Day 28

Yes, a day late but better late than never, eh?  Back on the Yellow Brick Road…

One good way to define this day? Boredom to the extreme. Saturday morning began late and quiet. Many people had stayed out overnight, getting a hotel, etc. so the barracks were pretty scarce. For those around, we were packing our seabags and often, you’d see someone jumping up and down on one, trying to get it closed. On average, we all had 4 to pack and take further along the Road. Once packed up, we commenced the cleaning of the barracks which hadn’t been done in 3 weeks. Dust bunnies, galore! Outside, my other sailor friends were bag-dragging their seabags to one of four ½ ton trucks staged to take our bags to the airport. Yep, it’s time to get this show on the road and move very close to Oz.

The remainder of the day was spent in a singular room, quarantined on base. Yes, we were not permitted outside the gate. Just to be safe in case someone might get cold feet before leaving the country, everyone must stay aboard. I was one of the first to that room. Why? Well, there are only so many outlets to charge my electronics and ensure I’m fully charged for the 14 +/- hours of air travel. Yes, I am Type A through and through.  Throughout this day, I watched a few movies, shared a pizza, and had countless phone calls with friends and family. I even connected via FaceTime a few times. As bedtime for Tin Man and Scarecrow approached, I tried to emblazon my chest with a breastplate of strength for I knew this bedtime prayer might crack what armor I had. Scarecrow was first. She sounded very happy and told me about her 2^nd day of birthday celebrations where she spent the better part of the day with my mom doing whatever she wanted followed by the Mother/Daughter Banquet at our church along with Tin Man.  I prayed and told her I missed her and loved her. I nearly lost it but held it together. Next up: Tin Man. Tin Man had felt sick at the banquet but now felt good…claimed it was the heat at the church. (Tin Man, be advised should you ever go to combat training in 90F heat, wearing 60lbs of body armor!!! Ha!) Anyway, we talked about the day where she spent most of it alone with Dorothy. Great mother/daughter time! As we closed in on the dreaded goodbye, I told her I won’t be able to call anymore and pray with her each night. That opened the flood gates as I told her I missed her, loved her and thanked her for being such a big help to Dorothy so far and for being brave and a big sister/leader to Scarecrow. We cried together. It broke my heart in two and I told her it was OK to be sad and cry, as I was, too. (Oh geez…here I am typing this blog draft at 39,000 feet in the air somewhere over the earth and my eyes are welling up again.) We said goodbye.  Then the buses showed up along with the Patriot Guard motorcycles, adorned with Old Glory flowing behind them. (shown above from my seat on the bus) They were here to escort us to our flight. As midnight approached, we headed on out.

Day 27

We were given a gift today...a day off to do whatever we wanted. I celebrated first by not raising a blade to my face. Time to give my skin a break from shaving. I spent the morning at breakfast and then back in our barracks getting my gear in order and cleaning my stuff up, doing some laundry, and getting rid of things I don't need. By 11am, I was on the shuttle, bound for anywhere off base. My goal? Spend the day alone. As I type this now, my barracks is normally dark and snoring abounds. Not tonight. Lights are on and most folks are still out. Many got taxis and are living it up. Liberty doesn't expire until 7am tomorrow morning so they're maximizing their off-time. Not me. I value routine and a good night sleep.

First stop was to the base exchange where I picked up a power converter. As I will travel along the Yellow Brick Road, I will need it to charge things up like this computer and my iPhone and iPad. I also picked up a clip-on light that I can use in the dark to head to the bathroom, etc. Also in my travels, I will be in places where I have to go outside a short distance to get to showers, bathrooms, etc. I then headed off base and to Chick-Fil-A. I'm not a fast food kind of guy, but I do love Chick-Fil-A. #1 on the menu to be specific and with a Diet Lemonade, easy on the ice. While there, I checked movie listings and Thor is the big release this weekend but if you remember, I saw the advance screening a week ago. Another movie, "Something Borrowed" opened today which is a great chick-flick or a date movie. I REALLY wanted to see this with Dorothy. I called her and she encouraged me to see it and then she'll go see it. So, I guess I kinda had a virtual date with her. I was one of nine people at the 1:30pm showing and the only man. No biggie...it really was a good movie and I highly recommend it.

