It looks like that day is finally here. I was just given word that we are on our way home. We are about to have our awards ceremony and after thatm, we are getting our bags loaded on the trucks to go to the flight line. I just hope that we get to Ft Lewis in time to do the De-mobilization before the Holiday weekend starts. Otherwise, we have to wait there for the post to open back up on the 30th. It was a great year over all. I am, however, looking forward to getting home.
The first order of business will be to get my vehicles from up north and then drive home to Texas. I am especially looking forward to getting behind the wheel of my little MX-5. I only wish that it could have been a month sooner. I would be able to go to the track while up in Michigan, before heading home. Unfortunately, the racing season is over and the tracks up there are closed for the winter. Well there is always next year.
At least I will be home in time for Christmas this year. I am really looking forward to spending the holidays with the family. Not to mention being in my own house for Christmas. This is also my last deployment with the military. I plan on putting in my papers for retirement as soon as we get home. That will put me at 22 years of service. I figure that it is enough. I can hardly wait to be a retiree. Of course there are no real benefits for several years, but, it will come when I will need it most, once I actually hit retirement age.
Well, any way, this is probably going to be my last post on this blog. Like I said, over all this was a great deployment. We accomplished out mission and although some people did get injured over the last year, no one in our battalion was killed and thus we accomplished out mission and survived to tell about it. There are well over a thousand bad guys that cannot say the same thing. They neither accomplished their mission, nor lived to tell about it.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Went on leave.
I am sorry that I have not posted in a long time. I did not want to post on here that I was going home on leave because I wanted to surprise my Mom. And surprise her I did. It was not for sure I was going to be able to take leave. So, I did not tell anyone about it back home. I had been scheduled to take leave several times since April and for one reason or another, it was either cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled. I was tired of putting the family through the roller coaster affect. It was downright frustrating. So, this time, I was told I would be going home sometime in September. I told them that if they cannot get me home by the end of the first week, to not even bother. I would just wait till we were done and go home at that time. It would only be a few more weeks any way.
So, I landed in Dallas on Saturday morning on September 6th. I had a long day planned out, getting to a dealership to buy a new car. It took me till almost 7 PM to get it done and then started to head for the house. I went by my mom's house, but, she was not home. I tried to call her with the caller ID blocked so she would not know that I was home, but, she was out with some friends and so I left a message. She did not get the message till really late that night and E-mailed me to tell me she was sorry that she missed my call and to call her back on Sunday morning. Which is exactly what I did.
I called her from my cell phone. Again, I had the caller I D blocked. She answered her phone and we talked a few minutes. I then knocked on her door. I was on her porch the entire time. She did not hear me knocking on the door so I said over the phone, "I think I heard someone knocking on the door. Who was it?" She said that there was no one at the door. It must have been the cup she put on the table. So I rang the door bell. To which she said "you have really good ears, I did not hear the door, but, someone just rang the bell. hold on I will see who it is." as she pulled the curtain aside from the front window, I just said "Hi mom" as I waived. It took her a second or two to realize that I was not in Afghanistan but on her front porch. I wish I would have had a camera. That would have been a picture worth taking.
I was home for 15 days. It was probably the worst two weeks of the year for me. The weather really sucked. Every time I wanted to go to the lake to do some fishing and or skiing, it would rain. Then, the last time we tried, we discovered that some ASS WIPES stole all the fishing tackle out of the boat. Over $2000.00 worth of poles and tackle gone. I hope the thief dies a miserable death. I hate thieves. And I believe that there is a special place in hell for them.
So, with the fishing trip now officially taken off the table, and the weather not cooperating at all, there was not much to do. I went and visited a few of my friends who happened to have a day off here and there. I spent some of my time catching up on the shows that I had recording while I was gone. That only took a day or two. Then, not wanting to spend too much money, too late, I only went out to dinner a few times.
I did get invited to some friends houses for dinner and so I did have some good food while I was home. If I had to rely on myself for good food, it would never happen. I can barely boil eggs. LOL I also went to my favorite restaurant. I ate at Osaka's Japanese Sushi and Stake. It was everything I remember it and some. A little on the expensive side, but, worth every penny. Great food, great service, and really nice ambiance.
