One soldier’s story

“When a warrior fights not for himself, but for his brothers, when his most passionately sought goal is neither glory nor his own life’s preservation, but to spend his substance for them, his comrades, not to abandon them, not to prove unworthy of them, then his heart truly has achieved contempt for death, and with that he transcends himself and his actions touch the sublime. This is why the true warrior cannot speak of battle save to his brothers who have been there with him. This truth is too holy, too sacred, for words.” —Dekton (“Suicide”) from the book <u>Gates Of Fire</u> by Stephen Pressfield

This quote from <u>Gates of Fire</u> is perhaps the most accurate sentiment of combat I’ve ever encountered. It’s one of my all-time favorite literary quotes (I’ve posted it in this blog before). If you haven’t read the book yet, I HIGHLY recommend it! It starts out kind of slow, but if you stick with it, I PROMISE you will see why it’s worth your time…

But reflecting on Veteran’s Day, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of VETERANS who do not get today off. I know this because I remember being one of them just last year, recognizing the irony in being a combat veteran, in combat, pressing on through a “holiday” made just for you… So I hope everyone remembers those Service Members who fall in the “less than 1%” willing to put the American way of life before themselves, the ones who are over seas away from their families through numerous holidays, working 12-hour shifts every single day, supporting, fighting, and suffering so that the other 99% of Americans don’t have to.

This post is in memory of <a href=”http://www.memorialbracelets.com/details.php?nameID=9981&eventID=29&catID=2&pid=66&subID=39&pagenum=1&letter=C”>Staff Sergeant Victor M. Cota</a> and still living <a href=”http://rollingpix.blogspot.com/2009/09/blind-vet-looking-for-12-paralympics.html”>SPC Steven Baskis</a>. SSG Cota was the lead truck commander (TC) for the personal security detachment (PSD) I worked with for 15 months in Iraq. He was an exemplary Soldier who kept the morale high and touched everyone’s life who met him. He was killed on the night of 14 May 2008 when an explosive-formed projectile (EFP) concealed in a drainage ditch detonated on his MRAP, penetrating the right side of his abdomen. The residual copper and concussion from the explosion left his driver, SPC Baskis, completely blind. I met up with SPC Baskis at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and found him inspirational as he was already RUNNING again! (With an escort to guide him of course). I hope to run into Baskis again in the future. Someday I also plan to visit SSG Cota’s final resting place… he is dearly missed by his wife, children, and his brothers in arms.

I’m posting this separate from the Army posts because it’s completely unrelated, and just gives me something else to post in my blog…

Okay so here’s the results from my picks of NFL 2009 season, week 1:

TEN@ PIT: My pick=Winner=Steelers (10-13)
~I was right… barely! The defenses matched up well enough that I felt this became a boring game.

MIA@ATL: GO FALCONS!!! (10-19)
~The Dolphins did better than I expected, but we still beat ’em. Matt Ryan seemed a little off.

PHI@CAR: My pick=Carolina ; Winner=Philly (38-10)
~Wow, the Panthers SUCKED! They were absolutely Terrible! Which gives me a good feeling about this weekend’s matchup against The Falcons!! The Eagles utterly crushed Carolina, but at the expense of McNabb, and Vick can’t play yet.

DEN@CIN: My pick=Bengals ; Winner=Denver (12-7)
~Cincinatti had this one… The Broncos played like crap and caught a lucky break at the end. I still wouldn’t bet on Denver this year. (And I usually LIKE Denver!)

MIN@CLE: My pick=Winner=Vikings (34-20)
~Cleveland held their own pretty well against Favre and Peterson’s ridiculous 180+yd rushing game. They’re definitely better than last year… of course it’s only week 1.

NYJ@HOU: My pick=Texans ; Winner=New York Jets (24-7)
~So I heard Schaub was out, which must be why Houston got demolished by the Jets. I didn’t think New York would have anyone after Favre left, but apparently I was wrong. (It happens…. rarely)

JAX@IND: My pick=Winner=Colts (12-14)
~The Colts had a HARD time pulling a “W” out of this game. Jacksonville looks to have a fairly strong defense this year.

DET@NO: My pick=Winner=Saints (27-45)
~I’m glad I changed my pick to New Orleans because they DOMINATED this game! Although, the Lions did start coming back at the end.

DAL@TB: My pick=Winner=Cowboys (34-21)
~Dallas had to work at it, but they ended up victorious. Hey, even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day!

KC@BAL: My pick=Winner=Ravens (24-38)
~Kansas City did pretty well, but Baltimore came out on top.

SF@ARZ: My pick=Cardinals ; Winner=The 49ers (20-16)
~Wow, was I wrong! Arizona must have forgotten they had a game today to practice for, because they SUCKED.

WSH@NYG: My pick=Winner=Giants (17-23)
~I had my doubts that the Giants would pull this one off. They ended up winning, but certainly don’t look like the team they were last year.

STL@SEA: My pick=Winner=Seahawks (0-28)
~Lesson from this game: Never pick St. Loius. Not A single point?!? A SHUTOUT! They are likely the 2009 version of last year’s Detroit Lions.