After that, you know it! STARBUCKS!!!  I am perfectly content with camping out at Starbucks for several hours. Plus, they started their Frappuccino Happy Hour today. Between 3 and 5pm, 1/2 off. So, I got myself a Mocha Coconut one and fetched me a big comfy chair. It was a great WiFi signal so I decided to catch up on one of my favorite shows, Coming Home. It's about military homecomings. "Now why in the world would you watch THAT?!?!....especially when you miss your family so much???"....you may be asking. Good question!  Well, it reminds me of home, puts a smile on my face, and gives me encouragement to press on so that one day, I'll be that dad walking off the plane at the airport. What really chokes me up and did a lot more today was when kids on the show that are close in age to mine start crying about how much they miss their dad. That gets me every time. The homecomings themselves put a grin on me from ear to ear. I just love that show. If you want to check it out, it's on at 10pm every Sunday on Lifetime. They are available to watch online, too, at Lifetime's website. Piece of cake.

Speaking of cake, tonight was Scarecrow's birthday party and my whole family came over. I hung out at Starbucks long enough so that I could FaceTime with everyone. So, when it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles, I video-conferenced in, they turned the computer towards the cake and I sung Happy Birthday to Scarecrow along with everyone else. It was priceless!!!  Plus, she got her ears pierced today, too, and I just HAD to see them. After the song, I basically talked to everyone at the party for a bit. It was good to see everyone. After saying my goodbyes, I started my 2 mile walk back to base.

Along the way, I needed to grab some dinner and a place called Zoes Kitchen was along the route. It looked good from the outside and their online menu looked like a place with fresh ingredients and things like hummus which I love. I headed on in and had their Spinach Quesadilla (spinach, scallions, feta, and a side of homemade mango salsa) with a side of their homemade Marinated Slaw (feta, scallions, light vinaigrette). What a clean, light, satisfying meal. Winning! :-) A short walk later, I wandered aimlessly around Wal-Mart, picked up some organic Clif Bars and headed on back to base to catch the last 9:30pm shuttle.

It was an awesome day. I sought to just get away from everything, unwind, spend time with family, and be under no time constraint of any kind. Mission accomplished! Guess what, I smelled that honeysuckle again along my route. :-)

Before I go tonight, one important note: I was informed that over this weekend, we are going to lose our WiFi connectivity. Since I really don't want to type this blog on my phone, I'm going to take a few day break. So, Days 28 and 29 will NOT be posted. I should be able to restart again with Day 30...fingers crossed.

Have a great weekend, everyone and Goodnight!

Day 26

Hurry up! Wait....  Hurry up! Wait...  Such is the Navy way and probably common throughout the military. Today, we met up at 8am and were immediately dispersed in 4 different directions. One stop to the supply shop to see if we needed to turn anything unnecessary in. Nope! Next stop was to the medical office to pick up our medical records. They were done being reviewed so we picked them back up. Next was a survey being conducted by "Big Navy" regarding our deployment experience thus far. The survey covered essentially the whole Yellow Brick Road up until now. Lastly, since we have finished our M4 rifle quals, it was ready to be turned in if we are not taking them to Oz, which I am not. I had cleaned the heck out of that weapon last night but they still found all kinds of carbon. Eventually after waiting in line for well over an hour (remember hurry up and wait, right?), I turned it in to the armory. Nice to not have to carry that thing around anymore. I do love that weapon, though. Loads of fun. After an extended period of dead time and lunch, it was time for another rollover.

