Reading and writing have aided me in my quest to endure the 400 days of my son's absence. My addiction to following message boards on Query Tracker (as well as agents' blogs and Twitter feeds) now ranks close to my obsession with Diet Pepsi and chocolate.
Check out this link to an author (Dan Streib) who was a combat officer in the Korean War:
http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Streib/e/B006TJPGOG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Monday, February 28, 2011
Day 105; Shopping and Bonding
Sunday, February 27th
Spent the day with my soldier's girlfriend. I like her a lot!
Went shoe-shopping together... A silly pose!!! (notice the socks? They belong to my soldier!)
After our shopping excursion, I took her to my sister's house and we watched the Academy Awards. While there, my phone beeped-- I received an email from my soldier:
Spent the day with my soldier's girlfriend. I like her a lot!
Went shoe-shopping together... A silly pose!!! (notice the socks? They belong to my soldier!)
After our shopping excursion, I took her to my sister's house and we watched the Academy Awards. While there, my phone beeped-- I received an email from my soldier:
One of the cooler things I have going on out here...my personal 6x6 Polaris Ranger ATV. It's pretty quick. I haven't had many occasions to drive it yet because everything is so close together here, but I got a sweet 6-wheel (weird saying that) drift coming around a turn one time when no one was looking. Don't tell anyone because the speed limit out here is usually 5-10mph, hah. And yes, the MPs give out tickets--even in Iraq.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Day 100; Lap 1 of 4
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Whew! 100 days completed out of 400. I equate this to running laps on a track. Four laps equal a mile, so I feel as if I have completed one lap since my soldier was deployed... 3 more to go.
The care packages I have been sending have averaged 13-14 days to arrive in Camp Taji. I feel like I have sent out packages about every 3-4 days. By the time my soldier receives a package, I cannot even remember what I had jam-packed into that box!
Whew! 100 days completed out of 400. I equate this to running laps on a track. Four laps equal a mile, so I feel as if I have completed one lap since my soldier was deployed... 3 more to go.
The care packages I have been sending have averaged 13-14 days to arrive in Camp Taji. I feel like I have sent out packages about every 3-4 days. By the time my soldier receives a package, I cannot even remember what I had jam-packed into that box!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Day 102; The Bone Yard
Thursday, February 24th
Received a lengthy email from my soldier today. Here goes:
Here comes another long one! If you aren't interested you don't have to read it, but I try to explain as much as possible because I know most of this stuff is completely foreign to you and esoteric to me and the Army.
I passed by part of the Bone Yard today while I was driving in my Gator (my sweet 6-wheeled ATV golf-cart thing -- It's FAST!). I surreptitiously snapped some pictures as I cruised by...not sure if I'm supposed to be taking pictures of this stuff but I figured it'd be interesting to see some of the aftermath of the heavy bombardment we did of this base in the late 90s before we took it over in 2003. Most of these pieces of twisted metal are just vehicles...there is a row of beat-down tanks about a quarter mile long that I'll eventually try to get pictures of.
Also, not sure if I mentioned it, but this is the base Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") used to develop chemical weapons. It was also one of the concentration camps Chemical Ali sent Kurds and Shia Muslims to be gassed during Saddam's ethnic cleansing era. I drove by the building with the gas chambers. No one is allowed inside it. It's a large, derelict brick building with broken windows. It apparently has many underground levels and rooms. Kind of disturbing. If anyone is questioning why we came here in the first place, a large part of it was to get rid of the assholes who did this to innocent people. Saddam and Ali will go down in history as the Hitlers of the late 20th century. Look at this.
On a more positive note, look at the pictures of the MRAPs. They are "Mine Resistant Armor Protected" vehicles. They are taller than they are wide (which is not the case for standard HMMWVs, or "humvees"). They have a V-shaped hull which deflects IEDs away from the vehicle. These things have saved countless lives in the past few years. Some of them weigh up to 60,000 pounds! That's about 10 times the weight of a standard HMMWV!
