Gas prices

Like a lot of others in the media this morning, I have a "gas" item to mention. Not sure how he intended it to come out, but President Bush yesterday in a press conference seemed to express surprise that gas prices are nearing $4.00 per gallon in some regions. As usual, the press is making way more out of what he said than is necessary. But, that's not my point. Last July while I was in Nome, Alaska I took this photo just to show my friends and family back home, how expensive some things are for those you live full time in the great State of Alaska. So, while the mainstream media is bashing the President today for how he responded to a fair question, I say that those of us in the "lower 48" need to understand there are lots of other Americans far worse off in relation to what we pay for gas locally. Then, there are those in Europe who have been paying way more for gas than us for decades. Don't misunderstand, I hate high gas prices as much as anyone, but I also understand it's a world market we're dealing with.

This is what I'm talking about

Last post referred to those yet to serve in combat. I read today about a guy who is just shy of sixty years old recently returning from combat duty, training Iraqi military. He said, "It was the best time of my life…and the worst." To get in the Army in the first place, being so "old", he had to pass detailed medical muster, plus demonstrate he was physically fit. Jokingly he said, "I had to be in shape, well, 'round' is a shape." His commander in Iraq said he was right in the middle of everything, humping heavy combat gear, fighting alongside people half his age. This is an example of what I was talking about in my previous post when I wrote about volunteering to go where you're needed…regardless of the hardships involved.

Time to deploy…about time for some

The Army is looking to get about 37,000 people now in uniform (just over 7% of the force) to Iraq or Afghanistan for their first time. I say, it’s about time. I would think that anyone walking around today without a combat patch on their ACU, would be looked upon by those who do wear that sign of service, as perhaps being someone not doing all they can do. True, I understand there are assignments in critical areas outside the combat zone, but for anyone who has sat in such an assignment since 2002, it seems to me like now is the time to put on some battle gear. I can’t understand why some have not voluntarily stepped forward and demanded a combat tour by now, but that’s just me.

Beauty of life

Yesterday I took a drive through some back roads of SW Virginia, on a “photo shoot” looking for anything “scenic” or historic. One very narrow and winding road that went upwards toward the Blue Ridge Parkway to about 3500 feet, included several old and uninhabited homesteads, which are one of my favorite photographic subjects. However, the trip also included a more modern, but remote farm on the Blue Ridge plateau (shown here). It immediately caught my eye so I hit the brakes and stopped to capture several views on my Nikon camera. On a relatively short 120-mile drive taking about four hours, I saw numerous examples of rural mountain life as it was in the early 20th Century, compared to how it is today. This made me appreciate (once again) the beauty of life, which can be realized by anyone taking the time to watch for it.

Combat bridgers

While looking through You Tube, I came across this video about combat engineer bridgers in the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom (671st Engineer Company). Nice music background, and the photos are pretty good. Enjoy it here.

Liars & cheaters

I read today that an Army Reserve Major was sentenced to five months in jail for falsifying his military award and achievement record, primarily to justify his promotion to Major. It seems like this sort of stuff has been happening a lot lately, but liars and cheaters have always been around in the military…unfortunately. I recall, for example, a time back during the Vietnam War when I was assigned to the cadre at Engineer OCS. A training company across the street from the one I was with had just received a well decorated first lieutenant tactical officer as part of their cadre. He had more ribbons on his uniform than most recently returned veterans (I was one), had a Combat Infantryman's Badge plus wore a Ranger Tab and Airborne wings. One night at the officer's club, one of the battalion commanders who had also just returned from the war, saw this officer wearing the combat patch of the 1st Cav Division. Since he also wore the same patch, he began to ask the lieutenant where he had been assigned, what he had done, etc. None of his answers added up, so the battalion commander started to do some checking. Turns out that the well decorated lieutenant was in fact, an E-5 personnel clerk who had created a totally new personnel file for himself before he left the war zone, and then used that as his "record" when he reported to Fort Belvoir. It was all "paper" then, and there were sometimes oversights in how carefully people checked the accuracy of documents. This was a tremendous embarrassment to the personnel folks at the Engineer School at the time, much less the fact all people pending assignment to the OCS cadre had to undergo special interviews and records checks before being actually assigned. OCS wanted only the best on their cadre, or so it seemed. As I recall, no charges were brought against the impostor, and he was quickly discharged from the Army, with his true service record in hand. I wonder what happened to the guy? Probably ran for political office and won.

What it proves

Yesterday, like millions I'm sure, I sat watching the Daytona 500 race which was basically a Toyota-fest right until the final lap when Ryan Newman driving a Dodge was helped by team mate Kurt Busch to win. Hendricks Mororsports drivers, other then Dale, Jr, were never a factor in the race, so throughout it looked like one of Joe Gibbs Toyota's driven by Tony Stewart or Kyle Busch (Kurt's little brother, and a driver I love to see lose) would be sitting in victory lane. But it was not to be. Right out of nowhere comes "Rocket" Newman and his team mate Busch the elder to surge past Tony Stewart and little Kyle. What that proves is you can sit and watch a NASCAR event for over three hours right up until the last few laps, and never really know for sure who will win.

Incredible photographer

Yea, I know, I keep posting items here that have little or nothing to do with the Army, but if you're a regular reader then you know I have a love for photography, and am slowly learning to become a better photographer. You've got to check out the You Tube videos about Joe McNally here to see perhaps the best photographer today in action. His Empire State Building video is amazing.

Change in leadership in Iraq

I'm no expert, and obviously have no on the ground experience in Iraq, but it seems to me that Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno has done an outstanding job while serving as the "number two" guy helping Gen David Petraeus guide a pretty successful year in the war-torn country. I'm glad that Lt. Gen. Odierno will now become Army Vice Chief of Staff, because his recent experience will help planners in the Pentagon get things right as we move forward. It's leaders like these two that ought to make all Americans proud.

