Christmas in Kunduz

Another Christmas away from home. They started back in 1995 my first military Christmas was in MCRD San Diego. On Christmas eve we moved all the bunks to the back of the bay to set up the "grinder" so that we could practice our close order drill. Punishment for poorly performed rifle manual and drill were swift and hard. If you couldn't get right you were invited to the "quarter deck" and you were put through a myriad of physical punishment while everyone else continued to drill. There were usually only just a few people on the quarter deck while the rest of watched out of the peripheral, paying special attention to the commands being given and hopefully not ending up in the little circle of pain. The majority of the performance was satisfactory, and our reward was to eat all of the cookies that had been sent from our families, the catch was we had 15 minutes to eat all of the cookies. Failure to eat all the cookies would've resulted in a "quarter deck" smoking that would bring the cookies right back up.
On Christmas day I remember we went to theatre and watched Desperado. We were 1st Phase recruits, the lowest of the low. The top button of our cammies buttoned to the top, and our trousers un-bloused, and rolled so that you could recognize how nasty and undisciplined we were.
We were sat in the theatre with our company, all around us the 3rd Phase recruits with their name tapes, and the coveted Marine tape over their hearts, uniforms pressed to perfection and trousers bloused over highly spit shined boots, they gorged theirselves with "pogey bait" purchased at the snack shop in the theatre. We hadn't been told there would be snacks, so we watched them eat, we must have looked pretty pitiful. I enjoyed that movie, the most memorable part of the day because I got to see Selma Hayeks beautiful breasts, she made my whole Christmas. I really can't remember anything after that. I don't think we got to call home either. It was the first of many that I would spend away from home.
This Christmas I got to spend it with my brother. He arrived in country on the 23rd. The last Christmas we spent together was in 1998, after my first deployment with the Marine Corps. Christmas eve we hung out most of the night, since it had been a year since I had seen him last. On Christmas day we ate lunch together. It was pretty nice to spend the holiday with him. When we were kids we were pretty lucky we got to celebrate at least 4 times, we were constantly on the go. It was pretty busy but it was nice to spend it with the whole family.
This year I watched my own family enjoy Christmas through my wife's pictures on the internet. We had a secret Santa here, I think everyone liked the gifts I presented the best which were 2 Mylie Cyrus blow up dolls. I know what people like.
I hope everyone got to spend good time with their families. You shouldn't ever take it for granted.
The Brigade did a little story on my brother and I. Here is the link http://170infantry.armylive.dodlive.mil/2011/12/25/for-brothers-christmas-in-kunduz/.

Soldier Hard

I saw this video and had to repost, in dedication to the fallen, and thier loved ones. I think he says a lot on how we are able to do what we do, and why we do it.

Veterans Day

11-11-11, on this day 3rd PLT Cco spent it in a small town in Northern Afghanistan. Back at the FOB the cooks were preparing a nice meal with BBQ steaks, and other goodies, we celebrated with Kabobs from a local shop and slept under the stars.
On Veterans Day we honor those who came before us, those who we serve with now, and those who paid the ultimate price. I come from a long line of Veterans, their pictures and stories that sparked my imagination and facination with the military. I knew at a young age what I wanted to be when I grew up. My friends and I would play "Army" and fight the Vietcong in fields, and in our backyards. We flew Tomcatbobcat Destroyers on the swings and when hit we would "eject" into the pea gravel of the playground.
15 years after raising my right hand, I reflected a little under the Afghan starry sky, about the people in my life that lead me here and inspired me, and those that inspire me to continue to serve.
I've been blessed to serve with some of the best Americans anyone could hope to know. Young men that I've watched risk their lives to save their battle buddies. Soldier's with multiple deployments, who've been to one memorial service to many, wounded in action, encountered mulitiple IED's, small arms fire, RPGs, rockets. Their ears ring constantly, occasionally have nightmares and on days like this when its quiet and they reminisce about the brothers they have lost, wheep silently to themselves. They lace up their boots, put on their body armor, check their Soldier's and roll outside the wire.
When I get to go to a military course and meet Soldier's from other units for the first time, and it seems that you've known them forever, then later seeing those names in the Army Times memorial page, or on the front page of a news paper as a living recipient of the Medal of Honor. It motivates me to continue to serve, that I actually meet and know people in real life that I used to read about as a child. I feel honored to have at least known some of these Soldiers for a short time. I'm saddened by their loss but to those of us who serve they are not just faces in a newspaper.
On Veterans day many flip burgers and spend time with friends and family. Some of us look down at the black metal bracelet we wear and we rub it and read the names, the bracelet is scratched and worn, and we don't take it off. Although their names are engraved on it we can see their faces, remember their laughter, the good times, and the horrible time that took them away.
This Veterans Day I want to thank all those that paved the way for us, those that influenced us, those that risk their lives daily, the warriors whose lifes were forever altered, those who paid the ultimate price, and the families that support them.
To the families that have lost loved ones, your loved one will never be forgotten as their legacy and memories live on through those of us that their lives touched. Through generations of Veterans to come their influence, leadership and light will be passed on.
Thank you for your service.
"The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it...the American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died protecting it. American Soldiers don't fight because they hate what's in front of them...they fight because they love what's behind them."

