Totally Unwise

I agree with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that it would be unwise for congress to take final action to deal with legislation to repeal “don’t ask don’t tell” until the planned survey of serving military personnel has been completed. The results of that survey will hopefully give men and women who will be most effected a chance to state their view. Sen. Jim Webb (D, VA) agrees and it’s people like him who I have great respect for.

Memorial Day

To all veterans and those now serving: This is “your” weekend—especially Monday. Thanks for all you have done, and for what you are now doing. Military service today—especially those in the Army and Marine Corps—is perhaps as challenging as it’s ever been. Not only on those in uniform, but for those family and friends who remain at home.

Be safe this weekend, but no matter what, enjoy yourself. You deserve it.

May-June 2010 AE Magazine

For subscribers, the latest issue of Army Engineer magazine has been mailed from Fort Leonard Wood, direct to wherever you say you are—as recorded in the AEA member data base. If your mailing address has not been kept up to date, then your copy of the magazine will be donated (by the USPS) to some local landfill. Keep your contact data up to date here.

LOST lost me

TV show Lost. Six seasons, of which I regularly watched the first three. This season was the sixth, and my wife and I decided to tune in, which we did, week after week, each episode only confusing us more. As the sixth season progressed, we were told that all our questions would be answered along the way, and everything would be "revealed" in the final (2.5 hour) edition last night. Being an early to bed guy, no way was I going to stay up till 11:30 to watch the finale, but my wife did. She recorded it and I watched it today.

Report. Still confused about the plot and all that happened. Final episode helped a bit, but many unanswered questions remain, for us a least. Bottom line: Glad I did not watch the show all six years. Three years was too much. Should have stopped after season one, and then none of this would be bothering me right now.

Come onnnnnn!

I am amazed each day at how inept those in charge of the massive oil spill in the Gulf seem to be. I’m not talking about the Coast Guard, or even the federal government. I'm just saying that independent report after report indicates things are much worse than what is being reported by BP—chief finger pointer.

The best place I’ve found to get up to date news about the spill, by the way,  is at Alaska Daily News, strange as that may sound. Those folks up north have experienced first hand the same thing. Prince William Sound, Exxon, etc.

Each day I become more of a passionate environmentalist—tree hugger if you will. Our planet has been trashed way too much, and no one “in charge” seems to care that much—unless profits are involved.

Drainage expert

This past week we had lots of rain here abouts in SW Virginia. One day we had almost an inch in thirty minutes. Being a retired Army engineer I have had my share of “drainage” challenges. The most recent involved my newly enlarged garden plot. Lesson learned is that I paid too little attention to the elevation of the portion of the garden I enlarged, in relation to the old section. It was “pond city” for a time, until I went out, in the heavy rain, with rain suit and Alaska style knee rubber boots on, to dig some runoff trenches. It worked, but I have lots of clean up to do now. Should have been more attentive up front. Hopefully my garden drainage problem has been solved.

Couple of things

First, Im a big fan of the TV show “House”. Last night was the season finale and as far as I was concerned it was a real winner. I won’t say why I feel that way, because I don’t want to spoil the episode for those not yet viewing it. The thing I noticed, and something I said to my wife after the show was over, is how much a person can get “inside” a particular show like House. It’s like you really get to know the characters and laugh and cry along with them, never thinking it’s all just fiction, and often unrealistic at that. But still, I felt really good after last night’s episode.

Second, I noticed today that the AG of the State of Connecticut has been misrepresenting a part of his “military” background. Since he’s running for the US Senate, the importance of this is obvious. While he was given numerous deferments during the Vietnam War period (65-70), he eventually joined the Marine Corps Reserve. But, he never went far from home, even though he often insinuated later during speeches that he was a Vietnam veteran. It’s all in how he said what he said, so said he recently. “I misspoke”, was his apology. My point is, why do these guys who clearly tried every possible way they could to NOT have to serve in Vietnam, now look back on that period and try to gain any personal benefit they can, by linking themselves positively to the war—whether through inference or by actual words. I have zero respect for this guy, and so should the voters in Connecticut.

What's a Zing Tank?

One funny story I remember from when I was on active duty involves a question my Humvee driver asked me one day as we were riding out a range road at Fort Stewart, GA, while on a two–week field training exercise. Many places around the country paint the words "XING" at places where pedestrians cross the road. Fort Stewart did the same thing, but with the black outline of a tank painted below the word "XING". It was referring to an area where a tank trail crosssed the road, and was designed to make you slow down and look both ways. But to my driver, it referred to a new type tank, which he called a ZING TANK. He asked me, "What's this new ZING TANK anyway. I never saw one." When I told him what it really meant he laughed, as did many others later on when I told them the story.

