Day 174

Bye, bye September. Don't come back, you hear? It's October's turn and the last time I will be in Afghanistan on the 1st day of the month. (insert virtual fist bump) October is going to be GREAT and November even greater.

As for this last day of September, not much to speak of. Fairly busy but of course, the office is ultra-quiet when the boss is traveling. No complaints here! Before lunch, I did go register for the Army 10-Miler shadow run. It's next weekend and I may or may not do it but thought I'd sign up just in case. It's super early on a Sunday...my sleep-in day so it may not be worth it. Plus...the name just doesn't suit me. :-) We'll see. Other than that, just another day checked off.

Back in the room tonight, I watched Mark Wahlberg's "Shooter" which was pretty good. I did verify yesterday's final debt payment and sure enough....balance = ZERO on that last debt! DONE! Pretty awesome. I can't wait to celebrate with Dorothy when I get home.  Anyway, just another day done and time for the weekend. Should be quiet tomorrow followed by another Hail and Farewell late on Sunday afternoon...my turn!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 173

Well, I won't lie...it's nice and quiet when the boss is out of "town." So is the case with today and for the next few. However, we did have another U.S. Marine colonel here first thing this morning. He just arrived in country and is here to relieve the other Marine colonel that I've written about so many times. Our job was to get him in, put him up for the night, then get him on his helo to his ultimate destination. By 10am, he was on his way. He's a great guy and someone I wouldn't mind working for one bit. What is it with these Marines? Great people! Makes me wish that's all I was working with here. Once we got him moving along his own Yellow Brick Road, we closed the door and got to work. Pretty quiet day yet again but plenty of work to stay busy. (I stumbled on the following quote from former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945: "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!")

There was one pretty significant highlight today. I mentioned a few posts back about paying down our debt. Well, today we (Dorothy and I) made our final debt payment! 21 months and we're done. Nothing but the house left. 2 cars, a few credit cards, and the biggest one...our home equity loan..all paid for. We actually haven't had a credit card in over a year. Don't miss it one bit. It's great living to a budget and working together on every dime spent. The stress relief has been way more than I ever expected. Now we start to build our 6 month emergency fund. Basically, we'll just start piling up cash that approximately equates to 6 months of living expenses. We'll throw that in a money market account where it won't earn much, it's readily accessible, but it's not as bad as sitting in a savings account practically losing money. Later on in the day, I received a message from a running friend who read my post online many months ago about the steps to become debt free. He embraced the idea and was messaging me today to tell me he is 100% debt free...mortgage and all. He read it...eyes opened....and acted. You see? You never know who might be listening, watching or reading what you say, do, or write. That made my day...for the 2nd time!

After being in the office until 8pm tonight, we headed on out, grabbed some dinner, and called it a night. Also, since I've told Dorothy this multiple times already, I guess I'll tell you: I can't believe my relief is only about 2 1/2 weeks from showing up. I really AM going to leave this place! Civilian clothes, I cannot wait! Oh yea, a big sloppy kiss for Dorothy, too. More conservative kisses for Tin Man and Scarecrow.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 172

Just counting the days to go home, folks. If my days were ever like Groundhog Day, it's these days right now. Same day in and day out. As all weeks go mid-week, I was busy all day long today until I wrapped up about 11 hours in the office. I made the requisite calls to Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow as well. The girls got their handmade jewelry boxes to school and back safely and clearly, they still really like them. Not much else on the home front except Dorothy is getting a much-needed massage tonight. I'll actually be seeing him (the massage therapist) as well soon after returning HOME. Speaking of which, I should make an appointment! Back in my room tonight, I got a free month of Skype calls in my e-mail. I can call any phone in the world for a month for free. I can't receive calls, though. "Don't worry, Dorothy. I won't call you every 5 minutes. 10 is negotiable, right?!"

I know he doesn't know about my blog, but to my relief in case you're listening: "By this time, you've been issued your M4 rifle and your 9mm. Love them. Hold them tight. Get used to being one with that 9 for a very LONG time! Also enjoy those times you'll get both weapons filled with sand over the next couple of weeks...such a pain to clean. I'm starting to clean out my desk a little bit at a time. It'll be ready for you when you get here. Don't drag your feet getting here, either. I've got my date and there is no changin' that!" Anyway, he can't hear me but it feels good to at least write it.  Call it a guilty pleasure, I suppose.  With that...there's really not much else today!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 171

I woke up today to an e-mail that Dorothy had just gone to bed 5 minutes prior but I did a little begging and got a 9min Skype call with her. I wanted to hear about her day. Turns out, the package I sent showed up which had gifts for her and my girls inside. I had found these cherry/walnut jewelry boxes that were handmade near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan for the girls. I double-wrapped them in bubble-wrap and they made it home safe and sound and the girls LOVED them. I also sent a few handmade bead bracelets for the girls which they were wearing when I talked to them this afternoon. For Dorothy, I had her name written in Dari, one of the two main languages here over her name in English. This was on a wooden triangle nameplate for her desk. It also has an American flag and Afghanistan flag embedded in the wood on each side of her name. I hope she liked it! Also on the romantic side, I sent home a hand-carved tissue box. Yes...I'm a romantic. So that's how the day started....perfectly.

The day itself was fairly quiet and steadily busy. While I had some alone time in the office today, I turned on some tunes via my iPad, specifically Steven Curtis Chapman's new CD called re:Creation. It has some new songs and a whole lot of his classics mostly with just him and his guitar. It's one of my all-time favorite CDs of his and love the re:Created versions of his classics. One song just kept ringing in my head long after the music stopped: "Not Home Yet" It's clearly not talking about our "home" on earth here and overall, is very uplifting and helps keep your focus on the "prize" that awaits but it also hit home with regards to my earthly home here in "Kansas." It just felt "goooooood." Tonight, I dug up the original from 1997 and have embedded it below. If you're reading this post via e-mail, you can follow this link to watch it. Great song and a great message. I actually met him once back in 2001 and also saw him once in concert. He is one of the few artists who I really want to see again, too.

The day ended up being a super long day and it was 8pm before we finally left. We had a conference call with the new team Stateside (ya know..the one formed because my point paper, etc. got the other one fully removed) and then had one major issue we had to get an answer to before we left for the night. No big deal, though. What else am I going to do? If I'm doing the job I was sent here for then if it's long days and 80 hour weeks that I need to work then so be it. It's temporary, after all.

Once back in the room tonight, I worked on the blog/website for the January 2012 trail race that I help with. I handle the online registration and the website. The site needed freshened up since registration opens this Saturday. Afterwards, the new show "Terra Nova" came on so I watched that and now, here I am. Just as soon as I wrap this up, I'm calling it a night and hittin' the sack. This day went fairly quick and I'm ready to get to hump day and start moving towards the weekend. Speaking of which, I'm sure you now know how we have our "Hail and Farewells" every month to say hello to the newbies and goodbye to those who are leaving before the next "Hail and Farewell." Guess who's getting a "Farewell!" this weekend...  :-))))))

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 170

Day 170 and I'm approaching the 83rd mile! Still numb to the fact it's been nearly 6 months...longest EVER that I've been away from Dorothy in nearly 19 years of marriage. Yes, I spent 10 years on active duty in the Navy but my assignments never put me on a complete sea tour. Who would've thought this sailor would get that tour without seeing one drop of ocean? Not me!

Last night, I was wide awake around 2 or 3am. I actually had fallen asleep with the NASCAR race on and when I woke up, I noticed there were only about 45 laps to go so I stayed up until the finish then went back to sleep. Tony "Smoke" Stewart is one of the drivers I'm a fan of so it was good to see him get his 2nd win in the past 2 weeks. The morning that arrived quickly was like every other Monday morning. Slow, quiet, and not much happening as America sleeps. It did get busy as a massive power generation order came in..the biggest I've accepted since I arrived here. That required a few hours of work to get it ready to send it Stateside. Oh what a gift I delivered to them when they arrived to work today! Well, that's not what they thought, I'm sure, but hey...it's my job! I did get to talk to Tin Man and Scarecrow and catch up on their weekend and talk about the week ahead at school. A package I mailed to them 2 weeks ago still hasn't arrived. It has gifts for both of them and for Dorothy. I sure do hope it arrives today.