The weird arcing bow looking things on the top of them are designed to deflect high-tension wires that insurgents used (unfortunately with much initial success) to decapitate or eject the soldier in the gunner turret. The armor plates you see on the side are designed to stop RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and any small-arms fire. The cylinder-shaped antennas are part of the CREW system (Counter-Remote-detonated-IED-Electronic-Warfare). They jam a range of radio frequencies from those emitted by a car's keyfob to garage door openers to radios to cell phones. They work by blasting the surrounding area with "noise" so that the devices IEDs have that are listening for the detonation signal can't "hear" it. They are programmed to not jam the exact frequencies that we know we are using ourselves for our radios. The gunner turret is covered with camo netting and has 270-degree side and roof protection so the gunner can't get shot from the side or behind, and also to prevent passersby from throwing grenades into the turret without the gunner seeing it and having a few seconds to grab it and throw it back out. There is a pneumatic hatch in the back of the vehicle that weighs several hundred pounds, which deploys once the vehicle is stopped so the team inside can exit quickly during a firefight or an emergency.
One criticism of the MRAPs are their cost (some of them cost over a half million dollars). But when you consider that they save lives, and that lives are priceless, you can also factor that our government pays the family members of deceased servicemembers $400,000 if they die. So they are an excellent investment.
Another issue is the menacing appearance of them. The pictures don't do them justice. They are HUGE. You have to climb a ladder to get inside them. And the thick, tinted ballistic windows make it near impossible to see the faces of the soldiers inside...which adds to the menacing impression they give. The reason why this is bad, instead of good, is because the intent of COIN (counterinsurgency) is to show the local populace that we are there to help them and do our best to only harm the bad guys.
The last main issue with them, also because of their size, is their absurdly high risk of rollovers. When I was in Texas, we all had to get trained on an MRAP rollover simulator, which rolls the vehicle 360 degrees several times and stops either on its side or upside down...we learned drills on how to grab the gunner and pull him inside the vehicle so he doesn't get crushed. Especially in Afghanistan, where the roads are poorly built and these things often scale mountains using goat trails designed for loads extremely lighter than these things, rollovers happen too often.
Oh yeah -- see the water behind the MRAPs? That's the putrid, unhealthy-looking water I mentioned before that is in pools everywhere around this base. The water table is really high out here so certain parts of the ground never completely get sucked dry by the heat, which is why there is so much stagnant water.
Again, more to come later, but I hope this gave you a little closer of a look at what Iraq is like.
I should get a chance soon to take a helicopter ride to Kirkuk to see a team of soldiers I have there operating some satellite equipment. I had their equipment sent to them today (boy it is quite funny trying to communicate with the forklift drivers who don't speak English very well). But on my way back from Kirkuk I'll have a chance to land at a few other bases before I return to Taji because the air transport out here is kind of like a bus route with stops at each base along the way. So I'll do my best to take some pictures!
Love,
Richy
Received a lengthy email from my soldier today. Here goes:
Here comes another long one! If you aren't interested you don't have to read it, but I try to explain as much as possible because I know most of this stuff is completely foreign to you and esoteric to me and the Army.
I passed by part of the Bone Yard today while I was driving in my Gator (my sweet 6-wheeled ATV golf-cart thing -- It's FAST!). I surreptitiously snapped some pictures as I cruised by...not sure if I'm supposed to be taking pictures of this stuff but I figured it'd be interesting to see some of the aftermath of the heavy bombardment we did of this base in the late 90s before we took it over in 2003. Most of these pieces of twisted metal are just vehicles...there is a row of beat-down tanks about a quarter mile long that I'll eventually try to get pictures of.
Also, not sure if I mentioned it, but this is the base Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") used to develop chemical weapons. It was also one of the concentration camps Chemical Ali sent Kurds and Shia Muslims to be gassed during Saddam's ethnic cleansing era. I drove by the building with the gas chambers. No one is allowed inside it. It's a large, derelict brick building with broken windows. It apparently has many underground levels and rooms. Kind of disturbing. If anyone is questioning why we came here in the first place, a large part of it was to get rid of the assholes who did this to innocent people. Saddam and Ali will go down in history as the Hitlers of the late 20th century. Look at this.