If you remember back a few weeks ago, I did the Humvee rollover trainer where we were inverted in a vehicle and had to escape in full body armor. Well, the newest vehicle on the block is the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle. It is a mammoth vehicle created directly as a result of our enemy's method of attack on us, the roadside IED. By now, you should know what the IED is. I've been talking about them for days. The hull of this vehicle is V-Shaped to divert the blast outward from underneath the vehicle instead of up where the passengers are. (here's a press release from the Army about the MRAP and this rollover trainer) I have also included a generic stock photo on the right. It has saved countless American lives since it was introduced. As part of my training to go to Oz, all sailors, soldiers, and Marines are required to do this training. Up until now, this rollover training happened at my next stop on the Yellow Brick Road but a brand new trainer arrived within the past week here so we became the first class to do it. The first evolution spins us on our side. Well, in this vehicle, the passengers are sitting, facing each other so in a side rollover, one person is suspended in the air and the other on the back. I was on my back so I unbuckled from the 4-point harness, stood up, and helped the other person down. Then, all of the passengers had to exit out the roof, or the gun mount hole since we're on our side. The next rollover was a full 180 inverted roll. Remember, we are in full body armor, and upside down. Everyone inside the MRAP was struggling to break free but the weight of their bodies plus the armor made it difficult. I was the first to cut loose and I tried to brace my fall on my head.  I wasn't so lucky. All I heard was a ratcheting crunch in my neck. Ever have an adjustment by a chiropractor? You know how it's loud in your inner ear? That's exactly what it sounded like. It wasn't necessarily painful but it did scare me. Tonight, it's a bit sore but no other side effects of any kind. Once I got down, I crawled out to the back, opened up the two armored doors and helped get another person unbuckled so they could get out. Wowsers....what a ride!

It wasn't until after 6pm that we returned back to home base...more like 6:30pm. Since the galley closes at 7pm, most of us dropped off our armor and headed for dinner. After a brief stop at the mini-mart afterwards to get myself a Starbucks DoubleShot Energy+Coffee, I headed on back to chillax. Some FaceTime with Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow and even a runner-friend FaceTime'd me a bit later. Online chats, exchanging texts..it was a busy night while blogging in parallel.

It looks like we're getting some free time tomorrow to unwind. It's Scarecrow's Birthday Party tomorrow night so I hope to FaceTime in to that to sing her Happy Birthday. It's also Military Spouse's Appreciation Day tomorrow. While one day is designated, I appreciate Dorothy 24/7/365. We are certainly a team together serving our country. I am but 50%.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 25

Grenade launching and live convoy operations were the order of the day...oh yea, another new MRE lunch, too. Today: chicken and dumplings. But first, I was woke up a few times overnight as big, thunderous storms came through overnight. The silence from flash to thunder was virtually non-existent so I knew it was right on top of us. By morning's light, it was tapering off and the day ended up being glorious...upper 70s, low humidity, and sunny skies. Perfect.

For the convoys, we headed out twice. There are 4 platoons within our company so that's 8 total trips. I'm in the 4th Platoon so we went last each time. The way they work is this: we had 6 Humvees, a SAW machine top mounted up top, and everyone was locked and loaded with blank rounds in our M4s. Communication checks, pre-briefs, and everything that goes into a convoy in Oz was done. There was a team out on the course that would do a multitude of things: set off roadside IEDs (bombs), dress up in "Oz" garb and walk out towards us (we'd have to slow down and if they didn't move out of the way, we challenge them...no compliance, they risk getting shot), and on the 2nd convoy later in the afternoon, we had a mission to meet with the police chief of a village. As we pulled up to the police station and checkpoint, they (insurgents) took out our commander...shot on site. Our entire platoon immediately dismounted (got out of our Humvees) and took our security checkpoints behind cover. That's when all Hades broke loose. I was in the last vehicle and we had just crossed under a bridge. On top of the bridge was a guy who looked like he was holding a push-button device...commonly used to set off a bomb. I pointed my rifle at him and shouted to him to put up his hands and leave them up. Had he not complied, he was going to get a bullet in the head. He did comply but soon after, an explosion happened behind him and another insurgent appeared with a RPG (rocket propelled grenade launcher). That's when he ducked down out of site then appeared with a weapon. Lights out for him! Both myself and the gunner atop my vehicle took him out. By this time, yellow smoke was filling the air. I'm guessing it was meant to simulate some kind of tear gas...not sure. I continued to scan the area looking for bad guys and saw no more. The RPG guy was taken out by another one of our gunners. The guy on the bridge who we took out all of a sudden had his hand flop out over the bridge...simulating he in fact was dead. We all got in our Humvees, called in the Medevac to notify of dead and wounded soldiers and we returned to base.  Talk about getting the adrenaline pumping!  I had not shot my rifle on the burst mode (3 automatic shots) until today. That was fun.

