I didn't post yesterday, even though it was one of those days where I think a lot of people will have posted thoughts about the Global War on Terror, 9/11 and speculate as to whether or not what the US is doing now on the worldfront is right or wrongheaded.

Shrug.Frankly, I'm not sure. Blogs like Afghan Quest, CP, Sgt. Grumpy. Lt. Nixon or CI Roller's, I think they, and those like them, would offer more insightful ideas about what is or was done there and what impact it has had and will have. I cannot form as educated or experienced-based of an opinion. Figuratively, I sit at their feet, listen and try to learn.

I can say that it's easy to feel patriotic or righteously indignant when you see countryman falling out of burning buildings or planes being turned into giant, fuel laden missiles. I like millions of others did experience that. I feel terrible for those people who died and for those families whos' lives will never be the same. I can't imagine what they have had to live through in the eight years since. It's unfathomable.

I remember standing in my living room with Joanna, cherubic at four months old and riding my hip, while I answered the door to the Fedex lady with a smile that morning and watchimg her face change as she simultaneously looked over my shoulder at the TV behind me and morphed her face from a smile of equal measure to one of unequaled horror. I turned and we both stood on the threshold of my home and watched the television camera train on a plane as it cut through a tower. My facial expression then mirrored her own.

Time stood still.
It did.But it was an illusion.The continuum is never really broken.
Time moves us.It had to.It still has to.None of us still drive the roads with shoe polish sentiments on our car windows and flags or yellow ribbons flying off our antennaes.At the time there was nothing we collectively wanted more than retribution.

Outward exhibitions of such patriotism were seen which we as a nation hadn't experienced since the last World War.It was heady, visceral, but unsustaining.

Time has brought us to a point where now we need sustainment and the opportunity to maintain an awareness and a sense of focus on the matters at hand. Awareness reminds me of all the other sacrifices by those who serve our country in quiet, in obscurity, off camera.

There are clear and present matters at hand which should demand the same focus and passion, but do not come replete with the natural, communal shock and drive of the images and impact of that day, but I hold that they are of the same import and have the same lasting effects on our country and citizenry.

Families fragmented for months on end because of multiple deployments, marriages which struggle with the demons of fear, loneliness and infidelity and those that end in divorce.
Single parents who live day by day and fight these demons with often no one to talk to. They love their warrior so much they don't want to worry them of struggles at home so they just try to keep it together as best they can.

Those warriors who believe that they have no respite from the stress of combat for fear of the stigma of counseling and shame of not bearing up under the natural strains attached to serving their country.

Homes of Reservists which are lost because of foreclosure when the family income is cut in half--an Army engineer and a private engineer just don't pull down the same kind of income.

Children who only know their father or mother because of a picture or a voice on the phone and who struggle with attachment issues.

Guard members who come back and find that while they may have a job, they have lost seniority and payraises getting lost in the shuffle.

Airmen, sailors, coastguardsman, soldiers and Marines who wait for letters or mail out on edges of civilization-- who need to feel remembered and not forgotten so far from home and reminded that what they contribute has inherent long-affecting impact.

Warriors whos' bodies and minds come back irrevocably changed.
9/11 was one of those days where discord and tragedy were distilled into a couple of hours with a mind numbing Doppler effect. God rest all those souls who's cries were almost palpable due in part to the horrific scenes now burned into our minds. May they rest with the angels.

For those still alive and dealing with the aftermath whether by choice or circumstance, I believe we owe them the same ongoing awareness and whatever support we can offer.

It may not be as dramatic or palpable a rise in consciousness these more mundane sacrifices I have pointed out. Surely 9/11 represents a perspective of violence on innocents and an obvious psychic tearing of our country unparalleled in the 21st century thus far and may it continue to be so.

Still, let none of the struggles each human touched by this Global War on Terror eight years ago and through the years since be in vain. These struggles are just as collective and impacting on our country as those experienced on that September morning.

Never forget.Then and now.

Have been madly jobhunting and trying to keep up with my guys and gals flung all over. Not the best blogger. Lots of boring reasons BUT suffice to say I will be kind enough to not bore you and will give you this link so you can go check out the whole story behind the big toaster and crock pot drive. It starts with this pain in the ass 1st Sgt who I love like my 5th kid and often want to kill like one of my own, too.

)i vey!
and I'm not even Jewish!

Check it out over at Castra Praetoria.

I've been busy and then not so busy.
I'm here, but looking for a job,
taking care of my guys,
my kids,
getting into a school routine
and well, that's about it.

Saw a bunch of old homeschool friends recently,
been totally bad about any kind of social media save admining Mike's Castra Praetoria blog and posting for World on Terror News.
I hired a personal trainer even though I can't afford it and because I don't want to buy a size 8. Thighs kissing ever so slightly was a smack to the back of the head like no other. For me, I mean. Don't bust my ass.

I've been a bit of a lazy sow since the cruise and Taji falling through.


Still waiting to hear back from Lima Company, but the 1st Sgt in that battalion's H&S Company said Lima did get all their supplies. Thanks and as soon as I get pics I'll put them up!

hope

My house is trashed... boxes, custom forms, labels, bubble wrap everywhere. It's postal, I tell ya! Postal!

Remnants of a four day weekend and a visit from one of our friends we made during his deployment you will find in my room since I haven't actually unpacked from the resort, yet.

There's bag of flips flops hanging on the doorknob for Kanani and my dining room table looks like a Stop and Go covered in jerky, cigarettes, dip, snacks and magazines.

