that all they have to do s make inspections and go around and ruin people's day. There is a small store called a PX(Post Exchange) that we can buy a few things at, a little junk food and some bare essentials. They resupply every couple of weeks and sell out of the good stuff within a couple of days of restocking.

I'l get off of here now, have been on the computer a LOOONG time today. I got a new USB drive, so I can load some new pictures on here now. Probably tomorrow. I hope all of you are doing well, I'll talk to you all later. Razorsedge out. . .

A little tired...

2005-06-12T13:05:00.000+04:00

Hey ya'll, how's it going? About the same here, I've had a couple of long nights. Had Clearing Barrel Detail the last couple of nights, and since I was already up, I went ahead and got on the phone afterward to call some people in the States. Didn't get ahold of everyone or even get to call everyone I wanted to talk to, but I did get some people that I hadn't talked to in awhile, so it was worth staying up. Oh yeah, Clearing Barrel Detail is basically Dining Facility Guard, you stand by the entrance of the chow hall and inspect people's weapons as they walk in to make sure they're not loaded. The idea is that people go out of the FOB and might have forgotten to unload their weapons when they come back. Also you check ID cards for civilians going to eat. Being up late during one's normal sleep time isn't good, but there are some advantages to doing the midnight shift. One, it isn't as hot, and two, the midnight meal is only open about 90 minutes, while the other meals are two hours or more. It's not a hard detail, just a thing one does. Been reading other people's blogs, sounds like David is having fun at Riverbend, and is also excited about Roxie moving back to Chattanooga. Yay for David. Talked to Jesse C. for a minute, woke him up from a nap as he was visiting Chatt town for the weekend. Talked to Kimberley R. and have talked to other people there about Fathom and how things are going there. Looking forward to getting back there. Will shut up now, hope everyone is doing well. Nothing going on here, just same ole same ole. Peace...

Leave

2005-06-11T03:30:00.000+04:00

Oh yeah, for those who know her, SGT D. is back from R & R leave, got back the 9th at about 1100 local time. That's all...

Fobbits

2005-06-11T02:12:00.000+04:00

Greeting from the big litter box. Got an email from my dad asking about one of my recent posts. Regarding the questions, yes, it is prohibited to leave the FOB unless one is going on a mission. My job does not require me to go off the FOB, therefore I don't go off the FOB. I'm not the only Fobbit, there are a some others. IT's not that I want to go out on raids and kick in doors and stuff, I just want to GET OUT for a day or so. There are people that go out on short missions such as route clearing, and we've talked with them some about going with them. That would require coordination and timing, also it would require them having an extra seat and being agreeable to having a tag-along with them. SGT B. doesn't mind, he knows I feel cooped up here and want to get out a little bit, and we've tried to go out with other people before and it just hasn't happened yet. SSG S. said the other day that I can come with him when they go to Anaconda to get supplies next, but since they just went that will probably be in July sometime. That would be about a 3 hour convoy one way, proabably just overnight then come back. That's all I want, just to get off post for a little while to see what's out there. I'll keep this short, hope you all have a good day or night or whatever it is there.

Razorsedge out...

WGOW

2005-06-08T17:46:00.000+04:00

Hey all, I just talked to Kevin West at TalkRadio 102.3 FM in Chattanooga. He asked me some questions and stuff, recorded the answers and said he will use some of it in the local newscast in the next day or so. Just an FYI for those of you in Chatt Town, in case you wanted to hear me on the radio. For those of you who aren't there, you're missing out. WGOW is the best TalkRadio station in the world. There's a link to them on my blog if you want to check them out online, look under World Famous Talk Radio. I'm not getting paid to say this, I just like them and wanted to let you know. I really am getting off here to go to bed now, you all have a good day.

Vast amounts of nothing

2005-06-08T15:01:00.000+04:00

Believe it or not, I've actually opened this page to make a new post about three time in the last couple days, then closed it without coming up with anything new to write. That's how dull it is around here. I'm working slightly longer hours now, a grand total of 7.5 hours sitting in a box staring at dots. Bleah.

I'm doing pretty well overall though, the days are passing and i'm crossing days off the calendar. Haven't posted any pictures in awhile because my USB drive broke and I'm waiting to get another one. Have been spending a great deal of my free time online, chatting with people around the world and studying facts about Australia. Anything so I don't have to think about being here.