Oh yea, while I was watching the final laps of the race, I did register Dorothy and I for a half-marathon within about 48 hours of me arriving HOME. It's held at a winery and after the race (which doesn't even start until a rare 2pm), they'll have a post-race party and all entrants get two glasses of wine. Now how often do you hear of a race like THAT?! A perfect way to celebrate returning home! Pretty romantic, too, I'd say. Maybe that will be my last blog post here. I'll have to end this at some point. I could end it the day before I get home...but that would be mean. :-) Or, I could let it go just a few days after my return then end it. We'll see. One date I will tell you in the future is Veterans Day. I will be home by then. I just finalized plans to spend that morning in Tin Man and Scarecrow's elementary school where I'll talk to K-2nd grade at once then 3rd-5th grades together. I've accumulated over 800 photos now so I'm going to gather the best of the best then spend about 30-45 minutes in front of the kids talking about my entire journey...to Oz and back. That'll probably be the last day I ever wear this Army uniform. I gotta say...it puts a smile on my face to talk about HOME. Slowly but surely it's going to get here. For now, my relief started combat training this morning which is a very good thing. "Enjoy those Army drill sergeants, brother!" hehehe... He's also past drinking his last sip of alcohol. That was last night for him. He can't have any until he does his tour and returns to the States. Something about having possession of a firearm and alcohol that doesn't mix. Hmmm.... Only 4 more days....till October. OCTOBER!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 169

Seen Paranormal Activity 2? Want to sleep well tonight? Don't! Of course, if you're into the "raw footage" kind of flick and enjoy a movie where you can't turn away from the screen, then this is the one for you. I didn't purposely seek it out. I woke up and it was on. At first, I thought it was a documentary or something. Scare easily? Probably not for you. Dorothy...not for you. :-)

Typical slow Sunday so not much to speak of today. I spent about 8 hours in the office, mostly waiting to make phone calls. No details but I'm definitely in one of my cyclical, bi-polar-like valleys. I hope I come out the other side soon. One thing I posted on Facebook this morning just kind popped in my head: "Focusing on the future is often much easier said than done when living in the present." That pretty much sums things up these days. I do know this...nearly 6 months now is too dang long to be away from home. Too long. Plus, no one better tell me "I can imagine what it was like to be away from your family for that long, a half-world away." Well, unless you HAVE, you can't, so don't act like you can.

Well, I'm not really in the writing mood tonight and I'm still a bit under the weather with a rough throat and cough. At least the beginning of the NASCAR race in New Hampshire is on here. It's pretty late here so I won't watch the race but at least I'll get the pre-race ceremonies and the early miles. I'll take what I can get.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 168

Slow, slow, day. I didn't even walk into 10 new e-mails this morning which tells me most of my counterparts Stateside took Friday off. So many 4-day workweeks over there with 7-day workweeks here doesn't necessarily work so well. So, once lunch had come and gone and our Saturday staff meeting took place, I packed up and called it a day. I was already gone by 3pm which was nice for a change.

Back home, the big local marathon took place today. Dorothy, my youngest brother's wife, and a good friend of mine all ran the 1/2 marathon. Before Dorothy headed to the start, we talked for a few minutes, I wished her luck, and off she went. This is a race I am very involved with each year and normally work at the Expo the day before. I have to admit...it's very strange and almost numbing to be missing all of my favorite races this year. Of course, I can envision the starting areas of them all, the excitement in the air, and every step of the course. It's just very strange. As the race progressed, I was back in my room by that time and I was getting updates throughout, waiting for them all to run their race. In the meantime, I watched Battle: Los Angeles. Not too bad a flick, actually. About the time it ended was when the girls all finished. They all did great! Dorothy's leg has been hurting but today, it did pretty good. Once she got home, we spent at least a half hour on Skype talking about the race and the weekend. We also decided to run a 1/2 marathon together immediately after I return home. It'll be a great way to celebrate finally getting back together again. I hope to register for that before I fall asleep tonight.

Well, sorry there hasn't been much to talk about lately. I've considered taking some more days off but that never happens. Don't worry...it'll get exciting again. Right now, though, things are just pretty quiet around the office and everyone is counting down the days until they go home. None of us leave together but most of us arrived here within a few weeks of each other....so we're all "short."

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 167

Early to rise and reap the benefits. This morning, I set the alarm for 4:30am with the intent to run into the sunrise. Again, another restless night and difficulty sleeping. More on that later. Anyway, I was on the road at 5am, it was cool and the sun was about to rise behind the Hindu Kush Mountains. No wind, either, so no dust. I headed on out around the outer perimeter and turned back at the 3mi point to get a total of 6 miles. On the way out and back, I stopped and pumped out about 25 pushups each time and watched a pretty gorgeous sunrise over the mountains. No color like back home but still nice. Back in my room, the normal espresso and cereal started the day. The day was just an OK day. I feel like I'm coming down with some kind of cold or something. Scratchy throat and just feeling cruddy. Of course, I felt fine during the run. But like I said...just an OK day and really nothing worthy of blogging.

As for that restless sleep, I found it interesting that a deployment survey by the Navy that I took today asked a lot of questions about sleep. It was a survey about stress and being deployed in a war zone. For most of the survey, it didn't apply to me as I haven't ever been in Harm's Way, but others must have issues with sleeping, too. I don't know the reason...I really have no idea. I hope I can start sleeping well again.

After taking the shuttle back and grabbing some dinner, I really have no desire to do anything else but crawl in bed and end this day. Lots of stuff swirling in my head that needs silenced so hopefully, falling asleep takes care of that. The good thing is that tomorrow holds the last Saturday of September. Sweet. It also is the day my relief leaves his processing site and heads to combat training...his last stop before he heads over the pond and into the war zone. But first, he's gotta deal with the Army drill sergeants for 2-3 weeks and get used to saying "Hooah!" like I did. hehehehehe....

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 166

It's hard to believe I'm 14 days away from Day 180...6 months since I last hugged my girls. I dare not dwell on that because it's actually very upsetting that I've missed so much. So I shall not. I'll see them much sooner than another 180 days. That brings forth much happier thoughts and so that's what I'll look towards.

Today was very busy all morning long...non-stop, actually then the brakes got applied for the afternoon until the east coast showed up to work. Our Marine boss flew out this morning and immediately, a deep sigh of relief could almost be heard in the office. We all like him but you know how it is when your boss is in town and normally isn't. Anyway, he flew back to his perch and we carried on. While it was slow, I did get caught up on my Apple news which is plentiful these days. A new iPhone is going to be announced on October 4th, a new operating system for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch will be released the next week and also the new iCloud will be going live. As a relatively new member of the Apple "cult" and since I studied business and marketing in my undergrad and graduate degrees, I love to watch how they do business and how dang strategic and successful they are. It really is pure brilliance. Anyway, once the east coast showed up, I got plenty busy and got heavily involved in a problem just as I was about to leave for the night. Of the over 200 generators I am bringing into the country, one went to the wrong location which is not good. After a call Stateside, a call to Dubai, and a call out to the customer who is a very small unit on a Polish outpost, I hope I put things into motion. I'll find out when I open my e-mail tomorrow morning if that generator is moving to the location it should. The mess-up isn't my fault, though. The customer simply messed up the delivery location when I took the order a few months ago.

After a gyro for dinner, I did some major cleaning in my room. I've become a neat-freak in my room and am trying to keep it all tidy and ready to pack my gear when it's time. The day I eventually move out, my relief will move in that night so my room will need to be squared away. On my hands and knees, I cleaned the whole floor with baby wipes and in the end, I've got myself a clean room. Of course, a shower quickly followed and here I am....closing out Day 166! I love Fridays...the end of the week Stateside and 2 days from Sunday where I do what I want for one day...working a few hours, of course. PLUS, this Saturday marks the last full calendar week of September! Yep! October is right around the corner!! Oh my, October...I have been waiting for you! As for my relief...not so much. He'll be getting back on the "Road" this Saturday where he'll head to combat training just as I did. One step closer...  And with that, I bid you a good night.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 165

I woke up this morning (several times, actually...restless night yet again) and realized that a Navy conference call was only 10 minutes away at 9pm EST. So that's how my day began as I brewed my espresso...good 'ol Skype 800 number service and a 1hr conference call with some of my fellow Supply Corps officers. I'm on the regional board and we're planning our 2012 conference so I really want to make these meetings and be a part of that forward movement that takes us to St. Louis next year. Afterwards, I headed on in and before I even got to the office, my boss and Marine colonel were back! EARLY!!! Big 'ol surprise there but that's OK. The afterburners got fired up today and I was busy all day long which kept the day cruising along. The colonel loves the treats I have, too, so I was able to share even more of my baked goods from past care packages that I've been keeping sealed up to share and keep fresh. Even though busy, it was uneventful. One thing was flippin' hilarious, though. I'm sure most of you have seen "A Few Good Men" with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Well, our Marine colonel was recently notified he'll be taking over at a command in southern California and I mentioned to him that I can just see him sitting in a dimly lit office, smoking a cigar, and palm trees blowing in the wind outside his window...just like Jack Nicholson did as Colonel Nathan Jessup in the movie. Well, that's all it took. He was quoting lines from Colonel Jessup for the rest of the day. Mostly, it was the scenes where he was making fun of the young, Navy officer (Tom Cruise) in his white uniform (poking at me, of course!) but eventually, we got some quotes from the court scene. How fitting of a Marine colonel quoting a Marine colonel from such a classic flick. I was rolling in laughter every time he started...you just had to be there!