The trip back to Afghanistan was not what I would call quick. We were stuck in Kuwait for 5 days because of maintenance issue from the week prior. They were 4 days behind schedule and were focusing their flight on people going to the states for leave and the resupply runs. They put us on planes as space would permit, with the cargo for the resupply runs. It was, to say the least, a long trip. As you can all see I am back here safe and sound.
So, I landed in Dallas on Saturday morning on September 6th. I had a long day planned out, getting to a dealership to buy a new car. It took me till almost 7 PM to get it done and then started to head for the house. I went by my mom's house, but, she was not home. I tried to call her with the caller ID blocked so she would not know that I was home, but, she was out with some friends and so I left a message. She did not get the message till really late that night and E-mailed me to tell me she was sorry that she missed my call and to call her back on Sunday morning. Which is exactly what I did.
I called her from my cell phone. Again, I had the caller I D blocked. She answered her phone and we talked a few minutes. I then knocked on her door. I was on her porch the entire time. She did not hear me knocking on the door so I said over the phone, "I think I heard someone knocking on the door. Who was it?" She said that there was no one at the door. It must have been the cup she put on the table. So I rang the door bell. To which she said "you have really good ears, I did not hear the door, but, someone just rang the bell. hold on I will see who it is." as she pulled the curtain aside from the front window, I just said "Hi mom" as I waived. It took her a second or two to realize that I was not in Afghanistan but on her front porch. I wish I would have had a camera. That would have been a picture worth taking.
I was home for 15 days. It was probably the worst two weeks of the year for me. The weather really sucked. Every time I wanted to go to the lake to do some fishing and or skiing, it would rain. Then, the last time we tried, we discovered that some ASS WIPES stole all the fishing tackle out of the boat. Over $2000.00 worth of poles and tackle gone. I hope the thief dies a miserable death. I hate thieves. And I believe that there is a special place in hell for them.
So, with the fishing trip now officially taken off the table, and the weather not cooperating at all, there was not much to do. I went and visited a few of my friends who happened to have a day off here and there. I spent some of my time catching up on the shows that I had recording while I was gone. That only took a day or two. Then, not wanting to spend too much money, too late, I only went out to dinner a few times.
I did get invited to some friends houses for dinner and so I did have some good food while I was home. If I had to rely on myself for good food, it would never happen. I can barely boil eggs. LOL I also went to my favorite restaurant. I ate at Osaka's Japanese Sushi and Stake. It was everything I remember it and some. A little on the expensive side, but, worth every penny. Great food, great service, and really nice ambiance.
The trip back to Afghanistan was not what I would call quick. We were stuck in Kuwait for 5 days because of maintenance issue from the week prior. They were 4 days behind schedule and were focusing their flight on people going to the states for leave and the resupply runs. They put us on planes as space would permit, with the cargo for the resupply runs. It was, to say the least, a long trip. As you can all see I am back here safe and sound.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The prank of the year
I guess I can talk about it now since it is done with. One of the other E-7's went on leave last month and his guys wanted to pull a prank on him. And what a prank it was. I was asked to build him a new door for his room as part of the deal.
We have been saving the water bottles after drinking them. Everyone was chipping in under the guise that we are going to recycle them. As it turned out, all those tens of thousands of empty bottles were used to fill his room to the top of the wall. That is where the door came into play. His original door opened inward and thus it would not work for the gag. I had to make a new door and make sure that it was set to open out into the hallway.
After he left to go on leave, we started filling the room with the bottles. It was a huge surprise to find out that even thought we had several big black trash bags full of bottles, once we had emptied all the bags into the room it was less than half way up the door. We had been saving these bottles for 3 months and now we had only 2 weeks to get twice as much to accomplish the mission. It was obvious that is going to have to do something. Failure is not an option.
I called in some favors from some of my contacts. I went to the Gym and talk to the guys there and had them save all the bottles from the people that were working out. I called a few other offices that asked them to do the same thing. Within a week we were filling the room to its peak. I do not have the video of him going into his room yet, but, I will get it and try to post it once I do.
We have been saving the water bottles after drinking them. Everyone was chipping in under the guise that we are going to recycle them. As it turned out, all those tens of thousands of empty bottles were used to fill his room to the top of the wall. That is where the door came into play. His original door opened inward and thus it would not work for the gag. I had to make a new door and make sure that it was set to open out into the hallway. 
