More Time at Home

Army Chief of Staff, GEN Casey, said recently that more Soldiers than before are able to spend more time at home in between deployments. Average of 17–18 months versus 12–month average earlier. While this is good news, there are some points that need to be considered when one determines the exact meaning of “at home”.

For example, training for follow–on deployments during “at home” time often takes one away from “home”. Additionally, unexpected missions such as disaster recovery or other Army directed tasks also take people away from “home”. I’m not complaining mind you, just giving my opinion, which means zero since I’m not one effected. But, I once was during the Vietnam War, and I remember 12–24 months between deployments being standard. So, I get it.

What all this seems to boil down to is a need for more Soldiers in the force. Or else, reduce the OPTEMPO involved with overseas deployments. That’s not going to happen anytime soon, so I’m generally happy to see GEN Casey work in the direction he is.

Road Trip Ahead

One nice thing about being semi–retired is that in between my work sessions of a month or so each, putting Army Engineer magazine together, I have free time to either work around the home, or else to take a road trip. It's the latter that I'm interested in at present.

This has been one heck of a winter, and from looking at the next two weeks forecast here in SW Virginia, it appears as if it will remain colder and wetter than normal. I said to my wife yesterday that I don't recall a year when I've started to get "cabin fever" like I have this year. It's worse when we have a nice 50–60 degree sunny weekend like the one just past, and then get socked with more cold and wet weather. Anyway, one solution for me is to take a road trip.

So, when I get the Mar–Apr 2010 issue put to bed, we're headed to the gulf coast of Florida for a brief stay to take off the long–johns and air out our moldy bodies. Please Mister Weatherman, make it nice and warm.

Multi–Cam Update

The Army Times online has a recent article about a change in combat uniform (ACU) for Soldiers in Afghanistan. Soldiers deploying in late summer will go with the new pattern ACU, while those already in country will receive them in the fall.

OIF will soon be no more

The Secretary of Defense has issued an order that will rename what was Operation Iraqi Freedom, to Operation New Dawn, effective September 1st, 2010. It signifies the new mission there, given the planned withdrawal of most forces in 2011. I suppose there will also be a new campaign ribbon issued for those serving in Operation New Dawn, but that's just a guess.

Anyway, OIF has been with us for a long time, so it's going to be strange to call what's going on in Iraq anything else. OND?

For Dale Jr Fans

Many fans like these, I'm sure, are hoping Dale Earnhardt, Jr does well in California this weekend. I took this photo last Spring at Martinsville Speedway, just before the race started, when many walked a portion of the track along the pit wall, while pre–race inspections were underway. Nice thing about Martinsville. For ten bucks, they let a limited number of fans walk the home stretch of the track, getting up very close to lots of interesting activities.

Friday and not much to write...again

1. To me at least, one sign of how much out of whack our nation's priorities are these days, is the unbelievable attention being given by the media, to Tiger Woods, as he announces in his own private manner, how much of a "failed person" he is. When people (many being his golfing peers) say only he can save the PGA from financial ruin, then I say the PGA does not deserve to be saved.

2. On a happier note, temperatures are expected to be near 60 degrees this weekend here in SW Virginia. Time to complete some house maintenance chores I should have done last Fall, and try to remove some more of the thick ice in shaded areas of our driveway.

3. I assume most are aware of Apple's forthcoming iPad. If not, click here. I'm usually one who likes to let others be first to buy a new electronic device, to identify any early–edition bugs it may have, before I pull out my credit card. In this case, when it's released late next month as expected, I'll be one of the first in line to get one.

Have a nice weekend!

Where are the leaders?

Having been involved with AEA since it was formed in 1992, I have some knowledge of "how things used to be". For example, when AEA's Soldier recognition programs were introduced back in the mid-1990's, it was common to have a fair percentage of the total force participating. I'm talking about the annual Army Combat Engineer Sergeants (ACES) Award to recognize the best Squad Leader in units, and the Super Sapper Award to recognize the best Soldier. Today, participation is dismal, in fact embarrassing.

For example, only fourteen Soldiers were presented with the 2009 Super Sapper Award. Fourteen! Some offer excuses like, "We're deployed." Or, "We're getting ready to deploy." Hogwash I say. Taking care of Soldiers does not change based on what sorts of things you're doing.

Our Regimental leaders in troop units need to do a better job today taking advantage of the easy to administer Soldier recognition programs made available by the AEA. Details are here.