After another late conference call Stateside, we headed on out for the night. Dinner with the colonel then in to my room to relax, watch some TV, and call it a night. Happy to close out another day and getting excited as October looms. October is one month I've been dreaming about for quite awhile and it's almost here. Looking forward to it!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 164

Long day today...cracked the 12hr barrier. The boss was away traveling throughout the eastern part of the country and when he's gone, it's very quiet. Typical Monday/Tuesday combination we've had the last 2 days which is OK. Tomorrow will pick up as it always does. The day ended with a late conference call and afterwards, nearly 8pm, we finally hit the road for the night. There really isn't a whole lot else to share today...just a quiet day. I did reach Mile 80, though. :-)

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 163

Today was a very "joint" kind of day. Joint meaning the services, not the narcotics that are fueled by this country's number one export! Our colonel was still in so from beginning to end, it was one sailor, one Air Force guy, an Army lieutenant colonel, and our Marine colonel. 4 services, 4 different uniforms, and 4 different cultures. It's an interesting environment and one kinda cool to sit back and observe. If you pay close attention, you'll notice the mannerisms, the acronyms used, the different forms of respect, and a variety of jokes and jabs at each other...all in fun, of course. From a work perspective, it was a very slow, typical Monday as it's Sunday night going into Monday morning Stateside. One thing I did get wrapped up today was my detachment evaluation. It's a critical piece of paperwork that is necessary when I leave here and will be used in the future when I'm looked at for promotion. I've been working on it for months and have had my Navy mentor chopping it for me and offering suggestions. Since our colonel was in town and I wanted his signature on it, I wrapped it up and had my chain of command approve it and got his signature. DONE! Honestly, there isn't much more to do except for turn over my job when my relief gets here before I can go home. Most people wait until the last minute to do their evaluation but not me. I saw that coming long ago and refused to let that stand in my way...so it's DONE. Still, my relief has the same 4 week "Road" journey as I did...and he's on it.

As the day slowly wore on, I did talk to all three of my ladies to wish them a great new week. Brief but valuable conversations. As 6pm passed,  we locked up the office and headed on out...just an evening of relaxing and hopefully getting a better night sleep. Last night I slept horribly, waking up multiple times all night long. I need a better night sleep tonight. (it could be my still-sore quads) With that...that's pretty much it for today. A non-eventful, relatively good day. I can see the Mile 80 marker, by the way...

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 162

Sunday, Sunday...sleeping in Sunday. Sometime this morning I woke up...7-ish, I believe. Normally on Sundays, I wander in around 10am but I actually had plenty to do today so I headed in around 9am, instead. My legs weren't feeling too bad this morning but I was starving. So, before I had my ritualistic bowl of Kashi cereal, I brewed my espresso and had some care package food. Today? Spicy tuna and crackers. I figured the protein was a good idea as muscle repair was in progress, right? It was actually pretty good! However, consuming that with my fine Italian espresso...not so much. I think I'll stick to my espresso only from now on. Once I got into the office, I was quickly aware we had visitors today, one of which was our commander who just flew in. Yep, my fellow ultra-running Marine colonel! I knew right there...our Sunday was not going to be "our" Sunday anymore. Quickly, it felt like any other workday and not the lay-low, minimal-work-hours kind of day. As the day wore on, I got everything done I needed to, picked up my laundry and planned a pre-5pm departure. Before that, though, I called Dorothy back home just before 8am and woke her up! I felt I was safe to call at 7:57am but dangit, I woke her up! (Sorry, Babe!) Shortly thereafter, I grabbed my laundry and headed out to catch a shuttle.

On the way back, I continued to get caught up on my Dave Ramsey podcasts. For those who don't know us or what we've been doing, we began our "debt snowball" on Christmas 2009 with the pursuit of becoming debt free in under 24 months (minus our home, of course). That goal brought forth radical change in our lives as we swore off credit cards, went cash only, and pinky-sweared to hold each other accountable to a budget for the first time in 17 years of marriage. We follow the principles of Dave Ramsey or "Uncle Dave" as many call him. His daily podcasts are great motivation for staying fired up and on course. Well, 24 months is this Christmas but we're going to hit our mark of being debt free by October 7th! That will be about $70,000 which used to be wrapped up in a few credit cards, 2 cars, and a home equity loan. Only the "Evil Equity Loan" remains. (I called it that long ago...it was the largest debt and last to be attacked) So, I'll be returning home to none of that consumer debt and with the next goal of building up about 6 months of living expenses in cash to prevent us from ever going into debt again. After that, we'll re-engage our investments full bore and the mortgage more aggressive than ever before. So anyway...that was my shuttle ride! Uncle Dave!

I got back and quickly jumped on Skype because on the phone, Dorothy mentioned how Tin Man and Scarecrow got those "feathers" in their hair last night. Feathers, eh? Sure enough, Tin Man got a red one and Scarecrow an orange one. I guess they braided them right into their hair (or some other way) and they stay in...showers, combing, brushing...always. This is one of those dad moments where all I can think of to say is "Nice!" but don't really understand it. They love it, friends love it, there's no harm in it, so heck..why not? I just bet Dorothy's mom will LOVE them! :-) (hehehehe!!!)

Not much else tonight to speak of. I read my brother's 50K race report which as very good. It was his first ultra-marathon and marathon, for that matter. He really did a fantastic job. Tonight, I'm going to try and catch the Green Flag of the NASCAR race in Chicago then hit the sack. This is the last full week of September! Saturday of next week is Saturday, October 1st. WOOT!!! So, time to get it moving. Oh yea, my relief e-mailed tonight with some questions. He officially jumped on his Yellow Brick Road today and is about to get his Army uniforms in a few days. "Come on over, brother! I'm waitin' for ya!!!"

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 161

Epic day. That's just a good way to sum today up. While I have 100-milers in my resume, I have been really out of distance running shape for nearly a year now. Still, the body never forgets what it's been trained and today, I put that to the test. I actually have another blog which I've idled since I deployed. On it, I always wrote race reports after my marathons and ultra-marathons. Well, today is going to serve as just that...race report time! After all, I finished my 26th marathon today.

Air Force Marathon - Deployed Locations - RACE REPORT

Early to rise at 1:45am today. I think I got about 5 hours of sleep which was fine. I downed the last of the Starbucks DoubleShots that Dorothy sent me to get myself mentally charged, got ready, shot some e-mails out, then was out the door at 2:30am in search for a shuttle to get me to the start. The shuttles have a central starting point so I jogged in that direction, about 3/4 mile away. Good for me, I got there just before departure and made it to the meeting tent on the other side of the base by 3:30am as required. Red shirts filled the tent (the race tech tee) and I found a patch of rubber floor matting and camped out for the next 45 minutes through several pre-race briefs and chatting with a few new Army friends I've met over here. By the way, I never, ever wear the race t-shirt before I do the race. Just one of my pet peeves.

The race was scheduled for 4:30am which was 8pm back in Dayton, OH where it was the night before the official Air Force Marathon. As the time approached, I experienced a rarity in racing, we started early! 4:17am and we were off. It was awfully nice out...cool, crisp, clear skies. My goal? Finish. I hadn't run more than 13 miles in a very long time so my body was in no condition to travel 26.2 miles but muscle memory, it's a real thing so I was counting on that and the mental fortitude I gained through those 100-milers. (speaking of which, I am passing Mile 79 if my deployment were a 100-miler!) One surprise we all heard during the pre-race brief was that they were closing the course at 5 hours which is unheard of back in the States. Here, though, with the over-population and logistics of coordinating a marathon in a war zone, I understood the reasoning. Still, though, there are many folks who won't meet that time. Perhaps that's why we started early? To give an extra 15 minutes ahead of the 9:30am cutoff? Regardless, while I have run a marathon in 3hrs, 21 min and more recently in the 3:45 to 4:15 range, today was about survival and I KNEW I'd be up against the wall with that time limit.

About a mile into the race, I turned on some Kenny Chesney tunes and then realized the shadows being cast all around me. Hmmm...I looked upward and there he was...Mr. Moon! He was in a position that I thought that this could be my first marathon run completely from start to finish with him. I was pretty sure I'd beat moonset. GREAT! In my mind, I was thinking about Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow who were at my town's Friday night football game at that moment and wondering if we were looking at the same moon at the same time. It was a good feeling.

So, the course: if you recall from my many posts about running the perimeter of 8 miles, this course did 6.55 miles of it then turned around and back-tracked. That made a half marathon of 13.1 miles. Do it twice for the marathon and 26.2 miles. Exciting, eh? Uh...no. But running outside the barbed wire just wasn't an option. :-) It was dark for the first several miles but here, the sun always rises earlier than I'm used to so it didn't last too long. The photo you see here was on the perimeter road around the base which was the sight for most of the day. Hindu Kush mountains in the distance, tall concrete T-Walls on the right, up-armored vehicle approaching, barbed wire and Afghanistan to the left, and the sun is about the illuminate the day.

As I passed each mile, I was pleasantly surprised. All I knew was a water stop every few miles with water. In reality, they had a stop right at each mile point and had Gatorade and cold, sliced oranges. They stayed cool all day long, too. Oranges, which most people don't realize, have more potassium than bananas which help prevent cramping and those very painful charlie horse's that I have gotten many times after races. By eating orange slices all day, I can keep potassium levels up and help my recovery and minimize the chance of cramping later...which totally worked, by the way. As I approached the first turn-around point at 6.55 miles, I felt pretty good and was running a very comfortable pace. I hit that mark in 1hr, 1 minute, moving at just under 9min, 30sec miles. Comfy. I kept up the same pace...almost...and headed on back to the half-marathon point. During this time, the base was getting very busy, the sun was high in the sky, and traffic was getting crazy. The worst part about that were the Indian men driving the big shuttle buses. They couldn't care less about us and at one point, I ran up to the side of one, hammered the glass door with my first and yelled for him to "Slow down!!!" He did. :-) As I got to the halfway point and most around me were finished for the day, I logged that section in 1hr, 5min so I did slow down a bit.

