It is official

I juts got back from the camp that I am based out of. Or, actually I was based out of. I did a complete inventory of the items that I am signed for, and turned them over to the new NCOIC. The man is a real piece of work. I did the process by the numbers and at the end, when I was supposed to get the DA 2062 (issuer's Hand Receipt), he tried to take the equipment and the paperwork. Telling me, that he was going to turn it in and I had no say so in the matter because his signature was on it. I tried to explain to him that the 2062 stays with me and that is my proof to my supply guy that I gave it to him. He could not grasp the concept. So I did the only thing I could do. I took back all of my equipment and told him that I will just turn it in to supply back at the rear and he would just have to go get it issued from there. So he tore up the paper work and threw it at me.

Imagine the nerve. It is like going into a store and signing the credit card receipt and taking the credit card receipt and the equipment. He could not get it through his thick skull that I already signed a 2062 for the nearly half a million dollars worth of equipment and am responsible for it. Until, that is, a new 2062 is used to off set my responsibilities.

The commander had to explain to him that he was a DIP SHIT and he needs to re-do the documents and give them to me. Of course, that was only because I refused to give it to him with out the forms and he has a mission that he needs if for, today. I do not know how someone gets to be an E-7 in the military without understanding the basic principal of the hand receipt.

I also found out why I was getting transferred to this Battalion level, CUSHY, job. It seems that I managed to piss off the local units Intel. Captain. It seems that my refusal to break OPSEC protocol pissed him off and since I would not follow his orders, he had me replaced. Now notice I said "replaced." He could not have me "fired" because what I did was "NOT' break the rules. I refused to send him the Intel he wanted over the radio. One would think that the stuff is classified "Top Secret" for a reason. I guess for these guys, it does not matter.

I just told him "NO SIR," and explained to him that when I leave here, it will be to go home to my house, not to a federal prison. I am not violating NSA guide lines just to please him. He wants the intel, he has to provide a secure means for me to get it to him. Other wise, just wait till I can link up with him every three days or so.

Now they have this new guy. He is new to the intel world and is about to have a rude awakening. I hope for his sake, that he is not as stupid as I think he is. He might not be finishing his Military career the way he was intending to. One can only wait and see. He seemed very defiant the entire time I tried to brief him on the job at hand.

I ran into trouble with him back in the states as well. He was very much one of those guys that is "ALWAYS RIGHT" simply because of his rank. I sat back and watched him berate several soldiers just because he out ranked them, even though they were right. When he tried to run ruff shot over me, I just pushed back. Those of you who know me, know that I am not one for political correctness. I speak my mind. You know where I stand on a subject if you just ask. Sometimes, you do not need to ask and I will still let you know, but, needless to say, he and I did not get along as soon as I stood up to his bullying. The final straw was when he made fun of my car.

I later found out that I inadvertently called his Motorcycle a piece of shit. I was talking to another soldier about bikes and he asked me what I thought of Harley Davidson's and I replied "Hardleys?" as in Hardley a motorcycle. He over heard that and did not much care for the comment since he had just spent over $24,000 on one. Not my fault he is crazy. Maybe these new ones are better, but, the saying is"if it is not leaking oil it is because it has all leaked out" another words, it is a piece of unreliable crap. At least that is my translation. LOL and besides, that much money on something that you can only ride on nice days and even then only for short distances. WOW.

The ride is over

I just linked up with my commander and he dropped a bombshell on me. And I do not mean a "Blond Bomb Shell, " either. I am being moved up to a Battalion level job. I have to hand my team off to someone else. I am not the happiest camper right now. It is not something I was expecting to be told. All I know is that they want me to do some analyst work on the intel that is being collected out here. Apparently they got this big idea that I would be good at something like that. Something about my ability to see things from a different perspective, I guess. Or maybe they just HATE me and want to torture me with a desk job. At least that is what I am envisioning. Not sure where I am going to be going or for that matter, for how long I will be doing this new job. But, I hate it already.