On a more positive note, look at the pictures of the MRAPs. They are "Mine Resistant Armor Protected" vehicles. They are taller than they are wide (which is not the case for standard HMMWVs, or "humvees"). They have a V-shaped hull which deflects IEDs away from the vehicle. These things have saved countless lives in the past few years. Some of them weigh up to 60,000 pounds! That's about 10 times the weight of a standard HMMWV!
The weird arcing bow looking things on the top of them are designed to deflect high-tension wires that insurgents used (unfortunately with much initial success) to decapitate or eject the soldier in the gunner turret. The armor plates you see on the side are designed to stop RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and any small-arms fire. The cylinder-shaped antennas are part of the CREW system (Counter-Remote-detonated-IED-Electronic-Warfare). They jam a range of radio frequencies from those emitted by a car's keyfob to garage door openers to radios to cell phones. They work by blasting the surrounding area with "noise" so that the devices IEDs have that are listening for the detonation signal can't "hear" it. They are programmed to not jam the exact frequencies that we know we are using ourselves for our radios. The gunner turret is covered with camo netting and has 270-degree side and roof protection so the gunner can't get shot from the side or behind, and also to prevent passersby from throwing grenades into the turret without the gunner seeing it and having a few seconds to grab it and throw it back out. There is a pneumatic hatch in the back of the vehicle that weighs several hundred pounds, which deploys once the vehicle is stopped so the team inside can exit quickly during a firefight or an emergency.
One criticism of the MRAPs are their cost (some of them cost over a half million dollars). But when you consider that they save lives, and that lives are priceless, you can also factor that our government pays the family members of deceased servicemembers $400,000 if they die. So they are an excellent investment.
Another issue is the menacing appearance of them. The pictures don't do them justice. They are HUGE. You have to climb a ladder to get inside them. And the thick, tinted ballistic windows make it near impossible to see the faces of the soldiers inside...which adds to the menacing impression they give. The reason why this is bad, instead of good, is because the intent of COIN (counterinsurgency) is to show the local populace that we are there to help them and do our best to only harm the bad guys.
The last main issue with them, also because of their size, is their absurdly high risk of rollovers. When I was in Texas, we all had to get trained on an MRAP rollover simulator, which rolls the vehicle 360 degrees several times and stops either on its side or upside down...we learned drills on how to grab the gunner and pull him inside the vehicle so he doesn't get crushed. Especially in Afghanistan, where the roads are poorly built and these things often scale mountains using goat trails designed for loads extremely lighter than these things, rollovers happen too often.
Oh yeah -- see the water behind the MRAPs? That's the putrid, unhealthy-looking water I mentioned before that is in pools everywhere around this base. The water table is really high out here so certain parts of the ground never completely get sucked dry by the heat, which is why there is so much stagnant water.
Again, more to come later, but I hope this gave you a little closer of a look at what Iraq is like.
I should get a chance soon to take a helicopter ride to Kirkuk to see a team of soldiers I have there operating some satellite equipment. I had their equipment sent to them today (boy it is quite funny trying to communicate with the forklift drivers who don't speak English very well). But on my way back from Kirkuk I'll have a chance to land at a few other bases before I return to Taji because the air transport out here is kind of like a bus route with stops at each base along the way. So I'll do my best to take some pictures!
Love,
Richy
Monday, February 21, 2011
Day 95; Makin' a List (Care Pkgs)
Thursday, February 17th
Here are a few lists that you can cut and paste into a Word document and print out. Depending on where your soldier is being deployed and what his/her role will be, some of these items will be necessary and some won't. For instance, my soldier is not infantry and will not be out in the field, so things like T.P., a flashlight, or a compass probably won't be necessary. He is involved in communications on an airbase in Camp Taji and sleeps in a CHU (containerized housing unit). Since there is also a PX (store) on base, he is able to purchase many things on these lists, so the only thing I will accomplish by mailing them to him is saving his own money (and peace of mind, of course!)
Here is a list:
Here is another list I found on the Internet regarding gear and supplies, more for infantry-related soldiers. The following list is from soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of these items won’t be needed until your soldier gets to his/her destination, so you may want to set them aside and mail out once your soldier gets settled.