Are you watching?

"Winter" Olympics? More like "Spring" Olympics with the warm Western Canadian weather. I've never really been a fan of the olympic games, and over the years I've watched less and less on TV. To me, this whole "olympic scene" has become over–hyped starting with nations and cities competing with each other, many years in advance, to convince those in charge to "bring it here!" Promises are made to spend billions to make it the best event ever. Often those promises are not fully realized—sometimes due to poor planning, and other times due to events one can't control, such as the weather. I'm not really watching closely this year, but that's just me. I'm sure millions are glued to their TV sets nightly, watching people slide around on (hopefully) frozen ground.

Time to Race

NASCAR season soon begins. If you are a fan, as I am, you're probably wondering how the 2010 season will go compared to 2009. I say no way will Jimmie Johnson win the cup again this year. But, what do I know, I never felt he'd do it last year. Who will get it in 2010? How about Ryan Newman and his Army car? I took this close-up photo at Martinsville Speedway last year. Dale Jr? I sure hope he does better than 2009, but that's not a big challenge since he really stunk in 2009. Denny Hamlin? Jeff Gordon? Tony Stewart? Kyle Busch? (a guy you got to respect for his skills even if his personality is a bit sour most of the time) Kevin Harvick? Mark Martin? (I though he might do it last year) Whatever, it's time to go racin guys!

Deadliest Catch Skipper Gone

Sadly, a person I loved to watch on Discovery Channel's show, Deadliest Catch, about crab fishing in the Bering Sea, has died. Capt. Phil Harris, skipper of the Cornelia Marie, died yesterday of complications related to a massive stroke he suffered last month. For more, click here. It won't be the same without you on the bridge, Capt. Phil. You were an example of strength to us all who loved what it is you did all your life—dangerous as it is.

Pay Day Stakes

How many of you have heard the term "pay day stakes"? When I arrived at my first engineer assignment in 1964 (553 Engineer Company Float Bridge at Fort Campbell, KY) that term was heard all the time. It referred to borrowing money, with a promise to pay it back on pay day, thus "pay day stakes". Back then, we were paid in cash (bills only, no small change). I was sometimes the designated Pay Officer, so I got to witness first hand how loans were usually paid off. The pay day routine usually went like this.

Soldiers lined up to pass by the table where I had each pay slip wrapped around the cash due, with each one sorted alphabetically in a cardboard box for quick retrieval when a Soldier arrived in front of me, saluted and said, "Reporting for pay, Sir". I handed him his pay slip and cash, and then he moved along the line, but was sometimes stopped by the company First Sergeant who was collecting for Soldier Relief, Red Cross or some other fund drive. After that, it became a game of hide and seek, where the just paid Soldier tried to steer clear of any lenders to whom he owed a sum of money. Often, there was little left over when loans were paid off, and the process of "pay day stakes" began all over.

Being a Pay Officer was not that great of an extra duty. I had tens of thousands of dollars with me which I had personally signed for when I picked it up at the post Finance Office at 0530 on pay day, with an armed guard by my side all the time. That stress, coupled with having to manually assemble each pay slip with the right amount of cash before the pay line opened always left me in a sweat, because of fear I might not have enough cash to match the pay slips given to me by Finance. But, for reasons unknown to me, they (Finance Office) ALWAYS got it right, and gave me the exact amount needed. Still, I never knew for sure I had enough, until I'd finished sorting all the pay slips. I can remember, for example, looking at only a small stack of bills left over, and maybe twenty pay slips left to sort. On the surface, it seemed there was no way I would have enough cash to pay that many Soldiers. But, what always happened was that most of the remaining slips had a big NPD stamped on them, meaning, "no pay due". I ought to have learned over time to trust the Finance Office, but I always went into a semi-panic whenever this type stuff happened.

To sum it up, it was definitely a different Army back then, and in many ways I really miss being there. But, if I were to go back, I would want "check to bank" to be an option!

You never know what you need until...

I ought to have known better. I spent almost 30 years in the Army, always planning ahead for hundreds of possible contingencies related to the units and organizations in which I served. After retirement, I worked for a time as Town Manager for a coastal North Carolina beach community, and experienced first hand numerous tropical storms and major hurricanes with all their destruction, and recovery efforts afterwards. "Planning ahead" was a main part of my job. But then this weekend, we get hit with a snow/sleet and freezing rain scenario with a loss of electric power for about 24 hours, and I find I was not as well prepared as I thought I was. I should have known better!