What I need is for Tony to call me up and say, "Hey honey, the principal from Jake's new school wants to do a home visit for his interview. She'll be over for dinner tonight."

Ohmyhell.
THEN I'd move my ass.

Maybe.

I've been shopping for Kanani's husband here lately. (see previous post)Seems you can find flip flops, shower shoes whatever you want to call them are a dollar at craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I'll post more about what has been collected thus far, but in the meantime I have a blog I want you to go take a look at. It's one of those start at the a beginning blogs...well it is for me. The pictures, his prose, his ability to convey deployment experience makes his writing almost palpable.

Blogs like this give me the eyes and ears I don't have being a civilian trying to assist my adopted troops the best way I can. I want to know the environment, the mindset and the experiences, social, political and military in order to be useful. Blogs like Afghan Quest written by an deployed Army NCO are a touchstone for that.

Here are some stark, captivating and poignant excerpts from some of his work in late winter/early spring 2007.

On the Taliban:

It has been written that the people are the water that the insurgent fish swims in. Part of our job is to separate him from the water. I’m sure that I’ve looked right into Taliban eyes by now. I just can’t be sure which ones. I won’t take action against someone I’m not sure is an enemy. But to ignore them is to court
disaster.

On navigating the emotions of deployment:

So, to re-center myself for now; I am getting to spend time with my kids. I am getting to enjoy them, and spend time with them, and let them know that their dad loves them so very much. They are enjoying the sense of peace as much as I am. There will pain when I leave again, this time for a bit longer… but there is time for that when it is time to feel it. It will be a rich emotion, too. It is life, and thank God that I can feel anything.For today, I am enjoying being in my home city, being with my children, being with family and friends. I am grateful for all of this, and for all of them. We are alive.

Here's a piece on a crescent moonrise a few days ago:

I noticed tonight that Kabul twinkles at night. I don’t know what it is, but the lights of Kabul twinkle much like stars embedded in a fabric that climbs up the mountains like a Christmas tree blanket over a tree stand. They are not all the same dull yellowish color or blue-tinted white of American city lights. There seem to be many colors, from bright white to bright red, muted greens and yellowish glares. It almost seems festive, and I ponder the many lives being lived next to the twinkling points; the children growing up in this dusty city heaving itself slowly out of the quagmire of war’s rubble, barely daring to hope for a future with a bit of liberty.

It’s too much to consider.

I notice an almost ominous glow behind one of the mountains. Back home such a glow would signal some sort of large event. Here, as I forgot, it heralds the coming of the moon. What I see is the bright light of earth’s largest satellite glowing like an approaching car’s headlights. The far side of the mountain is already bathed in its light, but here on the other side, I stand in shadow, slowly realizing that it is the moon and not some great social event or impending disaster.

A bright, unblinking light appears atop the mountain. It is the tip of the crescent which momentarily becomes apparent; a triangle, its sharpened tip growing taller at a surprising rate. Within seconds, it begins to resemble a shark’s tooth breaking free of the mountainous jaw, jutting skyward. This effect grows and is not lost until the moon is nearly free of the grasp of the mountain. Finally, the nearly half-moon rests for a few seconds atop the mountain, seemingly paused there as if resting from the effort.

The illusion is broken; the moon separates itself from the mountain and resumes its climb. The moonshadow begins to retreat towards the moon, slowly racing across the valley towards the base of the opposing mountain as the moon literally shines like a muted sun on the glittering city of Kabul. The moon is risen.

I think it took less than two minutes. Some things just leave me shaking my head slowly and muttering about beauty to myself, alone in the dark.

See?

Go visit Afghan Quest.

The toasters for Lima came in.Sheila didn't mess around. Just after we left with the first haul of crockpots she called her boss Karl on the way home and let him know what we needed.

The follow through was such a surpirse. When I called to confirm, Karl already knew my name, had made the shipping changes and had a pick up time for me to come back. I think I got as far as, "hi my name is H--" before on that phone call before he cut in and said as much.

His take-charge, matter-of-fact attitude over the phone had some origin. Turns out he served in Korea with the Army in the 25th's "Tropic Thunder". Guess where he was based? Yep. Same place Lima is now. Hawaii.
He and Tony traded stories as he fussed over packing things just right. Naturally, there was some good humored smack traded between soldier and Marine. But like he said, "Gotta take care of my brothers. You tell them to take care of themselves. Okay?"

For Jolie
I'm sharing my song with you.

Drive on, mama!

In April of this year I attended a military blog conference in Washington, D.C. as I began America's 1st Sgt's blog. One thing I remember about the conference other than feeling surrounded by milblogosphere rockstars like Troy, and his counterpart, CJ, to be interviewed here next week; wass how engaged they were with all the milbloggers at the conference.
I sat directly behind these two and from that vantage point saw that there wasn't blogger there these men didn't treat as respected colleagues. They took the time to ask and answer questions when approached, offer encouragement and simply listen to other conference participants during each session. Their active engagement and enthusiasm within the milblog community represented there made a lasting impression on me. Meet Troy of Bouhammer's Afghan Blog , YouServed, Military Pundits and AfghanLessons.

How long have you been blogging? I started blogging in 2005 on my family website. I ran a blog about our family in general, travel tips (since I travel so much) and military topics i general. However in 2006 when I was mobilized for my deployment to Afghanistan I migrated my general military blog to be specifically about my deployment.