It's not so bad, it is just like the movie Groundhog Day, the same thing over and over and over. I was exclaiming in the chow hall the other day because they had Dr. Pepper and A & W Root Beer. It's not that I especially like either of those drinks more than any other kind, it is simply that that's about the second or thrid time in 6 months that they're had those drinks and they are something different to drink. One walks to the same places every day, and does the same things, and eats the same food. One sees the same people, and nothing eciting ever happens. I felt a thrill of excitement the other night because I got to drive the company's little five-speed Nissan pickup truck from one end of camp to the other and back again. The speed limit is 20 kph, and I went 10 over that. Actually made it into third gear for a few seconds. There wasn't even any reason to drive the truck rather than walk, I just had the opportunity to do it so I did. Whee. Picked up my laundry today, turned it in two days ago in my little laundry bag. The laundry service is free, one takes one's laundry bag/s to the laundry building and fills out a list of the items in the bag, then come pick it up in a day or two. I think a lot of people would rather do their own, but I haven't lost anything yet doing it this way. I was going to get a haircut today, but I think I'll give it another day or two, just for variety. That's how boring it is here folks, nothing to write about except laundry and driving a Nissan pickup truck around the FOB for barely five minutes. OH, and let's not forget the exhilaration of finding an A & W Root Beer in the fridge at the chow hall. Few thrills can compare to that, let me tell you.

I know my mother is reading this and is happy that I'm bored, esp. about the fact that nothing ever happens. I suppose I'm glad on some level that she doesn't worry. She doesn't have to live it though. They call people like me Fobbits, since we never leave the FOB(Forward Operating Base). Some people have been off the FOB a couple of times and say that there's nothing to see out there, that I should just sit here and be happy. The thing is, I KNOW there's nothing out there, and I KNOW that it's sucky and stinky and filthy and wretched, but I still want to SEE just a little bit of it for myself, if for no other reason than so I have something to compare this too. I WANT to go out and see how bad it is so I can come back and appreciate it here. I truly believe that you are in more danger of getting killed or injured getting out on the interstate to drive to work or church or to the club than I am here on this blasted FOB.

Enough complaining for one day. I need to go to bed, since I have to be at work at 0330 tomorrow, and still have to get a shower before I lay down. I hope you're doing well whereever you happen to be. Things really aren't so bad here, it is just not what people think. There are exciting things happening here and there, and people do get killed occasionally. However, it isn't like that across the entire country, and especially not where I am. If you're looking for safety, you'd be better off living on this FOB then you would be commuting to work on the streets of Atlanta daily.

Ok, shutting up now. Ya'll have a good day.

Razorsedge out. . .

Elephants and SVBIEDs

2005-06-05T12:29:00.000+04:00

Hello loyal readers. No, this isn't about elephants, but rather about an Aesop's fable that involved one(or some story like that). In The Blind Men and the Elephant, there are six blind men who find an elephant and they're all examining it to try and tell what it's like. I won't tell the whole fable, but basically each of the blind men is only able to sense a small portion of the whole animal, so each one gets a very different impression of what an elephant is really like. That's what my blog is like. I'm just one little blind man who is experiencing one tiny part of this great big elephant called Iraq. It is definitely more than most of you are experiencing, but it is still a very small piece of the whole nonetheless.

I hear more about what things are like than I actually experience. I was talking to a friend in another unit, SGT V., and he was telling me a story about a S/VBIED(refer to blog post SOS) that he witnessed. He said there was a mosque sitting near a road, and an Iraqi National Guard station about half a kilometer down the road from it. Some concerned citizen reported a suspicious blue pickup truck with a bedful of corn sitting near the mosque, so the ING(see above) responded in full force. Several dozen of them jumped in their trucks and zoomed down to the mosque(only 500 meters away) to investigate. They parked on the opposite side of the mosque from the suspicious truck and started to get out. While they were arriving and starting to assess the situation, SGT V. and his group was responding from the other direction. Before SGT V. and them got there, another vehicle with an IED aboard came roaring up in the middle of the ING soldiers and exploded, killing and wounding many of them.

SGT V. and his guys were just coming down the road and were just arriving at the mosque when the bomb went off, and they observed the explosion and the subsequent smoke and rain of debris and body parts. He said it was powerful enough that it was flinging arms and other parts over their heads, approximately 250 meters from the blast site.
They were cleaning up the mess and giving first aid when EOD(Explosive Ordnance Disposal, basically the army bomb squad) arrived and started to deal with the blue truck that was the original concern.
The EOD team deployed their robot, and had opened the door of the truck with it and were starting to look inside when the robot's batteries failed, leaving it dead in the water. SGT V. and another soldier decided there PROBABLY wasn't an IED in the truck, so they advanced cautiously in their tracked vehicle and retrieved the dead robot. EOD changed the batteries and deployed the robot again this time placing a small explosive underneath the suspicious truck and detonating it, which caused the truck to flip over and spill the contents of its bed.