I was just getting used to the idea of having to move to this new location that we were going to. And now, POW, pack up and move again. "Don't ask where, 'cause I do not know." That was what I was told by the commander. Hell, if he does not know, what the hell is going on here. He is supposed to know where all of us are at all times. I think he knows I am not going to like it and he does not want to tell me until we get back to the rear.

Well, any way, I did plan on putting up some really positive info today so here is goes. Yesterday, we had a FANTABULOUS dinner. They were serving T-bone steaks and Scallops with mixed veggies and I made a Root Beer float with the ice cream and A&W Root Beer that was in the cooler. It was like a small piece of heaven had dropped into our laps. I guess that is Gods way of balancing out the week. A few small bad things a few small good things and then a HUGE bad thing. I just hope that there is, somewhere in the very near future, a HUGE good thing to level it out. LOL

I do not know if I am going to have access to the web where I am going to be, so yet again, I will do the best that I can. I am also loosing the Sat Phones in this move, so I do not know if or when I will be able to call home again. Please bear with me back home. I will do what I can to get some phone time.

Another day of rest

It is now Saturday evening and we are still here resting. We are awaiting our commander. He is due to arrive early tomorrow. He wanted to link up with us and it has been a heck of an ordeal to get him here. There have been a lot of delays after delays getting him here from where he is. It is only a 10 minute flight or an hour convoy, but, the op tempo here is do high that they have not been able to get him here. Hopefully this time he actually makes it here.

We are supposed to move out tomorrow or Monday to get linked up with our security element and then go to our next OP. I am looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of things. It is nice to rest, but, it is really not something I can do for too long. At least not before it becomes nerve racking. I do not like to just sit around for days at a time, doing nothing. I need to feel productive. Not exactly feeling that right now. LOL

The mail is also being delayed here. We are hoping that there is going to be some mail delivered here soon. They have told us that the mail is due here today, but, has not yet gotten here. We will see. Hopefully it gets here before we move out. Other wise, it might be a while before we get a chance to get it. Well, it is that time. I have to get going. I will write again soon.

Another day of rest

It was almost not to be. One of the units need our capabilities last night and we almost got put on a mission. It took a little indignance on my part to get the Captain to back down and understand that we have been working for the last 31 days with minimal rest and I will not send my guys out on a mission after only being here about 4 hours of a 4 day R&R. I could understand his point of view, but, could not allow him to burn my guys out. Especially not this early into the game. It would not be good for moral.

We came to a compromise, we let them borrow one of our assets last week and I suggested that they get that piece of equipment and I would get this new group trained on it and they could take it and do the mission themselves. Granted, the equipment they have from us is an unclassified piece that does not have the same capabilities. But, it would do what they wanted us to do for this mission. This was a win-win situation if I ever saw one. He jumped on that like white on rice. I just hope that he does not think I snubbed him. He is one of the officers that makes the suggestions as to where we are assigned next. You kind of have to play politics here and those of you who know me, Know that I do not do the ass kissing too well. I have a tendency to say what I feel and call it like I see it. Neither of which is conducive to "playing ball" with these guys. Luckily, I have enough rank on my collar to not have to put up with to much of the Bu!!$h!t. RHIP (Rank Has Its Privileges) got to love it.

The stay here has been pretty good so far. We all took showers and are doing our laundry, or actually, getting our laundry done. The mess hall is really great here. I am not sure how great it would be, if we compared it to, say, Chili's or Osaka's Japanese Sushi and Steak House. (My favorite place to go eat, it is in Plano, Texas.) or some other places that I have frequented in the past. But, it is miles ahead of the crap we were eating up on the OP and almost as far ahead of the chow at the base camp. Not blaming the cooks at the base camp. They are doing the best they can do with the things that they are provided.

Well, any way, that is all I have for now. I will write again before I leave, if I can.

It is time for a break

We have been sent to the rear for a little R&R. They decided, since we have been up on an OP for a month now, to let us have a little time off and get showered, a hair cut, and cleaned up. So they sent us to the Battalion Head Quarters to take a few days off to do that and do some resting. Also to get some laundry done. That part was actually more important since we were running out of clean cloths. I was able to bring some cloths up here with me the last time I came. When I picked up my new interpreter, but, now we have time to get it all done..