Why did you start? I started the family blog in order to get away from the end of the year family letter we always put in Christmas cards. I usually could not remember everything that happened over the last year so I figured I would write up blogs as things happened so family and friends who cared could come read it when they wanted to. As for the Afghanistan based military blog, I wanted to keep a better journal of my deployment than I did during the Gulf War. There was so much I had forgotten from that time that I did not want that to happen again. I figured the blog was the best way to capture all that happened during the deployment. Also, I did not want to mass-blast friends and family with emails so I figured this was a good way for them to come read when they wanted to.

Was it a easy decision to make? It was very easy decision as I wanted to capture this history as it was happening and I thought it might be therapeutic during the deployment. I work in IT in my civilian occupation and I can type easily enough so it was not a big deal for me to type out a blog every once in a while.

Are there aspects to your participation in the milblogging community for which you weren't prepared? Yes, I was never prepared for it to become as popular as it did. When I first started the blog it was meant for family and friends like I had stated. By half-way through my tour the number of people reading it that were complete strangers outnumbered family members and friends 10-1. I had more people that were getting ready for an Afghanistan deployment and people with family members in Afghanistan following my blog than anyone else. I was not prepared for Doonesbury creator, Garry Trudeau becoming a fan and later becoming a friend. I never thought I would be a regular contributor on BBC's "World Have your Say" Radio show or that I would do all the other interviews and things that I have been so lucky to be part of all because of my blog.

Can you tell me how your service impacts your world view and vice versa how your world view affects(ed) your service? I think I am much more worldly than most in this country because of the things I have seen and done in my service. I am an Army brat, having been born at Ft. Bragg and lived all over the world. I myself have lived in many places in and outside of this country. As with any time that I travel to another country, especially a 3rd world country, I am very appreciative of all that we have in the US and can easily see how gluttonous and spoiled we are in our country. I think that is a good and bad thing. I feel that I look at the world and what is going on in the geo-political climate with a whole different perspective than someone who has not served, and especially not served in combat.

As a follow up how has your world view changed, if it has.Yes it has, but i am not sure how exactly. I only have my experiences to base my views on and seeing that I lived in places like Panama as a kid, and then as an adult was stationed or deployed to many areas of the world, especially the far east I am not sure what my view was like before military service as I have always been around the military. Also, having first experienced combat 18 years ago, anything prior to that and my views on things have kind of faded from memory.

What's been the most rewarding aspect of blogging? Getting the comments, emails, phone calls that I get from people who up until that time were perfect strangers and then they tell me how much my blog helped them. How it made them feel closer to their loved one or friend who is deployed (particularly in Afghanistan). Just the other day someone forwarded an email to me from someone else (that had no idea this first person even knew me) stating how my blog kept her sane while her son was deployed. To read or hear something like that is truly a humbling experience and motivates me to keep spending the long and late hours in keeping up the blogs I run or write. So many times during and after my deployment I would get emails from family members telling me how appreciative they are of the blog and how it helped them through or is helping them through a deployment. Not that I need those accolades, but as a First Sergeant and a leader of soldiers for 20 of my last 22 years it it nice to know that I still am helping soldiers and their family members, even if I don't know them. Also, the communication I get from other service-members that are getting ready for deployment who reach out for information. Supporting soldiers to be successful is what I do, so when they tell me how much the info I share with them to get ready for their deployment helped, it is really nice. What is also nice is that my blog has been credited with others starting their blogs and that means my impact is on more than just my readers but all of those other readers too. Blogs like Afghanistan Without a Clue, Bill and Bob's Excellent Afghan Adventure and Afghanistan Shrugged have all told me that they were reading my blog and it motivated them to start theirs. That is a huge compliment, because I was a fan of those blogs once they popped up and it wasn't until later after making contact with the authors that I found out they credited my blog. Last but not least are all the awesome friends I have made from blogging. Being an Army brat, in the Army myself and traveling the way I do with my civilian job I already know a lot of people and consider many dear friends. However the blogging world has opened me up to so many new friends that I am constant contact with. I know and am pretty close friends with the writers of all the major blogs in the milblogosphere. JP, CJ, Matt B, Jimbo, Morgan, John, Cory, Wendy, Eve, David, Greta, Blake, Marcus, Doug, and so, so many more. They are some of the best, unselfish, and most patriotic Americans you will ever meet.

Any regrets so far about blogging? I wish I had more time for it, and it would be nice to do it full time as a day job. Oh, and more readers of course, because you can never have too many readers. Overall in hindsight I wish I would have written more about Afghan culture and the people, but at the time that was not my focus.

What are the pitfalls for you? Hmm, well it takes a lot of time. A lot of time trying to keep up on what is going on in country, to formulate my ideas and then to sit down and write them. Especially with four different blogs that I write on. The time has to come from somewhere and that is usually sleep or family time.