Wear ACU's, get yourself a home

A new recruiting incentive being tested by the Army essentially offers $40k as a home down payment or as funds to use in starting a small business, to anyone signing up for five years active duty. Reservists can get $20k, and there are smaller amounts for fewer years active duty. Interesting. If this doesn't work, what's next?

Where goes Detroit?

In the news today, "General Motors Corp. posted a fourth- quarter loss on a mounting deficit in North America and will offer buyouts to all of its 74,000 United Auto Workers employees in its latest effort to trim labor costs." Having married a born and raised Michigander, and graduating from Michigan Tech in 1963, I have strong emotional ties to the state, even though I grew up in Arkansas. When I was commissioned in the Army, the state became my home of record. The automobile industry then was incredibly successful. So much so that I remember receiving a Vietnam War $500 "bonus" from the state after each of the two combat tours I served: 1965-66 and 68-69. That amount back then was, to say the least, a VERY substantial sum to a young Army officer earning less than $300 a month. But, that was a different time. Today, the state government and it's automobile industry are struggling just to stay afloat. It's sad, but in many respects I think the automobile industry brought a lot of it on themselves. However, that's another story.

Were my racing questions answered last night?

Looking back at my last Blog entry, I noted two things I was looking forward to with NASCAR racing in 2008: how will Dale Jr do with Hendricks Motorsports, and how will Joe Gibbs Racing do after switching to Toyota's from Chevrolet. Maybe last night's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona provides part of the answer. First, Dale Jr won driving the National Guard 88 car, with drafting help from his Hendricks team members, who finished 3rd, 4th and 6th. Pretty darn good team effort. Tony Stewart, driving the Gibbs Home Depot 20 Toyota, was 2nd. I prefer to wait, however, until after the Daytona 500 next Sunday to get a better idea of how this is all going to go.

Ready to race

2008 NASCAR racing season begins this weekend with the Budweiser Shootout tomorrow night, then the Daytona 500 the following weekend. I already have my tickets for both Martinsville races this year: March 30th and October 19th. My biggest interest during 2008 is two fold: how will Hendricks Motorsports do with Dale Jr driving the 88 car, and how will Joe Gibbs racing perform driving Toyota's for the first time. Going to be fun.

Welcome to hell

A retired Army lieutenant colonel, who once taught ROTC at Auburn University (his alma mater), was recently sentenced to five years in federal prison for embezzling more than $940,000 from the Auburn University chapter of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity while serving as its adviser and treasurer. He spent the fraternity’s money on personal expenses, including a home and luxury vehicles. He also embezzled nearly $100,000 in Small Business Administration disaster funds related to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, pertaining to an aerospace business he ran at the time, claiming the business was affected by the attacks. I hope he receives a warm welcome from his soon to be prison cell mates, especially from the most evil and perverted of the bunch. Welcome to hell.

When are you too old for a pickup truck?

I just decided to trade in a fairly new pick up truck for a smaller SUV. Why? Two reasons. (1) My wife hated the big truck (even thought it was about as cool a truck as anyone might want) because she had difficulty entering and exiting due to her being so short. Also, in her words, "that thing takes up too darn much room in the garage". Bottom line lesson dear readers, is that it's not good for a man to have something his wife doesn't like. (2) I found out during 2007 that my earlier expectations of needing to haul yard and building materials via my pickup truck turned out to have been way over stated. More importantly the gas mileage of the V8 sucked (literally) the large gas tank dry faster than a speeding bullet. Thus, a primary reason for having a truck (the bed) was not applicable for me during 2007; and as gas prices have gone up so high, my wife watched with extreme concern when she paid off the VISA bill with my monthly gas purchases included. So, maybe this all means I have reached an "age" when a truck no longer fits my life style. When I was younger, having a truck was an essential part of my being. I won't tell you how old I am, because I don't want to be responsible for setting a target number of years when one might be considered old. The good thing I guess is that the 4x4 SUV I got sits on a truck frame, so I'm still connected to the truck family. More important is my driving image here in rural SW Virginia should be just fine. I ain't driving some sort of four door, environmentally correct geezer mobile, so those at the local NASCAR track parking lot might want to share a beer with me, as we sit beside their wildly tricked out trucks. It's a Toyota by the way (the new SUV) in case you're interested. My previous trucks were Ford (one each) and two Nissans.

Why I would never live in California

As reported in the media, "The Berkeley City Council voted to tell the U.S. Marines that if its recruiters choose to stay in their rented downtown space, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.” Free speech considered, anti-war feelings understood, taking a local political stand of this nature is just plain ridiculous. But, it's typical of many other communities in California, some smaller, some larger. In my mind the divide between those of us on the east coast and those on the west coast is much wider than that represented by geographical location.

Why do people always want the latest and greatest

I'm one of those who immediately reaches for my credit card when an upgrade to a specific "man-toy" consumer item is announced…even if I already own the most recent version; which by the way, met my needs perfectly the day before the upgrade announcement was made. Items which act as a magnet on my wallet include camera gear, computers, iPods, and lastly, fishing/kayaking gear. Years ago, I wanted every new golf club and light-weight bag that came on the market, and the last time I counted, I had more unused putters in our garage than I did golf clubs. It's one thing to replace a still adequate and fairly new item costing a hundred bucks or so, but another when the item cost approaches the one thousand dollar mark. Cost aside, my heart literally pounds when I see, for example, a new Nikon camera, or Apple computer that has all the latest and greatest capabilities people like me covet. Thankfully, as I've grown older (and more frugal in my spending habits) I've been able to keep my pent up desire for all things new well under control. However, I still spend a lot of time dreaming how better off I'd be if I had that new item in my hands.