Back in Time

Here's an old photograph I saw in the Engineer Museum at Fort Leonard Wood, hanging on the wall. So, I took a picture of that picture and here it is. Not sure of the year, but I'm guessing 1941. Those "hex" tents lined up in a row must have been fun to live in. Especially in the winter.

America

I was born in the 1940s, and grew up (in Little Rock Arkansas) during the post WWII years when there was massive growth of American industry, all essentially targeted at providing all the goods and services we wanted, along with major technological advances (for that time). The automobile and general manufacturing industry, the textile industry, the tobacco industry (as unhealthy as that is/was), the transportation industry, and the construction industry. Companies were American owned, and most employees were themselves American by birth. Communities grew based on specific industries—such as the textile and furniture industries in Virginia and North Carolina. People were born, educated and then employed essentially for an entire career by local companies. Today, all this has changed, and you can see the results almost everywhere you go.

City centers, once vibrant and healthy economically, have declined drastically. In many smaller towns and cities across America, empty store windows and "closed" signs are the norm. People no longer live or shop uptown like they once did. Strip malls, fast–food places, car dealers, payday loan companies, and Dollar General stores and Wal–Marts clutter areas surrounding the older urban centers. And most important, because of a lack of jobs locally, many young people move away after they finish high school or college, never to return. What were once "family" communities are now more transient in nature.

I see this all the time in the region where we live and it makes me very sad. American cities and small towns had so much before, and seemingly so little today. But, is that really the case—so little I mean. Even with the decline of American industry along with city and town centers, many communities and businesses have found ways to re–invent themselves. What once were empty warehouses have become renovated apartments. People have figured out that diversification is much better than specialization. And, "being small" is not necessarily a bad thing from a business standpoint.

So, even though America is hardly the America I remember from my youth, it is "America". We should keep that in mind when we start to wring our hands about how "bad" things supposedly are today.

Too many at the top?

The Secretary of Defense recently stated that the military services need to reduce the number of general officers and admirals now serving. He thinks, as apparently others do as well, that there are too many of these positions, as well as a corresponding number of higher headquarters where these individuals are assigned. I wish the SecDef well in this effort, but I won't hold my breath until something happens.

Personally, I agree with his assessment. I've always wondered why the Army needed so many generals, when lower ranking individuals have always been fully capable of performing the oversight these "generalists" are designed to perform. I've seen it first hand many times when colonels, for example, stepped into a BG billet and did quite well—sometimes for years. But, as the military has continued to "transform"itself over the past ten years or so, it seems to me there has been a creeping trend to create more higher level executive positions, and associated headquarters elements—with their excessive Powerpoint presentations to keep those at the very top informed. "Powerpoint"...now there's another story to comment on sometime.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is going to be a thorny issue for the SecDef to deal with. Lots of resistance just waiting to pop out. Again, I wish him well.

Cat help

Each morning as I drink my first cup of coffee while checking all my favorite websites on my Apple Macbook Pro, siting at the kitchen table, our cat Boots climbs on top of my left arm where she stays until I get up. Took this photo with the built-in camera on the laptop, pointing it as best I could at her, on my arm. She's right there now as I type this, essentially one-handed. Cats are cool...and HOT by the way, my arm is sweating!

Changes, changes, changes

While at Fort Leonard Wood recently, I popped into what us FLW veterans call "the old PX". Inside I found a new Starbucks complete with nice lounge and seating area, made just for the type atmosphere one perhaps is seeking when they visit the popular coffee establishment. Well decorated, quiet, and complete with some interesting artwork—hardly what one would expect to find on a military installation. But, that's what us oldies think. Those younger expect these type facilities, and that's just fine. Only bad thing is that when I was on active duty, we had nothing at all to compare with what's available today. And...that's a good thing. The latte grande I got was pretty good by the way. Perked up my late afternoon.

History Alive at FLW

I spent a week at Fort Leonard Wood recently, most of the time taking photographs of the installation for the May-June 2010 issue of Army Engineer magazine. One thing about the post I especially like is how planners have preserved some of the "history" that dates back to the Second World War. One example is a photo I took of an original, large photograph of the 1940s era FLW Field House now hanging in (renamed) Nutter Field House. I took that image from my camera and placed another shot of how the building looks today on top. Pretty much the same, until you go inside. The interior has been completely renovated and serves a myriad of purposes for the installation. Nice to see the "old" facility still being used. Like I said, history is alive at Leonard Wood.

Best Sapper Competition 2010

Army Times online has a nice article about the recent Best Sapper competition held at Fort Leonard Wood. If you're interested, click here to read.