Talk a little about your radio show. I co-host the show with my good friend, fellow milblogger and fellow First Sergeant CJ Grisham. We also recently added Marine SGT. Marcus Penn as the Producer and additional host when needed. Currently the show is on every Thursday evening from 7-9PM EST at www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved. It is an online radio show that can be listened to over the internet or people can call in to the guest line and listen. Our listeners can either call in to ask questions of our guests or they can login to the chat room that we are logged into during the show and ask questions that way. The show is also archived on the website, or can be downloaded as a iTunes Podcast after the show. We average about 5,000 listeners a week with most of them listening to the archive version after the show has aired. CJ actually started this show out, working with the great people at VAMortgageCenter.com who are the YouServed.com blog and the Radio show sponsors. CJ was solo hosting the show for the first few months and since I was usually called in to listen and we would talk a lot on there, he asked me to guest host one week when he was traveling and couldn't. Since he and I both write on the You Served blog it made sense. It was such a success that after the guest-hosting I was asked by CJ and VAMC to come on full-time as a 2nd host. We then increased the show time to two hours as we had to in order to accommodate the guests and our show talk in general. The You Served radio show has been a lot of fun. Talk about meeting great new people. Of course we are usually meeting them over the phone, but still. Some of the guests we have had have been Geoff Tate from Queensryche, Tom Neely from the band Bridge of Sighs, many Medal of Honor recipients, several Generals to include Marine MG Haynes who was on Iwo Jima and most recently the Army Vice Chief of Staff, GEN Chiarelli. We talk to a lot of musicians, authors, etc. but more importantly we talk to every day plain old Americans who are or have been in the service or are using their skills, talents, gifts to someone support our military. They are the true stars of the show. They are people who could go on with their lives and be content, but instead they feel led to something more, to giving back in appreciation of the freedoms we have in this country.

What prompted this platform for you? It is what was selected when the show first started and I think one of the few that is out there which is conducive to how we run the show. We have been courted by 4 other media outlets to move our show over to their platforms/stations and we are currently in talks with two of them. The first two didn't work unfortunately.

Do you prefer producing or being behind the mike in an interviewer's role?I like doing both, but it is extremely stressful. This is why we added Marcus, because there was too much to do. CJ and I usually trade off on who leads the interview, and via a chat window where he, I and Marcus are talking we are able to pass off to each other relatively easy. But during a show we are running the show chat room, paying attention to the guest, formulating our next questions, and we are also running a live blog via twitter which feeds the You Served blog. All of that plus spinning up soundbites or music to play can be a bit much. Marcus is new to the mix, but he has helped a lot already. Since it is all on our computers, there is only so much screen space and we can miss things, so being able to back each other up is great.

What would you say have been the pivotal moments where this podcast is concerned as platform for impact in the military and veteran community at large? I think last week, having GEN Chiarelli on talking about how the Army is trying to educate and fight the suicide problem has to be one of the most impacting. Also, our Veteran's day special show where we teamed up with a terrestrial radio station on the west coast. They broadcast in 11 states and have over 15 million listeners. We did what we think is the first ever terrestrial and online show featuring a veteran from every war since WWII, to include two Medal of Honor winners, talking about what Veteran's Day means to them.

I notice your twitter as well? What do you get from that vehicle which your website doesn't offer? Free Marketing that is viral and has a reach like no other. There is a huge population of Twitter users out there and it is growing every day. I use it not only for my main blog at www.bouhammer.com, but also for www.militarypundits.com and of course for the www.youserved.com blog and Radio show.

Talk some about your newest blog and how it came to be.Well the newest one is A.L.L. which stands for Afghan Lessons Learned. It is located at afghanlessons.blogspot.com. It came about through several conversations between myself and Old Blue from Bill and Bob's Excellent Afghan Adventure Blog. I have been getting hit up for information about Afghanistan, what to bring, what to expect, what life is like, etc. since I was there in 2006. Old Blue found himself getting hit up for info recently from units that are surging into Afghanistan this summer. So we talked through it for a little bit and decided to bring in the authors of War on Terror News and Afghanistan Shrugged since they were both Afghanistan vets themselves. Between the four of us we felt we had enough knowledge and experience to create this site to be a central knowledge-base of information about all things Afghanistan. So that is what it is about and how it came to be. Army leaders wanting to pass on our lessons learned and not make others re-invent the wheel.

Any advice for those thinking about supporting military? Do it, do something. People were quick to mount an American flag on their car or put a magnet on their bumper after 9/11, but such a small percentage of them have actually done something real and tangible. They don't necessarily have to support the military, but do something to give back to your country. Do something to repay the debt that I feel each of us is born with by being born in this great country. However, if supporting our military is the way someone wants to repay, then tap into whatever it is you have. For some that is a wallet, for others it is their talents, skills, gifts, etc. that they have. I am amazed every week when we talk to people on You Served Radio about how they just step up and do whatever they can. It is not always giving money, sometimes it is just giving time.

What advice would you give milbloggers who have slowed down their writing since they have been back? Whatever you do, don't remove your blog. Old Blue and I have talked about this several time. We call it the bogger's post-deployment voice. Many lose it, heck I almost did. When you blog while deployed you write about what happens everyday. Whether it is mundane like "I went to the gym today, and hung out watching TV" or exciting talking about firefights or getting blown up by an IED. However when most bloggers come back they (and I think all) find themselves thinking "what do I blog about now?" I almost stopped by blog after coming back, but the thing that kept me going was seeing the amount of website traffic on my blog and the continued emails and comments I would get from people. I knew when I came back I would run it for a few more months to at least blog about the reunification, but then the number of visitors to the site stayed up and I found my post-deployment voice. In reflection I can see my blog went through several phases. First it was for family and friends, then it was for family members of deployed members and those getting ready to deploy who were thirsty for information. I then found it being for everyday Americans who may or may not had a family member in country, but felt that the MSM was ignoring Afghanistan and wanted to know what was really going on. The final phase is a morphing of all of them that want to know how I am doing, that look for info to help their family members and good old plain, red-blooded Americans who care about our military and care about what is happening in the place that started all of this off.