OK, so I'm definitely starting to feel it a bit. This is basically the furthest I've run in many, many months. I knew the future was going to be a bit painful and mentally testing but I was all good with that. Bring it! I could feel my pace slowing, too. Truth be told? The thought of fighting the foreign drivers for another 13.1 miles, the dump trucks, port-a-john-pumping-trucks which stink horribly, and impatient vehicles everywhere was not appealing. Still, I just put my head down, and clicked off the miles. As I got into the upper teens, I was definitely slowing more than normal and knew walking breaks weren't far off. Sure enough, I was around Mile 18 or so, but still running, too. I remember well my thoughts: "Geez...I haven't felt these emotions in quite a while." Yes, it's all about forward, relentless motion and getting the job done which I was certainly going to do. It was pretty lonely out there, too, as the field was very spread out and not too many marathoners out there. Still, you could always see one or two either ahead of you or behind.

I made the final turn-around just a hair before 20 miles and continued that forever-long trek back to the finish. I have no idea what my split time was at the turn but I knew I had to keep it moving as I was not going to be far from that monster in the room..the 5hr point. "Forward, relentless motion...practice what I have preached to others for years...get the job done." The last 6.55 miles were not pretty. Both thighs were screaming, my 450 mile Brooks shoes were trashed and lacked any cushioning, and that clock...ugh...just ticking away. Back on March 25, 2007, I ran the Inaugural ING Georgia Marathon in Atlanta. Before that, I was fat and out of shape. That was my comeback marathon as I was getting back in shape and pursuing a commission in the Navy. It was a train-wreck of a marathon. It was sponsored by Coca-Cola which is based in Atlanta and they ran out of PowerAde at Mile 6! Coke owns PowerAde! Plus, the heat and humidity were high and the pollen count through the roof which destroyed me. It was my slowest ever at 4hrs, 51min and I nearly passed out less than a mile from the finish. The worst part? I was alone. I flew down there by myself and had no shoulders to cry on!! Anyway, 3:21 was my best back on November 18, 2000 at Richmond and Atlanta was my worst back in March 2007. Today certainly stood a good chance at being my new worst! No worries, though...undertrained and just wanted to finish!

Passing each water stop, the oranges weren't quite as cold but the Air Force members were still smiling and ever-helpful. I made sure to thank them all for toughing it out. With so few runners left on the course, the boredom was heavy, I'm sure. There was one guy who stood in the same exact spot all day long. He was about 1.5 miles from the start/finish. The last time by, I stopped and shook his hand and thanked him for being out there all day and the support. That's heart, folks! No one was forcing him to do that. I turned the final corner on to the main drag here at the base for a final mile to the finish. There were just a few folks around me at this point but mostly, the street was just crowded with vehicles and people crowding the sidewalk as it was just another workday. Finish line in sight, I crossed it with my arms stretched out far...marathon #26 done! A volunteer with a stopwatch was kind enough to inform me of my time: 4hrs, 53min, 22sec. Yep, I bested my worst! HA! Too funny and not too many people would be happy with that or smile! Not me...I was perfectly happy with it. I accomplished my goal, didn't I? Yep! Immediately thereafter, a senior enlisted Air Force guy put the medal over my head...just like would happen at any marathon Stateside. It was great.

I caught the shuttle immediately back to my room because 1) I needed a shower, 2) I was starving, 3) I had to go to work! Dangit, who goes to work after running a marathon?!? I guess that would be me, eh? By this point, though, stairs were interesting to climb and go down and I was doing the "post-marathon-shuffle" perfectly. Luckily, a good friend sent me some Hammer Recoverite so I took that to give my trashed legs what they needed. I also snapped my traditional photo of my shoes, medal, and bib. Using a Sharpie to write the marathon # is also tradition before each race. Afterwards, I showered, caught another shuttle, and headed on in. Once in, the #1 question was of course, "what was your time?" I hate that question from folks who never run more than 3 miles because they have no comprehension of the marathon and what the time means. To many, they'll think how S L O W that was. I'd rather just say I finished the marathon and have the medal to prove it! I had plenty of work waiting for me and did just that until about 5pm when I called it a day. Once back, I grabbed some dinner, Skyped with Marjie, and before I knew it, I was asleep and didn't realize that until 1:30am! I think I slept for like 5 hours or so. I was in no state of mind to write my race report earlier so I'm doing it now...it's just past 3am here and I'm going back to sleep in a few. It's Sunday, after all, so no rush to go to work today.

So am I happy about the day? You betcha! Very happy. Even better, my youngest brother ran his first 50K today (31.2 miles). He did it at one of my favorite all-time races, too. Together, we racked up 57.4 miles! Not bad for the day, eh?! He even wore my Navy PT shirt since I wasn't there. Great job, Jim! Recover well and soak it all in! With that, another week is closed out on the calendar and the end of September is just around the corner. Oh yea, my relief is hopping on a plane today. Yes, he is jumping on his own Yellow Brick Road. The destination? My desk! It's waiting for him!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 160

One six zero! Rollin' right along and another week coming to a close. Today, I had my normal Friday morning meeting but afterwards, the Navy was having the Chiefs' Induction Ceremony here. Becoming a Chief (or an E-7 for you non-Navy types) is a big deal in the Navy. Lots of tradition and heritage go into it and those who were selected have been going through weeks of "initiation." Today was the capstone of it all where each one has his or her anchor pinned on and cover placed on their head. There were about 25 selectees here on my base who made Chief. All across the world today, the same induction ceremony is taking place for all selectees. It started by them all marching in and singing "Anchors Aweigh," then standing at attention to the right of the audience. After one guest's opening remarks (the Command Master Chief of NAVCENT Forward), each Chief-Select was called up and officially made a Chief. It was really cool to be in a packed tent with so many Navy folks and to be present for a ceremony very special to many. The Army does nothing like this and putting on E-7 isn't a big deal like this. I definitely felt at "home" as I sat there amongst fellow sailors. Confirmed again...Navy was the right choice. Among the crowd of new Chiefs was a Navy SEAL. Two of his fellow SEALs were in that Chinook that was shot down. Had they not given their lives, they would've been here today along with him. You should've seen this guy, though. He had to be about 6'5" or 6'6" and probably 250 lbs of solid muscle. Of course, he had a full beard (not Navy regulation!!!), of course, as all SEALs do because they work among the local population and this helps them blend in. On his upper left chest, the ever-recognizable trident...the visual mark of a SEAL. There is no doubt, at least for me...when I'm in the room with a SEAL, I feel honored just to be there. They are our country's ultimate warrior and are THE ones who are hunting the very people who wish to wipe us "infidels" off the face of the earth. But still, they are sailors, and he participated, marched, and sung along with his fellow Chief-selectees. I'm sure he got grief from his fellow SEALs in the room after they got back to camp but it was cool to see him embrace the tradition, side-by-side with his fellow sailors.

The whole second half of the day, I was on another hunt. One thing I've been heavily involved in and leading is the ordering and bringing in of generators for the soldiers. (no such thing as power plants over here) To date, I've ordered well over 200 of them and they're now flowing in to the country. Since they are coming straight from the manufacturer, we lack the tracking ability and visibility of them which we need. I need to verify every last one gets to it's ultimate location and customer. No one could tell me what happens to them when they touch down via 747 so I didn't stop until I had answers. I knew 45 of them touched down within the past 48 hours so I knew they were here. After walking at least 3 miles and walking in countless offices and being directed every which way, I finally found who I was looking for...the contractor who is holding onto them and coordinating getting them to the right place. I took them up on the offer to go see all of them, I took photos of them, inspected them for damage, and got them to agree to start including me on all movements from this point forward. Some stay here, but many have to go on host nation trucks to travel to remote bases. This was a huge breakthrough...absolutely no one had a clue about how this process works and with so much coming in, not knowing just wasn't an option to me. My boss actually got on my case because he thought he knew the process and thought I should know the same, even though I've never run an airfield like he. In the end, he apologized for that after realizing I was doing everything and more to figure all of it out...and, it ran nothing like he thought.  Once back in the office, I pushed out a message to everyone to advise them of the process and how to communicate to me going forward regarding the travel of these valuable assets. Again...success because I got out, knocked on doors, and didn't stop until I solved the puzzle. Priceless experience to remember in the future. We're talking about millions of dollars of generators, by the way. No small beans!

Well, it's time to wind it down for the night. Morning is going to arrive VERY early tomorrow. We have to be at the start of the Air Force Marathon at a ridiculous hour like most races. To minimize impact to traffic and maximize safety, we'll start before sunrise but have to meet an hour earlier than that. I still don't know exactly how I'm getting there. Supposedly, the shuttle runs 24 hours a day so I hope to catch it. We shall see! So with that, it's time to relax, drink some more water, and get some sleep before my 26th marathon! WOO HOO!!!

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 159

Tick tock...almost another nice, round number dead ahead! Day 160: I like the sound of that. You know what, though? That's a heck of a long time to be away from home! To think...if I were doing a year like almost all Army over here, I wouldn't even be halfway yet. Ugh... I really can't imagine doing a year over here. I'll take my shorter time and go home. Sound good? Good.

