Saturday, August 09, 2008

EVERYBODY LOVES A HERO---JASON


Everybody Loves A Hero: First off, sorry to "Army mom" for not getting Jason's wonderful letter up sooner.

You see, I had terrible news this week. A young man I had known since a child, a young neighbor boy, who spent half his young life at my house because he was friends with my son, was ruthlessly murdered downtown St. Louis.

A black man put a bullet through his head. It seems, he and his friends were riding around downtown, (white boys) and pulled up next to a car of black men. Stupid words were shouted.

Colin, (the young man) was sitting shotgun, and evidently was not the trouble maker at the scene, it was the driver of the car. (a "friend" of his) Who knows what racial words were said, there was probably drugs and alchohol involved...I'm not sure...but the black man got out of his car to shoot the driver and the driver ducked. Colin died instantly from a bullet to the back of his neck, or so his mother was told. The black man has not been found, and probably never will be.

As you can imagine, we are all in mourning. You don't have to be in Iraq to get murdered. Some of America's cities are war zones.

There's a whole blog here, I have so much to say... but like I said...it will come out when I start up again...right now, my emotions are much to close to the event sooooo
*******
Onto JASON...(and Thanks to our Army MOM! for sending me his letter!)


This letter is really special. Jason and his unit save the lives of thier Iraq brothers-in-arms...and also makes a great point about how this very important news is not getting out to the American public AT ALL. You will be, as I was, so very moved by our boys overseas.




The letter was written in February, 2008, some time ago, but as you will notice, it's timeless.
*******


Hello everyone once again from beautiful and cool Afghanistan. A little interesting this week so shall I get started?

We leave the FOB and start to travel out to the border when we get no more than 500 meters past the FOB when we see a truck that is stuck and is blocking our way. My terp gets out and says that the tire is off. There is no way to change the tire there since it is too muddy so what does the driver do? He calls about 15 road workers over there and they then proceed to lift up the back end of the truck and move it over some. Then they go to the front and do the same thing there! Well, I have to say that the road is clear and we can drive through now. The truck is not there when we come back 6 hours later.

Ok, this past week saw us going out to the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan and looking at living condition out there. What is normally a 25 minute drive turned into over 3 hours of driving to try and make it out there. Not only did we have to travel through the snow (which some people pay to get to do) we met a convoy in the worst place possible. Not 300 meters after the best place to meet them, we met them in a curve and there were snowbanks on each side of the road. Man, it was really fun driving through that snow and the bumps and dips and all in the road.

Well, after about 15 minutes, we make it past there and continue on our way.
We make it out to the border and it is good to get out there. I have not been there since last October. It was the first week of October because our firefights were in the middle of the month.

So anyways, we get up there and this is the Major’s first time up there as well as the other members of the new group. They see the sites and we get to see our little ‘pets’. Yes, the dogs, Sybil, vet and the others are there. They are really glad to see us and we feed them some of our MRE’s that we have for lunch. Although there is like 5 feet of snow still on the ground, they can walk on top since it is hard snow.

We eat our MRE’s and then look at the border positions. I show some of the places to the major and I show him where the border is and to watch where you step so you are not in Pakistan. Of course, there is a Pakistani soldier watching us the whole time but he does not have his weapon with him. We have ours. We bring on of our terps up that can speak Urdu (Pakistan’s language) and we ask the guard if we can come up and take pictures and meet him. He says yes so we walk to the OP and shake hands and talk to him for a few minutes. He is nice and lets us take all the pictures we want.

Our main focus is to take pictures of the Afghan OP’s but we have to stand right on the border to take them. The Afghans stay way back from the border. (Side note: The Afghans and Paki’s hate each other and this area was the site of a major battle last May where the AF and PK were fighting each other. This is also where a US Major was shot and killed last year. This is why we are always armed and always ask permission if we are going to be on the border line so that they do not think we are invading and just need to do some site surveys.

We look at a few more areas where we may build some Afghan buildings and then make our journey back to the firebase. This takes about 2 more hours. We download our gear and fuel our vehicles.
The next day, we plan on staying up here working on end-of-tour paperwork when Fazli, the Afghan ABP S-1 (personnel guy) and that can speak 6 languages, come up to us telling us that he needs our help. 7 of his men were burned and injured in an explosion of a propane tank at the border where we were less than 24 hours earlier. This happened at 12:30 and it is now after 4:30.