What advice would you give those who are thinking about blogging? Get on good platform. Wordpress is my favorite and I think is hands-down the best. You never know where your blogging will lead, so plan for the long-haul. You can ask any of the bloggers that started in country and they will all tell you that they never thought it would last past deployment or turned into what it has. So come up with a good and easy name, buy some cheap hosting space (My favorite is go-daddy.com) and then start getting it setup. Also, think about your audience, which by the way will be the world. Always pay attention to OPSEC, and follow the rules. But know the rules too. Some commanders may try to tell a soldier what they can and can't do with blogging, but there is a Army regulation, AR 530-1 that governs it. Be smart in your blog an be mature. Don't use it to just take cheap shots at leaders as you will find much un-wanted attention really fast. I was always very public in my identity, etc and have had no issues with it. Others prefer to keep their identity secret and that is fine for them. To each their own. We are all different.

What message do you have for civilians who read and frequent military forums, blogs, websites etc? Read more! Read Often, and tell your friends. If sometime sounds fishy or not right, try to validate. Just because someone is or claims to be in the military does not mean they are or they have the best intentions. History has shown we have had plenty of dirt-bags, sickos, and idiots in the military. Raising their hand to defend this country does not mean they are upstanding citizens. Oh, and be sure to check out www.bouhammer.com, www.militarypundits.com, www.youserved.com and afghanlessons.blogspot.com. I mean if you are new to blogs, they will give ya a good start. ;-)

Do you have any advice for non military folk who are trying to wrap their heads around our place as a nation in the bigger world? determining our role as American citizens? Wow, that is a zinger. I guess if there are non-military people out there who are competent adults and they don't know what their role is as an American citizen or our nation's role in the world, they may want to start reading some books, a newspaper, some blogs and maybe even watch some nightly news programs. If someone is walking this country of sane mind and they don't have an opinion on this, then they are definitely in debt to this country and need to start paying back quickly.
Having been on both ends of the mil support pipeline, what do you think or how do you think support from home affects troops on the front line the most? Any tips for civilians in being better at reaching out to our men and women overseas? Are there common mistakes well meaning folks do when supporting which troops understand, but perhaps wish they didn't face because it wasn't as helpful?
Support from the States is a great morale boost for the troops. Even though some stuff is not always needed or wanted, it still means a lot to the troops. Many if not all know how the Vietnam vets were treated and are very appreciated on how well they are treated. Having positive morale all the time while in combat and away from family and friends is
hard to maintain. Mail call is and always has been a huge morale boost for troops. The top 3 motivators are hot chow, time off and mail call. Getting a box of goodies makes every day one of those come in like Christmas. If anyone wants to support troops all they need to do is search the web or better yet pay attention to You Served Radio. We always have people or groups on that are doing great things to support troops. There are lot of really good organizations out there, but I am sure there are some bogus ones so research and validation is crucial.

Many people clean our their old magazines, old books, old games, and almost old or expired food products. I know times are tight and they can't afford to buy all brand new stuff, but I think troops would rather get nothing then a 3 year old copy of Sports Illustrated or food that expired by the time they got it. They should try to strike up a dialog with the troops and find out what they really need or want, and not what the supporter thinks they want. There are good sites out there that list some of the more popular and commonly needed items. One of those sites is my main blog and more specifically the posting here of a comprehensive list.

fyi from HR
Check out their podcast Thursday night from 7 to 9 EST, or download it for later listening. Check out the You Served archives as well. Link to You Served Blogtalk Radio in center column. --->

I am at a loss for words.
heh.

No, we don't have Haley's comet streaking across the sky in the wee hours of this morning, but we do have Hope with no sound emanating from the hole under her nose.

I get after someone close when they complain of the same thing. I tell them to quit their whining and just write.

blink
blink

maaaan, how insensitive is that?

Dunno.
Got nothin'.

Well.
'Cept this.
I liked this.

Milsupport Impact on the Family:
I took the kids to the pool at our YMCA. It's hardly a pool really, more like a veritable water park.
Padded deck for the splash pad areas, slow slopes into the pool to ease the littlest swimmers into play on slides or under a giant bucket dumping well timed water on their maniacally delighted little heads.

Bedecked in brightly colored swimsuits with their hair plastered down around their ears from the last dousing, they made a science of finding the perfect spot to stand in for the next deluge and still jumped up as if it was a huge surprise to be gasping for air and grabbing at their shorts to keep them up.
I loved all the


"Look mommy!",

"Hey take a picture of this for Dad!"


"Watch me!"s


Enthusiasm like that is contagious and almost expected. If any of those exhortations are said repeatedly at you at an eardrum splitting decibel, it can even be perturbing...
Yet, what made this mama's heart burst was watching them pause once in while in their joyful noise to remember one or another of our friends in Iraq or Afghanistan.(Course, I'm thinking Matthew, America's 1st Sgt.'s arch brownie nemesis is gunning for Mike in this one, Wanna chip? Psyche!Wanna chip? Psyche!Wanna chip? Psyche!Poor Little Guy, come R&R, there'll be hell to pay...)


While there (hopefully, mom thought) wearing themselves out in the water, one of my progeny would smile and hold up three fingers.(In this case, family code for "hey send this picture to 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines. Each unit, shop or company we work with has some number we like to use when we say hi, so they know we are thinking about them in whatever picture it is.)