A Friggn Poem

I wrote this poem. I also feel like I should tuck my junk and paint my fingernails tiger striped. Let me know what you think, feed back would be nice, honest feed back, not that bullshit kiss my ass feed back.

I have no place to call my own,

Upon the Battlefield I roam

Its all I have in these green bags

Sometimes carried, sometimes dragged

To far off places over seas

The starry skys will be my sheets

In freezing snow and pouring rain

With empty heart I feel no pain

No time for love I'm gone again

if I'll return I don't know when

if I Live or die you'll never know

For on the Battlefield I roam

Shitty

It seems every friggin deployment I have to have some issue with my bowels, it never fails, those that know me would say "Roo, you have problems with your bowels in the states to. How many times have you shit your pants?" I would say yes this is true and its none of your damn business how many times I've shit my pants.
Right now there is some awesome virus floating around the camp that gives you explosive gut wrenching, balloon knot puckering diarhea. I swear I can't eat a fucking Twizzler without having to spray it all over the shitter 5 seconds later. Some of the toilets here are of German decent, in Germany the toilets have what I like to call a shit shelf. In AMERICA when you drop a deu you are comforted by the nice plopping sound it makes at its the water, in Germany its a nice dull thud on the shit shelf as the water and the drain are at the forward part of the bowel. You can actually look at the mess you've made with some sense of wonderment and pride. Lately I've been doing immediate colon clearing some times on the shit shelf is a sizeable pile of shit in which I take a little pride in creating. With the recent even of pray and spray though its just thoroughly disgusting.
I spend a lot of time worrying if my bowels are going to fuck me when I'm outside the wire in no direct vicinity to a toilet, or even worse some Afghan shit hole. It smells terrible inside and its extemely gross, THESE PEOPLE DONT USE TOILET PAPER. They take a water pitcher or water bottle and spray there butt holes clean.
Here I'am again sick as fuck with an early work call for tomorrow, so I bid you farewell since I must immediately run to the shitter- ya its not down the hall for me I have to go outside and hope that I make it and if not will anybody be there to see me shit my pants. Who knows and stay tuned
DEUCE DEUCE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dirt Baggin