It took the ABP 4 hours to drive the soldiers to the clinic. When we get there, we set up security and I take control of the security element while the others go inside the clinic to help. 5 of the men are burned badly but 2 are seriously burned and they are in shock and looks like they will not make it. Their airway is starting to close since of the swelling. Skin is burned and it has a certain odor to it. Hands, feet, faces, upper body, etc. are all 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50% of their bodies and I can hear one moaning for God. He is calling for Allah, Allah.

I may never forget that........ Our medic says that unless we get his airway open and intibate them, they will die. Plain and simple............... We then load them up in their ambulance (not more than a minivan) and take them up to our clinic to try and save their lives. I can hear the same soldier moaning for Allah. I forgot what the words he was saying but he was calling for God to help him. Over and over.

Well, we get them in the clinic and start working on them. Why did we not MEDEVAC them you may ask? There was too much cloud cover and fog and you could not see more than 100 feet in front of you so there was no MEDEVAC at all.

It is now around 5:30 and the medics and doctor (yes, we have an MD here with us) work on the soldiers trying to keep their airway open and to keep them out of pain. They are given Demerol for the pain (can’t use morphine because that slows your breathing down). They are basically almost in a drug-induced coma but not all the way. They are still conscious. The medics and doctor work on them for over 3 hours working on the two. We give them meds and oxygen and keep them out of pain.

After they are stable enough to move, we load them back up on the ambulance and they drive back to the hospital in Gardez. It is over a 5 hour drive there. As of today, they are doing better but still will require skin grafts and will always be scarred. They have about 15-20 years of recovery from this.

Ok, let me ask you this. Will you ever see something like us helping our fellow soldiers out on the news? NOPE! What they will say is that some civilians were killed or a school was blown up or something negative. You will never hear about the 300 people that we hired to improve the road, or the school that literally jumps for joy when we give them school supplies. Or the coochies that swarm us when we do a Humanitarian Aid drop. Nope, it will always be something negative.

These are soldiers that I have worked with for the past 9 months and since I have been embedded with them, I consider them my comrade-in-arms.

The local civilians saw what we did to help them and know that we tried. Fazli knew that he could come up to the FOB and get help and that is what he did. May Allah watch over them.
Well after the excitement from that day, we take the next few days to do yet more paperwork and work on the FOB. Since the ABP commander is at the hospital, there is nothing that we can do there so we work on our vehicles. No, nothing is wrong with the new vehicles but we clean them out and do the regular maintenance checks on them. We add oil to my vehicle and check the other things on it and clean it out.
The next day, we expect some visitors. The Brigade team is coming up here. Well, just the COL, SGM and the Doc. They just want to get out and see their men and the environment that we all live in. We stow their gear and then show them a tour of the FOB (which is really more of a firebase than a FOB). We give them the tour of the base to include the Russian bunker and show them the area around. We then eat and have a conference with them. They plan to stay for a few day to see what we live in everday.
Me? I like it up here. If I could get my mail here rather than being grounded, I would be happy to stay here the whole time. I mean, we do our missions from here and since we are 4 hours closer to the border, that is more time we can spend with the ABP. This is what we are here to do and we can do it more efficiently but we still must go to Gardez every few weeks in order to coordinate things there and pick up our mail.

WOOHOO!! That is one of the best times here is when the mail runs. Since I do not get any bills here, I am not too afraid to open the mail I get. Haha
Well, we are here on the FOB this weekend in Jaji. The weather has been much warmer. Down in the low 20’s at night and then in the 60’s the next day and in the sun, it is even warmer. When there is no breeze, it feels quite nice. The only bad thing about the better weather is that the bad guys start to come out more.
Well, that is about it from here this past week. The pictures are of the road workers moving the truck out of the way, me with a view of the Pakistan OP . I hope you enjoy the pictures.
That is about it from here. I’ll talk to everyone soon!
Jason

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

Nobody Wants to Feel Like This--



Nobody....

This nobody is going to stop posting, I am going to stop writing ...at least for awhile...due to the huge black dragon tsunami that is staring out at me right now, at my window...in the clouds...in the twilight.

I must bunker my hills.

Let's face it. The few of you that read me, know that I'm an odd duck, and there really is not much of a point to all my rantings, except they just...are.

Okay, I know I'm not thinking straight, and I know when I'm at that point....and I'm at that point. Besides, I have something else very important that I must see through.....

I will continue to post on Saturday night...Jason's writings...I hope you will read them. I will have two coming up and they are great insights into our hero's overseas.

I'm not sure how long I will be gone, but knowing me, if I see Bill Clinton at the democratic convention, I might not be able to contain myself...still....

In the meantime I thank you all for being my friends, and reading my little pieces of the universe. God Bless all...and wish me luck, as I wish you.