I won't gush, I swear, but I really was proud of my little otherwise sibling teasing, wedgie giving, How-come-I-never-get-to-and-what's-for-dinner, toads.

My kiddos don't really know the reasons we are over there in more detailed terms aside from: the "Mahweens and soljurs" as my littlest calls them. Warriors, as my older children hear their own father call them, are faaar away over the ocean at war. Thekiddos know these men and women have families they miss, that they can't have ice cream or chips anytime they want and that it's HOT there a lot of the time or very cold. These are simple child perspectives that measure a circumstance in what ways children would identify as sacrifice.

JOHN HART: One Person's Sacrifice
I didn't think anymore of the pool outing until I got an email tonight from Coffeypot, which discussed what befell each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in the aftermath of putting their name to it. The preface of the piece was:

"They were men of means, and well-educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured."

The quote struck me, perhaps because of the carefree time I had with the children yesterday. Seen in a new context where much less was assured for the citizenry there, I read this:



"John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished."



I thought about his 21st century peers at the pool yesterday with the Lexxus SUVS parked out front, hanging shingles here in the Clear Lake area as engineers, attorneys, physicians or business owners and living in their own suburban fiefdoms. Texas is a state known for a tradition of philanthropy. Like Hart, many families here of means,whether great or small participate heavily in the building of churches, schools and groups like United Way and other relief efforts.

I wondered if any of the men or women sunbathing or enjoying their kids that day took the next step or would if called upon like Hart had been, to take another step into public service to help lead their community? Would any of them have been willing to risk their reputation and everything they had built to maintain their way of life on their terms?

Would they leave their spouse on their death bed to continue their service, have their home and business ransacked and burned, only to return and find their spouse dead and their children gone? In their midsixties, would they hide in a cave and the woods for a year and emerge from there still so fully convicted in their cause they would welcome Washington's rebel troops to use their fields during growing season to prepare for battle and then die soon after penniless?

I wonder.

I feel blessed to know that this man did.
I would hope that in similar circumstances I would as well.

I honor his sacrifice and those that with him, signed this blueprint for our fledgling country. I hope my family will always be willing to perpetuate our forefathers' efforts.
Sage said all this pretty darn well, too.
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LETTTERS TO LEATHER NECKS:
Saturday Sitrep

Someone from Sage's blog sent me a box of great stuff, but there was no note...just this. Thank you much. I have about a dozen letters here going out and each will have some drink mixes in them from the box you sent.

Ally has been busy just dubbing her little heart out from regular old TV shows commercials and all. I know the guys and gals will love it! It felt completely weird to be on the receiving end of two priority boxes these week though...lol

I also received money from @TerriLPN on Twitter, Ally, T, two anonymous donors and Red. (more on the Crockpot project later today)
I am so not ready to put a a complete list of folks who bought a toaster or a crock pot or both or who sent money.

I can't seem to access Twitter and I know I have new people to acknowledge.

In the meantime, I'm still reeling from the shopping. lol. So here's the low down so far, after getting haircuts with the kiddos and Dad...I had him stop at a factory outlet on the way home "just to run in and check". Five minutes later I'm motioning for Tony to park the car. JACKPOT!

Woohoo! not only did we find crock pots-- I found crockpots that also roast, slow cook, bake, steam and reheat. They aren't breakable, slightly lighter and offer a lot more versatility.

When the clerk said they were 20% off I grinned and said "COOL! I need six! They are going to Iraq!"

Her response was basically a slow smile and a , "Oh,did I say 20%? I meant 30%.." I love these little kismity moments. From the fluke of finding better than we need for less than I planned to Tony being able to get them all into that trunk, I was high for hours. Even cooler, Sharon, the lady in the picture with Tony, said to come in today and see if they can gather up the toasters for us, too. She was happy to help our Marines she said.

It's gonna to be a great 4th of July here.

I hope everyone else has a great weekend, too!

My sis hit the big 40 on Tuesday. She's got more dirt on me than anyone else in the Free World so of course I took her out for lunch. Well and 'cause I kinda like her.

Three days before that my parents gave Tony and I a night out for our anniversary. Yep. As of June 19 when we met we have been aware of each others existence for 20 years. As of June 27, 1992 we have been married for 17. That's seven thousand nine hundred and six days as of today or 140 in dog years. heee.

I alluded to some potential trouble with an organization because I accidentally sent a personal email to someone within the organization that shouldn't have received the email. (If you are reading and going WTF is she talking about go here).

In a nutshell, they didn't' break the saber across their knee or strip me of my epaulets and shove me out of the fort. I did it myself. Seems no number of apologies were enough and the recipient felt the need to comment on my ethics and morality so in response I asked to be removed or placed with a more forgiving contact within the organization since her initial response had been to accuse me of making a crude joke and admonishing me to not let it happen again...Tempting though it was to have someone use one email to determine my worth or moral character again or offer to put my character up for a Ethics Review, I opted out of this organization. I knew then I was in the wrong place with the wrong people.

As you know Letters to Leathernecks is a small grassroots organization of one letter writer/package sender and a lot of people willing to trust me with their money to take care of my milfolk. I have no 100,000 dollar a year salary or desire to sell a care package service as an extension. I deeply love my troops. That's why I do what I do.

It's just me, Hope and my family, mailing care packages, getting to know our adopteds, writing letters and listening in IM to people overseas who need an ear. It's pretty plain and simple.