Things kept rolling along today and the day went pretty quick. As lunch approached, I took the long walk towards the flight-line where the Air Force gym is. They were doing packet pickup today for the Air Force Marathon this Saturday. Back in Dayton, OH at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, this marathon is taking place but we're one of the locations where an official "Deployed Location" event is taking place. So, I stopped by and for just a few moments, I forgot I was in Afghanistan...kinda felt like home as I picked up my bib number (#2021, by the way) and my tech tee. I have to say..NICE tech tees! They are dark red, New Balance tech tees and have the marathon graphic on back. Also hanging on the table were the finishers' medals. They aren't nearly as big as the ones in Dayton but they are still a heavy, 1/4" thick medal. Definitely worth running 26.2 miles for! As I walked out of the tent... BAM!! I realized I was still in Afghanistan. Dangit!

For the rest of the day, I stayed pretty busy and got a call from the States, believe it or not. A fellow trail runner who is in the Air Force happened to be near a military line and had saved my direct line. She totally surprised me and made my day! "Thanks, Ripper!" Afterwards, I wrapped up some more work and then found out that two more job postings went up within the agency I work for back home and they are both near my home. So, I updated my resume and applied for both. One way or the other, I plan on getting promoted! The clock was approaching 7pm so I headed back to my room via the shuttle. It is very windy tonight but different was the temperature. It was an easy 10 degree drop and felt quite good.

Well, that's about a wrap for today. I'm going to admit...I am starting to feel "short," as they say. My deployment is approaching 80% complete which will be a huge landmark. I am also crossing over into the second half of September which is getting towards October 1st...my last full month on deployment! So many milestones, I feel like I'm hitting them nearly every day! For example: tomorrow is Day 160, Saturday is the marathon, Sunday is a the beginning of a new calendar week, Monday is another new work week...and they just keep on coming. It is TOTALLY a mind game, I kid you not. I've talked about this with others and I'm not alone. I may sound more upbeat lately but so much of that is the mental trickery that we have to subject ourselves to. It does NOT help to remind yourself that you're in Afghanistan. Distractions, distractions, distractions! Heck, I'm even helping plan a January trail race and handling all of the registration and website stuff. I love it...I really do.

OK, time to check out for the night. I'm going to fall asleep tonight thinking about Dorothy. I want to do something adventurous with her in the near future...something like a multi-day expedition in Canada, or out west, or maybe just a multi-day hike along the Appalachian Trail. Whatever it is, I want it to be just us, the trail, and nothing else. I'm looking forward to falling asleep tonight....

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 158

3rd day in a row when I was slammed all day long. I am not complaining one bit because it made the day go by fast which ultimately is the goal. There really isn't anything too glamorous to tell you about today. I didn't go "hunting" like I did yesterday, either. The powerpoint that I put together as a result of all that got the go-ahead from my senior leadership out here and it went forward to our counterparts Stateside to help bring about and solidify change. I hope it spreads and is briefed in meetings for many to see.

Honestly, there isn't much else to say today. It was nearly a 12hr day in the office again and the day is coming to a close. If this were a 100-miler, I'm passing Mile 77 or so...just in case you were wondering. :-) Speaking of running...Air Force Marathon in 3 days! I am soooooo undertrained right now but thank goodness for muscle memory...that's what I'll be counting on this Saturday! I haven't run over 13 miles since last winter! ("Do not try this at home!!!")

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 157

Busy, busy, busy day! This was one of those days where I never stopped and had to just walk away as the day approached the 12hr point. Reflecting back to that point paper I wrote once again in June, today I went on the hunt for about 1/2 million dollars worth of expeditionary tent material that I KNEW was on this large base, determined to not return without photos of what I found and 100% accountability of it. Sure enough, I did...all of it. Why must I be the one to do this? Couldn't the "customer" get this done instead of coming to us about it?! Get up...get out there, and find your supposed "lost" material that you never got. Still, though, my reflection back on my point paper continues to be spot on and recommendations dead on target. Later on, I took my photos and put them into a PowerPoint presentation with what I found, problems identified again, and the solution. Never complain without proposing a way to fix the problem. I am living that principle out here and it's working. I actually spoke to the newly-assigned person who took over the team Stateside recently and she told me that I have caused a firestorm of activity back there and meetings upon meetings are taking place precisely to put my recommendations into practice. I must say...I am feeling pretty good about the change I really am leading. Leading alone, too. EVERYONE else out here with my agency has stepped back and let me lead the way. My one solo fear is that I'll leave here and never be thought of again. I really do hope what is happening sticks but the chances of me EVER seeing it again are highly unlikely. As a Navy Reservist, I'll return home, go back to work, and never deploy again for this agency. That's the only bummer about it all...to essentially vaporize in a split second after accomplishing so much. I guess I could extend my deployment.......NOT!!!!

I also hunted down some other material today that shipped...wait for it...3 MONTHS ago. Yep...3 months ago. This stuff was a whole bunch of long, 10' PVC that can't be flown so it floated, it flew a little, and rode on host nation "jingle" trucks through several countries. It was supposed to be here July 29th but thanks to customs and politics at the northern gate of Afghanistan, it sat there for an entire month. Once I heard it arrived, I headed on down to inspect and take more photos. Poor stuff...it really took a beating but was still fully intact. I had the yard workers split it up among the different customers' stuff so there would be no doubt whose stuff is whose and I headed on back...but not before stopping to see "Haleem," the Afghan merchant who sells wood crafts. I had ordered a few items and picked up a few things for Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow and they were finally ready. Great guy and I'm going to have to fight not going back to him to shop more. If shipping weren't an issue, I could spend hundreds with him. The craftsmanship is awesome.

The rest of the day was crazy busy and like I said, I just had to leave before I camped out for the night. I grabbed the shuttle again (skipping Mongolian BBQ again) and went straight to the internet folks. Yep...another silly landmark...internet for $70 renewal day. But guess what? It's the LAST full month of internet I will ever buy on this deployment. :-)))))) I'll have to renew this date next month but will certainly not need a full month. (yes, they'll credit me the unused portion when it's PACKING TIME!) So, I gladly handed over my 70 bucks, walked back the mile or so to my room and grabbed some dinner.

Back in my room tonight, I packed up all of the goodies I got for my 3 girls back home and made them ready to go. I'll try to get them moving in the next few days. While I receive packages in 5-10 days always, everything seems to take 2 weeks or more to get back home so I want to get it moving. This should be the LAST time I mail a package home. Everything else will either be eaten or carried home. Once done, a quick room clean, shower, and here I am...closing out Day 157. So with that, I bid you a goodnight.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 156

Goodness, gracious...a rocket attack in the morning?! Seriously, folks, this is getting a little out of hand, don't you think?! OK..that's called Afghanistan humor. Poor attempt, I know. But yes, a first time for everything, I suppose. We went from having the 3-layered attack on September 10th to no attack on 9/11, then woke up to one this morning the day after 9/11. Today's damaged a few trucks and a maintenance shed but hurt no one. Always good news to read that on the intel report.

So once we got the all clear, we headed on in and 9am came quick when I arranged a meet-n-greet with an electrical contractor who is about to be responsible for "life, health, and safety" work country-wide. LHS basically is all that handy-man work and inspections that are needed on structures, both pre-existing in the country and new builds for the troops and/or coalition forces. Anyway, all of that electrical supply to the tune of millions of dollars is supplied by yours truly. Their contract to take over the entire project kicks off at the end of this month. I truly believe you have to know and understand your customer and their mission to best serve them. I really see no other way. So, today I sat down with four of them (my boss bailed on me) in their conference room, briefed them, exchanged some questions, then got a tour of how they manage their material now and what they'll do when they take over the mission they were "awarded." Very good visit and certainly a place to include on my tour of the base when I eventually turn over my job to my relief. Back in the office for the rest of the day, it was uneventful but very busy...which is very abnormal for a Monday. I pretty much went non-stop until past 6pm.

I did receive yet another care package today. It was from my parents. My dad made his final batch of homemade beef jerky and included a few presents my girls got for me. Also, get this...Scarecrow recently lost a tooth and lost it while sleeping over my parents. They sent me the tooth!!! When's the last time you heard of a tooth traveling 7,000 miles with plans to travel another 7,000 miles home?!? Pretty cool, I have to admit. Before I left for the night, I gave my dad a call to thank him for the jerky and catch up a bit. As soon as we hung up, I finished up what I was working on and caught a shuttle back to my side of the base. 

I'm feeling compelled to write down things I miss since they've been on my mind. I wrote some many weeks ago but here are more....maybe even repeating some:

• Outback Steakhouse: bacon cheddar burger, Aussie Cheesefries, and a microbrew (Great Lakes)
• Running at 4:30am near my home
• My car
• Gorgeous sunrises and sunsets
• Mens' breakfast once a month at my church
• Starbucks
• My Keen sandals
• Waking up and looking out at my moonlit backyard
• Holding my older, fatter cat (Seal Point Siamese cat...named Berkeley)
• Cutting the grass and edging
• Meeting friends at the trailhead for a few hours of trail running
• Clean non-dust-infused running shoes
• Muddy trails and streams to immerse my feet in
• Walking out of my house every day and seeing Old Glory flying in the breeze
• Taking photos of anything and everything, especially while on the trails
• Civilian clothing
• Heading out on a trail run before sunrise and watching the sun rise through the trees and the dew lift from the earth
• Sitting bedside with my girls each night for prayer
• Spending a day in Amish Country with Dorothy with a stop at our favorite winery
• Walking in green grass in my bare feet
• Making and devouring my homemade hummus
• Cottage cheese and kidney beans (mixed up)
• Grouper Reuben sandwich and homemade fries at one of my favorite restaurants
• Running more than 12 miles (I'll get my fix this Saturday...FYI)

Of course, those are all "things" and not people. People whom I miss and share a lot with know who they are so I'm not going to get into a list of people here. Some things really don't need blogged...knowing is enough.