I would go over this list with your soldier first. Many items on this list made NO sense to me whatsoever!
1. Any extra ClassVIII you can bring with you is good to have.
2. Wolfhook single point slings
3. Desert Tan spray paint
4. Space blanket(s)
5. 100 mph tape, 550 cord, TP, other expendables you think would come in handy
6. Drop Leg Holster (blackhawk or SERPA) and Uncle Mike’s Paddle-Holster for wearing around every day (drop leg will wear a hole in ACUs over time). I also have one for my IBA so I can have my 9mm handy when in the gun hatch going through towns.
7. Weapons lube that DOESN’T ATTRACT SAND. (MILTECH or Remington Dry Lube only)
8. Two copies of addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, etc.
9. 2 pairs of GOOD boot insoles
10. A Good Tactical Flashlight (SureFire, even though you will get issued one with M4)
11. Red/White light L.E.D. headlamp
12. Spare pair of running shoes
13. MP3 PLAYER W/ x-tra pair of spare headphones
14. Enough batteries to last you 30 days
15. Chapstick
16. Lotion
17. 30 SPF or higher Sunblock
18. Bar soap- for some reason its in short supply….almost always
19. Small compact rolls of TP. A lot of places make travel size, half the time you get to a port-a-potty the jackA$s before you ganked the TP
20. Baby wipes- 30 days worth. Expect that the power and water will either go out, or the water will be contaminated at least once a month.
21. Gold Bond Foot and Body Powder
22. Small clip on LED light-clip it to your IBA….it will come in handy….quite often.
23. Drink mix for 16/20 oz bottles of water
24. Weightlifting supplies
25. Small photo album with pics from home.
26. Hand sanitizer (small bottles to put in ankle pockets)
27. More books/magazines than you think you will need.
28. DVDs, for you and to loan out for swapping purposes
29. Tactical gloves--military gloves are sort of clumsy ( I love the $9.95 whitewater brand gloves from the clothing sales). Also standard flight nomex are good.
30. Lens anti-fog agent. Shaving cream works in a pinch, but you have to apply it every other day or so.
31. Good pair of shower shoes/sandals. I recommend the black adidas….lasted me all year.
32. Small pillow (air inflatable)
33. Cheap digital camera (at least 2.1 mp)
34. Boot knife35. Gerber multi-tool
36. Fabreeze-sometimes the laundry is few and far between.
37. Armor Fresh
38. Extra boot laces
39. Stainless steel coffee cup with screw on lid
40. Soccer shorts/normal t shirt to sleep in, hang out in your room in
41. Sweatshirts for winter times hanging around
42. A couple of poncho liners for privacy, nasty mattress cover, etc.
43. One or two sets of twin sheets with pillow case
44. Good regular-size pillow
45. One or two good civilian bath towels
46. Buy a good set (>$200) of winter desert boots. All they will give you is a regular summer set and a set of goretex lined for waterproof needs. The desert is a cold place at these altitudes in the winter time.
47. Bring a laptop!!! Also may want a PSP or some other handheld gaming device.
48. Get an external USB hard-drive (>120gb). You will need this to back up data to, and to store movies and MP3s that you will fall in on from previous teams.
49. Get a Skype account and download the software from skype.com. This is how I talk to home 95% of the time. If you call computer to computer it is totally free. You can also skype out from your computer to a regular phone for $0.021 a minute. There is nothing cheaper than that. [I bought my soldier a "magicJack." Go to magicjack.com and check this out. It is an adapter that plugs into your computer's usb port that allows a standard land line to plug into it]
50. Decent headset with mic for computer (skype)
51. Webcam for video calls back home
52. Bring a min. of 18ea. M4 mags per person. 9 that are loaded and 9 that rest. Plan to do M4 mag changeover once per month.