Here's a kiss to all...xxxx until whenever...

And remember...Nobody Knows, Nobody's Perfect, Nobody Cares, Nobody Flashes, Nobody Wins, and that's always been my Nobody's Opinion.

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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Paris, and Pink Cups



Nobody Cares: Paris Hilton, a woman who has been showing up, according to many, the Presidential candidates on her very superior energy policies has come up with even more suggestions.

Like Rinestone cup holders. Yes, Paris, ever the thinking candidate for the Pink White House, would also start a program for all Starbucks to sell her Rinestoe cup holders.

Not only are they reusable, they will save millions of dollars in oil usage, because as we all know, it takes oil to make plastic cups.

And Paris knows about oil. As she found out in her commercial, Hawaii is the best place to tan.

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Just Plain Angry


Nobody Knows: Yesterday I was so angry about so many things, that I sat down and wrote over six pages of exasperated mental agony in which I enumerated so many hated facts about our “Congress” and “Bush,” that after reading over it, I had to admit…I could not even dare to post it.

After all, in America you MUST not be angry as a writer, or else you are considered a novice. Which is probably another reason our politicians get by with so much----we must always give them the “benefit” of the doubt, or put in a joke or two mixed with our anger…or point out their serious corruptions with a grain of salt.

But it’s not a joke anymore.

And I’m still mad. I’m mad because our President is being protected by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and FOX news.

For instance: Ann Coulter wrote a lengthy piece just last week on John Edwards having an affair. This news was published by the National Enquirer, and she took it as the truth.

That’s fine with me.

But what’s not fine is the fact that for over six months the National Enquirer printed story after story about President George Bush having an affair with Condi Rice, and how Laura Bush had had enough of his drinking, and his affair and was leaving him. On top of that, one would think there was some truth to the fact because I started noticing that Laura sat on the opposite side of the room at the dinners for a long time. Bush has also been having an even harder time speaking and has looked for well over a year, like he’d lost his best friend.

Did Ann Coulter write about that? No? Well, why not? Bias? Fair and balanced? I heard her say on the radio that we better dare not attack “her buddy Bush.”

Or did she say “Bushie?”

And Rush…he just celebrated what…twenty years on the radio? He spent the week celebrating this fact with calls from everyone, and well deserved. After all, as I remember, Rush has been the single voice of conservatism for most of my adult lifetime.

But…having said that...he has treated President Bush’s major insults to the American people with kid gloves, never, ever, dishing the man once…which right away makes Rush seem to this American loving conservative Independent like he is the right-hand man of President Bush himself.

My point? The Constitution should come first, and foremost, not any political party.

Rush says he sides with the American people, but it’s not always true.

So when President George W. Bush took the time out of his “busy” day, and along with his ex-President father and brother Jeb Bush, congratulated Rush on his years of success...it kind of made me sick.

Daddy Bush made no secret of the fact that they all play golf regularly and yet---no one sees any danger in that? The most powerful man on the am radio is in the hands of the President-- right or wrong?

Yes, President Bush can find the time to call Rush Limbaugh, but he can’t find the time to make a call to get those two poor border agents out of jail for doing their job. He’s on the side of the drug lords.

Has Rush been on this subject? Not in your life.

And while Phyllis Schlafly can praise Rush on making up the name “FemiNazi’s”--- I bet she doesn’t listen to him like I do every day. Rush’s view on ALL women is very limited. To Rush women are either sexy beefcakes for men to salivate over, or Feminists. And there are millions of women in America who are neither. What makes him any different from the liberals with his name calling? Oh, you might think he’s just “kidding” but I have never taking it that way, there is always a grain of truth in any joke.

Like the majority of Americans, I voted for Bush, twice. I was praying for the opposite of the Clintons dynasty. But---what we got was not only eight more years of Clinton’s agenda’s, but a man who took those liberal agenda’s and went even further into the goalpost of Orwell’s ‘1984”
then we ever dreamed.

And I’m starting to believe that if Bush has had any success at all in the “War on Terror” or in Iraq, it’s due to the many thousands of brave American soldiers that frankly, make him look good, and have saved his ever-loving elitist butt time after time, from his many failed political disasters.

So, the only hope we have now is ourselves, Obama and McCain are handpicked by the oligarchy for global expansion---at the expense of America we love.

Welcome to Orwell’s dream come true---and my madness knows no bonds. I’m NOT getting over it any time soon.

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Monday, August 04, 2008

The Imaginary Phone Call To Gennifer Flowers



Nobody's Perfect: "Hello"

"Hello, why Bill Clinton, why in the world are you calling me about the fact that Hillary is mad at you for saying all those racist things about Obama?"