After he left to go on leave, we started filling the room with the bottles. It was a huge surprise to find out that even thought we had several big black trash bags full of bottles, once we had emptied all the bags into the room it was less than half way up the door. We had been saving these bottles for 3 months and now we had only 2 weeks to get twice as much to accomplish the mission. It was obvious that is going to have to do something. Failure is not an option. I called in some favors from some of my contacts. I went to the Gym and talk to the guys there and had them save all the bottles from the people that were working out. I called a few other offices that asked them to do the same thing. Within a week we were filling the room to its peak. I do not have the video of him going into his room yet, but, I will get it and try to post it once I do.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Today was yet another rather pleasant day.
The weather here has been pretty nice the last few days. It has not gotten over the 110 mark in a while. Since the "mandatory uniform", when in, ACU's, is full dress, (Another words, I have to have the ACU coat on at all times) I was told that I could work in my PT (Physical Training) uniform.
It was great in the beginning, I had two sets of PT uniforms, so while one was in the laundry, I wore the other. Well, that was until Murphy came to visit. The Laundry service lost my bag with all my clothes in it. So now I have only one outfit to wear. Makes it kind of difficult to wash it while I am working in it. I have ordered 7 sets of PT uniforms, but, they are on back order. Luckily, I know the lady that runs the facility here on Camp Dragon. She has been taking my laundry directly into the facility and getting it done overnight. She brings it in with her in the morning at 0730 and I pick it up on the way back to the hut from the showers. She is optimistic that they will find my bag before too long. I, on the other hand, am not so sure of that. But, I will be waiting, none the less, for it to show up someday.
It seems that someone has noticed all the
things that have been accomplished since I became "Bob the Builder" or "Bob Villa" as I am sometimes called. I was told to report to a 1600 (4 PM) formation today for an award ceremony. There were three of us that received AAM’s (Army Achievement Medals). It was an Impact Award. That means that it was based on a specific event, as opposed to a time range.
We received it for the work we did back in April, the wall and the tables we built for one of the sections that was relocating to the Battalion area. I was told of the task at around 1400 hrs (2 PM) and once I said that I could do it, they dropped the bomb on me. It needed to be ready by 0800 hrs (8 AM) the next day. I was not so sure I could get it done that quickly,but, I started anyway. It looked like a 2 day job, at least.
I asked them to provide me with one or two people for some assistance and they did. We finished the job at 0530 hrs. We worked through the night without a break because they team that we were building it for was to move in immediately. The two guys kind of complained at first, but, they continued to work, so it was all good. It was nice to get some sort of recognition for all the work that has been done here in the last few months.
Well, it looks like I am going down range after all. In fact, I am going down a little sooner than even I thought I would. I am, however, not going to where I was originally supposed to go. It seems that I am wanted by one of the other 1SG’s that needs some office space set up. This time the plan is to get me to Solerno and convert an open bay hardened structure into individual offices. I am not sure of what all is available there. As it is right now, there is not even any electricity for me to use. I am going to be using a generator to power my tools.
Not sure when my next post will be, but, I will take my laptop with me in case there is a USO there. If there is, it might have Wi-Fi that I can get on the web with. I like the USO, they are very good to us. If ever there was an organization that took care of the troops, it is the USO. Well any way, I will write again when I can.
It was great in the beginning, I had two sets of PT uniforms, so while one was in the laundry, I wore the other. Well, that was until Murphy came to visit. The Laundry service lost my bag with all my clothes in it. So now I have only one outfit to wear. Makes it kind of difficult to wash it while I am working in it. I have ordered 7 sets of PT uniforms, but, they are on back order. Luckily, I know the lady that runs the facility here on Camp Dragon. She has been taking my laundry directly into the facility and getting it done overnight. She brings it in with her in the morning at 0730 and I pick it up on the way back to the hut from the showers. She is optimistic that they will find my bag before too long. I, on the other hand, am not so sure of that. But, I will be waiting, none the less, for it to show up someday.
It seems that someone has noticed all the
things that have been accomplished since I became "Bob the Builder" or "Bob Villa" as I am sometimes called. I was told to report to a 1600 (4 PM) formation today for an award ceremony. There were three of us that received AAM’s (Army Achievement Medals). It was an Impact Award. That means that it was based on a specific event, as opposed to a time range. 