Boy was SGT V. surprised. Underneath the truckload of corn, there was concealed several artillery rounds, dynamite, a 500lb. bomb, and over 800lbs. of plastic explosive, all rigged to go off by remote trigger. I might have missed something, it was a pretty long list of ordnance he told me. For some reason it didn't go off though, and SGT V. is still alive to tell the story. That much explosive is enough to completely vaporize a building the size of your average McDonalds's restuarant. If it had gone off while they were up there retrieving the robot, well, let's just say there would have been a hole big enough to put in a very decent sized swimming pool, and they would've been lucky to find so much as a fingernail intact of SGT V. and the other guy. He told me he and his friend agreed they would never never NEVER take a chance like that again just for a stupid robot. Maybe if there was another soldier laying up there that was injured or something, but not for a robot. He said they were shaking just a little bit when they found out just how close they came.

Anyway. My most annoying problem is that the USB drive I bought from the Hajji shop quit working yesterday, and now I'll have to shell out for another one. Kinda puts ones problems in perspective, doesn't it?

Random things

2005-06-01T12:30:00.000+04:00

Hey, this one will be short. I'm about to go eat lunch. I've been getting lots of comments lately, which is cool. If you all have any questions, make sure and leave them as a comment or shout, and I'll either give you a good answer or make something up that sounds good.

Looking good about going to Aussie land for leave. I'm starting to get excited about it. Then I have to stop and think that it's still over two months away at least. Poodoo. Oh well, it gives me time to plan.

Today is payday again, which is good. One of the really good perks of being deployed is that one does not pay income taxes while deployed to a dangerous area.

Life is still boring here. NSTR(Nothing Significant To Report). I hope you all are enjoying the spring where you are. At least once this summer, make it a special point to walk through some grass barefoot and climb a tree, or at least sit under one and enjoy the shade and the sound of the wind in the leaves. Remember when you do that there are a great many people in the world that don't have pretty things to look at like grass and trees(not to mention flowers). I'll get off here now, time to eat lunch. Razorsedge out. . .

SOS

2005-05-31T12:50:00.000+04:00

'Sup. Not too much here except the temperature. It's supposed to get even hotter by July and August though. Ugh. SOS is an official military acronym, it means Same Old S***. No, it's not official, but it could be. Another one is SSDD(Same S***, Different Day). There are lots of others FUBAR and SNAFU are some of the more popular. I saw one written in a port-o-john that I had to translate. It was DILLIGAF. This is just a guess, but I think that stands for Does It Look Like I Give A F***. One gets good at translating acronyms in the military. One I remember from Basic is FTSIGH. The sanitized version of it is Forget This Stuff, I'm Going Home. There are acronyms for the enemy(AIF, Anti-Iraqi Forces), for friendlies (JCF, Joint Coalition Forces). For our weapons, an MLRS is a Multiple Launch Rocket System, an AFATDS box is a field artillery targeting computer. From the enemies side, an IED is an Improvised Explosive Device , which is a homemade bomb, usually deployed along a road against convoys of CF vehicles. A SVBIED is a Suicide Vehicle Borne IED, meaning a homemade car bomb that is driven directly into its target. SFA is Small Arms Fire(hand-held firearms, rifles), IDF is InDirect Fire, which is weapons that you shoot without actually seeing your target, like artillery and mortars. For the places we live and hang out, DFac Is Dining Facility or chow hall, and the place where they have computers and telephones for us to use is referred to as the MWR(Morale, Welfare, and Recreation). For what it's worth, they do have more than just telephones and computers, they also have a big TV that shows AFN(American Forces Network) programs, and they show movies on it sometimes too. MWR is a program that sponsors and organizes things like the Charlie Daniels concert and other activities. We usually use MWR as a generic term for going to get on the phone or internet however(I'm going to the MWR). For those that don't know, a military pickup truck is called a HMMWV(humvee), which stands for High Mobility Multiple Wheeled Vehicle, which is the ancestor of the civilian models and the H2's(which I don't consider real humvees). We use these and many more so often in our everyday lives that we don't ever think about them. I hope you've enjoyed Military Acronyms 101. Tune in next time for the advanced course, TMAWSTTET, or Translating Military Acronyms Without Someone There To Explain Them. Have a good day, Razorsedge out. . .