CHI@GB: My pick=Bears ; Winner=Green Bay (15-21)
~Jay Cutler was one of the best players on the Packers that game… too bad he wears a Bears Jersey! The Packers shoved this win down Chicago’s collective throat.

BUF@NE: My pick=Winner=Patriots (23-24)
~Buffalo is starting out strong like they did last year. I hope they can keep it up. They SHOULD have won this game. Brady isn’t the QB he used to be, but Moss hasn’t lost his shine.

SD@OAK: My pick=Winner=Chargers (24-20)
~I barely got this one right too! Despite San Diego winning, Oakland played hard and proved to be competitive. Dont’ count them out yet!

So, 11 out of 16 correct = 69%… not too bad.

So my picks for week 2:

CAR@ATL: GO FALCONS!!! [The 2009 Tame Carolina Panthers will be destroyed.]

MIN@DET: Vikings [Adrian Peterson is simply phenomenal. The Lions defense doesn’t stand a chance.]

CIN@GB: Packers [Green Bay played well enough to prove their worth… at least for this game.]

ARZ@JAX: Jaguars [If Jacksonville can stand up that will to Indy, The Cards should be a piece of cake!]

OAK@KC: Raiders [Oakland looked strong enough to hold their own last week, they can take the Chiefs.]

NE@NYJ: Jets [I think the Jets have something to prove, and the Patriots didnt’ impress me last week.]

NO@PHI: Eagles [If it were in New Orleans, I’d take the Saints.]

HOUT@TEN: Titans [No explanation required. Just watch last week’s game against the Steelers.]

STL@WSH: Redskins [Again: Do Not Bet On The Rams This Year!]

TB@BUF: Bills [This could be a really good game! I think the Bucs will put up an unsuccessful fight.]

SEA@SF: 49ers [Okay, this game could go either way…]

PIT@CHI: Steelers [The Bears don’t stand a chance, even in their own home.]

CLE@DEN: Browns [Denver BARELY won against the Bengals. Luck only takes you so far in the NFL.]

BAL@SD: Ravens [Baltimore will prove to be tougher to beat than the Raiders.]

NYG@DAL: Cowboys [Begrudgingly… this could also prove to be a great game. The Giants had a difficult time beating the Skins last week.]

IND@MIA: Dolphins [The Colts had a tough time against the Jags, and the Dolphins have a good defense.]

Hopefully these picks will pull me up in my NFL Pick’em standings I host…

Okay, I’m LONG overdue for a post in this blog, and I’ll try to post more frequently. I know I’ve said that several times before, but I mean it this time. I don’t know if anyone reads my blog anymore, but I didn’t start it to gain a web-following. I started this blog with the intention of documenting what MY experience in the Army is like.

I started the Captain’s Career Course about a month ago. Our first few classes were on decision-making and briefing, “Agile Leader”, then training management, basic electronics, MDMP, and cultural awareness. Yesterday was simply a UCMJ briefing followed by an OPD (Officer Professional Development) hosted by the battalion commander. I typically wake up at 0430 to get dressed and ready for PT (which starts at 0530), and class usually starts at 0800 or 0830. Most days we are released before 1600 (4pm for the civilians), but some days we’ve had to stay past 6.

Outside of class I have a book review (in memorandum format, as is every product) to work on, and information brief, and a staff study. I’m reading Lone Survivor for the book review, and I’ll post my thoughts on the book when I finish it. For the information brief, I’ve decided to explain “Why the Army should use Linux.” I’ll post that brief too. And for the staff study, I kept it in them with “Which version of Linux should the Army use?” The product from the staff study isn’t worth posting because it’s dreadfully boring to read and highly subjective.

The Captains Career Course is supposed to be a “break” for junior officers from the deployment cycle of conventional units. The course I am currently attending lasts 6 months… we just found out yesterday that the Army plans to change the career course to a mere 4-8 week TDY course, with most of the technical and doctrinal knowledge delivered to the student through distance-based learning (online) instead of “at the schoolhouse” and a PCS move. In my opinion, the Army is SCREWING their officers by doing this.

I am now in networking, and am finally enjoying my classes. That’s probably because I have a degree in Compuer Science. One thing I did find out this morning is that I get to download thousands of dollars worth of software for FREE! On top of that, I can also get vouchers to take certification tests for free! So, despite what the Army takes away from its subjects Soldiers, they throw them a bone every once in a while. Aonther benefit I have to prepare for moving to Germany is free access to Rosetta Stone to learn German…

More to follow as the course progresses…

I’ve been meaning to update this blog for quite some time… I now have a story worth writing about.

In the Army, a Soldier will likely be given orders to report to an assignment either overseas (OCONUS) or to another part of the country. This is called permanent change of station (PCS). Before a Soldier can PCS, they must go through “out-processing” of their current duty station. This out-processing consists of variable “round-robin” stations where the Soldier takes a sheet of paper to acquire signatures stating “No, the Soldier doesn’t owe us anything, he/she can leave.”