As I close out tonight, I just want to share this 90 second commercial with you. It is by State Farm and a tribute for 9/11. It is just a really, really good feel-good thing to watch and makes you feel proud to be an American. I've watched it several times so I thought I'd share it with you. If you're reading this blog via the e-mail subscription, here's the link you can follow to watch it: http://youtu.be/tnlPX2_b4GA

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 155

Unless you are living under a rock, you know today is the 10 year anniversary of 9/11...the day that cowards flew jet planes into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and unfortunately for the hijackers, one last plane crashed in Shanksville, PA...very short of their target in Washington, D.C. On that day, I lived in Colorado Springs and never did I think I'd be sitting in Afghanistan 10 years later as a direct result of that attack. No, I really don't think the tug would've been nearly as strong for me to return to the Navy had we not gotten involved in two wars. Seeing so many of my countrymen and women head to war really wore on me and compelled me...pulled me...pushed me back in. No, I do not regret it. Yes, I miss my family more than you can imagine.

So...the last 24 hours...well, we were attacked more fiercely than any other time since I've been here last night. We had a 3-layered rocket attack last night that were piggy-backed on each other. In the end, a few Air Force folks were hurt and a few local nationals killed. Any loss of life is tragic but I am thankful it wasn't much worse. "Much worse" happened just to my east. I'm not spilling secret info by telling you because it's all over the news and online. A Taliban insurgent loaded up a truck with firewood and explosives (which we call a Vehicle-Borne IED (Improvised Explosive Device)) and drove it into the wall of a base. A few nationals were killed and 66 Army soldiers were wounded and taken to multiple bases for treatment. Ours was one, of course, as we have the best facility around. By midnight last night, it was full. Remember the SEALs who perished in the Chinook? It was in the same Wardak Province, a stronghold of the Taliban. Tonight, ironically, it's been quiet. My guess is that the enemy wanted to attack on the eve of 9/11 to try and surprise us. If you read Taliban news releases, you'll read that they said they had nothing to do with 9/11. That actually may be true. However, when we came to Afghanistan in October 2001 to get Osama Bin Laden, they were protecting him and refused to give him up. At the time, the Taliban controlled this country.

So this morning, I awoke very early for the 9.11K Patriot Run. As I sat in the shuttle for the ride over, I found out it was canceled and running was not permitted outside. Thanks, Taliban...thanks a lot. Now you're messing with my running. Not cool..not cool at all. I went back to my room and crawled in bed and watched some NASCAR which was on from Richmond, VA. I got some more zzzzz's, Skype'd with my girls then headed on in to the office for only about 4 or 5 hours. Afterwards, I made the decision to skip my evening run that I always do on Sundays. That seems to be when the enemy always rockets us anymore and being 9/11, I just didn't want to risk it. I just want to go home, you know?! So, I stayed in and watched the memorial services kick off from Ground Zero. Afterwards, Dorothy and I spent over an hour and a half on Skype. Technology is priceless to me over here...it really is. I pay $70 a month for slow, crummy internet..but I'd pay double for the connectivity with home. I really would. Dorothy is doing well but like me, has had it with the deployment and being apart...as have I. We are ready to be together again.

Afterwards, it was already 7pm so I laced up the boots again and got some dinner. When I returned, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Trace Adkins was performing LIVE in Germany with the USO and it was being broadcast throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm a big fan, already, and to see him performing for the troops again...for the 6th time, I watched it all. No, 9/11 is not a time for celebration and neither was his concert, but it was a nice diversion from the reality of being here.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 154

This is actually the 3rd draft of today's post. Wrote one long rant...deleted it. Wrote a much shorter one on the same subject...deleted it. Here's #3 and I'm done. Goodbye Day 154 and another week completed on the calendar.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 153

Friends...family...supporters... It's Friday and you're about to head into the weekend. Fall is just around the corner. School is in session. Leaves may or may not be falling already, depending on where you are. The baseball season is winding down and the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies are cleaning house. On the other coin, college football and the NFL are kicking into gear. In NASCAR, the final race before the Chase is this weekend in Richmond. For my runner friends, there are all kinds of races this weekend and many more coming up in the next few months. 5Ks, 10Ks, marathons, 50Ks, and 100 mile races. I can give you names of my friends who are running every distance this very weekend. Then there is 9/11...the 10 year anniversary of when we were attacked on our homeland. Security is heightened throughout the country and especially in New York City and Washington, D.C., airports are ever watchful, and here in Afghanistan...security remains tight but has clearly been elevated. Rumors swirl about supposed attacks that might happen to "celebrate" this anniversary but no one really has any idea how the weekend will go. In New York City, every name will be read that was lost on that day and similar events will take place in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. Do you remember where you were 10 years ago when you found out? Most do. I had just arrived at work in Colorado Springs, a place where I lived for only one year. I was not in the Navy. In fact, I had just got off of active duty after serving for 10 years. However, the events of that day eventually drew me back in and almost 6 years to the day, I took the Oath of Office again and became a Naval Officer. And so it is...here I am. I knew I would be deployed when I took that oath...eventually. Now...ironically...on the 10 year anniversary of the attack, I am in the country where it all started. Not only that, but I sit on the very base that was Target #1 when we invaded this country. It was held by the enemy and would serve as the best place to land our forces and launch from. Today, that hasn't changed. That strategic move some 10 years ago remains the best strategy.

My plans for this weekend? I will go to work tomorrow. I will do my normal routine and come back to my room tomorrow night. On Sunday, myself and hundreds more will run 9.11K to honor those who lost their lives and the families impacted on that day 10 years ago. Other than that, not much else will be different except the thoughts of what will take place back home as America remembers. Do you remember? Do you remember the yellow ribbons? Do you remember how everyone flew their flag...for awhile? Do you remember how party lines were broken in two and we felt unified as a nation? I do...it was a wonderful feeling. Why did we lose that? Why does the press pay more attention to reality TV, corrupt politics, and the fact that Lady Gaga didn't wear makeup for a magazine cover shoot? Why must something so horrific happen to our country to bring back those feelings and unity we felt back then? It starts with each one of us to live, breathe, and spread patriotism, love of country, and outward proclamation of it all. One flag on a house at a time, one thank you to a soldier in the airport at a time, or one thank you to that aged veteran you walk by in the store who still wears his or her patches or clothes from times gone by but not forgotten.

Today was just another day for me. It was another day closer to home. I was blessed to talk with my 3 beautiful ladies, serve the warfighter, and have 3 meals...and I am safely going to bed now while those warfighters provide the blanket of protection just outside my door so I may do so. I am thankful. I am thankful to be an American and serve my country. I am thankful that many loved ones and friends support me and wait for my return. I am thankful for the health that God has provided me. I am thankful for Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow. They are here with me in every way but literally. 

Remember 9/11...remember how it galvanized us as a country...and remember the 100,000 service-members who sit in the very country where that hatred and terror was bred and brought to our shores. Lastly, remember the families of those left behind while their loved ones serve and the family members who have lost their loved ones forever...who paid the ultimate price. This weekend is much more of a 10 year anniversary. It should be a reminder to us all that freedom is not free, there are many in the world who want to take it from us, and everything is being done to prevent that from happening.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 152

I rarely say that a day flew by but I will admit this one did. While it was still early evening in the States, I got up at 1am and headed to the flight line to pick up a fellow sailor who was flying in to join our team. "Welcome to Afghanistan, Senior Chief." Yep...I finally got to say it instead of hear it. After his arrival then in-brief by the Navy (same folks who will kick my butt out of this country), I got him back and a room for the night. Around 4am, I was back in my room, replied to a few e-mails, and went back to bed for a few more hours of sleep. Luckily, I already set up to come in a few hours late today and I did.

Today was crazy busy and didn't stop until past 7pm tonight. Surf and Turf got moved to tonight so I had a crab cake and some shrimp. Pretty good tonight...better than usual. After dinner, we were back in the office for a bit then called it a night.

Also today at 6am and 8am EST, my interview aired regarding 9/11. From all accounts so far and comments on the station's Facebook page, it was very well received. It's always weird to hear myself on the radio and it sounded like I was out of breath. I think it was because I was cupping my hand over the phone handset because of the background chatter in the office...which you could also hear. Still, though...I could be heard loud and clear and heck...it was a 7,000 mile interview, right?! Right! Thanks to Mr. Z for interviewing me yet again and the chance to give locals a taste of the "real" Afghanistan and not what's on the news.