Me shaking hands with the general

2005-05-30T20:51:00.000+04:00

Me shaking hands with the general
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

You can see the coin he passed out to us in his left hand. It was kind of cool, not every day you get to shake hands with a 4-star. He's from Oak Ridge, TN, and he wanted to come up and meet the NG unit from his home state.

General B.B. Bell

2005-05-30T20:46:00.000+04:00

General B.B. Bell
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Somebody stuck their dumb head in the way while I was taking this one. Oh well, you can still see the man with the heavy collar. Click on any pic to go to the rest at the Flickr site.

Me and H.

2005-05-30T20:42:00.000+04:00

Me and H.
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Sitting in the chow hall waiting on the general.

Me in day room

2005-05-29T17:13:00.000+04:00

Me in day room
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This is a common position for me to be in. Was watching The Two Towers at the time this was taken. It was the first time C. had seen it.

Puppy

2005-05-29T17:08:00.000+04:00

Puppy
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

This little roly-poly hangs around the barracks all the time. People bring him food and have flea collars and things sent from the States for him and one or two others.

Howdy

2005-05-29T16:40:00.001+04:00

Hey all, i'm doing good, have been on this computer a long time, so I'm goign to keep this short. The last post I sent only sent about half of it, which is why that link didn't come through. I'll fix it another day. A certain General Bell visited the FOB today, I was one of the ones who was sitting in the chow hall when he came and spoke to a few of us. He is the commander of either all the US forces in Europe or maybe just the US ARMY forces in Europe. Either way, he's pretty high up there, not every day you see a four-star general. He gave everyone that was there one of his coins, there were probably 30-40 of us in there at the time. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon. I hope you're doing well whereever you are, I'm getting off here now. Tired, and Jesse is getting me up to work out again tomorrow . If I were REALLY squared away I would get up and do it on my own, but I'm not at that point yet. Anyway. Oh yeah, I got the RRT Medics link working now, there are some cool pictures on that site. Those guys get to go out and see interesting things, unlike me who's stuck here taking pics of myself or stupid puppies...

Howdy

2005-05-29T16:40:00.000+04:00

Boogers

2005-05-28T12:20:00.000+04:00

Hey ya'll, what's going on. A soldier from the 278th died the other day, I think it was from a head-on collision with a civilian vehicle. I don't know any more about it, other than that they shut down our telephones and internet for a little over 24 hours so they could notify the family officially. They were having the memorial service for him as I was walking over to the office here. Other than that, nothing much going on. Had two nights off in a row, that was nice. SGT D. is on leave, I hope she's enjoying herself. Looking forward to that for myself. I was talking an Australian on Yahoo IM the other day, she was telling me about Aussie slang. I'm thinking I might ought to get a book on it or something, otherwise I won't know what the heck anyone is saying. Tinkham sent me a link to a video the other day, I think it's a bunch of British guys dancing around being silly. I thought it was funny, so here's the link

Limitations

2005-05-24T15:44:00.000+04:00

I was looking at a map of the FOB the other day and determined that besides going on pass back in February, my life has taken place in an area approximately 900 meters x 700 meters or so. And that's counting driving out to the helicopter pad to pick up a contractor and going out to the motor pool for SFC Kennedy's memorial service. If you don't count those times, it is more like 450 meters by 600 meters. And if you discount the trips out to finance and to the motor pool for paperwork, which happen about twice a month, my entire life in the three months has happened in an area roughly 300 meters by 475 meters. Those are depressing numbers, folks. Yep. I've seen Iraq. Not even one square kilometer of it, and that little bit covered with Americans, but it is Iraq. Imagine living for that long a time in an area about the size of Chattanooga State College. At least Chatt State has grass and trees and a pond and geese on it. This place is stinky, dusty, ugly, dry, hot, trashy, and there's barely any flora or fauna to speak of. I was shocked to see pigeons out strutting around the Hajji shop yesterday when I went to finance to get some cash. It was strange to see animals around like that. Anyway. Enough complaining, hope everything is good whereever you happen to be.

Amanda Swisten

2005-05-23T19:10:00.000+04:00

Amanda Swisten
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

She's only 22. For some reason she looks a little older than that to me. She's been in a variety of movies, mostly the type that you can't attend unless you're over 18, if you know what I mean. Still, was nice of her to come all this way to visit us.

Dean Cain

2005-05-23T19:04:00.000+04:00

Dean Cain
Originally uploaded by Razorsedge1911.

Eating ice cream. He said that ours was one of the better FOBs he stayed at during the two weeks they've been here.