Well, at my duty station (likely all duty stations), before you can even start out-processing, you have to present your signed, approved leave form. I didn’t realize this was absolutely required until I had already wasted an hour in a waiting room and was sitting in front of the lady… I submitted my leave form to my battalion 6 days before my first attempt to start out-processing. They still didn’t have it signed. So, I gave it a day, let them try to get it done. The next day (Tuesday) I went to battalion HQ to see if my leave form was ready… Nope “Lieutenant Brian says it’s on the Colonel’s desk.” So, I called LT Brian, and he  assured me “Oh yeah, it will get signed today”, to which I replied “Okay, call me as soon as it’s signed.”

On Wednesday, I go back up to battalion… still no leave form. OMFG.

Real quick, let me give you a little more background to put my urgency into perspective…

We’ve been paying for our kids to be in day care. It cost $360 on the 1st and 15th of each month. Well, since my wife finishes teaching over Memorial Day weekend, we essentially would have been paying $360 for 5 days of child care. Fuck That! So I thought I could get most, if not all, of my out-processing done by Thursday (the 14th) and then I could just hang out with my son all day and my daughter before/after she has school. The Army is quickly fucking up that plan…

So, on Wednesday, I went back to Battalion… nope! “I’ts Still on the Colonel’s desk”?!?!? Are you fucking kidding me??? I find out where my leave form is sitting, precisely, at that moment, then I drive down and walk up to the Lieutenant Colonel’s office to grab my leave form and track him down to sign it.

I drove around to 3 different motor pools over the span of about 90 minutes, then come across some Major and ask “Sir, have you seen LTC ______ anywhere?” “Nah, but you want his cell phone number?” “Please!” I get the Lieutenant Colonel’s cell number, call him and ask for his exact location. He tells me, and I ran out to the TMP van he was driving around in and have him sign my leave form.

Now that I have the final signature approving my leave, I need the control number put on it. So I take it back to battalion to get the control number, and once I have that, I head back to the Welcome Center to get my clearing papers…

Guess what… They close at fucking 3 P.M.!!! These fucking lazy bitched work fewer hours than the Goddamn Post Office!!!!!

I was so fucking irrate the rest of that night…

[… deep sigh…]

I went in early the next morning to start my out-processing… if I want to stick to my plan, I am down to one day (the current day) to complete all of the out-processing. Believe it or not, I fucking did it… well, almost. I have 2 very big hang-ups…

When I went to CIF (the Central Issue Facility where Soldiers are issued all of their field gear), the earliest the lady said she could get me in was June 11th! That’s almost 2 weeks after I am going to be driving to my next duty station!!! So, after pleading and begging, she squeezes me in 2 days before my planned departure. I’m still going to try and weasel my way into an earlier date by “adjusting” my appointment slip…

While I’m at CIF, I’m supposed to go by the Installation Property Book Office (IPBO) to be cleared. They are the ones who issue office equipment on post, and you sign for the equipment from them… Well, before I deployed (back in 2007) I signed over all of the office equipment to a garrison company commander. Apparently, they lost that paperwork, so it is my name that they still have on the hand receipts for over $16,000 worth of equipment! And to add to this property debacle, all of the equipment was moved while I was deployed!!!

WTF?! How the fuck am I supposed to track down equpiment I’m not supposed to be signed for, when I have no fucking clue where it was taken while I was serving 15 months in Hell!?!?!

I was able to track down (somewhat) where some of the items may be, and now I’m just hoping the rest shows up in close vicinity. I’m supposed to “Final Out” (be done with out-processing) this Thursday, but considering those fuckers close at 3pm, and even if I can squeeze myself into an earlier turn-in time I don’t think it will be done by 3, I don’t think I’ll be done with all this shit until the day I drive away. Oh yeah, and I have to take my son with me to the turn-in.

I just can’t fucking believe this shit can happen… and to ME!?!! Just one more thing I can add to my lengthy “What I Hate About The Army” list.

Okay, so I’ve been home now for about 3 weeks now. It has been wonderful… The first weekend back was my son’s birthday, the second weekend I took them snow skiing (we all had a blast doing that!), and this past weekend I took my wife to Austin, TX for the weekend for some alone time away from the kids, and so she could meet all of my friends I hung out with during the deployment.

A sweet ending to the Austin trip was that we went to the Rooster Teeth HQ… they are the guys who make Red Vs. Blue. It was awesome to meet the creators of my favorite animated series. They gave me a free copy of Reconstruction, signed by all of them! And I got a free T-shirt too! It was surreal…

So now the not so good news… after nearly 2 years working with the (well, a) Division command group (under a General), I thought I was done with that level of bullshit… looks like I may be wrong. I just may be the new SGS! Yeah, it’s a Major’s job, but they don’t have anyone to fill it, so they thought with my experience I would be perfect for it… FUCK!

So, we’ll see how this goes… I’ll try to post my thoughts here with more frequency.

Oh yeah, by the way, I’ve changed my e-mail address: captainjoe-at-burntmail-dot-com