Well, it's time to wind down Day 152. I'm anxious to get Friday going and into the weekend. I just love putting X's on the calendar right now and the halfway point of September is just around the corner....the faster I get there, the better. Plus, the 9/11 run Sunday morning following by a pancake breakfast is coming up. It should be a lot of fun.

To close out tonight, I want to share a poem that I shared with Dorothy a few days back. I've been doing little things here and there which remains just ours and not for here. This poem, though, I've gone back and read several times and just love it. It really does sum up my love for her and how I see our life together. I thought you'd enjoy it so here it is:

The Meaning

To love is to share life together
to build special plans just for two
to work side by side
and then smile with pride
as one by one, dreams all come true.

To love is to help and encourage
with smiles and sincere words of praise
to take time to share
to listen and care
in tender, affectionate ways.

To love is to have someone special
one who you can always depend
to be there through the years
sharing laughter and tears
as a partner, a lover, a friend.

To love is to make special memories
of moments you love to recall
of all the good things
that sharing life brings
love is the greatest of all.

I've learned the full meaning
of sharing and caring
and having my dreams all come true;
I've learned the full meaning
of being in love
by being and loving with you.

- Kellie Spehn -

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 151

Busy, busy day...yep, we're back at it. Wednesdays are always busy with multiple meetings and conference calls. It was a pretty uneventful one that started out with seeing Dorothy to bed via Skype then heading on in for the day. Our Marine colonel flew in today, too, which always stirs the pot in the office...in a good way. He's an ultra-runner so of course, I'm good with him showing up. Ironically, though, we've never run together. Good thing I got baked goods this week, though...that man can seriously pound down some homemade cookies.  Oh yea...I forgot to mention, I recorded the 9/11 interview yesterday. For those of you who know me, you know where to hear it...I assume it'll play at 6am and 8am tomorrow morning (Thursday) and hopefully be archived around noon EST. If you don't know, I'll give you a clue then you'll have to figure it out. Google "Moody Radio Cleveland" and you'll find the station. You have the ability to stream their channel live so if you want to hear it, there you go. It was a pretty good interview...I think. I talked about where I was on 9/11, why our country entered in Afghanistan, the mission then, the mission now, and what's going on today in Afghanistan...vs. what you read in the news. I think you'll enjoy it.

Soon after my final conference call Stateside, I beat feet out of the office and grabbed the shuttle over to my side of the base and had dinner...homemade pizza again. (note to self: you'd better run more often or Dorothy isn't going to be very happy!) Once I got back in the room, Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness" was on which reminded me of this favorite scene from the movie.  Absolutely so true and did you notice the flag flying in this scene...no accident, I bet!

Pretty good, isn't it? Well, it's time to hit the sack...gotta get back up in a few hours to get a Navy Senior Chief who is flying in. This time, I get to say it instead of hearing it: "Welcome to Afghanistan!" Haha, right? Yea...I remember those words....very well! So long, Day 151...your services are no longer needed.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 150

Milestone day, you bet! 150th day equals 5 months down. It's also my 120th day "BOG" which stands for Boots-on-Ground. In the Navy, I get a special "AQD" code when I do at least 120 days deployed. I have no idea what that means but it's good to have that code on your record for future advancement opportunities.

Today, the building where I work was buzzing. They are a huge sustainment brigade and leave mid-October to early-November. They are here on a one-year deployment and are prepping the building to turn it over. Today, they were painting everything. Patching holes, painting walls, and just making the place look good. We're in a pre-existing building so it's pretty rough and archaic. No drywall or anything like that. Try 1 foot thick concrete walls. So, as they get ready to go home and their reliefs start to show up, I expect the mood and feel in the building really start to get exciting. Ironically, within the timeframe of their departure, I will also slip out the door and hop on my own "Road." :-)

Before I even got to work today, though, I went and picked up my bib number and t-shirt for this Sunday's "9.11K" to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Early Sunday, there will be a 9.11 kilometer run followed by breakfast and festivities.  It was pretty cool to see The North Face sponsoring the race...a brand I love and wear a lot of back home. (Civilian clothes? What's that?!) The t-shirt is pretty cool, too. I'll post a pic this weekend after the race. The plan is for everyone to wear their shirts to the race.

Just before lunch, I headed on down to the bazaar. I'd say "why" but that would ruin the surprises I have for Dorothy and the girls. Not huge deals but surprises, nonetheless. Out here, blankets, rugs, and scarves are huge. Dorothy has no interest in any of that. Of all the shopping I've done, I've never seen something where it just hit me: "She'll love that! or "The girls will absolutely love that!!" Today, I did find some things that I decided to negotiate a bit on and purchase. I will certainly be shipping one final box home. :-) I even took a photo with the Afghan merchant named "Haleem" to share with friends and family back home.

Later on in the day, I was surprised big time to receive yet another care package. I was surprised because it came from a cluster of folks from my civilian job back in "Kansas." I've communicated with many of them since I deployed but never received anything material from them. Just last week, they chipped in and got my girls two Build-a-Bear gift cards which in itself was a big surprise. Little did I know, they sent me a care package, too. That really meant a LOT to me...it really shows the kind of people I work with back home and felt really good. Thank you all so much!!!!

Not too much later after that, I gave a friend a ride to the air terminal to go HOME. Yes, I surely love giving people rides there when they are leaving because I get to imagine ME being that person someday. This particular person will probably be someone I'll stay in contact with and even meet up with in the future as he lives where I drill in the Navy Reserve. Later on in the evening as he was preparing to take off, I received a text from him telling me that his flight had become a Hero Flight. Yes, a flag-draped casket was onboard with him and others en route back to Dover Air Force Base in the States.  Yep...always something to keep it real out here. I've never flown with a Fallen Hero out here...that's got to be an emotion-filled flight. "Rest in peace, brother."

After some Mongolian BBQ for dinner (which I focused heavily on SHRIMP!), I had a late conference call on the project I've been spearheading since June. Yes, the one based on the point paper I wrote. Tonight was the big kickoff teleconference with the new team. (the old time got removed from the project thanks to yours truly) As before, I was looked to for the answers and I provided them. I sure do hope this project continues on once I leave. Afterwards, we departed immediately as we had already surpassed the 12hr point in the office. As soon as we got back, I ducked into the chow hall for some praline ice cream (my version of crack in the war zone) and grabbed two more boxes of cereal to complete my 24 pack collection! (see right) I can't talk about dates but I have a 24-day countdown in the future where I'll count down with these. I've been living on Kashi cereal for breakfast via care packages for quite awhile but that will run out really, really close to when this 24-day countdown needs to start. Kinda crazy, I know but like I've said before...any kind of landmark or mental game that'll help me get through the days, I'll take them! And with that...Day 150 is history.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 149

Very, very little to say today. It was a day that moved at a snail's pace due to the Labor Day holiday Stateside. I did receive one of my last care packages (I'm guessing) today. It was FULL of baked goods from homemade granola bars, chocolate no-bake cookies, peanut butter cookies with pink sprinkles (Thanks, "C"!!!), and sugar cookies. WAY more than I can eat and that's the intent...to share. Share, I will! However, those peanut butter cookies will be kept all to myself. They are THAT good. Thank you so much! As the east coast awoke, I made a few calls back to family including one of my brothers and to Tin Man and Scarecrow. Ever heard of Moshi Monsters? Both of my girls have an account and their custom-made monster. Guess who has one now? Yep. Me. I'm a big blue monster called TooBlue. Yes, blue is my favorite color. You also guessed correctly...I am that desperate to be a dad again and get involved in any way I can in their lives.

I think I'll call it a night tonight. There just isn't much to say. Tomorrow should be busy in the 2nd half of the day including an appointment with a friend back home who is going to record an interview with me in the morning. The topic will be 9/11 which is this Sunday. It'll air on Friday morning's radio Morning Show. I am also going to write a bit on here this week about 9/11 and my thoughts about it. Never did I think when we were attacked nearly 10 years ago, that it would be responsible for getting us into the very country I sit in today. Had we not been attacked, I would not be here. I have some very different thoughts about this war now that I've lived here and the future of this country. Mostly, the United States general public has no idea about Afghanistan and what's really going on here. They really don't. The media simply doesn't cover it, for some reason. Something really bad has to happen for it to even get in the paper, much less the front page. In the meantime, 100,000 of "us" are over here. Anyway, more later.

(NEW on the right side: popular posts. Surprise, surprise...Day 121 takes the prize by a LONG shot. I'm sure you can guess what day that was. The list is in no particular order but I will tell you that Day 1 is a close second. Very interesting!)

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 148

It was nice sleeping in today. Of course, I had to keep forcing myself back to sleep to be able to say that. I have found that if I roll onto my left side and curl up in the fetal position, I'll fall right back asleep. Don't ask me why...it's kind of freaky, actually.  It's like a switch...do it, and I'm out.