In between the convoy ops, I received some grenade training. Basically, it was familiarization and practice throwing them...from the standing, kneeling, and laying down positions. Believe it or not, it's tougher than you think to properly toss a grenade at the enemy and they do NOT soar like a baseball. We also practiced crawling up to a bunker, burning off the grenade for 2 seconds, and then tossing it in the bunker...then finishing off anyone who may have survived that blast.

Today was an awakening of sorts. As I rolled around in the dirt while attempting to launch a grenade and through the countless other evolutions I've been involved in during the past three weeks, I have learned some things about myself and have come to peace with them. First off, this has been a great experience thus far. None of these things would I ever do on my own as a civilian. It is only because of my deployment to Oz that I have received this training. I have done everything to the best of my ability but often, I can tell that God did not gift me with the talents of a front of the line soldier. I am not fast on my feet. I am not agile. I am, for the lack of a better word, clumsy. Tall and clumsy. I get the job done but should never be that warrior on the front line. I am best in a support role, in leadership, in areas where I have strengths. It is true, everyone has their calling and is good in some things, excellent in others, and downright horrible in others. I think I've seen a little of all these things in the past three weeks. In the end, though, I have gained a new appreciation of those who defend our freedom from the front line and put their hind-side on the line for us, day in and day out. We as Americans should be ever-grateful for the sacrifices of the many. Most are college age and fresh out of high school. My job in Oz will be one of support. My "customers" will be those front-line soldiers.  Helping them get what they need, train them in the systems set up to get them those items, and get involved when they needed something "yesterday." I am looking forward to serving them to the very best of my ability!

Time for bed. Goodnight, everyone.

Day 24

Hazy, hot, and humid...today's words. It cracked the 90F mark again and the humidity was way up there. Today, we did convoy ops and more IED familiarization. The dry run for the convoy operation happened today and the real deal with explosions and the works is tomorrow. Being inside a metal Humvee with these temps is not exactly a walk in the park and let me tell you, these vehicles are not made for guys like me who are 6'2" tall. Add on the body armor and you should see me just try and get my seatbelt on. Most of the simulations today were of roadside bombs. The real deal tomorrow will include that plus suicide bombers and who knows what else.

We also spent a good deal of time going over base security at forward operating bases and how that's conducted, mainly at the entrance. Later, we were trained on entering a building and "clearing" it. It involved 4 of us, lined up outside the building, kicking the door in and taking control of it. That was a nice little adrenaline rush. I think I did it about 4 or 5 times. I doubt I'll ever do this but it's nice to know the procedure just in case.  Lastly, we did a few exercises on how to pat people down to search them for contraband, etc. prior to letting them inside the gate of any of our installations.

Later on after lunch (bag lunches, thank goodness!!!), we did some training on how to move injured personnel. From drags to the fireman carry, we were havin' a good 'ol time with each other...of course, getting some good training value at the same time. :-) Afterwards, we went back to convoy training but this time, virtual training. Inside a trailer, we sat in mock Humvees and went on a convoy operation...sorta like a video game. We even had a gunner up top. What we didn't know was that the group who went before us were playing the bad guys (insurgents) at the front of the trailer using gaming controllers. They picked the IEDs to plant, where to plant them, and had guys with AK-47s firing at us! It was a lot of fun and even more fun when WE got to play the insurgents and attack the next group...who didn't know WE were up front. In the end, it was good training, especially to see it from both angles of attack...the offensive and defensive.

This evening, I was spray-painting different markings on my seabags with white spray paint. When I leave here to travel forward along the Yellow Brick Road, there will be over 400 seabags. They are all green so if I make some unique, easy-to-see markings, I won't be searching in the sea of bags like everyone else. Smart, eh?! A friend of mine gave me the idea.  I also re-packed a few of them with things I won't likely ever need but are still required to take. My goal is to never open them...ever.