For example, where were those "D" size batteries I needed for my radio. Darn, didn't have any extras. So, I removed them from all our flashlights, just to power the radio, which needed six.  Then, I remembered I'd purchased a large battery operated lantern a few years ago just for such emergencies. And, quickly recall I'd thrown it out last October, when I found the batteries inside had corroded.

Where were all those long burning candles we used to keep handy when we lived in hurricane country? I find that only two remain, one partially burned, from a box that once held a dozen brand new ones. Where had I put my Coleman camp stove after I last used it several years ago? With small head–mounted LED battery light on, I rummage through piles of camping gear in the pitch dark basement at 5 AM searching. I finally locate it, along with only one full small tank of propane, enough fuel for at most a couple of days cooking. While digging through my camping gear, I remember all the dehydrated packaged food and hot drinks I'd stocked up for camping and emergencies. Yup, I find them where I remembered they were. But, I also note they all had a 2008 expiration date.

There were some positives to all this. For starters, power was out for a relatively short period of time. Second, two years ago we installed a gas log in our upstairs fireplace, so we at least had some heat. But, I decided at the time NOT to put one in the downstairs fireplace, so it was as cold as a dungeon down there (where my home office is located). Also, that head–mounted LED light I bought for camping worked great during the blackout.

But, the most positive thing was that even after being informed by the local power company that we might be without for up to three days, we started to get a grip on our situation and began to adapt. Then, just as we were starting to accept our fate with no televised Super Bowl, few hot meals and sparse comfort, "click" the power was restored, and we were saved.

I plan to replenish our emergency supplies quickly this week during a break in this "worst winter in years in SW Virginia". I won't get caught short anytime soon. But then, you never really know what you need until...

Snowy East

Not news for sure, nor anything major to write about, but this winter sure has been a snowy one. Today it's snowing hard, as it did last week at the same time. Thus far this 2009-2010 winter, we've had around a couple of feet of snow in our region of SW Virginia. Most we've had total in one year since we moved here in 2002.  Nice to photograph, fun to play in (an on) but a pain in the rear to clean up after. And, we have several more weeks to go before we can say with any certainty "no more snow for this year".

Thursday "Stuff" Post

Talk about a deal! Check out the cost of this 15 MB hard drive, back when computers were still a new thing. I remember back then asking myself why in the world would anyone want to have that much computer storage space (15 megabytes?). Today, a single picture on my digital camera is 12 MB in size, ONE picture!

On another note, being a loyal Toyota owner not affected by the recent recall, I am of the opinion that much of the hype being generated by the recall, serious as it certainly is, reflects a media and government somewhat out of control again. For example, the Secretary of Transportation said today he recommended all owners of the affected vehicles, park them in the garage. Then, he backtracked as many in government tend to do a lot, and said he misspoke. Too late, damage done! This same type over–reaction by the government happened last Fall, when we were pounded daily with H1N1 flu pandemic hysteria. This sort of over reaction has been happening all too often these days—sadly.

And another note. I'm glad that the DOD "don't ask, don't tell" policy will go under serious review. Not sure what will eventually happen, but I think it will be a good thing if congressional leaders listen to Soldiers in the force, before doing anything final. When people like retired General Colin Powell say they support a change in policy, that means a lot to me. But, I'd feel better knowing what the majority of more junior folks in the force today have to say.

Only One Left

The Army Times has an article posted about the last living veteran of World War One. Out of over 4,700,000 Americans who served, he's the only one left. Interestingly enough, he also fought in the Second World War, spending three years as a POW in the Philippines. His name is Frank Buckles, and he lives in West Virginia today. Sadly, the number of living veterans of WWII are also dwindling in number as the years pass by. How long will it be until there is only one left?

Tracks in the Snow

The morning after a snowfall is a time when you can see what's been moving around in your back yard. This was the case in our yard recently, the day after we had our second snow storm this winter—nine and seven inches respectively. Anyway, I always find it interesting to see all the rabbit, squirrel, bird, deer, and people tracks out back. The way the animal tracks wander about here and there, seemingly with no specific destination, compared to people tracks that generally line up in a straight line going from point A to B. Not wanting to sound too philosophical, it's sort of how some of us carry out our lives. Some know exactly where they want to go, while others tend to wander about, never really knowing where they are headed. Yup, that did sound a bit over the top philosophically speaking.