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"You want WHAT?"

"Well, even if I came out and said that you never said one bad thing about black people, who would believe me? I mean, I even came out and said I supported Hillary...what more do you want?"

"Good lord Bill, don't you think it's a little late for that?"

"You want me to what? Talk to Obama?"

"Come on Bill, you know I never talked to him, ever. What's the matter with you?"

"Gee honey, I don't know what to tell you. It never bothered you before when she was mad at you."

"Bill, I gotta go...I mean, I'm sorry that the country thinks you ruin Hillary's chances to be President, but look at the good side...you've would have had to always walk behind her in every room...it almost as if you didn't want her to be President..come on now admit it. You're a male chauvinist, Bill, you always have been. "

"What did you say?"

"Oh whatever. Why don't you call Monica and get her to do it. Honey I gotta go...bye-bye now!"

click.

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Sunday, August 03, 2008

Hey--Mr. Spaceman---Come on DOWN!


Nobody’s Opinion: Okay, I’m going out on a limb here…we are not alone.

Big news, huh? Well it should have been!

Last week Dr. Edgar Mitchell, an astronaut of astounding and impeccable credentials, said that aliens have been among us for over 60 years. All the governments know it, and are just covering it up.

NASA denied what he said, but by denying it, they put themselves at risk of having the citizens of America think NASA is completely incompetent for hiring men, (and women in diapers) who are nutcases.

Give us our money back for the moon landing that didn’t happen then!

NASA also announced last week that there was water on Mars. That news fell on the masses like a lead balloon over Roswell.

But, if like me and Fox Mulder, “You Want to Believe,” the best place to go to hear about UFO’s is that most informative late night a.m. radio show, Coast-to-Coast.

Art Bell (who has seen a UFO) started the program, and George Noory who now hosts it, are the experts. And I’m one of the programs biggest fans.

Just last week they replayed a broadcast of John Lear, the son of the man who the Lear Jet was named after and a man of very serious credentials himself. John said in his oh-so-casual way that UFO’s are here, and not only that, but we have learned their technology.

John also said that our government has huge bunkers that go so deep, they can run atomic submarines in and out of them…which is where I suppose “they” are planning to go if our alien friends get upset.

Now---Last week we had Mr. Edgar admitting the truth, a rebroadcast of John Lear, then George Noory himself finally admitting to seeing two UFO’s.

Congratulations, George---twins!

George Noory, the highly intelligent and consummate host of Coast-to-Coast am confessed that, after all these years, after endless hours of listening to hundreds of people who call him up at three in the morning to say that they have been abducted and sometimes abused by spacemen, he finally saw his first UFO with the help of a guy who has his own business taking people out to see them every night and looking through very expensive night- vision goggles.

Oh, so that’s why the rest of us don’t see them---we don’t have the right equipment.

I have mixed feeling on this subject. I, like many, went through my UFO phrase. Were they real? Did they really mutilate cattle and suck human eggs up through a tube. Did Mr. Walton really go into space, only to live through the shock of it all?

Was War of the Worlds just a bit too scary?

I still haven’t seen one.

BUT---Last night Coast to Coast had a world exclusive. May Pang, John Lennon’s old girlfriend, recounted how she and John were in their New York apartment one night, had just ordered Pizza…John went out on the balcony, (nude) and there right about his head was a giant UFO…just spooming merrily along the New York Skyline and buildings.

Oh look 78333---isn’t that the famous John Lennon?’’

I think you’re right!”

Is that naked woman standing beside him YOKO?”

No, that one’s human---let’s leave them alone.”

So--- I for one believed MS Pang. Why? Because my mother once told me she and my dad, right after they were married back in 1947, were driving one night and saw a UFO.

(Insert your own joke here.)

The other reason that I think that May Pang was telling the truth was because she had just ordered a pizza, when John made her come out onto their roof patio.

Pizza?

Anyway, the real question on my mind is this; Why, after all these years, are these very common “UFO” sightings happening again?

Is it nuclear Iran?

Or is this a psychological ploy being played upon us to get us ready for the announcement that aliens are all over the place…get use to it.

Kind of like our gas prices.

I just wish they’d get the announcement over with. Obama and McCain news is getting depressing. After all, if they can cover up alien spaceships being among us for over sixty years…what else are they hiding?


“Hey Mister Spaceman, won’t you please take me along? I won’t do anything wrong! Hey Mister Spacemen---won’t you please take me along for ride?”---The Bryds


I’m practicing this song daily. I’ll be ready.

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