This area is actually more dangerous than the spot we have been. I am being told that they are attacked here almost daily. They have been getting rocketed here on a regular basis, but luckily they can not aim worth a crap. Not to mention the fact that they are using old soviet era rockets that were not stored properly and thus are not reliable. Most of the rockets just hit the ground and bury themselves with out so much as a boom. LOL

I am pleased to say that my guys are happy to be able to get some real food and some down time, finally. I too am looking forward to being able to take a break and doing nothing for a few days. I am not happy about the fact that my satellite Internet will not work here. Unfortunately, you have to be able to reach the right satellite to get logged on. And that happens to be on the other side of a very tall mountain range. That means that I am relegated to using the MWR computers, which have a 30 minute time limit.

While I am here, I am going to get to see my commander as well. He is coming to visit here and see how were are doing. Also to see how the unit we are supporting, is treating us. He missed out on the hike up the hill. I was hoping that he would get to where we are while we are on the site and see if he can make it up the hill. I am sure he would have less trouble that I did, simply because he works out all the time. Still would have been nice to see how much all that working out pays off in the real world. LOL

Any way, I have to get going. It is dinner time and I am looking forward to eating some real food again. I will write again soon.

THE MOVE HAS BEGUN

Well, it is official, we are no longer posted on that mountain. They are going to relocate us to a more active area. I am both excited and frustrated by this. I was just starting to get things situated here. Ordering lumber to build a hooch, getting lumber for an out house, and had a line on a generator for power. Now we have to start all over again.

The weather here went to crap the last few days. It has done nothing but rain here for 2 days now. Our tent is holding up pretty well considering the amount of rain we have endured. The water that is getting us is coming up through the ground. I have put down some plywood to walk on and now it is paying off in spades. I got my guys together and gathered some scrap lumber that was left over from some of the building projects, last month, when we first moved here. Since then, others have moved into our tent and now they are scrambling for some plywood to do the same at their part of the tent. LOL

I could say that I am counting the days before I go home, but, that would be a lie. I have found that if you just bury yourself in work, the time goes by much faster. The more dead lines you have the less time there is. The last time I was here, '05-'06, I had five jobs assigned to me. I was in charge of the HQ section, the local national liaison, the security NCOIC, the Company motor SGT, and the local carpenter who build what ever the unit needed to have built. On the side, I was the go to guy when anyone needed anything. ( I had some really good connections). All I know is that we arrived in May and I woke up one day and it was April and time to go home. It did not even seem like a month, much less a year.

Here, it is kind of going the same way. I have been here for over a month and I do not know where the time has gone. I am kind of upset that I am not always busy here. I have only one job here and that is not helping. Once we get our B-hut, I am going to be busy building beds, desks and cabinets, so that will keep me occupied as well. And now that we have Internet on a more steady basis, I am going to spend some time reading the latest news and checking my stocks. Watching them plummet like the Titanic with BHO at the helm. I can only hope that the country survives because I am sinking a lot of money into my Mutual Fund and am getting the shares at a really deep discount. So when the economy finally recovers, the $12,000+ I will have invested should triple or more. Assuming that it goes back to what the Bush Administration had as a high or higher.

Well, it is time to go do something. I will write again soon.

I love love modern technology

This is a wonderful age to be living in. Imagine this, I am in the middle of no where, on a laptop that is now connected to a satellite dish the size of a hard cover book and am on the Internet. Is this a wonderful world or what? I know that I am going to hate going back home. I am already hearing about the things my new boss is doing. Just let it be known that I did not vote for him. In fact, I voted "against" him and not "FOR" McCain. Even though the end result was the same. I know that I did not like McCain, but, he would have at least not trampled the constitution. He also would be through campaigning by now and actually leading the country instead of putting his freshly sucked thumb into the air to see which way the winds were coming from. I was just talking to an officer here and he said, "I do not care, he just gave us a 4.5 % pay raise." To which I responded with I would be willing to give that back and another 4.5% on top of it if it would get us someone in there who knew what the hell they were doing.