We received it for the work we did back in April, the wall and the tables we built for one of the sections that was relocating to the Battalion area. I was told of the task at around 1400 hrs (2 PM) and once I said that I could do it, they dropped the bomb on me. It needed to be ready by 0800 hrs (8 AM) the next day. I was not so sure I could get it done that quickly,but, I started anyway. It looked like a 2 day job, at least.
I asked them to provide me with one or two people for some assistance and they did. We finished the job at 0530 hrs. We worked through the night without a break because they team that we were building it for was to move in immediately. The two guys kind of complained at first, but, they continued to work, so it was all good. It was nice to get some sort of recognition for all the work that has been done here in the last few months.
Well, it looks like I am going down range after all. In fact, I am going down a little sooner than even I thought I would. I am, however, not going to where I was originally supposed to go. It seems that I am wanted by one of the other 1SG’s that needs some office space set up. This time the plan is to get me to Solerno and convert an open bay hardened structure into individual offices. I am not sure of what all is available there. As it is right now, there is not even any electricity for me to use. I am going to be using a generator to power my tools.
Not sure when my next post will be, but, I will take my laptop with me in case there is a USO there. If there is, it might have Wi-Fi that I can get on the web with. I like the USO, they are very good to us. If ever there was an organization that took care of the troops, it is the USO. Well any way, I will write again when I can.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
LIfe is good.
I finally finished most of the projects here at Bagram and I am ready to get down range and start construction on some new projects. The only project left here is to build a rack for the server computers to sit on so they not taking up as much space in the office. I was just informed that I am going to be going down range to start construction on 4 buildings. Two of the buildings for living space and the other two for office space.
Today's project was to build a loft storage over the S-6 (COMMO) shop. The old Russian buildings have 12-14 foot ceilings and so they wanted to be able to store the boxes and cases of things out of the way. Well what better way than to be able to put it up over your head. So I built a loft 7 feet off the ground and that left 6 foot 5 inches of space on the lower level. And 5 foot of storage on the top level. I was told that it would probably take me 6 days. When I said one and a half to two days is all I needed, they laughed. I guess I too was misestimating, it took me less than one day. I also, since I had time, reset a door that was not plumb and thus rubbed the tile floor after it was opened half way.
It is amazing how fast things get done when I am not micro managed and supervised into submission. It looks like the talk with the Colonel paid off. I have noticed that things are going much smoother now that I am left to do things at my pace as long as I meet the dead lines given.
I am looking forward to constructing these buildings that need to be built. It is a good way to pass the time and leave something for the next unit once they get here to replace us. I am also looking forward to going home for a few weeks in September. It is the end of racing season and it would be great if I could get a few races in before the season ends. I want to drive my MX-5 and see if I still have what it takes to kick some butt on the track. My friend Adam has the car and he has placed 1st in every race he entered with my car. I can only hope to do as well once I get to race my car again.
Today's project was to build a loft storage over the S-6 (COMMO) shop. The old Russian buildings have 12-14 foot ceilings and so they wanted to be able to store the boxes and cases of things out of the way. Well what better way than to be able to put it up over your head. So I built a loft 7 feet off the ground and that left 6 foot 5 inches of space on the lower level. And 5 foot of storage on the top level. I was told that it would probably take me 6 days. When I said one and a half to two days is all I needed, they laughed. I guess I too was misestimating, it took me less than one day. I also, since I had time, reset a door that was not plumb and thus rubbed the tile floor after it was opened half way.
It is amazing how fast things get done when I am not micro managed and supervised into submission. It looks like the talk with the Colonel paid off. I have noticed that things are going much smoother now that I am left to do things at my pace as long as I meet the dead lines given.