53. Bring 8ea 9mm mags, for same reason above. Change these over every two weeks.
54. Order a LULA mag loader/unloader. It will be the best $12 piece of plastic you every bought. I have 12 mags loaded at all times and when I do change over it will do it in a fraction of the time and save your hands, and save the ammo
55. Try to get your state or purchase yourself one 12v DC to 110 AC inverter per man for your trucks. There are crucial on mission to charge personal items, cell phone, ICOMs, and especially ANA radios (they only have re-chargeable batteries).
56. Dump the IBA tac vest you get issued. Get a Tactical Tailor MAV chest rig (does not matter if you get 1 or 2 piece one as you want to keep the front open for laying in the prone. You don’t want mags pushing into your chest making it hard to breathe). I wish I would have bought mine at the start. It makes a HUGE difference on the back and shoulders when carrying a loaded rig.
57. Get comfortable pair of desert boots. I wear only the Converse 8” assault boots (non-zipper ones). Oakley, Bates, and several others are similar in style and comfort.
58. Bring some good snivel gear for the winter time. Extra poly-pro winter hat, gloves, neck gators, etc.
59. Lock de-icer for the winter time
60. Disposable hand and feet warmers
61. Canned-air, lots of it for electronics weapons, etc.
62. Lens wipes for optics
63. Screen wipes for computers
64. Firing Pin Retaining pins, Brownells is a good source
65. DVD ripping program for your laptop so you can transfer all your DVDs to electrons and store on a harddrive
66. A good assault pack, I have one from Tactical Assault Gear with aluminum stays in it for support. It's been a lifesaver several times,the one the Army issues is a P.O.S.
67. MBiTR pouch from Tactical Tailor
68. An aviators knee board
69. Personal GPS (Garmin, etc.)
There are probably many other things that could go on this list, but a lot of that is personal preference. The purpose of this list is to provide some insight into things that could make anyone’s tour easier.
Here are a few lists that you can cut and paste into a Word document and print out. Depending on where your soldier is being deployed and what his/her role will be, some of these items will be necessary and some won't. For instance, my soldier is not infantry and will not be out in the field, so things like T.P., a flashlight, or a compass probably won't be necessary. He is involved in communications on an airbase in Camp Taji and sleeps in a CHU (containerized housing unit). Since there is also a PX (store) on base, he is able to purchase many things on these lists, so the only thing I will accomplish by mailing them to him is saving his own money (and peace of mind, of course!)
Here is a list:
Here is another list I found on the Internet regarding gear and supplies, more for infantry-related soldiers. The following list is from soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of these items won’t be needed until your soldier gets to his/her destination, so you may want to set them aside and mail out once your soldier gets settled.
I would go over this list with your soldier first. Many items on this list made NO sense to me whatsoever!
1. Any extra ClassVIII you can bring with you is good to have.
2. Wolfhook single point slings
3. Desert Tan spray paint
4. Space blanket(s)
5. 100 mph tape, 550 cord, TP, other expendables you think would come in handy
6. Drop Leg Holster (blackhawk or SERPA) and Uncle Mike’s Paddle-Holster for wearing around every day (drop leg will wear a hole in ACUs over time). I also have one for my IBA so I can have my 9mm handy when in the gun hatch going through towns.
7. Weapons lube that DOESN’T ATTRACT SAND. (MILTECH or Remington Dry Lube only)
8. Two copies of addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, etc.
9. 2 pairs of GOOD boot insoles
10. A Good Tactical Flashlight (SureFire, even though you will get issued one with M4)
11. Red/White light L.E.D. headlamp
12. Spare pair of running shoes
13. MP3 PLAYER W/ x-tra pair of spare headphones
14. Enough batteries to last you 30 days
15. Chapstick
16. Lotion
17. 30 SPF or higher Sunblock
18. Bar soap- for some reason its in short supply….almost always
19. Small compact rolls of TP. A lot of places make travel size, half the time you get to a port-a-potty the jackA$s before you ganked the TP
20. Baby wipes- 30 days worth. Expect that the power and water will either go out, or the water will be contaminated at least once a month.
