Thoughts During Two Weeks A Year…

It seems interesting that the day after the 10 anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks, I begin my annual training as an Army Reservist. This year I am in Fort Dix, New Jersey helping my unit prepare for deployment to Afghanistan. I will not be deploying this time. Afghanistan. What are our prospects in … Read more

Memorial Day 2010

We attended a very nice Memorial Day event in Santa Cruz, which is a bit surprising. Freedom is not free. The price is non-negotiable. Each generation pays for the freedom of the next generation in blood. Memorial Day is a day to celebrate that purchase while honoring those who paid for it. US Navy Petty … Read more

Sabers complete transfer of authority

Apparently, I now work for the Sabers. 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry has returned home to Fort Hood, Texas. I worked with them for seven months. The 1-9 CAV built FOB Hunter. When they arrived on the abandon airfield of Qal At Salih there was nothing there but a few runways, some taxiways, several hangers that … Read more

Back to FOB Hunter??

I am still at COB Adder. With luck I’ll be back at FOB Hunter tomorrow for the final push to finish this tour. It’s been a good break. I am looking forward to getting back to my team. Reading their reports for the past week it looks like things are nicely busy down there. Looks … Read more

Love is…

Growing up, my parents use to read the Love is… comics and when there something particularly relevant to their life, one or the other of them would cut it out and put it on the family Facebook of the day, the refrigerator door with a magnet. I got to thinking about that and wondered what … Read more

Back at Adder

My four day pass ended with a 0300 briefing for the flight back to COB Adder. I didn’t find out about that until 2100. I still needed to do laundry, pack, turn in linen. I decided that trying to sleep would only make things worse. I got everything done and was ready for my departure … Read more

Four Day Pass: Day 3

Continuing the shopping theme, I went on the Souqs tour. The tour first stops at the Gold Souqs and then at the Old Souqs. The first is the jewelry district. Primarily gold bracelets, necklaces, ear rings and the like. Neither my wife nor I wear jewelry so this first stop was of little interest. At … Read more

Four Day Pass: Day 2

Today I went to the Landmark Shopping Mall in Doha, Qatar. Yes, I like shopping. So, take away my man-card. I also like watching society happen. We started at McDonalds for dinner. No, it wasn’t the most interesting restaurant in the mall. I’ve never been much for culinary adventure. After eating FOB Hunter chow hall … Read more

Villaggio Mall

Today, I went to Villagio Mall in Doha, Qatar. It was pretty interesting. The place is modeled after some casino of the same name. No idea what or where that is. We entered the mall at the expensive end. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Dolce Gabbana, and a number of others I’d never heard of. As … Read more