Home:

HOME!!! for two weeks anyway.

Graduation:

Well, Moose and I graduated this afternoon and are now offically employed by Blackwater. We will go home for two weeks only to return here and standby for deployment. This could take as long as four weeks or as little as two. This should put my return home around the first week of Sept, just in time to see Gracie enter the first grade. I will miss all of you but will stay in touch via internet. Peace.

Gear Issue:

Almost done, had a couple of classes and gear issue today. Not exactly sure where Moose and I are going to end up yet as far as FOB's go. I have attached a photo of Moose and I taken in front of the Blackwater proshop. I swear it looks like I lost weight (yeah right). Peace.

From Blackwater Training Center North Carolina:

I know that it has been several days since I posted, but I wanted to make sure I passed all testing and didn’t get sent home. Well, I passed everything and will be graduating on Friday. My good friend Moose, who I spent two years with in Iraq, is also here. I believe we are in the top three of the oldest out of a class of twenty five. I won’t lie; I thought I was going to die during the run. Someone said they heard a pop when I ran by indicating I broke the sound barrier. I told them it wasn’t the sound barrier, it was my lungs. I STILL hurt from that run and to top it off, the hotel had no hot tub available. I have got to let my fifty three year old body have a serious talk with my eighteen year old mind. Anyhow, I will fly home Saturday and spend two more week there, then return to North Carolina to await deployment to Afghanistan. Peace.

Export Compliance Training

AHHHHHHHH...I hate web-based training, I'm looking down the barrel of at least five hours of the most boring $*@! ever devised by man. And that's just the first half. This is going to be a long, long evening.

Final Paperwork gathered

Finally got all of the necessary paperwork gathered, the last being from Dr. Rose my dentist(thanks much John and Teri). You would not believe how anal the DoD is about dental health. By the way, if any of you are looking for an OUTSTANDING dental practice Look up Dr. John Rose DDS in Long Beach.
Just putting the final touches on things at home so I won't worry about it later. I swear I am forgetting something and I just can't remember what it is. Oh well, I'm sure I'll remember it later.

Iraq Review

Thought I'd add a couple of things from Iraq as more of a filler than anything else. My experiences there were very profound and have changed the way I look at things in my life. As you can see I have added a couple of photos from Baghdad.

Well, another day of running around getting necessary paperwork for the government. It seems it never ends and the worst part is that I'm sure I have already sent this stuff in. Got my deployment haircut today (blah), buzz cut. At least it is easy to care for and maintain. Although Susan has already done so, I need to sit down with Gracie and explain that Daddy is going back to work. She has always been good about it but I still think it is hard on her. I know it is on me.

CRC PRT (Physical Readiness Test

Got my mile and a half run down to 16 1/2 minutes. Not bad for an old fart. Run needs to be done in under 17 minutes. I'll still try to shave another minute or two off.
Forgot to mention that my buddy Moose and I will be in the same class at CRC. Moose and I spent a considerable amount of time together in the Green Zone. He worked at the Baghdad Operations Center and I worked at the Baghdad river police national training center. Great guy and it will be good to have a friend there.

I am hoping this will be a running account of my experiences in Afghanistan. Having spent the last four years in Iraq, I learned I should have better chronicled my experiences there since memory fades with time. While I did keep a written diary, it was sporadic at best and really didn't convey accurately what I experienced or felt.
Currently, I am waiting to go to CRC (conus replacement center) which is where we are trained and receive our DoD physicals. I will be at CRC for six days undergoing further weapons training and theater specific orientation for Afghanistan.
I leave for CRC the 18th.