When I finally did get up, I took my good 'ol time and eventually headed in around 10am. I did what work was waiting (not much) and then just worked on personal stuff. "Dorothy" is starting her graduate degree next month so I worked on our family calendar until she finishes in the summer of 2013. I actually have my Navy drill schedule until then, as well, so it was good for planning purposes to lay it all out there. After lunch, I headed into the Afghan bazaar and just walked around for awhile, looking at some of the locally-made crafts. There are many things I think I'd like to buy but don't want to try to ship or transport home. Outside the Afghan rugs and scarves, a big thing is handmade stone and glassware. It's really "archaic" looking and I wouldn't mind getting some but it's so fragile, I wouldn't want to ship it and it's so fragile and bulky, I really don't want to try and carry it 7,000 miles home. Oh well... After getting back to the office and finishing up a few things, I headed on back to my room and started on my project which you see to the right. Unlike the Army which deploys as a group and does all kinds of things like t-shirts, sweatshirts, backpacks, etc. and has those big, public homecomings and parades when they return, us Navy folks are individually mobilized. We travel with no one, have none of those little extras, and fly to our local airport like anyone else and are greeted by waiting family and friends. So, I've been thinking for months about making my own takeaway that would last a long time. I found these heavy-duty backpacks here for $25 and thought I'd grab some patches and sew them on. So, I picked up the backpack a few days ago and got the last few patches I wanted and then sewed them all on today.  You like how I remained anonymous?!?! That's my Gerber knife laying on top of my name. Anyway, this backpack material produced many holes in my fingers and a little bit of blood but after about 4 hours of sewing, I finished. I'm actually really happy with the finished product. I think I actually did a good job! This pack should last for a LONG time. It's a really nice one and heavy duty. 

Just a little bit ago, I Skype'd in to my niece's birthday party to sing happy birthday to her. She turned 9 today. It was pretty cool as not only did I get to sing with everyone, but I saw my girls and all my nieces and nephew. I even saw my 86 year old grandma, my only remaining grandparent. While the connection was crummy and we couldn't get the video to stick, I really appreciated the few minutes to talk and see everyone. It was worth it, for sure.

That's a wrap on Day 148, folks. Tomorrow is Labor Day which means nothing here. It's just another Monday but it will be slow as our folks Stateside are off until Tuesday. But, it is the beginning of another week which is always good. Enjoy your day off if you get one!

Goodnight, everyone!

Day 147

I think I may have started a trend last night with the 100-mile talk. I think from here until the end, I'll give you updates every once in awhile about what mile I'm at. For now, I'm in the low 70s....middle of the night...trees creaking...just forward relentless motion.

Today was pretty quiet. Yesterday was a work day but also the day before a 3-day weekend for federal employees. Based on the look of my inbox this morning, I'm not so sure anyone showed up to work yesterday. Even here, it feels like a holiday weekend which really doesn't make any sense...but it does. So, I'll be very NOT-busy until Tuesday night...which is Tuesday morning when they are all showing back up to work. That's OK...I'll take the break. Bonus? The boss is heading north again tomorrow and not returning until Wednesday. WOOT! 

After our 2pm staff meeting this afternoon, I got the heck out of there. On the shuttle and back to my room where I downloaded the 18-song Michael Jackson Greatest Hits. Yea, I'm an 80s junkie and you have to admit, his stuff is awesome. Plus, $7.99 for 18 songs isn't too shabby a deal. I received a $15 iTunes card in my last care package so it was hard to resist. Before that, though, I Skype'd with Tin Man, Scarecrow and my parents. They stayed over there last night. The girls were still in their pajamas and both were wearing their dog tags. I love the fact that they wear those EVERYWHERE...and on the outside of their shirts. They must get a ton of questions from folks and they're proud to tell them all about them! Dang, I love those girls!!! Once the chow hall opened up, I grabbed a to-go box and brought back some chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes and put them in the fridge and immediately hit the road to run. About 2 hours later and 12 1/4 miles, I was done. It was a pretty good run tonight with the moon about 1/3 visible and very little wind.

That's really about it for today. I'm watching the Ohio State vs. Akron college football game then hitting the sack afterwards. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to make it to the end...feeling pretty sleepy. I think some popcorn is called for before I call it a night.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 146

Early to rise and quick to pray with my girls via Skype as they were cleaning up from a playful, humid evening outside with friends. Priceless, those calls...just love talking to them and finding out about school and anything else they want to talk about. I rolled back over and went back to sleep until it was my time to get up. Once I did, I got the added bonus of seeing and talking to Dorothy as she went to bed, too. "Skype...I gotta say...you're taking the edge off. I think Dorothy agrees, too." Afterwards, Dorothy and I exchanged a few messages where I compared this deployment to a 100-miler.

Sure, it's been a few years since my three 100-milers. Back in 2009, I ran my first 100-miler in the Kettle Moraine of southern Wisconsin followed eight weeks later by my 2nd 100-mile finish in northeast Ohio, and then ten weeks later I ran my third one in northwest Pennsylvania. I finished as "fast" as 25hrs, 39min and as "slow" as 30hrs, 49min. That third one? The hardest of all and I have the finisher's belt buckle right here in my CHU with me. It's priceless to me. The 100-miler is a beast and so very heavy on the mental side of things. Sure, you have to train to cover that kind of distance which I did. But in the end, if you don't have the mental fortitude, you'll most likely quit. Most "normal" 100-mile runners see two sunrises. They start on Saturday morning before dawn, for example, and finish after sunrise on the second day...without stopping. I've always said that finishing a 100-miler will change your life and apply to so many things you go through in life. It's about breaking the race into pieces and reaching little milestones. In the race, it's landmarks or aid stations where smiles and food awaits. You fill up and if you hang out too long, the good volunteer worker will kick your tail right down that trail. No hanging out! Oh how true it is in this deployment. Little milestones, little celebrations, and not staying long at any one point. Finish one then focus on the next and keep your head wrapped around it and keep moving..."forward relentless motion" is what I always tell people about running ultra-marathons. The same is true here...more so on the mental side. You've all seen me dip in and out of the mental trough. Back home in Kansas in my normal walks of life, I'd never bare my soul like I do here. This is a one time deal! I just hope now that those troughs are very few and far between...for not just me but for Dorothy, too. Our girls are doing really, really well and these little Skype chats and praying at bedtime are working really well for them. I really feel that they feel connected to me, thanks to technology and for that, I'm eternally grateful. As for Dorothy, technology and phone calls only go so far. For her, I just want to hold her...it's really that simple. That embrace is THE one, singular thing that tops every list....of course, hugs to Tin Man and Scarecrow seconds later. :-) That's my 100-mile finish line. For now, I'm in the middle of the night of my 100-miler...right around Mile 71 or 72. The moon is out, the trees are creaking, and while I feel totally alone in the middle of the woods, I know Dorothy is standing at the finish line with her arms outstretched. That, like the 100-miler, is reason enough to keep running. It's worth it all...every..last..step.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 145

September!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! It seemed like it would never get here. The day started with a reminder of home: I opened my door to leave and did not feel the normal hot sun...it was a cool breeze and light rain. For just a split second...a very, very tiny split second...I forgot I was in Afghanistan. Reality then hit and off to Day 145 I went.

Pretty busy day and started with watching my Cleveland Indians go into 16 innings and eventually win. It was a controversial win but still a win. I just need those Detroit Tigers to lose and lose often. Later in the afternoon, a Navy officer from another base needed help at the flight line so I grabbed an Army guy to assist and we went looking for him. We were down by the PAX Terminal (that's where we fly in and out of this base..basically, the terminal), I was driving, and we were circling around looking for this guy. I pulled over to make a phone call and while I'm dialing, I notice flashing lights in my rear view mirror. It was base security...behind me...with their lights on as if I was the one who was pulled over. I had already pulled over so I leaned out the window and motioned to myself to ask if it was I who was in trouble. Yep!! The young airman came up to my window and said: "Sir, do you realize you didn't even slow down back at that stop sign?" Uh..no? He asked for my driver's license and military ID. The ONE time I ever don't have my ID and it's now...I left it in my computer!!! ARGH!! Anyway, he does the typical walk back to the vehicle and eventually comes back with a pink ticket. But first, he has to ask what I am. He can see I'm in the Navy and an officer but he doesn't know his Navy ranks. An O-3 is a captain in the Air Force but a lieutenant in the Navy. I told him and he handed me the ticket. It's a non-monetary ticket (no penalty fee) but does have some on-base points. Now, I have to take my supervisor to the security office within 72 hours to sign for the ticket...supposedly, so leadership can be in the know when things happen. No biggie. As the airman left, he wished me a good day then unexpectedly saluted me. Geez...seriously? You just gave me a ticket! Anyway, I wished him a good day as well and returned the salute. He was a nice kid, after all. So, anyone else out there ever get a traffic ticket in Afghanistan!!! HA!!! That's one to remember!

Getting back to the office after we eventually found that lost Navy officer, I had a conference call with the new team that was assembled as a result of my point paper. They wanted to talk to me and try to understand how to best run the program. I talked nearly the entire time and I feel it was a productive call. They were very open to hearing my thoughts and reasons why they need to do different things. Once that call was done, I headed on out, caught a shuttle, and headed on back.

By now, it was approaching 7:30pm already and I was starving. BUT, it rained this morning and there was no wind. Yep..time to run. I quickly changed and headed on out with a brand, spanking new Mr. Moon and tunes courtesy of Kenny Chesney. After 10 miles, it was way past dinnertime so I enjoyed more care package food. All very good! Those mini-chocolate-chip muffins were especially good. Icing on the cake? No rocket attacks on my run. I'd say that's a successful run! All a matter of perspective, eh?

Goodnight, everyone.