One thing I will say is that I recently read a book called In Due Season and in it the author wrote about purpose. As you all know, if you have read my blog in the last few months, I have been working really hard to find mine, seemingly to no avail. In the last few years I have lost my sense of religion or faith or their definitions anyway and have stumbled a bit as I sought both.

What I have come to conclusion thus far is this:

God, a higher power, the Universe, whatever you choose to call it, has said, I'm not meant to be in Iraq right now training Iraqi officers, I'm not meant to be sweating my ass off at Ft. Benning doing OCS. I know for certain, because I did my damndest to do both. What most don't know is that day I lost my slot to OCS because of a timing issue, I had my first email concerning a young man somewhere in Iraq who needed some mail.

Shortly thereafter I got a bug in my ear that some Marines were eating for crap and needed appliances. What could I do? Didn't know. What could I do? I obviously wasn't going to Iraq and the Army did not need me enough to waive a four day commission gap. What was my purpose?

Frankly, my first instinct was to say no to taking on Marines or soldiers again. I had wrapped up shop in January thinking I would be in Taji, but I couldn't say no for I had no good reason to.

One led to another led to another.
"Thank you for listening."
followed by multiple
"You are easy to talk tos."
Trust manifested with questions like,
"Do you think you could?" or
"my buddy needs X, would you...??"
and all made me realize where I was needed and what my purpose must be.

At least this is what I percieve.

One day shortly after milsupport found me again, I had 200 hits on my analytics from the aforementioned organization, so I went and signed up with the group so I could see the forum and figure out why so many were coming my way, Hope Radio, I mean, from this message board.

Turns out I gave a "gritty, but with "some language" explanation of how to mil support that most on that forum there were in approval of. I was surprised at the comments as to my accuracy where milsupport was concerned and only slightly amused at being called 'gritty' or 'rough'. Meh.
To each there own.
Typically, I am more comfortable in a group of men and they seem more comfortable with me than a group of women might be.
*shrug*
Again I am sure some can commiserate with me and some won't.

Still what I am trying to say here on a hot, lazy, summer day with four kids shouting in the background, making stellar arguments for time by the pool, is that I am glad I was misjudged and that my character was impugned by these women at this other group for the last few days. It made me remember why I stay in milsupport. What's important and what is just noise.

It's not because I know more about a zip code than anyone else.
Or because I know how to pack cupcakes so they don't get squished .
Or because I seem to be quite adept at a reply from a troop or staying up all night with a Marine who is stuck on a problem or just plain sad.
Those are all ridiculous, insipid reasons.

I do it because I'm so damn of proud of our troops's spirit and their passion for doing their job. They may not even see themselves in this way, but it has to be there to do what they do day in and day out. Its a hot unforgiving, foreign in all things, groundhog day experience.

I mourn, in a way, the loss of perspective we here are cocooned in by living here in this country surrounded by oceans and a sense of adolescent invincibility because those for whom an ocean doesn't part, will come back different people, good, bad and indifferent. These sacrifices they make of body and spirit should be honored.

So I'm saying in a long winded, impassioned way, for this is my nature, is that people can question my integrity and passion for my men and women for as long as they care. There is great comfort in knowing that it in no way has a bearing on the tasks or life and life commitments I make for myself and for my family.

Had they not been cruel and judgemental these last few days, the fruits of this knowledge and being subjected to their unkind, unforgiving natures, would not be balm and for that I am grateful for their ignorance for it realigns my own purpose where my military endeavors are concerned and only steels my resolve to continue, understood or not.

Brownie security was breached at approximately 1830 and annihilation complete by 0030 on Tuesday evening/early Wednesday morning.

I looked for the telltale signs smeared across my five year old's sleeping face and bow lips when I got home, but was informed by my Significant Other that the assault was clearly unit wide. Instigation of assault was never clearly assigned to a particular perpetrator. I don't blame them. I blame me for unsuccessfully hiding the pan of brownies from the rabble band. Picture above was sent to intended recipient and was met with a number of suggested creatively punitive retaliations.

I sent a lot of smaller packages this week. Letters are the backbone of support. I can swing them budget wise at anytime and I generally have something to rant aboutsay at a moment's notice. Yes. I know. That IS hard to fathom.

I was one heavy in the kid department this week. So I put her to work with the rest of the brownie pilferers packing nacho kits, pizza kits, cheese and crackers. When it's hot most of the time not only is dehydration an issue, but my adoptees aren't too hungry. It's too hot to eat and the food available doesn't do much for the appetite.

Sending protein dense food and anything that has a high caloric count is a good thing. Usually more pricey, but I have to say when I need more funds they tend to just show up. I refuse to worry about how I will be providing. As far as the fat content of some of what gets sent this time of year, I have never heard of a Marine or soldier coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan heavier than they were when they went so I make a point of getting food out that is palate enticing to them even if it is fat laden. Any kind of change of pace is generally the ticket. Nothing worse than getting pictures of adoptees thoughout a deployment and watching the weight drop. I'm sure it's estrogen related on my part, but I hate it anyway.

I think pictures like that motivated the whole kit type food sends I try to swing from time to time. When I told one adoptee I was sending pizza, they were really surprised. They couldn't figure out how that might happen. Frankly, I didn't either at the time I started making these kits, but yes, you can send pizza to the Sandbox. Bertolli makes great pouch sauce, pepperoni is shelf stable, as are the jars of grated parmesan cheese and the cans of olives or Portobello mushrooms. Finish it off with vaccum sealed ready to eat pizza crust and there you go. Pizza.