21. Gold Bond Foot and Body Powder
22. Small clip on LED light-clip it to your IBA….it will come in handy….quite often.
23. Drink mix for 16/20 oz bottles of water
24. Weightlifting supplies
25. Small photo album with pics from home.
26. Hand sanitizer (small bottles to put in ankle pockets)
27. More books/magazines than you think you will need.
28. DVDs, for you and to loan out for swapping purposes
29. Tactical gloves--military gloves are sort of clumsy ( I love the $9.95 whitewater brand gloves from the clothing sales). Also standard flight nomex are good.
30. Lens anti-fog agent. Shaving cream works in a pinch, but you have to apply it every other day or so.
31. Good pair of shower shoes/sandals. I recommend the black adidas….lasted me all year.
32. Small pillow (air inflatable)
33. Cheap digital camera (at least 2.1 mp)
34. Boot knife35. Gerber multi-tool
36. Fabreeze-sometimes the laundry is few and far between.
37. Armor Fresh
38. Extra boot laces
39. Stainless steel coffee cup with screw on lid
40. Soccer shorts/normal t shirt to sleep in, hang out in your room in
41. Sweatshirts for winter times hanging around
42. A couple of poncho liners for privacy, nasty mattress cover, etc.
43. One or two sets of twin sheets with pillow case
44. Good regular-size pillow
45. One or two good civilian bath towels
46. Buy a good set (>$200) of winter desert boots. All they will give you is a regular summer set and a set of goretex lined for waterproof needs. The desert is a cold place at these altitudes in the winter time.
47. Bring a laptop!!! Also may want a PSP or some other handheld gaming device.
48. Get an external USB hard-drive (>120gb). You will need this to back up data to, and to store movies and MP3s that you will fall in on from previous teams.
49. Get a Skype account and download the software from skype.com. This is how I talk to home 95% of the time. If you call computer to computer it is totally free. You can also skype out from your computer to a regular phone for $0.021 a minute. There is nothing cheaper than that. [I bought my soldier a "magicJack." Go to magicjack.com and check this out. It is an adapter that plugs into your computer's usb port that allows a standard land line to plug into it]
50. Decent headset with mic for computer (skype)
51. Webcam for video calls back home
52. Bring a min. of 18ea. M4 mags per person. 9 that are loaded and 9 that rest. Plan to do M4 mag changeover once per month.
53. Bring 8ea 9mm mags, for same reason above. Change these over every two weeks.
54. Order a LULA mag loader/unloader. It will be the best $12 piece of plastic you every bought. I have 12 mags loaded at all times and when I do change over it will do it in a fraction of the time and save your hands, and save the ammo
55. Try to get your state or purchase yourself one 12v DC to 110 AC inverter per man for your trucks. There are crucial on mission to charge personal items, cell phone, ICOMs, and especially ANA radios (they only have re-chargeable batteries).
56. Dump the IBA tac vest you get issued. Get a Tactical Tailor MAV chest rig (does not matter if you get 1 or 2 piece one as you want to keep the front open for laying in the prone. You don’t want mags pushing into your chest making it hard to breathe). I wish I would have bought mine at the start. It makes a HUGE difference on the back and shoulders when carrying a loaded rig.
57. Get comfortable pair of desert boots. I wear only the Converse 8” assault boots (non-zipper ones). Oakley, Bates, and several others are similar in style and comfort.
58. Bring some good snivel gear for the winter time. Extra poly-pro winter hat, gloves, neck gators, etc.
59. Lock de-icer for the winter time
60. Disposable hand and feet warmers
61. Canned-air, lots of it for electronics weapons, etc.
62. Lens wipes for optics
63. Screen wipes for computers
64. Firing Pin Retaining pins, Brownells is a good source
65. DVD ripping program for your laptop so you can transfer all your DVDs to electrons and store on a harddrive
66. A good assault pack, I have one from Tactical Assault Gear with aluminum stays in it for support. It's been a lifesaver several times,the one the Army issues is a P.O.S.
67. MBiTR pouch from Tactical Tailor
68. An aviators knee board
69. Personal GPS (Garmin, etc.)
There are probably many other things that could go on this list, but a lot of that is personal preference. The purpose of this list is to provide some insight into things that could make anyone’s tour easier.