I am looking forward to constructing these buildings that need to be built. It is a good way to pass the time and leave something for the next unit once they get here to replace us. I am also looking forward to going home for a few weeks in September. It is the end of racing season and it would be great if I could get a few races in before the season ends. I want to drive my MX-5 and see if I still have what it takes to kick some butt on the track. My friend Adam has the car and he has placed 1st in every race he entered with my car. I can only hope to do as well once I get to race my car again.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Having dinner with the Governor
We were visited by five Governors from the home, Governor Rick Perry from Texas and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota were among them. I was able to shake hands with both of them and thank them for coming. It was a great experience to say the least. I will admit I was taken aback by an article I was handed yesterday by one of the CPT’s that I work with. The article was about Governor Pawlenty. It wrote about how he had out smarted his Democrat controlled state House and Senate, and cut the budget despite the fact that the bills that were sent him to sign were the typical Liberal “Tax the small business and spend on the lazy.” He did not just reduce the rate of growth, but, actually decrease the spending in relation to the previous budget. I have gained a new found respect for at least one politician.
Anyway, it seems that the Alamo Forward was a big hit. I was approached by my Colonel and he said he has received hundreds of compliments on the building and how nicely it turned out. I have been asked by a few other Commanders to build some projects for them as well. It looks like I am going to be busy for a long time to come.
It was nice to see and hear our governor. He gave a short speech and then had dinner with us. Of course the dinner was a Texas Style gathering. We had steak and chicken with all kinds of sides to go along. It turned out really nice. The event was only supposed to last about 2 hours but it ran close to 4 before it was finally over. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Alamo (Fwd) is almost finished
It is now the final day of the project. I will have to have it done by tomorrow morning. It is starting to look GREAT and I am happy and sad at the same time. It is kind of like seeing your kid go off to college. You are glad he is gone but you miss him. I finally got the electrical part of it set up. It is not up to code as of yet, but, it will be once my breaker panel arrives.
I had a friend of mine pick me up an outdoor panel from home and mail it to me. For now, the entire system is running on an extension cord or two. I still have to hook up the wall outlets and the light in the storage room. Once that is done, I am going to put in the insulation and put on the outside walls and that will be the end of the project.
The Facade is done. The "T" patch, which is what we ware on our shoulder to identify what unit we are with, is made of 3/4 inch ply wood with the actually "T" being cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and secured to the background. And the letters are cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and individually secured to the silhouette with finishing nails.
I am looking forward to starting the next project. It appears that I am going to be going down range to build an office for one of the teams that is currently living in tents and have no place to do their work. It is a newly established Forward Operating Base (FOB).
Of course, this one will not be anything more than an office building so it is going to be pretty straight forward. 4 outer walls, a few inner walls and a hallway. Hope fully it is not going to interfere with my leave dates. I hope to be done with it before I get to go home on leave. I would hate to leave it half finished and have to return to it a month later. But, sometimes that is just how it has to be.
The sad thing is, that once I get back from leave, I will have only a few weeks to go, before the deployment ends all together. I still have not decided if I want to stay and help the next unit with their transition or if I am just going to go home with my unit and retire. It is another tough choice, since I have been in the military for almost 22 years now and have grown to like it. Retired, WOW, damn, I am getting old. Never thought that would happen. Honestly never really thought I would live long enough to say, "I am retired." Kind of scary.
I had a friend of mine pick me up an outdoor panel from home and mail it to me. For now, the entire system is running on an extension cord or two. I still have to hook up the wall outlets and the light in the storage room. Once that is done, I am going to put in the insulation and put on the outside walls and that will be the end of the project.
The Facade is done. The "T" patch, which is what we ware on our shoulder to identify what unit we are with, is made of 3/4 inch ply wood with the actually "T" being cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and secured to the background. And the letters are cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and individually secured to the silhouette with finishing nails.
I am looking forward to starting the next project. It appears that I am going to be going down range to build an office for one of the teams that is currently living in tents and have no place to do their work. It is a newly established Forward Operating Base (FOB).
Of course, this one will not be anything more than an office building so it is going to be pretty straight forward. 4 outer walls, a few inner walls and a hallway. Hope fully it is not going to interfere with my leave dates. I hope to be done with it before I get to go home on leave. I would hate to leave it half finished and have to return to it a month later. But, sometimes that is just how it has to be.
The sad thing is, that once I get back from leave, I will have only a few weeks to go, before the deployment ends all together. I still have not decided if I want to stay and help the next unit with their transition or if I am just going to go home with my unit and retire. It is another tough choice, since I have been in the military for almost 22 years now and have grown to like it. Retired, WOW, damn, I am getting old. Never thought that would happen. Honestly never really thought I would live long enough to say, "I am retired." Kind of scary.
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