Nachos are a fun thing as well. I prefer local Texas tortilla chips and cans of Rotel. You vacuum seal the box of cheese though to prevent seepage. It's hot. Things might get runny, but a seal will keep it usable. Most of the time they just put the cheese in a fridge if they have one. Though I have had a picture or two of a Marine digging right into the box of cheese with a knife and chip and then smothering it with some K-bar opened Rotel right on the spot. It's not surprising. My own rabble here isn't much more dainty when it comes to food consumption, though I don't let them use a Kbar. lol.

I also had my rabble laminate whatever smart ass piece of art I could find for box or envelope alike this week.

Mail adornment started a long while back and noticed I caught hell when mail went out that didn't have a graphic on it so now it's kind of a tradtion for a lot of the adoptees. As with anything else though I do sometimes forgo that step if I'm slammed for time and instead my kiddos will go to town on the packages with a marker.

Here's pictures of half my rabble helping me get all of the packages to the post office. They were pretty darn proud of themselves it sure seems like.

These clerks are used to me and my horde descending down from the steppe several times a week. I can write custom forms in my sleep at this point. Even the five year old will ask me like he is asking down below very autoritatively, "Mooooooooooooooooom, do you gots the custuhm fohms? You do wiiiiiiight?" It gets him a lot of laughs with the clerks.

As most of you know, Wednesday and Saturday posts on Hope Radio are now military or military support-related in topic. Recently, I've decided to take this one step further and begin interviewing milbloggers who I have been encouraging all of you to read (in header links just above) and post the interview on Wednesdays.

It occurs to me some of you may wonder why military related topics would be important to me, especially if you haven't followed this blog for very long or are only able to read sporadically.

Military support, service and tradition has been a part of my family's life for a long time. My husband served, uncles on both sides of my family and my sister have all worn a uniform from grunt to general. At one point even I was OCS bound in the mid 80s.

How long have you been blogging?

I started my personal USMC81 blog site toward the end of 2006. In 1997 I started a website for the USMC Combat Helicopter Association (popasmoke.com) where for the past 12 years, have been bringing Marines, who served with each other in combat, together again. Blogging in a sense, that effort requires a lot of posting, correspondence, follow-up, and forum maintenance.

Why did you start?

In 1995 I started a website called "The Marine Guest Book" where former Marines could log their boot camp and tour details and be found by others. I believe that site was one of the first ten Marine Corps websites ever created. I initially started my blog as a place to archive good material for quick reference. My objective then, as now, is to facilitate information sharing for Marines.

How did you come up with the name?

In California, my jeep license plate was "USMC81" which means I became a Marine in 1981. When I moved to Connecticut in 1993, I ordered the same Veteran plate "USMC81" for my truck, which I still drive today. I also own usmc81.com and use usmc81 for my login wherever I can.

You were a former Marine as my husband Tony is, can you tell me how your service impacts your world view?

I believe I joined the Marines because of my views, not the other way around. I believe in America and that freedom isn't free. I also believe if necessary, I will be one of the last standing Patriots somewhere, some day. (Pic:USMC 81 as a young Lance Corporal in Japan)

Your role as a parent?

I think the discipline you gain from military service plays a big part in how you parent in general. The respect and responsibility experience also has its place in parenting. As a parent, I want my (six) kids to be well-mannered, patriotic, courageous, educated, successful, and loving. Many of those qualities are tied to military experiences for sure, but as an adult, we all grow mature in our thinking and actions as we drift far away from active military service. (Pic below: USMC 81 with 5 of his 6 children)

Your role as a husband?

That's a tough one. I'm pretty sure my role as a husband is based on disciplines I gained pre or post-military. In a partnership, you need to be open-minded, maintain a 30,000 foot view, be very humble, emotionally mature, and realize your job is to make your spouse happy. Well, that's my view.

Your kids' attitudes?

My kids have very little exposure to anything military other than myself. I always try to set the right example and ensure they have appropriate life lessons, which sometimes have a military story or tone. They are awful proud to have a Marine Dad though.

What's been the most rewarding aspect of blogging?

Witnessing from the driver's seat how the Internet and a few good people can positively affect the lives of so many.

Any regrets so far?
No Ma'am.

USMC81 flying over MCRD San Diego in a restored Vietnam-Era USMC UH-34D Helicopter.

What are the pitfalls for you?

Time is a pitfall. I also think proper content management and archiving limits potential. Most of us know what needs to be said, but the ever-changing technologies tend to fragment efforts. Short-term projects have short-term results. Improving on technology and content management is an ongoing struggle we all face.

I notice your twitter as well? What do you get from that that Blogger doesn't offer?

Part of understanding WEB 2.0 and now WEB 3.0 is knowing the social networking components well enough to utilize them effectively. Each of these new tools have strengths and weaknesses. What I get from Twitter that Blogger does not offer is the ability to bring a message to the people instead of bringing the people to the message. Folks like the convenient short-message core functionality of Twitter, which is like a maintenance-free limitless opt-in subscription service. Listen to who interests you and ignore the rest. It's very interesting to see how communities form on Twitter auto-magically.

How do you participate in mil support?

For active-duty troops, I coordinate the "Adopt-A-Shop" program (through popasmoke.com) where care packages are sent to deployed helicopter units. For veterans, there are many opportunities to assist families and loved-ones of vets through knowledge, support, or sometimes, just listening.

Any advice for those thinking about helping out your brothers?