Anyway, I am not here to chat about the things back home. This camp is coming along really well. We are still living in tents, but, the B huts are being built as we speak. There are going to be showers soon and an MWR where people can go and get on line and use the phone to call home. I am rather impressed as to how fast it is all being put together.

They are talking about moving us to a new location. We are, apparently, a really valuable asset to them. They are having some problems in a different region and they want us to go there and see if we can get the bad guys before they hurt any more of our troops. I can not go into detail as to what we do, simply because I have noticed that there are a lot of people reading this post that I do not know and some are from across the border here. Not sure what they are going to learn, but, I do not want to take that chance. I will say this. I love my job. I know it is not the best job in the world, but, it is nice to know that what I do makes a difference. It actually is a job with a meaning. I am getting paid to have fun. Of course there are some down sides. Like the ones I listed yesterday, but, over all. I love this job. More so, now that I have my own Internet access and do not have to rely on any other units MWR.

Well it is time for me to share this terminal with my troops. They are about to get the best news of the month. I have not told them that we have access to the regular Internet just yet. I will write more often now that I have this and I will post the notes I was taking as the days went by while I did not have access.

Hello again from Afghanistan

It has been a while since I have seen even a resemblance of civilization. We arrived at our mission location on the 26th of last month and basically have been there since. I just came back to a somewhat "modern" facility to pick up some equipment and am heading back. Just so you have an idea of what life is like where I am currently assigned. Of course, I can not divulge the location due to the nature of the web, but I will fill you in on the conditions around there.

Currently we have no running water, thus no showers. I have not showered since the last time I posted. In fact, I am postponing my shower till later tonight so as to not have to rush. I plan on taking the LONGEST shower of my life. Maybe even run this post out of water. LOL OK any way, we also have no electricity were we are. We go down the hill to a camp to recharge the phone batteries every few days and return. Well actually, we take turns going to the camp to do that. And since there is no water and electricity, it would stand to reason that there are no facilities. That means that we "do our business" on the ground. Thus there is a designated area that we all go to. We would dig a hole to do it in, but, the ground is all rocks and thus that is not practical.

The only saving grace we have is the modern day invention of the "Baby Wipes." We go through a lot of baby wipes keeping our selves clean. I have discovered that I have a great First Seargent and Commander. As soon as we told them where this unit put us, and the living conditions under which we were placed. The first thing they did was get us a case of baby wipes and some goody bags with some chocolates and other candies. Also, some of my friends back home, with whom I have been in contact via the Satellite phone, have sent me some things and that will help mitigate some of the conditions out here. So thank you.

Well now that we have covered the Hygiene situation, lets cover the Nutrition up here. We eat MRE's. For those of you who do not know what those are. It stands for Meals Ready to Eat. They are prepackaged meals that can be stored for several years, even decades and are not what one would call Gourmet. I am pretty sure that the ACLU would sue any state that forced this upon any prison facility.

And then there is the actual area that we work. There are no roads leading to it. Thus we have to walk. Sounds easy enough. However, is anything, ever as easy as it sounds. NOPE. We are on the TOP of a rather high mountain. getting there takes a heck of a hike. It would not be a big deal if we did not have to carry over 150 pounds of crap each, plus the body armor plus the water plus the food and the cots and, and, and, and. I can only say that I do not know how I made it up. Even our "mule," lovingly stated. He is the biggest guy on my team and they gave him to me because he could carry a semi if he could get his arms around it. Even he had a difficult time getting up this hill. I can only say that I am happy that I am in somewhat good shape and did not have a heart attack. Once we are done with the mission and the place is no longer going to be used, I will try to post some pictures from up there so you can get an idea of the kind of Mountain we had to climb.

Any way, I am getting booted off the computer because my 30 Minutes are up. I guess I will try to get back here soon. Hope you all have a great day. Do not take for granted all that you have at your finger tips day to day.

Where's Sandor?

this is Adam writing for the Sand man. He wanted me to let everyone know that he is fine but that he doesn't have web access currently. He hopes to be getting us up to date soon, but his new encampment is currently rather sparse. stay tuned......