Another week has gone by, and we were over tasked with Police Training Classes so that we can train the ANP on Police operations. Thank goodness for the 4 day class as my men and I are fully trained to mold the future of Afghanistans Police Force. Thats if they would like to train. For the most part they do seem very motivated to train, unless its to hot. I've been pretty fortunate to work with some of the ANP that are a little more high speed than some. One instance we stopped at a Police Station earlier on when we first got here, my PL went into a room for a meeting and I didn't see which one he had went in. I went room to room looking. I entered one room and it was a bit dark, I full on walked in on a Cheech and Chong session that would make Jimmy Buffet blush. I quickly exited the room, strangely craving Doritos. Anyway think of me as Commander Lassard.
I've tried to keep the men busy with advanced shooting ranges, which they seem to enjoy, but the fact of the matter is we were only able to do 2 and so just when I'm feeling good about what were doing and the training we are conducted, we have that one moment where you just get shat on. One of my Soldier's was discovered with holes in his boots from higher up, I didn't catch it so bad on me, though his Squad Leader was tracking, I was later invited to a little meeting in where I was told that I essentially wasn't doing shit that I was supposed to. Not the exact words he used but the message that I got. It reminded of the time me and Hubble busted our asses back in 1998 getting a Huey ready for flight we worked for over 10 hours trying to get it fixed, got it up and ready for inspections by 0600 the next morning. My Gunny came out and saw us on top of the bird without our ear muffs on our cranials. (Hearing Protection). Mind you we were in the hangar and had these damn things on for hours. He called us into his office and chewed our asses, our hard work had delved into an ass chewing for not wearing ear-pro inside. I understood the point, that was brought home with this story- "You can build a 1000 bridges, the most beautiful bridges the world has ever seen, but you suck one cock your a cock sucker for the rest of your life." I looked at Hubble and said "You never told me you used to be a bridge builder." The Gunny looked at us and told us to get the hell out of his face.
This week I've changed trades.
The boredom is overwhelming its all I can do from going out of my school, and not being a fan of paperwork I can only do so much until I want to run head first into and not limited to steel, wood, and concrete items.
Being in the military feels like working as a surprise party planner throwing a party for someone who lives in a half way house. You have a plan you have some semblance of coordination, but the asshole that walks through the door is never the asshole that you've planned the party for, so you yell "Surprise!", then "Fuck." then reset the entire place, you just never know whos going to walk through the door.
Confused? Bad analogy? Maybe, but stay with me, at the end of the day I attend a meeting, now usually they go pretty good, usually. Somedays you have a great day and then attend this meeting and leave feeling like you want to rinse your mouth out with buck shot. Somedays you leave the meeting after planning a patrol and have your entire plan rearranged because of some awesome FRAGO that came out, then you spend the rest of your night jumping through your ass to pull off whatever is. The next day your well planned feaverish hoop jump through from the night prior falls to complete shit because of things you were counting on to happen, don't, equipment that you were promised, ya they don't have. The list goes on. Anyway some how you miraculously pull the mission together and execute, bust your ass all day long, avoid all of the IED and other deadly pitfall situations that lay in wait outside the wire for you, you get back your exhausted then get called to the "mans" office only to be chewed out because one of your Soldier's left his lap top secured. You hunt down the Soldier to find that he had stepped out to take a piss in the middle of watching Vampire Diaries only to come back to his lap top missing with a note that says tell your Platoon Sergeant to come see me.
If there was ever a time in my life that I felt that I couldn't win for losing it would be this time.
I need to go jump through my ass and watch my plan fall apart right about now so have fun in lala land, with your commercialism and fast foods and such.
DEUCE DEUCE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slacking

Slacking or no real time to write down my thoughts and experiences? Maybe both coupled with a bit of laziness. Most likely. Through three deployments I can't recount how many times I've "almost" been blown up or "just missed" an IED or VBIED. Once again and for the 2nd time since I've been with this company, we have "just missed" another.
When I wrote the above portion I was feeling good and optimistic about what we were doing. As of late I'm extemely bored and disapointed with this area of Afghanistan. I really expected more. We supposedly know where the bad areas are we know how to get there but they won't let us go. This frustrates me to the brink of self destruction. I keep the men occupied with training so that they don't lose focus. We are changing our focus once again to a mentor type focus. We are being trained to train the Afghans in Police work. Interesting enough, without going into detail I can't really say to much even though its extremely boring and I have my own thoughts on it. Once again I will execute and perform the task to the best of my abilities but shit man, when is enough fucking enough.
I will hopefully get to elaborate more at why I'm frustrated with this fucking system, but I'll give it a try first and see what comes of it. Attack it with a half opened mind.
I'm feeling pretty negative and run down, on a positive note I ate dinner at the German DFAC and it was delicious, I had a huge rip in my trousers, and during deployments I always rock commando. I wasn't going to go in at first but these uniforms come with sticky patches so I covered myself with one. I went and ate and came back outside, when I tried to remove the patch it was stuck to me. Like really stuck to me. I figured if I pulled it off fast it would be ok..... No that shit hurt like a fucking bastard.
Good fucking times people. Anyway negative Nancy will be signing off for now.
DEUCE DEUCE ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