Day 94; Priority Mail
Wednesday, February 16th
Now that my soldier is settled, it's time to start making care packages. I have been researching the Internet for ideas and lists. There are many out there. I will try to post some of these lists on a future post. For now, I want to tell anyone interested the U.S. Post Office offers the most economical delivery to the troops at an APO.
You can contact the Post Office (by telephone only) and request a free "kit" which includes the following:
Now that my soldier is settled, it's time to start making care packages. I have been researching the Internet for ideas and lists. There are many out there. I will try to post some of these lists on a future post. For now, I want to tell anyone interested the U.S. Post Office offers the most economical delivery to the troops at an APO.
You can contact the Post Office (by telephone only) and request a free "kit" which includes the following:
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Day 91; Assume = ASS U ME
Sunday, February 13th
The email I received today was not what I expected.
To all of you moms out there who take pride in your child and sometimes feel the need for "bragging rights" -- you know what I mean... Like, "My little Joey was student of the month," or "My daughter got the lead in the school play," or "Mary was accepted into Stanford/Harvard/Yale," etc. -- I guess I did just that when I told my friends that my son is an officer in the U.S. Army, and I was admonished for it, because I made an assumption...
I forwarded my soldier's email regarding his arrival in Camp Taji to some of my friends. In my intro, I stated that 'since he is an officer, he was fortunate enough to fly into Camp Taji instead of having to travel by convoy...'
I received many nice comments (via email) of support from my friends. I then forwarded one of my friends' comments to my son, and he was able to read my intro to his email. Here was his response to me:
I didn't fly to Taji just because I'm an officer. My whole unit flew up here because there was no tactical advantage to taking a convoy and we are an aviation unit, not a combat arms unit, so we don't have dozens of vehicles we have to drive up there.
I didn't get treated any more special than my soldiers, and if they had convoyed up I would be right there making sure they are okay. Platoon leaders don't abandon their men.
Wow.
No, Dear Mom, or Love Richy was on this message.
I wasn't trying to imply that my son was abandoning his men... Honestly, I guess I assumed his rank allowed him to fly instead of travel by land, especially since one of the other soldiers' mothers told me that her son was traveling via convoy.
I stand corrected.
I made an assumption; I took pride in telling my friend that my son was an officer and he was able to avoid convoying (convoys scare the crap out of me), and I ended up offending my son. What is the old saying? "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"...?
I may delete this post later, as I am feeling pretty crappy right now and I am just venting.
The email I received today was not what I expected.
To all of you moms out there who take pride in your child and sometimes feel the need for "bragging rights" -- you know what I mean... Like, "My little Joey was student of the month," or "My daughter got the lead in the school play," or "Mary was accepted into Stanford/Harvard/Yale," etc. -- I guess I did just that when I told my friends that my son is an officer in the U.S. Army, and I was admonished for it, because I made an assumption...
I forwarded my soldier's email regarding his arrival in Camp Taji to some of my friends. In my intro, I stated that 'since he is an officer, he was fortunate enough to fly into Camp Taji instead of having to travel by convoy...'
I received many nice comments (via email) of support from my friends. I then forwarded one of my friends' comments to my son, and he was able to read my intro to his email. Here was his response to me:
I didn't fly to Taji just because I'm an officer. My whole unit flew up here because there was no tactical advantage to taking a convoy and we are an aviation unit, not a combat arms unit, so we don't have dozens of vehicles we have to drive up there.
I didn't get treated any more special than my soldiers, and if they had convoyed up I would be right there making sure they are okay. Platoon leaders don't abandon their men.
Wow.
No, Dear Mom, or Love Richy was on this message.
I wasn't trying to imply that my son was abandoning his men... Honestly, I guess I assumed his rank allowed him to fly instead of travel by land, especially since one of the other soldiers' mothers told me that her son was traveling via convoy.
I stand corrected.
I made an assumption; I took pride in telling my friend that my son was an officer and he was able to avoid convoying (convoys scare the crap out of me), and I ended up offending my son. What is the old saying? "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"...?
I may delete this post later, as I am feeling pretty crappy right now and I am just venting.
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