That's about it for today. I'm up a bit later than normal tonight so it's time to call it a night. Another day in body armor tomorrow and some truly rockin' explosions await.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 23

For some reason, I woke up at 2:30am. Before going back to sleep, I checked my e-mail and received the shocking news of Bin Laden's capture/kill at the hands at none other than U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6. I went right back to sleep and at 6am, I was in the classroom, ready to roll. Of course, the chatter in the room was far and away dominated by talk of Bin Laden's death. Still, the day began with a PowerPoint lecture on convoy operations. We grabbed some breakfast afterwards then got on our armor and headed out on the buses. On the way, we played Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" about three times. Nothing like a packed bus full of sailors in their body armor on a day like this and listening to that song.  It felt really good. Ironically, Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" came on the radio right after that and we cranked it up. On social networks, it was as if we were having an impromptu Veteran's Day or Military Appreciation Day from all the patriotic postings I was reading. It was nice to see all of that being thrown out there. Our destination was a mock-up area where we spent the better part of the day learning about IED's (improvised explosive devices). Enough said. Mid-afternoon, we headed on back to the classroom where we had one last lecture followed by the promised Transportation Brief.

On Day 1 here at my current location, they told us that on our third Monday, we would have this brief. It would review our future transportation dates/times. Sure enough, all of that information was disseminated. True to form on this blog, none of that information will be disclosed here. With the quantity of people here and how everyone has their own individual mission, there are many different travel arrangements. However, the bulk of us will be together...probably 60-70% of us. So now we know.

In the meantime, training is not yet complete. The next few days contain a dry run of the culminating convoy operation followed by the actual evolution the day after, complete with explosions, suicide bombers, and roadside bombs. While we were doing our IED training today, we could hear the explosions from our location. The other company did their evolution today.

I don't mean to be mushy or gut-wrenching but I have to be honest...Tin Man and Scarecrow have me totally wrapped around their fingers. My mood certainly took a turn south after the transportation brief today. It was no surprise to me but it was simply another dose of reality. I turned crabby fast and the very loud, boisterous fellow sailors in my barracks were driving me crazy. I waited until late in the dinner hour to make sure I had a table to myself and the galley would be mostly cleared out by the time I went down. I just had to get away from them. That worked and afterwards, I showered and called home to Kansas. As soon as I got them on the phone, I could barely talk. I could feel the tears welling up under my eyelids, too. Why? Because I know my days are limited for these nightly phone calls to pray with them and virtually tuck them into bed. Who knows what my level of connectivity is going to be coming up. I have no idea. Calls home daily is certainly not going to happen. Anyway, Scarecrow at one point asked "Daddy, are you yawning?" "No, I'm not yawning." "It sounds like it...or you're crying." Again, I stated "Nope, I'm not yawning but I could fall right to sleep." We prayed and said goodnight. Ugh...  I can't adequately explain it.... They have such power over me! Just their voices reach deep inside me and I melt. I am so thankful for my family.

Goodnight, friends.

Day 22

I was up without an alarm today at 6:30am and decided I had slept enough so I made it to breakfast after 7am. It was a cool, beautiful morning and brilliant sunrise over the base chapel. The morning service was at 9am so after some cleaning up after breakfast back at the barracks, I headed on over. There was a larger crowd today with the National Guard being on base which was nice. Great sermon by the Navy chaplain, too. So much better than the cue card reader at last week's Easter service.

Just before lunch, I took the bus to the main gate yet again and made a 1.8mi beeline for Starbucks, with my iPad in hand. It was a beautiful day for a walk and I smelled lots of honeysuckle along the way. :-) I got my staple drink, a grande, soy, cinnamon dulce iced coffee and grabbed my comfy chair. Some movie watching, some game playing, and even video-conferenced with Dorothy and the girls back in Kansas.  As time wore on, I decided enough time had been milked at 'Bux and a movie was in order. I grabbed some Chipotle for a late lunch and grabbed the mid-afternoon showing of "Fast Five"...the latest installment of the Fast and the Furious movie franchise. It was really good and a teaser at the end set up a sixth installment. Be sure to stay through the first set of credits at the end to see the teaser. After the flick, I took a quick jaunt through Wal-Mart, made a few calls to family back in Kansas and headed on back to pick up a ride back to my barracks.

Folks, that's really about it for today. I wanted a day unto myself today. Alone. I got it and couldn't be happier with it. This next week will be quite the ride, I presume. It'll start out with briefs on our convoy evolution coming up and I am guessing Tuesday and/or Wednesday will be the days we execute that evolution.

As I smelled the honeysuckle a few days ago and was reminded of home, today I noticed a cluster of 3 dandelions along the road en route to Starbucks and thought of Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow. I do love and miss them so much. I am thankful for technology that allows us to see each other and talk so often.

Goodnight, friends.